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25 December 2010. The day Santa Claus surprised not only children around the world, but also astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS). In the American section of the station, European Space Agency (ESA) Paolo Nespoli was the first to wake. He opened the door of his sleeping compartment to discover a sock attached to the handle, filled with gifts.
"I still remember how startled I was when I opened the door and saw the package there," Nespoli recalls. "As the others woke and opened their doors, we looked at each other and realised none of us had brought these into orbit."
This wasn't the first time that Father Christmas had apparently visited space. The earliest recorded Santa sighting came during the missions of Gemini 6 and 7 in December 1965. Shortly after a rendezvous between the two spacecraft in orbit, Gemini 6 astronaut Thomas Stafford reported seeing "a satellite going from north to south, probably in a polar orbit."
"Looks like he might be going to re-enter soon," Stafford informed an increasingly anxious mission control. "Stand by…you might just let me try to pick up that thing."
Then, over the radio, came the strains of Jingle Bells performed by Stafford and his fellow crewmember, Wally Schirra, on sleigh bells and harmonica – the first musical instruments ever smuggled into space (for more space music firsts see here).
Christmas has always been important to American astronauts, particularly to the many who have been religious. The most overt expression of this came during the Apollo 8 mission, 45 years ago, when the first humans orbited the Moon. On Christmas Eve 1968, after witnessing the blue marble of Earth rise above the desolate lunar landscape, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders broadcast live to the home planet from lunar orbit. Nasa had not prepared anything for them to say and left it up to the crew. They read – in turn – from the book of Genesis, and Borman concluded the broadcast with: "good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you – all of you on the good Earth."
Even to non-believers, the Bible reading was incredibly powerful, but not without controversy. Nasa was later taken to court by a prominent atheist for introducing religion into a government programme. The case was thrown out by the United States Supreme Court, citing the fact that the government had no jurisdiction over something that happened in lunar orbit.
Today, despite the variety of cultures represented on board the ISS – which might include European, American, Japanese or Russian – 25 December has become a traditional holiday in space. Apart from any essential maintenance, crewmembers have most of the day off and will gather for a festive meal in the social hub of the ISS, the Russian service module. This section even boasts a table, which is covered in Velcro to hold everything down.
Some crews opt for the space-equivalent of an Earth Christmas meal and tuck into sliced turkey, reconstituted potatoes and processed vegetables. But this can be cloyingly bland and Nespoli recalls that he chose tortellini, barbeque steaks, and vegetables instead. They are also allowed extra treats from home such as chocolate, cookies or nuts. Although anything particularly crumbly has a tendency to clog the air conditioning ducts.
After that the crew might play music, watch a movie or call friends and family on the ground. "You're sad that you can't be with family and friends but, at the same time, you recognise the uniqueness of the situation," says Nespoli. "Being able to call people from space and wish them merry Christmas is very special."
Alcohol ban
The station is even equipped with Christmas decorations and a two-foot-tall fire-proofed artificial tree to deck the halls. Although it can be a struggle to locate them. "It's the same as at home, when you know you've put them somewhere and you can never find them," says Nespoli. "When I was looking for some piece of technical equipment, I found a box that said Christmas decorations. I made sure I recorded in our inventory management system exactly where they were."
For many astronauts, their Christmas in space is the first time they have had the day off for several years. Nespoli attributes this to the uncanny knack his trainers had of identifying national holidays and making sure the astronauts were elsewhere. "On the 4th of July in the States, they send you to Moscow to do training and when it's the Russian holiday they send you to the United States," he says. "If you're not careful you find yourself training in Star City [near Moscow] on Christmas Day."
With all the festive bling, outfits and presents, how different is it having Christmas in space? For Nespoli, it was the real giant bauble in the window on Christmas Eve that was the true highlight. "On 24th December, we passed north of France and I saw the whole UK and Ireland lit up like a Christmas tree – my Christmas tree from space was the whole UK."
One of the few things they cannot celebrate with on board the ISS – despite what you might gather from the movie Gravity – is alcohol. Although there have been rumours for years that the Russians have a secret stash of vodka on the ISS, this is extremely unlikely. "I never saw any alcohol on board," says Nespoli. This is because the water processing system on the ISS, which recycles drinking water from the astronauts' breath, sweat and urine, would be overwhelmed if any alcohol got into the plumbing. "If you took up alcohol you would be caught," says Nespoli. "There is even a limit to the amount of disinfecting towels you can use because of fears of overwhelming the water system."
So, what about those presents hanging on the doors of the astronaut quarters that Christmas morning? Is there really a cosmic Santa? The secret is revealed by another ISS astronaut, Andre Kuipers, who arrived at the station a year after Nespoli.
"There were also personalised socks waiting for us, filled with presents from our loved ones that had stayed behind on Earth," Kuipers tells me in an email. "They had put these presents together in April, way before our arrival, to send up with a cargo ship…it was great!"
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Since the iconic Earthrise at Christmas photo was taken by the Apollo 8 crew in 1968, the festive season has been entwined with space.
Since the iconic Earthrise at Christmas photo was taken by the Apollo 8 crew in 1968, the festive season has been entwined with space.
The 25 December has become a traditional holiday on the International Space Station. (Nasa)
The 25 December has become a traditional holiday on the International Space Station. (Nasa)
On the Christmas morning Paolo Nespoli (left) was on the ISS, the crew were surprised with presents. (Nasa)
On the Christmas morning Paolo Nespoli (left) was on the ISS, the crew were surprised with presents. (Nasa)
The third manned Skylab mission created this Christmas tree out of food cans. (Nasa)
The third manned Skylab mission created this Christmas tree out of food cans. (Nasa)
The Expedition 30 crew members indulge in a little Christmas fun for the camera. (Nasa)
The Expedition 30 crew members indulge in a little Christmas fun for the camera. (Nasa)
Velcro is vital for the Christmas meal, it keeps the food and utensils on astronauts' trays. (Nasa)
Velcro is vital for the Christmas meal, it keeps the food and utensils on astronauts' trays. (Nasa)


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By Guest Author Rohit P. Singh
Water, the fundamental necessity of every extant species on earth, is becoming a source of danger in many parts of the world today. According to a survey by the World Health Organisation (WHO), unsafe drinking water kills more than 1.5 million children per year. More than 1.1 billion people today lack access to clean water, and 2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. As we know that only 1% of water on earth is drinkable, as 97% is saline and 2% is in the form of glaciers, a global population of over 6 billion people that is increasing at a rate of around 80 million people per year can only be supplied with clean water if we find a sustainable method to convert saline water into clean water.
Desalination, which is the conversion of seawater containing salts and minerals to potable water through various physical and chemical methods, has emerged as a potential solution to India's and the world's looming water crisis. India has taken steps towards commissioning desalination plants to meet the needs of people with no access to safe water. The most important issue is the cost-effectiveness of the methodology and the type of energy used for desalination. India has recently built desalination plants that use nuclear and even solar power apart from the conventional fuels. Many factors enter into the capital and operating costs for desalination: capacity and type of plants; plant locations; feed water quality; labor, energy and financing costs; ease of concentrate disposal, the level of instrumentation and automation; and plant reliability. However, as a guideline, the production cost of a brackish water desalination plant is rupees (Rs.) 10 to 15 per cubed meter of water. The production costs for a seawater desalination plant vary between Rs. 40 and 50 per cubed meter, whereas the production costs of desalted water from effluent vary from Rs. 15 to 50 per cubed meter.
As one example of a plant, the recently installed Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in the Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu in South India has tremendous capacity: it produces desalinated water at a rate of 300,000 liters per hour. Taking seawater from the Gulf of Mannar, the plant uses a mechanical vapor compression technology and has two 1,000-MWe Russian reactors. It is expected to start working by the end of this year and has been erected on a turnkey basis by Tata Projects in conjunction with IDE Technologies Limited, Israel. A solar-powered desalination plant produced by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has the capacity to produce 100 liters of clean water per day. Although the process of desalinating saline water – evaporating water, condensing and collecting the pure water vapor – remains the same, what makes all the difference is the TERI plant's no-fuss, closed-loop design and the total absence of conventional fuels, making it sustainable, affordable, and eco-friendly.
Thus, if India's 7,000-kilometer coastline is put to use by the government as well as the private sector, we may see the beginning of an end to the country's water concerns. Apart from solving the water crisis, desalination technology could also prove to be a blessing in disguise in solving water conflicts with neighboring countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh. As MNCs such as General Electric and Aquatech are building huge plants in the western state of Gujarat, a solution to the longstanding conflict with Pakistan over the 1960 Indus Water Treaty can be devised, by providing clean water to both Gujarat and Pakistan.
The project commissioned to Aquatech is India's first ultra mega power project (UMPP) and is located at Mundra in coastal Gujarat. The 4,000-megawatt coal-fired plant is owned by Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd. (CGPL), a Tata Power group company. The project aims to produce 12 million liters per day of treated water by November 2009 and will be India's first private sector power project using supercritical boiler technology.
However, desalination is best-suited and most cost-effective for regions that close oceans. Supplying desalinated water to a place such as Delhi, which is far from the sea, will be expensive. Therefore, we also need to look into other potentially effective solutions such as rain water harvesting. Not long ago, most the cities were self-sufficient in meeting their water needs from the extensive urban water bodies that supplied water to citizens. But today, it seems as though these bodies have disappeared and groundwater is being extensively extracted by both the government and the private sector. So now, what we need to do is not dam a river and block its flow, or boost water out of the ground and suck the earth dry, or build canals and lay kilometers of pipes, but merely harvest rainwater.
As India receives only about 100 hours of rain a year, these 100 hours must be used efficiently to catch and store water for the remaining 8,660 hours. In areas where there is inadequate groundwater supply or surface resources are either lacking or insufficient, rainwater harvesting offers an ideal solution. Recharging water into the aquifers also helps improve the quality of existing groundwater.
A typical rain water harvesting system for a roof top consists of catchments (which directly receive the rainfall and provide water to the system); coarse (at the roof to prevent the passage of debris); gutters (channels all around the edge of a sloping roof to collect and transport rainwater to the storage tank), conduits (pipelines or drains that carry rainwater from the catchment or rooftop area to the harvesting system); first-flushing (a valve that ensures that runoff from the first spell of rain is flushed out and does not enter the system); filters (used to remove suspended pollutants from rainwater collected over roofs); storage tanks and recharge structures. These components handle the complete process of transporting, filtering and storing water in a rainwater harvesting system.
Rainwater harvesting is currently practiced on a large scale in cities such as Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi, and has been made a part of the state policy. Rainwater can be harvested for storing it for ready use in containers, and groundwater recharging for withdrawal later. It can be done on surfaces such as rooftops, paved and unpaved areas, water bodies and storm-water drains. In Ahmadabad, rainwater is even collected in tanks at places such as temples, hotels and residential buildings. Bangalore is set to adopt rainwater harvesting in all buildings, including residential ones, built on existing sites equal to or greater than 60×40 feet and new, planned sites equal to or greater than 30×40 feet, if the Legislative Council approves a bill to do so.
As you know one of the typical differences between the Northern Plane and the Peninsular region rivers is the Northern Plane rivers get the water from Himalaya and the Peninsular region rivers get the water mainly from the rain in the plateau area.
I believe there were some initiatives from the Govt. to connect various rivers to reduce the very high dependencies on the rain for the south Indian region. Do you have any update on what's going on there? I think it may become extremely hard to distribute the desalinated water in a very large scale because of the distribution cost.
The capturing of the rain water and creation of a national water grid using the physical topology of the surface probably give some alternative solution in India.
This situations gotten out of control and only public awareness is the solution .

subset: commoncrawl


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Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to bremsstrahlung: characteristic radiation, inverse bremsstrahlung
The electromagnetic radiation produced by the acceleration of an electrically charged particle, as when an electron is deflected in the electric field of an atom or molecule.
[German : Bremse, brake (from Middle Low German premse, from pramen, to press) + Strahlung, radiation (from strahlen, to radiate, from Strahl, ray, from Middle High German strāle, from Old High German strāla, arrow, stripe; see ster- in Indo-European roots).]
(Atomic Physics) the radiation produced when an electrically charged particle, esp an electron, is slowed down by the electric field of an atomic nucleus or an atomic ion
[C20: German: braking radiation]
brems•strah•lung(ˈbrɛmˌʃtrɑ ləŋ)
radiation, esp. x-rays, emitted by an accelerating or decelerating charged particle.
[1940–45; < German, =Brems(e) brake + Strahlung radiation]


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The weather lately has been crazy, as anyone looking at the aftermath (and continued destructive path) of Hurricane Sandy could tell you. We're out of harm's way here in Tennessee, but we sure have had our NYC/NJ/New England friends on our minds the past few days–many people I know are out of power, and many that I don't know are dealing with flooded homes or burned homes. What a massive, scary storm. Stay safe everyone!
The cold front that ended up helping to make Sandy into a superstorm hit Tennessee, and the past few days it has been chilly. I've been craving something simple and hot and cozy, and this soup hit the spot. It's also good for lunch leftovers, which is great since I don't have time to cook lunches and dinners all the time.
The soup, which is adapted from 101 Cookbooks, has endless variations, and so I look forward to making this one a staple at our home. Yum.
Tomato Coconut Milk Soupadapted from "A Simple Tomato Soup," 101 Cookbooks
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
- fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon chile flakes
- 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes (pref. fire-roasted)
- 1 14-ounce can light or full fat coconut milk
- to serve: any of the following that sound good to you – cooked brown rice, lemon wedges, toasted almond slices, fresh herbs, a poached egg
In a large pot over medium heat the olive oil and saute the onions until soft – 10 minutes or so. Add the ginger and cook for 1 minute or so. Stir in the salt, curry powder, coriander, fennel, and chile flakes, and cook just until the spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Stir in the tomatoes, the juices from the cans, and the can of coconut milk. Simmer for fifteen minutes or so, then puree with a hand blender until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot over rice or with any of the other toppings you desire. Can also be served at room temp or chilled with a dollop of yogurt, as in the picture above.


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Say "Welcome Little One!" with our Baby Boy Package! Includes 9 mylar balloons, 17-piece box of Harry London chocolates, 1 small plush, and a beautiful arrangement of white lilies, blue hydrangeas and white roses in a glass vase. The perfect gift package to celebrate the birth of that special little one!
Arrangement approx. 16in H x 11 1/2in W
Flowers, container, balloons, plush and chocolates may vary due to season and availability.


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Created by psychiatrist William Moulton Marston in 1941, Wonder Woman has become an enduring heroine. Fighting for justice and peace, one of the world's first female superheroes still remains popular. Those who grew up watching the classic 1970's TV series with Lynda Carter still hold the actress in high regard for her dignified portrayal. She personified the role for generations and anyone following her would have a very difficult time making the role their own. Thankfully Gal Gadot does a more than credible job as Wonder Woman as her character fights for the rights of moviegoers everywhere.
Diana (Gal Gadot) is an Amazonian princess living on a tropical island with her powerfully gifted people. Life is tranquil until military pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) washes ashore after his plane crashes. Fighting the German army during World War 1, Trevor is transfixed when he meets Diana. The feeling becomes mutual as Diana decides to join him in fighting his enemies. Among them is German General Ludendorff (Danny Huston) who holds a deep secret spurning Diana to continue her cause as superhero Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman is a movie crafted with care. Director Patty Jenkins is clearly a fan of the character and all her incarnations. The strong-willed Amazonian is perfectly brought to cinematic life with Gadot making for a splendid hero. Her efforts are made easier by an interesting script using the 'fish out of water' theme well. While Steve Trevor is amazed by Diana's background, so too is she of his, with both learning from each other's strengths. How they face their opponents make them stronger people with Diana's intelligence as well as her physicality making her especially lethal.
As is obligatory for such a film, Wonder Woman has an abundance of CGI-infused action. Instead of distracting the audience with fast-paced incidents, Jenkins wisely allows the viewer to see each sequence in detail. We come to feel Diana's passion and growing determination to defeat evil. The use of slow-motion during the action scenes highlights these well. Whilst the villains aren't as strong as preferred, the story isn't about them and more the general ways of humankind that Diana discovers.
Although for 'vintage viewers' like myself who will always admire the classic TV series, Wonder Woman the movie is equally as good. A solid slice of super-heroic entertainment, it's a fun, dramatic and exciting ride that does the iconic female hero the justice she deserves.
Reviewed by Patrick Moore
Twitter: @PatrickMoore14
Rating out of 10: 8


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The Year's Best Science Fiction Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois
The Year's Best Science Fiction Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois (Macmillan, 2012) is another wonderful anthology. There's genuinely something for everyone here.
"The Choice" by Paul McCauley is not just an excellent story about how alien technology comes to be swimming about in our oceans, it's a masterclass in how to construct a story so that all the background is delivered without intrusive infodumps and the ending comes with a beautiful surprise. "A Soldier of the City" by David Moles asks the age-old question of why people fight. It may be out of a sense of patriotism or a generalised love for the leader. Whatever the reason, should the country or leader suffer a serious injury, the desire for revenge will dominate, soldiers will set off in anger. After the fighting has died away, what then remains for the surviving soldier, cut off from his people? "Dolly" by Elizabeth Bear converts the rather dry Asimov approach to the Three Laws of Robotics and finds an essentially human way of looking at an android that appears to have been used as a murder weapon. Assuming, of course, that a hacker could reprogram a machine. The result is a pleasingly provocative way of assessing what might constitute a just outcome once all the options are laid out on the table. "Martian Heart" by John Barnes is another very human story about the transformation people can achieve in themselves when they're in love. Even the most unpromising of men can come good to fulfill a promise made to a woman left behind.
"Earth Hour" by Ken Macleod is a really nice story showing how the fact of an assassination, successful or not, can be a most promising move in a deep game where millions may be won or lost in stock trading and preparations for war may be advanced. It's a most elegant blend of politics and future history. Continuing into the near future, "Laika's Ghost" by Karl Schroeder shows us a different way of getting to other planets using profoundly dangerous technology for peaceful ends. Except once the peaceful have shown the potential, what will the militarists do? "The Dala Horse" by Michael Swanwick goes into a post-apocalyptic future where a death necessary for survival may trigger a second death out of compassion. Because of its uncertain context, the focus on the emotional essentials makes this rather poignant as the survival of the species may just have taken a step backwards.
"The Way It Works Out and All" by Peter S Beagle invites to consider the possibility that Avram Davidson might just have discovered a series of different dimensional doors through which one might pop from here to there and back again. Except could it also apply to those who have died? Our author is waiting for word on whether Avram can make it back. "The Ice Owl" by Carolyn Ives Gilman is a particularly elegantly constructed story parallelling examples of racial genocide on Earth with a story set on a world with three primary races. It considers the question of responsibility both for those who were naive collaborators and for those who now hunt government and military officers, ostensibly for trial but often for revenge killing. In the contemporary context, all it takes to produce the death of the owl is for a young woman to fail to check the freezer on a regular basis, reinforcing the message you should never trust others to do what you should do yourself. Indeed, even if it was the last of its kind, what value does one bird have? How can it compare to the sweep of human history or the love between a daughter and her mother? "The Copenhagen Interpretation" by Paul Cornell is rather in the spirit of the Prisoner of Zenda transposed into a rather different format. It's fun but I confess to being a little baffled by what's going on. I'll have to track down more of these stories. "The Invasion of Venus" by Stephen Baxter is one of these quiet and unassuming stories that sets off quietly and, before you realise it's in the air, it's hitting the bullseye. I mean just how Earthcentric do we have to be! If I was an alien, I would ignore us too. "Digging" by Ian McDonald offers us the answer to the age-old question, "What do you do if you find yourself in a hole?" This is a nicely elegant terraforming story set on Mars where the people are trying a different version of the wartime Dig for Victory campaign.
"Ascension Day" by Alastair Reynolds is a short but highly effective story about a trading venture that must, in relative terms, span thousands of years between star systems and hundreds of years on individual planets. How then must the crew divide itself between the various duties to be performed? "Silently and Very Fast" by Catherynne M Valente is a richly poetic exploration of what might come after humanity. This, of course, assumes that humanity births something new or something evolves from us. However it comes into being, would it be human? Perhaps it might contain multiple versions of itself as it iterates towards consciousness or nests versions of its identity like a Russian doll. Whatever it is, it probably could not stay on Earth. It would have to move away from danger or because it was a danger to humanity. "A Long Way Home" by Jay Lake is a delight, showing us an indomitable quality in the human survivor — a man who can endure and then face the future with equanimity (so long as it's not boring, of course). "The Incredible Exploding Man" by Dave Hutchison has all the attributes of a great story. It has a simple premise which is worked through to a logical conclusion. It has a good sense of humour and is a great advertisement for sandwiches as a reward. "What We Found" by Geoff Ryman is an idea story in extended form showing a similar paradox to Schrödinger's cat in which observing an event causes it to change. That would leave us with a very uncertain future unless observational scientific findings will always find stability just as, hopefully, parents will by creating loving environments in which their children can grow up. "A Response From EST 17" by Tom Purdom (good to see him still writing) is a nice first contact story in which the aliens have to decide which of two competing Earth probes to respond to and what to say (if anything because saying something can be very unsettling). "The Cold Step Beyond" by Ian R Macleod is a beautifully wrought version of an old idea: that before you can conquer another warrior, you must first conquer yourself.
"Militant Peace" by David Klecha and Tobias S Buckell is another of these nice idea stories and, although wildly improbable, it does ask some nice questions about the morality of not fighting a defensive war. "The Ants of Flanders" by Robert Reed is another alien invasion story but our hero is incapable of fear and so comes through the experience emotionally the same although his body does go through a minor modification. "The Smell of Orange Groves" by Lavie Tidhar is an interestingly reflective piece about the persistence of memory and the extent to which a shared memory may bring people together. "The Iron Shirts" by Michael F Flynn is actually a very good story but I'm not convinced it's SF. It seems to be lurking in a hinterland of alternative history based on who got to America first. "Cody" by Pat Cadigan is a delightful story of a courier's ordeal. Not that it's a delight to him that he has an ordeal, you understand. But his defences are better than the ordinary criminal might expect. "For I have Lain Me Down in the Stone of Loneliness and I'll Not Be Back Again" by Michael Swanick is story worth longer discussion but all I can say here is that it demonstrates the tendency of history to cast people as victims but there can be a break with the past when people emigrate. It's a very effective mirror to moderately recent events. "Ghostweight" by Yoon Ha Lee is a pleasing story about the change in role achieved by demonstrating competence. "Digital Rites" by Jim Hawkins struck me as outstanding both in concept and execution. While not original, it has a lightness of touch and a particularly elegant metafictional ending as the credits roll on this film-industry epic. "The Bonless One" by Alec Nevala-Lee is one of these pleasing stories in which an encounter with a new phenomenon triggers a potentially destructive effect. The important thing to remember in such situations is that the duty to the living outweighs all other considerations. "Canterbury Hollow" by Chris Lawson is a melancholic tale celebrating the futility of survival and the magnificence anyone with courage can engineer for the ending. "The Vorkuta Event" by Ken Macleod is one of these vaguely Lovecraftian SF stories in which one small step for man may be one step too far (depending on your worldview and general allegiances, of course). The final story, "The Man Who Bridged the Mist" by Kij Johnson is a delightful exploration of how one should approach the unknown. Here's a world faced by a genuinely strange natural phenomenon. It does not have the technology to explore it but a few brave souls believe they may have the ability to build bridges over it whenever the gap is narrow enough. Except just what are the limits when people may have such big dreams and, in an ironic commentary on the engineering, is it not equally important to build social bridges between individuals?
For brief comments on the remaining stories, "The Beancounter's Cat" by Damien Broderick, "The Vicar of Mars" by Gwneth Jones, and "Dying Young" by Peter M Ball first appeared in Eclipse Four. See also "After the Apocalypse" in the collection of the same name by Maureen F McHugh.
For other anthologies edited by Gardner Dozois, see:
The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Seventh Annual Collection
The Year's Best Science Fiction Twenty-Eighth Annual Collection
The Year's Best Science Fiction Thirtieth Annual Collection
Dozois, Gardner & Martin, George R. R.
Old Mars
Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance
Songs of Love and Death
This anthology has been shortlisted for the 2013 Locus Award.


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05 Sep
Letters regarding the first round of tests were posted, second class, on Thursday 31st August. We are being inundated with telephone queries, may I request that you please allow time for postage and, if you have not received your letter by Friday, 8th September, then please email email@example.com to confirm your postal address. Thank you for your assistance.


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Original Interview given at www.obskures.de
Translation: Andreas Mecker
Degenesis: Rebirth Edition – Interview with Marko Djurdjevic
Almost one month ago, Degenesis: Rebirth Edition was released more or less surprisingly.
SIXMOREVODKA hereby launches a comprehensive overhaul of their well known post-apocalyptic RPG from 2004, which had been released by Sighpress at that time.
Fans of the original version quickly discovered that hardly one stone had remained unturned.
Over a total of 700 pages within two hardcover-books delivered in a slipcase are waiting to be discovered.
The first book, Primal Punk, portraits the detailed world of Degenesis whereas the second book
-Katharsys- comes along with a completely renewed set of rules including a start-up adventure.
The following interview with Marko Djurdjevic grants a glimpse behind the scenes of one of the most ambitious German RPG-Outputs this year.
French, Spanish and of course English translations of the new Degenesis: Rebirth Edition are already in the making.
Additionally, the announced comic-adaptation gives a slight hint of the potentials behind the considerable creation of Christian Günther and Marko Djurdjevic.
Despite a tight schedule in the middle of the release, Designer Marko Djurdjevic shared some of his time to answer some (very well) critical questions.
On the 10th of October 2014, Degenesis: Rebirth Edition was released in German language. What is this roleplaying-game about basically? Was does Primal Punk mean?
Primal Punk- in one term- summarizes, how we understand the evolution of a world and its inhabitants after the collapse of their civilization, when primal ferocity replaces mindful planning and the strongest claims the throne.
The age of reason and political correctness is over, violence becomes a viable option again. Humans are like a scattered bunch of dogs, blending together into new packs, choosing their Alphas and fight for shelter and prey.
Primal Punk is kind of a red line for us, which we followed creating the post-apocalyptic scenario of Degenesis. On first sight this point of view seems negative, the resulting world being chaotic and cruel. And that's right in some places. But in fact, the whole spectrum of human emotions, not only the negative ones, becomes apparent: ideologies are being defended passionately, great pain is being met with great courage.
The atmosphere of Degenesis is dominated by the Cults.
Cults are groups that extend across cultures either wielding great influence on an economic, military or religious basis.
As a Player you follow the ideologies of one of those cults. What all cults have in common is their intention to lead humanity towards greater deeds and to make the world a little better. Every cult claims the right to this heritage on its very own way. Different ideologies or ways of life then become obstacles.
But then, the environmental dangers in the world of Degenesis have grown so strong – Psychonauts, Sleepers, Sporefields, the rise of the Clans – that the cults cannot conduct conflicts among themselves anymore but have to cooperate to throw back those dangers.
Clans diverge from Cults as they only wield very regional influence, where they can still become serious threats and problems.
Players can also choose Clanners and take the role of a Clan. The Clans have been pushed towards the outskirts of society for centuries. They have been denied artifacts and culture, were chased away from their holy places or had to subordinate to the Cults. But that is now over! Everywhere in the Wastelands a wind of change is rising and the Clans suddenly become a threat because they intend to reclaim what once was theirs.
While playing in a group, players are encouraged to take part in the world´s evolution, do extraordinary deeds for their Cult or Clan and to push forward the vision of a better life against all odds.
The big question in Degenesis is if man has what it takes to bring back that civilization that he has lost five centuries ago and if it is all worth it in the face of such enemies or if egoism, recklessness and the will for power show their ugly faces over and over again, destroying all hope for better times.
All that is being spiced through reduction of resources, a hostile environment and the overpowering enemy, Homo Degenesis, who seeks to tear Homo Sapiens from his throne.
It was pretty silent around Degenesis for a long time. To be honest, the announcement of the new edition really came by surprise, especially as the release lies very short ahead and the already shown materials (trailer, artworks) are pretty impressive. On top of that, there must be some changes in comparison to the old material. Foremost the old set of rules in the game was viewed upon quite critically.
So, what are the most essential features of this new edition concerning the background-world and the rules-system Katharsys? What is to be considered in terms of downgrade-compatibility?
We have spent two whole years with the Rebirth Edition. Our goal was to maintain absolute silence and to present the product to the public only when it would be fully done. We originally had estimated a lot less time but we came to the conclusion very quickly that we needed a lot more time at the backend to get it done just the way we wanted.
Immersion and quality of the product where of utmost importance to us. Another main goal of the redesigning process was the complete overhaul of the game rules to improve the playing experience.
We decided to do the redesigning in full isolation of the public because we didn´t want to let the RPG-scene have tranquilizing effects on us. It needs focus and tight collaboration to realize such an ambitious project. External influences can have a negative effect quite easily because they tend to distort your visions.
As an example, we had already shot and produced the trailer a whole year before publication, simply because we wanted to make everyone on the team give his best but also to point the direction where we wanted this all to go.
Not only to tell a story via one single medium but to incorporate all media to introduce the trademark as diverse as possible.
So the essential features of that new edition are a complete overhaul of the background which now takes place ten years after the original edition. We intended to downgrade the intensity of conflicts between the Cults (which we never saw as intense as some of our fans did) and to further advance the background-story of Degenesis. Chris and me have been working on this material for years and we have created a load of loose ends that we were never able to link together in the past.
With the Rebirth Edition we now press on. You could say that we had kind of a "Unfinished Business"-feeling towards the product, something that haunted us as we didn´t have the possibility to bring it to an end.
How long have you been working on Degenesis: Rebirth Edition respectively how did the process of creation come to be?
As mentioned above, about two years. Everything started when my employees in the studio persuaded me to run a RPG-campaign in April 2012. After some discussions about what game to play, somebody asked: "Why don't we try your old game, Degenesis? You might know your way around with that best, do you?"
The campaign was a huge success and my employees, all but awesome illustrators, started drawing their characters or developing scenes and landscapes for that setting to catch certain moments in the game they considered special.
Shortly after one of my employees stumbled across that website, www.fraktal-endzeit.com, and we were in absolute awe about our LARP-community that had grown in the background over the years and kept the spirit of the game alive. So I hastily called Chris and asked him to do a complete reboot and overhaul of that whole Degenesis with me. Chris then told me that he was working on new rules-mechanisms anyway and we could as well use them for the relaunch.
Initially there were only plans for a new edition with minor editing and complete new illustrations. But when Chris and me come together on a new project it usually culminates into quality-marathons.
It also became clear to us soon that we needed Malik onboard again, he who sits right in the between of us two like Buddha to keep our ambitions clear and sometimes to shave our heads.
The principal work started in August 2012, reviewing stuff, sorting it out, discussing it, rethinking and replacing it. For four months into January 2013 we pretty much turned every stone in the world of Degenesis upside down, reviewing it from a ten years distance. Which Cults went badly in the first edition, where did we need stronger concepts for certain cultures, how could we link the background together in a better way. With the complete overhaul finally done, we started rewriting the contents and visual redesign was initiated. And now, 20 months of pure work are available as bookblock!
What is a typical Degenesis-campaign about? What are the characteristic enemies and conflicts the player has to face?
This question is almost impossible to answer in just a few lines minding the depth and width of this setting.
Wherever man appears there is trouble, even five centuries after a global disaster.
Conflicts arise from different points of view, ways of life, humiliations – and the player is always in the thick of it. In a typical campaign you do best to make the different members of the group ambassadors of their certain Cults, to make them face dangers for their Cults together. The genre can differ enormously depending on the culture the campaign takes place in.
Borca is the best place for political intrigues, fighting back Clans on the rise or Cult-based campaigns.
Pollen is more a place of horror – Biokinetics, twisted woods, an uncontainable wall of spores, they all evoke atmosphere. Franka with its swamps and unapproachable terrain is all about resistance against the Pheromancers but also about securing passageways, guarding caravans and merchants to ensure the flow of goods towards Borca.
Hybrispania is a psycho-thriller-warzone with absurd time-aberrations going on, a place where past, present and future collide and interweave.
Balkhan gives us an untamable place, where local rulers come and go just as the seasons do and where secrets centuries old lie buried beneath the ground.
Purgare is all religious insanity, zealots and fanatics, but also Psychokinetics that devastate the lands with their plagues, an apocalyptic crusade taking place in a mystery-setting basically.
When it comes to Africa then, things look a little different. There is trade, the world is being split into pieces, expeditions are being set out and every corner of the world is being explored. But at the same time, strange plants slowly seep into the consciousness of that whole culture to influence its course of action.
What do you like best on the new Degenesis: Rebirth Edition?
The final product itself. There has been such love and effort put into every detail. We treated every part of the product equally, giving meaning and importance to every aspect. There is virtually no other RPG-product, where illustration, graphics design, layout and written text do correspond on such a high level . You can see a lot of RPGs where illustration comes seconds at best, not to mention typography. Seldom does the art-director take care of illustrations and design as well as development of the world itself at the same time.
Chris and me work on every single part together and we do not hold back with feedback towards one another. We try to see as much ideas as possible from two perspectives, be it the written or the visual side. Things being described must also work visually and in return, design has to harmonize with the written parts because otherwise there will only be a haywire of concepts.
According to that there must be a visual and narrative line that has to be followed, a line that opens up to the reader after a while and that he can fall back to when going through the books looking for inspiration.
One essential trademark of Degenesis has always been the spirit of community. The rules were available as a free download and there was great activity in the Degenesis-forum. What can we expect on this side?
We take great efforts to reanimate our forum and, as developers, always present a helping hand. We hope to see the forum coming to live again as back in the good days. But release is now 20 days past, so there is still some way to go until we can say the community has grown active again. We are happy about every single new fan and we try to answer the most important questions at least once a day.
You are right, there was this free PDF-download back then, but we won´t have it this way again. This is simply because we came to the conclusion that something, that is free, has no actual value for its owner. Yes, we heard it quite often like: "I could download the PDF for free back then and everyone who had the PDF also bought the books". But as a matter of fact, that´s not true. We had about 40.000 downloads of the old core-rulebook but had only sold about 3.000 printed. The discrepancy between those who want to grab something for free and those who are willing to pay real money is so big that we just can´t come up with this again. Even more, I would judge this as scam towards those fans that paid real money for the books to support the project while others could simply get it all for free. To be honest, that´s not my interpretation of fairness.
What are your further plans for the Degenesis: Rebirth Edition? Will there be additional gaming materials (adventures, rules, supplements)? What about an English version or even projects that add up to already existing material?
We are already working on follow-ups for the RPG. Yesterday, we announced Degenesis: Black Atlantic via our newsletter. We have a two-year-agenda set and we know, what we want to do: products on the highest level possible. We will not release one-shots or irrelevant books with no actual use. The Degenesis –trademark is made for different media at the same time. Not all following products will automatically have something to do with the RPG but very well with the story of Degenesis itself. For example, we already announced a graphic-novel , in our last newsletter. And that is just the beginning. We will come up with more news one by one.
Just now, cooperation with Edge Entertainment was announced. They will deliver a Spanish and French version of the game. But even here there is more to come at its given time.
Besides the Premium-Edition (4000 printed: 99,-), there is a Limited Edition (555 printed: 146,-) and even an Artist Edition (100 printed: 499,-). That´s pretty ambitious, is it? Why should the old or new fan support Degenesis: Rebirth Edition( just now)?
Many of our pre-orders are fans from the first days. They stayed true to us, know the level of our concepts and products and can estimate the quality delivered to them. You can say what you want about those fees, even that they are ambitious. But when I look at people paying 99,-EUR for a pair of shoes hastily stitched together by kids in Bangladesh or see them paying 600,-EUR for a new smartphone, assembled within a couple of ours, then I don't see the point of this discussion.
Degenesis demanded two years of energy, handworking and free time of about 20 people. Every texture found on the background pages was handmade, every logo was created by hand, every single illustration took about 3-5 days of work, endless conceptual discussions and workings on texts not even included.
I know of no other RPG that hits the market with epic trailers, state-of-the-art homepages and such huge expectations towards the quality of the final product.
That all was pre-funded by ourselves, no crowdfunding was included. As a publisher, I have to be able to measure the actual value of the product considering production-budget and the amount of time put into the project. At the end of the day, the numbers have to fit in order to refund such a financial demanding and time-intense product. Considering the amount of work put into this all I would judge our fees pretty harmless all in all.
Thanks a lot for this interview. The last lines are all yours!
Foremost a big thank you to all our true and wonderful fans, be it at the the table or at LARP, that have stayed true to our product. Also our gratitude goes out to our friends that have helped us during launch-phase. We wouldn´t have made it without you.


text:
Squares of Savannah, Georgia
The U.S. city of Savannah, Georgia was laid out in 1733 around four open squares, each surrounded by four residential ("tything") blocks and four civic ("trust") blocks. Once the four wards were developed in the mid-1730s, two additional wards were laid out. The layout of a square and eight surrounding blocks was known as a "ward." The original plan (now known as the Oglethorpe Plan) was part of a larger regional plan that included gardens, farms, and "out-lying villages." While some authorities believe that the original plan allowed for growth of the city and thus expansion of the grid, the regional plan suggests otherwise: the ratio of town lots to country lots was in balance and growth of the urban grid would have destroyed that balance.[1]
Oglethorpe's agrarian balance was abandoned after the Georgia Trustee period. Additional squares were added during the late 18th and 19th centuries, and by 1851 there were 24 squares in the city. In the 20th century, three of the squares were demolished or altered beyond recognition, leaving 21. In 2010, one of the three "lost" squares, Ellis, was reclaimed.
Most of Savannah's squares are named in honor or in memory of a person, persons or historical event, and many contain monuments, markers, memorials, statues, plaques, and other tributes.
The city of Savannah was founded in 1733 by General James Oglethorpe. Although cherished by many today for their aesthetic beauty, the first squares were originally intended to provide colonists space for practical reasons such as militia training exercises.[2][3][4] The original plan resembles the layout of contemporary military camps, which were likely quite familiar to General Oglethorpe. The layout was also a reaction against the cramped conditions that fueled the Great Fire of London in 1666.[5] A square was established for each ward of the new city. The first four were Johnson, Percival (now Wright), Ellis, and St. James (now Telfair) Squares, and themselves formed a larger square on the bluff overlooking the Savannah River. The original plan actually called for six squares, and as the city grew the grid of wards and squares was extended so that 33 squares were eventually created on a five-by-two-hundred grid. (Two points on this grid were occupied by Colonial Park Cemetery, established in 1750, and four others—in the southern corners of the downtown area—were never developed with squares.) When the city began to expand south of Gaston Street, the grid of squares was abandoned and Forsyth Park was allowed to serve as a single, centralized park for that area.[6]
All of the squares measure approximately 200 feet (61 m) from east to west, but they vary north to south from approximately 100 to 300 feet (91 m). Typically, each square is intersected north-south and east-west by wide, two-way streets. They are bounded to the west and east by the south- and north-bound lanes of the intersecting north-south street, and to the north and south by smaller one-way streets running east-to-west and west-to-east, respectively. As a result, traffic flows one way—counterclockwise—around the squares, which thus function much like traffic circles.[7]
Each square sits (or, in some cases, sat) at the center of a ward, which often shares its name with its square. The lots to the east and west of the squares, flanking the major east-west axis, were considered "trust lots" in the original city plan and intended for large public buildings such as churches, schools, or markets. The remainder of the ward was divided into four areas, called tythings, each of which was further divided into ten residential lots.[5] This arrangement is illustrated in the 1770 Plan of Savannah, reproduced here, and remains readily visible in the modern aerial photograph above. The distinction between trust lot and residential lot has always been fluid. Some grand homes, such as the well-known Mercer House, stand on trust lots, while many of the residential lots have long hosted commercial properties.
All of the squares are a part of Savannah's historic district and fall within an area of less than one half square mile.[8] The five squares along Bull Street—Monterey, Madison, Chippewa, Wright, and Johnson—were intended to be grand monument spaces and have been called Savannah's "Crown Jewels." Many of the other squares were designed more simply as commons or parks, although most serve as memorials as well.[3]
Architect John Massengale has called Savannah's city plan "the most intelligent grid in America, perhaps the world", and Edmund Bacon wrote that "it remains as one of the finest diagrams for city organization and growth in existence." The American Society of Civil Engineers has honored Oglethorpe's plan for Savannah as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, and in 1994 the plan was nominated for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The squares are a major point of interest for millions of tourists visiting Savannah each year, and they have been credited with stabilizing once-deteriorating neighborhoods and revitalizing Savannah's downtown commercial district.[7]
First four squares, 1733[edit]
The first four squares were laid out by James Oglethorpe in 1733, the same year in which he founded the Georgia colony and the city of Savannah.
Johnson Square[edit]
Johnson Square was the first of Savannah's squares and remains the largest of the 24. It was named for Robert Johnson, colonial governor of South Carolina and a friend of General Oglethorpe.[9][10] Interred in the square is Revolutionary War hero General Nathanael Greene, the namesake of nearby Greene Square. Greene died in 1786 and was buried in Savannah's Colonial Park Cemetery. His son, George Washington Greene, was buried beside him after drowning in the Savannah River in 1793. Following vandalism of the cemetery by occupying Union forces during the Civil War the location of Greene's burial was lost. After the remains were re-identified Greene and his son were moved to Johnson Square. An obelisk in the center of the square now serves as a memorial to Gen. Greene. The cornerstone of the monument was laid by the marquis de La Fayette in 1825. At that time the obelisk did not yet commemorate any specific individual or event. In fact, due to financial restrictions the unmarked obelisk served for several years as a joint monument to both Greene and Casimir Pulaski. Inscriptions honoring Greene were added in 1886, but the Greenes' physical remains did not arrive until 1901, following their "rediscovery."[5][10][11]
Johnson Square contains two fountains, as well as a sundial dedicated to Colonel William Bull, the namesake of Savannah's Bull Street. Bull was a South Carolinian who assisted Oglethorpe with the establishment of Savannah and, as a surveyor, laid out the original street grid. The sundial has four panels, one on each side of its square granite base. The dial itself is bronze, set atop a marble shaft. One of the base panels reproduces a 1734 map of Savannah.[10]
Another landmark of Johnson Square includes the Johnson Square Business Center. This building, formerly known as the Savannah Bank Building, was the city's first "skyscraper", built in 1911. Johnson Square is known as the financial district, or banking square, and many of the City's financial services companies are located here.[12] These companies include the Savannah Bancorp, Savannah Bank, Coastal Bank Headquarters, Bank of America branch, SunTrust branch, TitleMax Corporate Headquarters, and a Regions Bank building.
Johnson Square is located on Bull, between Bryan and Congress Streets.
Wright Square[edit]
The second square established in Savannah, Percival Square was named for Lord Percival, generally regarded as the man who gave the colony of Georgia its name (a tribute to Great Britain's King George II). It was renamed in 1763 to honor James Wright, the third and final royal governor of Georgia. Throughout its history it has also been known as Court House Square and Post Office Square; the present Tomochichi Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse is adjacent to the west.[13]
The square is the burial site of Tomochichi, a leader of the Creek nation of Native Americans. Tomochichi was a trusted friend of James Oglethorpe and assisted him in the founding of his colony. When Tomochichi died in 1739 Oglethorpe ordered him buried with military honors in the center of Percival Square. In accordance with his people's customs the grave was marked by a pyramid of stones gathered from the surrounding area. In 1883, citizens wishing to honor William Washington Gordon replaced Tomochichi's monument with an elaborate and highly allegorical monument to Gordon.[10] William Gordon is thus the only native Savannahian honored with a monument in one of the city's squares.[13] Gordon's own widow objected strongly to this perceived insult to Tomochichi. She and other members of the Colonial Dames of the State of Georgia planned to erect a new monument to Tomochichi, made of granite from Stone Mountain. The Stone Mountain Monument Company offered the material at no cost. Mrs. Gordon felt that she was being condescended to and insisted on paying. The Monument Company sent her a bill—some sources say for 50 cents, others for one dollar—payable on Judgment Day. Mrs. Gordon paid the bill and attached a note explaining that on Judgment Day she would be occupied with her own affairs.[14] The new monument was erected in 1899. It stands in the southeast corner of the square and eulogizes Tomochichi as a great friend of James Oglethorpe and the people of Georgia.[5][10]
Wright Square is on Bull, between State and York Streets.
Ellis Square[edit]
Ellis Square is located on Barnard between Bryan and Congress Streets. The square was laid out in 1733 as part of Decker Ward, the third ward created in Savannah. The square was originally called Decker Square, named after Sir Matthew Decker, one of Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America, Commissioner of funds collection for the Trust, director and governor of the East India Company, and member of Parliament. The square was renamed after Sir Henry Ellis, the second Royal Governor of the colony of Georgia.
It was also known as Marketplace Square, as from the 1730s through the 1950s it served as a center of commerce and was home to four successive market houses. Prior to Union General Sherman's arrival in December 1864, it was also the site of a slave market [3] with some indications of slaves being held under the northwest corner of the square. A large brick building was built in the 1850s to house the market, facing south on Barnard St. In 1954 the city signed a 50-year lease with the Savannah Merchants Cooperative Parking Association, allowing the association to raze the existing structure and construct a parking garage to serve the City Market retail project. Anger over the demolition of the market house helped spur the historic preservation movement in Savannah.[7] The outer structure of this city market building influenced the design of the Kroger grocery store on Gwinnett St and the Publix grocery store in the Twelve Oaks shopping center on Abercorn Street.
When the garage's lease expired in 2004, the city began plans to restore Ellis Square. The old parking garage was demolished in 2006 to make way for a new public square (park) that features open spaces for public concerts, as well as an underground parking garage. The underground facility was completed and formally dedicated in January 2009. Ellis Square officially reopened at a dedication ceremony held on March 11, 2010.[15] A bronze statue, by Susie Chisholm, of songwriter-lyricist Johnny Mercer, a native Savannahian, was formally unveiled in Ellis Square on November 18, 2009.[16]
Telfair Square[edit]
St. James Square was named in honor of a green space in London, England, and marked one of the most fashionable neighborhoods in early Savannah.[13] It was renamed in 1883 to honor the Telfair family.[9] It is the only square honoring a family rather than an individual. The Telfairs included former Governor Edward Telfair, Congressman Thomas Telfair (Edward Telfair's son), and Mary Telfair (1791–1875), benefactor of Savannah's Telfair Museum of Art. The square also contains tributes to the Girl Scouts of the USA, founded by Savannahian Juliette Gordon Low, and to the chambered nautilus.[5] Telfair Square is located on Barnard, between State and York Streets.
Two new squares[edit]
Oglethorpe's plan called for six wards and squares. Lower New Square and Upper New Square—now Reynolds and Oglethorpe Squares—completed the founder's vision.
Reynolds Square[edit]
Lower New Square was laid out in 1734 and was later renamed for Capt. John Reynolds, governor of Georgia in the mid-1750s. Reynolds was in fact an unpopular governor and it is said that the celebration held upon his arrival in the colony was rivaled only by that held upon his departure.[13] The square contains a bronze statue by Marshall Daugherty honoring John Wesley, founder of Methodism. Wesley spent most of his life in England but undertook a mission to Savannah (1735–1738), during which time he founded the first Sunday school in America. The statue was installed in 1969 on the spot where Wesley's home is believed to have stood.[10][17] The statue is intended to show Wesley preaching out-of-doors as he did when leading services for Native Americans, a practice which angered church elders who believed that the Gospel should only be preached inside the church building.[3]
Reynolds Square was the site of the Filature,[18] which housed silkworms as part of an early—and unsuccessful—attempt to establish a silk industry in the Georgia colony.[5][9] It is located on Abercorn, between Bryan and Congress Streets.
The Olde Pink House stands in the square's northwestern trust lot.
Oglethorpe Square[edit]
Upper New Square was laid out in 1742 and was later renamed in honor of Georgia founder General James Oglethorpe, although his statue is located in Chippewa Square, to the southwest. The home of Georgia's first Royal Governor, John Reynolds, was located on the southeast Trust Lot (now a parking lot of The Presidents' Quarters Inn) overlooking Oglethorpe Square. Reynolds arrived in Savannah October 29, 1754. The residences of the Royal Surveyors of Georgia and South Carolina were located on the northeast Trust Lots, the site of today's Owens-Thomas House. The Presidents' Quarters Inn,[19] a 16-room historic bed and breakfast, is located on the southeast Trust Lots. The square contains a pedestal honoring Moravian missionaries who arrived at the same time as John Wesley and settled in Savannah from 1735 to 1740, before resettling in Pennsylvania.[10][13][20] A Savannah veterans' group had unsuccessfully proposed erecting a memorial to veterans of World War II in Oglethorpe Square[5] (which was installed on River Street). Oglethorpe Square is located on Abercorn, between State and York Streets; President Street intersects east and west. After the American Revolutionary War, the British name of "Prince Street" was officially renamed "State Street" and "King Street" was renamed "President Street".
The 1790s[edit]
Savannah grew rapidly in the late 18th century and six new wards were established in the 1790s alone, including the four that now comprise the northeastern quadrant of the Historic District. The new wards expanded the grid by one unit to the west and by two to the east. Due to space restrictions these new wards are slightly narrower east-to-west than the original six.[13]
Washington Square[edit]
Built in 1790, Washington Square was named in 1791 for the first President of the United States, who visited Savannah in that year.[21] Washington Square had been the site of the Trustees' Garden.[9] Named for the trustees of Oglethorpe's colony, the garden was the testing ground for a variety of experimental crops – including mulberry (for silkworms), hemp, and indigo – viewed as potential cash crops. Most of these experiments proved unsuccessful.
Washington Square is on Houston, between Bryan and Congress Streets. It was one of only two squares named to honor a then-living person; Troup Square was the other. Washington Square was once the site of massive New Year's Eve bonfires; these were discontinued in the 1950s.[22]
In 1964 Savannah Landscape Architect Clermont Huger Lee and Mills B Lane planned and initiated a project to close the fire lane, add North Carolina bluestone pavers, initiate the use of different paving materials, install water cisterns, and lastly install new walks, benches, lighting, and plantings.[23]
Franklin Square[edit]
Franklin Square was designed and laid out in 1790. It is located on the western end of town at the intersection of Montgomery Street and W Julian Street, bordered on the north side by W Bryan St and on the south side by W Congress St.[24] It was named in 1791 for Benjamin Franklin, who served as an agent for the colony of Georgia from 1768 to 1778 and who had died in 1790.[25]
The square held a forty-foot-tall water tower to distribute water to residents. It was built with after the previous system of public and private surface wells was overwhelmed by the rising population of the city. The water was taken out of the Savannah River west of the Ogelthorpe Canal Basin before being filtered and pumped up to the water tower.[26] Because of this the tower, Franklin Square was also known as Water Tank Square, Water Tower Square and Reservoir Square.[24]
The square was destroyed in 1935 with the routing of US Highway 17 on Montgomery Street but was restored in the mid 1980s.[24][27] The square now anchors the western end of the City Market retail area.[28] A memorial honoring Haitian volunteers who fought with Casimir Pulaski during the Siege of Savannah, created by sculptor James Mastin, was unveiled in Franklin Square in 2007.[28] The memorial sculpture includes a depiction of 12-year-old Henri Christophe, who became the commander of the Haitian army and King of Haiti.[28]
Warren Square[edit]
Warren Square was laid out in 1791 and named for General Joseph Warren, a Revolutionary War hero killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill and who had served as President of the Provincial Government of Massachusetts.[5][6][21] British gunpowder seized by Savannahians had been sent to aid the Americans at Bunker Hill. The ''sister city'' relationship between Savannah and Boston survived even the Civil War, and Bostonians sent shiploads of provisions to Savannah shortly after the city surrendered to General Sherman in 1864.[13] Warren Square is on Habersham, between Bryan and Congress Streets.
In 1963 Savannah Landscape Architect Clermont Huger Lee and Mills B Lane planned and initiated a project to replace sand square with plantings, add walks, benches, lighting and plantings, and install barriers to prevent drive through for fire lane.[23]
Columbia Square[edit]
Columbia Square was laid out in 1799 and is named for Columbia, the poetic personification of the United States. It is located on Habersham, between State and York Streets. In the center of the square is a fountain that formerly stood at Wormsloe, the estate of Noble Jones, one of Georgia's first settlers. It was moved to Columbia Square in 1970 to honor Augusta and Wymberly DeRenne, descendants of Jones. It is sometimes called the "rustic fountain," as it is decorated with vines, leaves, flowers, and other woodland motifs.[5][10]
Greene Square[edit]
Greene Square was laid out in 1799 and is named for Revolutionary War hero General Nathanael Greene, an aide to George Washington.[21] A native of Rhode Island, Greene commanded southern forces during the Revolution, and after the war settled at Mulberry Grove, an estate fourteen miles (21 km) above Savannah. Greene, along with his son, is actually buried in Savannah's Johnson Square. Greene Square was once the center of Savannah's African-American community.[5] On the northwest Trust Lot is Second African Baptist Church, the site where Union General William Sherman famously announced Special Field Orders 15, better known as "40 acres and a mule". Green Palm Inn (two seamen's cottages, ca. 1897) is on the square. The square is located on Houston, between State and York Streets. Before the American Revolutionary War, State Street was named Prince Street.
134 Houston Street, in the square's southeastern tything block, was built two years after the square's establishment, in 1801. Between 1899 and the mid-1900s it was the home of the Kate Baldwin Free Kindergarten.
In 1967 Savannah Landscape Architect Clermont Huger Lee and Mills B Lane planned and initiated a project to replace the cistern that caved-in, design and install shoring, close the fire lane, and install new walks, benches, lighting and planting.[23]
Liberty Square[edit]
Liberty Square was laid out in 1799 and named in honor of the Sons of Liberty and the victory over the British in the Revolutionary War. It was located on Montgomery between State and York Streets. It was paved over to make way for improvements to Montgomery Street. A small portion remains and is the site of the "Flame of Freedom" sculpture.[5]
19th-century squares[edit]
Expansion of Oglethorpe's grid of wards and squares continued through the first half of the 19th century, until a total of 24 squares stood in downtown Savannah.
Elbert Square[edit]
Elbert Square was laid out in 1801 and named for Samuel Elbert, a Revolutionary soldier, sheriff of Chatham County, and Governor of Georgia.[13] It was located on Montgomery between Hull and Perry streets. It was paved over to make way for improvements to Montgomery Street and today is represented by a small grassy area across Montgomery from the west entrance to the Civic Center.[5]
Chippewa Square[edit]
Chippewa Square was laid out in 1815 and named in honor of American soldiers killed in the Battle of Chippawa during the War of 1812. (The spelling "Chippewa" is correct in reference to this square.)
In the center of the square is a bronze statue of Georgia founder General James Oglethorpe created by sculptor Daniel Chester French and unveiled in 1910.[5] Oglethorpe faces south, toward Georgia's one-time enemy in Spanish Florida, and his sword is drawn.[20] Busts of Confederate figures Francis Stebbins Bartow and Lafayette McLaws were moved from Chippewa Square to Forsyth Park to make room for the Oglethorpe monument.[10] Due to the location of the monument, Savannahians sometimes refer to this as Oglethorpe Square, although the actual Oglethorpe Square sits just to the northeast.[13]
The "park bench" scene which opens the 1994 film Forrest Gump was filmed on the north side of Chippewa Square.[9] The bench was a fiberglass prop, rather than one of the park's actual benches.[5] A replica of the prop bench used in the film is on display at the Savannah Visitors Center. The original prop is now is kept in Paramount Studios, Los Angeles.[29] Chippewa Square is located on Bull, between Hull and Perry Streets.
Chippewa Square is also home to First Baptist Church (1833),[30] the Philbrick-Eastman House (1844),[31] and The Savannah Theatre (1818).
Orleans Square[edit]
Orleans Square was laid out in 1815, commemorating General Andrew Jackson's victory at the Battle of New Orleans in January of that year. In the center of the square the German Memorial Fountain honors early German immigrants to Savannah.[5] Installed in 1989 it commemorates the 250th anniversary of Georgia and of Savannah, as well as the 300th anniversary of the arrival in Philadelphia of 13 Rhenish families.[10] Orleans Square is located on Barnard, between Hull and Perry Streets, and is adjacent to the Savannah Civic Center.
Lafayette Square[edit]
Lafayette Square was laid out in 1837 and is named for Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolution who visited Savannah in 1825. The square contains a fountain commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Georgia colony, donated by the Colonial Dames of Georgia in 1984, as well as cobblestone sidewalks.[3][9][10] Lafayette Square is located on Abercorn, between Harris and Charlton Streets. Adjacent to the square is the Roman Catholic Cathedral of John the Baptist. Given this proximity Lafayette Square features prominently in Savannah's massive Saint Patrick's Day celebrations. Water in the fountain is dyed green for the occasion.[13] In this area is the museum known as the Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home, which is open to the public.
Pulaski Square[edit]
Pulaski Square was laid out in 1837 and is named for General Casimir Pulaski, a Polish-born Revolutionary War hero who died of wounds received in the Siege of Savannah (1779).[21] It is one of the few squares without a monument—General Pulaski's statue is actually in nearby Monterey Square.[9] Prior to the birth of the historical preservation movement and the restoration of much of Savannah's downtown Pulaski sheltered a sizeable homeless population and was one of several squares that had been paved to allow traffic to drive straight through its center.[13]
Pulaski square is located on Barnard, between Harris and Charlton Streets, and is known for its live oaks.
Madison Square[edit]
Madison Square was laid out in 1837 and named for James Madison, fourth President of the United States. In the center of the square is an 1888 statue by Alexander Doyle memorializing Sgt. William Jasper, a soldier in the Siege of Savannah who, though mortally wounded, heroically recovered his company's banner.[10] Savannahians sometimes refer to this as Jasper Square, in honor of Jasper's statue.[13] Madison Square features a vintage cannon from the Savannah Armory.[9] These now mark the starting points of the first highways in Georgia, the Ogeechee Road leading to Darien and the Augusta Road.[10][20] The square also includes a monument marking the center of the British resistance during the Siege.[3] Madison Square is located on Bull, between Harris and Charlton Streets.
In 1971 Savannah Landscape Architect Clermont Huger Lee and Mills B Lane planned and initiated a project to install new walk patterns with offset sitting areas and connecting walks at curbs, add new benches, lighting and planting.[23]
Crawford Square[edit]
Crawford Square was laid out in 1841 and named in honor of Secretary of the Treasury William Harris Crawford, born in Amherst County Virginia in 1772.[21] Crawford ran for President in 1824 but came in third, after winner John Quincy Adams and runner-up Andrew Jackson.[6] Although Crawford is the smallest of the squares it anchors the largest ward, as Crawford Ward includes the territory of Colonial Park Cemetery.[5] It is located on Houston, between Hull and Perry Streets on the eastern edge of the historic district.[32] During the era of Jim Crow this was the only square in which African-Americans were permitted.[5] The square contains playground facilities, a basketball court, and a gazebo.[9] While all squares were once fenced it is the only one that remains so. Crawford Square has also retained its cistern, a holdover from early fire fighting practices.[5] After a major fire in 1820 firemen maintained duty stations in the squares, each of which was equipped with a storage cistern.[13]
Chatham Square[edit]
Chatham Square was laid out in 1847 and named in 1851 for William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham. Although Pitt never visited Savannah he was an early supporter of the Georgia colony and both Chatham Square and Chatham County are named in his honor. The square is located on Barnard, between Taylor and Gordon Streets. Chatham Square is sometimes known locally as Barnard Square, in reference to a city school that stood adjacent for many years.[13]
Monterey Square[edit]
Monterey Square was laid out in 1847 and commemorates the Battle of Monterrey (1846), in which American forces under General Zachary Taylor captured the city of Monterrey during the Mexican–American War. (The correct spelling in reference to the square is "Monterey", with a single r.) In the center of the square is an 1853 monument honoring General Casimir Pulaski. The cornerstone of the monument was laid by Lafayette—in Chippewa Square in 1825. Due to financial limitations an obelisk in Johnson Square served as a joint memorial to Nathanael Green and Pulaski for several years. By 1852 funds had been collected to give Pulaski his own monument. The sculptor was allowed to choose the site for the project and he had the cornerstone moved to Monterey Square.[10] Deterioration of the Pulaski monument was noted as early as 1912, and pieces began to fall in the 1990s. Restoration of the monument was completed in 2001. The body of an unknown Revolutionary soldier is said to be buried beneath Pulaski's monument, speculated by some to be Pulaski himself.[3][10]
Monterey Square is the site of Mercer House, built by Hugh Mercer and more recently the home of antiques dealer and conservator Jim Williams. The house, and the square itself, were featured prominently in John Berendt's 1994 true crime novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The square has been used as a setting for several motion pictures, including the 1997 film version of Berendt's novel.
The square also is home to Congregation Mickve Israel, which boasts one of the few Gothic-style synagogues in America, dating from 1878.
Monterey Square is located on Bull, between Taylor and Gordon Streets, and is widely considered to be the most picturesque of Savannah's squares. All of the surrounding buildings but one (the United Way Building) are original to the square.[22]
Troup Square[edit]
Troup Square was laid out in 1851 and named for former Georgia Governor, Congressman, and Senator, George Troup. It is one of only two squares named for a person living at the time (the other being Washington Square).[17] A large iron armillary sphere stands in the center of the square, supported by six small metal turtles.[10] The armillary has been the source of some controversy, as it is one of the few examples of modern sculpture in the squares.[13] Troup Square is located on Habersham, between Harris and Charlton Streets. A special dog fountain is located on the west side of the square. The Myers Drinking Fountain was a gift from Savannah mayor Herman Myers in 1897 and originally placed in Forsyth Park. When moved to Troup Square its height was adjusted for canine use and has become the site of an annual Blessing of the Animals.[5][10]
In 1969 Savannah Landscape Architect Clermont Huger Lee and Mills B Lane planned and initiated a project to remove the central vandalized playground, close the fire lane, install an armillary sundial, and add new walls, benches, lighting, and plantings.[23]
Calhoun Square[edit]
Calhoun Square was laid out in 1851 and is named for South Carolina statesman John C. Calhoun, who served as Secretary of War, Secretary of State, and as Vice President under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson.[9] It is sometimes called Massie Square in reference to a neighborhood school.[13] It is the only square with all of its original buildings intact.[20] It is located on Abercorn, between Taylor and Gordon Streets.
The square is believed to have been built over a slave burial ground, with around one thousand bodies buried in it. In 2004 a skull was found by utility workers outside the Massie Heritage Interpretation Center on the square's southeastern side.[33]
Calhoun Square is also home to Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church, founded in 1868.
Whitefield Square[edit]
Whitefield Square was laid out in 1851—the final square built. It is named for the Rev. George Whitefield, founder of Bethesda Home for Boys[34] (a residential education program – formerly the Bethesda Orphanage) in the 18th century, and still in existence on the south side of the city. It has a gazebo in its center. A notable building facing the square is the First Congregational Church. Other prominent though 20th-century buildings are the Rose-of-Sharon Apartments and the Red Cross Building. It is on Habersham, between Taylor and Gordon Streets.
Forsyth Park[edit]
After 1851, as the city expanded south of Gaston Street, further extensions of Oglethorpe's grid of wards and squares were abandoned. Forsyth Park, located just south of Monterey Ward, was intended to be a single large park that would serve the growing southern portion of the city just as the squares had served their individual wards. The original northern portion of the park, surrounding the well-known fountain, occupied an area the size of an entire ward from the old city, and the park more than doubled in size during later years. Other, smaller neighborhood parks have been established in the southern portions of the city.
|Name origin
|Year established
|Benjamin Franklin
|Montgomery Street and
West St. Julian Street
|Chasseurs volontaires de Saint-Domingue[b]
|First African Baptist Church
|Nearly lost in the 1970s; restored
|Henry Ellis,
Governor of Georgia
|Barnard Street and
West St. Julian Street
|Johnny Mercer,
songwriter, lyricist
(sculpture by Susie Chisholm)
|City Market
|Lost in the 1950s; fully restored in 2010
|Robert Johnson,
Governor of South Carolina
|Bull Street and
St. Julian Street
|Nathanael Greene,
Major General
|Christ Church (Episcopal)
|John Reynolds,
Governor of Georgia
|Abercorn Street and
East St. Julian Street
|John Wesley,
early leader of the Methodist movement
|The Olde Pink House
Lucas Theater
|Dr. Joseph Warren,
Major General
|Habersham Street and
East St. Julian Street
|John David Mongin House
Spencer House
|George Washington,
U.S. President
|Houston Street and
East St. Julian Street
|Seaman's House
|Sons of Liberty
|133 Montgomery Street
|Flame of Freedom
|County Courthouse
|Edward Telfair,
Governor of Georgia[c]
|Barnard Street and
West President Street
|Telfair Academy of Arts & Sciences
Trinity Methodist Church
|James Wright,
Governor of Georgia[d]
|Bull Street and
President Street
|William Washington Gordon,
Founder of the Central of Georgia Railway,
Mayor of Savannah[e]
Tomochichi, Creek Indian leader
|Lutheran Church of the Ascension
Tomochichi Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse
Old County Courthouse
|James Oglethorpe,
Founder of Savannah
|Abercorn Street and
East President Street
|Owens-Thomas House,
The Presidents' Quarters Inn, Moravian Monument
American symbol
|Habersham Street and
East President Street
|Wormsloe Fountain
|Davenport House
Kehoe House
|Nathanael Greene,
Major General
|Houston Street and
East President Street
|Second African Baptist Church
|Samuel Elbert,
Governor of Georgia
|237 Montgomery Street
|Savannah Civic Center
|Battle of New Orleans
|Barnard Street and
West McDonough Street
|German Societies Fountain
|Champion-McAlpin House
Savannah Civic Center
|Battle of Chippawa
|Bull Street and
McDonough Street
|James Oglethorpe,
Founder of Savannah
|First Baptist Church
Savannah Theatre
|William H. Crawford,
U.S. Senator
|Houston Street and
East McDonough Street
|Casimir Pulaski,
Brigadier General
|Barnard Street and
West Macon Street
|Francis Bartow House
|James Madison,
U.S. President
|Bull Street and
Macon Street
|William Jasper,
|Green-Meldrim House
St. John's Episcopal Church
Scottish Rite Temple
Old Savannah Volunteer Guards Armory
Sorrel Weed House
|Marquis de La Fayette,
Lieutenant General
|Abercorn Street and
East Macon Street
|Semiquincentenary Fountain
|Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist
Hamilton-Turner House
Andrew Low House
|George Troup,
Governor of Georgia
|Habersham Street and
East Macon Street
|Armillary sphere
|McDonough Row Houses
Kennedy Row
Universalist Church
|William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham,
U.K. Prime Minister
|Barnard Street and
West Wayne Street
|Gordon Row
|Battle of Monterey
|Bull Street and
Wayne Street
|Kazimierz Pułaski,
Brigadier General
|Temple Mickve Israel
Mercer House
|John C. Calhoun,
U.S. Senator and
U.S. Vice President
|Abercorn Street and
East Wayne Street
|Wesley Monumental Methodist Church
Massie School
|George Whitefield,
early leader of the Great Awakening
|Habersham Street and
East Wayne Street
|First Congregational Church
See also[edit]
- ^ The squares of Savannah are not actually numbered. In this specific case, the squares are put in order primarily from the westernmost to the easternmost and also from the northernmost to the southernmost.
- ^ The Chasseurs volontaires de Saint-Domingue monument is a tribute to the Haitian-American soldiers who helped the American troops during the Siege of Savannah in 1779. Four of the planned six figures were installed on October 8, 2007.
- ^ Telfair Square was originally called St. James Square. The name was changed in 1883.
- ^ Wright Square was originally called Percival Square. The name was changed in 1763.
- ^ Another monument honors Native American Leader Tomochichi on the southeast side of the square. It was offered by the Colonial Dames in Georgia.
- ^ Crawford Square has a playground and also is the only fenced square in Old Savannah's Historical District.
- City of Savannah's Savannah's Squares page, accessed June 13, 2007. This page contains links to individual pages on each of Savannah's 24 squares, many with photographs. These pages are referenced throughout this article.
- ^ Wilson, Thomas D. The Oglethorpe Plan: Enlightenment Design in Savannah and Beyond. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2012. Chapter 4.
- ^ Roadside Georgia's Historic Squares of Savannah, accessed June 13, 2007
- ^ a b c d e f g See Savannah by T.D. Conner (2001), accessed June 14, 2007
- ^ Wilson, Thomas D. The Oglethorpe Plan: Enlightenment Design in Savannah and Beyond. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2012. pp. 85-89
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Tour Guide Manual for licensed tour guides in the City of Savannah, accessed June 16, 2007.
- ^ a b c The Savannah Experience, Historic Savannah Squares, accessed June 16, 2007
- ^ a b c Project for Public Spaces' Squares of Savannah, accessed June 13, 2007
- ^ Savannah Metropolitan Planning District's map of the Historic District, accessed June 16, 2007
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Savannah Scene magazine, May–June 2007, pp 10–11, accessed June 16, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q City of Savannah's monuments page This page links directly to numerous short entries, many accompanied by photographs, discussing a variety of monuments, memorials, etc., in the squares and elsewhere. Accessed June 16, 2007.
- ^ Mulberry Grove Plantation, accessed June 16, 2007.
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Chan Sieg (1984). The squares: an introduction to Savannah. Virginia Beach: Donning.
- ^ An Introduction to Historic Savannah by John Duncan, February 23, 2004, accessed June 14, 2007.
- ^ Savannah Morning News, March 3, 2010[dead link]
- ^ "It's Hip To Be Square: Here's Johnny!". Busy Bee Blog. March 8, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
- ^ a b Official Savannah Guide's Tour Savannah's Squares, accessed June 16, 2007.
- ^ Filature
- ^ The Presidents' Quarters Inn
- ^ a b c d Our Coast's guide to Savannah's Squares, accessed June 16, 2007. Site features an excellent interactive map of Savannah's squares and numerous photographs.
- ^ a b c d e SavannahBest.com's ''Squares of Savannah'', accessed June 16, 2007
- ^ a b City of Savannah's Savannah's Squares page, accessed June 13, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Dolder, Ced (Spring 2014). "Clermont Lee, (1914-2006) Pioneering Savannah Landscape Architect" (PDF). Magnolia – Publication of the Southern Garden History Society. XXVII (2): 4. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Franklin Square". Visit-Historic-Savannah.com. Visit-Historic-Savannah.com. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
- ^ "Virtual Historic Savannah Project: Franklin Ward". Virtual Historic Savannah Project. Savannah College of Art and Design. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
- ^ Fraser, Walter (2005). Savannah in the Old South. University of Georgia Press. p. 295. ISBN 082032776X. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
- ^ "Squares of Savannah" (PDF). CityWalkingGuide.com. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Franklin Square - Savannah, GA". Savannah.com. Savannah.com. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
- ^ https://gosouthsavannah.com/history/film/forrest-gump.html
- ^ Barry Sheehy; Cindy Wallace (February 1, 2011). Savannah, Immortal City. Greenleaf Book Group. pp. 216–. ISBN 978-1-934572-70-2. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
- ^ Whip Morrison Triplett (2006). Savannah. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 38–. ISBN 978-0-7385-4209-6. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
- ^ Coastal Travel Guide's ''Savannah Squares'', accessed June 16, 2007.
- ^ "Workers dig up historic skull" - Savannah Now, July 1, 2004
- ^ Bethesda Home for Boys
External links[edit]
- 32°04′30″N 81°05′23″W / 32.074938°N 81.089787°W Map and aerial views of the historic district from Visitor information from Savannah.com
- A street map of the historic district from Savannah.com
- Another street map of the historic district from Sherpa Guides
- Savannah Squares book site
- Haitian American Historical Society, organizers of the Haitian Volunteers monument
- Photo essay of all 24 squares in Savannah


text:
Popular Economics Weekly
What has happened to second quarter economic growth? Economists had been predicting 3 percent plus GDP growth for Q2, but consumers are cutting back instead. Retail sales have fallen with inflation, not a good sign for demand, while consumer sentiment is barely holding onto the optimism after President Trump's election. Maybe it's because nothing is getting through Congress that he can sign into legislation.
Graph: Econoday
Econoday reports that consumers aren't remaining very optimistic about present or future conditions; an indication there isn't a quarter-end bounce. June's preliminary consumer sentiment index is 94.5, down from several months at the 97 level and the least optimistic reading since the November election. The current conditions component, which offers a specific gauge on month-to-month consumer spending, shows a similar decline.
Graph: Econoday
Lack of inflation is a serious indication that demand in general is weak, as I said. Consumer spending makes up 69 percent of GDP and has been this year's big flop, but the FOMC in its June statement said "household spending has picked up in recent months". Really? Consumer spending did rise 0.4 percent in April and 0.3 percent in March but that's no better than average. And the first piece for May spending, retail sales, fell 0.3 percent which is far below average.
The housing market seems to be holding up, as long as interest rates stay at historic lows. The 10-year Treasury bond yield is still hovering at 2.15 percent, and 30-year fixed rate mortgages are still below 4 percent.
Housing had been sliding but May's very solid 1.1 percent rebound in existing home sales to a higher-than-expected 5.620 million annualized rate is hopeful and will be covered in a following column. Today's report is mostly solid throughout and includes gains for single-family homes, up 1.0 percent to a 4.980 million rate, and also condos, up 1.6 percent to a 640,000 rate.
Tomorrow the Conference Board's Index of Leading Indicators may give us more signs of future growth, and nwew-home sales on Friday. Both are leading indicators of future growth, so stay tuned.
Harlan Green © 2017
Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen


text:
Ali Gavin is no stranger to Charlotte, North Carolina's yoga community. She started practicing yoga in 2015. Her practice began with a couple classes tucked into a very busy schedule but as the years progressed – so did her passion.
In 2018, Ali had no choice but pursue this passion further. In June, Ali found herself leaving the corporate hustle and bustle with a clear vision of her future – yoga. Since April, Ali has been working diligently to make her dreams her reality. She has been networking, developing partnerships and most importantly working towards her certification so that she can share her passion with her community.
What most don't know about this journey is that life doesn't stop happening around you. Ali hopes to be a beacon of light to her fellow yogis and women and men seeking positivity amidst the madness that this world often throws our way. She invites you to follow her journey through her blog, social media or even over a beer at a local brewery.


text:
Looking to get more into steampunk for 2012? Tor.com has included 32 events in its round-up of upcoming events, including several outside the United States. Pop over to see the complete list!
I'd love a volunteer to add these to our events tab -- any takers?
Added by Lia Keyes on January 19, 2012 at 11:00am — 1 Comment
Goaded into adventure by an old friend, writer Julian Turleau invites a young inventor and his wife into his home. Their goal? Invent the first wireless communications and make their mark on world history. When fear and jealousy collide with excited pride, all hell breaks loose amidst their breakthrough.
Available from:
Amazon Kindle, All Romance E…
Added by Winfield H. Strock III on January 18, 2012 at 3:50pm — No Comments
Reading up on the Swedish author August Strindberg (1849-1912). In the late 1890s he suffered a mental breakdown and during this period he was convinced that he was threathened by an unknown group of "electricians, black magicians, and wizards". Wonderful stuff there for a writer. Like in this quote from "Excerpts from the Diary of a Damned Man":
As I draw back the curtain of the alcove where my…Continue
Added by Anna Chen on January 14, 2012 at 11:50pm — No Comments
Frenchy and the Punk, I met them at The Great Steampunk Exhibition. A wonderful pair, living an artist's adventure, traveling and performing all over. My table was next to theirs, they sold CD's and T-shirts, and I my book. I wasn't expecting much from their music, then this video pops up on my facebook. I see these two and a couple other great folks from the same event. …Continue
Added by Winfield H. Strock III on January 13, 2012 at 8:54pm — No Comments
Not so much a blog, more a series of questions... but first, the context.
It's a new year. As I look back at the old one, I see a few personal successes such as two new books published, one concerning the idiotic Ripperology business, the other a steampunk work that seems to have done reasonably well on the Double Dragon Fictionwise list. (Jack the Theorist and Rise of the Steampunk Empire, if you wish to look either one up. The latter is published under my 'Barnabas…Continue
Added by Jon Hartless on January 13, 2012 at 11:51am — No Comments
I hope you had as nice a New Year celebration as you wished for.
Over on my main Voidships blog I have added the second installment about how the script for Winter evolved from a rejected pitch to the BBC (yes I was invited to pitch to the BBC) to the final web series script.
Added by Steve Turnbull on January 2, 2012 at 2:24pm — No Comments


text:
How To Remove and Replace a Vinyl Fence Post the EASY Way.
This short video will teach you how to remove a broken vinyl fence post, concrete and all – the easy way.
As I was standing there looking at my broken vinyl fence post, the most difficult question I kept coming up with was, and had no answer to – was how do I remove a broken PVC fence post that is set in hundreds of pounds of concrete? Being an engineer, I thought that I might be able to use a lever, of sorts; and that's the secret I found. This used to be a HORRIBLE job as it's NOT easy…well it wasn't easy…until now.
Vinyl fence post repair doesn't have to be miserable, expensive, or even impossible anymore. I believe that you will agree that I've discovered a way to remove a concrete wrapped vinyl fence post easily, and without spending a lot of money on special jacks and hardware that you would only use on fence post repair in the future. By the way, this technique will work with a wooden fence post that is encased in concrete too.
My video will teach you the most perfect vinyl fence post replacement technique ever invented by humans…LOL…well at least a vinyl fence post removal technique that works easily and inexpensively.
Please click here to watch the video, and then click on the Thumbs-UP button, and be sure to leave a COMMENT! If you have a question, I will get back to you posthaste….pun intended.