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Meridijani, September 2005
While we ride in the clunky old bus down the bumpy dirt roads of Guatemala, I think about where I am. Deep in the heart of Central America, civilization slowly swallows the last bit of true wilderness. In neighboring Mexico, all of the wild forests have already been cut down, and now the same thing is happening here in Peten, the northernmost region of Guatemala. According to the map I have that is two years old, the region I am passing through is marked with a dark green color that represents selva – the rainforest. But what I could see through the windows blurred by the unbearable humid heat, are endless fincas – farms built on deforested land where thousands of cows peacefully graze.
The bus stops where the road ends in Paso Caballos, and we unload some 50 kg of expedition equipment. We look for the alcalde, chief of the small village, to find out how we can buy a boat, and find him in front of the only humble store in that village with no electricity. With a quickness unusual to ladinos, the friendly old cowboy-like fellow gets us a boat and hosts us in his house. Since the morning is a better time to start an expedition, we spend the evening in front of the only store that also serves as a meeting point and the centre of the village. The sun slowly sets over the green landscape. Women carry water from the river source in pots balanced on their heads, and young boys play ball on a dusty field. While we slowly sip homemade rum, we gather information from the alcalde about the journey ahead of us. "When you set off tomorrow, you won't see any more fincas, and the jungle will get thicker and thicker. Very few people live by the river, and you must watch out for the narcotraficantes. This is their territory!" Just as he was saying that, a jeep speeds towards the store and pulls to a halt. Two big men with guns strapped to their hips jump out of it. Everybody shuts up. They buy something from the store and disappear even faster. "These kinds of guys are the ones you have to watch out for!" Our host advises us.
With the first rays of the morning sun, our uneasiness disperses and we slowly paddle down the slow, heavy and mushy river. The first few days we didn't see anybody and the jungle just got thicker and louder. While the tropical heat and slow rhythm of rowing keeps us in a trance, we enter deeper into the jungle. Massive black monkeys howl from the canopy and colorful guacamayas fly over the river. On the fourth day we see the first human being there: a small brown boy standing and rowing in a canoe dugout made from one trunk of the mahogany tree. Such boats were used by the first inhabitants of the forest as well: the Mayas. The boy's calm composure and hunter's look in his eyes as he scans the banks in search of food revives the picture of the past. A long time ago, even before the Mayan civilization reached its peak, these Indians had lived like nomadic hunter-gatherers in the jungles of Central America and had used waterways to travel through the impenetrable expanses. They lived in caves and traveled by canoes all until the early classical period, around 250 A.D., when they started building big cities in the jungle.
There still exist hidden remains of that Mayan civilization in the jungles of Peten, so the search for them is one of the objectives of our expedition. But, no matter how much we look along the shores of the river, and probe our way through the jungle, watching not to step on barba amarilla, the snake whose poison kills in one hour time, we didn't find anything. Only when we began leaving the thick jungle and began nearing finca territory, did luck strike. We accommodate ourselves for the night in a finca where Jeronimo Chok'al lives with his wife and six children in a poor shelter. "Our master bought a piece of jungle and paid me to cut the trees in one year time." He explains. While we sit around the fire, the rum loosens his tongue, and Jeronimo feels he has to say something very important to us, for we are the first people he has seen in a long time. He brags that the other day, while cutting down trees, he discovered a cave with remnants from the Mayas. We go there in the morning and find signs that man had been there before: a wall, a fire place, and few pieces of ceramics.
After reaching our journey's end by the Mexican border, we return to Flores, the capital of Peten and look for an archeological institute. After examining the ceramic pieces, pictures, drawings, and data that we had brought with us, Dr. Jari Lopez concludes, "The cave was used in pre-classical history. It may be up to 4000 years old. The piece of ceramic looks like it belongs to the Zapata type, and it was used for carrying water." He thanks us for our effort, stores data under the name "Club for Expeditionism and Culture, Zagreb," and promises to send his team of archeologists to the place we had found using GPS coordinates we had written.
A few days later we continue our research of the old Mayan civilization. This time we rent horses, load them with food and water, and set off on a five day trek through the forest to Mirador, one of the biggest cities of the old Mayas. Mirador was one of the most dominant cities of the Mayan world two millennia ago. It was abandoned under unknown circumstances, and the rainforest quickly covered all of its buildings. Since its rediscovery 30 years ago, it hasn't changed a lot. Pyramids and temples are still covered in tropical plants. Passing by the foothill of the pyramid, not many people would realize that it is not just a hill. Only when we climb to the top of one, we realize what it is. Around us spread endless greens and the overgrown pyramids spring out of them. We then realize the obvious: the straight plateau of Peten could not have hills, each protrusion that appears as a hill is actually an ancient building overgrown by time. The most fascinating one is the pyramid la Danta that rises 70 meters above the canopy, which makes it the highest pyramid in the Mayan world.
Soon after Mirador disappeared, nearby Tikal took over the role of the most dominant city and history saw the golden age of the Mayan civilization that is usually called the classical period. This lasted from 250 to 900 A.D. The glory of the golden age is best seen in restored Tikal, Guatemala's pride and biggest source of income from tourism. Dr. David Friedel, a world renowned historian and the leader of the archeological mission in Guatemala, gives us a guided tour of this attraction.
He is a specialist in war history. "The Mayas were an extremely warlike people." He tells me. "We can hardly put aside ten years of peace in their history. They weren't familiar with ideas of state or patriotic feeling on a national level, instead they just felt belonging to their own city. They were always in war with nearby cities, and one of the biggest motives for that were to gather prisoners. Ordinary people were taken into captivity, and captured leaders were sacrificed and offered to their deities."
When king Big Jaguar Paw ruled over Tikal in 4th century, the power of the city started growing. "He himself invented a new fighting strategy." Dr. Freidel explains. "They would besiege the nearby cities – Uaxactun, Xunantunich, Caracol, and others, and continue attacking with spears, all until everybody would die or surrender. Thanks to this 'air force', Tikal conquered the whole region and became its capital that grew in luxury."
As we reach the main square in Tikal, all the glory of the past resurrect before my eyes: pyramids, king's palaces, acropolis, and paved squares. The most beautiful scene, and the most common picture from Guatemala, is without a doubt, the twin pyramids. "One of them is called The Great Jaguar Temple," the friendly archeologist explains to me, "It was built by king Moon Double Comb, at the beginning of the 8th century. You can almost visualize him appearing on the top of the temple and calling his servants to offer a human sacrifice to the rain god Chac because the fields inside the jungle cannot yield fruit in the draught that struck them!"
When at its peak, Tikal stretched over 30 square kilometers and was home to almost 100 000 people, the same as Rome or Constantinople at that time. "Because of the dense population and steep pyramids that reach toward the sky, we in the USA, call it the New York of pre-Columbian America." Says Dr. Freidel.
Even though the reason for the end of the Mayan civilization is still unknown to us, the most probable theory is one of overpopulation. Ecological resources got exhausted, the earth couldn't bare so many people, and the ruling elite exaggerated in its vanity. They demanded more and more slaves, competed in luxury, and all problems were solved at the altar by spilling human blood.
High achievements of their civilization, esoteric knowledge, mythology and rituals, were all abruptly stopped. One of the biggest was their farsighted and precise calendar. Using it they didn't just oversee their own collapse, but the collapse of the world as well that should happen on December 23, 2012!
After the glamour was gone, the Mayas continued living as nomadic hunters all until the arrival of Spaniards and their colonization of the continent. But still today, they are the most numerous ethnical group, they still talk 23 Mayan languages, wear traditional clothes, and in some areas, they still maintain old rituals and use the old calendar.
In search of them, the road brought me to the other side of Guatemala, in the mountains by the Pacific, hidden in clouds. On the black fertile land of volcanoes, where four different types of corn are grown, the main staple of the Mayas both then and now. Wandering through the hilly region, I reach a simple village where people live now as they had before. They wear thick clothes with hundreds of woven colors, that all seem the same to us foreigners, but to one who understands, there are differences among them. Every village has its own costume, with its own unique combination of colors and patterns. Big families live in small houses, and their everyday diet consists of beans, eggs and tortillas.
A cheerful mountain dweller that I met in the corn field explained to me their symbiotic connection with earth. "Corn, bean and pumpkin: a recipe discovered by our ancestors! Corn grows vertically, bean creeps and climbs around it, and pumpkin grows deep underneath. Using a minimum amount of space, we get a maximum amount of food!"
In the small village of San Martin Chiquito in the foothill of the volcano Chicabal, I find Efraim Tzunum, a Mayan sacerdote, the chieftain of his small community. The good man lets me be present during one of their frequent rituals in which they pray for universal peace. We wake up early, and even before the dawn, find ourselves climbing up the volcano. Three more people join our group along the way, and I find out they are all sacerdotes. They are dressed like Efraim, in white ritual dresses. When we reach the peak of the volcano, an amazing landscape appears in front of our eyes. Dressed in the morning mist, pierced by the first rays of daylight, the crater of the sleepy volcano is filled with the waters of holy Lake Laguna de Chicabal. We descend to its shores and the sacerdotes begin preparing the scene for the ritual. They gather around the place with three crosses, prepare candles and flowers, burn copal and incense, and start throwing all the elements of their life into the fire: corn, beans, cocoa, sugar, caramel, seeds, cuilco, and romero. They shout mysterious formulas in Mam, the universal Mayan language, breaking it sometimes with Spanish word for God: Dios.
I did not understand how much of the ritual is Catholic and how much is shamanistic and animistic, until Efraim explained later on to me: "The cross came to us with the Spaniards, but we had worshipped it before. Our holiest tree: ceiba, has a cross-like form. They told us about baptism, confession, fasting, but we had already been practicing that. We also drank wine in our rituals, used altars, and burned incense. We had worshipped 12 spirits and the thirteenth man, Ostlahoh, who can be compared with the apostles and Jesus. Actually, our two religions blend together successfully.
I hadn't known that there are four different colors of corn, all until I saw the Mayas use them in the ritual. Sacerdote Tzunum showed me all of this and explained: "Corn is our everyday bread. Our grandfathers taught us that God made man from corn. That's why we have four different colors of corn: black, red, white and yellow. Just like four races of the world. Today we pray for peace to rule among all people of the world, just like the peace that rules on this serene lake at the top of the volcano Chicabal!"
People of Guatemala, even those Mayas in the remotest villages of Cordillera, know very well how important peace is, because all until recently a civil war had raged in the country. It had lasted for 36 years, took 100 000 human lives, and displaced a million people.
As I watched those four spiritual men gathered around the holy fire, how devotedly and passionately they pray for world peace, I felt how I could imagine the connection between the Mayas from the past and the Mayas from the present that I was looking for through all those three months of travels through Guatemala. The mystery of the fall of the ancient Mayan civilization still hasn't been explained, but maybe it lies in their warlike nature. That brought them to their destruction and survival. Through the centuries that came, they peacefully worked on their own land, instead of attacking the one that belongs to their neighbors. They even peacefully assimilated with the Spanish conquerors. They needed a lot of time to redefine their own identity to survive on this planet. Now, after more than a thousand years of effort, in the firm gaze of the sacerdote during his prayer for world peace, I understand they have found the universal concept. Maybe most of people think that the Mayas have disappeared. But no, there are more of them now than ever, and they still live in Guatemala.


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Oak Orchard River
The best known of the 4 tributaries within Orleans County, the "Oak" as it is known, provides truly a year round fishery. Fall, winter and early spring offers some of the best tributary fishing for all of the cold water species with the exception of Lake Trout. Named one of the top five brown and steelhead trout tributaries in the United States by several fly fishing magazines, the "Oak" provides plenty of good parking in the upper reaches. The Archer's Club area is one to everyone and offers some unique facilities not often found along the banks. During the summer months this is the place to be for experiencing the great Lake Ontario cold water fishery available in Orleans County. An extremely knowledgeable charter fleet, plenty of launch sites, a full service marina, fully stocked tackle shops, great restaurants and great accommodations are waiting for you close to the harbor entrance.
Call the Orleans County Fishing Hotline at 1-518-589-3220 or read Fishing Reports online.

subset: commoncrawl


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Alisa Clark
Alisa has a Bachelor Degree in Sports Coaching and Exercise Science and her Masters in Physiotherapy which she completed at the University of Canberra.
Alisa's clinical interests include sports and musculoskeletal injuries, particularly working with cricket, netball and rugby union athletes. Alisa has worked with Wests Rugby Union for the past 2 years and has had experience with competitive running and mountain bike events.
Alisa has a strong interest in clinical pilates and teaches regular pilates classes. She also writes individual mat and pilates reformer programs for patients. Her personal interests are cricket, rugby league/union and netball.
Office hours
Tuesday - Wednesday:
8:00 am-5:30 pmThursday:
12:00 pm-5:30 pmFriday:
8:00 am-5:30 pmSaturday:
8:00 am-1:00 pm


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Mark would have been embarrassed had I told him to his face, but he was an inspiration.
I was in Asia watching Mark Haines interview a commodity guest on SquawkBox. I was a young journalist starting out in the TV business, and the interview went something like this:
Mark: "Where's oil headed"?
Commodity guest: "yadda yadda yadda.......$24..."
Mark: "Why?"
Commodity guest: "OPEC this and that, this and that..."
Mark: "And gold?"
Commodity guest: " $300 an ounce etc etc..."
Mark: "Copper?"
And on it went.


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Our campaign has officially ended and we wanted to thank all of our supporters for making it a success!
We are so excited to be able to share the next chapter of the series with you, and want to thank you again for making CULTURESPORT possible. A very warm thanks goes out to everyone who backed this campaign and shared it or the episode online or elsewhere.
We will have more news soon to come, and if you've backed this campaign, you can look for updates about rewards and fulfillment on our Kickstarter Updates page.
If you have any questions, please feel free to send us a message through Kickstarter or ask us a question on the CULTURESPORT Kickstarter FAQ page.
Developed in relative secrecy over the past five years, CULTURESPORT is an animated science fiction web series set inside a sprawling fictional universe—the result of intensive and ongoing collaboration between artists, designers, musicians, actors, dancers, brands, and CULTURESPORT's in-house creative team.
What separates this project from most others on Kickstarter is that we've already made the first episode and we're releasing it for free on YouTube in conjunction with this campaign. You can watch the full episode below. 👇
CULTURESPORT S00E00 : ROTTERDAM 1995 : The seas are rising. A reclusive engineer has come to town, promising to invent a new system of dikes and dams, using a computer that harnesses the power of dreams. A pair of twins are selected for the study—gabber kids from the local hardcore scene. But as they get sucked deeper into a digital dream world, they realize the inventor's true goal isn't to protect Rotterdam at all.
Our goal for this campaign is simple. We are asking for your support to fund a full narrative arc within our universe—the first season of CULTURESPORT— a series of shorts to be released over the course of the year 2020. Our minimum goal for this Kickstarter campaign is to create the next episode. With every stretch goal we reach, we will be able to produce an additional 4-6 minute long episode. So if every stretch goal is met, that's a season of eight new shorts!
The majority of funds raised will go directly into production, including everything from modeling and animating to recording dialogue and composing music. We have also accounted for nitty-gritty details such as campaign fees and processing fees. And of course we want to give you nothing but the best with our rewards.
All of our campaign rewards are limited edition, and will only ever be available for purchase during this Kickstarter campaign. Campaign apparel will be produced to the highest quality by our good friends at LQQK STUDIO.
We plan on shipping all rewards no sooner than FALL 2019, allowing us to ensure that all of our reward products are also to our standards.
Please note all physical rewards will be actual items subject to slight variation.
Pictured above: Back row, left to right: Creeper, Peter Yost, Morgan. Middle, left to right: Andy Sullivan, Max "MXMS", Diane Thomlin, Kiran Lakhani, Eli Richardson, Mara (Mark) Valle, Louis Canter. Front, left to right: Mikey, DeKira, Renny Ryals.
CULTURESPORT tells the story of Mikey, a self-aware chatbot and the world's first true artificial intelligence. Built by Kiran Lakhani, a young Pakistani-American programmer who only wanted a friend, Mikey finds himself at the center of an ever-growing fight for power. Diane Thomlin, a washed-up academic responsible for many of the fundamental breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, seeks to foster and protect Mikey like a mother, while her former collaborator and current tech titan Peter Yost seeks to use Mikey for personal (and perhaps nefarious) motives. Meanwhile, Mikey is making his own friends online: Andy, a reluctant ballerina and aspiring skater, and Max a.k.a. "MXMS," a young hacker living in rural Georgia— the first to figure out what Mikey really is. Watching from afar, the young heir DeKira plots to take control of Mikey, or if he fails, to destroy him. All the while, the mysterious and elusive Creeper creeps in the shadows, and dozens more find themselves caught in a web of expanding complexity.
CULTURESPORT is our world seen through a glass darkly: a place where technology has a mind of its own, where the most important question is no longer: is this program secure? but: is this program alive?
The studio is helmed by veteran net artist John Michael Boling. Inspired equally by Studio Ghibli and Jim Henson Entertainment, CULTURESPORT's mandate is to combine cutting edge and ancient methodologies to tell elemental stories for our post-digital age. CULTURESPORT is created using the free and open source 3D software Blender.
CULTURESPORT began as a childhood daydream about a self-aware chatbot that recruits an army of teenagers to take over the world when a 14-year-old John Michael was in Rome, Georgia. His early fascination with the internet, computer graphics, and film led him to a career in video production. Inspired by the long-form storytelling possibilities of television and the narrative efficiency of 2D anime, John Michael began to revisit the futuristic storylines that had entertained him as kid.
In 2014, thirsting to devote himself to the daily work of a large scale creative project, he sold his belongings, bought a few souped up gaming computers, and moved to an old general store at his parents' farm in Georgia to devote himself full-time to his vision.
With full narrative arcs already in mind, John Michael recruited long-time friend Michael Crowley as a script writer to begin translating his stories to paper. It was shortly after completing the first draft of the original pilot episode that his two friends, Joe Kubler and Jason Coombs, became increasingly intrigued and interested in the work John Michael was making. Inspired, they too quit their jobs, bought computers, and headed to the farm. The farm had no internet and very limited cell phone service, but the three of them strapped down for months, learning how to produce CULTURESPORT's signature house style of 3D animation and storyboarding what would become the CULTURESPORT universe.
After moving to their first "real" office in Athens, Georgia, they were joined by their friends Greg O'Connell and Rob Howerton. After three years, working out of over a dozen different locations, and collaborating with a multitude of talented individuals from around the world, they completed their first episode: "Rotterdam 1995." Along the way, they have teamed up with brands such as Telfar, Supreme, Nike, Kenzo, MAC Cosmetics, and LQQK Studio. Now residing and working in Brooklyn, New York, they are excited for the next chapter of their journey -- and for you to join them.
Our goal with this Kickstarter campaign is to produce our first season of shorts and release them for free online. We would like your support to do that. In collaboration with our new Kickstarter friends we hope to fund our production costs to begin bringing you these shorts on a regular basis, with the eventual goal of bringing you full seasons of full-length episodes.
If all this sounds cool, please watch our first episode "Rotterdam 1995," and if you like what you see please consider showing your support by sharing the episode, or donating directly to our campaign. All the money we raise will be put directly into production of the first season.
Risks and challenges
While our team has been already been in pre-production and many of the assets have already been generated, animation is still a lengthy process, and we want to give you nothing but the best possible quality.
We plan to release the first episode of our web series in Q1 2020.
We hope to begin shipping rewards in time for the holiday season 2019, allowing us to ensure that all of our reward products are also to our standards.
We don't anticipate any major challenges, but should the unexpected pop up, we will always keep you updated with any issues or delays.
Funding period
- (32 days)


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The International Space Station came speeding over PE today from the south west and heading to the north east. Grabbed a few photos with the 10mm at f3.5 and ISO 200 with 40-ish second exposures.
The ISS appearing low on the south western horizon, initially showing up with a slightly red-tinted light.
As the station climbs higher into the sky, the foreshortening effect disappears and it appears to accelerate and leave a longer trail.
The last of the south western shots as the station passes out of range of the lens, at well over the zenith. To the right, a large meteor flamed over the city at the same time.
The last photo shows the ISS disappearing into the Earth's shadow and fading from view as it passes through the constellation Lepus, flanked by Orion and Canis Major. The overbright moon lit the trees and buildings in all these shots.


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My 22 Recommended Reads of 2017
Many book-ish sites this time of year take time to reflect back on some of the standout reads from the past year. Here is my list of recommended reads of 2017. I can recommend them all with out hesitation. (Books that won a 2017 "Very Best!" Book Award are marked with an * asterisk. Some titles are on the 2018 longlist for the award; I had finished reading them after awarding the 2017 winners.)
Fiction (in no particular order)
- The Spanish Boy by C.S.


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I finally finished pruning, and clearing away dry flower tops and grasses out of the wildflower section. Whew!! Then I cut apart over-grown Shasta Daisy's, and Bee Balm, and move them around to more sparse areas in the garden. After that I scattered 1000's of flower seeds that I saved from last season. A few of my favorites are: Hollyhock, Clary Sage, Icelandic Poppies, Oriental Poppies, Nigella "Love in a Mist", Bee Balm, Echinacea, and Colombine. I gently raked over the seeds to help cover them with a bit of soil, in hopes that they will germinate in a few weeks. I heard the weather man forecast rain later today, I hope so! 🙂 Now I'm ready to sit back, with my feet up, and patiently wait for the slowly unfolding beauty in my garden…. 🙂 That is a pretty great reward!! Drop by in the next few months to enjoy it with us. Our Opening weekend is April 17th for Blossom Festival Celebration in the Hood River Valley. http://bit.ly/amZJhl
Monthly Archives: March 2010
Our Latest Fan Video
http://bit.ly/aJ4e4w Awesome job by Teena McKenzie. Thank you Teena!!
Best Quaint Bed and Breakfast
I just restocked the gift shop at one of my favorite Bed and Breakfast, Old Parkdale Inn. It is just up the road from us, in beautiful Parkdale. Old Parkdale Inn is a fanciful inn nestled in the upper Hood River Valley on the northern slope of Mt. Hood with unbelievable views of the mountain. Three well appointed rooms with private baths. Steve & Mary Pellegrini are the most gracious innkeepers! Visit their website: www.HoodRiverLodging.com, check em out
and plan your next overnight stay with them.
Spring Gardening
The sunshine warms my face as I begin spring clean-up around the lavender farm. Not sure if the seasons are changing where you are, but for us it is coming on a bit early this year. The first place I start is in the wildflower section. The warmer weather promotes new growth quickly, and there's still a lot of dead flower stems, and grass that need to go. I do this 'Carefully', not to step on the many little 'Sweet William', Hollyhock, Columbine, & Shasta Daisy's.
This is also the time I dig out a few hundred small Lupine starts. I love Lupine, as you can see, and we go crazy in Lupine!!! It can take over if It's left unattended. I hope to grow a few hybrid varieties this year in color shades of Yellow and Red :-O !! These wildflowers are not for upick, they are just for everyone to enjoy, smell, and listen to the hum of Bumblebees enjoying the wild life. I think I will enjoy a warm cup of Lavender Chai Tea when I take my break (with a spot o'honey, of course). Happy Gardening!
Lady Lavender
PS-If you have a photo of garden projects that you are working on, or completed…send them in to me!
Congratulations to Dolly England!!! Dolly was the prize winner of a $25.00 Gift Certificate! 2nd & 3rd prize winners Kimberly Walshe and Lisa Henninger Zisa will also collect a free bottle of our Refreshing Lavender Spritzer. Thanks to everyone who participated!!
Become a fan of our Hood River Lavender Facebook Page


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You like working for and with customers?
Would you like to help develop an innovative and rapidly growing company?
Then you are at the right place!
Our team is completely and emotionally committed to the idea of service and our customers notice this very closely. Anyone who works for us is a team player who completes the Testo Industrial Services team with commitment and identifies with the company's values. We find individual solutions for our customers and continuously develop our services in close cooperation with them. Ideas and continuous improvements are in demand and meet with open ears - we look beyond the edge of the plate.
We are constantly committed to offer full service from a single source - for current and future customer requirements. With this idea of innovation, we are shaping our successful future and therefore the successful future of the company.


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Integrated Manual Therapy is conveniently located just west of NW Expressway in Oklahoma City.
4301 NW 63rd Street, Suite 103
Oklahoma City, OK 73116-1548
Phone (405) 840-6727
Fax (405) 840- 6787
A map to our location can be found by clicking HERE
Click HERE to email us
A physician should be consulted if you have severe pain, diabetes, cancer, severe osteoporosis or other serious medical conditions. The bodyworker does not make a medical diagnosis or use high velocity manipulation as practiced in osteopathic, physical therapy or chiropractic offices.
Clothing preferences
Bodywork: You may be fully clothed---wearing loose fitting clothing for the Bodywork, if you choose.
Massage : Dress to your personal level of comfort.
Integrated Manual Therapy * 4301 NW 63rd Street, Suite 103 * Oklahoma City, OK 73116-1548 * Phone: (405) 840-6727 * Fax: (405) 840- 6787


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It's here! Starting on Monday, I'll be tromping about for guest appearances at various blogs to pimp out Marc and Hamm. And the book bling from f.Inguz, which you'll have a chance to win. A gorgeous little bookmark trinket. The contest will close on Sunday, 24 Feb, and the winner will be announced here at Haus of Rhi next Monday. The full list of promo appearances is here on my website, starting with Cup O' Porn on release day, where the complete details of the contest will be available. Along with some porn, of course.
I'd also like to take a moment to thank the #soldierporn followers who are now four thousand strong. Curating it has kept me going strong through a number of dry spells with my writing over the past eighteen months or so since I started it (#soldierporn turns two in June). It's kept me focused and researching instead of getting lost in fruitless procrastination when the muses are uncooperative. And I'm grateful to everyone who's shown interest in its content, for whatever the reason; it's been my way of sharing knowledge, perspective, and insight to which most people don't have access or exposure. The followers of #soldierporn aren't necessarily my fans or readers, but that's never mattered to me because it wasn't why I started it in the first place. Still, without that interest I probably would've stopped maintaining it some time ago.
So, a warm thank you from Rhi and all the muses. Fragile Bond doesn't officially release until Monday, but you can download it now if you purchase it directly through Riptide, here.
And yes, this entire blogpost was born purely of insomnia and procrastination, fueled by caffeine and ice cream...how did you know?


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Who's Cognitively Challenged? (Hint: Maybe It's Not The Dog)/
"My pet is so smart she knows exactly when she's headed to the vet hospital!" If I had a dollar every time a client uttered these words I'd have paid off my student loans long long ago.
Cats know, of course. Where else would they be going? Except for the minority that goes to the groomers or the boarding facility, cats in carriers know they've got just one destination to dread. But does your dog know you're headed to the vet even before you've made that telltale turn?
He usually does. But not because he's displaying some bizarre form of ESP. And it's not that she's supernaturally attuned to your biorhythmic vibrations, either. (Why is it we're so drawn to this bizarrely remote possibility?)
Truth is, they're just being sensitive. In a smart way.
After all, dogs are way smarter than their owners usually give them credit for. Not only can they pick up on auditory cues we often misjudge them capable of (indeed, some trained dogs can recognize upwards of three-hundred words and resolve frequencies our auditory mechanisms aren't attuned to), they're gifted in facial recognition and can read our expressions, too.
Then there's that impossibly astute olfactory mechanism –– which may as well be classified as supernatural compared to our rudimentary version of olfaction. Yes, they can probably smell what we're going to do next long before we do it. (But try not to take that line of reasoning too far. Please.)
As part of their evolutionary progress, our pets have apparently learned to understand way more about our daily lives than we do about theirs. Which only stands to reason seeing as domestic animals, by definition, have evolved alongside humans in a largely dependent way. In a very real sense, we're their evolutionary guides.
Hence, why it stands to reason that pets would know when our car is nearing home long before it does. Or when our roommate had gotten off the elevator all the way down the hall instead of our neighbor.
These are common dog and cat powers we mere humans tend to marvel at. But should they surprise us? I think not! To be so blown away by our pets' fundamental sensory capacity and most basic cognition is the result of unfairly anthropomorphizing their world view. It not only insults their innate cognitive prowess, it minimizes the degree to which they're dependent on our involvement in their lives.
Which brings me back to the vet thing. What makes you think your dog wouldn't know where you're going? Here are the things she's probably sensing:
- which leash you reach for
- the time of day or day of week (based on probably hundreds of sensory cues)
- your stress level (tone of voice, facial expressions)
- the kinds of treats you choose
- what kind of purse, coat or wallet you pick up
- whether you bring park toys or not,
- etc. etc. etc.
No they're NOT dumb. The only ones missing out on the cues here are the humans in the equation. Pets? Here's the real wake-up call. They know way more about your life than you'll ever know about theirs.


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Looking to download something to read on your Kindle or just through an easy-to-use kindle reader Reading Apps (on any smart phone or computer)?
Here's a round up of Free Kindle Books!
Here's a round up of Free Kindle Books!
I'll be honest, I do download free books, but I prefer the ones that are on sale for the $2.00 for the month deals. Most of the free books are mini books, and are super quick reads. But, free is free, right? :)
This one is a full size book
Happy Reading!


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The Brunchification of Fried Rice
Where: Mattei's Tavern; Los Olivos, CA
What: Brunch food is comfort food, and fried rice surely qualifies. Even more so at Mattei's Tavern, where it's gussied up with pork belly and rock shrimp. Kimchi adds necessary spice, two eggs add the necessary brunch factor; the result is a highbrow bowl of porky satisfaction, hearty enough to cure anything that ails you.
Wash it down with: Take your pick of sparkling cocktails, including the beet-lemon-Riesling Beetlini and the strawberry Railway Ave. Rossini. Or try Mattei's takes on Bloodies, like the Vampiro Maria with reposado tequila, tomatillo, citrus and coriander.
Related: Talde's Sausage, Egg and Cheese Fried Rice
No Shame Corn Dogs at the Publican in Chicago
What's the Only Thing Better than Pizza? Fried Pizza


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If there is one time when business value is front and center in a conversation, it is during a merger or acquisition process. The acquiring company wants to know the true value of the company it's acquiring and the company being acquired wants to prove its value as a viable option for acquisition. In the case of a merger, both companies have these same two concerns – what is their real value and what is the value of the company with which they are potentially merging?
In today's organizations, technology, and more specifically, software is an aspect that needs to be carefully assessed to determine its value to the M&A deal as an asset or potential liability (i.e. requiring significant upgrades or maintenance or performing poorly).
To begin the evaluation process, I recommend looking at the software in relation to the business functions of the target company. Is the software unique to the company's line of business or is it used for a business function that is common between the two organizations (i.e. HR, payroll, CRM). Most likely, the software that is performing the same function in both companies will be of little business value to the acquiring company as they will choose to keep their existing software.
However, a software solution that is unique to the target company could have tremendous value. The challenge is that the acquiring company may not be familiar with the software and have a limited understanding of its value or the risk associated with that software. In addition, if there are only a few individuals who understand how to use and maintain the software (especially with proprietary software) there is a risk that they will not remain at the company and as a result there will be no knowledgebase to maintain and/or enhance the software.
I recommend taking four key steps during the acquisition process to determine the value of the target company's software:
A software assessment needs to be an integral part of the M&A process – no matter what end you're on. It can no longer be an after-thought. Software can provide significant value or pose a huge risk for an organization and that needs to be determined up front.
I'm always interested in hearing from others about your experiences on how your organization has handled the software assessment process during a merger or acquisition. What lessons have you learned?
Mike Harris
This blog was originally posted at https://www.softwarevalue.com/insights/blog/posts/2016/november/four-steps-to-assessing-software-value-in-an-ma/.
#Mike Harris, #Mergers and acquisitions, #mergers, #acquisitions, #software value


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The Blues Session
Doors open at 7:00.
The Cloverdale Arts Alliance and music workshop are proud to bring a new live music series to Cloverdale: The Blues Session! Featuring an all-star lineup of local musicians, The Blues Session will bring the best in local live performance to Cloverdale on the second Saturday monthly, delivering 2 solid hours of popular and classic songs from a wide spectrum of blues influenced American music, including R&B, jazz, rock 'n' roll, swing, and more.
The Blues Session will feature a cooking house band with David Garland on drums, Ubidube Whitaker on bass, Tom McBride on guitar, and Oscar Calderon on percussion. In addition, each show will feature other top local musicians bringing their best performance. Whether you are a musician, fan, like to dance, or just appreciate good music, The Blues Session will bring a fun lively music experience for all!
Attention Musicians: sign-ups will be posted at Cloverdalemusicworkshop.com, along with an optional song list of popular and classic tunes to pick from. Please sign up in advance of the next performance or contact our facilitator, David Garland.


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Herb Parmesan Rack of Lamb with Aligot
colorful crocuses are just now starting to pop up. Spring will soon be here and with it will come all the anticipated seasonal delights: tender lamb, crisp asparagus, fava beans and spring peas to name just a few. In our family, we have wonderful memories of enjoying rack of lamb, asparagus and aligot (a mashed potato puree with garlic and melted Tomme de'Auvergne cheese) on the terrace in the hills near Grasse, the perfume capital north of Cannes in France. It is also a special menu we make every time we see our dear Tantine (Annie) as this herbed lamb recipe is truly her favorite. The 1000 year old history of the elastic, nutty flavored, ribbon like aligot puree is worth sharing. The pilgrims of Santiago de Compostelle (The Way of St. James) that traveled this medieval route to the cathedral in Galicia, northwest Spain, have done so since the 9th century. The cathedral is widely believed to be where the Apostle St. James is buried. Monks and farmers along the route would offer something to eat to the weary pilgrims: something in Latin is "al i quad" which morphed into the current name "aligot". Enjoy this meal steeped in medieval history and our family tradition, yet bright and new with the freshest fare of spring.
Recipe for Herb Parmesan Rack of Lamb
2 – 2lb racks of lamb, trimmed
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp Herbes de Provence
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp fresh italian parsley, chopped
2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
5-6 oz grated parmigiano reggiano
1 tsp Fleur de sel
1 tsp fresh black pepper
1/2 cup finely grated fresh breadcrumbs
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put the racks of lamb, bone side down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Mix all the ingredients into a thick marinade-like paste. Slather the mixture liberally over the meat of the racks. Place the baking sheet on the center rack of the oven. Roast for 15-20 minutes until desired meat etnperature is reached (medium rare i recommended). Serve with aligot and roasted or steam asparagus. Serves 4.
Recipe for Aligot (Mashed Potato Puree with Melted Cheese)
6-8 yukon gold potatoes, peels and quartered
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1/2 cup heavy cream or milk
4 tbsp butter
6 oz melted Tomme d'Auvergne, Tomme d'Laguiole or Tomme Fraiche
Cook the potatoes and smashed garlic in well salted boiling water until done and puree it through a food mill. Heat cream and melt butter in same pot. Add the potato mixture and incorporate. Add the melted Tomme d'Auvergne to the potato puree. Working with a wooden spoon or paddle, work the mixture to incorporate by stretching it from the bottom up in long ribbons. Keep working it for a few minutes to make sure you get a nice elastic ribbons. The consistency will be luscious and gooey, like a thick melted cheese, and you will have to "cut" the portions out when serving it.
Cook's Note: If you have trouble finding Tomme d'Auvergne, one can tryFrench Cantal or Cave Aged Montgomery Cheddar as a substitute. The key is a nutty cheese with a good meltability factor. In a pinch you could even use good quality mozzarella.
Bon Appetit!
Lynn Cardin


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Remember the 1995 Rugby World Cup, or the the 2003 Cricket World Cup, who will ever forget the 2010 Soccer World Cup? South Africa has done a fine job in hosting major global tournaments, well dear readers that is all coming to an abrupt end thanks to our very competent Sport minister named Fikile Mbalu, who oddly enough we wrote an article about just 3-days ago called – "is this the final nail in the coffin for South African rugby?"
One of the few positives left in South Africa is our sport teams but even this is now affected by bad governance. The Minister of Sport, Fikile Mbalula, has literally made South Africa the laughing stock of the world yesterday with some ridiculous remarks. Fikile Mbalu never shy of the limelight, made headlines across the globe, by announcing none of South Africa's major sporting unions (with the exclusion of soccer) are allowed to make a bid to host another major global sporting tournament again. Why? Because of one ridiculous word, "transformation." The news send ripples across the sporting world, with international athletes such as Jacques Kallis saying he is , "ashamed to be a South African" when asked about Mbalula's comment.
According to Mr Fikile Mbalula the pace at which transformation is happening is to slow (remember he supports selection based on colour rather than merit), as a "punishment," for slow transformation, a ban on bidding for major global sporting tournaments will get enforced. Sad news indeed, especially for rugby fans since South Africa was frontrunners to host the 2023 rugby world cup. A more immediate concern for rugby fans however, and this goes for global rugby fans aswell, is the fact that the South African government will no longer support the Cape Town 7's, which is one of the largest rugby 7's tournaments in the world.
So why make such a big deal about transformation?
You see Mr Fikile, backed by the South African government, argues that all national teams representing South Africa, should also represent the racial demographics of South Africa. The irony however is that South Africa's soccer team, called Bafanna Bafanna ranked 80th something in the world, consistently fields only black African players, with very little to no inclusion of White Africans or Indians, yet they (the South African soccer team) are not getting reprimanded in anyway, but rather praised for their team selection. Is this not hypocrisy in its greatest form?
As the author I could I could go on whining and complaining about SA soccer (Bafana, Bafana) selection policy and lack of proper demographical representation within the team, but I'm not petty like that, I don't care which colour the team is, you see myself just like all other South Africans want a team selected on merit. If merrit means fielding a Springbok (South African) rugby team that is made up of 15 black players, then so be it and myself and most South Africans will say "Go Bokke" providing that 15-players were selected on merit.
Its Not About Winning
The whole point of playing sport, and competing against another team is to win. When you are not fielding your best team, but rather selecting a team based on quotas your chances of winning gets exponentially lower thus, I will not be surprised if South Africa never wins a test against New Zealand rugby ever again, due to SA Rugby's new selection policy.
You see the sad part about the above is that our minister of Sport and his government allies couldn't care less if South Africa never wins a test again. For them it is not about winning but rather about bragging in election campaigns that, "we managed to increase transformation by X-amount." Sadly for them the winner at the end of the day is not the team with the greater score on the scoreboard but rather the team with the most black faces in the starting lineup.
SA Government United In Dividing South Africans
As mentioned in the introduction of this post, sport in South Africa is one of the few things which is still working, it serves as the great unifier between black and white South Africans, think 1995 Rugby World Cup, 2010 Soccer World Cup, black and white South Africans were united in their diversity, drinking, laughing and dancing together.
But you see dear readers this is not what the government, which is the ANC (African National Congress) wants. Why, you might ask if they fought for so many years to get equality and equal opportunity for all?
The answer is simple, the ANC of today is not the respected establishment it once was. All the real leaders has either gone, or switched political parties, the only card the ANC has left to play is the race card thus, they will go to great lengths to divide South Africans as it is the only way they are able to stay in power, that is why you hear increasing calls to rename the Springbok rugby team and banning the hosting of global tournaments.
Conclusion – Undoing The Wrongs Of The Past
Are we at the Sport Freak against transformation in South African sport? Of Course not, but we do condone taking away opportunity from a player and selecting a different player simply based on the colour of his skin since that is racial discrimination in its strongest form! It is a crying shame that the IRB has not stepped in to prevent this in South African rugby since it is a clear violation of By Law 3 of The IRB rule book. (Read more about that here.)
Transforming SA Sport
I will leave you with this, it is not very complicated, to transform South African sports, don't start at the top of the pyramid, i.e. national and provincial level. Rather take the money you wish to spend on transformation and put it into underprivileged schools and communities, which will ensure transformation happens at the grass root level giving the youth of underprivileged communities an equal opportunity to become a professional sportsman one day.
By doing this you will not only strengthen South African sports as a whole, since you will have a much larger pool of players to select from, but you will also ensure that when provincial and national selection happens everyone will have an equal opportunity and that is what democracy is all about.
[yop_poll id="7″]
*The Views in this article are purely those of the Author.*


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'France by the Numbers' and a reality check on Finland and the Netherlands
A good read, and the graph on performance in GDP-change is very useful. What do you mean, Finland has turned a corner? Yes there are some positive signs regarding some big firms, but there are ever so many co-determination negotiations to lay-off people or make them redundant.
'Again, things aren't good. But you do have to wonder why the French elite is so easily intimidated into making a hard right turn while the elites of much worse cases like Finland and the Netherlands remain steadfast in their notion that the worse things get, the more committed they have to be to inflicting further pain.'


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Christoph Waltz didn't believe Tarantino rumours
- Bang Showbiz
- 17 January 2013
'Django Unchained' star Christoph Waltz didn't believe rumours about the film's director being difficult to work with and saw a different side to him
Christoph Waltz didn't believe what he read about Quentin Tarantino.
The actor - who has teamed with the director for a second time on Oscar-nominated film 'Django Unchained' following the hit 2009 film 'Inglourious Basterds' - reveals he chose not to believe rumours about the filmmaker being difficult to work with and relished the opportunity to get to know him.
He explained to The Huffington Post UK: "I didn't have any preconceptions because I don't believe what I can read. I know it's media. For example, I don't read actors' interviews because I know what happens to actors' interviews - and there's no way in hell the interview would actually come across the same way it was being [written].
"I don't believe what you hear about Quentin being crazy and quirky. I want to see it for myself and sure enough, I saw something completely different and I liked what I saw infinitely better than what I could have read."
The 56-year-old star - who recently won a Golden Globe for his role as bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz in the spaghetti western about a freed slave (Jamie Foxx) on a mission to rescue his wife - added that he didn't feel burdened with making the film entertaining, instead relying on Quentin's script.
He said: "With Quentin, it's his thing. The burden on me, or my job rather because it's not a burden, is to make what Quentin wrote happen [on screen]. The writer writes and the actor acts. I didn't come up with that, I didn't create that, I didn't make that funny. He wrote it that way. I just tried to do it justice."


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IAH to MKE
It has been an interesting few weeks. I'm writing this while in Rennes, but I'll devote more time in future blogs to my week conducting in France. I the past few weeks, I closed up my time in Houston, packed up the apartment, and drove the cats to Milwaukee. The move was a completely nightmare (especially if you were to ask Milton Cat). I wanted to write a blog about my time in Houston, but I think it took a few weeks away to be able to sit down and think about it clearly. In many ways, I've called those seven years my crucible. I think that's a fair assessment, but it was also an amazing time. While in Houston I made some amazing friends. There are so many to name. I'm not sure that without Rene Salazar, Joe Carl White, Anne White, Jerome Istin, Scott Sullivan, Natalie Istin, Rick Pal, Tanya Pal, Jeanne Morrissette... Ok.. you get my point. My life would not have been as vibrant without them. (I'm sure there are many people such as Vernon McDonald, Alex Lawler, and oh so many others who are wondering why I didn't name them, but I think I could fill a number of blogs with names of people who were instrumental in my life in Houston). I don't know what the future holds and how often I'll get to see them, but without the people who were in and out of my life during the past few years, I would not be the person I am now.
I got to Houston and stayed because I started an opera company, and I met someone. By the end of my time there, I had lost both, but I had gained so much in return. Opera Vista did 7 world premieres in the time we ran the company. We performed Powder Her Face and received a review in Opera Magazine that I swear I didn't write myself, but it sure seemed that way. I served on steering committees for Houston Young Professionals for the Arts and Asia Society's Young Professionals. I was invited to be a young leader at the Asia Society summit in Jakarta. I spoke at Indiaspora, which in turn lead to an invite to the White House!
In the end, I cried as we pulled out of Houston with 2 cats in carriers and the MINI Cooper filled to the roof with stuff - not because of the crucible it had been but because of the amazing regeneration of the past few years. As we were leaving, I glanced at my Facebook and message after message from friends talking about how sad they were I was leaving popped up, and as my dad said once, "the way I always knew you were an ok person was that you have incredibly high quality friends." He's 100% right, and so many of them are in Houston. I can't thank you all enough for supporting me and supporting Opera Vista. It was an amazing 7 years of my life, and I'm excited about the new adventures we'll have at the Skylight and in Milwaukee, but Houston is always going to have a soft spot in my heart.
I am a lucky guy - in the past month, I'll have been in 3 of my favorite places in the world: Houston, Milwaukee, and Paris. Who could ask for anything more? (Waiting to see who the first person is who comments with "Toyota.")


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Michael's family firm of heating and plumbing, did work on Knole and Knole Estate for 40 years, including re-designing and installing the South Wing's heating system, which had previously worked with a pre-war, 'terrifying' oil-burning boiler.
During his years at Knole, Michael came to know Lionel Sackville-West, Lord Sackville, and remembers how much he loved his trees in Knole Park. Michael also recalls how Lord Sackville helped ease the family firm's finances at a difficult time, as well as some of his fondest memories of Knole Estate Agent, Hugh Sackville-West.


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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Websites are racing to patch the Heartbleed bug, the worst security hole the Internet has ever seen.
As sites fix the bug on their end, it's time for you to change your passwords. The Heartbleed bug allowed information leaks from a key safety feature that is supposed to keep your online communication private — email, banking, shopping and passwords.
Don't change all your passwords yet, though. If a company hasn't yet updated its site, you still can't connect safely. A new password would be compromised too.
Many companies are not informing their customers of the danger — or asking them to update their log-in credentials. So here's a handy password list.
Change these passwords now:
- YouTube
- Gmail
- Yahoo
- Yahoo Mail
- Tumblr
- Flickr
- OKCupid
- Wikipedia
Don't worry about these (they don't use the affected software, or ran a different version):
- Amazon
- Mapquest
- Bank of…
View original post 60 more words


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The Xpressions SNAP! fabric banner stands are portable and super easy to set up. Unlike our Retractable Banner Stands, you have more custom options. Fabric banner stands for trade shows are an inexpensive way to attract attention to your trade show booth. It is the single most effective way to attract attention to your booth without paying for expensive trade show advertising. Choose from our options below.
If you have any questions about our banner stands, and which one might be right for you, please call us toll free at 1-888-331-4260, or contact us via email. Our service reps are committed to providing you with all the information or assistance you need, from start to finish.


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With Christmas just around the corner, we are going to take a look at various toys, games, tech and other things you might want to put on your Christmas list. Here we take a closer look at the Toot-Toot Drivers Advent Calendar from VTech.
Father Christmas is on his way! What better way to countdown the days than with the Toot Toot Drivers Advent Calendar!?
This calendar includes 24 Christmas gifts. Open a window on the calendar every day for a new accessory! Fold down the gift box to reveal a beautiful Christmas scene and watch as your Toot Toot Drivers winter wonderland comes to life!
Featuring 24 fun play pieces including a cute, interactive Toot-Toot Drivers Truck, detachable trailer with SmartPoint location, Christmas decorations, road signs and lots more mini surprises.
Toot-Toot Drivers Truck includes 3 Christmas songs, 6 fun, festive melodies and lots of fun sound effects.
The Truck responds to SmartPoint locations with different phrases, sound effects and more on all your favourite Toot-Toot Drivers play sets.
Aimed at children from ages 1 through to 5, the advent calendar contains 24 individual gifts to play with and create a special Christmas scene.
It's a lot of fun to ope up the door each day and find out what your child has to play with. They will have fun building up their scene but also playing with other Toot-Toot toys.
Toot-Toot toys are always a lot of fun – with lights, sounds and music for everyone to enjoy. If you are looking for a fun advent calendar this year that will last past Christmas day then look no further!
The Toot-Toot Drivers Advent Calendar from VTech is available now priced £24.99.
You can learn more from the VTech website here.


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Gil LeBreton
TCU's pitching depth is what has Horned Frogs dreaming big
As a newspaper headline lamented here before the start of the College World Series, there is no Cinderella this time around.
Eight teams, all with worthy RPI and conference credentials. Eight teams, all with well-stocked baseball trophy cases.
Eight teams, all with players recently selected in the Major League Baseball draft.
And of those eight teams, who had the most pitchers taken in the draft?
TCU and Florida, both with six.
There may be better individual pitchers at this College World Series. Vanderbilt's Carson Fulmer certainly has a neon résumé.
Virginia sophomore Connor Jones stepped up when ace Nathan Kirby went down with an injury, and the Cavaliers haven't missed a beat.
But when coach Jim Schlossnagle talks about his TCU Horned Frogs being "built for this tournament," he's talking about the depth of his pitching staff, more than anything else.
His three trips with TCU to Omaha haven't taught Schlossnagle any shortcuts, he said.
"No, we've always just tried to sign the best pitchers we can," Schlossnagle said Monday, "and we've been fortunate to have had good pitching.
"The depth of this staff, though, especially considering we're a private school, is unique."
The figure most often tossed around is $55,000. That's the approximate cost of attendance for a student at private TCU.
It means that a baseball coach, like Schlossnagle, has to spread his NCAA-allowed 11.7 scholarships amongst his roster, or help find some other way for the players' families to afford the $55,000 in annual tuition, fees, room and board.
Senior Preston Morrison, Sunday's winning pitcher, was able to qualify for academic-based aid. Relief pitcher Trey Teakell gets a tuition break because his dad works for the campus police force.
"In every college baseball program, because we're under-scholarshipped, you have those stories," Schlossnagle said. "But at a private school, it's really important.
"The two things that put the most pressure on your recruiting coordinator are, one, you can't make mistakes on your scholarship money and, two, you have to find ways to get good players who, at some point in their college careers, can help you outside of baseball scholarship money."
Starting shortstop Keaton Jones is another, like Morrison, who began his TCU career as a walk-on.
The roots of the current Horned Frogs pitching staff were laid three years ago by a coach who was also at this College World Series. Tony Vitello works for Arkansas now, but he was Schlossnagle's chief recruiter when five standouts pitchers were signed by TCU.
Riley Ferrell, Alex Young and Mitchell Traver came to campus with the 2012 class. Two others didn't, including Rockwall's Jake Thompson, a second-rounder who ended up signing with Detroit (before coming to Texas in the Joakim Soria trade).
That's right. The Frogs' staff this year could have had Thompson, Morris, Young, Traver, Tyler Alexander, Teakell and Ferrell.
Morrison is a senior, while Young and Alexander were both selected in this year's second round and will almost certainly sign. Traver, however, picked by the Cardinals in Round 28, is expected to return and will be one of the leaders on next year's TCU staff.
With Morrison pitching seven innings Sunday against LSU, Schlossnagle has most of his deep staff ready to go for the rest of the tournament.
That depth is what got the Frogs to Omaha. It's what makes them believe they can win it all.
Gil LeBreton, 817-390-7697


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Laying Down the Law 19 Apr 19
The highly regarded former Australian batsman, 50, started his new challenge as head coach at Middlesex in January and is relishing the opportunity to turn around the fortunes of a club which won... Read More
Going The Distance 14 Oct 16
Running is the simplest but most satisfying sport. Putting one foot in front of the other, that's all. It's the easiest sport in the world – and believe me, I should know. Sprint back 35... Read More
Pitch Imperfect 20 May 16
it's an illustrious collection of names: José Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson, Brian Clough – and Justin Byrne, from Chalfont St Peter's Under 10s village team. A 42-year-old company director by... Read More
Making Waves 17 Jul 15
Oliver Taverner, now 14, is not your average teenager. I meet him and his mother, Lisa, at 10.30 in the morning during the first week of his school holidays. This is an hour at which most... Read More
Simply Not Cricket 17 Jul 15
The thwack (a word little used nowadays) of willow on leather was the sound of my youth. Whether on the local village green or the TV during a Test Match, cricket features heavily in my childhood... Read More
Here We Come A-Cheerleading? 24 Apr 15
Remember 'Bend it like Beckham'? The salt shakers. The fretting parents. The airport scene. And Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley as Jess and Jules, talented footballers who could and did beat... Read More
Eyes On The Ball 20 Jun 14
"At least he's got that monkey off his back" must surely be the cliché most often used by the world's media when speaking about Andy Murray and the Wimbledon Men's Single Title. Never... Read More
A Woman's Game? 31 Jan 14
Knitting, watercolours, bingo: the chosen pastimes of the majority of my mother's friends. At 76 she lives alone, a mild-mannered, gentle lady, softly spoken with not a bad word to say about... Read More
Here Come The Girls 21 Jun 13
There's a battle being fought. It's raging on the sports fields, in the newsrooms and behind the scenes at all the major broadcasters. It's a battle that dates back further than any of us... Read More
A Sporting Chance 29 Apr 11
As more and more effort is placed on encouraging children with disabilities into mainstream education, there is a risk that emphasis may fall on their academic needs, with their physical well-being... Read More


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Special mention: pigpog
« previous entry | next entry »
Feb. 15th, 2005 | 02:29 pm
mood: determined
OK, this gets more than a simple del.icio.us link, because I'm gonna try this method in Real Life. I already use palm+outlook, so it should be a quick fit. I'm hoping to revive my organizational systems, which were one upon a time richly detailed and complex. Let's try for 'functional'.
(gtd pigpog method)
(gtd pigpog method)


text: This folding cushion stool measures 18.5" x 12.5" when opened. The portable folding cushion stool comes in red or black cushion. This stool is easy to fold and unfold and has a safety ring so that the chair can't be folded without pulling it. Great safety benefit if you have children around. The stool also has a 1" thick soft cushion on the seat. The foldable stool is comfy and sturdy with it's metal legs. Both children and adults can sit on this comfy cushion stool.


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Finally little princesses' parents can get perfect looks for their children! Wonderful pieces by Love Made Love can't leave fashion fans indifferent: very sophisticated and plain at the same time, they become a great choice for really special occasions. The brand is known for creating clothing that fulfills...
Fashion Babies & Kids
Best Kids' Headband Trends
It is time to talk about headbands seriously. Surprised? To tell the truth, you don't know much about them: yes, they're cute, look sophisticated, add some perfect touch, etc. But how to pick one for your baby girl?
Neverland in New-York Central Park Zoo
Ralph Lauren Has Presented a New Kids' Collection
School Uniform by Dolce & Gabbana – Autumn-Winter 2015-2016
Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana has released a collection of school uniforms for the season 2015 under the traditional title Back to school. Perhaps this school uniform may seem too bold and unexpected, but it is very effective and impressive.
Italia WOW!
Italia WOW! – this was the title under which there was held a special event on June, 25 2015 in Florence. The event was hosted by Pitti Immagine Bimbo, with the support of children's fashion magazine Vogue Bambini. Organizers of the show Italia WOW! set a goal to...
Dolce & Gabbana Pre Fall 2015
Mediterranean majolica has returned to the collection of Dolce & Gabbana.White and blue prints with majolica will be available in children's clothing this fall.
Fashionable Prints in Kids' Clothes in Autumn 2015
Plain clothes plays first violin in many collections. However, autumn outfits would be boring and impersonal without the attractive children's prints. Therefore, designers offer trendy clothes with ethnic patterns, Scandinavian motifs, animal painting and floral print, various inscriptions on T-shirts and models with pictures of animals. Armani Junior has...
The imitation of grownup is in trend now The main tendency is dressing fashionable fur items. In trend for very little children prevail saturated, bright colors: pink, aquamarine, turquoise.Overalls, as well as jackets-transformers specially decorated with splendid pictures and cute embroidery. It is pleasant to look at the fashionable...
Kids Collection Pepe Jeans London – summer 2015
Pepe Jeans London The British brand Pepe Jeans London exists since 1973, and in 2002 it has started its line of children's clothing and suggests baby clothes.
Kids' Fashion in Summer 2015: 3 Main Trends
Kids' fashion in summer 2015 is a various and versatile as usual as the most popular brands have tried to do their best to bring pleasure to parents and their children. Let's have a look at the most popular trends of this summer. Grunge Style – a little bit...


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- applecat
- 5 years ago
- Wedding: November 2014
Earlier this week, our kitty Axel (who is only 3 years old) started vomiting violently. I took him to the vet, who determined that he was fine and simply had an upset tummy, so I took him home. Following that, he refused to eat or drink for the remainder of the day, so I rushed him to an ER vet at 12AM that night. Again, the vet said he was just having GI issues, gave him some special food, and sent him home. 24 hours later he still hadn't eaten or drank a thing. I took him to the vet for a third time in two days. They kept him overnight and determined via a barium swallow (which highlights any abnormalities in an x-ray) that he has a blockage in his intestines. He's going into surgery this afternoon.
I love my buddy so much…I'm so glad I trusted my instinct and took him back in, even after two vets said he was okay. Now I just want him to make it through surgery safely. Please send him your good thoughts, good vibes, prayers…whatever your method of choice. Thanks bees.


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Hello, my name is Sara Hanson and I am registered for this evening's class. I was registered by the person who bought the gift certificate for me. However, I'll only be able to attend this evening if I can bring my guest with me. The calendar says the class is sold out – is it possible I can bring her with me? If not I will need to reschedule.
Sara Hanson
- Sara Hanson asked 5 years ago
- last edited 5 years ago
We already have a waitlist for tonight's class, so it is unlikely we will have a spot for your friend.
It sounds like someone bought you a ticket to class, rather than a gift certificate. To reschedule a class, they would have needed to purchase the premium upgrade. If that is the case, the link to reschedule is under the "Customer Support" tab at the top of the page.
- Keith S Wallace answered 5 years ago
Someone did buy it for me, so i have no idea if they purchased the premium upgrade. How can i find that out? If they didn't purchase it, can i purchase it so that I can reschedule?
- Sara Hanson answered 5 years ago


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Tales from Texas
Fanzine published in the 70s by the Dallas Area Science Fantasy Society and edited by Bob Wayne and Lewis Shiner.
|This is a clubzine page. Please extend it by adding information about when and by whom it was published, the club which published it, its contents (including a ToC listing), regular columnists, its impact on fandom, or by adding scans or links to scans.
page revision: 1, last edited: 22 Feb 2013 15:31


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EAST RUTHERFORD — Wall Street banks make up nearly half of the 29 "host sponsors" for the Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium, the Record reported.
The sponsorships reportedly cost more than $1 million.
Allowing more than representative of the industry to be a host sponsor has gone a long way toward paying the estimated $60 million cost of the weeklong festivities surrounding the Feb. 2 game. Unlike most Super Bowl Host Committees, the New York/New Jersey Super Bowl Host Committee isn't receiving a government subsidy.
Related Coverage:
• Super Bowl's Meadowlands location draws Wall Street money | The Record
More Bergen County news: NJ.com/bergen | Twitter | Facebook


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I can't quite decode what's going on in this image from The Green Inferno but some obvious implications put the girl at the centre in trouble.
That's Kirby Bliss Blanton, I believe, who is on the cast with Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Aaron Burns, Daryl Sabara, Magda Apanowicz and Sky Ferreira. Well, I say cast. I might mean menu.
As the watermark tells you, I found the image at Shock Till You Drop.
Here's how they summarise the movie's plot:
The film follows an idealistic student and a group of naive do-gooders who are captured by cannibalistic Indios after their plane crash lands in the Peruvian jungle.
UPDATE: Roth himself sent through the correct plot blurb, so here's that instead:
A group of student activists from New York City travel to the Amazon to protect a dying tribe, but crash in the jungle and are taken hostage by the very natives they saved.
This will be a very messy, sticky film, I'm sure. If it's anything like Roth's other films, I expect I'll find it quite fascinating.


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Martha Butler-Cook, Resource Center Director for the Massachusetts Conference for 11 years, will be leaving her position at the end of this week.
Butler-Cook is moving to Burlington, Vermont with her husband, Peter Cook, who is leaving his position as Senior Minister of the Plymouth Church in Framingham to serve as the Senior Minister at First Congregational Church in Burlington.
Butler-Cook has been working part-time for the Conference, assisting church leaders and educators with recommendations for resources and maintaining the Conference's media lending library. Recently she has also served as the coordinator of the Super Saturday events
Users of this website are invited to post comments in response to news articles and blog posts published here. In order to maintain a respectful community, we insist that comments be polite, respectful and tolerant of opposing viewpoints. We reserve the right to remove comments that are hostile, hateful or abusive to others, or that constitute personal attacks. In the interest of transparency, we highly recommend that users comment using their full names. For those who feel a need for more anonymity, however, we will allow posts using first names and last initial.


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The Picarooner, Bideford
The Picarooner
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She finished filming the role of the Virgin Mary in a hot new Hollywood movie only weeks ago, and now 16-year-old Oscar-nominated Kiwi actress Keisha Castle-Hughes has announced she is pregnant.
The Auckland teenager, who played feisty Paikea in one of New Zealand's most successful films, Whale Rider, is to give birth next year to her first child after a three-year romance with childhood sweetheart, Bradley Hull, 19.
And Castle-Hughes' New Zealand agent Gail Cowan says the couple couldn't be happier.
"They are extremely happy about it. Totally. It's a baby," Cowan told the Herald on Sunday yesterday.
Family members spoken to yesterday said Hull was genuinely excited about the pregnancy.
"Who cares if she is only 16?" said one family member, who did not wish to be named.
But others aren't so sure whether Castle-Hughes and Hull quite understand what lies in store for them.
National MP Paula Bennett, a mother at 17, said whichever way you looked at the situation, 16 was far too young to have a baby.
She believed there was no way a 16-year-old had the maturity to cope with the demands of raising a baby.
"You should be worried about pimples, boyfriends and going out, not bringing up a child."
How the pregnancy will affect Castle-Hughes' career is another question. Her role in the coming-of-age black comedy Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger, alongside Toni Collette, could now be jeopardy. In the film, Castle-Hughes - who left Papakura's Rosehill College last year - is supposed to star as a 13-year-old girl trying to fit into both a posh private school as well as an ordinary public school.
Castle-Hughes and her mother Desrae were out of the country and could not be contacted for comment yesterday, while Hull could also not be reached.
However, there have been concerns in the past about the age difference of the couple. Hull was not allowed to accompany Castle-Hughes to the Academy Awards in 2003 because the actress' representatives reportedly had concerns about the age difference. The two met in high school.
Since Whale Rider, which saw her become the youngest nominee ever for a Best Actress Oscar, Castle-Hughes has gone on to star as Queen of Naboo in last year's Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. She followed this up by appearing in Prince's Cinnamon Girl music video. She has also appeared in Vanity Fair magazine and recently completed work on The Nativity Story.
Off-screen though it hasn't always been smooth sailing for the actress with questions around her perceived liberal upbringing.
In August 2004, when Castle-Hughes was 14, her mother bought alcohol for a teenage party at their Glen Innes home. That evening a 22-year-old man took advantage of a drunken 14-year-old and was later convicted for having sex with a minor.
Cowan wouldn't go into details about the pregnancy, but said she firmly believed having a baby wouldn't ruin Castle-Hughes' career.
Asked how Hull had reacted to the news, all she would say was that he deserved his privacy.
"Small mindedness certainly won't help the family," she said.
Castle-Hughes' previous agent Graham Dunster agreed. He told the Herald on Sunday the couple would make great parents. Karen Kay of Karen Kay Management also did not think a baby would impact on Castle-Hughes' career. "Plenty of people have children and they continue their careers," she said.
Yesterday, Castle-Hughes' Whale Rider co-star Cliff Curtis had only just flown back into the country and was unaware she was pregnant.
"That's wonderful news, they'll be fantastic parents. They've been in a committed relationship for a long time and Bradley's always been there for her."
Family Planning executive director Jackie Edmonds said teenage mothers generally required lots of family support to ensure they made a successful fist of the early years with their baby.
Many teenage mothers coped extremely well, but obviously there were a lot of extra challenges with coping as a young mum, she said.
Keisha Castle-Hughes
Keisha was born on March 24, 1990, at Donnybrook, Western Australia, to Kiwi Desrae Hughes of Ngati Porou, Tainui and Ngapuhi descent, and Australian Tim Castle, a steel-installer and former Aussie Rules player. When she was four, the family moved to Auckland. She has two younger brothers, Rhys and Liam, and went to Bailey Rd School and Penrose High School.
In 2001, casting agent Diana Rowan picked 11-year-old Keisha, who had no acting experience, for the starring role of Paikea in Niki Caro's hit film Whale Rider. Her performance made her the youngest person ever nominated for an Oscar in the "actress in a leading role" category. At 14, she was invited into the actors' branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Films: Whale Rider (2002), Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), The Nativity Story (2006), Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger (shooting scheduled to start this month), plus appearances on six TV documentaries, films and shows, including Bro' Town and New Zealand Idol.
She finished filming the role of the Virgin Mary in a hot new Hollywood movie only weeks ago, and now 16-year-old Oscar-nominated Kiwi actress Keisha Castle-Hughes has announced she is pregnant.
Herald recommends
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- Quick Read
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Gulfstream Overview
One of the many great things about the Gulfstream fiberglass pool is that it can be placed in most reasonably sized back yards—you don't need acres to enjoy summertime pool fun. The square design of the Gulfstream allows you to choose what kind of pool activities you will be doing with your family and friends.
The quality of this pool will be noticed from the very first splash, as the amazing Gelcoat finish makes the water sparkle even more and the coat is smooth and nice on the hands and feet.
The Gulfstream has a single four-step point of entry so getting in and exiting the pool won't interfere with the games and enjoyment that the swimming pool offers.
Look forward to the hottest of hot days this summer with the Gulfstream Medium Sport Pool from Alaglas.


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Her Red Shoes – A Modern Berliner Fairytale
Once upon a time, there was a city known for its charm and diversity; its ability and danger to arouse the hunger in you and to eat you alive.
With many expectations, Katie came to Berlin, hoping to find out who she was and was to become. It was a cold and sunny December day.
Her fear of having chosen the wrong people to live with vanished quickly, as she entered the flat that appeared to be fancier than she had expected. The light on the fourth floor confirmed the golden border´s shiny appearance which caught Katie´s eyes first when she came into her new home. Her new flatmates welcomed her with warm words before they told her all about their lives in the city and about the truths she must have missed during her simpler life in a small town.
They immediately acknowledged her open-minded character and her sense of fashion. Only her red shoes caused some pejorative looks on the two girls´ faces whose perfect appearance and apparent experience of city life intimidated Katie. The shoes she wore were once her sister´s and now her´s for years and, although they started to fall apart, they were still her absolute favourite.
From time to time Katie learned more about her new friends and, although she missed her sister and her parents, she walked step by step with a pair of new boots into her new life.
She bought them on sale and, despite her girlfriends´ distaste for the garish red, they agreed on the function and style of Katie´s new winter shoes. At this point, Katie did not think about, whether her longing for wearing something different than her friends was why the picked these conspicuous shoes, or whether she subconsciously missed the decomposing pair of her past that now lay in a carton under her bed.
The winter nights were cold and long, and even longer on the weekends when Katie and her friends dressed up and went to the clubs. The nights were more glamorous than Katie would have ever imagined before she left her small town, and before her journey of finding herself turned into an adventure of unnaturally bright lights and other overwhelming sensory impressions. The thought that she had always waited for this different life, a new way of being and being part of something, overcame her while her warm feet sweated in the glowing boots. She felt even safer in the choices she made when the guy next to her started smiling, first at her feet and then at her face. "Matches my hat," he shouts at her while pointing to his Christmas hat as if she could overlook the accessory. Hours passed and the confidence in Katie grew while she silenced her instinct to sleep, abandoned herself to the atmosphere and danced with the new person in her life after her friends have left.
Towards the early morning hours of the following day, she could no longer dance in her red boots, as much as she loved the way they made her feel. With one hand on Santa´s shoulder, she tried to take them off, but they would not move a single bit. When she went outside to have a better try she noticed that there was no way for her to walk. It seemed that the boots were dancing by themselves and that her feet were moved by them. One boot continued the dance while she firmly tried to take off the other one, but she could not move them. When she danced back to the club the doors were already shut and she was all alone on the cold and dirty streets of her glamorous present.
Her feet felt numb while the awareness in her mind came back and scared her more than she had ever been. She realised how alone she was. That this was not supposed to be her way to become the person she wanted to be. And more than anything else she wished for a new start, in her old red shoes that were meant to carry her future stories. But it was too late now, as she was forced to dance forever, and forever to wait, for no happy ending to come.
By Maleen Schwinger


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Not surprisingly, this created an uproar, but when Minister of Justice Beatrice Ask was asked in a radio interview whether she was concerned by this apparent profiling, she brushed off any concerns, saying that what people thought was racial profiling was just a matter of "personal experience," and she indicated that she does not intend to take any specific measures to address the matter.
The writer Jonas Hassen Khemiri wrote the open letter below in response to Ask's comments. It ran in the Stockholm paper Dagens Nyheter on March 13, 2013. By the end of that day it had broken the record for the most-shared DN.se article on social media. According to a DN article about the story, it was shared on Twitter enough times to theoretically have reached every Swede with a Twitter account. It is now the most linked text in Swedish history.
—Rachel Willson-Broyles
Dear Beatrice Ask,
There are a lot of things that make us different. You were born in the mid-fifties; I was born in the late seventies. You are a woman; I'm a man. You're a politician; I'm an author. But there are some things we have in common. We've both studied international economics (without graduating). We have almost the same hairstyle (even if our hair color is different).
And we're both full citizens of this country, born within its borders, joined by language, flag, history, infrastructure. We are both equal before the Law.
So I was surprised last Thursday when the radio program P1 Morgon asked you whether, as the Minister of Justice, you are concerned that people (citizens, taxpayers, voters) claim they have been stopped by the police and asked for ID solely because of their (dark, non-blond, black-haired) appearances. And you answered:
"One's experience of 'why someone has questioned me' can of course be very personal. There are some who have been previously convicted and feel that they are always being questioned, even though you can't tell by looking at a person that they have committed a crime [...] In order to judge whether the police are acting in accordance with laws and rules, one has to look at the big picture."
Interesting choice of words: "previously convicted." Because that's exactly what we are. All of us who are guilty until we prove otherwise. When does a personal experience become a structure of racism? When does it become discrimination, oppression, violence? And how can looking at "the big picture" rule out so many personal experiences of citizens?
I am writing to you with a simple request, Beatrice Ask. I want us to trade our skins and our experiences. Come on. Let's just do it. You've never been averse to slightly wacky ideas (I still remember your controversial suggestion that anyone who buys sex ought to be sent a notice in a lavender envelope.) For twenty-four hours we'll borrow each other's bodies. First I'll be in your body to understand what it's like to be a woman in the patriarchal world of politics. Then you can borrow my skin to understand that when you go out into the street, down into the subway, into the shopping center, and see the policeman standing there, with the Law on his side, with the right to approach you and ask you to prove your innocence, it brings back memories. Other abuses, other uniforms, other looks. And no, we don't need to go as far back as World War II Germany or South Africa in the eighties. Our recent Swedish history is enough, a series of random experiences that our mutual body suddenly recalls.
Being six years old and landing at Arlanda in our common homeland. We walk toward customs with a dad who has sweaty hands, who clears his throat, who fixes his hair and shines up his shoes on top of his knees. Two times he checks that his Swedish passport is in the correct inner pocket. All the pink-colored people are let by. But our dad is stopped. And we think. Maybe it was by chance. Being ten years old and seeing the same scene repeat itself. Maybe it was his accent. Being twelve and seeing the same scene. Maybe it was his holey bag with the broken zipper. Being fourteen, sixteen, eighteen.
Being seven and starting school and being given an introduction to society by a dad who was already, even then, terrified that his outsiderness would be inherited by his children. He says, "When you look like we do, you must always be a thousand times better than everyone else if you don't want to be denied."
"Because everyone is a racist."
"Are you a racist?"
"Everyone but me."
Because that's exactly how racism works. It is never part of our guilt, our history, our DNA. It's always somewhere else, never here, in me, in us.
Being eight and watching action films where dark men rape, swear gutturally, strike their women, kidnap their children, manipulate and lie and steal and abuse. Being sixteen, nineteen, twenty, thirty-two, and seeing the same one-dimensional characters being used over and over again.
Being nine and deciding to become the class's most studious nerd, the world's biggest brownnoser. Everything goes according to plan, and it's only when we have a substitute that someone automatically assumes that we're the class troublemaker.
Being ten and being chased by skinheads for the first, but not the last, time. They catch sight of our mutual body by the wino bench down by Högalidskyrkan, they roar, we run, we hide in a doorway, the taste of blood in our mouth, our common heart beating like a rabbit's all the way home.
Being eleven and reading cartoons where Orientals are mystically exotic, beautifully brown-eyed, sensual (but also deceitful).
Being twelve and going into Mega Skivakademien to listen to CDs, and every time we go there the security guards circle like sharks, they talk into walkie-talkies, they follow us at a distance of only a few meters. And we try to act normal, we strive to make our body language maximally noncriminal. Walk normally, Beatrice. Breathe as usual. Walk up to that shelf of CDs and reach for that Tupac album in a way that indicates you are not planning to steal it. But the security guards keep spying, and somewhere, way in here, deep in our mutual body, there's probably a shame-filled pleasure in getting a taste of that structure that entrapped our dads, in finding an explanation for why our dads never succeeded here, why their dreams died in a sea of returned letters of application.
Being thirteen and starting to hang out at the youth center and hearing stories. A friend's older brother who talked back to the Norrmalm police and was tossed into a police van and then dumped in Nacka with a bloody nose. A friend's cousin who was dragged in and knocked around by security in that little room on the subway platform at Slussen (telephone books against his thighs so it wouldn't leave bruises). Dad's friend N who was found by a police patrol and locked up in the drunk tank because he was slurring, and the police didn't notice until the next day that something was wrong and in the ER they found the aneurysm and at his funeral his girlfriend said: "If only they had called me, I could have told them that he didn't drink alcohol."
Being thirteen and a half and living in a city besieged by a man with a rifle and a laser sight, a person who shoots eleven black-haired men in seven months without the police stepping in. And our mutual brain starts to think that it's always the Muslims who have it worst, always those with Arabic names who have the least power (and completely represses the times when other structures were in power—like when the guy in school whom everyone called "the Jew" was chained to a fence by his jeans, with a lock through his belt loop, and everyone just laughed when he tried to get loose; he laughed too, he tried to laugh; did we laugh?).
Being fourteen and coming out of McDonald's on Hornsgatan and being asked for ID by two police officers. Being fifteen and sitting outside an Expert store when a police van pulls up, two officers get out, ask for ID, ask what's up tonight. Then they hop back into the van.
And all the time, a fight inside. One voice says: They have no fucking right to prejudge us. They can't fucking cordon off the city with their uniforms. They are forbidden to make us feel insecure in our own neighborhoods.
But the other voice says: What if it was our fault. We were probably talking too loudly. We were wearing hoodies and sneakers. Our jeans were too big and had a suspicious number of pockets. We made the mistake of having a villainous hair color. We could have chosen to have less melanin in our skin. We happened to have last names that reminded this small country that it is part of a larger world. We were young. Everything would definitely be different when we got older.
And our mutual body grew, Beatrice Ask. We stopped hanging at the youth center, we replaced the hoodie with a black coat; the cap with a scarf. We stopped playing basketball and started studying economics at Handelshögskolan in Stockholm. One day we were standing outside Central Station in Stockholm, jotting something down in a notebook (because even though we were studying economics we had a secret dream of becoming an author).
Suddenly someone came up on our right side, a broad man with an earpiece. "How's it going?" He asked for ID and then he pushed our arms up in a police grip and transported us toward the police van, where we were apparently supposed to sit while waiting for him to receive confirmation that we were who we said we were. Apparently we matched a description. Apparently we looked like someone else. We sat in the police van for twenty minutes. Alone. But not really alone. Because a hundred people were walking by. And they looked in at us with a look that whispered, "There. One more. Yet another one who is acting in complete accordance with our prejudices."
And I wish you had been with me in the police van, Beatrice Ask. But you weren't. I sat there alone. And I met all the eyes walking by and tried to show them that I wasn't guilty, that I had just been standing in a place and looking a particular way. But it's hard to argue your innocence in the back seat of a police van.
And it's impossible to be part of a community when Power continually assumes that you are an Other.
After twenty minutes we were released from the police van, no apology, no explanation. Instead: "You can go now." And our adrenaline-pumping body left the place and our brain thought, "I ought to write about this." But our fingers knew that it wouldn't happen. Because our experiences, Beatrice Ask, are nothing in comparison with what happens to others; our body grew up on this side of customs, our mom is from Sweden, our reality is like a cozy room full of pillows in comparison with what happens to those who are truly without power, without resources, without papers. We are not threatened with deportation. We do not risk imprisonment if we return. And in the knowledge that others have it much worse, we chose silence instead of words and the years went by and much later came the introduction of REVA, "the lawful and effective implementation project." The police started searching through shopping centers and stood outside clinics that helped those without papers, and families with Swedish-born children were deported to countries that the children had never been to, and Swedish citizens were forced to show their passports to prove they belonged, and a certain Minister of Justice explained that this had nothing to do with racial profiling but rather "personal experiences." The routines of power. The practices of violence. Everyone was just doing their job. The security guards, the police, the customs officials, the politicians, the people.
And here you interrupt me and say, "But why is it so difficult to understand? Everyone has to follow the Law." And we answer: "But what if the Law is unlawful?"
And you say, "It's all a matter of priorities, and we just don't have infinite resources." And we answer, "How come there's always money when those with few resources are to be persecuted, but never money when those with few resources are to be defended?"
And you say, "But how can we simultaneously combine a broad social safety net with welcoming everyone?" And we shuffle our feet and clear our throats, because to be completely honest we don't have a clear answer to that. But we know that a person can never be illegal and that something must be done when uniforms spread insecurity and the Law turns against its own citizens, and now you've had enough, Beatrice Ask, you try to leave our body, just like the readers you think that this has gone on too long, it's just a lot of repetition, it's not getting to the point, and you're right, there's never any end, there's no solution, no emergency exit, everything just keeps repeating, because the structures aren't going to disappear just because we vote down REVA; REVA is a logical extension of constant, low-intensity oppression, REVA lives on in our inability to reformulate our set national self-image, and tonight in a bar line near you, non-white people systematically spread themselves out so as not to be stopped by the bouncer, and tomorrow in your housing queue those with foreign names are using their partners' last names so as not to be dropped, and just now, in a job application, a completely average Swede wrote "BORN AND RAISED IN SWEDEN" in capital letters just because she knows what will happen otherwise. Everyone knows what will happen otherwise. But no one does anything. Instead we focus on locating people who have moved here in search of the security that we're so proud of being able to offer (some of) our citizens. And I write "we" because we are a part of this whole, this societal body, this we.
You can go now.