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The Situation of Objectification
Posted by The Situationist Staff on March 7, 2009
The Daily Mail's Fiona Macrae and CNN's Elizabeth Landau each had brief articles last week on the fascinating research by Situationist contributor Susan Fiske and her collaborators. We've mashed up excerpts of the two articles below.
* * *
It may seem obvious that men perceive women in sexy bathing suits as objects, but now there's science to back it up.
New research shows that, in men, the brain areas associated with handling tools and the intention to perform actions light up when viewing images of women in bikinis.
At the same time, the region they use to try to tune into another person's thoughts and feelings tunes down, brain scans showed.
The research was presented this week by [Situationist Contributor] Susan Fiske . . . at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
The participants, 21 heterosexual male undergraduates at Princeton, took questionnaires to determine whether they harbor "benevolent" sexism, which includes the belief that a woman's place is in the home, or hostile sexism, a more adversarial viewpoint which includes the belief that women attempt to dominate men.
In the men who scored highest on hostile sexism, the part of the brain associated with analyzing another person's thoughts, feelings and intentions was inactive while viewing scantily clad women, Fiske said.
Overall, the experiments showed that sexy images lead men to think of women as 'less than human.'
Fiske said: 'The only other time we have seen this is when people look at pictures of the homeless or of drug addicts . . . ." The phenomenon in this case is somewhat different, Fiske said. People have reactions of avoidance toward the homeless and drug addicts, and the opposite for scantily clad women.
"This is just the first study which was focused on the idea that men of a certain age view sex as a highly desirable goal, and if you present them with a provocative woman, then that will tend to prime goal-related responses," she told CNN.
"They're not fully conscious responses, and so people don't know the extent to which they're being influenced," Fiske said. "It's important to recognize the effects."
A supplementary study on both male and female undergraduates found that men tend to associate bikini-clad women with first-person action verbs such as I "push," "handle" and "grab" instead of the third-person forms such as she "pushes," "handles" and "grabs." They associated fully clothed women, on the other hand, with the third-person forms, indicating these women were perceived as in control of their own actions. The females who took the test did not show this effect, Fiske said.
That goes along with the idea that the man looking at a woman in a bikini sees her as the object of action, Fiske said.
Past studies have also shown that when men view images of highly sexualized women, and then interact with a woman in a separate setting, they are more likely to have sexual words on their minds, she said. They are also more likely to remember the woman's physical appearance, and sit closer to her — for instance, at a job interview.
Fiske said the effect could spill over into the workplace, with girlie calendars leading men to sexualise their colleagues.
She said: 'I am not saying there should be censorship but people need to know of the associations people have in their minds.'
* * *
We would add that this research might provide some pause to those employers who encourage or require their employees to dress provocatively (see, for example, the article here).
For related Situationist posts, see "Hillary Clinton, the Halo Effect, and Women's Catch-22," "The Color of Sex Appeal," "The Situation of Body Image," "The Situation of Hair Color," "The Magnetism of Beautiful People," "Survival of the Cutest," "Women's Situational Bind," "Hey Dove! Talk to YOUR parent!," and "You Shouldn't Stereotype Stereotypes."
4 Responses to "The Situation of Objectification"
February 25, 2009 at 4:30 am
Let's do a few reality checks. Women in Sweden prance around shirtless, so they must be quite dehumanized. On the other hand, Saudi Arabian women are covered from head to toe, so according to Fiske they're unlikely to be treated as objects. Dehumanization must also have increased from Victorian times through the sexual revolution as women shed more and more clothing.
The truth is that throughout history and across cultures, the degree to which females in a society are treated as regular humans always correlates with the amount of skin they show: evidence against the theory.
I actually wish Fiske's theory were true. American women want it both ways: to act like sex objects without being treated like sex objects. The logical implication of the theory is that they would have to choose, but unfortunately they don't since the theory is wrong.
American women want to sleep around like Bonobos, wear almost nothing in the spring and summer, buy personal vibrators, post suggestive pictures on their Facebook profiles as their photo IDs to the world, and pack cinemas for movies like Sex and the City. Some promiscuous college girls even call each other sluts or whores as casual terms of affection. Essentially 95 percent of women are prostitutes. The ones we call prostitutes just have the lowest prices. That's why Fiske married an endowed professor but likely never considered any drywallers. Women shouldn't get to complain about being sexualized as long as they continue to sexualize themselves for pleasure and profit.
February 25, 2009 at 6:17 pm
Thanks, very interesting.
February 27, 2009 at 1:38 am
I think Robert may have shown up just to give us an example of "hostile sexism."
That said I was somewhat troubled by the amount of time CNN gave to Raison's comments suggesting that men's tendency to objectify sexualized women is "hard-wired" or evolutionarily advantageous. It seems rather dispositionist, in a sense, to favor an explanation that men are naturally inclined toward this type of reaction, instead of looking first to the sexist situation that men and women are raised in. This is particularly the case in light of the fact that this reaction seems to be correlated with men's attitudes toward women, which (we imagine) are not hard-wired; thus, Raison is favoring hard-wiring as an explanation even when there's no evidence for it (as opposed to some other cause, like culture) and some evidence against it. Certainly if this were a regular IAT showing that white men are implicitly racist or that wealthy people are implicitly classist, "hard-wiring" or evolution would hardly be any reasonable person's #1 explanation.
February 28, 2009 at 6:53 am
Recently I was looking at the National Geographic website, and saw an article called, "Bikinis Make Men See Women as Objects, Scans Confirm". Because I am interested in brain scans (and bikinis), I read the article, and was shocked by what I found.
At first I thought that the article was a joke. I googled the lead researcher, Susan Fiske, and found that she was a real person, a Professor of Psychology at Princeton University. Her research summary begins with "Professor Fiske's research addresses how stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination are encouraged or discouraged by social relationships, such as cooperation, competition, and power."
This was consistent with the subject matter of the article, so I was forced to conclude that this was an attempt at a genuine scientific study.
I would like to say that I think this is one of the most atrocious pieces of science, that I have ever seen. It is a good example of science perverted by a political agenda. The political agenda in this case , is to promote the political idea that "all men are bastards".
I would be happy to provide details of why this study is so unscientific, if people are interested.


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Alabama child hostage standoff in 2nd full day at bunker
MIDLAND CITY, Ala. (AP) — A standoff in rural Alabama went into a second full day Thursday as police surrounded an underground bunker where a retired truck driver was holding a 5-year-old hostage he grabbed off a school bus after shooting the driver dead.
A normally quiet dirt road was teeming with activity around the siege that began late Tuesday. At least a dozen police cars and trucks, a fire truck, a helicopter, officers from multiple agencies, media and at least one ambulance crowded the stretch where the dead-end residential road branches off a U.S. highway near Midland City, population 2,300. A staging area for law enforcement was lit by bright lights overnight.
The boy being held was watching TV and getting medication sent from home, according to state Rep. Steve Clouse, who met with authorities and visited the boy's family. Clouse said the bunker had food and electricity.
Authorities lowered medicine into the bunker for the boy after his captor agreed to it, Clouse said.
The gunman, identified by neighbors as Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, was known around the neighborhood as a menacing figure who once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property and patrolled his yard at night with a flashlight and a shotgun.
Authorities say the gunman boarded a stopped school bus Tuesday afternoon and demanded two boys between 6 and 8 years old. When the driver tried to block his way, the gunman shot him several times and took a 5-year-old boy off the bus.
Dykes had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to face a charge of menacing some neighbors with a gun as they drove by his house weeks ago.
Homes on the road had been evacuated earlier after authorities found what they believed to be a bomb on the property. SWAT teams took up positions around the gunman's property and police negotiators tried to win the kindergartener's safe release.
The situation remained unchanged for hours as negotiators talked to the suspect, Alabama State Trooper Charles Dysart told a news conference late Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Sheriff Wally Olson said that authorities had "no reason to believe that the child has been harmed."
Local TV station WDHN obtained a police dispatch recording of the moment officers first arrived at the site. On it, the officers are heard saying that they were trying to communicate with Dykes through a PVC pipe leading into the shelter.
Authorities gave no details of the standoff, and it was unclear if Dykes made any demands from the bunker, which some officials described as being like the underground tornado shelters some homes have in their yards.
"As far as we know there is no relation at all. He just wanted a child for a hostage situation," said Michael Senn, a pastor who helped comfort other traumatized children after the attack.
The bus driver, Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, was hailed by locals as a hero who gave his life to protect the 21 students aboard the bus. Authorities say most of the students scrambled to the back of the bus when the gunman boarded.
Neighbors described a number of run-ins with Dykes in the time since he moved to this small town near the Georgia and Florida borders, in a region known for peanut farming. Dykes had been scheduled to appear in court to answer charges he shot at his neighbors in a dispute last month over a speed bump.
In that dispute, neighbor Claudia Davis said he yelled and fired shots at her, her son and her baby grandson over damage Dykes claimed their pickup truck did to a makeshift speed bump in the dirt road. No one was hurt.
Mike and Patricia Smith, who live across the street from Dykes and whose two children were on the bus, said their youngsters had a run-in with him about 10 months ago.
"My bulldogs got loose and went over there," Patricia Smith said. "The children went to get them. He threatened to shoot them if they came back."
"He's very paranoid," her husband said. "He goes around in his yard at night with a flashlight and shotgun."
Another neighbor, Ronda Wilbur, said Dykes beat her 120-pound dog with a lead pipe for coming onto his side of the dirt road. The dog died a week later.
"He said his only regret was he didn't beat him to death all the way," Wilbur said. "If a man can kill a dog, and beat it with a lead pipe and brag about it, it's nothing until it's going to be people."

subset: commoncrawl


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Women's philantropy group celebrates second year
United to make a difference
READING — A group of women are showing that by pooling resources, they can make a difference within their community.
The Reading Chapter of 100 Women Who Care celebrated their second anniversary Friday with more than 40 attending in the Reading Elementary School library. The event held true to it's promise to conclude in under an hour, drawing five new members.
"I like that we can get in and out fast and accomplish so much," member Lynn Rickman said.
Organizer Annie Russo said the group has been meeting since Feb. 2011 and since then has raised $16,075 for area charities. Each meeting averages earnings of $2,000.
Russo said the chapter provides a way to make a small contribution and see a big impact.
Meetings are held four times per year and each member commits to donating a total of $100 over a year's time ($25 per meeting, four times per year).
At each meeting, all members have the option to nominate the name of their favorite organization or cause by paper ballot. Three nominations are randomly drawn and each of the three submitting members give a five-minute presentation about the local charity or cause she's nominated.
The group then votes by ballot to determine the recipient of that meeting's donation. Everyone then writes her check out to the organization that wins. Checks are collected, documented and delivered shortly thereafter.
Member Marian Dickey said she likes to come to the meetings because "it brings the community together."
Having attended all the meeting so far, Anna Hubbell said the concept of pooling resources "does help local people out and it's over fast."
Before voting began, Russo presented a certificate from LifeLine Food Pantry to the group, thanking them for their donations. Others benefiting from past donations include:
a local family (house fire victims), Reading Band Boosters, a local woman (cancer patient), Reading High School Drama Club, Reading Library and the Reading Elementary School Helping Hands fund.
At Friday's meeting, the three randomly drawn nominations included: Reading Community Schools Libraries, Reynolds Elementary security upgrade and Ranger Blankets for Kids.
Speaking for RCS Libraries was Kathy Rutledge, who said it had been many years since new books had been purchased for the libraries.
"What kids are reading these days is different from what we read when we were their age," Rutledge said. "We need a variety and we need audio books. Plus, our books are getting is such a sorry shape in both the elementary and high school libraries."
Sandi Foust spoke in favor of the Reynolds Elementary security upgrade, noting that a security system would come at a cost of $3,550 and $2,000 from the group would go a long way in raising the funds needed.
"What happened in Newtown can happen anywhere," Rutledge said.
Speaking for Ranger Blankets for Kids, Peg Root said "because many people are without jobs, it's hard to keep their little darlings warm. It is such a wonderful outreach and I was hoping we could do it again this year."
The RCS Libraries won, with monies intended to be split between the elementary and high school libraries.
As of Friday night, Russo said the group received $1,525 in donations.
"It would be awesome to be able to donate $1,000 to each library - meaning 80 women minimum to donate this quarter- and we hope to meet that goal."
Those unable to attend the meeting can make checks payable to RCS Libraries with 100 Women in the notes line. Send to: Danielle Elder, 439 Potter Road, Quincy, MI. 49082.


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Singer Toni Braxton hospitalized for Lupus complications
LOS ANGELES – Singer Toni Braxton has been hospitalized in Los Angeles.
The R&B performer says in a Tweet on Friday that she's been hospitalized because of "minor health issues" related to Lupus. A spokeswoman confirmed the hospitalization but had no other details. "But no worries!," Braxton wrote to fans. "I will be out any day now."
The 45-year-old singer of "Un-break My Heart" revealed two years ago she has Lupus, a potentially deadly autoimmune disease that killed Braxton's uncle. She also suffers from a narrowing of the blood vessels in her heart.
Braxton said in a recent "20/20" interview that doctors told her the Lupus diagnosis meant her performing career would likely be diminished and the disease helped push her into a recent bankruptcy.


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Below we have mashed up three articles about the recent, highly contentious Wisconsin Supreme Court election — "Big money, nasty ads highlight Wisconsin judicial race" by Bill Mears for CNN, "Life, liberty and the pursuit of a fair judiciary" from The Economist, and "Gableman victorious" by Stacy Forster and Patrick Marley for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — and sprinkled in several illustrative Youtube videos of campaign ads.
* * *
Justice is meant to be impartial. To this end, Britain's judges are appointed for life. In America federal judges are as well. But in 39 states some or all judges must face election and re-election, often with unbecoming hoopla. An election to the Supreme Court of the state of Wisconsin has just involved about $5.5m and more than 12,000 aired advertisements. Habeas circus, one might say.
Michael Gableman defeated Louis Butler, an incumbent on Wisconsin's Supreme Court, on April 1st, and the cacophony has not yet subsided.
The scuffle has revealed two worrying traits of America's judicial elections.
First, they have become bitter contests. In 2006 91% of Supreme Court elections featured television advertisements, up from 22% in 2000, according to New York University's Brennan Center. Second, the war over tort, or liability, reform has turned judicial elections into a nasty battlefield—especially in those states where state Supreme Court justices are directly elected. Karl Rove, once George Bush's Svengali, ascended in part by helping Texas businessmen fight trial lawyers for control of that state's highest court. The most expensive judicial race in America's history, a $9.3m fight in 2004, saw tort interests pour money into rival campaigns for a seat on the Illinois Supreme Court.
In Wisconsin the signs are troubling. The state's new era of judicial elections began last year. A series of rulings had galvanised corporate leaders, explains James Buchen of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), the state's business lobby. In one ruling in 2005, the Supreme Court overturned the state's caps on medical-malpractice cases. In another, the court ruled that a plaintiff could sue several manufacturers when he did not know which (if any) had caused him injury.
In 2007 groups from all sides poured cash into a state Supreme Court race, spending $5.8m. In Wisconsin's April election, one estimate is that the candidates together raised about $1m (Mr Butler outspent Mr Gableman), while outside groups such as WMC and the teachers' union spent more than $4.5m.
"What's remarkable about this race is how dominant the outside groups have been," said J.R. Ross, editor at WisPolitics.com. "They've outspent the candidates themselves 10-to-1 on TV ads. They're essentially drowning out the messages of Butler and Gableman.
"Wisconsin is the current hot spot in the culture wars that have played in the courts in recent years," said Rebecca Kourlis, founder and director of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, which works to improve the civil justice system. "More and more money is being poured into these judicial races, more planning on how candidates position themselves for a political audience. These elections have simply gotten out of control."
[Gableman] raised far less in campaign funds than Butler, but benefited from support by such third-party groups as Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state's biggest business lobby; the Coalition for America's Families, which advocates for what it calls conservative causes; and Wisconsin Club for Growth, [see their 30-second ad below] which supports lower taxes.
The Brennan Center for Justice estimates the three groups had spent a combined $1.4 million on ads.
The Greater Wisconsin Committee, a group that says it backs progressive causes, ran pro-Butler and anti-Gableman ads. The Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state's largest teacher's union, ran an anti-Gableman spot.
Gableman is supported by a coalition of sheriff's and district attorneys, and Wisconsin Right to Life.
Butler has the nod from a number of judges, law enforcement groups and the state AFL-CIO.
This year's flood of money might have drawn less censure if it had spurred a proper debate on judicial philosophy. It didn't. Mr Gableman's campaign produced an advertisement suggesting that Mr Butler, a black man, had helped free a black rapist. An advertisement supporting Mr Butler claimed that Mr Gableman was soft on paedophiles. Even WMC's advertisements were about crime.
Unlike some states, Wisconsin does not require candidates to list themselves by party. Butler was appointed to the state high court in 2004 by Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle. He runs on his judicial and life experience. The only African-American on the bench, Butler, 56, has been a longtime judge.
He was previously a public defender, and that is where the current attack ads have focused. His opponent ran his first TV commercial suggesting Butler's appellate defense of a child rapist led to the defendant's early release. But the man had, in fact, served his entire sentence.
Butler said the integrity of the judicial system had been challenged by the negativity of the campaign and said reform was needed.
Gableman, who was criticized widely for an ad attacking Butler's work as a public defender, said that voters deserved to know about the backgrounds of the candidates and that he was "very proud of the fact we ran a positive campaign.
"You don't get a more stark contrast or clear contrast than that between a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney," Gableman said. "Therefore, I don't view it as a negative ad. I view it as an ad that illustrates the real differences of our professional backgrounds."
A conservative group, Coalition for America's Families, ran its own spot criticizing Butler for writing an opinion overturning another rapist's conviction. The group also claimed he had "sided with criminals nearly 60 percent of the time," a statistic it has not substantiated.
Factcheck.org, a self-described "consumer advocate" for voters, called the ad "distorted."
Gableman eventually called on the coalition to stop the ads.
Gableman, also a longtime state judge, calls himself a judicial conservative. He is a former prosecutor and campaigns on a tough law-and-order agenda.
A left-leaning group — Greater Wisconsin Committee — ran an ad suggesting Gableman got his job only because of political payback. The ad implied the judge was named to his current seat after a $1,250 campaign donation to then-Republican Gov. Scott McCallum, who appointed him. The ad was attacked by a non-partisan state monitoring committee. McCallum denounced the group as well, saying Gableman is well-qualified for the bench.
Regardless of the tenor of the campaign, money may be undermining faith in the court. A recent poll conducted for Justice at Stake, a group devoted to judicial independence, found that 78% of respondents in Wisconsin believe campaign contributions influence judges' rulings.
The stakes in Wisconsin and nationwide are high, and are fueling renewed calls for reform on how judges are selected. The 19 states that held state Supreme Court elections last year shattered previous campaign cycle spending records — $34.4 million in all — which have increased steadily in the past decade.
The idea of judges running for elected office may seem like a strange concept, but it is the law in 21 states that have some sort of contested system for top judges. Thirty states — along with the federal system — appoint their judges, often under a merit selection system in which the governor gets the final say.
All 21 states will hold elections for Supreme Court seats this fall, but the early race in Wisconsin is considered a political bellwether of the tenor and sway outside partisan groups will have on how these campaign will be run.
The seven Wisconsin Supreme Court justices, including Butler, have already signed a letter saying they support the creation of a system of public financing for state Supreme Court campaigns.
The state Senate this session passed a bill that would have set up a system of public financing, but it did not advance in the Assembly
The question is whether to change the new dispensation and, if so, how? Comprehensive legal reform might help keep the tort war from seeping into judicial elections. But the elections themselves are unlikely to be scrapped. More feasible would be to pass reforms, such as public financing for campaigns or stricter rules to prevent conflicts of interest. In Wisconsin politicians and Supreme Court judges all work beneath the state capitol's giant dome. It is getting hard to tell the difference between them.
A study released last October by the non-partisan Annenberg Public Policy Center found people in states with no partisan elections for judges had a higher level of trust and confidence in the judiciary. But two-thirds of those surveyed also preferred electing judges directly to having them appointed.
* * *
For Situationist related posts, see "The Situation of Judging – Part I," and "The Situation of Judging – Part II."


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Sterling Nitro 9.8
Sterling Nitro 9.8 climbing rope reviewed by Rock and Ice, the climbing magazine.
$199 60m standard; $225 dry
"This is a really thin rope," my friend warned me as he shoed up. "So hang onto it hard if I fall."
What occurred to me in that moment was: I don't want to have to tell my belayers to hold on. I don't even want to think about that when I should be thinking about moves.
I have never felt terribly compelled to use skinny ropes. A hoi-polloi weekender, I figure I fall off for other, more basic reasons than my rope not being quite light enough.
But lately I have found a reassuring compromise. The Nitro is part of Sterling's Fusion series, a line intended for a hard and painstaking climber, unwilling to carry any extra rope weight. But at 9.8mm (impact force: 9.0 kN; Static Elongation: 10%) the Nitro is considered the workhorse of the line, millimeters wider than the super skinnies.
Beyond that, what makes it good is that same solidarity. The rope is not too soft, not too stiff; clips easily, and runs smoothly over rock and through carabiners. The sheath, re-engineered for a higher denier count than ropes in the Evolution series, but lower than in the truck Marathons, allows for a thin rope that is also durable. After using the rope for five months, I see only one snag, near the end. The rope provides a nice soft catch.
I do wish it had a center mark, though, for further peace of mind. As of press time Sterling said it was working on that addition.
Read Maxim Chalkline 10.8mm climbing rope review
Read Edelweiss Laser 9.6mm climbing rope review
Read Mammut Tusk 9.8mm climbing rope review
Read Sterling Ion 9.5mm climbing rope review


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Sourdough starter
I'm not sure if I'm on the right track or not. I started a sourdough starter that sourdolady gave directions for two days ago. Today is the second day for feeding. Therewas a little runniness to the mix, but that's all. No bubbles or incredible smell. I proceede to mix in the next two T. of room temp. ornge juice and KA organic whole wheat flour. The mix immidiately tightened up into a ball. Is this normal or did I go wrong somewhere?
I thank you all in advance for your response!


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Sheshatshui Innu Band Council
First Nation
Sheshatshui Innu Band Council
First Nation
Comprehensive profiles are available to our members!!
Meeting the needs of the citizens that comprise Indigenous communities requires the successful interaction and collaboration of many people. ITFC makes it easy for all involved to contribute and benefit from the inclusion and engagement network.
Are you...?
Interested in knowing the current and emerging economic opportunities, including jobs, procurement possibilities that could become mutually beneficial in an inclusive and engaged economy.
Interested in partnerships, collaborations, joint ventures to grow your business.
Interested in becoming aware of special projects and initiatives that could impact your business?
Interested in knowing what Indigenous communities in Canada are buying!
Sure you can afford to miss out on existing and emerging opportunities with Indigenous Canadians, their communities and their businesses?


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The geologic record should be interpreted using a Biblical framework.
No results found in Creation on Display.
Fossils are filled with mystery. They are commonly used to attack the biblical worldview, but in reality the Bible gives us the keys to help us solve these mysteries. How could recently discovered dinosaur tissue have survived until today? Why is the first fossil layer filled with such an astonishing variety of life ("the Cambrian Explosion")? Read this issue to understand these and other mysteries of our world!Browse Issue Subscribe
Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.


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Stella! Ornery dog leads to $1M Idaho lottery win
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A group of blue collar University of Utah workers will split $1 million in lottery winnings thanks to a set of keys left in a truck and an ornery little dog named "Stella."
Thirteen years after playing the same set of numbers every month in the Idaho lottery, the group of 33 workers who work on heating and cooling university buildings hit pay dirt when Steve Hughes left his truck running to keep his dog "Stella" warm while he went inside to a gas station near Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, on Jan. 6. Utah has no lottery.
When he returned to his truck, his miniature pincher had locked him out by putting her paw on the manual lock. Hughes, 29, planned to buy the ticket elsewhere, but instead he had his girlfriend buy it there while he tried to pick the lock with a slim jim.
He eventually coached Stella to put her paws on the electronic window button in the back seat, allowing Hughes to get in the car.
What seemed like an annoying delay that day turned out to be serendipitous when the group discovered Wednesday night that they had won second prize in the Idaho Powerball. They announced the great news during a morning meeting Thursday morning at the HVAC shop at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Hughes thought it was a joke — looking for the camera filming the prank.
"It was pretty exciting," said Richard Tison, 50, the supervisor.
About 25 members of the group made the 5.5-hour trip on a charter bus to Boise, Idaho on Friday to turn in their winning ticket and collect their checks. The rest had to stay behind to make sure the university's buildings were toasty on the cold winter day, Tison said.
It was a raucous ride on the bus, with the crew making it a "party bus" type atmosphere as they celebrated their good fortune. After collecting their money, the group planned to climb back on board the bus for the journey home — though some suggested they might stop off at a watering hole in Boise to contemplate their winnings.
Tison and Hughes say they will each get about $20,000 after taxes, or as Hughes said, "A nice little bonus during the year."
Hughes plans to save half of his share and buy a four-wheeler. Many in the group plan to buy four-wheelers or drag cars, he said. Some are going to save or invest it.
"I'm going to pay off some bills and probably get me a boat," Tison said.
Hughes' dog, "Stella," didn't get to go on Friday's "party bus" but the lucky winners had previously made sure she was rewarded.
"She got a couple of big surprises when I got home," Hughes said. "She got 18-inch rawhide bones."
The group began buying the tickets in February 2001 with just three people. The pool grew to 33 people, but the philosophy of using the same numbers never changed.
Recently, some in the group suggested they change the numbers — fed up with 13 years of futility. But Tison, one of the original three, insisted they stay the course. Hughes estimates that they've each put in $200 to $400 over the years, depending on how long they've been in the group.
Tison said they plan to keep playing the Idaho Powerball, taking turns making the monthly 1.5 hour drive to Millad, Idaho to pick up a ticket.
And yes, Tison says they'll keep playing the same numbers: 11-16-33-40-41.
"There is no need to change them," Tison said. "It worked once, why wouldn't it work again."
Associated Press writer John Miller in Boise, Idaho contributed to this report.


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I started reviewing the recent family history survey conducted by Myles Proudfoot in an earlier post. This post continues the comparison of results among respondents identifying themselves as amateur genealogists vs. those identifying themselves as professional genealogists.
Question 9 in the survey asked, "How often do you do family history research?" The difference in results is not surprising for this question. Amateur genealogists most frequently responded daily (27.1%), but only by a slim margin over two of the other responses: 4-6 times a week (22.1%), and 2-3 times a week (21.2%). Even for amateur genealogists, genealogy research is apprently extremely addictive, with 70% of all respondents conducting research more than once a week!
Professional genealogists conduct research even more often than amateurs, which should be expected of professionals in any field. An overwhelming 73.5% of all professional genealogists reported that they research daily, followed by 15.9% that responded 4-6 times a week. This amounts to just under 90% of all professional respondents.
Questions 10 and 11 are related, and show the responses show similarities between the amateur respondents and professional genealogists. However, the results are enlightening for anyone interested in genealogy research:
Question 10 asked, "Where do you PRIMARILY keep your family tree information?" This question allowed multiple answers, so it will not total exactly 100%. The choices were:
- In an online tree: 16.1% of Amateurs, 6.2% of Professionals
- On my computer: 73.5% of Amateurs, 84.1% of Professionals
- On paper: 10.1% of Amateurs, 9.7% of Professionals
- In my head: 0.2% of Amateurs, 0.0% of Professionals
- Nowhere/I don't have a tree: 0.2% of Amateurs. 0.0% of Professionals
It cannot be determined, given the disparity between the size of the samples, whether the roughly 10% differences in the first two options are significant. However, these responses indicate that a larger proportion of amateur genealogists keep their data in an online family tree, while a larger proportion of professional genealogists keep their data primarily on their computer.
Question 11 continues along the same theme: "Thinking further about record keeping, how do you keep notes to track your research and findings?" Again, this question allowed more than one response from each respondent:
- "I enter them into my smart phone/tablet": 3.6% of Amateurs, 8.0% of Professionals
- "I use a digital camera to capture the images": 19.8% of Amateurs, 34.5% of Professionals
- "I keep them online": 24.4% of Amateurs, 25.7% of Professionals
- "I type them into my computer": 68.4% of Amateurs, 82.3% of Professionals
- "I type them onto paper": 4.8% of Amateurs, 6.2% of Professionals
- "I use pre-formatted paper templates": 10.7% of Amateurs, 15.0% of Professionals
- "I write them freehand in a notebook": 36.0% of Amateurs, 37.2% of Professionals
- "I don't keep a record of findings or clues": 2.6% of Amateurs, 0.0% of Professionals
There are no significant differences in the responses for most of these options. The highest difference is among those respondents who selected "I use a digital camera to capture the images." While slightly less than 20% of amateur genealogists use a digital camera to photograph records of interest, over 35% of professional genealogists practice this method. This probably comes as a result of the strong emphasis that professional genealogists place on reviewing original records (as opposed to derivative sources).
The smaller difference between the amateurs and the professionals who reported that they "type them into [their] computer[s]," probably reflects the larger percentage of professionals who reported in Question 10 that they primarily keep their genealogy information in their computers.
More of the results from Mr. Proudfoot's survey will be analyzed in future posts.


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TNB: Death on Forbidden Peak – Was the NPS Complicit?
On September 14, Tyler Barton, a 31-year-old man from Seattle was struck by a falling rock while descending from the West Ridge (III 5.5) of Forbidden Peak in the North Cascades of Washington. According to some reports, he had been forced into a loose rappel gully because park rangers had chopped two bolted rappel stations. This raises the issue of whether the NPS was directly or even indirectly involved in Barton's death.
On the afternoon of September 14, Tyler Barton, a 31-year-old man from Seattle was struck by a falling rock while descending from the West Ridge (III 5.5) of Forbidden Peak in the North Cascades of Washington. The rock knocked him off his stance, he fell about 300 feet and died. According to some reports, he had been forced into a loose rappel gully because park rangers had chopped two bolted rappel stations that had been placed to keep climbers out of the rockfall zone. This raises the issue of whether the NPS was directly or even indirectly involved in Barton's death.
The West Ridge is a popular route with easy rock, moderate snow and epic views. It's one of the 50 Classic Climbs (Roper/Steck) and this notoriety combined with the quality of the climbing make the route a highly sought-after prize. The day the accident occurred, the route was crowded with multiple parties.
The descent from the West Ridge involves five or six rappels (or two or three if double ropes are employed). The rappel stations consist of blocks tied off with "nests" of tat and there are various, more-or-less reliable descent lines you can take. Several years ago, the very last anchor, the one that climbers commonly used to access the glacier—a big horn—started to wobble, and someone established a two-bolt station so that climbers wouldn't have to rap off the loose block.
In August 2012, a Cascades guide named Kurt Hicks decided to establish another bolted anchor near the top of the rappels that, he says, would allow climbers to stay on more solid rock to the climber's left of the gully which, by all accounts is a potential shooting gallery made more treacherous by the increasing number of climbers who kick through loose sections, repeatedly weight blocks, and pull ropes through choss. Hicks reasoned that the bolts would increase safety, reduce impact and allow him to remove pounds of unsightly webbing—"leave no trace," and so forth—thereby preserving a little of the wilderness character on this "Crowded Classic."
According to Kelly Bush (the wilderness district ranger that supervises the backcountry of North Cascades National Park), on the morning that Hicks placed the bolts, he crossed paths with two climbing rangers and they hiked together for roughly 30 minutes before heading off to different routes. When I reached her by phone, Bush noted that Hicks didn't mention his plan to place the new anchor on the West Ridge descent, but that later in the day the climbing rangers heard the clinking of hammer and drill and subsequently discovered the freshly drilled bolts.
When Bush found out what happened she called Hicks. "I told him that the park has a no-bolting policy and that I really wished he would have called me." Hicks offered to take the bolts out himself, but Bush told him the park would do it, and six days later the bolts were removed. In addition to the bolts Hicks added, the lower station—the bolts that had been there for years—were removed and climbers were again forced to rappel off the loose horn.
Why did this park impose an outright ban on a few anchors that clearly have a resource protection and safety purpose? Several other parks nationwide—Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Zion, Grand Teton—all accept a basic level of fixed anchors.
Troubled by the incident, Hicks contacted Jason Keith, the Access Fund Senior Policy Advisor, who felt that the Park's negative response to the new anchor was an over-reaction and inconsistent with established Park Service wilderness management policies for climbing. According to Keith, there are some bans in Forest Service wilderness areas, not so in the National Parks.
Technically there was no rule against bolting in North Cascades wilderness when Hicks hand-drilled that anchor.
Keith contacted the North Cascades National Park Chief Ranger, Kinsey Shilling, who advised they would look into the matter, but by that time, the bolts were already chopped and patched.
On May 13, 2013 the National Park Service released a policy directive entitled Director's Orders #41 (DO #41) which contains the latest direction for managers within all national parks with designated wilderness. Section 7.2 of DO #41 authorized the use of fixed anchors in wilderness if climbing was deemed to be "appropriate." Climbing advocacy groups were carefully optimistic that the climbing management plans mandated by DO #41 would allow bolting either on a case-by-case basis, or "programmatically."
The powers at North Cascades National Park had a different interpretation of DO #41, however, and on August 23, Keith received a letter announcing a "moratorium" on bolting in all North Cascades designated wilderness. Park Superintendent Karen F. Taylor-Goodrich cited the authority of rule 36CFR 2.1 (a)(1)(iv) which prohibits "possessing, destroying, injuring, defacing, removing, digging, or disturbing, from its natural state: (iv) a mineral resource or cave formation or parts thereof."
Then, on September 14, Barton was killed by rockfall in the descent gully on the West Ridge of Forbidden and the question of fixed anchors in the Cascades took on a new dimension. Washington climbing forums and Cascade guides' Facebook pages lit up. Surprisingly, the rhetoric was pretty restrained. Most climbers were in favor of the responsible use of fixed anchors in the wilderness for two reasons: 1) increased safety and 2) the leave-no-trace ethic.
Guide Marc Chauvin wrote in a Facebook post: "The huge amount of slings and junk is also a problem. This is the kind of discussion we should be able to have with well-informed land managers. We need more public servants informed about the types of use our lands get and less law enforcement specialists."
The implication, of course, was that the present land managers were, basically, ill-informed policemen.
At the heart of North Cascades National Park's fixed anchor moratorium was the justification that it had been enacted: "In order to preserve a wilderness experience that reflects a raw style of mountaineering in a range that has changed little since Fred Beckey made first ascents of now-popular peaks."
The question hung in the air: Was the park somehow complicit in this guy's death?
Leaving aside the notion that not much has changed, a poster with the avatar dberdinka pointed out on cascadeclimbers.com: "Fred Beckey was willing to drill MANY bolts on numerous first ascents in the North Cascades and elsewhere if they proved necessary. In large part it amounts to the mentality that a certain perceived stasis must be enforced with no regards to actual historical, cultural or environmental merit. So the question remains: Is removal of existing anchors part of their official policy?
When will—and will they—actually develop a climbing management plan that involves the input of the community?"
The elephant in the room, however, was the death of the climber. The topic played around the edges of the discourse in terse posts like: "That would be unfortunate if the recent accident was partially a result of the bolt chopping."
Kelly Bush has been a ranger at North Cascades for 30 years. She's well respected by climbers who appreciate her search and rescue efforts—she heads up the SAR team—and consider herself a climber, too. She told me she had climbed more in the past, but these days only climbs a couple of peaks every summer. Regarding the accident, she seemed sure that the removal of the bolts and the accident were "in no way related." She had talked to Barton's partner and they (Bush and the partner) both concluded that the rock had been knocked loose when the climbers had pulled the rope after the third rappel.
When I asked if the climbers would have arrived at a different stance had they rappelled off the anchors Hicks had drilled, she said, "Same gully. They would've done the same pull."
Bush then explained that the accident happened right before the government shutdown. She had prepared a report about
the accident that would've cut short all the Internet speculation and innuendo, but then the government shut down and her superiors got so busy with budgetary issues that they didn't have time to read her report and approve it for public dissemination.
As far as DO #41, Bush said she'd been hoping for more guidance, stating that there's "no strong direction" and that it's "open to interpretation." She's now awaiting her "superintendent's directions."
Bush told me that the main proponents of allowing fixed anchors in the wilderness seemed to be the Access Fund and private guides, adding: "I guess it makes their job easier. Otherwise I don't hear too much about it from the general climbing population."
In a phone conversation, the Access Fund's Jason Keith told me about a series of meetings with the park where groups as diverse as the Mountaineers, the Washington Climber's Coalition, the American Alpine Club, the Wilderness Society and Washington Wild were "on our side, trying to get the park to do public process to make these rules."
"Then, the fatality happened … " Keith said. "We were careful not to point fingers because we can't say what caused the rockfall, but it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that rocks coming down a crowded gully…"
I finished the sentence: " … were climber triggered."
"There's no question the [Hicks] descent is safer," Keith said, "and less visually trashy." Keith characterized the park's position on fixed anchors as an "extreme outlier."
"They could right now issue a special permit for two rap anchors on Forbidden Peak," said Keith. "[The anchors] would be visually not obvious; they'd improve the use pattern and reduce impact, and make the descent much safer. We're not disparaging of the park, not saying I told you so. But a future fatality is less likely if you replace those anchors."
I was curious about whether rockfall had resulted in other accidents on Forbidden. Bush told me about a "minor incident" in 2010 where a guy was hit by rock and got a concussion. "Given that it's so popular its [accident rate] might be low."
In contrast, several climbers reported that rockfall was relatively common on the descent. Dan Hilden (posting on cascadeclimbers.com) wrote: "I myself was hit by a rock while rappelling there six years ago (there is a trip report on this site), and things got pretty serious because we were on a chossy ledge and I was very nearly killed by a second rock that popped when I weighted our anchor as I tried to stop the bleeding. That whole area to the looker's left of the couloir is covered in random trash and rap stations, which could be really cleaned up by a few bolts. So what I'm getting at is that on a super popular route like that, where bolts are far safer and cleaner, what's the problem?"
I tend to agree that when fixed anchors will make a descent safer and less visually impactful, they should be allowed—even in wilderness. To me, slings around blocks are unsightly and on routes as popular as the West Ridge of Forbidden, they are, for practical purposes, "permanent." Further, the issue of climber-triggered rockfall is one that needs to be addressed on popular peaks. If a descent can be made safer by directing traffic onto more solid rock, then land managers should allow climbers to install those stations. DO #41 has officially acknowledged that bolts have a legitimate place in wilderness climbing. The NPS needs to get its bureaucratic house in order and draft climbing management plans so that these important environmental
and safety issues can be addressed.
What do you think about bolts in wilderness and/or the North Cascades bolting moratorium? By choosing to chop Hicks' bolts, was the park at all complicit in the death of the climber? Finally, what about bolts used to protect blank faces? Do these have a place in wilderness?


text:
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This week I was going to compile a list of 10 great children's novels that didn't win a Newbery Medal from the American Library Association www.ala.org, similar to my list of 10 classics that didn't get Pulitzer ("Famous Pulitzer Losers," www.oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/04/16/). But I ran out of time, so I'll just mention two:
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White. A 1953 Newbery Honor Book that lost the top prize to Ann Nolan Clark's Secret of the Andes.
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. Shut out of all prizes in 1976. Lost to the Newbery medalist, Susan Cooper's The Grey King, and Honor Books The Hundred Penny Box, by Sharon Bell Mathis, and Dragonwings, by Laurence Yep.
What are the other classics – books children have enjoyed for decades — that didn't win the Newbery?
© 2008 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.


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Poetry Dispatch No. 248 | August 8, 2008
RONALD BAATZ: The Elephants and Everybody Else
Readers familiar with this website and other writings know of my deep and long admiration for the work of Ronald Baatz. Some of what I have written about him can be found on this site. ( "Select Category"…scroll down to Ronald Baatz.) You will also find a wonderful poet, Mark Weber, and a book they both share.
Baatz and I go back to Marvin Malone's lively WORMWOOD REVIEW, which began in the 60's and had almost a 40-year run. What one man alone could do with one little mag in America is still beyond believable. (Check the first 'Baatz Bibliography' which I've included at the end of this piece.) The quality and diversity of writers Malone gathered together in each issue—truly a PhD thesis waiting to be written, if it hasn't happened already. Something too for future little mag and small press editors/publishers to study. In the end, of course, it all comes down to a one-man/woman operation and obsession—to print/to share/to distribute what one senses is out there in the culture, the literary firmament… And no one mined that field better than Marvin Malone.
It was my intention with this Poetry Dispatch to write a longer, informative piece on Ronald Baatz and his latest book, THE ELEPHANTS AND EVERYBODY ELSE, which Cross+Roads Press recently published. I wanted to give new and old readers of his something close to a profile, almost as personal, true-to-life, and informative as the one on Curt Johnson, which appears at the end of his book, SALUD, Selected Writings.
Baatz seemed open to my suggestion at first. I followed with preliminary notes outlining specific areas of questioning I wanted him to think about, areas of art and life which might benefit both readers and writers. But I didn't hear from him as quickly as I usually do. And then I knew, instantly, it wasn't going to happen.
Baatz has always been a pretty private writer, and I sensed he was uncomfortable with where I wanted to go with the questioning, although I fully understood and avoided anything too personal. It was mainly the writing I wanted to deal with. A little history and insight here and there. I wrote back, gave him a chance to beg off—and he took it. So…we'll leave it at that. I respect his right to let the work speak for itself. Though I am disappointed…and disappointed for readers and writers as well.
But what we have here in "The Elephants…" is one magnificent book (in my humble estimation and experience as writer, editor, publisher) which could have been, should have been published by one of our larger commercial presses in America, or one of our more distinguished, highly financially backed independent or academic presses…BUT, given the nature of 'how it is out there,' given the 'influential' games some folks play—it didn't/wouldn't happen.
And that's where the very small, highly under-financed, unpredictable, insecure, over-worked, often unacknowledged, here-today-gone-tomorrow, small press comes in, to play the role it has always played (underground and out of sight) in seeing that these other voices be heard.
When people ask: "What kind of work does Cross+Roads Press publish?" I am more than proud to suggest any book on the backlist, or to turn to the latest: THE ELEPHANTS AND EVERYBODY ELSE by Ronald Baatz.
Just holding a copy in one's hand…and you know it's something special, quite out of the ordinary. I don't have to say: This is what I want. This is what I'm looking for. This is what matters. This is the kind of writer I want to help and the only reason I keep going though, as always, I'm never sure how much longer.
Nor do I care to confess: I printed only 250 copies of it because that's all I could afford, and I may not recover—again! Even sadder, there's the possibility that fewer than half that many people will ever find the book. You never really know, the odds are always against you. But, on the other hand, I also know (sense, feel, etc.) "instant classic" about this book. That years from now (perhaps next year, or the year after) people will be looking for a copy of "Elephants" and it will be gone, hard to find, selling for considerably more than the cover price of $13 plus postage.
That's the only faith the small press writer/publisher keeps.
Here are five poems from the book–of almost fifty poems. I will let them speak for Ron Baatz, everything and everybody else—and leave it at that. —Norbert Blei
Since the search for a new pen had been repeatedly put off,
he continued writing with the old one, even though it felt
thoroughly used up to him. He was correct in sensing that
as far as telling a story was concerned it had long ago run dry.
Finally, out of a mounting frustration, he grabbed his cane
and went out to buy a new pen, an expensive pen for a change,
a genuine fountain pen, since he had never owned such and
he suspected a wealth of new stories might come from one.
The problem was, he couldn't go into a store to try one out.
They didn't have ink in them. He would not be able to sample
the way words flowed from one that might excite his imagination.
The pleasures of even a simple sentence would be denied him.
But after hemming and hawing in front of a store window,
gawking like a child wishing sticky candy, he went in and asked
if he could hold one of the fountain pens. He felt
its well-balanced weight, its lustrous blackness, but also
he was pained at the awareness of the dry and wordless point.
He complained it was no better than holding a knife, an umbrella
or a baseball bat, which were all exquisitely useful when properly
applied to the world, but none was capable of leaving behind
a single utterance once they had accomplished their assigned task.
When it finally came to making a decision,
the bespectacled writer bought one of the pens.
The temptation to intimately know one was
just too much for him to resist. And so with
pen and bottle of ink he walked with anticipation
through the dark streets, in the direction of his house
where his wife stood impatiently at the front door,
worried sick over how late the hour had grown.
To make matters worse, instead of going directly home
he detoured to the outskirts of town, knowing
the earth was scheduled to collide with a meteor shower
the likes of which hadn't been seen in ages. Beyond
the town's glow, fields were abundant with wattle bushes
and tall dry weeds, and cicadas were in riot amongst them.
But as long as he stood there, not a single shooting star
was seen to scratch the sky. The ironclad pattern of stars
did absolutely nothing to persuade the writer to be optimistic
that his new pen would offer up even a single unique story.
Wagging his head he spit at the earth the cold spit of despair.
As a last resort, he took the empty fountain pen from the bag
and looking straight up at the brilliant stillness of the heavens
he connected a handful of the dots, creating the figure of a goat,
the very thinnest moon imaginable lodged tightly in its stomach.
There was this elephant, a bull, who suffered from insomnia.
After nights of not sleeping, this elephant would find himself
at the edge of the town and there he would stand, transfixed
by aromas that would activate in him titanic fits of hunger.
Unable to satisfy this hunger, eventually the elephant would
meander over to the cemetery, where, in all likelihood, the
old gravedigger could be found working in the cool of dark
by the wavering light of a single torch. Well aware
of the nearness of his own death, the old man could be heard
mumbling grim sentences into the opening of the earth.
He would swear at himself too, at how foolhardy he had
often been in making his way through this tantalizing world.
He'd bemoan the bitter loss of loved ones; yet at the same time
he wished only to be left alone so that he might embrace
the unceremonious bliss of dying in peace. His death should be
as inconsequential as that of a moth dying in a cold mist.
He was old, and because he was old he was tired of being
invisible to the young, of aching bones, of trimming his
wiry beard, of praying to a deaf god, of getting drunk on
cheap wine, of being incapable of loving yet another woman,
of taking his teeth out, of putting them back in, of fearing
the panther in the garden, of hoping he'd mistake dying
for simply falling asleep. As he labored the gravedigger
would keep an eye on the elephant, trying to understand
what was going on in such an gigantic, gray, slow-moving head.
Did the elephant think that the man was digging his own grave
because he intended to commit suicide, only to back away
from this naked act of despair at the very last moment?
Or maybe the elephant thought the man was stealing soil
to take home to enrich his garden, to encourage new growth
instead of leaving the soil where its only role was to embosom
the dead. Or might the elephant suspect that the man was
digging up money he had hidden when being chased by the law
and now he needed this money in order to run off to America
to finally fulfill his dream of opening a French restaurant?
Having sized up the elephant, the gravedigger was relieved
that he did not have to dig graves for the likes of such a creature.
Although, with careful consideration, he had estimated that
he could get the job done in one night of nonstop digging.
As for the elephant, he could not begin to conceive of
being forced to sleep eternally in the dark of the earth.
Even though he was aware that his flesh would end up
in places like the belly of the vulture, still, he found
comfort in the fact that his bones would be left behind
as monument to the years of struggle he had waged.
Whenever the elephant grew bored with the digging,
he would go off elsewhere in search of distractions.
He would stop at the motel at the edge of town and
drink water from its swimming pool. Many a night
he could be seen spraying water rowdily up at the sky
as though trying to put out the moon and all the stars.
One elephant, an unusually large domestic bull, suddenly
got it into his head that he didn't like dogs, and whenever
he came in contact with a dog he'd grab it and curl it up
in his trunk and then barbarically slam it to the ground,
more often than not killing the helpless animal. No one,
not even the owner, could say exactly why the elephant
was behaving as such, since none of the dogs had been
taunting the elephant. It got to the point where the owner,
an old man who made a living with this elephant by
taking tourists for rides, had to chain the elephant to a tree.
The elephant's only consolation was scratching up
against this tree, predominantly with his forehead.
And when the old man took the elephant down to the river
every day for a washing and some recreation, he
simply made sure that there were no dogs to be encountered.
Naturally he made sure no children were around who
also might fall victim to the elephant's unpredictable behavior.
While washing the elephant the old man would talk to him,
questioning his sudden dislike for dogs. As always
with the elephant and the old man, the elephant listened
as muscly drops of water fell from his huge eyelashes and
his trunk entered the water like a snake coming down from heaven.
The old man's voice was the most familiar sound to the elephant;
and without that consoling, loving sound heard daily,
there's no telling what the elephant might've done
in the way of destruction. The old man had been given
the elephant when he was a child by his father, and now
neither the man nor the elephant had long to go on this earth.
It was true that the old man had been bitten twice by stray dogs
and the elephant had been witness to these attacks, and
because of this there was some suspicion that the elephant
was now inflicting punishment on any dog they came across.
At a town hall meeting the people unanimously voted that
the elephant not be allowed to travel in the streets anymore.
What caused the old man many a sleepless night was
the question of how he could make enough in earnings
to feed both himself and the elephant if he could not
continue to cater successfully to the hordes of tourists.
It was a problem he dwelt on day and night. Eventually
he realized that setting the elephant free in the wild
was what he had to do; and as for himself, he would go
and live with his brother's family in a nearby town.
This he did, to both his own sorrow and the elephant's.
They did not die on the same day. Unquestionably
it would have made a better story if they had. The elephant died
a year after they had parted, a vicious stab wound
delivered by a young bull having been the cause.
Beyond that, the old man lived a few years of joy
and contentment in the company of loved ones.
Unlike the elephant he had a peaceful death, which
came in his sleep, the sweetness of his daily ration
of vanilla ice cream still lingering in his belly.
Late afternoon was when he preferred being alone
at the beach to launch a kite. On most days luck
would be with him and he'd locate a fine current of wind
suitable for his mission. Blue cloudless days were his favorite.
Actually, he didn't like clouds on blue days or any other days.
Clouds proved nothing more than needless distractions.
Turning his hawklike nose and squinting eyes upwards,
he craved the possibilities of incalculable space.
With feet firmly planted in sand, he felt the tension on the string
linked him directly to the endless play of atmospheric forces.
This allowed him to forget, if only momentarily,
his everyday life. Once his kite was safely aloft,
he was able to forget clogged rain gutters, taxes,
his garden choking with weeds, high blood pressure,
stolen chickens, his rusting automobile, the grandchildren,
who, for some reason, didn't seem to have a home of their own.
On mornings he brought one of his grandsons with him
initially the child would take interest, even joy, in watching
the kite slowly diminish in size as it rose higher and higher;
but before long the child would resort to his shovel and pail.
Thoughtfully, digging in sand, he would start asking questions,
bothersome ones about the sky. The man would end up swearing
to himself never to permit his peaceful kite-flying solitude to be
intruded upon again. The last thing he wanted to deal with
were words and difficult explanations. From being alive
for so many years, he understood words imposed limitations.
Not even from an innocent child could he tolerate words, and
he certainly had no intention of explaining why the sky was blue.
Eventually he would cut the string, permitting the wind
to take the kite wherever it pleased. He'd gaze up at the sky,
life's frustrations evaporating like mist on green dreamy bananas.
Shielding his eyes from the sun, the grandson would also look up
and he would see his grandfather, a man lost in the desire
to be elsewhere. What else could he do but shovel sand
into his grandfather's socks?
She wished to show him the damaged cherry blossoms.
Being comfortable on the back porch with newspaper
and coffee, he put up a minor resistance. Not that he was
reading all that much, the last cool breeze of morning
having the desirable effect of helping him doze off.
Once she got him out to the orchard she handed him
some of the hail still remaining in shaded ground.
He rolled the balls around in the palm of his hand,
attempting to make them come to rest on the same line,
wondering what that line might be called. Even though
he knew she would probably know the answer, he did not ask,
aware that this was not where his attention was supposed to be.
He was supposed to be showing concern for how cruel
nature was capable of being to its own fine creations.
When she took him by the arm to return to the house,
he made sure to throw the balls of hail back in the shade.
If she were to ask him why he was showing concern
for the hail, he would not have been able to answer her.
Perhaps it was simply because he himself would have preferred
to remain in the shade, that if his life were to be leaving
his body he'd prefer to have it happen in the cool of the
back porch, newspaper on lap, none of the news being
of any importance anymore. If he were to mention this,
she no doubt would've accused him of dwelling
on his own death too much, when he should've been
at least mildly shocked at the damaged blossoms still clinging
to the hail-scarred branches. In a white cotton dress
she was without question a remarkably beautiful woman.
As much as this porch of hers was his place of retreat
from the undying annoyances of the world, he hated
being deposited there by her so that she could return
to whatever it was that she had been doing in the kitchen.
He wanted to chase after her and grab her by the arm
to tell her not to worry about the damage done
to the cherry blossoms. Of course he didn't do this.
It had been her family's farm before she had been born,
and now she was the only family the farm had left.
He heard her placing a large iron pot on the stove.
He thought about what it would be like to live with her.
The place was so calm and quiet. The time could be
used to think things over. He had no plans, no goals.
He was without ambition. At heart he was a drifter, but
his heart was growing weary of drifting. In the kitchen
he found her washing cabbage in a deep sink, in front of
a window that looked out onto a field that extended to where
a fence had collapsed in tall grass at the edge of the orchard.
He put his arms around her, and without turning she asked him
if he'd ever noticed how consoling the orchard was in
in the dying light of evening, more so than it ever was
in the light of dawn.
A Baatz Bibliography
- ALL THE DAYS ARE Tideline Press 1974
- AFTERNOON PLUMS RISING Tideline Press 1982
- STRANGE BREAKFAST Permanent Press 1987
- LUCKY SO BEAUTIFUL Wolfscat Press 1989
- RAVAGED Clark Street Review Press 2000
- MT TREMPER HAIKU Flypaper Press 2000
- AT HERRING COVE Lockout Press 2002
- WHITE TULIPS Tideline Press 2003
- IN A CLAY PIG'S EYE Seastone Editions 2005
- ON THE BACK PORCH Concrete Meat Press 2006
- FISH FORK Seastone Editions 2008
- BIRD EFFORT Kamini Press 2008
- OUT OF HIS CHILDHOOD Zerx Press shared chapbook with Mark Weber 2007
- CEMETERY COUNTRY Zerx Press shared chapbook with Mark Weber 2008
- NEXT EXIT: SEVEN Kendra Steiner Editions shared chapbook with Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal 2008
- THE COMPANIONSHIP OF THE PLUM Kendra Steiner Editions shared chapbook with Bill Shute 2008
- THE WORMWOOD REVIEW three special sections issues: 104, 140, 144
"Second Hand", WR #104 1986; "Out in the Late October Garden", WR #140 1995; "Every Winter", WR #144, 1997
- YELLOW SILK anthology of erotic arts and letters Harmony Books 1990
- THE BOOK OF EROS anthology of arts and letters from Yellow Silk
Harmony Books 1995
- SEVEN HUNDRED KISSES anthology of erotic writing from Yellow Silk


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Johannesburg, 2014-6-4 — /Travel PR News/ — South African Airways (SAA) today announced that following a successful trial period, the airline is taking steps leading to the implementation of baggage wrapping for customer bags as a permanent feature.
On 22 January SAA introduced a complimentary baggage wrapping service to customers travelling out of Johannesburg. The trial has now been concluded and customer feedback proven positive.
The number of bags pilfered from SAA out of OR Tambo International Airport was the lowest ever recorded in March 2014, even lower than the previous record achieved during the June 2010 soccer World Cup, when government security agencies safe-guarded baggage at all Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) airports.
Tlali Tlali, SAA's spokesperson notes that the baggage wrapping has provided the best results to date.
"For quite some time now, claims and complaints relating to baggage pilferage and damage presented a major challenge to us. Several initiatives were implemented but could hardly bring any significant improvements for the customers and the airline. In an effort to provide the best possible solution, we decided to implement a baggage wrapping service in order to significantly reduce if not eliminate baggage handling irregularities."
After a successful trial, SAA has decided to permanently roll out the project nationally at all domestic airports where the airline operates. A supply chain process will now be initiated for the procurement of a service provider who will implement the service on a permanent basis. This open tender will soon be advertised in major newspapers.
The initial trial period began in 2012, when SAA introduced baggage wrapping as a one day test. SAA subsequently decided to run a trial on a much longer period in order to obtain a lot more reliable data.
During the completed trial phase (from January to April 2014), 73% of bags had been wrapped and a pronounced decline in reported incidents of pilferage or damage was noticed.
"At all times, SAA endeavours to create innovative developments that seek to enhance value proposition to its customers. Therefore, the results of this trial are a testament to SAA's commitment to customer satisfaction, ensuring safety and sustainable partnerships," Tlali added.
This development must be understood in the context of the implementation of SAA's Long-Term Strategy, Gaining Altitude, whose objective, among others, is to provide excellent customer service.
About South African Airways
South African Airways (SAA), Africa's most awarded airline, operates to 40 destinations worldwide.
In its domestic market SAA has an extensive schedule operating 554 flights in total per week between Johannesburg – Cape Town, Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth, from its Johannesburg hub, as well as code-shared flights between Lanseria – Cape Town and Durban. SAA offers more frequencies than any other airline in South Africa.
Regionally, SAA offers 24 destinations across the African continent including Abidjan, Accra, Blantyre, Brazzaville, Cotonou, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Douala, Entebbe, Harare, Kinshasa, Lagos, Libreville, Lilongwe, Livingstone, Luanda, Lusaka, Maputo, Mauritius, Nairobi, Ndola, Pointe Noire, Victoria Falls and Windhoek.
SAA's international network creates links to all major continents from South Africa through 10 direct routes and code shares, with daily flights from Johannesburg to London (Heathrow), Frankfurt, Munich, Mumbai, Perth, Hong Kong, Beijing, New York, Washington, and Sao Paulo. SAA has codes share agreements with 29 other airlines across the markets it serves. The airline has extended its code share agreement with Mango, its low cost operator, to also include coastal cities in South Africa (between Johannesburg and Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and George), as well as Johannesburg – Bloemfontein; Cape Town – Bloemfontein and Cape Town – Port Elizabeth.
SAA's core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its four wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low cost carrier; Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA and South African Travel Centre (SATC).
SAA is a Star Alliance member which offers more than 21,900 daily flights to 1,328 airports in 195 countries. SAA is the winner of the 'Best Airline in Africa' Award in the regional category for eleven consecutive years. Mango and SAA hold the number one and number two successive spots as South Africa's most on-time airlines.
For more information contact:
Tlali Tlali (Mr)
SAA spokesperson
Mob: +27 82 333 3880
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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View on map
● Unlikely to work
Free WiFi
You can connect to this WiFi as soon as you are in range (no password required).
WiFi connection speed
4.44 Mbps
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Location1840 West Pacific Coast Highway
Long Beach
United States
Make your next search offline and get auto-connected by downloading the app now:
Discover all you want to know about Instabridge Lite, the Instabridge app, how to connect to WiFi and a lot more by visiting our Help Center.
This WiFi hotspot is named Wayport_Access. It is a free WiFi located in 1840 West Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach, United%20States.
Wayport_Access has a connection speed of: 4.44 mbps / 1.62 mbps.
You can search for more free WiFi in Long Beach or you can search for more free WiFi nearby you by clicking here.
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text:
What most chefs do on a daily basis is not rocket science, but props are always due to those who transform good ingredients in simple, stunning ways. The dishes created by Ristorante Tosca executive chef Massimo Fabbri and chef de cuisine Riccardo Rinaldi deserve their oohs and ahs – perhaps none more than the ones that call for kiwi and salmon, two superfoods those chefs chose. The fruit holds a special place in Fabbri's Tuscan upbringing. 'It used to be sold at the farmacia,' he grins. 'We were told it had iron and Vitamin C.' Thanks to its superfood status, kiwi has survived its overexposure in the 1980s, when the telltale wheels or wedges of seed-studded green and white seemed to adorn every designer dessert. (During that decade, kiwi production hit a high point in California.) Fabbri and Rinaldi, 35 and 28, respectively, have made it a sweet-tart foil for the pureed sauce they serve with pristine seafood tartares at the Washington restaurant. 'We were looking for something to offset the bitterness of kale,' Fabbri says. 'Odd, right? There's sweetness and the brightness of citrus, but not so much.' He reports that customers at the chef's table – with a firsthand kitchen-pass view – react with initial skepticism when they see kiwi and kale come together. 'Then they say, 'Nice and refreshing!' We like that,' he says. Both chefs reached for the salmon as their other superfood ingredient for two reasons: to offer recipes that were dinner-party elegant yet not hard to pull off, and to highlight their appreciation for the sustainable Verlasso brand – the first farm-raised salmon to pass muster on Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch list. All four of their accompanying recipes are fit for company, and three require little more than boiling a pot of water, toasting nuts and wielding a sharp knife. With Rinaldi's step-by-step instruction, even the stylish first-course salmon carpaccio, dotted with dollops of mascarpone, caviar, ruby-toned pomegranate seeds, chives and feathery dill, is achievable. The radicchio salad has wonderful color, flavor and texture, topped with a luscious burrata cheese and graced with toasted hazelnuts. Chefs' tips for the latter: Try to find hazelnuts grown in Italy's Piedmont region, Fabbri says, because they are especially rich-tasting. Rinaldi likes to toss them with a few drops of hazelnut oil and toast them in a preheated 300-degree oven that has just been turned off. 'Just to warm them through,' he says. The accompaniment for their roasted salmon entree yields a nice surprise. They toss tender coins of boiled fingerling potatoes with spring onion and sauteed cubes of sunchokes – the latter a vegetable that has enjoyed a 'Top Chef' moment or two, mostly in the service of purees and soups. The Tosca chefs' treatment of something as mundane as potato salad reflects their goal of simplicity, of letting good ingredients speak for themselves. And the mustard cream sauce on the plate doesn't hurt. – Piedmontese hazelnuts can be special-ordered from La Cuisine in Alexandria, Va. (703-836-4435) and from Cornucopia in Bethesda, Md. (301-652-1625).
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An executive level summary of the Instructional Reports of Program Data (ARPD) completed including significant actions or issues identified in the reports.
Includes program mission/description, quantitative indications, analysis of the quantiticative indicators, action plan and resources implications.
Includes data from UH System sources on key measures of Demand, Efficiency, and Effectiveness.


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Android Games – Brain and Puzzle
Space & Planet Link Game« Games - Brain & Puzzle « Downloads
|January 1, 1970
|83 times
|Games - Brain & Puzzle
The "Linking Game" is a small game that can be easily operated, the way to play it is to cancle two same cartoo icons with straight lines. This game is famous through north and south of World at present. This game is mainly to training your agility and enhance your ability of logic judgment.
When the game starts, find the blocks that have the same design quickly and cancel them by connecting them with a straight line, the one who is the fastest who is the winner. The rules of the game is extremely simple, and it is pretty appropriate for the scrupulous players especially the female players with the relaxed music and clear cute pictures. The beautiful illustrations of this game and more than ten kinds of high-quality mixed sounds will bring you a vivid game experience, and let the game become more interesting and challenging.
Basic rule
Click the block and connect two blocks that have the same design with less than 3 straight lines. The blocks will explode after the connection.
Operating instruction
The block will change colors after the click, and then click another block that has the same design. It will be OK if they could connected. If they could not connected, your first choice will be expired and please re-seek hurry.
Victory and Defeat
You will win the game after cancel all the blocks!
The time to choose the block is limited, you will lose the game in advance if you could not find a pair of blocks in the limited time because of the time exhaustion.
Skill Share
1.Get familiar with the basic settings of this game
Why can not the blocks be canclled when they seem to be able to cancelled sometimes? It is because you are not very familiar with the basic cancelling rules of this game! The rule of the game is "the player can cancel the pairs after they connectd 2 same blocks, but there should be less than 3 connecting lines." Every pair should have a right-angle as a transition, except they are facing directly. It can not work on when the route is blocked! Therefor please remember, spread from the middle to the all round as much as possbile, it can reduce lots of obstacles in this way.
2.Make prompt decisions, and have self-confidence
As we all know, human's vision has the scotoma. You can draw a spot on a piece of paper and move it to the left slowly right in front of your eyes. You will find the spot get disappeared suddenly when the paper in a certain position, but it is still in the range of visible actually. So is the "Linking Game"(Lianliankan). Left on right down, right on left down, you can not find out some eliminable blocks when there are several parallel angles, therefore you should move your eyes more. For example, when you run into the situation that lots of blocks seem to be cancelled but they are hard to be cancelled indeed in the process of cancellation, please do not hesitate, try it right away. Do not consider too much, or you will waste too much time even though you find the pairs that can be cancelled.
3.Practise, Summarize, Confident and Perseverant
Do not down-hearted even if you always lose the game, you must know that every master also grows up from a green hand!!!
Have fun! My friend!
Content rating: Everyone


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Today's News: Our Take - Suri Cruise Debuts Super Short Bangs
TV Guide
Suri Cruise has been a fashion trend-setter pretty much since birth. So it was only a matter of time before the famous 6-year-old tot got bangs, right?
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' only daughter debuted very short bangs on Friday - a big contrast to her long brown locks. It's unclear whether the new 'do came via a professional stylist or whether Suri may have chopped them herself.
TV characters more adorable than New Girl's Jess
Cruise, who turns 7 on April 18, joins other celebrities to indulge the trend, including First Lady Michelle Obama and Kim Kardashian.
What do you think of Suri's new look?
View original Suri Cruise Debuts Super Short Bangs at TVGuide.com
Other Links From TVGuide.com


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Most orders for In-Stock products begin shipping as soon as your online purchase is completed. Products are shipped once they are located in stock, your payment is approved, and the receiving address is verified.
● Out of Stock.
Hilden Backpack Voyageur
kr 3.995,00
Features and specifications
Style: 125049-1438
36 x 14 x 29 cm
0.68 kg
100% Nylon
Interior Features
- Large padded open pocket
- 2 open pockets
- Zip pocket
- Water-resistant water bottle pocket
- Card pocket
- Pen pocket
- Key leash
- TUMI Tracer®
Exterior Features
- Double-zip entry to main compartment
- Zip entry to padded laptop compartment (fits 13" screens)
- Double-zip entry to front U-zip pocket
- Front zip pocket with locking zipper pull
- Side-zip media pocket
- Quick-access phone pocket with magnetic snap
- Zip access to collapsible interior water-resistant water bottle pocket
- Leather top handle
- Padded adjustable shoulder straps
- Monogrammable detachable leather key ring
- Add-a-Bag sleeve
About this item
Both graceful and useful, our Hilden Backpack offers total convenience on the go, with perfectly placed pockets, including a separate laptop compartment, a quick-access phone pocket, and a water-resistant water bottle pocket that can be accessed from both in and outside the bag.
Purposeful, practical design that doesn't compromise on style: Our Voyageur collection brings you versatile and lightweight nylon backpacks, bags, and accessories for women.
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It is Follow Friday! This is a blogging meme in which authors recommend other blogs, websites, repositories, or anything else. In keeping with the theme of this blog, I will spotlight different resources for professional and aspiring professional genealogists each week: not only genealogy-related, but also others of interest.
Today I will not recommend one site, but many.
If you are a professional genealogist or an aspiring/transitional professional genealogist, you need to have a website. Above and beyond anything else, your website will be your #1 marketing tool. I can honestly say that no less than 90% of the research clients that I have had in my career have spent at least some time on my website. How do I know this? Because their initial email to me comes through the "Contact Me" form on my website.
When you are developing a website, look at the websites of other professional genealogists, especially those with long standing careers. What do you like and what don't you like? How much information do you want to include on your website?
One of the best ways to see other researchers' websites is to go look to the membership directory of the Association of Professional Genealogists. The APG website allows you to search for a researcher by name, location, research specialty, or geographic specialty, and many of the entries include links to the members' professional websites.
Take a look at researchers similar to yourself, that is, those researching in a similar location, research specialty, or geographic specialty. After all, these researchers are your direct competition–though in the genealogical community, there is rarely animosity (and often cooperation) among competitors. All the same, a potential client looking for a researcher is as likely to find their website as yours. How can you make yourself stand out? It all starts with your website.
Below are a few examples of websites belonging to professional genealogists. There are both positive and negative aspects of all of them. Some are better than others. Some have great content, but lack in design. Some have great design, but little content. I am not espousing any of these researchers over any others, and cannot vouch for any of their research skills. Not all of these professionals accept research projects. Not all of them are members of the APG.
Still, take a look:
- Aha! Seminars, Inc. (George G. Morgan)
- Unpuzzling Your Past (Emily Anne Croom)
- Memory Lane Genealogy (Pamela Boyer Sayre, CG, CGL)
- Tim Pinnick
- Arlene H. Eakle, PhD
- Fieldstone Historic Research (Marian Pierre-Louis)
- Ancestral Analysis (Rondina Muncy)
- AdventuResearch (Renee Meade)
- Civil War Vignettes (researcher not identified)
- Bridge to Yesterday (Cafi Cohen & Cheryl Storton)
- Michael Hait, Family History Research Services
I had to slip that last one in. 😉
If you are a professional genealogist, please feel free to add your site in the comments (but please no advertising). What do you like most about these or other websites?


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Australian Shepherd
Australian Shepherd Traits
Jogging PartnerTrait Rating: 5 of 5
Lap DogTrait Rating: 1 of 5 li>
Good with ChildrenTrait Rating: 4 of 5 li>
Warm WeatherTrait Rating: 3 of 5 li>
Cold WeatherTrait Rating: 3 of 5 li>
Grooming RequirementsTrait Rating: 3 of 5 li>
SheddingTrait Rating: 3 of 5 li>
BarkingTrait Rating: 2 of 5 li>
Ease of TrainingTrait Rating: 5 of 5 li>
- The Australian shepherd originated in the United States, not Australia, although it comes by way of Australia.
- In the 1800s, the Basque people of Europe settled in Australia, bringing their sheep and sheepdogs with them. Sheepdogs needed to be tougher in Australia than they did in most parts of Europe. Through unknown crosses the Basque developed a hardy, tough sheep herding dog that they then took with them when some resettled in America.
- The western parts of America placed many of the same demands on sheep and dogs as did the rugged lands of Australia, and the Basque sheepdogs excelled in this new land. It was in America that they evolved into the breed we know as the Australian shepherd.
- Australian shepherds were equally adept at working with cattle as with sheep, which made them especially valuable in America.
- Except for ranchers, few people were aware of the breed until the 1950s, when a group of Australian shepherds appeared in a rodeo trick-dog act. The act was featured in a movie, and the secret was out.
- In the late 1950s, Australian shepherds began to be registered with the National Stock Dog Registry and later, the Australian Shepherd Club of America. Working Aussies are still primarily registered with these organizations rather than with the AKC.
- The AKC recognized the Australian shepherd in 1993.
Australian Shepherd Behavior Concerns
- Makes an enthusiastic and protective companion.
- Playful and very good with children
- Somewhat reserved with strangers
- Good with other dogs and pets.
- Does best with reward-based training involving games, food or praise.
- Learns quickly, but can become easily bored. Australian shepherds enjoy learning new things.
- Can become frustrated and destructive without adequate mental stimulation.
- Aussies from working lines tend to be more energetic and need more things to do.
- Aussies are extremely good at the sports of herding, obedience, agility, disk catching, and flyball.
Australian Shepherd Suggested Exercises
- Makes an alert and well-mannered housedog, given adequate exercise.
- This is an extremely active and playful dog that enjoys having a job to do. It needs a long walk, good run or energetic play session every day.
- Does well in dog parks.
- Games and tricks provide needed mental exercise.
- Herding, agility, flyball and disk catching can provide both mental and physical exercise.
- Australian Shepherds enjoy cold weather, but cannot live outside in it.
Australian Shepherd Grooming
- Coat is of medium length and texture, straight to wavy.
- Requires brushing once or twice weekly.
- Shedding is average.
Suggested Australian Shepherd Nutritional Needs
- Australian Shepherds tend to stay in good weight.
- Adult dogs should be fed a balanced diet, with restricted calories if the dog starts to gain too much weight.


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Noodles & Company
Salt Lake City, UT 84106
Openings: Open Sun.-Wed. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Thurs.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
- Dress code: Casual
- Kid-friendly
- Take-out available
Noodles & Company Restaurant Review:
Someone really used their noodle to come up with a viable alternative to fast-food hamburgers: a big bowl of noodles, fixed your way. More amusing than authentic, the cooking puts a typically American spin on ethnic foods, with a stir-fry of Japanese soup noodles, and a Mediterranean salad of Greek sauce on Italian pasta. But the concept works, not because the flavors stick to basics but because the prices make meals here a bargain and because the service is both fast and friendly --- diners go through a buffet line, place their order and wait at a table for their meal to appear. Try the bowl of Japanese pan noodles --- the soft udon noodles favored for soups --- stir-fried and tossed with a gingery-sweet dressing; add-ons include chicken breast, organic tofu, shrimp and veggies, all for a minimal extra charge. It's all formulaic cooking, but noodle stir-fries, soup and salads probably make for healthier eating than greasy fries and burgers. Besides, it is a handy place to take the kids for a budget meal with character. Other locations.


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A mystifying aspect of the lists of bookies' favorites for the Nobel Prize in literature: Why isn't John Updike's name on any that I've seen?
Yes, the requirements for the prize specify that it should go to a writer whose work has an "idealistic tendency" or promotes the good of humanity. And that standard might not favor Updike's novels about the lascivious Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom. But that test also wouldn't favor a lot of the work of Philip Roth and Don De Lillo, whose names appear often on lists of bookies' favorites. And Updike is much more elegant writer than Joyce Carol Oates, though she has given so much support to other writers – especially female writers – that she may come closer to meeting the test of idealism.
Updike's novels vary tremendously in quality. But he is the best all-around writer in America – not just one of our leading novelists but a great story story writer, a good poet and an elegant critic. Do bettors discount him because his short stories are perhaps his best work and he wrote many of them decades ago? Or because they don't count his criticism and poetry? What role does the unofficial geographic distribution requirement — and that the U.S. has more novelists than most countries – play in all of this? If Updike lived in Greenland, he would have had the Nobel Prize decades ago.
© 2008 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.


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Mint Sealed: No noticable defects and sealed in original factory or store shrinkwrap or sticker. The best grade possible.
Near Mint: No noticeable defects, but not sealed.
Fine: One or two slight defects (small scratch, slight worn corner on box, etc.) that prevent a Near Mint rating.
Very Good: More than one or two slight defects (slight crease in manual, all corners slightly worn, etc.). Still in acceptable condition.
Good: More severe defects (box slightly torn or crushed; noticable wear on media, manual, or other materials). Acceptable only if the item is hard to find or highly desired by the collector.
Excess Defects: Excessive and/or unusable defects (crushed, ripped, or sheared box; torn manual pages; box or manual written on in marker, etc.). Acceptable only if the item is wanted for non-collectable purposes (like actually playing the game) or for "parts"
Item Missing: The item in was originally included with the factory sealed box but has been subsequently lost.