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Saturday, November 3, 2007.
Saturday morning we were up fairly early, and had a lovely breakfast – Istanbul style Turkish breakfast was a bit of a surprise, which is itself a surprise given the consistency of the ubiquitous Turkish breakfast. Breakfast in Istanbul usually has a boiled egg, rather than the scramble we'd gotten used to. It also has that piece of salami and the cheese was in a container – not bad, certainly, but not quite as good as the pots of apricot jam and fresh fruit and cheese we were getting in the south.
First thing, we headed over to the little PTT (post office) kiosk outside the Baths Of Lady Hürrum to get some stamps to send out our sadly-overdue postcards. At least we were sending them from Turkey, and not Vancouver, which had seemed more and more likely.
After obtaining stampage, we wandered back to the southern side of the Aya Sofia and up the very short road that leads to Topkapi Palace. We weren't quite early enough to beat the crowds, but the place is big enough so that it didn't matter much.
We walked through the first huge gate and into a beautiful, lushly grassed park, dotted with enormous trees and peppered with kitties! We watched some cats carefully eyeing a little girl who was eager to pet them, and then running away when she got too close.
There was also an armed guard who good-naturedly allowed us to take pictures of him, AK47 and all.
You would think you'd buy your tickets at the next gate, or at the lovely gift shop set into the wall, and many tourists (including us) were confused. However, the tickets are purchased at a few openings in the wall right beside the Dosim, or government gift shop, in the next gate down. There were also tons of tour guides, complete with authorized guide cards, offering their services. We opted not to take the tour, but instead bought ourselves the Topkapi Palace book at the museum bookstore just inside the main gate. We were once again confronted with having our bags and ourselves x-rayed before entry, which makes sense given the value of the objects contained in the museum.
Upon entry, we made a beeline for the Harem, as we wanted to see it before the real hordes arrived. It really was an amazing structure, with halls and courts and dormitories for both the concubines and their eunuch guards. The tile work, mother-of-pearl inlaid doors and the marble floors were amazing, as was the strong sense of history: this is where emperors were born, where palace intrigues and so many closely cloistered lives were drawn out. We liked the Harem very much and were pleasantly surprised at how many rooms were on display, as we were under the impression that only a few rooms were visible.
After the Harem, we found ourselves in the First Court, where there were lots of lovely Ottoman salons and a small café. The views over the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara were spectacular. Many of the buildings in this area were closed for restoration, which is actually reassuring: we liked it that laurels are not being rested on. One of our favourite buildings had ornate tiles from the 15th century on the exterior. Amazing!
We wandered back up to the Third Court, which is where the treasury is located. We were able to walk right into one of the galleries and joined the queue shuffling around the room, looking at all the sparkly things. The sheer quantity of diamonds sent Steve into small-glittery-object-overload, but we I managed to join the line of people stringing around the walls to look at the Spoonmaker's Diamond and the Topkapi Dagger (which would be much more impressive if not for the cheesy enamelled basket of flowers on the hilt, which looks like a some kid stuck a crappy sticker on an otherwise stunning object). Some of the items were on loan to a display in Japan but the quantity did not seem diminished.
Even though there are signs EVERYWHERE stating that photographs or video of any kind are NOT allowed in the Treasury, there was a woman who kept taking photos. You'd think when the Man With The Really Big Gun told her to stop it, repeatedly, she might have opted to follow the rules. When we saw her surreptitiously taking photos with her camera phone, we decided to leave rather than be present for the (seemingly) inevitable takedown of her and her phone.
By this time, our feet were getting sore, and we were way overwhelmed by the sheer size of the complex. It is some 700,000 square meters, about half the size of the country of Monaco. We were ready to go, and drifted back towards the entrance with the Hagia Sophia looming redly overhead.
We popped briefly into the armoury to take some photos of weapons and armour: lots of chain mail and nasty-looking axes. The reception room was a little underwhelming as it is mostly a display of textiles, but the council chambers were overwhelming in their opulence. It was interesting, because we usually think of ornateness as being somehow tacky or decadent. Topkapi was certainly ornate, but because everything seemed themed with repeating motifs and colours: grey marble, blue tiles, stars and arabesques of stone and shell made the whole quite cohesive… except for the council chambers. They were pretty tricked out. Someone should have lost their gold leaf license for that room.
I took a photo of a Turkish family and found myself counting them down in Turkish: üç, iki, bir, *snap*.
We wandered… ok, limped back through the park and back to our hotel, for a little lay-down before joining the fray of Istanbul. This was my second day in 'real' shoes, given that I had abandoned my faithful Tevas in Selçuk and we were doing way too much walking for flipflops. I was in the 20YTL Puma-esque runners I had bought back in Fethiye and was developing some blisters. One of the security guards in Topkapi had 'tsk-tsked' Steve for wearing sandals, so he was thinking it was time to bow to the fact that it was, in fact, November – especially as it was starting to look like rain.
It was funny, actually. We had arrived in Istanbul a month earlier for 20C weather, and were unbearably hot. Now, back in Istanbul for 12C weather (which would be balmy for November in Canada), we were bundled in every sweater we'd brought – I guess we acclimatized!
After our nap, we were raring to hit the road and lit out for the tram station yet again. We had one umbrella between us, which we had purchased for just a few lira at the Tire market. In the Sultanahmet Park, we were approached by a tout carrying umbrellas for sale. When I asked "kaça?" he replied "on-beş" – fifteen lira. I offered beş lira, and his eyes nearly fell out of his head – maybe at my lowball offer? or that I was making it in Turkish? His surprise must have thrown him off his bargaining game, because I bought it for seven lira… though he recovered his composure enough to tell me he only had two lira change for my ten-note. Ah, touts!
Just after the umbrella purchasing, we were delighted to randomly run into our Canadian friends – they had had some splendid adventures: Sharon (or Barb?) was exploring her Armenian heritage and they had met some people in Kumpkapi who might be able to give her more information about her family, so they were off to meet with those people again. We discussed meeting on Sunday for a hamam, which none of us had tried – having given them the Med Cezir's phone number, we parted company.
We popped into the Tur-ista office to see Davut and thank him for his excellent advice and let him know the travel was seamless and the tours of Cappadocia enjoyable. He was surprised and happy to see us, and we were brought more cups of tea. During our conversation, we mentioned that we were leaving Istanbul dark and early Monday morning: turns out Davut was able to arrange our shuttle bus to get us to the airport in time to make our flight – yet another potential taxi ride avoided! The shuttle was cheap: less than 10YTL each, and it would pick us up right from the hotel. Yay! With that part of our journey arranged, we walked out onto the street and up the twenty or so steps to the Sultanahmet tram stop. Tur-ista: helpful and convenient!
After tramming down to Eminönü again, we joined the crush in the underpass heading towards the Spice Market. So this was Saturday in Istanbul! Good lord. We recognized that we were getting a little snappy at each other and decided that lunch was in order. We were right in front of the restaurant we had eaten at the on our second day in Istanbul: Hamdi. At our previous visit, it had been the best food we'd eaten in Istanbul and we wondered if it would stand the test of time.
Actually, Steve wasn't super happy about eating at Hamdi again – he would rather have tried somewhere else. On the one hand, I could understand that. On the other, I knew that we really only got snappy when we were hungry or tired, and I wanted us to have food in our faces before we started spatting. I guess I 'won' that one, but it wasn't a victory… at least from the panoramic balcony at Hamdi, we could see the roof of our next destination, the Rüstem Paşa Camii, as well as the river of Istanbullus walking across the square to the Spice Bazaar. It was a little chilly for the balcony, but the wait staff brought out blankets to wrap around us. The food was adequate. Well, that's a little harsh: it was nice, and it was tasty, but we'd certainly had better outside Istanbul… at Dibek, at the Canada Hotel, at the Park Café, at the Hotel Bella… this wasn't anything special, and I regretted for both Steve and I. It was also expensive: almost 50YTL for an un-extravagant lunch without any alcohol. Note to self: bring snacks so you can hold out for a new experience.
Turning left out of main entrance of Hamdi, we walked down the street towards the Rüstem Paşa Camii – the Rüstem Paşa is a little, notoriously hard-to-find mosque that dated from the 16th century. Steve had heard that the tiles were just about as spectacular as those in the Blue Mosque, but with way less tourists.
About halfway down the block, we passed on the left a little coffee shop called
Café Kahve Dunyasi that looked just like the kind of modern Vancouver-style coffee-shop I know and love, perfect down to the jumble of crowded patio tables sprawled all over the sidewalk. I veered into the doorway, as if pulled by caffeinated magnets. Inside, I realized how much I had missed the smells and sounds of coffee: after a month of (albeit delicious) tea and the occasional watery Nescafé (the general term for instant coffee), I was jonesing for some java in the worst possible way. Steve is familiar with my affliction… addiction, and patiently joined me at the counter. The Kahve Dunyasi beat the pants of any Starbucks I've ever been to, with stacks of boxes and jars of chocolates on the counter and shelves full of coffees and beautiful coffee cups all bearing the Dunyasi logo, to say nothing of the smell of rich coffee and chocolate which actually made me drool. When asked our order by the barista, Steve went the safe route and opted for hot chocolate. While my usual tipple is a latte, I decided to resist the urge for normal and ordered a Türk kahvesi. Two nice ladies at the bar in the corner got up and let us have their spot. We perched ourselves on two tall stools and watched the coffee parade.
Again, Starbucks this was not. The cacophony of tables outside had actual waiters heading out to service a cheerful clientele, rather than the snakey line of snarky customers waiting to be served their early-morning hit at the counter of every Starbucks I've been in. We were delighted to see every cup heading out the door with a little chocolate on the saucer: some had chocolate spoons, some a little bonbon, and others had a little dish of chocolate covered espresso beans. We were fascinated to see what kind of chocolate came with our orders and soon enough it was revealed. Steve had a chocolate spoon – not chocolate-covered, mind you, but an actual spoon made of chocolate. I received an exquisite little chocolate-covered lokum which was unbelievably delicious. By looking pitiful, batting my sparse eyelashes and looking up (and repeating about twenty times) the Turkish word for spoon (kaşık), I got one of the baristas to hand me over a chocolate spoon as well. I was very pleased, and wanted to buy a bunch of cups and boxes of chocolates to take home. Steve was anxious to get going and convinced me to come back the next day to buy all that stuff; otherwise we'd have to haul it around the rest of the afternoon.
Empty-handed but full-bellied, we exited to our left and walked straight into the maze of streets that circle and spiral around the Rüstem Paşa Camii. Unlike the last time we were here, when we visited accidentally while looking for the aforementioned Hamdi restaurant, we had a purpose, and this time purpose bred achievement. Achievement and a half-dozen stone and fragrant wood prayer beads bought from an old, old man who spoke exactly zero English, but we were able to communicate enough to exchange a handful of lira for a handful of beads and a meaningful glance as I thanked him. It was a lovely crystal moment and every time the wood of the prayer beads warms and breathes in my hands, I am taken back to that alley, facing that old man with those ancient eyes gazing into my own.
A left at the next alley and a duck down into a passageway and up some stairs, we arrived on the terrace of the Rüstem Paşa Camii. At the far end of the terrace was the turist entrance: I flipped my headscarf over my head and slipped off my sneakers. When we entered, I knew immediately that this was completely unlike the Blue Mosque. Here there was a reverence and a serenity that other structure simply couldn't know. Perhaps it's the constant string of tourists stomping through the Blue Mosque, or that the few competitive drops fouled the gallons of sanctity (the maker wanted it to rival the Hagia Sophia in grandeur), or just that the blessed intimacy of the Rüstem Paşa could not be recreated by acres of mosque and the huge, clumsy domes.
As we stood and gazed at the dome full of light (where did that sunlight come from?), Turks from the street came in to pray, unselfconsciously. The fluidity of the movements brought tears to my eyes. Even the tourists were reverent: I suspect that if a tourist went to all the trouble to get to this particular, secretive mosque, then they knew the drill. That may sound a little snarky, and I don't mean it to, but it was nice to see people with their shoes off and headscarves on, making donations at the exit.
Needing to use the washroom, I headed down the 'near' set of stairs: the ones meant for tourists (I couldn't have found that entrance if my life depended on it; we came up the believer's stairs). Knowing that every mosque I'd been to had a reasonably clean tuvalet available for a few kuruş, I found the room where the ablutions would occur and walked up to a man in a little booth by the entrance to the tuvalet… he looked a little surprised to see me, which I understood when I, surprised, found myself looking at a line of Turkish male bums using a 16th century urinal. Huh. I backed quickly out of the line of sight and waited what I hoped was a decent amount of time before ducking back to the booth. When I asked the man for the bayanlar (lady's), he gave me an UTS and indicated one of the stalls with a door, located right beside the (exquisite marble) urinal. Huh. As the need was pressing, I handed over my coins and dashed into the stall, where I found the floor wet and I suspected NOT with recent mopping. It was altogether a disgusting little incident and I determined not to let the terrible tuvalet ruin my fond memories of the Rüstem Paşa.
Steve and I headed uphill and slightly to the left, hoping we'd run into one of the many entrances to the Grand Bazaar. The streets were a little twistier here, which is saying quite a bit as they weren't exactly die-straight up from the Spice Bazaar. Keeping the approximate location of our destination in mind, we found it with surprisingly little trouble. The Istanbul map we had was detailed but frankly unhelpful as the street names did not seem to correspond to what was actually on the signs – when there were signs. We had been warned of this and were unfazed. Walking through the back streets of Istanbul was just as interesting as any destination we could find, which was good; without a useful map, it was either sheer luck or the will of Allah that led us to the alley of knockoff t-shirts that led to the Grand Bazaar.
Ah, Grand Bazaar, how I love you. The riotous colours, the chaos and cacophony and chorus of touts offering everything under the sun, or under the glowing jewelled lamps, as the case may be. Still on the lookout for şiş çatal, I asked a man with a stall full of fancy-schmancy pottery and cooking utensils if he had any. Without looking away from my face, he pointed at a crock on the floor full of skewers with decorative tops. I spent a happy few minutes making sets (oh, too many fish in that one) and bought a number for what seemed like a very reasonable price. One mission done, and we hadn't even walked 100 feet!
We drifted around the corner, and perhaps another corner or two, when we saw a shop full of shoes. I went to take a look at their stock of
almost certainly fake Pumas, and pointed out a few pairs of sneakers to Steve, who was still in sandals. The shopkeeper leapt on us like a hyena on a three-legged gazelle: "ah, the gentleman has picked up our Pradas – these are genuine antelope leather! These are 300 lira shoes, but you – I give YOU brother-price!" He then proceeded to whip out his lighter and wave it in the general direction of the shoes in order to prove they weren't made of nylon and therefore going to melt. It continued much in this vein for some twenty minutes and two glasses of apple tea each, until Steve bargained him down to 60YTL and got him to throw in the 'Puma' brand socks he was trying the shoes on with.
The shoes were nice, and they were (genuine cow) leather, but they sure weren't Prada. In fact, they lost one of their labels before we left the Grand Bazaar, and the other was gone within two weeks of being back in Canada.
We encountered some interesting people as we wended through the streets and squares of the Grand Bazaar – the touts that called to us in every language, starting with German; the old men walking through the bazaar that would grab me by the arm and ask me where I was from: "Canada" "Ah, Kanada!" all big smiles; the greasy young man who hit on every pretty girl who stopped to fondle a cheap pashmina and told Steve while looking at me out of the corner of his eye that he had 'millions' of American women in his bed, and had a date with one that night. Huh.
We attended a few shops mentioned in the Lonely Bastard as must-see places and, frankly, they were making hay out of the exposure afforded by the L.B. In some cases the items were interesting but in every case, they were shockingly overpriced. We declined to spend our money there… it's not like there weren't plenty of other shops to browse in, and a million wonders for sale.
The Grand Bazaar is a wonderful blur and remembering all the things we saw is like trying to recall everything you see on the PNE midway when you're drunk on cotton candy, flashing lights and rollercoasters. I know there were acres of knockoff clothes and the softest, plushiest robes you ever felt; glittering lamps and belly-dance outfits for little girls; forests of nargilehs and deep blue pools of ceramic bowls; walls of diamonds and gold, and, wonderfully, a whole area dedicated to antiques.
Most of the antiques I saw were either obviously
passed through a goat not antique, were so antique they wouldn't make it out of the country, or were shockingly overpriced – often at least two of the three. One ring I liked very much was over twelve hundred lira. Eep! By this time Steve was getting a little cranky – his vision tends to get overwhelmed by 'small object overload' and lunch was some time ago. I saw the last store before we would be leaving the antique area, heading south, and thought I'd make my last-ditch effort for my last, most improbable mission…
Since my first day in Istanbul, I'd been coveting a tap – a brass tap like the kind that turn on the water for the prayerful to wash before they enter the mosque.
I had had Erol write down for me the word for 'faucet' (musluk) since my phrasebook wasn't prepared for a leaky tap (among many other things) and I had asked every likely antique seller if they had such a thing. Most of them looked at me like I had two heads or worse, so I had pretty much given up hope. I was kicking myself for not purchasing the one I saw at the Citadel in Ankara; schlepping a pound of brass for 27 days would have been worth it, I told myself. Worse yet, I resented Steve a little for talking me out of buying the one in Ankara, a fact which was not helped by his irritability at my asking countless incredulous shopkeepers if they had a faucet.
This last shopkeeper – I wasn't holding out much hope. After I asked him, and answered his quizzical look with another butchered Turkish request for a faucet, he led me around the corner to a basket on the floor that was… full of taps! Oh my! I couldn't have been more excited! I pawed through, found one that was ornate but not too ornate and, dreading the response, asked how much it was? He looked me up and down and requested 45YTL – about $35. I offered 40YTL and, not surprisingly, he took it. I was probably overcharged by about 10YTL but for the eight dollars and Steve's priceless patience, it was worth it.
At this point Steve and I had a miscommunication: he wanted to eat something and stop looking at little objects; I thought he meant he wanted to leave the Bazaar and eat a proper meal, when really he would have been happy to sit for a few minutes and have a snack at one of the little cafés in the Bazaar. Instead, we left the Bazaar and walked up the road towards Divan Yolu thinking we'd find a place for dinner. The sound of music stopped us in our tracks and we looked over at a bustling tourist spot called… well, it might be called 'Safran' since that is the sign on the wall in my pictures, but really I was so tired that I didn't pay a heck of a lot of attention. I might have wanted to walk around the Grand Bazaar until my feet were bloody stumps, but it's not to say that would have been good for me. Sitting on divans on the floor around a low table, listening to what was no doubt cheesy tourist music was very, very good for me. The food was tasty, if not fancy, and reasonably priced – I guess we were just far enough from Sultanahmet to avoid the really exorbitant prices.
The band came around and played very entertainingly for each table, collecting tips along the way. During the intermission, Steve went and chatted with the musicians a bit and ended up playing on one of their instruments, a kind of banjo-oud called (Steve thinks) a dhadak.
Dinner over and nerves soothed, we walked hand-in-hand down the Divan Yolu towards Sultanahmet and home. Everything seemed right in our world with the possible exception of having to leave Turkey in some 36 hours. As we were humming over our good fortune at being together, in that marvellous place, I saw something I hadn't seen before in Turkey: an older man, dressed like any other in a dark sports coat and pants, squatted on the sidewalk with his cap in his hand laid upon the sidewalk, begging for coins. His face was turned away from the stream of people, hidden by his other hand. Every line of his body indicated defeat and an almost-unbearable shame. I walked on a few paces, contemplating that this was the first beggar I'd seen in almost a month in Turkey.
I was reminded of the drunk in Selçuk, and Marco's brother explaining that no-one in Turkey would be homeless or hungry because they would have a family to take care of them. Did this man not have a family? Or was this his way of taking care of them? Or was the curl of despair in his fingers an act, shaped just so to draw in the sympathetic tourist? I couldn't bear it. I stopped and walked back, dropped a few lira in his cap, and moved on. He didn't move a muscle: didn't show his face, didn't lift the veil.
Saddened and suddenly dissatisfied, we walked back down to Sultanahmet, where the crowds added to the midway feel, and our spirits lightened again. Back at the Med Cezir, we found Erol sitting in the dining room with Sabo, a friend and a guitar: they wanted Steve to get his oud so that they could play together. Steve obliged and they had an interesting thing going on with Erol on the guitar, Steve picking away on the oud and the friend singing a folk song. I ran up to get the computer to record the spontaneous amazingness, but by the time I got back down, Steve didn't want to be recorded, so I only was able to capture Erol and his friend. It was still pretty cool, though. We had a great time chatting and hanging out, drinking endless complimentary cups of tea until our eyelids drooped. Steve and I staggered up the stairs to bed, replete with all the wonders of Istanbul.


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ECF protects over 300 acres in Eastham, most of which have been donated by conservation minded persons. These include upland mixed forest habitat, fresh water marsh habitat and salt marsh. Click here to see our ECF protected lands, and other conservation land in Eastham.
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2019 Trustees
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Protecting the remaining habitat which is not yet developed is critical to sustaining the remarkable beauty and fragile nature of this unique peninsula.

subset: commoncrawl


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Hey Everyone....
If you are going to be at the San Diego ComicCon stop over and visit Space Command and see what all of the fans are clamoring about. I plan to be there too.There will be panels and autographs with actors like Amber Benson (Buffy alumni) and a bunch of major directors, writers and VFX people. So stop by and say Hi and get your Space Command posters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was interview for an article in 3dArt Direct magazine: The link to the magazine is here: www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/…
There was a great amount of entries for our latest contest. All were wonderful and we are always excited to have so much involvement from everyone. So after careful deliberation, your admins have decided on the 3 winners of inner-space's "Sol" Contest.....
The winner of inner-space's "Sol" Contest is......DarinK!!!
Big congrats for the winning submission "This breathtaking piece exhibited wonderful detail work."
In second place was bloknayrb with "Fantastic work on the planet textures, which created a unique flare."
And in third place was nehas91 with "Even with a blazing star, managed to create serenity"
Congrats again to our winners, you all had excellent work! The prizes are as follows:
The winners will receive:
1st place:
Journal feature on realityfaery's profile.
Journal feature on Casperium's profile.
Journal feature on inner-space's group page.
1600 points
2nd place:
Journal feature on realityfaery's profile.
Journal feature on Casperium's profile.
Journal feature on inner-space's group page.
1000 points
3rd place:
Journal feature on realityfaery's profile.
Journal feature on Casperium's profile.
Journal feature on inner-space's group page.
800 points
Honorable Mentions:
Thank you for all of the fantastic entries! Keep a look out for the next contest in the near future!
Brought to you by your wonderful admin staff!
Hey guys, check this out... A way to contribute to a new venture for a movie called Space Command. It looks to be an awesome opportunity. And even if you can't contribute, Like and Share on Facebook. I am honored to be a part of it. So check it out and give it some Likes. Facebook link:www.facebook.com/spacecommandm…
Hollywood CA. May 3rd, 2012
ATTENTION SCI-FI FANS: Sci-Fi Legends set to launch
fundraising campaign on Kickstarter.com for new
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SPACE COMMAND will be a series of new and original
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Beginning May 16th, the filmmakers will bypass the
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His credits include Star Trek -- The Next Generation,
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Alien Armageddon, Battlespace and Humanity's End.
He has directed over 500 music videos for such bands
as U2 and Manowar. Neil's feature film debut in 1997
is reputed to be the first digital film ever made.!


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Destination: Gwangyang Ornamental Knife Museum (Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do)
IT'S happened to every traveler – a place starts off sounding intriguing, but upon arriving seems more 'meh' then 'hey, cool!'. The Gwangyang Ornamental Knife Museum (광양장도박물관) was one of those places for me – an interesting facet of Korean history, dulled somewhat by the lack of English explanation and few stories worth telling. It ended up being worth the visit, but for other reasons.
A jangdo (장도) is a small, ornamental knife worn by women (and sometimes men) during the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties (10th to 14th, and 14th to 19th centuries, respectively). Also called eunjangdo (은장도, the 은 or 'eun' meaning silver), in 1498, King Yeonsangun decreed that common people could not wear eunjangdo; in 1670, a law penalized common people for using the fancier metals – the gold and silver versions were indicators of the Joseon Dynasty hierarchy, after all. Size, shape, and decorative aspects were different in many cases – and good thing, too, as a museum of identical-looking knives would be pretty darn boring.
These knives were always engraved with the hanja (Chinese characters) that meant 'one heart' – in other words, the jangdo's owner would never have a change of heart for as long as they lived. It was a promise to remain faithful to one's beliefs or one's spouse. The knife was typically carried on a coat string or belt, and could also be carried in a pocket. I have a hard time believing this, but a woman was expected to commit suicide to 'protect' their virginity, as opposed to using the knife to defend themselves. The florid brochure available at the front desk describes these as "extreme circumstances", however, and that the knife was "highly useful for everyday purposes".
In any case, the museum has hundreds of them on display – some as small as 10 cm in length, but were typically between 15-20 cm.
Also on display are a number of swords and knives from other countries (above, an Italian hunting knife). This is where a couple of unfortunate Konglish errors make their way into hilariousness:
The Arabian saver, anyone? Not pictured nearby is a version of history that sees Julius Caesar "assassinated by elements within the Republican Party".
Pen , meet sword – er, calligraphy brush, meet jangdo (it's called a 붓장도 – boot-jang-do)
A good part of the museum is dedicated to the holder of Important Intangible Cultural Heritage number 60, Bak Jong-gun (박종군). Born in 1931, he's passed on the legacy of the art form to plenty of pupils.
It's no coincidence, of course – he's also the museum's director. If you're looking to add a jangdo to your collection, however, bring a fat wallet. At a minimum, the souvenir store's selection of knives started around 100,000 won (100 USD) and got pricier for the framed versions.
It's quirky, has just enough English around, and is reasonably easy to reach. Check it out the next time you're in Jeollanam-do.
Ratings (out of 5 taeguks – How do I rate destinations?):
Ease to arrive:
Convenience facilities:
Worth the visit:
Name: Gwangyang Ornamental Knife Museum (광양장도박물관)
Address: Jeollanam-do Gwangyang-si Gwangyang-eup Chilseong-ri 1009-3
Korean address: 전라남도 광양시 광양읍 칠성리 1009-3
Directions: Get to Gwangyang train station. From the exit, walk left about 100 meters, then cross the street and head down the side street on the right side of the street. Jump on bus 2, and get off at the 광양여고 (Gwang-yang-yeo-go, or Gwangyang Girl's High School) bus stop. It'll stop just after turning right; double back to the main road and walk 200 meters.
If traveling via bus, get to Gwangyang Bus Terminal. Exit, then turn left and head to the bus stop. Hop on frequent bus 77 and ride for about 10-15 minutes to the Gwangyang Girls High School (광양여고). Once off the bus (with your back to the road), head left towards the pedestrian overpass. Turn right down the side road, and walk 150 meters to the museum on your right.
Hours: 9:30am-6pm
Admission: free
Phone: 061-762-4853
Website: http://www.jangdo.org


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text:
adderall xr (Dextroamphetamine saccharate, amphetamine aspartate monohydrate, dextroamphetamine sulfate and amphetamine sulfate) capsule, extended release
[Shire US Inc.]
ADDERALL XR® is a once daily extended-release, single-entity amphetamine product. ADDERALL XR® combines the neutral sulfate salts of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine, with the dextro isomer of amphetamine saccharate and d,l-amphetamine aspartate monohydrate. The ADDERALL XR® capsule contains two types of drug-containing beads designed to give a double-pulsed delivery of amphetamines, which prolongs the release of amphetamine from ADDERALL XR® compared to the conventional ADDERALL® (immediate-release) tablet formulation.
|Dextroamphetamine Saccharate
|1.25 mg
|2.5 mg
|3.75 mg
|5.0 mg
|6.25 mg
|7.5 mg
|Amphetamine Aspartate Monohydrate
|1.25 mg
|2.5 mg
|3.75 mg
|5.0 mg
|6.25 mg
|7.5 mg
|Dextroamphetamine Sulfate USP
|1.25 mg
|2.5 mg
|3.75 mg
|5.0 mg
|6.25 mg
|7.5 mg
|Amphetamine Sulfate USP
|1.25 mg
|2.5 mg
|3.75 mg
|5.0 mg
|6.25 mg
|7.5 mg
|Total amphetamine base equivalence
|3.1 mg
|6.3 mg
|9.4 mg
|12.5 mg
|15.6 mg
|18.8 mg
Inactive Ingredients and Colors: The inactive ingredients in ADDERALL XR® capsules include: gelatin capsules, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, methacrylic acid copolymer, opadry beige, sugar spheres, talc, and triethyl citrate. Gelatin capsules contain edible inks, kosher gelatin, and titanium dioxide. The 5 mg, 10 mg, and 15 mg capsules also contain FD&C Blue #2. The 20 mg, 25 mg, and 30 mg capsules also contain red iron oxide and yellow iron oxide.
Amphetamines are non-catecholamine sympathomimetic amines with CNS stimulant activity. The mode of therapeutic action in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is not known. Amphetamines are thought to block the reuptake of norepinephrine and dopamine into the presynaptic neuron and increase the release of these monoamines into the extraneuronal space.
Pharmacokinetic studies of ADDERALL XR® have been conducted in healthy adult and pediatric (6-12 yrs) subjects, and adolescent (13-17 yrs) and pediatric patients with ADHD. Both ADDERALL® (immediate-release) tablets and ADDERALL XR® capsules contain d-amphetamine and l-amphetamine salts in the ratio of 3:1. Following administration of ADDERALL® (immediate-release), the peak plasma concentrations occurred in about 3 hours for both d-amphetamine and l-amphetamine.
The time to reach maximum plasma concentration (Tmax) for ADDERALL XR® is about 7 hours, which is about 4 hours longer compared to ADDERALL® (immediate-release). This is consistent with the extended-release nature of the product.
Figure 1 Mean d-amphetamine and l-amphetamine plasma concentrations following administration of ADDERALL XR® 20 mg (8am) and ADDERALL® (immediate-release) 10 mg bid (8am and 12 noon) in the fed state.
A single dose of ADDERALL XR® 20 mg capsules provided comparable plasma concentration profiles of both d-amphetamine and l-amphetamine to ADDERALL® (immediate-release) 10 mg bid administered 4 hours apart.
The mean elimination half-life for d-amphetamine is 10 hours in adults; 11 hours in adolescents aged 13-17 years and weighing less than or equal to 75 kg/165 lbs; and 9 hours in children aged 6 to 12 years. For the l-amphetamine, the mean elimination half-life in adults is 13 hours; 13 to 14 hours in adolescents; and 11 hours in children aged 6 to 12 years. On a mg/kg body weight basis children have a higher clearance than adolescents or adults (See Special Populations).
ADDERALL XR® demonstrates linear pharmacokinetics over the dose range of 20 to 60 mg in adults and adolescents weighing greater than 75 kg/165lbs, and over the dose range of 10 to 40 mg in adolescents weighing less than or equal to 75 kg/165 lbs, and 5 to 30 mg in children aged 6 to 12 years. There is no unexpected accumulation at steady state in children.
Food does not affect the extent of absorption of d-amphetamine and l-amphetamine, but prolongs Tmax by 2.5 hours (from 5.2 hrs at fasted state to 7.7 hrs after a high-fat meal) for d-amphetamine and 2.1 hours (from 5.6 hrs at fasted state to 7.7 hrs after a high fat meal) for l-amphetamine after administration of ADDERALL XR® 30 mg. Opening the capsule and sprinkling the contents on applesauce results in comparable absorption to the intact capsule taken in the fasted state. Equal doses of ADDERALL XR® strengths are bioequivalent.
Amphetamine is reported to be oxidized at the 4 position of the benzene ring to form 4-hydroxyamphetamine, or on the side chain α orβ carbons to form alpha-hydroxy-amphetamine or norephedrine, respectively. Norephedrine and 4-hydroxy-amphetamine are both active and each is subsequently oxidized to form 4-hydroxy-norephedrine. Alpha-hydroxy-amphetamine undergoes deamination to form phenylacetone, which ultimately forms benzoic acid and its glucuronide and the glycine conjugate hippuric acid. Although the enzymes involved in amphetamine metabolism have not been clearly defined, CYP2D6 is known to be involved with formation of 4-hydroxy-amphetamine. Since CYP2D6 is genetically polymorphic, population variations in amphetamine metabolism are a possibility.
Amphetamine is known to inhibit monoamine oxidase, whereas the ability of amphetamine and its metabolites to inhibit various P450 isozymes and other enzymes has not been adequately elucidated. In vitro experiments with human microsomes indicate minor inhibition of CYP2D6 by amphetamine and minor inhibition of CYP1A2, 2D6, and 3A4 by one or more metabolites. However, due to the probability of auto-inhibition and the lack of information on the concentration of these metabolites relative to in vivoconcentrations, no predications regarding the potential for amphetamine or its metabolites to inhibit the metabolism of other drugs by CYP isozymes in vivo can be made.
With normal urine pHs approximately half of an administered dose of amphetamine is recoverable in urine as derivatives of alpha-hydroxy-amphetamine and approximately another 30%-40% of the dose is recoverable in urine as amphetamine itself. Since amphetamine has a pKa of 9.9, urinary recovery of amphetamine is highly dependent on pH and urine flow rates. Alkaline urine pHs result in less ionization and reduced renal elimination, and acidic pHs and high flow rates result in increased renal elimination with clearances greater than glomerular filtration rates, indicating the involvement of active secretion. Urinary recovery of amphetamine has been reported to range from 1% to 75%, depending on urinary pH, with the remaining fraction of the dose hepatically metabolized. Consequently, both hepatic and renal dysfunction have the potential to inhibit the elimination of amphetamine and result in prolonged exposures. In addition, drugs that effect urinary pH are known to alter the elimination of amphetamine, and any decrease in amphetamine's metabolism that might occur due to drug interactions or genetic polymorphisms is more likely to be clinically significant when renal elimination is decreased, (See PRECAUTIONS).
Comparison of the pharmacokinetics of d- and l-amphetamine after oral administration of ADDERALL XR® in pediatric (6-12 years) and adolescent (13-17 years) ADHD patients and healthy adult volunteers indicates that body weight is the primary determinant of apparent differences in the pharmacokinetics of d- and l-amphetamine across the age range. Systemic exposure measured by area under the curve to infinity (AUC∞) and maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) decreased with increases in body weight, while oral volume of distribution (Vz/F), oral clearance (CL/F), and elimination half-life (t 1/2) increased with increases in body weight.
Pediatric Patients
On a mg/kg weight basis, children eliminated amphetamine faster than adults. The elimination half-life (t1/2) is approximately 1 hour shorter for d-amphetamine and 2 hours shorter for l-amphetamine in children than in adults. However, children had higher systemic exposure to amphetamine (Cmax and AUC) than adults for a given dose of ADDERALL XR®, which was attributed to the higher dose administered to children on a mg/kg body weight basis compared to adults. Upon dose normalization on a mg/kg basis, children showed 30% less systemic exposure compared to adults.
Systemic exposure to amphetamine was 20-30% higher in women (N=20) than in men (N=20) due to the higher dose administered to women on a mg/kg body weight basis. When the exposure parameters (Cmax and AUC) were normalized by dose (mg/kg), these differences diminished. Age and gender had no direct effect on the pharmacokinetics of d- and l-amphetamine.
Formal pharmacokinetic studies for race have not been conducted. However, amphetamine pharmacokinetics appeared to be comparable among Caucasians (N=33), Blacks (N=8) and Hispanics (N=10).
A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was conducted in children aged 6-12 (N=584) who met DSM-IV® criteria for ADHD (either the combined type or the hyperactive-impulsive type). Patients were randomized to fixed dose treatment groups receiving final doses of 10, 20, or 30 mg of ADDERALL XR® or placebo once daily in the morning for three weeks. Significant improvements in patient behavior, based upon teacher ratings of attention and hyperactivity, were observed for all ADDERALL XR® doses compared to patients who received placebo, for all three weeks, including the first week of treatment, when all ADDERALL XR® subjects were receiving a dose of 10 mg/day. Patients who received ADDERALL XR® showed behavioral improvements in both morning and afternoon assessments compared to patients on placebo.
In a classroom analogue study, patients (N=51) receiving fixed doses of 10 mg, 20 mg or 30 mg ADDERALL XR® demonstrated statistically significant improvements in teacher-rated behavior and performance measures, compared to patients treated with placebo.
A double-blind, randomized, multi-center, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study was conducted in adolescents aged 13-17 (N=327) who met DSM-IV® criteria for ADHD. The primary cohort of patients (n=287, weighing ≤ 75kg/165lbs) was randomized to fixed dose treatment groups and received four weeks of treatment. Patients were randomized to receive final doses of 10 mg, 20 mg, 30 mg, and 40 mg ADDERALL XR® or placebo once daily in the morning; patients randomized to doses greater than 10 mg were titrated to their final doses by 10 mg each week. The secondary cohort consisted of 40 subjects weighing >75kg/165lbs who were randomized to fixed dose treatment groups receiving final doses of 50 mg and 60 mg ADDERALL XR® or placebo once daily in the morning for 4 weeks. The primary efficacy variable was the ADHD-RS-IV total scores for the primary cohort. Improvements in the primary cohort were statistically significantly greater in all four primary cohort active treatment groups (ADDERALL XR® 10 mg, 20 mg, 30 mg, and 40 mg) compared with the placebo group. There was not adequate evidence that doses greater than 20 mg/day conferred additional benefit.
A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was conducted in adults (N=255) who met DSM-IV® criteria for ADHD. Patients were randomized to fixed dose treatment groups receiving final doses of 20, 40, or 60 mg of ADDERALL XR® or placebo once daily in the morning for four weeks. Significant improvements, measured with the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-Rating Scale (ADHD-RS), an 18- item scale that measures the core symptoms of ADHD, were observed at endpoint for all ADDERALL XR® doses compared to patients who received placebo for all four weeks. There was not adequate evidence that doses greater than 20 mg/day conferred additional benefit.
ADDERALL XR® is indicated for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
The efficacy of ADDERALL XR® in the treatment of ADHD was established on the basis of two controlled trials in children aged 6 to 12, one controlled trial in adolescents aged 13 to 17, and one controlled trial in adults who met DSM-IV® criteria for ADHD (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY), along with extrapolation from the known efficacy of ADDERALL®, the immediate-release formulation of this substance.
A diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; DSM-IV®) implies the presence of hyperactive-impulsive or inattentive symptoms that caused impairment and were present before age 7 years. The symptoms must cause clinically significant impairment, e.g., in social, academic, or occupational functioning, and be present in two or more settings, e.g., school (or work) and at home. The symptoms must not be better accounted for by another mental disorder. For the Inattentive Type, at least six of the following symptoms must have persisted for at least 6 months: lack of attention to details/careless mistakes; lack of sustained attention; poor listener; failure to follow through on tasks; poor organization; avoids tasks requiring sustained mental effort; loses things; easily distracted; forgetful. For the Hyperactive-Impulsive Type, at least six of the following symptoms must have persisted for at least 6 months: fidgeting/squirming; leaving seat; inappropriate running/climbing; difficulty with quiet activities; "on the go;" excessive talking; blurting answers; can't wait turn; intrusive. The Combined Type requires both inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive criteria to be met.
Specific etiology of this syndrome is unknown, and there is no single diagnostic test. Adequate diagnosis requires the use not only of medical but of special psychological, educational, and social resources. Learning may or may not be impaired. The diagnosis must be based upon a complete history and evaluation of the child and not solely on the presence of the required number of DSM-IV® characteristics.
ADDERALL XR® is indicated as an integral part of a total treatment program for ADHD that may include other measures (psychological, educational, social) for patients with this syndrome. Drug treatment may not be indicated for all children with this syndrome. Stimulants are not intended for use in the child who exhibits symptoms secondary to environmental factors and/or other primary psychiatric disorders, including psychosis. Appropriate educational placement is essential and psychosocial intervention is often helpful. When remedial measures alone are insufficient, the decision to prescribe stimulant medication will depend upon the physician's assessment of the chronicity and severity of the child's symptoms.
The effectiveness of ADDERALL XR® for long-term use, i.e., for more than 3 weeks in children and 4 weeks in adolescents and adults, has not been systematically evaluated in controlled trials. Therefore, the physician who elects to use ADDERALL XR® for extended periods should periodically re-evaluate the long-term usefulness of the drug for the individual patient.
Advanced arteriosclerosis, symptomatic cardiovascular disease, moderate to severe hypertension, hyperthyroidism, known hypersensitivity or idiosyncrasy to the sympathomimetic amines, glaucoma.
Agitated states.
Patients with a history of drug abuse.
During or within 14 days following the administration of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (hypertensive crises may result).
Children and Adolescents
Sudden death has been reported in association with CNS stimulant treatment at usual doses in children and adolescents with structural cardiac abnormalities or other serious heart problems. Although some serious heart problems alone carry an increased risk of sudden death, stimulant products generally should not be used in children or adolescents with known serious structural cardiac abnormalities, cardiomyopathy, serious heart rhythm abnormalities, or other serious cardiac problems that may place them at increased vulnerability to the sympathomimetic effects of a stimulant drug (see CONTRAINDICATIONS).
Sudden deaths, stroke, and myocardial infarction have been reported in adults taking stimulant drugs at usual doses for ADHD. Although the role of stimulants in these adult cases is also unknown, adults have a greater likelihood than children of having serious structural cardiac abnormalities, cardiomyopathy, serious heart rhythm abnormalities, coronary artery disease, or other serious cardiac problems. Adults with such abnormalities should also generally not be treated with stimulant drugs (see CONTRAINDICATIONS).
Stimulant medications cause a modest increase in average blood pressure (about 2-4 mmHg) and average heart rate (about 3-6 bpm) [see ADVERSE EVENTS], and individuals may have larger increases. While the mean changes alone would not be expected to have short-term consequences, all patients should be monitored for larger changes in heart rate and blood pressure. Caution is indicated in treating patients whose underlying medical conditions might be compromised by increases in blood pressure or heart rate, e.g., those with pre-existing hypertension, heart failure, recent myocardial infarction, or ventricular arrhythmia (see CONTRAINDICATIONS).
Children, adolescents, or adults who are being considered for treatment with stimulant medications should have a careful history (including assessment for a family history of sudden death or ventricular arrhythmia) and physical exam to assess for the presence of cardiac disease, and should receive further cardiac evaluation if findings suggest such disease, and should receive further cardiac evaluation if findings suggest such disease (e.g. electrocardiogram and echocardiogram). Patients who develop symptoms such as exertional chest pain, unexplained syncope, or other symptoms suggestive of cardiac disease during stimulant treatment should undergo a prompt cardiac evaluation.
Administration of stimulants may exacerbate symptoms of behavior disturbance and thought disorder in patients with pre-existing psychotic disorder.
Particular care should be taken in using stimulants to treat ADHD patients with comorbid bipolar disorder because of concern for possible induction of mixed/manic episode in such patients. Prior to initiating treatment with a stimulant, patients with comorbid depressive symptoms should be adequately screened to determine if they are at risk for bipolar disorder; such screening should include a detailed psychiatric history, including a family history of suicide, bipolar disorder, and depression.
Treatment emergent psychotic or manic symptoms, e.g., hallucinations, delusional thinking, or mania in children and adolescents without prior history of psychotic illness or mania can be caused by stimulants at usual doses. If such symptoms occur, consideration should be given to a possible causal role of the stimulant, and discontinuation of treatment may be appropriate. In a pooled analysis of multiple short-term, placebo-controlled studies, such symptoms occurred in about 0.1% (4 patients with events out of 3482 exposed to methylphenidate or amphetamine for several weeks at usual doses) of stimulant-treated patients compared to 0 in placebo-treated patients.
Aggressive behavior or hostility is often observed in children and adolescents with ADHD, and has been reported in clinical trials and the postmarketing experience of some medications indicated for the treatment of ADHD. Although there is no systematic evidence that stimulants cause aggressive behavior or hostility, patients beginning treatment for ADHD should be monitored for the appearance of or worsening of aggressive behavior or hostility.
Careful follow-up of weight and height in children ages 7 to 10 years who were randomized to either methylphenidate or non-medication treatment groups over 14 months, as well as in naturalistic subgroups of newly methylphenidate-treated and non-medication treated children over 36 months (to the ages of 10 to 13 years), suggests that consistently medicated children (i.e., treatment for 7 days per week throughout the year) have a temporary slowing in growth rate (on average, a total of about 2 cm less growth in height and 2.7 kg less growth in weight over 3 years), without evidence of growth rebound during this period of development. In a controlled trial of ADDERALL XR® in adolescents, mean weight change from baseline within the initial 4 weeks of therapy was -1.1 lbs. and -2.8 lbs., respectively, for patients receiving 10 mg and 20 mg ADDERALL XR®. Higher doses were associated with greater weight loss within the initial 4 weeks of treatment. Published data are inadequate to determine whether chronic use of amphetamines may cause a similar suppression of growth, however, it is anticipated that they will likely have this effect as well. Therefore, growth should be monitored during treatment with stimulants, and patients who are not growing or gaining weight as expected may need to have their treatment interrupted.
There is some clinical evidence that stimulants may lower the convulsive threshold in patients with prior history of seizure, in patients with prior EEG abnormalities in absence of seizures, and very rarely, in patients without a history of seizures and no prior EEG evidence of seizures. In the presence of seizures, the drug should be discontinued.
Difficulties with accommodation and blurring of vision have been reported with stimulant treatment.
The least amount of amphetamine feasible should be prescribed or dispensed at one time in order to minimize the possibility of overdosage. ADDERALL XR® should be used with caution in patients who use other sympathomimetic drugs.
Amphetamines have been reported to exacerbate motor and phonic tics and Tourette's syndrome. Therefore, clinical evaluation for tics and Tourette's Syndrome in children and their families should precede use of stimulant medications.
Amphetamines may impair the ability of the patient to engage in potentially hazardous activities such as operating machinery or vehicles; the patient should therefore be cautioned accordingly.
Acidifying agents -Gastrointestinal acidifying agents (guanethidine, reserpine, glutamic acid HCl, ascorbic acid, etc.) lower absorption of amphetamines.
Urinary acidifying agents -These agents (ammonium chloride, sodium acid phosphate, etc.) increase the concentration of the ionized species of the amphetamine molecule, thereby increasing urinary excretion. Both groups of agents lower blood levels and efficacy of amphetamines.
Adrenergic blockers -Adrenergic blockers are inhibited by amphetamines.
Alkalinizing agents -Gastrointestinal alkalinizing agents (sodium bicarbonate, etc.) increase absorption of amphetamines. Co-administration of ADDERALL XR® and gastrointestinal alkalinizing agents, such as antacids, should be avoided. Urinary alkalinizing agents (acetazolamide, some thiazides) increase the concentration of the non-ionized species of the amphetamine molecule, thereby decreasing urinary excretion. Both groups of agents increase blood levels and therefore potentiate the actions of amphetamines.
Antidepressants, tricyclic -Amphetamines may enhance the activity of tricyclic antidepressants or sympathomimetic agents; d-amphetamine with desipramine or protriptyline and possibly other tricyclics cause striking and sustained increases in the concentration of d-amphetamine in the brain; cardiovascular effects can be potentiated.
MAO inhibitors -MAOI antidepressants, as well as a metabolite of furazolidone, slow amphetamine metabolism. This slowing potentiates amphetamines, increasing their effect on the release of norepinephrine and other monoamines from adrenergic nerve endings; this can cause headaches and other signs of hypertensive crisis. A variety of toxic neurological effects and malignant hyperpyrexia can occur, sometimes with fatal results.
Antihistamines -Amphetamines may counteract the sedative effect of antihistamines.
Antihypertensives -Amphetamines may antagonize the hypotensive effects of antihypertensives.
Chlorpromazine -Chlorpromazine blocks dopamine and norepinephrine receptors, thus inhibiting the central stimulant effects of amphetamines, and can be used to treat amphetamine poisoning.
Ethosuximide -Amphetamines may delay intestinal absorption of ethosuximide.
Haloperidol -Haloperidol blocks dopamine receptors, thus inhibiting the central stimulant effects of amphetamines.
Lithium carbonate -The anorectic and stimulatory effects of amphetamines may be inhibited by lithium carbonate.
Meperidine -Amphetamines potentiate the analgesic effect of meperidine.
Methenamine therapy -Urinary excretion of amphetamines is increased, and efficacy is reduced, by acidifying agents used in methenamine therapy.
Norepinephrine -Amphetamines enhance the adrenergic effect of norepinephrine.
Phenobarbital -Amphetamines may delay intestinal absorption of phenobarbital; co-administration of phenobarbital may produce a synergistic anticonvulsant action.
Phenytoin -Amphetamines may delay intestinal absorption of phenytoin; co-administration of phenytoin may produce a synergistic anticonvulsant action.
Propoxyphene -In cases of propoxyphene overdosage, amphetamine CNS stimulation is potentiated and fatal convulsions can occur.
Veratrum alkaloids-Amphetamines inhibit the hypotensive effect of veratrum alkaloids.
Amphetamines can cause a significant elevation in plasma corticosteroid levels. This increase is greatest in the evening. Amphetamines may interfere with urinary steroid determinations.
No evidence of carcinogenicity was found in studies in which d,l-amphetamine (enantiomer ratio of 1:1) was administered to mice and rats in the diet for 2 years at doses of up to 30 mg/kg/day in male mice, 19 mg/kg/day in female mice, and 5 mg/kg/day in male and female rats. These doses are approximately 2.4, 1.5, and 0.8 times, respectively, the maximum recommended human dose of 30 mg/day [child] on a mg/m 2 body surface area basis.
Amphetamine, in the enantiomer ratio present in ADDERALL®(immediate-release)(d- to l- ratio of 3:1), was not clastogenic in the mouse bone marrow micronucleus test in vivo and was negative when tested in the E. coli component of the Ames test in vitro. d,l-Amphetamine (1:1 enantiomer ratio) has been reported to produce a positive response in the mouse bone marrow micronucleus test, an equivocal response in the Ames test, and negative responses in the in vitro sister chromatid exchange and chromosomal aberration assays.
Amphetamine, in the enantiomer ratio present in ADDERALL® (immediate-release)(d- to l- ratio of 3:1), did not adversely affect fertility or early embryonic development in the rat at doses of up to 20 mg/kg/day (approximately 5 times the maximum recommended human dose of 30 mg/day on a mg/m2 body surface area basis).
Pregnancy Category C. Amphetamine, in the enantiomer ratio present in ADDERALL®(d- to l- ratio of 3:1), had no apparent effects on embryofetal morphological development or survival when orally administered to pregnant rats and rabbits throughout the period of organogenesis at doses of up to 6 and 16 mg/kg/day, respectively. These doses are approximately 1.5 and 8 times, respectively, the maximum recommended human dose of 30 mg/day [child] on a mg/m2 body surface area basis. Fetal malformations and death have been reported in mice following parenteral administration of d-amphetamine doses of 50 mg/kg/day (approximately 6 times that of a human dose of 30 mg/day [child] on a mg/m2 basis) or greater to pregnant animals. Administration of these doses was also associated with severe maternal toxicity.
A number of studies in rodents indicate that prenatal or early postnatal exposure to amphetamine (d- or d,l-), at doses similar to those used clinically, can result in long-term neurochemical and behavioral alterations. Reported behavioral effects include learning and memory deficits, altered locomotor activity, and changes in sexual function.
There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. There has been one report of severe congenital bony deformity, tracheo-esophageal fistula, and anal atresia (vater association) in a baby born to a woman who took dextroamphetamine sulfate with lovastatin during the first trimester of pregnancy. Amphetamines should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.
Infants born to mothers dependent on amphetamines have an increased risk of premature delivery and low birth weight. Also, these infants may experience symptoms of withdrawal as demonstrated by dysphoria, including agitation, and significant lassitude.
Amphetamines are excreted in human milk. Mothers taking amphetamines should be advised to refrain from nursing.
ADDERALL XR® is indicated for use in children 6 years of age and older.
Effects of ADDERALL XR® in 3-5 year olds have not been studied. Long-term effects of amphetamines in children have not been well established. Amphetamines are not recommended for use in children under 3 years of age.
ADDERALL XR® has not been studied in the geriatric population.
[See WARNINGS section] In a controlled 4-week outpatient clinical study of adolescents with ADHD, isolated systolic blood pressure elevations ≥15 mmHg were observed in 7/64 (11%) placebo-treated patients and 7/100 (7%) patients receiving ADDERALL XR® 10 or 20 mg. Isolated elevations in diastolic blood pressure ≥ 8 mmHg were observed in 16/64 (25%) placebo-treated patients and 22/100 (22%) ADDERALL XR®-treated patients. Similar results were observed at higher doses.
In a single-dose pharmacokinetic study in 23 adolescents, isolated increases in systolic blood pressure (above the upper 95% CI for age, gender and stature) were observed in 2/17 (12%) and 8/23 (35%), subjects administered 10 mg and 20 mg ADDERALL XR®, respectively. Higher single doses were associated with a greater increase in systolic blood pressure. All increases were transient, appeared maximal at 2 to 4 hours post dose and not associated with symptoms.
The premarketing development program for ADDERALL XR® included exposures in a total of 1315 participants in clinical trials (635 pediatric patients, 350 adolescent patients, 248 adult patients, and 82 healthy adult subjects). Of these, 635 patients (ages 6 to 12) were evaluated in two controlled clinical studies, one open-label clinical study, and two single-dose clinical pharmacology studies (N= 40). Safety data on all patients are included in the discussion that follows. Adverse reactions were assessed by collecting adverse events, results of physical examinations, vital signs, weights, laboratory analyses, and ECGs.
Adverse events during exposure were obtained primarily by general inquiry and recorded by clinical investigators using terminology of their own choosing. Consequently, it is not possible to provide a meaningful estimate of the proportion of individuals experiencing adverse events without first grouping similar types of events into a smaller number of standardized event categories. In the tables and listings that follow, COSTART terminology has been used to classify reported adverse events.
The stated frequencies of adverse events represent the proportion of individuals who experienced, at least once, a treatment-emergent adverse event of the type listed.
In two placebo-controlled studies of up to 5 weeks duration among children with ADHD, 2.4% (10/425) of ADDERALL XR® treated patients discontinued due to adverse events (including 3 patients with loss of appetite, one of whom also reported insomnia) compared to 2.7% (7/259) receiving placebo. The most frequent adverse events associated with discontinuation of ADDERALL XR® in controlled and uncontrolled, multiple-dose clinical trials of pediatric patients (N=595) are presented below. Over half of these patients were exposed to ADDERALL XR® for 12 months or more.
|Adverse event
|% of pediatric patients discontinuing (n=595)
|Anorexia (loss of appetite)
|Weight loss
|Emotional lability
In a separate placebo-controlled 4-week study in adolescents with ADHD, eight patients (3.4%) discontinued treatment due to adverse events among ADDERALL XR®-treated patients (N=233). Three patients discontinued due to insomnia and one patient each for depression, motor tics, headaches, light-headedness, and anxiety.
In one placebo-controlled 4-week study among adults with ADHD, patients who discontinued treatment due to adverse events among ADDERALL XR®-treated patients (N=191) were 3.1% (n=6) for nervousness including anxiety and irritability, 2.6% (n=5) for insomnia, 1% (n=2) each for headache, palpitation, and somnolence; and, 0.5% (n=1) each for ALT increase, agitation, chest pain, cocaine craving, elevated blood pressure, and weight loss.
Adverse events reported in a 3-week clinical trial of pediatric patients and a 4-week clinical trial in adolescents and adults, respectively, treated with ADDERALL XR® or placebo are presented in the tables below.
The prescriber should be aware that these figures cannot be used to predict the incidence of adverse events in the course of usual medical practice where patient characteristics and other factors differ from those which prevailed in the clinical trials. Similarly, the cited frequencies cannot be compared with figures obtained from other clinical investigations involving different treatments, uses, and investigators. The cited figures, however, do provide the prescribing physician with some basis for estimating the relative contribution of drug and non-drug factors to the adverse event incidence rate in the population studied.
|Body System
|Preferred Term
Abdominal Pain (stomachache)
Accidental Injury
Asthenia (fatigue)
Viral Infection
|Digestive System
Loss of Appetite
|Nervous System
Emotional Lability
|Weight Loss
|Body System
|Preferred Term
Note: The following events did not meet the criterion for inclusion in Table 2 but were reported by 2% to 4% of adolescent patients receiving ADDERALL XR with a higher incidence than patients receiving placebo in this study: accidental injury, asthenia (fatigue), dry mouth, dyspepsia, emotional lability, nausea, somnolence, and vomiting.
|Abdominal Pain (stomachache)
|Digestive System
|Loss of Appetite†
|Nervous System
|Weight Loss†
| Body System
| Preferred Term
| Placebo
Note: The following events did not meet the criterion for inclusion in Table 3 but were reported by 2% to 4% of adult patients receiving ADDERALL XR® with a higher incidence than patients receiving placebo in this study: infection, photosensitivity reaction, constipation, tooth disorder, emotional lability, libido decreased, somnolence, speech disorder, palpitation, twitching, dyspnea, sweating, dysmenorrhea, and impotence.
Digestive System
Loss of Appetite
Dry Mouth
Nervous System
Cardiovascular System
Weight Loss
Urogenital System
Urinary Tract Infection
The following adverse reactions have been associated with the use of amphetamine, ADDERALL XR®, or ADDERALL®:
Cardiovascular: Palpitations, tachycardia, elevation of blood pressure, sudden death, myocardial infarction. There have been isolated reports of cardiomyopathy associated with chronic amphetamine use.
Central Nervous System: Psychotic episodes at recommended doses, overstimulation, restlessness, dizziness, insomnia, euphoria, dyskinesia, dysphoria, depression, tremor, headache, exacerbation of motor and phonic tics and Tourette's syndrome, seizures, stroke.
Gastrointestinal: Dryness of the mouth, unpleasant taste, diarrhea, constipation, other gastrointestinal disturbances. Anorexia and weight loss may occur as undesirable effects.
Allergic: Urticaria, rash, hypersensitivity reactions including angioedema and anaphylaxis. Serious skin rashes, including Stevens Johnson Syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis have been reported.
Endocrine: Impotence, changes in libido.
ADDERALL XR® is a Schedule II controlled substance.
Amphetamines have been extensively abused. Tolerance, extreme psychological dependence, and severe social disability have occurred. There are reports of patients who have increased the dosage to levels many times higher than recommended. Abrupt cessation following prolonged high dosage administration results in extreme fatigue and mental depression; changes are also noted on the sleep EEG. Manifestations of chronic intoxication with amphetamines may include severe dermatoses, marked insomnia, irritability, hyperactivity, and personality changes. The most severe manifestation of chronic intoxication is psychosis, often clinically indistinguishable from schizophrenia.
Individual patient response to amphetamines varies widely. Toxic symptoms may occur idiosyncratically at low doses.
Symptoms: Manifestations of acute overdosage with amphetamines include restlessness, tremor, hyperreflexia, rapid respiration, confusion, assaultiveness, hallucinations, panic states, hyperpyrexia and rhabdomyolysis. Fatigue and depression usually follow the central nervous system stimulation. Cardiovascular effects include arrhythmias, hypertension or hypotension and circulatory collapse. Gastrointestinal symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. Fatal poisoning is usually preceded by convulsions and coma.
Treatment: Consult with a Certified Poison Control Center for up to date guidance and advice. Management of acute amphetamine intoxication is largely symptomatic and includes gastric lavage, administration of activated charcoal, administration of a cathartic and sedation. Experience with hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis is inadequate to permit recommendation in this regard. Acidification of the urine increases amphetamine excretion, but is believed to increase risk of acute renal failure if myoglobinuria is present. If acute severe hypertension complicates amphetamine overdosage, administration of intravenous phentolamine has been suggested. However, a gradual drop in blood pressure will usually result when sufficient sedation has been achieved. Chlorpromazine antagonizes the central stimulant effects of amphetamines and can be used to treat amphetamine intoxication.
The prolonged release of mixed amphetamine salts from ADDERALL XR® should be considered when treating patients with overdose.
Dosage should be individualized according to the therapeutic needs and response of the patient. ADDERALL XR® should be administered at the lowest effective dosage.
In children with ADHD who are 6 years of age and older and are either starting treatment for the first time or switching from another medication, start with 10 mg once daily in the morning; daily dosage may be adjusted in increments of 5 mg or 10 mg at weekly intervals. When in the judgment of the clinician a lower initial dose is appropriate, patients may begin treatment with 5 mg once daily in the morning. The maximum recommended dose for children is 30 mg/day; doses greater than 30 mg/day of ADDERALL XR® have not been studied in children. Amphetamines are not recommended for children under 3 years of age. ADDERALL XR® has not been studied in children under 6 years of age.
The recommended starting dose for adolescents who are 13-17 years of age with ADHD is 10 mg/day. The dose may be increased to 20 mg/day after one week if ADHD symptoms are not adequately controlled.
In adults with ADHD who are either starting treatment for the first time or switching from another medication, the recommended dose is 20 mg/day.
Patients Currently Using ADDERALL®- Based on bioequivalence data, patients taking divided doses of immediate-release ADDERALL®,for example twice a day, may be switched to ADDERALL XR® at the same total daily dose taken once daily. Titrate at weekly intervals to appropriate efficacy and tolerability as indicated.
ADDERALL XR® capsules may be taken whole, or the capsule may be opened and the entire contents sprinkled on applesauce. If the patient is using the sprinkle administration method, the sprinkled applesauce should be consumed immediately; it should not be stored. Patients should take the applesauce with sprinkled beads in its entirety without chewing. The dose of a single capsule should not be divided. The contents of the entire capsule should be taken, and patients should not take anything less than one capsule per day.
ADDERALL XR® may be taken with or without food.
ADDERALL XR® should be given upon awakening. Afternoon doses should be avoided because of the potential for insomnia.
Where possible, drug administration should be interrupted occasionally to determine if there is a recurrence of behavioral symptoms sufficient to require continued therapy.
ADDERALL XR® 5 mg Capsules: Clear/blue (imprinted ADDERALL XR 5 mg), bottles of 100, NDC 54092-381-01
ADDERALL XR® 10 mg Capsules: Blue/blue (imprinted ADDERALL XR 10 mg), bottles of 100, NDC 54092-383-01
ADDERALL XR® 15 mg Capsules: Blue/white (imprinted ADDERALL XR 15 mg), bottles of 100, NDC 54092-385-01
ADDERALL XR® 20 mg Capsules: Orange/orange (imprinted ADDERALL XR 20 mg), bottles of 100, NDC 54092-387-01
ADDERALL XR® 25 mg Capsules: Orange/white (imprinted ADDERALL XR 25 mg), bottles of 100, NDC 54092-389-01
ADDERALL XR® 30 mg Capsules: Natural/orange (imprinted ADDERALL XR 30 mg), bottles of 100, NDC 54092-391-01
Dispense in a tight, light-resistant container as defined in the USP.
Store at 25º C (77º F). Excursions permitted to 15-30º C (59-86º F) [see USP Controlled Room Temperature]
Acute administration of high doses of amphetamine (d- or d,l-) has been shown to produce long-lasting neurotoxic effects, including irreversible nerve fiber damage, in rodents. The significance of these findings to humans is unknown.
Manufactured for Shire US Inc., Wayne, PA 19087. Made in USA.
For more information call 1-800-828-2088 or visit www.adderallxr.com
ADDERALL®and ADDERALL XR® are registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office
Copyright ©2006, Shire US Inc.
381 0107 0010 Rev. 6/06
|ADDERALL XR (Dextroamphetamine saccharate, amphetamine aspartate monohydrate, dextroamphetamine sulfate and amphetamine sulfate)
|ADDERALL XR (Dextroamphetamine saccharate, amphetamine aspartate monohydrate, dextroamphetamine sulfate and amphetamine sulfate)
|ADDERALL XR (Dextroamphetamine saccharate, amphetamine aspartate monohydrate, dextroamphetamine sulfate and amphetamine sulfate)
|ADDERALL XR (Dextroamphetamine saccharate, amphetamine aspartate monohydrate, dextroamphetamine sulfate and amphetamine sulfate)
|ADDERALL XR (Dextroamphetamine saccharate, amphetamine aspartate monohydrate, dextroamphetamine sulfate and amphetamine sulfate)
|ADDERALL XR (Dextroamphetamine saccharate, amphetamine aspartate monohydrate, dextroamphetamine sulfate and amphetamine sulfate)


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Region I punches final tickets to complete field of 96 teams for the 2016 US Youth Soccer National Championships in Frisco, Texas
Follow the moments: Sign up for News | Official Website
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Snapchat | #ROADtoTX
Complete Region I recaps | Region I LIVE Replays
FRISCO, Texas (July 7, 2016) – US Youth Soccer is proud to announce the 18 champions of the 2016 US Youth Soccer Region I (East) Championships and commend their success in the state and regional championships of the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series, the country's most prestigious national youth soccer tournament.
2016 US Youth Soccer Region I (East) Champions
Under-12 8v8 Girls: Allegheny Force FC (PA-W)
Under-12 Girls: SDFC Galaxy Yellow (NJ)
Under-13 Girls: NJ Rush 02 Blue (NJ)
Under-14 Girls: BRYC 01 Elite (VA)
Under-15 Girls: HBC Impact 00 (NY-E)
Under-16 Girls: Syracuse Development Academy 99/00 (NY-W)
Under-17 Girls: Beadling Bulldogs (PA-W)
Under-18 Girls: Syracuse Development Academy 97/98 (NY-W)
Under-19 Girls: McLean 96 Green (VA)
Under-12 8v8 Boys: Bethesda SC Blue (MD)
Under-12 Boys: Cedar Stars Academy (NJ)
Under-13 Boys: SDA (NY-W)
Under-14 Boys: Baltimore Darby 01/02 (MD)
# FCV Ashburn Elite 01 (VA)*
Under-15 Boys: LMSC Sabertooth Rats (PA-E)
Under-16 Boys: Loudoun Red (VA)
Under-17 Boys: Pipeline Black (MD)
Under-18 Boys: Lehigh Valley United 97 (PA-E)
# Dix Hill Elite (NY-E)*
Under-19 Boys: Smithtown Kickers SC Arsenal (NY-E)
#Advance to the National Championships as Region I Representative. Under-14 Boys Baltimore Darby 01/02 (MD) and Under-18 Boys Lehigh Valley United 97 (PA-E) to represent the US Youth Soccer National League.
Virginia, New York – West, New Jersey and Maryland all claimed three titles. PA West, Eastern New York and Eastern Pennsylvania all won two.
Regional Champions and representatives in the Under-13 through Under-19 age groups, now advance to the third and final stage of the quest for the National Championship. These Region I Champions will join the 40 National League qualifying teams and the champions from Region II (Midwest), Region III (South) and Region IV (West) tournaments for the National Championships in Frisco, Texas, July 25-31.
The US Youth Soccer National Championship Series is the country's oldest and most prestigious national youth soccer tournament, providing approximately 185,000 players on more than 10,000 teams from US Youth Soccer's 55 State Associations the opportunity to showcase their soccer skills against the best competition in the nation while emphasizing teamwork, discipline and fair play.
The National Championships cap a yearlong series of competitions, US Youth Soccer National Championship Series, for boys and girls teams in multiple age groups as teams earn their way from the top teams in their state to the regional championship tournaments. US Youth Soccer State Champions, US Youth Soccer Regional League Champions and selected wildcard teams are eligible to compete in one of four US Youth Soccer Regional Championships. The champions in the Under-13 through Under-19 age groups from each regional event will converge in the finals in Frisco, Texas.
The US Youth Soccer National Championships will consist of US Youth Soccer Regional Champions in the Under-13 through Under-19 Boys and Girls age groups as well as the US Youth Soccer National League qualifiers in the Under-14 through Under-18 Boys and Girls age groups to complete the field of 96 teams.
This year, live broadcasts of games will be available from the championships on the official website, along with daily reports and complete results.
Follow the moments from the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series on Twitter and share the moments with us on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.


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World News
Nobel peace winner Santos to donate prize to conflict victimsOctober 22, 2016 | Sanmeet Goraya
Nobel Peace Prize winner 2016, Colombia's President Santos has decided to donate the Nobel money to the victims of the 52-year conflict in his country. He made the announcement in the city of Bojaya, in the north-western region of Choco, … Read More
Putin warns US it will shoot down jets over SyriaOctober 19, 2016 | Sanmeet Goraya
Fears of a GLOBAL WAR have surfaced after Russia warned the US that it would shoot down American jets flying over Syria.
RUSSIA has warned it will shoot down US warplanes flying over Syria as tensions between Vladimir Putin and … Read More
Bob Dylan Wins Nobel For LiteratureOctober 14, 2016 | Sanmeet Goraya
In a surprise decision Bob Dylan, American song-writer and pop singer from the 1960s onwards was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature on Thursday. He is the first singer-songwriter to win the honour.
75-year-old Dylan, won the prize for "having … Read More


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Former Bruins Stars Lead Dallas
It was a tough night for the Boston Bruins who saw a couple of their former stars return to the Garden and lead the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 shootout win.Dallas tied the game with a late third period goal which forced the shootout. Patrice Bergeron shot first and scored for the Bruins which would be their only goal in the shootout. The stars got two shootout goals from former Bruins Tyler Seguin and the game winner from Rich Peverley.
Boston is back in action Thursday when another former Bruin, Tim Thomas and the Florida Panthers come to town.


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Get listed!
13th February, 2017
High profile Ospreys in the Community foundation seeks sponsors to help tackle a range of projects in deprived communities
Ospreys in the Community is a not-for-profit foundation that was granted charitable status in November 2016, one year after it was formally launched at the Liberty Stadium, Swansea.
Although OitC shares a strong relationship with Ospreys Rugby, and forms a key part of the club's long-term business strategy, it operates on an entirely independent basis to the professional rugby organisation, Wales' leading and most successful club.
Working in conjunction with commercial partners, public sector bodies and third sector agencies to generate financial support and resources, the aim of OitC is to create a vibrant and sustainable foundation that utilises the undoubted power of the Ospreys brand, and players, in a positive fashion, to harness social good and make an impact in communities.
OitC has already created a wide range of strategic partnerships enabling the creation and activation of innovative programmes that will be contained within four strategic themes: Education, Health, Sport and Inclusion. These partnerships, which include international, national and local businesses, education and health authorities, and local and national government departments, enabled OitC to engage with 17,000 people in its first year.
OitC's community engagement activities include
Creating and delivering a groundbreaking educational programme aimed at primary school children, focusing on literacy, numeracy and digital competencies, with a clear focus on complimenting the existing school curriculum. More than 3,000 children a year are now engaging with the programme, which is completely free for participating schools
TACKLE, a project aimed at 14-16 year olds in Communities First areas combining action-packed rugby sessions with education pathways and mentoring sessions with the aim of helping improve self-confidence, school attainment and employability skills among hard to reach teenagers
Facilitating rugby camps and festivals for juniors and youths of both genders, as well as development days at community rugby clubs across south Wales to encourage active young people
Development and delivery of both an adult and youth wheelchair rugby teams
A senior womens rugby team and new Rugby Cluster centres for girls teams from Under 9s through to Under 15s.
Having worked with over 17,000 children, adults and families in its first year, OitC requires sponsorship to support growth plans to work with a further 20,000 individuals this year.
An ideal opportunity for a company looking to sponsor a wide range of objectives and keen to support deprived communities, OitC can offer a premium programme of national and international brand exposure, marketing opportunities including access to world-class international players as well as the opportunity to connect directly with the target audience through its database of around 20,000 local families.
Ospreys enjoys a solid social media following with an average engagement level of 200k per month, which will be another key platform for promoting partnerships.
Contact: Paul Whapham, Foundation Manager
More information ...
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Norton helps English pals sell Cork home
By Madeline O'Connor
The star has used his huge Twitter presence to give his next door neighbours a hand in selling their home.
Graham Norton's 800,000-odd followers probably helped their plight when the chat-show host tweeted: "Anyone looking for a house? Kitchen Cove, Ahakista, Ahakista (sic), Cork" before listing the name of the estate agents Charles McCarthy.
The house in question, owned by an English couple who are friendly with Norton, is a grand four-bedroom property at Kitchen Cove in Durrus, a popular West Cork holiday location. It's just two doors down from the celebrity, whose period home can be seen from their garden. It was put on the market for €1.2m (£950,000).
A spokesman for Charles McCarthy Estate Agents, which claims to have two parties already interested in Kitchen Cove, both from the UK, said that with English buyers being 'prime contenders' for the property, Norton had given the owners a much bigger chance of finding a buyer by tweeting the info.
Twitter to help sell properties is a growing trend amongst estate agents, who encourage clients to create a website and tweet the details in the hope that they will be retweeted. The first person to completely sell his house via Twitter was Peter Bouvier uin the UK, four years ago. He sold his two-bed terrace for £171,500 – saving a lot of money on fees and commission payments.
Norton, who also has a house in Wapping, East London bought his 19th century Cork home in 2003, spending €1.6m to purchase it then a lot more restoring it with the help of local company Edge Architecture. According to local agents, the property is now worth some €2m (£1.59m).
He spends roughly two months every summer in his Cork haven and is known for getting involved in the life of the local community, mixing freely in local bars and cafes and hosting local events.
His pal's house in Kitchen Cove, like his by the waterfront, has a private slipway to launch boats from and a view of the scenic Dunmanus Bay. Inside the 2,200 sq ft space are stone floors and rustic-style timber beamed ceilin


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Ensuring the solvency of a family business
Note that succession planning is not about just sending the second and third generation to the top schools. It's about careful career planning and skill development, and more importantly, it is about making sure that the core processes in the company, including governance, communications and decision making, are such that they support succession planning. Key areas that often are in the center of this are intra-company communication routines, decision-making processes, documentation, and sharing of information.
Corporate governance, growing pains, and your family business
Instilling corporate governance into the business model is more of a mandatory thing, rather than just a benefit. Without proper governance, a company (be it family-owned or not), can simply not survive.
The growing pains are that usually switching from the first generation "entrepreneurial" style to proper professional grade succession planning requires a major change in mindset. Sometimes this is only possible in conjunction with the actual generation shift. However, it is much better if succession planning and governance are already addressed within the time of the first generation. This way the process is smoother and has a better likelihood of success, success including also preserving good relationships across the family members throughout the process.
While some initiatives in my previous article including the list below are instinctively noble, Family Business author Dr. Fan refers to these leader aspirations as "wishful thinking".
a. Family gene pool is limited but Patriarch is not keen on hiring Non Family professionals
b. Typical of founders, they would express their desire to retire but the patriarchal shadow continues to cloud the next generation members' decision-making
c. They apportion their wealth equally resulting to a divisive and disunited next generation shareholder group where decisions are stalled
d. Patriarch will delay succession plans because of the fear of losing control
In most cases, family members who have been sheltered often want to sell the business and move on right after the death of the patriarch or matriarch.
Similarly, some leaders (especially the conservative owners) even pass away without making a will. This leads to bitter feuds and will be even more complicated and severe if the founder has several wives.
Flying Away from the Nest
Finally, with the patriarch gone, the untrained and entitled next generation members will end up clashing amongst themselves.
Limited decision making and the lack of any form of hardship experience while growing up under the shadows of their overprotective parents will take its toll on the business.
With their roles undefined for years, there is the likelihood that heirs will be confused amplified by an unproven management skills set.
Compounding the lack of preparation is when they discover that the business has liabilities (debt load) and a looming creditor intervention to exact pressure on the new leadership.
With all the problems besetting the enterprise, the natural option for heirs will be to opt out by selling their shares, effectively absolving them of any form of "hard work". In the end, the preference to just "live the good life"becomes insatiable.
Can the bleak situation still be reversed?
This scenario is repeated many times, thus it is no secret that business owners go through many sleepless nights blaming themselves for creating entitled children.
I consider this pervasive problem one of the biggest dangers faced by family businesses in Asia where owners attempt to self-medicate by way of offering more perks to family members hoping to motivate them. The problem is in the manner the perks are equally distributed whether to the deserving, capable or inept. The other problem is whether the perks should be given in the first place.
This practice will certainly guarantee failure after failure as the incentive will translate to more entitlement for the next generation of untrained family members.
It now becomes a vicious cycle of generational tension and sibling rivalries. In the end, the business owner will end up struggling with governance, leadership transitions, ownership conflicts and even survival.
At this juncture when the patriarch or matriarch, by reason of age, rushes the process of turning over the business to the next generation and discovers their ineffective or feeble judgements, the parent will end up extending his reign until he succumbs to pressure, old age, stress and death.
There is Still Time to Exact Good Governance
It is absolutely impossible for family businesses to manage internal talent (both family and non-family) and or attract the best non-family professionals without setting up a governance best practices program.
The key is to separate the family and the business and ensure independent oversight from a professional board.
To be continued…


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Ethics is a serious concern for any public communicator, that includes public relations. One problem with social media has been its loose ethics and ease of manipulation. Consider how "citizen journalists" (a terrible phrase) print whatever they want in blogs and micro-blogs because they have no real ethical code or training in the responsibilities of being a public communicator. Add to this the view that almost anything goes on the Internet, the last space for truly free behavior and we have a deadly combination for ethics. Would the average person think it was okay to create a fake journalist and publish articles under his or her name? We are hoping the answer is "No!" The same cannot be said for the Internet.
Fake Twitter accounts are as easy to create as a real one. It is hard to verify the biographical information on the sire and few people ever check that information. A few clicks and fake Twitter persona is born. Some fake accounts are for fun and people make humorous posts. The point is entertainment, not deception. The problem is when the information in the fake tweets are used to deceive people. Two recent examples can illustrate the problem.
Political communication and public relations have a concept known as astroturfing. Astroturfing is when fake public concern is generated. It appears as though citizens are outraged but it is really the work of front groups or public relations people. The idea is the outrage is used to support policy options (issues management) or to build support for a politician (political application). Researchers at Indiana University created the Truthyproject (http://truthy.indiana.edu/). The idea was to expose astroturfing in Twitter. Here is how they describe themselves:
"Truthy is a research project that helps you understand how memes spread online. With our images and statistics, you can help identify misuse of Twitter. Our first application was the study of astroturf campaigns in elections. Now we're extending our focus to the diffusion of all types of information in social media."
Their research uses network analysis to find suspicious memes and reveal the astroturfing. One sign is a few accounts generating a lot of messages including retweets of one another. Here is a specific case:
"Menczer says the research group uncovered a number of accounts sending out duplicate messages and also retweeting messages from the same few accounts in a closely connected network. For instance, two since-closed accounts, called @PeaceKaren_25 and @HopeMarie_25, sent out 20,000 similar tweets, most of them linking to, or promoting, the House minority leader John Boehner's website, gopleader.gov." http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/26666/?p1=A3&a=f
In another case, a staff member of a Canadian politician created a fake twitter account. The original intent was to use the account to help get an incriminating audio tape about the politician. Once that was accomplished, the account continued. The Tweets claimed to support the opponent but were designed to support the other candidate. One Tweet read: "I can see Ford's appeal. I don't agree with him on everything, but the man speaks the truth. George needs to improve on that." http://socialmediatoday.com/davefleet/227540/unethical-social-media-its-worst-rob-ford-s-fake-twitter-account
If you want to see more about the story and the Tweets visit http://torontoist.com/2010/10/rob_fords_team_created_a_fake_twitter_account_and_this_is_it.php. This second example is political communication. However, the concern over Twitter being used for astroturfing has applications to public relations so we must think about the ethical concerns over this practice. In these cases, public relations can think and learn from the mistakes of those outside of public relations.
Question to Consider
1. Why is it unethical to use any fake Twitter account in public relations?
2. What makes the use of fake Twitter accounts a type of astroturfing and front group?
3. If you were to create some basic ethical guidelines for using Twitter accounts in public relations, what would they be?
4. Why do you think people see different rules applied to social media verses traditional media?
5. On a related note, what are the ethical implications for paying someone to Tweet in support of an organization?
6. How do citizen journalists differ from real journalists?


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Art Market – Lisa Puopolo
On December 7, 2007
Come check out the sewn paper photo albums by Lisa Puopolo. All paper is acid free and the cover page is made from recycled cotton fabric. They are priced at $55 and at the gallery for a limited time.
Tagged with: Puopolo


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IMAGE: Sakura flowers
Taken at spring,with high quality and resolution.
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