text:
Hot answers tagged latin-jazz
Used like this "Latin" is a rather non-specific term. Markings denoting specific styles of Latin American Music, for instance Bossa-Nova, Samba, Mambo, Rumba, Salsa etc. would suggest particular associated rhythmic patterns, particularly for bass and drums. However, this generic use of the word "Latin" leaves a lot of room for interpretation by the performer;...
A vamp is a repeating musical figure, like a guitar riff. In jazz, Latin jazz, and musical theater it's often given for the accompaniment so that they can repeat as necessary during intros or solos, in which case it may be noted as "vamp until ready" or "vamp until cue." Depending on the style and band, players may improvise on the vamp. The "open vamp" ...
you literally just point your bell into the stand, not directly touching it, but the sound should be muted by the stand
As a percussionist having played folkloric Afro-Cuban music, popular "Latin" music, jazz, Brazilian batucada & bossa nova, etc. for over 20 years now, I can say that Bob Broadley's answer is is really pretty clear and accurate. Calling something a "Latin" beat is really vague. Someone who actually performs any type of "Latin" music wouldn't even use the ...
A lot of salsa tunes use rumba clave instead of son and the bass tumbao is used the same in both. However, it doesn't match quite as well because the last beat on the three-side of the rumba clave occurs on the 'and' of 4, whereas the bass tumbao usually plays the anticipated note on the 4. Of course, the bass can emphasise the 4+ as well if desired. I ...
There's actually some disagreement on that actually... People do it all the time... play clave in "afro-Cuban" or any & every "Latin" "style", usually if they're that vague about it... everything just starts sounding "Latinish". I used to play in Caribbean bands all the time and there's a big difference in how those drummers & percussionists ...
The piano figure in salsa/latin jazz is called a 'montuno' and it does share some of the characteristics of the bass tumbao but it is rhythmically different. However, the piano montuno and bass tumbao work together with the clave and percussion to create the overall sound - to learn more about this I'd recommend the excellent Salsa Guidebook by Rebeca ...
When playing solo piano how to play jazz chords with left hand when there is no bass player to play the roots?
Here's what I was taught by my teacher with regards to solo piano when I was first starting off with him. It is a method to play solo piano with the chord spread out between both hands and the melody as the top note of the chord. It's definitely not the only approach to this, but it is a systematic approach that really helped me. Let's say you're playing ...
When playing solo piano how to play jazz chords with left hand when there is no bass player to play the roots?
You've lots of low notes at your disposal! Just use them with l.h. and put the top parts of the chords in with r.h. Assuming you're accompanying a soloist of some sorts. If not, then you'll have to maybe arpeggiate 1,5 etc. with l.h. and some sparse chords along the melody with r.h.
A vamp is a pattern, usually a simple pattern like one or two chords, that you keep repeating for the purpose of getting into a groove or letting one of the musicians take a solo.
It depends. Chick Corea's rendition was a fusion between bebop harmonization and melodies, and Latin rhythms. If you listen to the track on Light As a Feather, you will see what I mean. Particularly, if you listen to his comping, you'll notice it's not a regular vamp, even though it all fits to that clave pattern. As far as harmony goes, whether the other ...
The bass line you describe is a typical son salsa bass line - the tumbao rhythm. To stay in the salsa idiom you should let the piano play salsa piano which I believe commonly anticipates the next chord just like the bass, yes. Actually I think it's not an anticipation but rather where the next chord or "bar" starts in salsa, but it would look like a mess ...
Shift the accents from the strong beats to the weaker beats in the measures marked Latin, as per syncopation. A Brazilian percussionist reminds me that in Samba, the joke is, "Where's the one?" Here's a youtube of Bill Evans... Might help? [Disclaimer: I am not a qualified Jazz bassist, nor Latin Bassist.]
If your worried about catching your bell on the stand, try a bucket mute for a similar effect. It may be about keeping control of volume, or it could be a stylistic effect.
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible


text:
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A 12-year-old Southern California boy who hopes to become a computer engineer will be the youngest full-time student in the history of MiraCosta College when he enrolls next month.
Kyle Litzenberg, of Oceanside, who is an only child and has been home-schooled his whole life, will turn 13 two days before the start of the fall semester at the community college, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Saturday.
Kyle said he's not worried about going to college, but he knows leaving his home schooling behind will be a challenge.
"It's going to be a completely new experience for me," he said. "I've never gone to a public school before. It will be a new adventure, a new experience for me. I'm excited."
His father is a former high school science teacher, and his parents originally moved to a better school district so he could attend a good public kindergarten.
But when his mother, Santosha Litzenberg, took him to his first day of school, she began to have second thoughts, the paper reported.
Her son was already reading a book a day, and she was worried he wouldn't be challenged.
At age 6, he wrote a song. He has written a book, is working on another one and has authored several plays. He recently took the California High School Proficiency Examination to earn the equivalent of a diploma and does math well above grade level.
During the last school year, Kyle reached the equivalent of 10th grade and took summer classes at MiraCosta.
He plans on studying at the community college for about two years and then moving on to the University of California, San Diego to study computer engineering.
The preteen, who is too young to get a driver's license, will probably ride his bike or skateboard to the bus stop to attend classes, he said.
"I'm not freaked out or anything about it. But any time you go into a new area, you're going to be a little bit nervous," he said about starting class next month. "I'm looking forward to just learning about the things I want to learn."
MiraCosta, in Oceanside, enrolls about 17,000 students.
Comments are moderated by SDDT, in accordance with the SDDT Comment Policy, and may not appear on this commentary until they have been reviewed and deemed appropriate for posting. Also, due to the volume of comments we receive, not all comments will be posted.
SDDT Comment Policy: SDDT encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You may not post any unlawful, threatening, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate the law. All comments should be relevant to the topic and remain respectful of other authors and commenters. You are solely responsible for your own comments, the consequences of posting those comments, and the consequences of any reliance by you on the comments of others. By submitting your comment, you hereby give SDDT the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, cablecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comment(s) and accompanying personal identifying and other information you provide via all forms of media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity. SDDT Privacy Statement.
All contents herein copyright San Diego Source ® 1994-2016

subset: commoncrawl


text: Close Leading Off: Pictures of the Week 0 0 More 0 0 0 View Gallery Next Previous Next Mike Stobe/Getty Images New York Mets' pitcher Johan Santana pitched the first no-hitter in Mets history against the St. Louis Cardinals at CitiField on June 1. The Mets won 8-0. 1|18 Fred Vuich/SI Fans cheer after Tiger Woods made an incredible chip from the rough for a birdie on the 16th hole of the 2012 Memorial Tournament. Tiger went on to win the tournament, his 73rd victory. 2|18 Larry Smith/Pool/Reuters San Antonio Spurs forward DeJuan Blair gets to the basket past Oklahoma City Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka during Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference Finals. 3|18 Greg Nelson/SI Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook gets blocked by Tim Duncan during Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. 4|18 Gene Lluis/AFP/GettyImages Avintia FTR-Honda's Maverick Vinales leans into his turn during the Moto3 race of the Catalunya Moto GP Grand Prix. Vinales won the race ahead of Red Bull KTM Ajo's German Sandro Cortese and Estrella Galicia's Portuguese Miguel Oliveira. 5|18 Charlie Riedel/AP Oakland's Adam Rosales runs into Kansas City's Brayan Pena and is forced out. 6|18 Gary Hershorn/Reuters New Jersey's Patrik Elias face plants behind Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick as Drew Doughty watches during Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. 7|18 Adam Hunger/Reuters Kings' goalie Jonathan Quick keeps his focus even as teammate Matt Greene checks Ryan Carter of the Devils in front of the goal during Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. 8|18 David E. Klutho/SI Jonathan Quick (32) skates to join the celebration of Jeff Carter's overtime goal, which put the Kings up 2-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals. 9|18 Nick Wass/AP Brad Sweet (38) and Danica Patrick (green car) crash along the front straightaway during the Nationwide Series race in Dover, Del. 10|18 Heinz Kluetmeier/SI Norris Cole dishes the ball during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. 11|18 Michel Spingler/AP Angelique Kerber of Germany returns the ball to Croatia's Patra Martic during their fourth round match in the French Open. 12|18 Thomas Lovelock/SI Novak Djokovic makes a play on the ball in his third-round match at the French Open -- Djokovic defeated Nicolas Devilder 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. 13|18 Damian Strohmeyer/SI A couple of Miami Heat players fall on top of the Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. 14|18 Jim Rinaldi/Icon SMI Tiger Woods plays the 18th hole during the last round of the Memorial. 15|18 Ezra Shaw/Getty Images Australia's Stephanie Rice dives in to warm up on the third day of the Santa Clara International Grand Prix in California. 16|18 David Banks/Getty Images Darwin Barney of the Cubs hits a walk-off, two-run homer in the 9th inning to beat the San Diego Padres 8-6, completing a sweep. 17|18 Brian Snyder/Reuters Boston guard Rajon Rondo dishes as Miami's Joel Anthony and LeBron James defend during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. 18|18 Next up More Sports On Sunday, Tiger Woods won the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village and tied Jack Nicklaus for second place on the career victories list (73). As the U.S. Open approaches, SI looks back to his years at Stanford (1994-96), where he won multiple titles and cemented his status as the world's next great golfer. 21 Tiger Woods: The College Years June 4, 2012 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 More Recommended Galleries More Sports 7 Unlikely Sports Friendships 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 More More Sports Maria Sharapova serves to Justine Henin at the 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships in Madrid, Spain. 88 The View From Above 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 More More Sports @SInow the hope and dream of returning to the #Indy500 each year... #KeepGoodGoing #IndyCar 12 Celebrating your inspirations: How did you defy the odds? 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 More


text:
Obituary & Guest Book Preview for Arnold T. "Arnie" LEVINE
Arnold T. "Arnie" LEVINE Obituary
Published in The Sacramento Bee on Apr. 10, 2013
First 25 of 496 words
: LEVINE, Arnold T. ""Arnie' Arnie passed away quietly at home in Cameron Park on April 9th after a 16 month battle with cancer. He is...
View Full Obituary & Guest Book for Arnold LEVINE
Arnold LEVINE Guest Book | View 2 of 25 Entries:
"Worked for Arnie on the North Slope. A great guy. Bruce Jefferson, Lincoln,CA" -
"It's been a long time and I was just out of college, but my memory is of Arnie as a positive person quick to smile and with a bright outlook. I have the utmost respect for the man he was." -
Dave Bennett
View Additional entries from:
Previous 10
Next 10
View Complete List
2 of 2 Photos
View Full Obituary & Guest Book for Arnold LEVINE
Ways to View
Restore Obituary & Guest Book
Keep the Obituary and Guest Book online for one of these time periods:
Permanent Sponsorship
$ 79.99
One-Year Sponsorship
$ 29.99
24-Hour Restoration
$ 2.95
Print Obituary & Guest Book
Order a professionally printed copy, starting at $39.00:
Deluxe Hardcover Book
$ 79.00
Laminated Hardcover Book
$ 59.00
Laminated Softcover Book
$ 39.00
Didn't find the Obituary you were looking for?
Return to today's Obituaries for the The Sacramento Bee.
Powered By
Search Obituaries
How To
Questions? Contact Us
Privacy Policy
© 2016 Legacy.com All Rights Reserved


text:
The communications arts and sciences department at Calvin offers both a major and a minor in theatre and has 25 to 30 student majors enrolled in the theatre program at any given time.
As a theater major, you may find yourself enrolled in a variety of courses, from theater history and criticism to acting and directing, design and production. This coursework, coupled with participation in the Calvin Theatre Company, prepares you for success at the next level, whether that is in an entry-level theatre position, a paid internship or formal graduate study.
Our graduates consistently work in all aspects of the theater, in both professional and educational settings, across the country.
Academic Programs
Theatre Major
Whether on the stage or behind the scenes, you will unite your heart and talents to tell powerful stories in imaginative ways. Calvin's liberal arts approach to theatre leads not only to outstanding dramatic performances, but also well-equipped and skilled performance in the workplace.
Theatre Minor
A minor in theatre will bring a strong liberal arts vantage point to any major. The skills required to act, direct, produce and design in theatre easily translate into abilities to present, lead, promote and plan for success in the workplace.


text:
How <strike>not to counter Archbishop Nienstedt</strike> to confuse voters. (UPDATED)
Updates throughout: Apparently the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party recently sent this [PDF] to prospective voters. On the front it features a priest person in a Roman collar wearing a button that reads "Ignore the Poor" (and holding some kind of holy-looking book, or possibly a datebook, or possibly an instruction manual on how to overthrow Minnesota's democratically elected government). On the reverse, it criticizes GOP candidate Dan Hall, asking, "Who in God's name would deny health care to the poor?" Presumably the postcard is intended to push back on Archbishop Nienstedt's anti-gay-marriage mailing.Dan Hall has worked as a chaplain, and attends a nondenominational church that's associated with the Assemblies of God. Instead, the DFL has successfully impugned the charitable efforts and concerns of the Catholic Church in general, and its priests in particular, all while reinforcing the notion that Democrats not only don't get religion, they harbor animosity toward it. I think that's what the kids might call a messagefail. Not sure what's on the other side of the postcard, or if it even matters, but I think it's safe to say that whoever came up with this idea is in the wrong line of work. (H/T Stella Borealis.)DFL spokesman Donald McFarland has issued the following statement:
The ad is part of a two-piece mailing that highlights and criticizes the policy views of Dan Hall, a preacher who is the Republican candidate for the Minnesota Senate. I enclose both sides of both pieces. I understand that some Republican bloggers have taken one image from the first piece, and claimed that the mail is somehow anti-Catholic. But the text explicitly criticizes Preacher Hall for distancing himself from policy views that have been taken by the Catholic Archdiocese, by the Lutheran Synod, and other leaders in Minnesotas faith community. Dan Hall is willing to enlist God and religion in his campaign when it helps him -- but in fact, his views hurt the poorest and sickest among us, and this mailing holds him accountable for those views.
You can see the second mailing here. It also refers to Hall as "Preacher Hall" (I can't find any evidence that Hall refers to himself that way). Why the DFL would use the image of a man in a Roman collar to depict a lay chaplain who is a member of a nondenominational church remains mysterious. At least we can dispense with the claims that the mailing is anti-Catholic, although it may be anti-wise. My apologies for jumping to conclusions.Another update: "I've never worn a Roman collar," Dan Hall told me. "No one in my church does." Asked why he thought the DFL would use such an image, he said, "I have no idea. You're offending all kinds of church people, whether Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish." Hall explained that, probably as a result of this dustup, he's received a great deal of media requests, concluding, "In the end, it's probably going to help me."Still another update (the last, I hope): That isn't the only Catholic-looking image the DFL is using in its campaign mailers. Check this one out. What is that, a side chapel? And St. Anthony? Might be a good time for the DFL to say a little prayer to him. Maybe he can help them find their common sense.
About the Author
74 comments
- All
- Editor Featured
Catholics and Lutherans are each about 25% of the population in Minnesota, so maybe the DFL's messagefail is criticizing the Lutherans. ;)
"Presumably, the postcard is intended to..."That's perhaps the problem here, certainly to anybody not under Nienstedt's thumb: The message is a matter of interpretation. To those of us outside Minnesota, the message is unclear. What is the message as interpreted by Minnesotans?Or is the message unclear to them, as well?
Terrible. I would say that they have unsuccessfully impugned the work of the church on behalf of the poor. Because there will surely be lots of blowback.
Joseph: if the DFL gets back to me, I'll let you know what they say. In the meantime, the message seems clear enough: the church ignores the poor.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16432579One in four Americans said they couldn't think of a single positive societal contribution made by Christians in recent years, according to a nationwide survey released Monday.
"I would say that they have unsuccessfully impugned the work of the church "Seems to be going around these days!cockadoodle doo.
I'm skeptical. Why would you counter a DVD on opposition to homosexual marriage with "These people ignore the poor?" It doesn't sound plausible. There may be something going on in Minnesota that non-Minnesotans have no idea about, but which makes this instantly comprehensible to Minnesotans.
Maybe you're right, Felapton. Still, the Minnesotans I've spoken to find this perplexing. One of the responses elicited by Nienstedt's mailing was: this is a misallocation of resources; why isn't the church spending its energies on serving the needy?
I think the DFL piece is another 'more clever than by a half" push back in these days of division and vitriol, etc.Still, there's this, as per today's Denver Post -one in four Americans can't think of a Christian contribution to the poor.I also note (per NCR) that the bishops had to defend (again) the Campaign for Human development (but, of course, tightening regulations to please our brothers on the right.)All of which makes me wonder about the forthcoming notion of the new evangelization.Fr. Martin is right about simple minded denigartyion of many excellent priests serving the poor! But are we continuing, on a policy level, to tip our hat to the meassge of service, in our society so concerned with our own individual selves??????
Isn't this postcard just taking off from the arguments made by Fr. Michael Tegeder, pastor of St. Edwards Church in Bloomington, MN, who published a letter in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, that Minnesota bishops and Archbishop Nienstedt were ignoring the real threat to marriage, which is poverty? If this is the connection, then whoever dreamt this up forgot that Americans have ridiculously short attention spans and were unlikely to connect the dots in the time lag between Fr. Tegeder's letter and the DFL mailing. In addition, the mailing is a ridiculously blunt instrument (not the nuanced argument that Fr. Tegeder made) and is likely to push Catholics who are undecided to vote against the DFL.By the way, the DVD was not Archbishop Neinstedt's first venture into political action. He was instrumental in the postcard campaign against the Freedom of Choice Act a few years ago and a few years before that then-Bishop Neinstedt started a postcard campaign for a constitutional amendment to ban abortion.
Felapton --Maybe the message is "See these people are hypocrites -- they don't really help the poor".
It's so, so dumb I wondered if it's a hoax/ploy..??? [not that Dems can't be dumb]
The hostile comments after the National Catholic Register's story The Most Anti-Catholic Political Ad You'll Ever See are certainly charming. If it is an attack on Archbishop Nienstedt, it certainly is an inept one. Apparently the picture is PhotoShopped. Would it have been so hard to use a picture of someone dressed as a bishop rather than a priest? I'm waiting until I hear what the DFL has to say before I comment further. I don't see what they have to gain by a wholesale attack on the Catholic Church (if that was their intent). Certainly it is not true that the Catholic Church does not help the poor, but I certainly can imagine much more outrageous attacks on the Catholic Church that would have more truth to them as well.
As a Minnesotan, at least for the last ten years, I cannot think of any particular local issue to which this speaks. It seems like a foolish move, unless the DFL are trying to harvest the vast, untapped anti-Catholic vote. I think they have made a bad mistake.
Here is one possibility. The text intended for the button wasIGNORE THEPOORMISGUIDEDGAYPEOPLEWHOWANTYOUTOCHANGETHEDEFINITIONOF MARRIAGEBut it just wouldn't fit.
Grant said: One of the responses elicited by Nienstedts mailing was: this is a misallocation of resources?That's a good question. Didn't somebody suggest on the other thread the DVD may have been funded by some unidentified group? I'm not sure which would be more disconcerting: the archdiocese spending the pew potatoes' money making a campaign ad DVD or the archbishop playing himself in a political action committee's campaign ad DVD.Unfortunately, this is the sort of thing bishops don't have to tell anybody.
Bob Nunz says: "as per todays Denver Post -one in four Americans cant think of a Christian contribution to the poor."I'm not sure this is reason to panic. I'm pretty sure one in four Americans can't name an odd integer either.
Until now Catholic defections from the Democratic party have been concentrated among those self-identifying as moderates or conservatives. The creative types of the DFL may succeed in the more difficult and challenging task of driving Catholic liberals away.
I don't see that "ignore the poor" perception as necessarily stemming from anti-Catholicism: it is fueled by the way in which Catholics dwell with politics. Catholics don't "ignore the poor", of course, but what about the Catholic voice in politics? Non-Catholics might not be aware of the work to help people in need, done by Catholics. Their image of the Catholic church comes from the mainstream media. I don't think they hear about, say, the bishop's statement on faithful citizenship. The statements directed to non-Catholics and that are directly relevant to politics concern three main topics: abortion, same-sex marriage, and immigration laws. Where the media are more vocal about the first two topics, then "ignore the poor" will hit the mark.The web page of the archdiocese of Minneapolis doesn't help: if a non-Catholic (say, a journalist) tries to click on links that might be of interest to him or her, "Position statements" goes to statements about marriage (presumably against same-sex marriage) and "Policies and public resources" brings her to one document about the health-care reform (presumably centered on abortion) and one document on H1N1. Only by clicking on "Catholic charities" do you get to a page that talks about 4 ways in which the money is spent, and only one of them ("Venezuelan mission") is clearly for the poor.
Say what you will about convent comedies (see Mollie's review of The Divine Sister just posted online), the old movies generally projected a view of the Catholic clergy as helpful to the helpless and downtrodden. Think about On the WaterFront and the biography of the priest who founded Boys Town and all those nuns in lovely habits hovering about in hospitals in dozens of movies. I'm sure they helped lend a positive image to the Church. But these days are there many movies about the Church, complimentary or not? The lovely habits are gone, of course. (I suspect the conservatives were right in opposing that move.) The plain lack of good press can change the Church's image, not ot mention you know what.
Finally heard back from the DFL. Updates throughout the post. Very strange.
Thanks, Grant.It remains a bad choice of visual because it causes guilt by association.
I'm gone for 7 weeks and ---- nothing has changed!!!!Re: Nienstadt and his ilk: what you sow so shall you reap.
Although he does not refer to himself as "Preacher Dan Hall", he does highlight his work as a "chaplain" and a "minister" on his bio at this campaign website. See http://www.votedanhall.com/bio/ He also lists himself as "Chaplain Dan Hall" on the Midwest Chaplains website. See http://www.midwestchaplains.org/chaplain-dan-hall/ He founded the Midwest Chaplains organization. As a result, his primary occupation now seems to be "Christian ministry".Preacher is a synonym for chaplain or minister, although (for at least some people) it has stronger negative connotations than the other terms, which is probably why the DFL used it.Dan Hall also highlights his work with the poor on his campaign website. Thus, the text on the back of the postcard seems to be aimed at highlighting how he is a hypocrite on aid to the poor given his voting record. "Preaching" one thing but doing another.That message, however, has gotten lost due to the unfortunate picture on the front of the postcard.
Would we be bending over backwards to excuse a GOP mailing picturing someone in what appeared to be, as Juan Williams might say, "Muslim garb" wearing a button with an anti-American phrase on it?And if they offered an explanation saying it was a specific criticism of a politician who wasn't even Muslim, would that mitigate this, or would it only underscore its ignorance?
Doesn't the RC Church still regard "rash judgment" as a sin?
John McG,Yes! Yes! It's still the most anti-Catholic add you'll ever see! Because clearly that is a Catholic priest on the front. Of course, Wikipedia tells us:
Collars are typically worn by seminarians and clergy members of other groups such as those of the Anglican, Presbyterian and Lutheran traditions. Also many Methodist, Apostolic, Oneness Pentecostals, Non-denominational, and others wear collars. Some Unitarian Universalist ministersHumanists as well as Christianswear collars. In some churches or locales however, this practice is discouraged because collars are known to be associated with Roman Catholicism.
So even non-denominational ministers may wear collars. But that is definitely a Catholic chin in the photo.
DN,Are you claiming that the association most people would have with that image is not "Catholic priest?"Again, imagine an ad featuring someone wearing a turban. As we know, Muslims don't wear turbans; Sikhs do. Would we thus excuse trading in anti-Muslim bigotry?Is it "the most anti-Catholic ad you'll ever see?" No. But I'd prefer not to see the likes of this particular ad again.I'm willing to forgive, but I'm not going to bend over backwards to excuse.If it was a mistake, it was a mistake.
Are you claiming that the association most people would have with that image is not Catholic priest?John McG,First of all, there is text on the back that refers to "Preacher Dan" at least six times. Second, probably anyone who is not a Catholic and attends a church where their minister wears a collar would not immediately jump to the conclusion that the image is of a Catholic priest. You are used to seeing priests in collars, so you assume it's a priest. A significant number of Minnesotans are Lutherans, and Lutheran ministers dress similarly to Catholic priests. As Wikipedia noted, a lot of denominations use collars, as do some non-denominational ministers.No matter how desperately you want to believe there is anti-Catholicism involved here, you are wrong.
What a mess. Aren't there any Catholics working with the DFL?
What a mess. Arent there any Catholics working with the DFL?Fr. Martin,One would assume so, given the demographics of Minnesota. Wikipedia says:
A 2008 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life showed that 32.0% of Minnesotans were affiliated with Mainline Protestant traditions, 21.0% with Evangelical Protestant traditions, 28.0% with Roman Catholic traditions, 1.0% each with Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, and Black Protestant traditions, smaller amounts for other faiths, and 13.0% unaffiliated.
But I am not sure what the point of the question is. Anybody who looks at both sides of the card will know it was not intended to be a Catholic priest. The only mess involved here is people jumping to conclusions based on seeing the front but not the back of the card.
Really, David, the only mess? You're not looking hard enough.
It's actually kind of complimentary, isn't it? The DFL wants images that says "religion" and the first things that come to mind is a Roman collar and a chapel with St. Anthony of Padua.Of course, they didn't mean it to be complimentary. But still.
Really, David, the only mess? Youre not looking hard enough.Grant,Well, okay. There's the totally embarrassing blog post over at The National Catholic Register, which begins:
The Most Anti-Catholic Political Ad You'll Ever See BY MATTHEW ARCHBOLD Monday, October 25, 2010 10:03 PM Comments (92)A Democrat Party supporting independent non profit group has sent out perhaps THE most anti-Catholic political advertisement Ive ever seen. Sometimes theres a little subtlety to anti-Catholic political rhetoric but not this time. This is in your face anti-Catholicism. A postcard was sent out to voters with a photo shopped picture of a Catholic priest wearing a campaign button saying: Ignore the Poor.As you can see the pic takes up nearly the entire length of the postcard. Its anti-Catholicism is not one point of many. Its the point.
And then there are the ugly comments that follow, like this one by DivineRipples:
The Democratic party is a collection of the vilest groups of American society - ranging from baby killers, liars, thieves, intern seducers, pot smokers but not inhalers, mentally challenged pass it to know it, beastiality practitioners hollywood types, million dollar apostate nuns and the like.Then there's this, from LifeNews (still uncorrected):Democratic Ad: Catholic Church More Concerned About Abortion Than PoorA campaign postcard the Minnesota Democratic Party sent to voters in the Midwestern state is causing a strong reaction from pro-life advocates. It claims the Catholic Church is more concerned with abortion than helping the poor. The postcard features a large photo of a older but faceless Catholic priest holding a Bible and wearing the clearly-seen Roman Catholic collar. [Emphasis added]
So in this interpretation, it's about abortion rather than Archbishop Nienstedt and same-sex marriage. That is an amazing deduction from a picture of someone in a Roman collar wearing a button that says "Ignore the Poor." That story is reproduced on many blogs.Then there's this from Irish Central:Democrat Party use anti-Catholic political advertisementThe Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor Party are hoping that that their anti-Catholic advertisement might gain them the vote of all those who have turned against the Church.A postcard sent out to voters in Minnesota shows a photograph of a priest, wearing the traditional black shirt and dog collar, with a campaign pin photo-shopped in that reads Ignore the Poor. The postcard holds no other information on the front, no other message.The National Catholic Observer [Register?] points out the most worrying aspect of this ad besides its face value message. This group must believe that theres enough of an anti-Catholic vote that this would pay dividends. Could that be true? said Matthew Archbold.
There's even this, in which reporters go around showing the front of the card to people without showing them the back. The mess, in my opinion, is people jumping to conclusions based on seeing the front of a postcard without asking what is on the back.Everyone knows that in our universe, a piece of paper has two sides. How in the world did such an uproar get made over one side of a piece of paper? If the Times reported on one side of a piece of paper without finding out what was on the other side, we would -- and quite correctly so -- never hear the end of it.The hysteria over this has made Bill Donohue seem reasonable by comparison!
Now you're being arch. You sure there's nothin messy about the DFL's as design?
Sorry for the coding errors above. But one more thought. Their message is that this "preacher" is not in step with the various religious denominations in Minnesota. They are not saying Christianity is a bad thing, they're saying he's not acting like a Christian, he's acting like a politician. Where is the insult to religion there? When has it ever been anti-Catholic to accuse a non-Catholic of being un-Christian?
Now youre being arch. You sure theres nothin messy about the DFLs as design?Grant,I see no problem. There is no disrespect intended for religion. The ad is directed at someone who is not living up to his religion.
Sorry for the typos. I can't say whether Hall is "living up to his religion." I can say that if you're trying to produce an attack ad based on a candidate's religion, you'd better get it right. And, you know, try to avoid annoying a large swath of potential supporters. Bad politics.
Felapton: "Why would you counter a DVD on opposition to homosexual marriage with 'These people ignore the poor?' "The major objection to the mailing of the Marriage DVD to all the Catholics of Minnesota, using donated money, was that the money should have been used to give to the poor.That just happened three weeks ago. Most people in Minnesota would be aware of the controversy if they read the papers at all. Most voters read the papers. The DFL leadership is vehemently opposed to the Church's position on homosexual marriage.Dan Hall is not a minister at all. He has been a police chaplain and an employee of chaplains' organizations. Yet the DFL ads keeps referring to him as "preacher." And one shoes the priest with the button. Another, shoes an altar with a statue of St. Anthony holding the Baby Jesus. How many protestant churches have statues?He attends a non-denominational church where the ministers do not wear clerical vestments or clothing. On Hall's web pages the photos are always of him wearing a shirt and maybe a tie.
Grant Gallicho:Thanks for the great research work. I've been trying to keep track of this all day from Minneapolis and you have done a much better job than just about everybody else that I have seen. Keep up the good work. I'm going to have to stop by Commonweal more often.
He attends a non-denominational church where the ministers do not wear clerical vestments or clothing.No clothing? Instead of complaining about what the man in the photo was wearing, we should just be thankful he was wearing something.
It seems that DFL could have saved itself a lot of trouble by including the face of the person the ad was targetting.Does anyone have a good reason for why they did not do so, and instead presented the disembodied torso?
BTW, let's talk about a truly anti-Catholic ad -- Sharron Angle's "closing argument" in her Nevada race:http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/10/how_sharron_angle_see...
I'll take that as a "no."
BTW, can't we dispense with the same old tactics of ignore, deny, deflect?
It doesnt sound plausible. There may be something going on in Minnesota that non-Minnesotans have no idea about.2010 new ugg boots
John McG, isn't the disembodied torso supposed to make the recipient turn the card over? If Dan Hunt's face were on the front of the card, anybody who found it in the mail would immediately know it was political advertising and probably not bother to read the back.
Felapton, yes, "because they're stupid" is more often than not the correct answer ("Against stupidity the very gods themselves contend in vain").Similarly, over the course of my career, I have more than once been in a position of trying to tell someone as gently as possible that the jerk boss who just humiliated them is actually an equal opportunity jerk, humiliating one and all with complete indifference to their membership in a protected class. There is no substitute for a thick skin in this world.
It seems the moral of the story is, if you come across something that is either an egregious attack on the Church or just really, really, really stupid, it's probably just really, really, really stupid. Anti-Catholicism exists, but colossal stupidity is much more prevalent.
FWIW, lots of denominations have ministers who wear a collar. If they wanted to designate the minister as CATHOLIC, they probably would have included a cassock or other distinctively RC ministerial garb. And I assume the reason they put someone in clearly ministerial dress is so that everyone would recognize him as ---- a minister. Having a dude in street clothes wouldn't really serve their purpose, would it?Not saying it's a great idea, it's way too subtle and therefore open to misunderstanding, or maybe just too complicated, but anti-Catholic? Not by any stretch. Although, it does highlight the propensity of many to jump to that conclusion. Grant, you should have, as they say, aimed first before shooting, or measured twice before cutting.
Yes, Barbara, I jumped the gun, and am willing to take my lumps for that mistake. For what it's worth, the DFL took their time getting back to me (and at least one other journalist I know who was pestering them for clarification). Starting at 9 a.m., I e-mailed three of their staffers--including the president of the party--and phoned a half-dozen times before hearing back (and even then the statement was not terribly responsive to my questions). In an act of Web 2.0 desperation, I sent the DFL a direct message via Twitter. About a half-hour later, McFarland sent his statement. Still, you're right, I should have waited. Where I think you (and David Nickol) are mistaken is on the question of the appropriateness of the clerical image. Yes, yes, ministers from several denominations wear the Roman collar, but show the image to anyone within shouting distance and ask what they think they see--dollars to donuts most will say a Catholic priest. Yet, yet, David Nickol will say, the other part of the mailer says "Dan Hall," and Dan Hall isn't Catholic! Right, but neither is Hall a member of any of those denominations whose ministers wear the Roman collar. What's more, he doesn't call himself "Preacher Dan." Sometimes people call him "Chaplain Hall," but that's as close as he's gotten to a ministerial title. Couple this gaffe with the image of the side chapel and the St. Anthony statue (!) and it's clear that whoever selected these stock photos for the mailers was out of his depth. In other words, he wasn't anti-Catholic (and, for the record, I didn't think the image was anti-Catholic even when I misinterpreted its intent), just ignorant.
I'd just take a moment to defend Grant's posting the original post, and his developing it throughout the day -- this is a blog, after all, which is often research in motion. Posts are often nets cast out for more information, which Grant actually gathered better than anyone. I was trying all day to get the DFL on the horn, and was about to publish a piece at PoliticsDaily when McFarland also got back to me, late in the day. It happens all the time, that newspapers and other media publish pieces and indicate that the organization in question did not respond to requests for comment. The DFL offices and officials went dark for several hours while this was bubbling around, and they could have and should have responded sooner, in my estimation. If they hadn't gotten back when they did, my piece would have been much the same as Grant's noting how the mailer was roiling the Catholic blogosphere. As for the mailer being anti-Catholic, I agree that it was mainly anti-smart, but I'd also suggest that --while this is a Catholic blog -- we should perhaps get outside of our parochial mindset and look at this from the perspective of Pentecostals and evangelicals, Dan Hall's tribe: They are typically low church, non-liturgical, non-clerical folks who have been branded by political opponents with Catholic symbols. It's as if, I don't know, some group had used a loaf of bread at a Plymouth Brethren service to represent the Eucharist.
Exactly.These parts tend not to be terribly understanding when bishops make similar ignorant errors.Being politically savvy is part of the DFL's job. It doesn't seem unreasonable to expect that they would have someone on their staff who would see that image and conclude that putting it on a postcard and mailing it might not be such a hot idea.Does that mean they're "anti-Catholic?" Is it the inevitable precursor to a return to the Know-Nothings? Probably not.But it's a mistake, and it's not unreasonable that the DFL account for it. Not by saying, "Only a right-wing nutjob could miss that it's referring to 'Preacher Hall'," but by acknowledging their mistake and apologizing for it.
And here's today's brilliant/evil/dumb political mailer of the day -- a scratch-and-sniff (don't) on Loretta Sanchez:http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/10/scratch-sni...
"Does that mean they're anti-Catholic?" If it is true that the DFL leadership is vehemently opposed to Christ's teaching on God's intention for Marriage, and if it is true that a clerical collar is an item of Christian clerical clothing, than the DFL is anti-christ and ant-christian, simultaneously.
Yet, yet, David Nickol will say, the other part of the mailer says Dan Hall, and Dan Hall isnt Catholic! Right, but neither is Hall a member of any of those denominations whose ministers wear the Roman collar. Whats more, he doesnt call himself Preacher Dan. Grant,First, David Gibson's point is well taken. This is a blog, not the Times, and over the course of the day, you ferreted out the facts. You did good.But the original mailer was a political piece, arguably an attack ad of sorts, and it scarcely matters if "Preacher Dan" never calls himself that, or if he never wears a Roman collar. If the DFL failed, it was in not saying to themselves, "What if somebody gets this and plasters the front all over the Internet without the back?" Of course, that is what happened, but if anyone ever had the right to say, "This was taken out of context," it's the DFL.
The odds are this opportunity may not present itself again in my lifetime, so I want to say that I am in agreement with David G. In the past I have not been shy about taking issue with things I've read here--now I think it is only fair to say that I believe Grant is being way too hard on himself. Further, I admire the practice of clearly identifying substantive updates to original threads. The ball bounces in unexpected ways all the time--it's what you do afterward that matters most.
Well, that update is certainly helpful. And idiotic on the DFL's part.It's very difficult to believe people who are saying, "no, no, we're not intending to put down Catholics...we just insist on using Catholic imagery for our propaganda because..."Well, it must be because it's the prettiest imagery.It couldn't possibly be any other reason.And Grant, your penance should be equal to the sin. Enough breast-beating. You did good in following up. Better than most.
Its very difficult to believe people who are saying, no, no, were not intending to put down Catholicswe just insist on using Catholic imagery for our propaganda becauseMean Lizzie,It is not very difficult to believe the DFL was not attempting to put down Catholics when one recognizes that what "Preacher Hall" is being chastised for in the mailing is not going along with "leaders of the faith community [who] railed against Pawlenty's decision to demolish the health care system for our poor and elderly." The Catholic Church is numbered among those in the "faith community" in Minnesota who played a prominent role in opposing Pawlenty's cuts, even urging the legislature to override Pawlenty. Note this excerpt:
But Alexandra Fitzsimmons with the Minnesota Catholic Conference says the governor and lawmakers need to consider the state's poorest residents when balancing the budget."There does seem a difference in approach from looking at it as a human life issue versus an economic issue," said Fitzsimmons. "I think the human life piece needs to come first."Catholic Charities, the Catholic archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and bishops from several other denominations have also sent letters supporting a fix to GAMC.
Note also the following:
St. Cloud bishop urges priests and parishes to support GAMC overrideSt. Cloud's Catholic Bishop, the Most Rev. John F. Kinney, is urging priests, deacons and parish life coordinators in his diocese to support legislative efforts to override Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto of the General Assistance Medical Care bill.In a memo, Kinney says:"I would encourage you to be in contact with your representatives by phone or e-mail as soon as possible to express your support of the override of Governor Pawlenty's veto of the General Assistance Medical Care bill. ... I would also ask you to ask the support of the members of your parish for the override of this veto."He then quotes a statement from the Minnesota Catholic Conference:"In less than six weeks, the General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program will end. This program provides basic health care to our poorest and sickest neighbors all of whom are living in deep poverty. Access to affordable health care that protects and supports the life, dignity and health of all people is a matter of justice. Less than two weeks ago, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed a bill temporarily extending health care coverage to our poorest and most vulnerable neighbors which does not include coverage for abortion services. The House passed the bill on a 125-9 vote, and the Senate passed the bill on a 47-16 vote. Unfortunately, the Governor vetoed the bill. Please contact your Representative and urge him or her to vote yes on a vote override. Our neighbors with the greatest needs are counting on us. for more information and to find contact information for your Representative, please visit the Minnesota Catholic Conference web site at www.mncc.org/."
The DFL mailing paints Dan Hall as being on the wrong side of this issue and the Catholic Church (among others) as being on the right side. And yet somehow this is supposed to have been intended as an insult to Catholics. I am bewildered.
Images are powerful, David Nikol, that's why we use them. For every person who will bother to read the DFL's statements, there will be 100 who do not read it, and will simply pick up a negative vibe on Catholics. In this case, the pictures are louder than the words, and the DFL has to know that, or they're really dumb. Dumb is forgivable, however; I know this because I am, sadly, intimately acquainted with dumb, and need lots of forgiveness.
Guess who has weighed in.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue wasn't buying it:The DFL deliberately exploited Catholic imagery to make a political point. Had they pictured an imam on the front of its mailing, the DFL wouldn't treat its critics so cavalierly. If the DFL wants to paint Hall as anti-poor, then do it. But don't do it by hijacking Catholic imagery. While the text is about Dan Hall, the teaserthat which gets the attention of the readeris a Catholic-baiting stunt that paints priests as anti-poor.The person whose name appears on the mailing is Brian Melendez, the state chair of the DFL. The Harvard-educated lawyer, it turns out, offers his services pro bono for cases involving consumer fraud. He should therefore know a thing or two about deceptive advertising, especially given that he concentrated in ethics while attending Harvard Divinity School. We contacted his office yesterday looking to give him a chance to explain himself, but he never got back to us. Perhaps that's because he was too busy advising the DFL how to handle questions about deceptive advertising and unethical behavior.
I also don't see how this is in any way deliberately Catholic-baiting when the flyer goes out of its way to praise the Catholic Church, and just one-quarter of it is taken up with a picture of apparently a priest. Again, the praise for the Catholic Church and the image used conflict, and I think it was just dumb messaging. I think it also argues, in a very backhanded way, for the continuing uniqueness of Catholicism in terms of defining religion and Christianity.
"Preacher Dan Hall, Pushing Politics From The Pulpit." If one can superimpose a button in this ad, they could have superimposed a head. By having a "headless" and thus an unidentified cleric with a collar, this ad appears to be an attack not just on Dan Hall, but all those clerics who are perceived to be "pushing politics from the pulpit", including Archbishop Nienstedt.
For every person who will bother to read the DFLs statements, there will be 100 who do not read it, and will simply pick up a negative vibe on Catholics.Mean Lizzie,I suppose I can understand why it is the first reaction of every Catholic to assume the image on the front is supposed to be a Catholic priest, but Minnesota has a large Lutheran population, and as a commenter on another site noted, there are probably more non-Catholic clergy in Minnesota who wear Roman collars than Catholic priests. I'm going to do a little experiment from now on and judge every two-sided flyer I see by only one side to see whom I can accuse of bigotry or stupidity. I don't think it is by accident that for most of the frenzy yesterday, we were shown only one side of the flyer.I hope you continue to post here, because I find your views very interesting, although I suppose writing on another blog must be something like a busman's holiday.
Brian Melendez, the Chair of the State DFL Central Committee that paid for the ads, is also a partner in Faegre & Benson and lists on his webpage at Faegre that he is an active member of the Westminister Presbyterian Church. As noted by Mr. Nickol above, Presbyterian ministers also wear collars like the one's depicted in the ad. It seems likely that, at least in Mr. Melendez's mind, such collars are not automatically "Catholic" symbols but more generic symbols for ministers. This again points to a mistake about how others might interpret the photo rather than any premeditated intent to attack Catholcs.
A man goes to a psychiatrist. To start things off, the psychiatrist suggests they start with a Rorschach test. He holds up the first picture and asks the man what he sees."A man and a woman making love in a park," the man replies.The psychiatrist holds up the second picture and asks the man what he sees. "A man and a woman making love in a boat." He holds up the third picture. "A man and a woman making love at the beach." This goes on for the rest of the set of pictures; the man says he sees a man and a woman making love in every one of the pictures.At the end of the test, the psychiatrist looks over his notes and says, "You certainly seem to be obsessed with sex." And the man indignantly replies, "ME??? YOU'RE the one with all the dirty pictures."
David, even if you were to read the other side first, how does that change the fact that the ad still seems to appear to depict Dan Hall as a member of the group of clerics with collars who the creator of the ad believes are "pushing politics from the pulpit"? Where have we heard that accusation before?
DN,I am going to look forward to this charitable attitude with respect to statements from the bishops and pro-life groups.Weren't you just a couple weeks ago hanging the Catholics attitude toward gays based on the "objectively disordered" statement, ignoring the other official statements expressing more compassionate views and the numerous Catholics around you providing a more compassionate witness?Hopefully, more thought goes into Church documents than postcards, but most of the commentary here does not day that there is darkness in the sould of the DFL, but the presentation of the post card was really dumb. Do you agree, or must they be right because Bill Donohue must be wrong?
Werent you just a couple weeks ago hanging the Catholics attitude toward gays based on the objectively disordered statement, ignoring the other official statements expressing more compassionate views and the numerous Catholics around you providing a more compassionate witness?John McG,Yes, and I'm doing the same thing over at Mirror of Justice today!Actually, if you remember correctly, I was using the statements from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to point out that the more compassionate statements you referred to did not have the status of "official teachings."I fully support the bishops when they speak up on behalf of the poor. What I find interesting, however, is that a lot of politically conservative Catholics would have been very upset if the bishops had gotten their way over the issue of abortion and had then wholeheartedly endorsed "Obamacare." The people who cheer the USCCB for its position on abortion and stem-cell research are, by in large, not the same people who wanted to see "Obamacare" pass, even with strict prohibitions on abortion. So not everyone embraces every position of the USCCB.
Do you agree, or must they be right because Bill Donohue must be wrong?John McG,Off the top of my head, I can't think of an instance where Bill Donohue was right, so taking a position opposite to his is a pretty good guide. I am sure there have been times that I don't remember when he has been basically right, but his belligerent, tough-guy language is unhelpful no matter whether he is right or wrong. And unfortunately for those of us who watch the Today Show, he is the go-to guy for all Catholic controversies (of a certain type). Couldn't they consult Father Jim Martin, S.J.? He's media savvy, more telegenic, and in every way superior for consulting about all things Catholic.
I, too would welcome a different spokesman than Bill Donohue.I also am marginally glad the health care bill that passes passed, and would have been ecstatic if the Stupak version had passed.
Nancy: this site is not a forum for you to conduct your own personal inquisition. Consider this a warning. Your comment has been deleted. Another one like it and you're done here.
Grant, asking a question as to whether or not a suggested candidate for the role of consultant for "all things Catholic" assents to the Teaching of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church in no way makes me someone who is conducting my own personal inquisition, it simply makes me someone who recognizes that in searching for a consultant for all things Catholic one should begin with someone who assents to The Teaching of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. Once you have your candidates, you can then determine who does the best job of clarifying The Church's position and relaying The Church's position to the media.


text:
Inspecting the source and scripts, I seem to be getting the following error in load-scripts.php:
a.attributes is null
Line 55
Inspecting the source and scripts, I seem to be getting the following error in load-scripts.php:
a.attributes is null
Line 55
reverted the theme back to twenty-ten and found out that it's my theme (autofocus plus) that's been causing the jquery calls all wonky.
I'm having the same issue - did you find a solution?
Make sure all your plugins and/or themes don't pull the latest jquery version (1.5.0, I think). WP 3.1 uses jquery 1.4.4. I changed my theme since I still don't have the time to tinker with my other layout.
link to update AutoFocusPlus: http://indxr.fthrwght.com/autofocus/autofocusplus-1.4.zip
okay-- I'm not clever enough to figure out how to call an older version of jQuery, and my problems persist even with the 2010 WordPress theme-- I've posted a support concern at the atahualpa forum to inquire if that's the issue, and if so, whether they can fix it-- however, it really pisses me off that 3.05 worked fine and 3.1 doesn't. Did jQuery update in the last few days or something?
There doesn't be a straightforward way at this point to "downgrade" WordPress to 3.05 so that it will work; how do I do that?
@rwhaun thanks, man. :)
This topic has been closed to new replies.


text:
Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian + More Top Forbes Most Overexposed Celebs List
Too much of a good thing, huh?
Too much of a good thing, huh?
And lo, the tenure of 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno' has come to an end once again, leaving Jay to walk off into that darling sunset with Jimmy Fallon waiting in the wings and a bitter Conan O'Brien making the only jokes. Jay's first-ever guest Billy Crystal joined the late-night host last night to bookend the run, bringing with him a cavalcade of guest stars to send Jay off in style before the big man himself finally said goodbye!
Kim Kardashian confirmed that she and Kanye West would be getting married in Paris this year. She did not confirm the exact date -- she only said "summer"-- but it appears that they have bumped their plans to wed to sooner than we thought.
Grab your sunglasses, PopCrushers! Our favorite stars are blinding us with their gorgeous engagement rings!
Oopsie! Kim Kardashian stumbled while at the family's charity garage/yard sale in Tarzana, Calif. on Sunday, Nov. 10.
Kimye are gettin' hitched!
Kim Kardashian had her baby exactly two months ago today, at which time she immediately went into an unprecedented period of seclusion. She reportedly wanted to keep herself hidden away until she lost her pregnancy weight, but yesterday she wandered out in public -- and there are photos to prove it.
Celebrities are known for giving their kids awful -- or at least mock-worthy -- names. From Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter Apple to Nic Cage's son Kal-El (that's Superman's birth name, for you non-nerds out there), it's a good thing these kids have famous parents who can afford private bodyguards on playgrounds.
But it looks like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West might very well have trumped them all.
The Met Gala was this past Monday, and there were so many highs and lows. We picked a few of those, as well as outfits from other events that warranted our attention and yours.
Ultimately, we have to give it up for Jennifer Lawrence and her black Dior frock ... but we, like everyone else, can't stop shaking our heads over Kim Kardashian's decision to channel a sofa at the Met event.
Kanye West is a huge grab for 'Saturday Night Live,' but the show is notorious for skewering his future baby mama, Kim Kardashian. They were scared of making him angry with their parodies, but still wanted to see if he'd participate in some sketches.
A compromise? Having Kardashian appear with him on the show!
Pregnancy is really bumming Kim Kardashian out.
The faux reality starlet, whose life is notoriously rife with strife and struggle, is really sad that there's more to gestating the spawn of Kanye West than just sitting around gorging on frosting from the jar.
In related news, the situation in Syria also seems pretty inconvenient.
The Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries divorce / annulment fustercluck is raging on. Last time we checked in, Kris missed their settlement hearing because that stuff is super hard to keep track of.
Now news breaks of a deposition given by Kim, where she admits to being apart from boyfriend and baby daddy Kanye West more often than not.


text:
Women's shoes from Gander Mountain are available for any activity. From hiking boots to boat shoes, from trail running shoes to slippers, from casual shoes to sandals, Gander Mountain has shoes for your busy feet. We offer top brand shoes and boots from Merrell, Keen, Columbia, Timberland, REEF, ASICS, LaCrosse, New Balance, and Teva.
Results 1 - 4 of 4 Page 1 of 1
Keen Women's Venice Hybrid Sandal
Washable waterproof nubuck leather upper
Breathable, quick-drying hydrophobic mesh lining
Aegis Microbe Shield treatment to resist odors
Compression-molded EVA midsole for cushioning
Nonmarking rubber outsole with muldirectional lugs
Keen Women's Uneek Sandal
Two cords and a sole - nothing more, nothing less!
Allows upper to move and adapt to shape of foot
Braided polyester cords with a nylon core
Lightweight PU midsole; nonmarking rubber outsole
Microfiber-covered metatomical footbed
Keen Women's Newport Sandal
Secure-fit strap design
Nonmarking rubber outsoles
Multidirectional lug pattern and razor siping
Metatomical footbed
Washable waterproof leather uppers
Keen Women's Rose Slide Sandal
Durable polyester webbing upper
Hydrophobic mesh lining resists moisture
Metatomical EVA footbed for arch support
Multi-directional lug pattern on the outsole
Results 1 - 4 of 4 Page 1 of 1


text:
WildFlower... Photographer
Savannah SlyModel Female Seattle, Washington, US
My Website: Ms. SavannahMy MM URL: http://www.modelmayhem.com/mssavannahsly
Mayhem # 1066683
About MeI am a fetish/glamor/fine art model with extensive experience on both sides of the camera. As a model, I'm easy going, professional, expressive, and take direction very well.
I am currently accepting paid photography and video assignments and very selectively shoot TFC with photographers who's work I find to be exceptional. I'm also active on Zivity and am open to working with photographers who already publish on that site.
Trading Video sets: I will selectively trade video content with other fetish models and producers who's work I find to be artistically compelling and unique. I'm also open to trading sets for more commercial fetish sites such as Clips4Sale.
Paid Assignments: I'm a professional Dominatrix and am very well suited for a variety of fetish and kink shoots. I am accepting particular types of adult work at this time, as well as fashion, nudes and glamour. If you think you'd like to hire me for a shoot, drop me a line and we'll discuss rates.
Have you worked with Savannah Sly? Add Credits for Savannah Sly! >>
Credit NotesPhotographers (note:I cannot list several excellent photographers and websites I've worked with due to the adult nature of my content):
NiaImages - #1423307
Byte Studio - #149408
Fantasy & Seduction - #2153581
Michael Leach - #249667
Andy Bloxham - #1348135
Eric Levin - elevin.net/
Dick Obrien - #386767
Mister Brad - #1039820
Kenrick - #412838
Alfredo de Matteis
WildFlower... Photographer
Robert Bob Delfin Photographer
Outdoor Commercial Photographer
Riamux Creations Photographer
Visualtaffy Photographer
Craig Solomon Photographer
Loading Content


text:
Crash landing onto Florida's Turnpike averted a catastrophe — no vehicles were struck, and the crew were in "fair" condition — but resulted in a large rescue response and clean-up operation... (more)
The Hudson River A320!
The daily flight to PVG unfortunately only made it to the 19L/1R intersection this past Independence Day. Booked to capacity, the aircraft had barely started its journey when somebody noticed a fu... (more)
Nose wheel problem on landing. Fire service in attendance.
02 apr 82 the 3-H-142 was first argentine aircraft to land on the Falklands/Malvinas after the amphibious assault; 04 may 82 emergency landing after mechanical failure on Type 42 Destroyer ARA Sa... (more)
Trans States Airlines on behalf of United Airlines (FLT AX-3363/UA-3363) slid off runway 32 while landing in heavy rain. The flight carrying 44 passengers and three crew originated in Chicago, IL... (more)
Just 4 days ago, GF A320 'A9C-AG' skidded off the Runway at VOCI/COK. Today early morning 0415 Hrs IST, Turkish Airlines A343 TC-JDM christened "Izmir", operating as TK-720 from IST, veered off th... (more)
Operating as TK 720 from Istanbul, "Izmir" veered off a rapid exit taxiway and got stuck in the mud while exiting runway 27 on arrival around 4:15 AM today. The evacuation slide has been deployed ... (more)
KFA 288 sitting between the approach lights at the threshold of 29, having overshot Rwy 11 on landing.
This plane was flown by the 100th FS based in Montgomery, Alabama - the Alabama Air National Guard - and ran off the runway on landing after a flight display. He was unable to stop. The nose and n... (more)


text:
Best of 2014: Here's what's making news in the White Rock-East Dallas communities
Photo: Rose Baca/neighborsgo staff photographer
There are about 5,000 miles of pipes in the Dallas Water Utilities system, but in Old East Dallas--many of the pipes are cast iron. Aging mains are a concern for residents in Munger Place, where the iron mains often cause discolored water. The water utility will replace much of the system there, and along Swiss Avenue and other parts of East Dallas.
To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.


text:
Thin cold-milk johnnycakes
Yield: 2 doz. pieces
1981 April Yankeemagazine
Login to add to your Recipe Box
Upload Your Photo
- 1 c white cornmeal
- 1 1/2 t salt
- 1 7/8 c cold milk
- Butter or nonstick vegetable-oil spray
Instructions:In a medium-size bowl, combine ingredients (except butter) to a soupy consistency. Ease large spoonfuls onto a hot, greased griddle; each cake should be about an eighth of an inch thick and 5 inch diameter. Fry 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until brown.
This recipe was submitted by one of our readers and has not been tested by our food editors. We are not responsible for errors in this recipe, but if you find one, please let us know.
Updated Friday, November 19th, 2010
Recipes You May Like
Browse Similar Recipes
- By Category: Miscellaneous
- By Prep Methods: Fried
- By Course: Breakfast & Brunch


text:
Hei Dragon, you are too kind. But this is the only PoV a sequoia allows!!!!
Sorry Dragon! I gave the impression you were annoying, but of course you were not! I just wanted to remark that I'm not a great photographer... Maybe I used the wrong words! Sorry again, your visits are welcome!!
Hi antorenz, just to make you aware, that your tags are contradictory. Yosemite NP is in California not in Utah. Cheers, Lutz
Thanks LutzP! That was distraction and I corrected it immediately... Thanks again!
You have a great gallery too. Very well done. Best Regards. Fotinos. ciao...
Thank you so much, Fotinos! My huge pleasure to see you in my gallery!
Love it. We have a Sequiadendron giganteum in our garden - around 2 metres high and it is still a baby. I guess our nabours will hate us two hundred years from now, but ...!
very beautiful !voted.
..sono finito tra i giganti della California...finalmente fuori da quell'inferno!
Sei salita in cima, Anto? :-))) Ciao, Renato.
Photo taken in Madera County, CA, USA


text:
I installed this but decided it's not what i need so i deactivated the plugin then deleted it but it still appears every time i go to checkout. Can you tell me how i can fully get rid of this please? The only way at the moment is to turn off shipping entirely, which i don't want to do!
(Does it have something to do with the tables in the database? The only one i can see it possibly linking too is 'wp_2wpsc_region_tax' but don't want to delete it in case it is part ofthe wp e-commerce plugin!
Thanks in advance.


text:
4 charged with arson in log yard fireSeptember 30,2013HARDWICK Three 18-year-old men are facing arson charges in connection with a fire that destroyed most of a Vermont log yard.
Police in Hardwick charged Randall Sayers of Woodbury, Hezekiah McCullough of Hardwick and Riley Reagan of Eden with arson, burglary and petty larceny for the July 29 fire at Buffalo Mountain Wood Storage and Transfer in Hardwick.
Police say Sayers, McCullough and a third young man from Hardwick also face petty larceny and burglary charged in connection with a July 5 burglary at the same business.
Business owner Ken Davis told the Caledonian Record that the fire burned about 75 percent of his building, causing $150,000 in damage.MORE IN This Just InLOS ANGELES As throngs of Pokemon Go players traipse around to real-world landmarks in... Full StoryAs Rutland debates the potential arrival of 100 Syrian refugees, an oft-repeated claim by... Full StoryMONTPELIER After 18 years in the Legislature, Chittenden County Sen. Full Story
- Most Popular
- Most Emailed


text:
23,000 Members Strong - The Largest and Oldest Mom Blogger Social Network
We have an ice issue in our house. It's an issue that involves laziness, denial, blindness, stubbornness, and principle.
© 2016 Created by Mom Bloggers Club.
Powered by
Badges |
Report an Issue |
Terms of Service
Please check your browser settings or contact your system administrator.


text:
Begin New Search
Refine Last Search
Cemetery Lookup
Add Burial Records
Help with Find A Grave
Top Contributors
Success Stories
Community Forums
Find A Grave Store
Log In
ad feedback
ad feedback
member for 7 years, 1 month, 8 days
Add to MyFriends
Bio and Links
I enjoy genealogy and I'm always hunting for pieces of family history here and there. I am particularly interested in my own family history in Lucas County, Iowa; La Salle County, Illinois; Butler County, Kansas; and Harrison County, Missouri. I do not live in these locations, but I occasionally take pictures of grave sites when I visit.
Please feel free to use any photos I have added to honor your loved ones on other websites. Credit is always appreciated, but not required. Also, if I am not related to an individual, I would be happy to transfer management of your loved ones to your account. I have surveyed some of my family's cemeteries and in the process have added other non-family members to findagrave.com, so if you would like me to transfer them to you, just ask.
Leave Public Message
Contributions to
Find A Grave
485 Memorials Added
540 Memorials Managed
1 Memorial/week
729 Photos
4 Photo Requests
71 Volunteer Photos Taken
30 Virtual Flowers
4 Virtual Cemeteries
5 Fame Ratings
5 Friends
Search Contributor's Records
First Name
Last Name
Virtual Cemeteries
Brill Family
Extended Family
Mitchell Family
Munson Family
Find A Grave Friends
Darrell McLain
Jennifer Bracke...
Joan Edmonson
Messages left for brilltwin2 (173)
Leave Message
T. Cook
RE: Charles Rundquist
Hi - you can read all about Louisa here
This is my Cook family history page.
More work to be done as I am still looking through census records that are hard to read from Galesburg.
Added by
T. Cook
on Jan 09, 2016 12:32 PM
T. Cook
Charles Rundquist
Hi - I am confident that Charles Rundquist is the brother of Louisa Rundquist. He was in Mankato, MN at the same time as Louisa, and her obituary says she moved up there to be with him. He is the only Rundquist living in Mankato area according to the census.
She had a brother name Charles on the Swedish census that matches to the year. His obit mentions he was an only child but it could be his second wife knew nothing of his family.
His parents were David Hansson Rundquist and Inga Hansdotter, other sisters were Maria and Elna with the youngest Johan, who died in Sweden at a young age. They all came to Galesburg by 1854.
Added by
T. Cook
on Dec 31, 2015 2:13 PM
RE: Lewis family at Section Cemetery
Thanks for your information. We will continue to work on the cemetery records and will let you know if we learn more.
Added by
on Nov 29, 2015 2:18 PM
Lewis family at Section Cemetery
You have several Lewis memorials at Section in LaSalle County, Illinois. We have been doing research and have found several stones for children of O H & I Lewis. We have an old photo of, possibly, Emma L Lewis and another of ?Lewis? with a death date of 8 Oct 18??, aged 20 years and 1 month.
Can you help us identify these? I would be happy to send you copies of the photos.
Added by
on Nov 17, 2015 9:01 AM
Norman Brill
My cousin, Cheri Duncan did extensive research on the Brill family. Unfortunately Cheri died several years ago. So, I can't answer your question.
My husband had a heart attack on May 4th and my time is spent caring for him. He's now 87. Genealogy has been put on the "back burner" for now.
Added by
on Jun 13, 2015 7:26 PM
Julie Grabill Rasmussen
Isaac Huffman
Thanks for the information. I do not know IF Isaac and Eunice Burns were ever married, nor when they were--if that happened--and if they divorced, or was Isaac presumed dead in the Civil War, or something else? Eunice had his child, as Isaac was recorded as the father and Eunice as her mother, on Sarah Huffman Griffin's death certificate. And the Griffin family seems to honor him as her father.
However, Eunice and Albert E. Griffin were married when Eunice was only 17, and either expecting her first child or shortly after Sarah's birth (Sarah wasn't Albert's child). (There are many, many Albert Griffins, and more than 1 Albert E. Griffin). So I am still trying to piece this puzzle together. Thanks for checking. Someday, I might have to make a trip to MO and look up marriage records for Albert Griffin & Eunice Burns, and possibly prior court records.
Again, thanks for getting back to me.
Added by
Julie Grabill Rasmussen
on Mar 24, 2015 4:13 PM
T. Cook
Hi - I was wondering if you knew if Charles had a sister named Louisa Sophia Rundquist. She moved to Mankato to live with her brother in Mankato in 1857. Charles was the only Rundquist on record as living there at this time. Louisa is my GGGgrandmother. We know very little about her except she was born in Stockholm and came to America and settled in Galesburg. She came over with her sister in 1853.
thanks - Tom Cook
Added by
T. Cook
on Oct 12, 2014 3:14 PM
RE: Section Cemetery
Hello Brooke,
Thank you for the update-you have really been busy! We have all the photos for Section on Find A Grave now. We will be checking our records as soon as we finish reading a few more cemeteries. We may have more questions for you then. We hope to publish a book with all the Miller Township cemeteries. Please contact me if you find any errors. Thanks again.
Added by
on Aug 17, 2014 2:13 PM
Section Cemetery
Hello Brooke,
We are working on our records for Section Cemetery and have some more questions.
Is John and Sarah's name spelled Selle or Seele? An older photo looks like Seele.
Hougas, Zenas Melvin or Zenus?
Hougas, Zenas Allen or Zenos?
Hayer, Ole S or L?
We will be putting the rest of the photos on later in the year. Hopefully they will be of help to you.
Ruth Havenhill
Added by
on Aug 08, 2014 7:42 PM
RE: Allen E Hayer
Hello Brooke,
The military stone for Allen has Jan 31, 1891. We have found mistakes made by engravers, but I will post the photo so that you can decide what to do. Other names where there are differences in dates are:
Anderson, Adelbert and George
Elefson, Oliver and Elef and Lars and Eva Elizabeth (stone says Eva Isabelle)
Hougas, Martha Fisher
Teal, Edward
I will post the photos. Please let me know if you have information that corrects the dates so that we can print corrections in our records. Thank you!
Added by
on Aug 05, 2014 3:16 PM
View all messages...
Privacy Statement
Terms of Service
ad feedback


text:
All Rise...
Judge Paul Pritchard has a monsuno in his pocket.
The Charge
The Race To Harness The Power Of Monsuno!
The Case
Parents beware: Monsuno is coming to take your money.
It's impossible to talk about Monsuno: Destiny without mentioning the P-word. No, not that one (you should be ashamed of yourself), I meant Pokemon. As you may recall, Nintendo's cross-media phenomenon (which no doubt due to me being in my mid-thirties has pretty much passed me by), saw young children enslave powerful creatures in tiny balls before pitting them against each other in what looked like a furry version of Street Fighter II. The franchise spanned television, movies, trading cards, action figures, and of course the videogames that started it all and continue to this day. It has also raked in an obscene amount of money. With that in mind it's understandable that other companies would want a slice of the action. I'd never heard of Monsuno, but a quick search of toy catalogues reveals the merchandise machine is already in full swing, despite the show first airing at the start of 2012.
Unfortunately the creators of Monsuno have adhered a little too closely to the Pokemon formula, so much so that those, like myself, who are not fully initiated in their respective universes will find it hard to differentiate between the two shows. Both feature a trio of friends on a quest; in the case of Monsuno the group is searching for Chase's missing father—and in both the kids have control over powerful creatures that they battle with. Small deviances—Pokemon are held in small balls, whereas Monsuno are stored in cylinders—do little to make a case for Monsuno being a completely original creation.
A bland, anime-by-numbers look also does little to help Monsuno stand out. The human characters—especially the series lead, Chase Suno—could have very easily been lifted from any number of Japanese or Japanese influenced animations from the last two decades, as they lack a single defining feature. The designs of the various Monsuno is also unremarkable. Whereas Pokemon threw up all kinds of oddities, Monsuno takes a standard animal, for instance a polar bear, and simply increases its size tenfold and sticks on a piece of armor, or some other nondescript adornment.
Moving beyond the fact that the show lacks a truly unique selling point in terms of its basic concept, it's still disappointing to report that the writing is so lacking in imagination. The episodic nature of the show quickly becomes repetitive, as a different villain appears in each episode while the main antagonists are held back (something I assume later episodes will address). Of the five episodes included in Monsuno: Destiny, only episode five, "Knowledge," really stands out. The episode is in many ways typical of the way the show assimilates ideas from other series, in this case there's a hint of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The appearance of a camp monk known as The Bookman, whose villainy is so overplayed that it is impossible not to enjoy, saves it and suggests there may be hope for Monsuno once the series finds its stride.
Monsuno: Destiny contains the following episodes:
• "Clash"—Chase Suno and his two best friends, Bren and Jinja begin the search for Chase's father, the scientist Jeredy Suno, who has gone missing. On arrival at his father's remote lab, Chase is confronted by Jon Ace and S.T.O.R.M. (Strategic Tactical Operatives for Recovery of Monsuno), who are after the Monsuno Jeredy had hidden for his son.
• "Courage"—Chase, who is now in possession of his own Monsuno (the giant polar bear named Lock), goes in search of a Monsuno called Quickforce, who is being held captive by S.T.O.R.M. Quickforce's volatile nature makes their rescue attempt difficult.
• "Underground"—The trio meet a mysterious woman who leads them to an underground club where Monsuno do battle. While there, Jinja is able to obtain her own Monsuno, called Charger.
• "Wicked"—A mercenary pursues Chase in an attempt to force him into a Monsuno duel.
• "Knowledge"—When the evil monk known as The Bookman imprisons Chase, Bren, and Jinja, help comes in the form a younger monk name Beyal who aides in their escape.
Picture quality on Shout Factory's DVD release of Monsuno: Destiny is very good. The transfer is sharp, with vibrant colors, and no real flaws to speak of. Sound is also hard to fault, with clear dialogue accompanied by a suitably buoyant soundtrack. The only extras on the DVD release are character bios for Chase and Lock.
The real kicker with Monsuno: Destiny is that despite having watched endless episodes of Pokemon—having taken an interest in it following Pikachu's involvement in the Super Smash Bros. series of videogames—and the slightly more recent Dinosaur King, my kids still found plenty to enjoy here. Whether it's the familiarity of the show that drew them in, or the fact that they dig watching big monsters beat the snot out of each other at the behest of some puny little kid, it just clicked for them and in doing so kind of rendered all my arguments moot. Monsuno is a kids' show. If they like it, that makes it a success, right?
The Verdict
No. Forget what the kids say. It's Guilty.
Give us your feedback!
Did we give Monsuno: Destiny a fair trial? yes / no
What's "fair"? Whether positive or negative, our reviews should be unbiased, informative, and critique the material on its own merits.
Other Reviews You Might Enjoy
• The Crow: Collector's Series
DVD Reviews Quick Index
• DVD Releases
Scales of Justice
Perp Profile
Studio: Shout! Factory
Distinguishing Marks
• Character Bios
• IMDb
DVD | Blu-ray | Upcoming DVD Releases | About | Staff | Jobs | Contact | Subscribe | Find us on Google+ | Privacy Policy
Review content copyright © 2013 Paul Pritchard; Site design and review layout copyright © 2016 Verdict Partners LLC. All rights reserved.


text: Hi, I haven't done any Fedora packaging before, but I would be happy to help with this effort. I am involved in the Open Font Library and we have collected a list of free fonts on our wiki, http://openfontlibrary.org/wiki/Existing_Free_Fonts I hope that the OFLB infrastructure will eventually become a central repository that many GNU/Linux distributions can base sets of font packages off in an automated way; many free software fonts are like mgopen in that they are released and development is not continued, and I hope that the OFLB will become a place where further developments are collected. -- Regards, Dave


text:
An enhancement to Zorex's PHP Explorer V1.2 This PHP script provides the full range of server-side file management functions, including upload, download, move, copy, rename, delete etc. of files and folders. It relies entirely on HTTP (no ftp).
User Reviews
Be the first to post a review of PHP Explorer V2!


text:
Essie Nail Polish Reviews
Pretty colors, but wimpy staying powerI LOVE the selection of tasteful colors Essie offers - but can never get them to stay on my nails for more than 3 days, no matter how I prep my nails, no matter what top coat I use. Too bad ... — 8 years, 6 months agoPJAnderson | 2 reviews
mademoisellegreat brand w/ a wonderful selection of colors. my favorite go to color is mademoiselle- a light pink for a clean sophisticated look. — 8 years, 6 months agoKerimk | 3 reviews
Essie Nail PolishOf all the nail polishes in the market I think this one is the best. The polish drys fast and stays on the longest. — 8 years, 6 months agoterry_estes | 3 reviews
Great staying powerFabulous colors. One of my faves is Mademoiselle ( a light pink for summer) Very reasonable cost and staying power is pretty good. — 8 years, 6 months agokat00700 | 6 reviews
best colors, great qualityessie hands down has the best color palette out there. i am a fan of the class Ballet Slippers, a nude/light pink — 8 years, 6 months agoCCBeautyJunkie | 7 reviews
Awesome colors!I love Essie nail polish for it's amazing colors and for the cute names they give them. All the polishes I have bought and tried all look really good on. Not too bad for price either! — 8 years, 6 months agocnmtay | 1 reviews
Long Drying TimeEssie has fabulous colors, but I have a really hard time getting the polish to dry. Have even tried a quick dry topcoat, but still end up smudging over an hour later. — 8 years, 6 months agomindymoon12 | 21 reviews
Cheap and every color imaginableI love this polish and it's all I ever use! The price is cheap and you can get almost every shade of every color imaginable. — 8 years, 6 months agotao009 | 6 reviews
Long lastingEssie is my favorite nail color line. The polishes are long-lasting and they have such a fantastic variety of colors and are always adding new, fresh ones as well. My favorite at the moment for the holidays is Really Red...its the perfect red nail color! — 8 years, 6 months agoLolalu | 3 reviews
This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 1 of 1 people said helpful
Long lastingLove this polish, my pedicures last for weeks with this product! They have a great variety of colors to pick from and they don't thicken as fast as other brands over time!!!! — 8 years, 6 months agotinanappy | 16 reviews
Home » Reviews » Makeup » Nail Polish » Essie Nail Polish
to top
My Reasons for Reporting This


text:
Oxford Spires Four Pillars Hotel
No prices found through our partners. Please contact the business directly or check some of our recommended alternatives.
How has this hotel rated in the past?
Photos of Oxford Spires Four Pillars Hotel
Travelers also looked at:
Historical Traveler Reviews Oxford Spires Four Pillars Hotel
Not the best choice for business hotels
I stayed at the Oxford Spires with several colleagues on a business trip. First the location is not the best, about 10 minutes walk from town.
The most annoying thing to me was the "quaint" sinks with separate faucets for hot and cold. For most of the last century, it has been possible to obtain faucets that mix the hot and cold water for the convenience of the user.
The hotel boasts wireless internet access, but it is very expensive, slow and unreliable to the point of uselessness.
The front desk failed to make my wake up call on Thursday, prior to a meeting, but made it up on Friday, when I was sleeping in.
At breakfast, no one bothered to offer us coffee, despite the very high price for a continental breakfast.
The layout is poor, with very long narrow hallways, featuring faded and stained carpeting.
To be fair, the exercise room and pool areas were very nice, and far better than most hotels.
Value for money
Stayed at the oxford spires hotel between christmas & New year, the service was out standing and a very friendly hotel.
Not worth the price or 4 stars, bad building layout, not for the less mobile..
I agree with the previous reviews that this is an fair hotel but nowhere near four star quality Overpriced.
It is well placed for visiting Oxford. My husband and I booked a weekend sight seeing here for ourselves and some friends. The front desk was under staffed which resulted in a lengthy time to check in and out of the hotel. The layout of the hotel was bad some elevators allowed you to some floors in some parts of the building and others do not, the sign-posting for directions was poor so we spent a lot of time walking miles to get to our room or the spa. Not good for people who have walking difficulties.
I thought the spa, pool was well maintained.
The hotel towels, my bench mark for a good hotel, had seen better days they were small, thin and stiff. Fortunately I had packed some of our own fluffy ones.
The good thing I did enjoy the breakfast plenty of choice and lots of it. Yummy.
Would I stay there again? NO. It was not worth the money, I am sure I could find a better alternative.
Oh the long corridors
Stayed here a few months ago. While I don't think the hotel deserves 4 stars it does deserve 3. The rooms are a bit travel lodge so its quite pricey for what you get. My main gripe is the long, long corridors. These corridors stretched at least a 3 day camel ride between reception and my room and perhaps the hotel may consider employing a couple of sherpas to help with baggage or redesigning the hotel a bit. A good architect and another lift could sort this out. The hotel is located just 15 minutes walk from Oxford centre right next to the Thames. The leasure club was good but again 3 days by camel from my room. All in all I would stay again so it can't be that bad.
Not 4 star quality
A decent hotel-but nowhere near four star quality as falsely described in the online information. Overpriced. The staff certainly had a stuffy 4-star attitude, i wasn't allowed to check in even one second early, and at check out i was charged for an 18.95 dinner at the hotel restaurant which i hadn't eaten. the receptionist responded in an annoyed manner at having to remove the charge. the quality of the tv channel selection was poor as well. there was a tv speaker in the bathroom which was a nice touch and the location is excellent, so it's not all bad but get ready to pay.
Excellent Hotel
My husband and I always frequent one of the Four Pillars establishments in Oxford. We particularly enjoy the Oxford Spires Hotel, it is situated close to Oxford City Centre, but located in the tranquil countryside. We love it up here, we come because my father lives in Abingdon and it's an excuse to stay here. They do regular special offers which include Bed, Breakfast and evening meal. The breakfast is especially excellent, it's a buffet and you can help youself as to how big or small you like your fry-up!! The dinner is excellent too and some weekends there is entertainment provided. We love relaxing in the Leisure Club which is free to guests, including Sauna, Gym, Pool, etc.
Well recommended and we are going again in August 2004!
Two twins instead of a king
Main problem: The "king size" bed was two twins joined together, and not very comfortable, to boot. The bedding and furniture were a bit shabby, and there was no security lock on the door. On the positive side, the bathroom was modern and roomy (esp. by UK standards), and had a towel warmer. Also, the room had a nice tea service setup. The hotel has ample self-parking, for no charge, which is nice to have in Oxford.
Still a disappointment for the price.
Not worth the money
My husband and I are just back from spending two nights at the Oxford Spires hotel - sort of a midweek getaway. After reading their website, I expected a bit of luxury from this place and I was pretty disappointed. As it was a bit of a getaway, as I've said, we booked a deluxe double room and I expected quite a bit a comfort, expecially since this is billed as a 4 star hotel but I agree with other trip advisor user - there was nothing special about this place. The feeling was a bit Travelodge if you ask me. First of all, the website was pretty unhelpful - the pictures are small and there is no clear description of the rooms. Also, strangely enough for a hotel that is part of a chain, you cannot book through the website or check availability - you have to either call or email. The hotel is available on a number of hotel booking sites though so I imagine that is what most people use. When we got there my first impression is that the building was rather nondescript and not impressive at all. It is set back from road on 40 acres of parkland, but from what we could see this parkland was fenced off and not available for walks except for the unsignposted walk down to the Thames along which you can walk into town. We arrived early and even though the website we booked through indicated that we would be able to check in earlier, we were not allowed into the room until 3pm. When we entered the room we found that we had been given a non-smoking room even though we had not asked for one and they had not inquired as to whether that was what we wanted.
After switching rooms we found the room to be large but without character. It did have a small patio area with table and two chairs which was a nice touch, even though it was winter and we couldnt use it. The bathroom was large and clean though they had provided only one small bar of soap for two people to use at both the sink and the shower. There is no extractor fan in the bathroom and no window that opens for ventilation. There were dead flies in the lampshade above the entrance area. On both days that we were there, staff entered our room while we there after a quick knock to see if were were in residence.
The first morning it was a housekeeper who had come to see if the rug in our room needed cleaning. Since we had to leave our keys at the desk when we went out for the day it should have been clear that we were at least still in the hotel, and probably in our room at this hour (about 10am). The inspection definitely could have waited. The next morning it was a hotel maid who wanted to clean our room. She did apologize profusely when she realized she's made a mistake but you dont expect that someone will walk into your room at 8:30 in the morning. Without a secondary internal lock on the door it made it easy for anyone with a key to enter whenever they wanted. One of the problems I found is that this hotel appears to primarily be a conference hotel and not a leisure traveller hotel, which I didn't realize before we arrived. There are a number of conference rooms and since it was two weeks before Christmas, there were Christmas parties both nights we were there. So while I had hoped to end our evening with a quiet glass of wine in the lounge area, it was full of very loud and jovial partygoers, making conversation with my husband next to impossible. The bar also seemed to be well staffed, with 4 bartenders, but often two appeared to just be standing around and for some reason they appeared to have difficulty putting our drinks on our room tab, even after presenation of our key, and wanted to charge cash. The problem could have eliminated since one of the reasons we chose this hotel was that it had minibars in the room so we could have retired and avoided the bar altogether. However, upon arrival I opened the bar to check out its contents and found it to be completely empty. When I notified the front desk staff I was told that the minibars are not stocked, that we are call the bar and order our drinks and they would be brought to us, which defeats the purpose of the convenient minibar. In addition, there is a 5 pound charge for room service but it was not clear whether this service would incur this charge. The restaurant was large and we had one dinner there. A daily full English breakfast was included in our deal, though it does not automatically come with a booked room. The dinner was tasteless and we regretted spending the money there. Also, since it was so close to Christmas, our dinner music was a 8(?) piece brass band - odd and noisy choice. The breakfast was a buffet and even the hot food was served in vats, cafeteria style, not cooked to order. Tasteless and disappointing. The breakfast, if you ordered it separately, was 12 pounds 95! A continental breakast was 9 pounds 95. For the room, we paid 110 pounds per night and our money could have been better spent elsewhere. If you walked in off the street and booked a double room the posted price as the desk was 169 pounds and a 20 pound supplement for a deluxe double. All in all, I recommend you look elsewhere as this place just wasn't worth the money.
Nice, but missing personality
In general the hotel is OK, rooms are simple and clean, bathrooms are OK. However, our rooms were very far from the lobby and there was no elevetor (Lift). we had to carry our suit cases all the way and up to the rooms with no help and no elevetor. breakfast was good and planty and there is a lot of free parking. I will recomend the hotel, but I also think that they can put a little bit more in service and personality to make it a real 4 star hotel.
Tranquil, Central Location
As most visitors to Oxford will know parking is neither easy nor cheap! This hotel is located only a ten minute walk along the banks of the River Thames to Oxford City Centre and has a large, free car park. We arrived on a Bank Holiday Monday when most Guests were checking out, but a room was ready and waiting when we checked in. We were offered an upgrade to a Junior Suite for a modest �15 extra which we gladly accepted. The room was large with a four poster bed, large balcony with table and chairs and a view across the Oxfordshire countryside. The staff were helpful and friendly and the food at breakfast was fresh and hot. I would certainly recommend this hotel as it combines tranquility with a near to City Centre location. Perfect!
TripAdvisor Reviews Oxford Spires Four Pillars Hotel
Travel Blogs from Oxford
Day 1: Oxford to Kelvedon Hatch
It begins... We started today around 11am at Hemel Hempstead, a short drive from Oskar's house. The initial euphoria was shortly lived after a couple long A road stretches but soon we were back in our comfort zone following the tarmac-ed route 61 and all was well. This was until Oskar's front light fell off after which the distraction of ...
"He'd have a canary!"
... while she went for a walk around town and came back to find her money had been stolen, but didn't care enough to file a police report. Every time she comes in the office with a question we all take a deep breath, because we know it will be a long conversation. This morning she was worried because we'd scheduled a Quad Function for after the minor classes and she had signed up for the library tour at that time. I reminded her that the ...
I have a confession... I kicked a student.
... headphones and switch music channels and such they fell in love with it, just like I did three years ago. Silent Disco really is the best. I helped Alex, Edmund, and Jillian hand out headphones for a while, and danced a bit myself, but then I had to let Wiebe into his room because he lost his key. Sadly, it didn't turn up in his room either, so he had to fork over 20 pounds to pay for a replacement, but not actually get a key since he ...
Old Quad
... trolley outside the Harold Lee room door, and it was decided that one of us would wait there until Jim was done speaking and then bring the refreshments in. Guess who got to wait? Yours truly! I waited for 45 minutes, most of which was spent half asleep on the floor (I don't count it as a real nap, but it was as close as I got today). I finally had to swap with Edmund so I could go to dinner because I had a cappella at 6:30. I ate ...
Put that baby in a blender
... it already is, is rain. Or snow. Snow would suck too.
We had a meeting with Larry at 12:30 to talk about particulars for tomorrow, but the meeting didn't actually start until 1:15 because everyone was running late by then. We went over all the details for tomorrow and everything we still had to finish today, and as people started realizing how late it was getting and how much we still had to do the stress level in the room ...