text:
Skeptical in California. 'nuff said.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Minute Meditations
It started in an attempt to calm myself and relieve stress in my twenties. I had been having panic attacks since my early teens (subsequently resolved with thyroid supplements). I tried yoga and "relaxation tapes" - somewhere between the two I developed a habit of calming meditation in the morning, which grew into applying it in little slices throughout the day. Being able to relax all of your body parts, becoming comfortable physically, then calming your mind and either banishing all thought, or focusing on one or several mantras, affirmations, reinforcements was soon something I could do at my desk, or while walking across the parking lot. Very helpful.
I was a non-believer by then, but I still recognized that prayer had been good for me when I was a believer. I adopted both minute meditations and longer, more serious meditating as replacements for prayer, and I've never looked back. In fact, I still say a few words of thanks to the "objects that be" occasionally before I fall asleep.
Critics of prayer slam it as nothing more than talking to yourself. I agree, and in this example, that's the whole point. Talking to yourself with a purpose can be beneficial, so why not take advantage of it?
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Are there Objective Moral Values in the world?
He was kind enough to reply:
@SecularOutpost layman's questions: If "objective" is defined roughly as "having reality independent of the mind", doesn't the discussion of Objective Moral Values require explanations for 1) where OMVs would independently reside, absent the existence of minds, and 2) what mechanism(s) exist that make OMVs available to minds once minds do exist? Is that (part of) what's required to make a sensible argument for OMVs?
My followup question:
.@skepticali I think your analysis is good. The only part I might reject or edit would be the part about the mechanism(s) that make OMVs available to minds once minds do exist, since that blurs ontology with epistemology. It's possible that OMVs exist and we can know that fact, without knowing which OMVs exist.
His response:
@SecularOutpost how do we access OMVs? It *seems* to be culturally. If it's truly objective, wouldn't they be physical, in some sense?
I thanked him and went off into the woods for seven years of reflection and meditation. Or less.
.@skepticali I don't see why. 2+2=4 but I wouldn't call that physical. The answer to your question about access will depend on one's position about moral ontology. I.e., an ethical naturalist will have a different answer than an ethical non-naturalist.
After returning to civilization, I confronted my unrequited concern about the possibility of there being "independent reality" for objective moral values. I'm probably too unfamiliar with moral philosophy (or philosophy in general) to understand @SecularOutpost's point that
I'm still troubled at how we can arrive at the actual OMVs that we say exist, and how a separate observer - maybe at a different time, place and culture - can arrive at those same actual OMVs. That we might not know which OMVs exist calls into question how it is that we could know they exist. I'm not saying that knowing OMVs exist in principal requires that we know which specific OMVs exist, but the lack of actual OMVs that we can independently arrive at - and verify - makes the argument that "OMVs exist" appear much weaker to me.
"It's possible that OMVs exist and we can know that fact, without knowing which OMVs exist."
His tweet
indicates that accessing the OMV's is relative ("...will depend on..."), thus is not objective in the sense of "having reality independent of the mind". I can restate this as
"The answer to your question about access will depend on one's position about moral ontology."
a Divine Command Theorist, an Ethical Naturalist, and an Ethical Non-Naturalist may all agree that OMVs exist, yet all three differ as to what they are.This does not demonstrate to me that OMVs exist. It demonstrates that the three parties think they exist, and implies that they can each derive them repeatably using their individual principles and practices, but there is no guarantee that they can arrive at the same conclusions. @SecularOutpost's tweet seems to confirm this. Arriving at three potentially differing sets of OMVs would imply that two and maybe all three are not truly objective facts in the way that we think of gravity as being an objective fact. So I remain puzzled: "If there are Objective Moral Values in the world, how do we assure ourselves that they have reality independent of the mind?"
Postscript: I'll eventually be asking @SecularOutpost to review this and comment on it - but I think I'll let it breathe for a day.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
How God Affects the World
How does It do that?
Doesn't that seem awfully complicated and even harder to justify?
Monday, October 20, 2014
Meaningful, Productive Work
So I'm jotting this down as a reminder, that I need to explore why this happened to me, why I let it happen to me, and compare some of the irritants such as a focus on metric gathering and reporting (AKA "industrial engineering") to the way that focus on IE practices in manufacturing grew and then receded decades ago in response to a need for both productivity and employee engagement.
To be continued...
Thursday, September 18, 2014
The Cool Kids are acting Less Cool
I will get lost if I try to analyze all that's been said in the past few days, but I can draw an analogy.
The Cool Kids Have a Fight
I'm in junior high school. Cool Kid #1 gives a stupid answer to a simple question posed by a member of the Journalism Club. Cool Kid #2 reads about it in the school newspaper and responds with cursing and anger. Cool Kid #3 chimes in with more cursing and anger. Cool Kid #4 responds with humor and sexual innuendo. The school hallways are abuzz. You can't help but hear about it between classes.
Cool Kid #1 tries to clarify his remarks. Cool Kid #3 is having none of it. The Philosophy Club, the Science Club and other Journalism Club members chime in. Jocks, Nerds, other Cool Kids and even Nobodies like me are choosing up sides. The Cool Kids don't look so cool any more.
What was accomplished?
Cool Kid #1 (Sam Harris, in case there was any doubt) said a Bad Thing that makes him look like he's sexist. I'll admit that I found what he said pretty mild - worthy of a stern rebuke, unquestionably, but making a generalization about the willingness of women to engage in his style of discourse is not the worst thing ever said. Greta, Ophelia, Heina (Cool Kids 2 through 4) and others appeared to take what he said to be a blanket denigration of women's attitudes and/or aptitudes for engaging in critical thought and/or discourse across the board. If this is what he meant, then they are right. And they were right to call him out. And he should have responded, and they should have pressed him on anything that they were unclear and or unhappy about in his response.
What happened was a bit different. Both Greta and Ophelia cursed him. Greta had some good criticisms to offer, but had wrapped it in her "Fuck you..." packaging that made it difficult to get to her core criticism. I had to reread her post 3 times before I was able to pick out 3 or 4 paragraphs that were constructive. They were good paragraphs, but they were lost in the cursing and anger.
I believe that Greta, Ophelia and Heina, to name the involved bloggers that I read occasionally, deal with sexism, oppression and the threat of violence on a frequent, maybe even constant basis. And it's clear that Ophelia dislikes Harris, even before last week's episode. They don't need approval from anyone to express outrage. But what is it that's being achieved here? Harris gets exposed for expressing a (overt? covert?) sexist dismissal of women. Greta and Ophelia get to expose Harris. Have minds changed? Are results achieved?
If I were Harris, I'd spin on my heels and keep walking. Maybe, in some way, he'll be more thoughtful with his words and actions. Maybe he'll tune out his detractors. Who knows? His fans won't desert him. He may not get new fans from the Greta/Ophelia camp. Is that important to him? I'm sure he'd like whatever increase in readership he can garner, but does that maximize his flourishing?
If I were Greta, I'd probably still be pissed. I don't know if she was predisposed to dislike Harris, but, so far, this controversy won't have warmed her up to him. I look forward to hearing her thoughts on Harris' clarification, but I suspect that the best we can hope for is for her to recap her last few paragraphs of her original response:
Heina's take was actually pretty funny. If you could take the best of what Greta wrote and interleave it with Heina's post, it would really speak to people like my white, middle-aged, privileged, American, male self.
... It has nothing to do with estrogen or ladybrains.
So Sam Harris, and anyone else who says this sexist, patronizing bullshit — knock it the hell off.
Two passages posted by non-participants struck me.
Andrew Sullivan made a good point about these types of conflicts in general:
...and Dan Finke provided this crystallization of Feminism:
People have to be free to make mistakes, even ones that we find offensive.
Feminism is not just an emotionalistic kind of moral idealism, it's a more rational position than its competitors. It's one that looks at women's potential and says, "Women actually and demonstrably have more abilities than just those required to be mothers and wives and, therefore, it's only best for them, and for an overall culture, that women be maximally empowered according to their abilities." Why shouldn't people with aptitudes in a range of skills be encouraged to thrive according to all that potential? How does it benefit them not to? How does it benefit society to arbitrarily waste potential because it happens to reside in women, rather than men? There's nothing rational about that. It's only logical to say that a being's good is in maximizing her potential in her abilities. It's only logical for a society to take a vested interest in empowering its members to perform as many of their abilities as well as they can if they are going to maximally benefit from the abundant resource of human potential within a society. These are rational positions even before looking at the empirical situation.
Then, when looking empirically, it should be obvious that millennia worth of demonstrable subordination of women socially and mentally would have deep cultural impact. It's obvious that denying a group of people equal access to education and political power and religious power for millennia is going to shape society and its biases in ways that implicitly perpetuate disadvantages to that group of people. All that cultural, linguistic, political, and mental anti-woman structure won't just vanish into thin air just because we now mouth some new words about equality and change the formal law to be different. Only when there is a root to branch transformation of all our personal and institutional assumptions, habits, practices, etc. could all this social structuring of our reality get out of the way of women's demonstrable, biological, natural potential.
Until that happens, there shouldn't be an a priori assumption that men's disproportionate successes in numerous areas are owed to "natural differences". Such assumptions are not unvarnished, politically-incorrect truth-telling. They reflect an irrational bias towards the cultural status quo as natural fate. When we know that in principle there's no reason women cannot be far more equally successful in outcomes than men are, when we see that they're not coming out as successful our focus should be on how we can proactively change the culture.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Proving a Negative as an Apologetics Manuever
The passage that incensed me was
There is enough wrongness packed into these two sentences that they could stop a charging bull elephant. Let me paraphrase them to dig out the core thought: "Disbelief in God is wrong because no one can prove that God doesn't exist". I don't know if it's my business to try to unearth the reason why they think this is a persuasive argument that God exists - but I can comment on whether the argument is persuasive.
Atheism is the belief system that believes God does not exist.This attempt fails because, well, no one can prove that God doesn't exist!!
The obvious first question is "Is this a coherent claim?" Isn't the claim "Disbelief in The Invisible Pink Unicorn is wrong because no one can prove that The Invisible Pink Unicorn doesn't exist" just as coherent? Aren't the two questions then equally persuasive in making their cases for their subjects? Shouldn't we be able to assert the same about Allah, Zeus, Odin, Mithra, Ashur, Enlil, Chemosh, Baal, Vishnu, Marduk, Yaluk and others, and expect our interlocutors to respond? Won't all of these claims tend to make their cases equally well?
The answer, of course, is "no". No, you can't expect your interlocutors to respond to claims like this because you've left out something essential. First, assuming you've chosen "God" as the object that you claim can't be proved to not exist, you must acknowledge the implied claim you're making that "God exists". You're asserting that the object referred to as "God" is an actual thing for which existence is an attribute.
Imagine the following conversation:
A: Disbelief in God is wrong because no one can prove that God doesn't existThen imagine this alternative conversation:
B: Are you claiming that God exists?
A: Yes
B: Which God are we talking about? What attributes does it have that I can test?
A: [responds with explanation]
B: [requests clarification on what level of certainty is required for proof]
A: [provides clarification]
B: [proceeds with testing prior to presenting results]
C: Disbelief in God is wrong because no one can prove that God doesn't existThe implied claim that "God exists" gives claimant A something ostensibly real to discuss. Respondent B can then request a list of the claimants best evidence and arguments that this object exists, and begin an examination of the positive claim "God exists". If the level of certainty reaches what the participants agreed to, then they may assent to the claim. Other outcomes may result as well. A resolution is possible in principle.
D: Are you claiming that God exists?
C: No
D: Then what are you talking about?
C: [no response]
D: [ends conversation]
The absence of the positive claim "God exists" - on the other hand - raises the question of what claimant C could possibly mean. Without clarification of what the subject of C's claim is, the words "no one can prove that God doesn't exist" has no meaning because, using C's own refusal to acknowledge the implication that "God exists", no real subject exists to discuss. D is under no obligation to continue.
What I've omitted is that the idea of "proof" is not one that is relevant outside mathematics, even though the word is used in lay conversations everywhere. The real challenge - if both parties are amenable - is to establish a level of certainty (think of a Bayesian probability between zero and one) that the parties agree will serve as confirmation in lieu of "proof".
Then let the fun begin!
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
The Folly of Atheism
Since no comments are allowed for this post, I couldn't thoughtlessly blurt out the first snarky thing that popped into my head, which is probably a good thing.
Atheism is the belief system that believes God does not exist.This attempt fails because, well, no one can prove that God doesn't exist!!
Earlier this week, I had actually published two posts analyzing The Folly of Atheism - a much longer version of this post that dissected the opening paragraphs, and a follow-on that looked briefly at the more formal arguments that he laid out.
But then I thought better of it.
This is probably the first time I've ever deleted a blog post. I realized that it didn't serve anyone for me to criticize The Folly of Atheism in depth - it is so bad that 60 seconds skimming over it will convince you of that without requiring any verbose piling on from me. Sometimes, stuff is just so vacuously, vapidly inane that you!re better off to just keep moving, so that's what I've chosen to do.


text:
Though not mandated to offer health care coverage to employees until 2016, restaurants with 50 or more full-time employees are still required to track data monthly throughout 2015.
The US government has stepped up its immigration enforcement efforts in recent years, and all employers -- not just large ones, or ones that employ non-citizens -- are at risk of failing an audit.
Few insurance companies will insure Non Owned Auto Delivery because of the increased risk from young drivers.
Bruno DiFabio says negotiating the lease while keeping a low profile is an important step when opening a concept.
Make sure your cash collection container is equipped with a lock with a controlled key.
Poorly cleaned hoods and ducts account for 21 percent of all restaurant fires.
Now, blame for food litigation is at the executive level, and criminal charges are common.
The Health Insurance Exchange opens soon with an employee notification requirement for all restaurant operators.
While restaurant operators continue to maintain food safety practices, health inspection records are finding their way onto very public domains.
Do you know the warning signs of gang presence, to avoid their infiltration into your operation?
If you are confronted with peculiar and unexplained issues with cash management or inventory control, look beyond the 'usual suspects.'
Businesses with 50-plus employees now have an extra year to comply with coverage.
When business priorities require our attention, the security and safety priorities may slide down the list when they are not ingrained into the culture as core values.
Litigation attorneys are coming after restaurant chains with increased expertise and sophistication; it would be wise to hire an outside food safety consultant.
Boldness counts when going after your competition's business.
Many of us may be familiar with the peculiar peccadillos of rock bands and divas for specified products in their dressing rooms. We've heard of demands for certain brands of water or required food for the traveling party.
Franchise agreements must be prepared, negotiated and reviewed by a specialist from where the restaurant will operate.
When errors do occur and the cash handling performance is not within established guidelines, the appropriate action should be taken to correct the behavior or performance and get them in compliance.
When you think about electronic security, what comes to mind? Do you consider how vulnerable your customer credit cards are, or how easily someone can break into your online bank account? These are the most profitable avenues of attack that...
By having the correct equipment, protocol and training in place, a restaurant will limit its risk and perhaps even reduce Workers' Compensation costs.
Papa John's new Red Kettle Cookie raises funds for Salvation Army campaign
Canadian 'Express Entry' program will remove caps on cooks, managers
Let's Pizza vending machine ready for U.S. debut
How to get millennials to stay committed to your brand
Pizzeria Planning: Designing and Maintaining an Efficient Pizza Kitchen
Keys to Using Seasonal Offers to Increase Pizza Sales
Case Study: Mexican Restaurants, Inc.
© 2014 Networld Media Group All rights reserved.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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Knoll ® D'Urso Residential Ottoman
Knoll ® D'Urso Residential Ottoman
Weights & Dimensions
|Design: Standard
|Style: Contemporary
|Upholstery Material: Leather; Polyester/Polyester blend
|Frame Material: Wood
|Shape: Square
|Coils or Springs: Yes
|Tufted Cushion: No
|Slipcovered: No
|Glider: No
|Nailhead Trim: No
|Storage Available: No
|Country of Manufacture: United States
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Knoll ® D'Urso Residential Ottoman
Knoll ® D'Urso Residential Ottoman
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About the Designer
Joseph D'Urso
As a former interior design and architecture student at Pratt Institute, Royal College of Art in London and Manchester College of Art and Design, Joseph D'Urso used his significant schooling at his practice, D'Urso Design, which focuses on the design of private residences and showrooms. Once a designer for Esprit, D'Urso works across a variety of media while maintaining minimalist principles.
About the ManufacturerWith a long history of design innovation for the home, workplace, and in textiles, Knoll continues to play a large part in the foundations of Modern Design. Founded in 1938 by Hans Knoll and continued after his death by his wife Florence Knoll, the company has produced a long line of award-winning and museum worthy designs from virtually every top designer in modern design.
OUR SKU # KLL1681D'Urso Residential Ottoman is also sometimes listed under the following manufacturer numbers: 2163R-C-K162/1, 2163R-C-K162/12, 2163R-C-K162/20, 2163R-C-K162/21, 2163R-C-K162/22, 2163R-C-K162/26, 2163R-C-K162/28, 2163R-C-VO957, 2163R-C-VO960, 2163R-C-VO963, 2163R-C-VO964, 2163R-C-VOBLCK


text:
Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival:
A Decent Arrangement
International House Philadelphia
3701 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19104
Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival
The Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival (PAAFF) is back, and better than ever with their largest program to date!
Founded in 2008 to showcase films by and about Asian Americans for audiences in the Greater Philadelphia region, PAAFF is a nonprofit organization that presents captivating programs that engage, inspire, and connect the community.
While PAAFF offers year round programming at various venues across Philadelphia, their marquee celebration is the annual festival hosted each November at International House and elsewhere throughout the city. Featuring over 40 film screenings, speaker panels, receptions, and special events - PAAFF'14 promises to be the most successful yet!
Many of this year's events will feature guest appearances from today's most popular Asian American filmmakers, as well as actors and directors from around the world.
The complete schedule of screenings can be found at www.paaff.org, and descriptions of all events taking place at IHP can be found at www.ihousephilly.org/paaff
$0.00 - $8.00
A Decent Arrangement is the story of Ashok Khosla, an Indian-American copywriter, who journeys to India seeking an arranged marriage. After he encounters an American woman traveling through India and is set up with an Indian woman who unexpectedly captivates him, Ashok must navigate the complexity of cultural traditions and the leanings of his own heart. With subtle comedy and true-to-life drama, A Decent Arrangement shows us a side of India not commonly seen by western audiences and delivers an affecting story that resonates with those of us in search of our place in a changing world. Starring Adam Laupus and Indian film star Shabana Azmi. Directed by Philadelphia filmmaker Sarovar Banka Filmmaker Q&A after film
Upcoming Events
International House Philadelphia
Mon, December 1
25 to Life
Wed, December 3
Un Chant D'Amour / Jean Genet in Chicago
Sat, December 6
All Around This World
Tue, December 9
Exhumed Films presents WTF X-Mas!
Wed, December 10
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
Thu, December 11
The Conformist
Fri, December 12
Native Land
Sat, December 13
Rome, Open City (Roma Città Aperta)
Wed, December 17
The Short Films of David Lynch
Sat, January 3
All Around This World
A Decent Arrangement
Saturday, November 10 · 2:30 PM at International House Philadelphia


text:
Saratoga Springs House Rental Photos and Description
2 bedrooms, 1 bath, sleeps 4 comfortably
Relax and enjoy your stay at this comfortable 2-bedroom, lakeside retreat complete with a dock for your boat. This comfy, pet friendly home is ideal for the small family, or one or two couples looking to enjoy the wonders of Saratoga Springs. The master bedroom features a king-sized bed. The second bedroom has twin beds, but can be made up as a king. This property offers you all the conveniences of home including central air conditioning, washer, dryer, dishwasher, granite counter tops, and disposal unit. The cathedral ceiling and open living space overlooks one of the nicest parts of Saratoga Lake. Enjoy the two kayaks, swimming, boating, and fishing fifty feet from your front door. You'll be just minutes from all of the exciting attractions of Saratoga Springs including: the historic race track, performing arts center, museums, ballet, golf, great dining, and shopping on Broadway.
Outdoor features: Our cottage is located on one of the nicest parts of Saratoga Lake. It is on the east side, directly across from the Saratoga Lake Sailing Club. We have a 20 foot waterfront, with a deck and a dock you can use to tie up your boat. Three marinas and the state boat launch are within 3 miles of the house. Imagine sitting on the deck in an Adirondack chair, overlooking the lake, and sipping your morning coffee. Take a swim off the end of the dock to cool off, or paddle along the shore in our two kayaks. We'll provide the PFDs and paddles. The lake is a short walk (50 ft. across Route 9P) from your front door.
There is a grill for barbecues and a wooden deck right in front of the house. The front yard is fenced in and is perfect for children and pets.
Minutes from the excitement of Saratoga Springs: Our Saratoga Lake house is minutes from all of the excitement of Saratoga Springs. This is one of the most exciting vacation destinations in the Northeast. There are world class activities for all ages and interests. Our house is: 6.5 miles to the Saratoga Race Track, 6 miles to Yaddo Gardens, 8 miles to SPAC (Saratoga Performing Acts Center), 6 miles to the Saratoga National Battlefield Park. When you arrive you will find a detailed guide to many of the activities that make Saratoga Springs special...
Your comfortable home away from home: This home has been set up for your comfort and enjoyment. The cathedral ceiling and a wall of glass welcome you to the vista of the lake. Central air conditioning will keep you comfortable. Hardwood floors, granite counter tops, comfortable beds, and a well appointed kitchen make this a very comfortable home away from home. The stackable washer/dryer, and a dishwasher provide conveniences that will allow you more time to play. We'll provide the basics: paper towels, toilet paper, dishwasher soap and laundry detergent. There is Internet connectivity, and an LCD TV in the living room. The master bedroom has a king-sized bed and LCD television. The second bedroom also has an LCD TV. There is even a cozy loft that the kids might love.
- Suitability:
- children welcome
- non smoking only
- pets considered
- suitable for elderly or infirm
About Carl and June Muldner
We bought this property to be near our children and grandchildren, and use it often throughout the year as our home away from home.
Carl and June Muldner purchased this house in 2008
Why Carl and June Muldner chose Saratoga Springs
What could be nicer than a house on the lake?
What makes this house unique
We are close to all the action, yet far enough away to be able to enjoy the serenity of the lake.


text:
New to Typophile? Accounts are free, and easy to set up.
Dear All,
I'm a design student and today evening, while out with friends we had a discussion about fashion, graphic design, dance and whether this disciplines can be considered to be art and if so, then why? After all what is art? ¶A friend underlined that "everything around us is art"; while we are taught that a work of art not necessary has to have a function, nor it has to be understood. From another point of view can a gadget that was created for a specific task, without bearing aesthetics values be considered a work of art? Then again we have philosophers like David Hume who wrote that "beauty in things exists merely in the mind which contemplates them." ¶I'm in a dilemma and would like to know what are the attitudes of other creatives on this topic.
@ russellm
So then- what is the function of a work of art?
If you want a portrait of a loved one, you could just snap a picture- or you could hire a portrait photographer. What would the difference be? I am saying that there is a gap between what is needed and what is a work of art.
I have always self-identified as an artist, but I am paid to be a craftperson, so this issue has been quite pressing in my thoughts. If I am asked to provide the graphics for an ad with a fourty-five minute deadline- I will not be producing art, though what I provide will be servicable. Given a week, I might squeeze some art into the project. I think this distinction is important. Also, to make the point that art is not 'whatever I say is art', but some quality that transcends funtionality. Quality. I assert that insomuch as something is art, it has a quality that transcends its funtion.
Making a font legible is a craft.
Making a font beautiful is an art.
(and I am more and more interested in craft)
Didn't we just have a thread about the importance of a professional (expert) distinction between the meaning of "font" and "typeface"?
This discussion is decidedly quaint and amateurish.
But you might say, should the views of only those with professional qualifications or experience in art be taken seriously?
I would say yes—that's how it is with other disciplines.
Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion.
And you might consider yourself an artist, even though you are not a professional artist.
Designers are not, de facto, artists (although a few are also artists).
When an artist says "this is art", and the art community recognizes it as such, it must be art.
It's absurd to argue otherwise—with abstract, philosophical generalizations about the veracity of "whatever I say is art, is art".
When an artist says "this is art", and the art community recognizes it as such, it must be art.
Not really. There are many thousands of objects, that are called art by their creators and viewers, although they are banal. I just remember the guy with the doors on one of the last Documentas. Maybe his door construction was art (before it has crashed because of his inability and his defiance of statics), but it was banal. Maybe too banal for being art; it was pure shit, superfluous, a waste of material and a waste of energy for the transport. As I already said, if an artists explains, that he wants to symbolize anything, it is already suspicious. I am not interested, if someone wants to symbolize anything, but at most, if he symbolizes anything. On the other said – if you don't know, whether a certain object is art, it is not necessarily art, because you don't know, whether it is art. It is on you to classify the object, but not on a community. Art is not made for communities, but for the artist, although most artists want to have feedback. They don't do it primary for you, but for themselves. Art is the deep need of artists, but not just pastime, in which you symbolize a bit, or a job. It is not a definition, if it requires other persons for the classification. The definition can not be "Ask somebody else".
When an artist says "this is art"
And who's saying "this is an artist"? Who/what is an artist, anyway?
See outsider art. By this definition, anyone can be an artist. And don't forget about folk art.
John, I think there's a problem in defining art as the non-useful part of something. Causing delight or enjoyment or interest makes something useful because we want those experiences. In economics "utility" would include aesthetic pleasures. I'm not saying I agree with the economists' way of looking at these things, but I think that shows there's a problem with your definition. I think more is needed in describing or distinguishing the aesthetic experience, if you're going to avoid a circular definition.
@Arno: Not really.
@riccard0: …who's saying "this is an artist"?…
A certain sector of society—economically and socially—is composed of artists and those involved with their work.
Artists, who have studied at art schools, sell their work in art galleries with the help of art dealers, exhibit at art museums, receive arts council grants, are discussed in art magazines and art blogs, declare themselves as artists on their passports and tax returns—and you say that what they do for a living is not art?
and you say that what they do for a living is not art?
No, I say, that it is not necessarily art. You are talking about the market. I am talking about quality. And if the quality is on a very low level, it is not art. I remember, that I saw a chromed metal plate on the wall in a museum years ago. There were wholes in the plate, which looked like bullet impacts. What was the intention? I could and can only imagine one intention: There were no wholes in the origin work. And then a reviewer came and shot at the work, because it only was worth to shoot at it. But it neither was art before the shot nor it was after. It was simply expensive uncompostable bullshit. Bullshit cannot become an artwork, only someone claims, that it is art. Let's assume now, my interpretation of the artwork is the same as the interpretation of the artist. In this case the intention is not less banal.
Nick, I think that in theory people who come out of art school can be paid for being artists even if what they produce isn't actually art, or at least art of any aesthetic merit. I do agree with John that there is an aesthetic dimension of experience that doesn't depend on whether you fit into the bourgeois box of the market for art labeled as such.
People could mistake something for art and pay for it out of their confusion. I think there's a certain segment of the art market that is distorted by speculators, and that kind of thing can happen. As you have pointed out, part of modern art has been stretching the notion of what art is. I suspect that in some cases it has been been stretched beyond being of aesthetic value, and in retrospect the market will be seen as a speculative bubble that bursts. Has this already happened?
> And if the quality is on a very low level, it is not art.
It seems to me that many of the arguments and descriptions being bandied about (of which the quoted is only one example) seem intent on circumscribing Art in such a way that there can be no admittance of the concept of *bad* art.
With the exception of Nick's provocative definition.
@Arno: You are talking about the market.
I am talking about society.
@Kent: Nick's provocative definition.
Provocative? This is the definition of the establishment, the status quo, the government: if it says on someone's college degree that they're an artist, and on their passport and their income tax return, then they are legally an artist, and what they do for a living is art.
One may think that their work is a sham and the quality is terrible, and one might not like what modern art has become, but it is still art.
When an "artist" says "this is art" - this is art.
When someone else says "this is art" - this is also art.
The rest is just art economy.
Someone told me a few days ago, that art isn't comfortable for the contemporary society, so he can see some kind of (unplanned) change of places between 'culture' and 'art'. It's like the culture used to be something that we used to be with, and meanwhile the art inspired. Now everything has to 'inspire us' and just the art seems to be 'that usual and expectable thing'.
"Science fiction is anything published as science fiction."
– Norman Spinrad
(paraphrased from John W. Campbell, I think)
So far, I think Nick is closest to the truth. Hard to digest as it might be, one all encompassing theory (although not without its critics) is the institutional art theory, as formulated by George Dickie. Basically, an object can only be(come) art in the context of the institution known as "the artworld".
So anything can be art, as long as the context is legit. A typeface, a piece of poop.
That said I don't think it's particularly important for things I like/find beautiful and/or interesting to be art.
Nick — Sorry, not "yours", but the one you articulated; and "provocative" in the sense that it had been provoking reaction and objection in this thread, partly because it confronts those definitions that want to reserve the label Art as a value judgment.
Bill: John, I think there's a problem in defining art as the non-useful part of something. Causing delight or enjoyment or interest makes something useful because we want those experiences. In economics "utility" would include aesthetic pleasures.
In some branches of economics, yes, but that is because capitalism requires constant expansion of commodification: hence any experience, no matter how intimate eventually becomes a subject of economic activity. This kind of 'aesthetic utility' -- the 'usefulness' of providing aesthetic pleasure -- explains one aspect of the market for art objects (much of the art market, especially at the higher end, is clearly speculative investment), but it doesn't explain what art is as something that all human beings invest in the making of things, which is what interests me.
Perhaps it helps if I refine my definition like this: art is that quality of made things that appeals directly to the mental faculty for aesthetic engagement, and hence is extra-utile to any other functions that the things may have. The important point, for my perspective, is that art is an observable quality of what humans make, even if what is made is intended for quite quotidian purposes.
I've been advocating the Institutional definition (thanks for the word, Fredo), not because it's my singularly held personal view, but because it disproves philosophical theorizing as the be all and end all of art defining.
I have always thought that there are many ways to do most things, including art and defining it.
Shifting direction:
I'm thinking now about art in the sense of a class of made objects, as distinct from the aesthetic quality of human-made things in general. I suspect that this class contains too many sub-classes of both medium and genre to be easily defined other than in a nominalist way: art is everything that people choose to call art. Even so, I think this class of objects can be broadly considered in terms of the marriage of that aesthetic quality discussed above to a function of mental -- intellectual and/or emotional -- engagement. When I think about my own most intense experiences of works of art -- an afternoon spent at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, looking very carefully, for a long, long time at a small number of Rembrandt and Vermeer paintings -- what I am aware of is two things -- the aesthetic qualities (composition, colour, brushwork etc.) and the intellectual/emotional qualities (subject, sympathy) -- and then a third thing: the way in which these two are married in the object. Obviously, for different genres and media of art objects -- including literary and musical -- the particular qualities will vary in kind, but this sense of marriage of aesthetic and intellectual/emotional qualities remains, I think, one of the hallmarks of successful art. TS Eliot wrote of the moment, in writing poetry, when the poem came right with the sense of a box clicking shut, a perfectly manufactured fit of parts. I think a similar sense is enjoyed by the reader of the poem, or the viewer of a painting or the listener to a piece of music.
John, what do you make of the "elegant" mathematical solution to a problem?
Or the goal scored by spinarama or scissors kick? The slam dunk?
Are these "made things" that may have an aesthetic appeal, and hence be art?
Nick, the institutional definition appears to work neatly as a categorisation of the class of art objects. I think it is actually too narrow, in that it locates the definition of art within a particular econo-cultural phenomenon, 'the artworld', and ignores the many other contexts in which people all over the world, individually or collectively, call things art. The pure nominalist definition -- art is everything that people choose to call art -- seems to me both more generous and more accurate.
Again, though, these kinds of definitions work in terms of categorising art as a class of things; they don't contribute to an understanding of art as a quality that may be found in things that normally fall outside that class.
@Arno: You are talking about the market.
I am talking about society.
You are talking about a society, that accumulates its values by examining the market, a society, in which the initiation rite is the driver license examination. It is ridiculous to believe, that you are an artist just because you went to an art school. We are living in times, in which dull bastards like George W. Bush can become president of the United States. In other words, there is absolute no logical relation between your roles in the society and your competence anymore. Are certificates really all you need for estimating people? I simply met too many dense academics. I want to see, hear, smell, taste and touch art, but not certificates.
Nick, those are good questions. Note, however that I don't say that things are 'art' because they have aesthetic appeal; I say that art is that quality of things that has aesthetic appeal.
In the case of elegance in mathematics, I think there are two phenomena to consider: the elegance that is inherent in what the math describes, which is not something that the mathematician has made and hence not art -- it is, rather, like the aesthetic experience of nature --, and the elegance in the expression of the description, which I would say is art. Having spent some time working on mathematical typesetting and talking with mathematicians and scientists, I think there is very definitely an aesthetic awareness, even an aesthetic culture, that responds to the fittingness of expression to concept in the same way that one responds to the fittingness of expression to idea in e.g. painting.
In the case of beautiful athletic achievements, on the whole I would say that yes, the aesthetic quality may be a kind of art on the basis of practice and training. If I were somehow to succeed in placing a football in the net by throwing my legs over my head, that would be luck, and if it managed to be beautiful in the execution -- most unlikely! -- that would also be luck and, hence, its beauty would be the beauty of accident, not of intentional creation. Now the beauty of accident may accompany the beauty of art, and happy discovery may accompany painstaking craft in the making of anything, but for the artist -- and for the athlete as artist -- it is difficult to separate the momentary act from the months or years of preparation and experience. What may seem spontaneous might be the result of many, many hours of practice and training. I have a piece of calligraphy on my wall that took Gabriel Martínez Meave about five minutes to create, but its beauty is obviously the result of many years of practice and experience, so art is obviously not something that happens just within the act of creating an individual thing, but is built up over time so that it may be expressed in that thing; similarly, I'd say that the beauty we see in an athletic achievement may be the expression of developed skill. The fact that not all goals scored are beautiful -- some are merely functional; some may be clumsy or due to an fumble by the goalkeeper -- makes it clear that there can be an extra-utile, aesthetic quality to a goal, and insofar as this is the result of training and practice to be able to score goals in that way, I'd say it shows a kind of art.
Arno, the fact that culture and society are in the thrall of capital and corporations does not discount the Institutional definition of art.
We are social beings, and if our society says someone is an artist, that is the description we generally follow.
But if six, turned out to be nine, I don't mind.
It is ridiculous to believe, that you are an artist just because you went to an art school.
True, you also have to make a living at it.
However, it's not just art schools, but many other institutions in society.
You probably won't be considered a proper artist if you don't exhibit or sell your work—you will be considered an amateur.
If you have academic qualifications but struggle with a career, you are in a strange limbo.
But an education—in any field—is no guarantee of the classic job role. Many fine art graduates work in the art industry as non-artists, such as management, teaching, or curation. Or go into related fields such as fashion, film, or rock and roll. I went into advertising and design. If you apply for institutional grants, a certain kind of career trajectory will be expected, including peer recognition, i.e. exhibiting in peer-reviewed exhibitions.
I think the point of the "What is Art?" question, at least in philosophy, is to try to describe what is distinctive about the aesthetic experience, and the process of creating things or experiences that have aesthetic merit.
So John's description of art in terms of aesthetic experience, while sound, doesn't get at the issue. Nick's definition, though I'm sure useful for some purposes, doesn't doesn't address the question of understanding this dimension of human experience.
@ Nick
Quoting Reynir: It's art if I say so.
The phrase is true for me, if I say it. And it is true for him, if he says it. The phrase summarizes, what I wrote about the dictatorship of evaluation of art. He was very right with that phrase. It is irrelevant, what the society says, because in my opinion there is nothing, where an own opinion is more important than in case of the evaluation of art. Really, it already begins, when I am turning on the TV and stumble in one of these superstar casting shows. And the next artist is … – you probably cannot imagine, how much all this rubbish makes me sick. That's society. I give a **** on society with regard to the evaluation of art. Our society is a casting show.
Let me tell you, what has happened to my father round about ten years ago. I have grown up in an artist household. My father is sculptor since 45 years – with education at art academies (with a studentship) and education to stonemason. His works are classical, but with an archaic, in the later years often with an utopical touch. I cannot explain it better, especially not in English and partly, because I always was more interested in two-dimensional art and in music. But I can see the high quality of his work. (My relationship to my father is troubled. I don't have contact to him anymore.) One reason is, that there never was anything as important for him as his art – inclusively me. But he is a total DAU with regard to management. It begins with the condition of his toilette, which is unsuitable for potential buyers, and it ends with the inability to handle non-artificial paperworks without help. And so he did sell nothing for years. But he has offset the materials for his works or his atelier against tax. And then the taxman wanted to have a payment of tax arrears. Ground: "Because you did not sell anything in the last time, you are a hobbyist, but not an artist." And he lost the lawsuit. **** taxmen, **** Babbitts define, what art is. I remember, how I wondered, that he was relatively calm with regard to this infamy. If this had happened to me, I could have cut this **** taxman into little pieces and feed them to my cats. (Unfortunately I don't have cats.)
Art is whatever anyone chooses to say it is. It is a muddy meaniless term in and of itself. Every application or dicipline has a different definition each valid in its own area of influence.
Art is also whatever and "Artist" says it is, if he or she can convince a peanut gallery of rubes, that's even better.
I have a nasty feeling that I'm just restating something someone else said, you have my apologies. Honestly, this debate is much more fun with a room full of artists and other such visionaries.
@Bill: I think the point of the "What is Art?" question, at least in philosophy, is to try to describe what is distinctive about the aesthetic experience, and the process of creating things or experiences that have aesthetic merit.
That may have been true 150 years ago, but then along came Ruskin with the idea of social purpose, and 50 years later, Duchamp:
"Whether Mr Mutt made the fountain with his own hands or not has no importance. He CHOSE it. He took an article of life, placed it so that its useful significance disappeared under the new title and point of view—created a new thought for that object."
Duchamp removed aesthetics as a necessary quality of art. That was in 1917.
Many people felt that the cat should remain in the bag, but it was gone.
One of my favorite art theorist quotes (because of its typographic resonance) is by Hal Foster: "Each era is a palimpsest of emergent and residual forms."
Bill: I think the point of the "What is Art?" question, at least in philosophy, is to try to describe what is distinctive about the aesthetic experience, and the process of creating things or experiences that have aesthetic merit.
I know philosophers who have written on and taught courses in Aesthetics, and as far as I can gather they don't bother with 'What is Art?' as a question. As one of them has said to me 'Art is what artists make, and some of it is rubbish', i.e. the question of what art is is independent of aesthetic merit. The philosophical question of Aesthetics is 'What is beauty?'
So John's description of art in terms of aesthetic experience, while sound, doesn't get at the issue.
I talked about my personal experience, by way of example, when discussing art as a class of object, but I didn't use the term when describing what I think art is as a quality. I suppose we can only know that quality experientially, but I would have to consider that the quality of extra-utile beauty in a particular thing may be beyond my experience or, even, beyond the experience of anyone now living, but that such a quality may still be presumed and to have been experienced by the maker. Whenever we see evidently deliberately fashioned aspects of a thing that are not explained by utility, we must, I think, presume that they may constitute art, even if we do not find them aesthetically pleasing.
Nick's definition, though I'm sure useful for some purposes, doesn't address the question of understanding this dimension of human experience.
Nor does it, as he suggested, end or bypass philosophical debate: it just shifts the grounds of debate from aesthetics or categories to socio-economics.
Nick: Duchamp removed aesthetics as a necessary quality of art.
I read the whole episode differently. It isn't necessary to have seen the famous urinal in order to experience the 'new thought for that object'. The art is not the object, but Duchamp's performance, including the exhibition of the object, the invention of the artist Mr Mutt and, not least, the critical commentary (probably not written by Duchamp, but clearly orchestrated as part of the performance) that purports to explain the meaning of event. Beautifully done.
@John: Nor does it, as he suggested, end or bypass philosophical debate: it just shifts the grounds of debate from aesthetics or categories to socio-economics.
Socio-economics isn't philosophy.
@John: Beautifully done.
Curation as performance art?
I doubt that present day curators would like to be dragged down to that level.
John, the only book I've read on aesthetics, is R.G. Collingwood's Principles of Art, which is organized around the question "What is Art?" I think his discussions of discussions of philosophical idealism are a waste of time, but what he writes about art is quite wonderful and thought provoking. I'm sure he doesn't get it quite right, but it's a very interesting book.
>Duchamp removed aesthetics as a necessary quality of art.
Or did he succeed in selling something that wasn't art, but a statement about the politics and economics of the art market? Personally, such work has snob appeal and antiquarian value, but no artistic merit.
Art is something an artist compelled to make from notions within him/herself. That thing may be perceived as art or not by others. It may be a pile of donkey ßhit or or the most magnificently beautiful thing imaginable. It may be perceived as original or not. The REAL issue then is "What is an Artist"? First let's ask the Philosopher King. He will get back to you when he is done explaining himself.
Only Yogi Berra knows what art is. "It is what it is"
Urinals, amputations, starvation, and silence: Controversial art or just crap?
I don't which I like better. The silent orchestra, or the people who sat through it.
And don't forget about this guy.
That guys is one of my heroes.
...what about those guys?
Floor drawings from La Marche cave, Lussac-les-Chateaux.
Sigh. Nobody can tell ya what art is, but everybody will.
@ Nick
Duchamp removed aesthetics as a necessary quality of art.
Do you mess up aesthetics with beauty or picture and subject? Aesthetics are a necessary quality of art. If a self-appointed artist claims anything different, he only wants to cover his inaction and his vapidity.
It is taken from didierruef.photoshelter.com.
That's probably more documentation than art, but with regard to the aesthetics it doesn't matter. The image is beautiful, because it is very aesthetical. Because the photographer has taken the picture in that way. The image is very powerful and much more than beautiful. Assumed, it is not art – I am not sure, if it is – it doesn't matter, because the effect would be exactly the same as if it would be art.
In contradiction to that, this …
… is pure beauty, although the event is likewise not beautiful. As beautiful it is, it already is decorative. Nothing against decoration, but art is more than decoration. The message amounts to nothing more than beauty. I think, art is always more than pure beauty.
I think, it is unimportant, whether an object really is art. It is much more important, whether it could be art. Why? Because art does not need manuals. Art is speaking for itself, although it naturally makes use of the experiences of the viewers – as everything. Objects of art, that need their creators for interpretation, are suspicious. It is not the artist, that is important, but only the result of his work. Art does not exist for worshiping the artists, but their work. Art, that is satisfying the vanities of the artist only, is suspicious, because vanities are a interference factor already during the creation. It is not important, what the artist wants to say, if he wants to say anything, but the effect to me is important. Often people call themselves artists, just because the term sounds ennobling in their simple minds. But there is absolute no duty to believe in the claim to be an artist.
People through out history have "made things" that later have been identified as being "Art". There has never been a Litmus test for any of these "designations" or a way to prove the authority of any of those people who made the anointed judgments. Some of these are collected in museums, others are in peoples homes, some have been condemned by powerful conservative politicians and banished from public funded politically correct museumdom. There have been lists made of "surely these are art" and "surely these are not art." If we confine ourselves to agreeing on objects that we consider art or not, we will never agree, even over time. The Sistine Chapel ceiling was, for many years, "dignified and deified" by having blue drapes painted over the naughty parts in Michaelangelo's original. Centuries later, at great cost and with some damage, they were removed.
I much prefer the original nonjudgmental method. Just "make stuff" and put it out in the world.
Those who can "make art" will, those that can't will judge, and those that hear the judgments will disagree or agree on their validity. After that, others will ponder the collection of judgments in search of the definitive Litmus test and fail. This will be repeated ad infinitum.
And as the Litmus test was discovered by medieval alchemists, it is still the domain of alchemy, this quest for Art. Meanwhile people do art, and reshape the meaning of art. I am deeply impressed by Santiago Sierra's works. His art is not only unaesthetic but also unethical. He uses managing skills to create total waste; and the more waste he makes to the artworld, the more the artworld admires him.
In his entire life, Vincent Van Gogh sold just one picture.
His art is not only unaesthetic but also unethical.
And another one, who messes up beauty with aesthetics. With regard to ethics I would like to differentiate between a) the message, b) the material (inclusively beings capable of suffering) and c) the immediate tangible content / the first impression / the surface.
a) If the conscious projected message dominates the creation, I would call it grandstanding or political design, dependent from the content. If the creator additionally and consciously tries to get attention by shocking people, the probability, that his creative resources are limited, is very high. And as I already said, I am interested in art, but not in artists. I don't want to know about the personal antinomies of the artist, because I am not a psychiatrist, but I am interested in new perspectives of the antinomies of life – in profound aestheticised perspectives. The life of the artist is only interesting, because it is the basic requirement for continuing with making art. If the artist tries to catch up on his anal or urethral or prostatal or uteral phase with the help of me, I am mainly bored. I am really not fascinated by urinals, independent from their location and indepent from their hygienic condition. As I already told in a former message, my father's urinal is just a by-product of his creativity. He simply invests his time in making art instead of cleaning his closet.
b) If beings capable of suffering are misused, the creative process is immoral, but not necessarily the object of art.
c) If the portrayal of the violation of an tabu is superficial only without anything behind – if the violation of an tabu is the message, I am likewise bored or amused about the simplemindedness of the creator. But it is not immoral. The methods can be immoral, but not the artwork. The violation of tabus is often inevitable, but it is never the basic message of artworks. Creators with a message are suspicious, anyway. A message is already something, that is reflected, but I am not interested in the message of the creator, but in the impact of the creation. So, go and stick up your "message" to your ass, if your message amounts to nothing more than you. As Oscar Wilde wrote in the prologue of The Picture of Dorian Gray, "art is never morbid". And I am very sure, that Oscar Wild was able to see the beauty in the colors and structures and subtlety of mould. He did know the difference between self purpose and artistic necessity.
In his entire life, Vincent Van Gogh sold just one picture.
Yes. But that doesn't evince (Lol!), that objects, which are unrecognized as art during the entire lives of their creators, are unrecognized, just because the time is not yet ripe. Sometimes they are simply shit. And sometimes shit is recognized as art.
And another one, who messes up beauty with aesthetics.
I don't, I just use common terms.
Works that "break tabu" are usually stupid, I agree. But anyway, tabu can be a medium, like painting or sculpture, so why not to work with it? Why to paint sunsets instead of breaking tabus? A well broken tabu can be much better than a landscape.
Why to paint sunsets instead of breaking tabus? A well broken tabu can be much better than a landscape.
Tabus should not be broken just for dragging attention. Break a tabu, if you are driven to break it, or, if there is an artistic necessity to break it. But if you break it, skilfully break it. Don't break it, if you only envision potential reactions, which are not yours. And don't bore with banalities like masturbating or pissing in public. Don't bore me with your boredom and your artlessness. Don't mess up art with exhibitionism. The exhibition is only the platform, on which you get the feedback regarding to your creation. The quality of your creation does not depend from public (except the public is your material or an important part of the motor for a happening).
> John Hudson - TS Eliot wrote of the moment, in writing poetry, when the poem came right with the sense of a box clicking shut, a perfectly manufactured fit of parts. I think a similar sense is enjoyed by the reader of the poem, or the viewer of a painting or the listener to a piece of music.
I agree with the first part of this - there is a moment of completion. But when someone reads something I've written I hope the opposite happens, that the box clicks open, and the reader can take his own journey. The same is true of the music I write. I try to leave a scent, not a bottle of perfume.
christopher dean's 15 years at art college paid off,
as shown by his masterful escher meta-comment.


text:
Richard Merkt
|Richard Merkt
|New Jersey General Assembly District 25
|Former member
| Assumed office
| Current term ends
January 10, 2010
|Political party
|Corporate Counsel, Transistor Devices, Inc.
|Richard Merkt
Merkt currently serves as Vice President/General Counsel for Transistor Devices, Inc, as well as a private attorney. He has previously worked as a legislative aide for the Assembly from 1976-1982, 1986-1996, as well as a Special Assistant for the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs,[1]
Assemblyman Merkt speaks at the Monroe Twp Republican Club
Issue positions
Merkt's answers to the New Jersey State Legislative Election 2007 National Political Awareness Test are available. When asked his top priorities, he responded:
My first piority remains a fair share of State resources for Morris County. We pay Trenton more that $1 billion in income tax, yet get back under $160 million in school aid, shortchanging Morris schoolchildren and homeowners and driving up local property taxes.My other priority is to restore State finances back to a sound footing through reduced state taxes, debt and spending. New Jersey is lurching toward bankruptcy, and we must change course now.[2]
Committee assignments
- Appropriations Committee, New Jersey General Assembly
- Higher Education Committee, New Jersey General Assembly
- Intergovernmental Relations Commission
Sponsored legislation
- A149 Establishes limits on contributions county and municipal committees of a political party can give per election or per year to candidates and certain political committees.
- A152 Prohibits legislators from representing local government entities, or persons before local government entities.
- A162 Prohibits legislators from certain lobbying activities for two years after leaving office; provides additional civil penalties for violations.
- A648 Includes same sex marriages among marriages declared void; provides that New Jersey will not recognize marriages in other jurisdictions which are void in New Jersey.[3]
Campaign donors
The top 5 donors to Merkt's 2007 campaign were all professional organizations:[4]
- 1. NJ Coalition of Automotive Retailers/CAR PAC $3,000
- 2. NJ Assoc of Realtors $2,500
- 3. NJ Dental Assoc $2,100
- 4. New Jersey Education Association $2,000
- 5. NJ Business & Industry Assoc $1,500
External links
- Merkt for Governor 2009 campaign site
- NJ Assembly - Hon. Richard Merkt
- Project Vote Smart profile
- Assemblyman Merkt Facebook profile
- Campaign Contributions: 2009, 2007, 2003, 1999, 1997
|Political offices
|Preceded by
|New Jersey Assembly District 25
| Succeeded by
Anthony Bucco, Jr.
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text:
Placer 10-35 Foundation Announces Scholarships
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The Placer 10-35 Foundation, a non-profit association that assists Placer County peace officers in times of personal and organizational tragedy, is proud to announce the recipients of their first college scholarships.
The Cameron Buchanan Memorial Scholarship was established in honor of the 8-year-old son of Placer County Sheriff's Deputy Andrew Buchanan, who died of cancer. The recipient of the $1,000 scholarship was Cooper Sage from Del Oro High School. He will be attending Point Loma Nazarene University and studying nutrition & dietetics. The scholarship was offered to students interested in a career in law enforcement or nursing.
A second scholarship for $1,000 was awarded to Aman Uppal, who recently graduated from Del Oro High School in Loomis and will be attending UC Davis this fall. Aman would like to become a doctor of pediatric medicine. The third scholarship, for $500, was awarded to Courtney Smith, who also just graduated from Del Oro High School and who plans to attend UC Davis this fall to study nursing.
Submissions for the scholarships were solicited from the community.
The 10-35 Foundation is a non-profit fraternal & benevolent association. They also are available to assist the families of slain peace officers throughout the region. The foundation is committed to celebrating the mission of the law enforcement officer and providing assistance when the inevitable tragedy occurs in this dangerous profession. "10-35" is the police radio code for "officer needs back-up."
For more information about the Placer 10-35 Foundation, go to www.placer1035foundation.org
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KidsFirst Denim & Diamonds Appreciation EventCelebrating two weeks before the rest of the United States, KidsFirst, Child Abuse Prevention Council of Placer County, spent Thursday, November 13th in Thanksgiving mode
Placer County's Most Wanted: Johnnie Castro44 year old, Johnnie Castro, last known address of Roseville, CA, is currently being sought by authorities for Failure to register residence


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Tamborine Mountain Coffee
Villa della Rosa B&B serves organic coffee grown right here on Tamborine Mountain!
For the coffee connoisseur, we offer the best, organically grown, smooth Arabica coffee around. It has a light caramel flavour and natural sweetness due to Mt Tamborine's climate. Coffee beans are handpicked when they are really ripe and roasted gently to a medium roast.
This quality coffee compliments our delicious breakfast beautifully and will set the right mood for the rest of your day.
Mount Tamborine Coffee Plantation's own Gallery cafe also has good, stronger roasts and higher caffeine content coffee beans for you to choose from. If you liked your coffee at breakfast
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time, why not visit the coffee plantation and buy some to take home as well. You can enjoy good organic coffee with low food miles, supporting our local farmers – everybody wins!


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Pears Poached in Port
Giblet Gravy
Grilled Pork Loin with Honey and Port
Roast Turkey
Port Wine Sauce (for Filet Mignon or Prime Rib)
Roast Beef Tenderloin with Port Sauce
Wine Jelly
Goat Cheese Salad with Cherries & Port Dressing
Seared Duck Breast with Cherries and Port Sauce
Cranberry Sauce with Tawny Port
Garlic and Thyme Roast Beef with Port Jus
Stuffed acorn squash
Plums in Port
Winter Greens with Cranberry-Port Vinaigrette
Blue Cheese, Port, And Walnut Spread
Poached Pears in Shiraz And Port
Jellied Cranberry And Port Sauce
Melon with Port And Mint
Poached Egg Salad with Tawny Port Dressing
Leek and Potato Soup W/stiliton, Port, And Sage L
Discover new recipes, add your own, create grocery lists and plan your menus.


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- Open by Appointment Anytime!
- Road Trip...Sign up for El Tour de Tucson!
This weeks Mad Duck Mobile Schedule
Wednesday 11/ 19 - Wednesday Night Cross- Irving (Dallascx.com) at 06:30 pm
Saturday 11/22 - Tour de Tucson
Sunday 11/23 - Mad Duck Coffee Ride - Mad Duck Parking Lot - NEW Time 09:00 am
**text 817-714-9620 to arrange for parts/service or bike pickup at any of these events...Mad Duck Mobile, bringing service to you so that you can ride more!
Welcome to a the All New Mad Duck!
We know your cycling is important to you! And now a service that is designed to allow you more time to do what you love …. More time to ride! Mad Duck is bring the bike shop to you!
Tired of waiting in line behind a 'Walmart' bike to get your Moots checked in? Having to listen to someone explain in detail how badly their Huffy shifts, when you are late for a race and just need a quick wheel true?
One on one sales and service, at our place or yours … simply book an appointment and we will take care of you the way you deserve … focused one on one attention!
We are open ANYTIME you want us to be…simply book an appointment online or text 817-714-9620 and BAM…we are open!! (Regular Show Room Hours Tuesday-Friday 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, Saturday 10-5)
Service, Convenience, More Time to Ride. It's that simple.
Service: It does not matter what type of bike you have or what type of service you need. Whether it is fixing a tire, performing a tune-up, or installing a bike component or accessory purchased online, we feel honored to work on your bike. Our Technicians are happy to talk to you about the repairs and service as they work on your bike. As a team, we are committed to bringing you the very best service experience in the bicycle industry.
Convenience: It cannot get easier. Just schedule online or call or text 817-714-9620 and the Mad Duck Cyclery mobile bicycle shop will come to you with a full complement of parts and accessories. We will do our best to accommodate your schedule and visit your home, office or any location in our service area that you designate. If you prefer we will even pick up your bike, repair it at our facility and return it to you at a convenient time.
More Time to Ride: As cycling fanatics ourselves, we understand how difficult it is to squeeze in a ride with your hectic schedule. That's precisely why we created Mad Duck Mobile Bike Shop! The Mad Duck Mobile Bike shop means more time to ride, less time driving your bike around town and less down time!
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Mad Duck Showroom – One on One
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Showroom Hours Tuesday-Friday 11-6, Saturday 10-5 or ANYTIME by appointment!!
We strive to bring you the best bikes in each category, built by manufacturers that share our view of the soul of a bicycle. Riding one of these bikes not only makes you a better rider, it inspires you to ride! All of our bikes come with that giddy feeling of pure joy you felt as a child when you first learned to ride.


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The par-3 16th hole proved monumental. DiMarco left himself an 18-footer for birdie while Woods jacked his eight-iron long and left of the green, leaving himself little green to get to a tucked pin. His only play was to throw his pitch onto the frighteningly fast slope high above the hole and hope the ball funneled close enough to leave a realistic chance at par. As Woods's caddie, Steve Williams, said later, "We were just trying to escape with a three."
Woods picked his chip beautifully from an awkward lie against the second cut of rough, and the ball skipped onto the green, made a hard right turn and began inching down the slope, breaking toward the cup. The ball stopped on the precipice of the hole and after a beat or two tumbled in for a birdie. Woods's play-by-play: "All of a sudden it looked pretty good. And all of a sudden it looked really good. And then it looked like how could it not go in, and how did it not go in, and all of a sudden it went in. So it was pretty sweet."
Added DiMarco, "You expect the unexpected, and unfortunately it's not unexpected when he's doing it."
Now up by two, Woods gave a shot right back by driving into the trees on 17 and making bogey, setting the stage for the drama on the 18th hole and the ensuing playoff. After Woods had at last vanquished DiMarco, he rushed to the back of the 18th green where his mom, Tida, got the first hug, as usual, and then he planted a long, sloppy smooch on Elin. Noticeably absent among the delirium was Woods's father, Earl. A series of health problems has curtailed Earl's travel in recent years, and now he's battling cancer that began in his prostate but has spread aggressively. He rallied to make the trip to Augusta, but he was not up to navigating the crowds at the course, choosing instead to watch the tournament on TV at a rented house. In an emotional speech at the green jacket ceremony, Tiger dedicated the victory to Earl.
this palpable love between father and son brought the tournament full circle, because over the first two rounds the Nicklaus family had provided the emotional center. Jack had said last year that 2004 might be his last Masters, but his semigoodbye was overshadowed by Arnold Palmer's farewell. Nicklaus already was pondering whether to return this year when a family tragedy propelled him back to Augusta. On March 1 his 17-month-old grandson, Jake, drowned in a hot tub, and Jack and his grieving son Steve withdrew to the place where they are most comfortable showing their feelings, the golf course. A by-product of these 18-hole therapy sessions was that the old man felt his game coming back, and when Steve suggested that one more Masters would be a good diversion for the Nicklaus clan, Jack was happy to oblige.
On a layout that has grown much too long for a 65-year-old, Nicklaus shot a very respectable 77-76 and thrilled the crowd by stiffing a six-iron on his last hole on Saturday. Tears streamed down the great man's face as he took the final steps of his 45-year journey at Augusta.
Nicklaus will be at St. Andrews in July for another final hurrah on the Old Course, where he won two British Opens. Woods, too, will have good vibes when he arrives at the home of golf. At the 2000 British Open he lapped the field, winning by eight strokes, setting a tournament scoring record (19 under) and failing to hit into a single bunker over 72 holes. Woods will be the prohibitive favorite, and he can arrive with Grand Slam dreams if he first prevails in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, where he tied for third in 1999. With its turtleback greens, No. 2 is a shotmaker's delight that puts a premium on a creative short game. Sounds a bit like Augusta National, no?
On Sunday evening Woods deflected talk of a Grand Slam run. His mind was elsewhere. At the green jacket ceremony he told a hushed crowd, "This win is not for me, it's for my dad. It's been a difficult year, he's not doing very well. He made the trek to Augusta, but he was unable to come out and enjoy this." He stopped to gather himself.
"This is for Dad," Woods said, and now the tears were coming fast and furious, and he was gasping for breath. "Every year I've been lucky enough to win this tournament, my dad has been there to give me a hug. I can't wait to get back to the house and give him a big bear hug."
This was the logical end to a topsy-turvy day. After nearly giving away the Masters, Woods couldn't help but grin on the 72nd green. Now, in victory, he was crying when he should have been smiling again.


text: Relationship Abuse & The Workplace A Training for University of Maine Supervisors and Responders Presented by the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Spruce Run, and the Safe Campus Project Workshop Agenda Dynamics & Effects of Relationship Abuse Understand the Employee's Experience Relationship Abuse Policy Review Community Resources The Workplace Response – See It, Say It, Plan For It Case Scenarios 2 What Is Relationship Abuse? A pattern of coercive and/or abusive behaviors that serves to exercise control and power in an intimate relationship, and can be physical, sexual, psychological, verbal and/or emotional. Occurs between people of all racial, economic, educational, and religious backgrounds. Occurs in heterosexual and same-sex relationships, between married and unmarried partners, current and former partners, and between other family and household members. 3 Maine Statistics 31% of American women report being physically or sexually abused by an intimate partner during their lifetime (Commonwealth Fund Survey, 1998) In 2004, over 14,000 people received services from the domestic abuse projects of the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence; 97% are women and children Domestic abuse homicides continue to account for 50% or more of all homicides in Maine 4 Domestic Violence Homicides in Maine 1990- 2005 (intimates, family members, & bystanders) Domestic Violence Homicides 1990-2005 (All) 100 90 80 70 60 Women (93) 50 Children (36) 40 Men (28) 30 20 10 0 Women (93) Children (36) Men (28) 5 Intimate Partner Homicides in Maine 1990-2005 Intimate Partner Homicides 1990 - 2005 (counting intimate partners only) 100 80 60 Women (82) 40 Men (8) 20 0 Women (82) Men (8) 6 Domestic abuse doesn't stay at home when a victim or abuser reports to work. 7 Key Findings – Offender Study (n=124) 78% were using workplace resources including company car to check up, harass, and threaten 75% of supervisors knew of offender's arrest but only 16% reminded that DV is crime; 18% bailed out offender 74% reported easy access to the intimate partner's workplace 8 Key Findings – Offender Study 48% reported difficulty concentrating due to perpetration 19% of offenders had a workplace accident or near miss 15,221 hours of work time were lost to Maine employers due to arrests of 70 men in study, equaling over $200,000 9 Key Findings – Survivor Study (n=120) 98% of domestic abuse survivors reported difficulty concentrating due to domestic abuse 83% were harassed at work by abuser with phones 78% reported being late to work as a result of the abuse 47% assaulted before work 10 Key Findings – Survivor Study 46% reported abuser stalked at workplace 23% of abusers violated order by contacting victim at work 13% reported abuser assaulted at work 60% of domestic violence victims/survivors lost their job (43% fired, 57% quit) 11 A victim's job is a particular target for the abuser because it is both a real and perceived loss of control 12 OSHA Requirements OSHA requires employers to keep a workplace free from recognized hazards (General Duty Clause 5(a)(1)) OSHA standards require an emergency action plan to cover such emergencies as external threats to employees, such as workplace violence (Standard 1910.38 (a)(1)) 13 Leave Time Employment Leave for Victims of Violence – Maine law Employers must grant reasonable and necessary leave from work if an employee or employee's daughter, son, parent, or spouse is a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. 26 MRSA § 850 14 Unemployment Benefits Unemployment Compensation Disqualification Clause An individual who voluntary leaves work may not be disqualified from receiving benefits if the leaving was necessary to protect the claimant from domestic abuse and the claimant made all reasonable efforts to preserve the employment. 26 MRSA §1193(1)(A)(4) 15 Unemployment, cont. Unemployment Compensation Misconduct Clause Misconduct may not be found solely on actions taken by the employee that were necessary to protect the claimant or an immediate family member from domestic violence if the employee made all reasonable attempts to preserve the employment. 26 MRSA §1043(23)(B)(3) For more information contact: Maine Unemployment Benefits Division at (207) 287-3805 or an Unemployment Call Center at 1-800-593-7660 16 17 Risk Analysis Stay Leave Killed Safety Planning Injured Support system Lose job Family, friends, clergy, coworkers Child abuse Hotline – Support group Lose children Money – Job Depression Safe place to go Lose self-esteem Protective Order Poverty Police Accurate information Illness Transportation Substance Abuse Childcare Documents 18 Domestic Abuse Is Not: Loss of control Abusers choose various tactics over the course of time to assert and maintain control over their specific targets Anger An emotion – not an action Substance abuse An additional, exacerbating problem Personal, financial, or work stress Common experiences – resulting actions vary widely Bad childhood Common experiences – resulting actions vary widely Poor communication skills Abusers often communicate with great clarity 19 Spruce Run Services 24-hour helpline Confidentiality Crisis intervention Volunteer programs Safety Planning School-based Advocacy education Support groups Specialized training Emergency shelter Consultation Placements for pets Public awareness & Transitional housing education Children's services Collaborative projects Referral to Batterer 24 hours call: Intervention Projects 1-800-863-9909 20 Rape Response Services 24-hour helpline Volunteer programs Crisis intervention School-based Safety Planning education Advocacy Specialized training Confidentiality Consultation Public awareness & education 24 hours call: Collaborative 1-800-310-0000 projects 21 Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Free resource for faculty, staff, graduate students, retirees, and household members (6 sessions/year) Confidential Assessment, short term counseling & referral Management consultation For confidential appointment: call 581-4014 or 1-877-EAP-3315 22 Safe Campus Project Free confidential resource for anyone affiliated with U Maine Support, information, and referrals regarding relationship abuse Available during business hours Training and consultation Contact: 581-2515 www.umaine.edu/safecampusproject www.umaine.edu/safecampusproject/ RA&WorkplacePolicy.htm 23 The Executive Order 25FY04/05 Governor John E. Baldacci issued an Executive Order that recognizes the State's obligation as an employer to provide special assistance to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. 24 View the Relationship Abuse and the Workplace Policy at: www.umaine.edu/safecampusproject/ RA&WorkplacePolicy.htm View the List of Responders at: www.umaine.edu/safecampusproject/ RA&WorkplaceRespondersList.htm 25 Policy Goals 1. Create a supportive workplace Provide assistance to victims: male & female Provide assistance to, and/or disciplinary action against perpetrators 2. Offer training on recognizing and responding to relationship abuse 3. Send a clear message that domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking will not be tolerated in the University workplace 26 Confidentiality The University will maintain the confidentiality of an employee's disclosure unless individual : signs a release of information, indicates threat of harm to self or others, indicates abuse of minor or elder; or there is a valid court order that requires disclosure If further disclosure is necessary, and whenever possible, notice will be given to the affected employee 27 Responder Role 1. Support and assist individuals to: Weigh workplace options and associated risks Discuss possible next steps Access information about available resources and services 2. Consult and share disclosures with Safe Campus Project Coordinator 3. "If there is imminent danger to anyone in the workplace, the Responder will notify UMaine Police." 28 Co-Workers' Role Consider contacting a Responder to discuss the concern Offer help not judgment 1. Refer victim to Safe Campus, EAP, law enforcement, Spruce Run 2. Encourage victim to seek assistance regarding personal safety issues 29 The University's Response and Assistance to Victims 1. Refer to appropriate services: Safe Campus, EAP, law enforcement, Spruce Run 2. Assess need for leaves of absence, changes in work environment or hours. Provide information about benefits, insurance, leaves, changing pay arrangements, unemployment benefits, etc. 3. If any person is suspected to be at immediate risk in the workplace, contact UMaine Police. 4. Engage in collaborative workplace safety planning 30 Performance Issues "When an employee confides that job performance or a conduct problem is caused by relationship abuse, referrals and assistance should be offered in accordance with this policy." "Nothing in this policy alters the authority of the University to establish performance expectations, counsel employees, impose discipline, reassign duties, place an employee on leave, or take other action as it deems appropriate." 31 Response to Abusive Employees 1. The University encourages perpetrators to voluntarily seek assistance from EAP and or a local Batterer Intervention Program 2. If any person is at immediate risk in the workplace, or know or suspects that someone is, s/he should contact UMaine Police 3. Supervisors make disciplinary decisions on case by case basis in consultation with Human Resources 32 Cautions to Abusive Employees Employees may be subject to disciplinary action for the following behaviors: On duty: using University resources to commit an act of relationship abuse Off duty: abuse that has a nexus to one's employment with the University (determined on a case-by-case basis) 33 Court Orders Employees who have court action against him/her must disclose to UMaine Police any order for protection from abuse or harassment, or any condition of bail or probation that includes: 1. Conditions that may interfere with the employee's ability to perform job duties; or 2. Prohibit/limit contact with other members of the University community e.g. employees, students); Failure to disclose the above may result in disciplinary action. 34 When an Employee is Abusive Concerned co-workers should speak with a Responder or Human Resources personnel -- NOT confront the co-worker directly Responders should share the disclosure and consult with Safe Campus Project Coordinator 35 Resources for Abusers Batterers' Intervention Program (BIP) The Acadia Hospital Telephone: 973-6100 Toll Free: 1-800-640-1211 http://acadiahospital.org 36 The Workplace Response to People Affected by Abuse: See It Say It Plan For It! 37 See It! Things you may notice Unexplained bruises Distracted Repeated, upsetting phone calls Anxious, upset, or depressed Fluctuation in quality of work Absenteeism or tardiness Fluctuation in availability 38 See It! Things you may notice Needs to leave right on time Partner visits work a lot Inappropriate clothing/heavy makeup Becomes isolated from co-workers Concerns about money Chronic fatigue 39 Make No Assumptions These things may be signs of many things It is important to make no assumptions Reaching out invites disclosure and an opportunity to be helpful 40 Say It! How to Talk to Employees Your role is to listen, facilitate workplace safety planning, and refer to a help source Your role is not to become overly involved and be that person's counselor 41 Consider the Setting Ensure you have adequate time Have conversation in a private place to protect confidentiality Be prepared 42 Remember… Do not pressure employee to disclose what is happening As appropriate, review workplace options and any next steps Offer referrals Respect employees' choices Protect confidentiality Utilize resources: Safe Campus Coordinator, Spruce Run, Rape Response, EAP and Human Resources Take care of yourself 43 Start a Conversation: Be Supportive "I'm concerned about you. I noticed how anxious you were when you came in this morning. What can I do to help?" "You've been so distracted lately, and have been upset when you get here in the morning. I'm here if you need to talk." 44 Reference What You See "I've noticed you get a lot of phone calls that seem to upset you. I'd like to help. What can I do?" "I'm concerned about you. You're always so organized, but the last couple of times we've worked together you've been so distracted. I'm here to support you if you need to talk about anything." 45 Respond to What You Hear "I'm sorry this is happening to you." "You sound scared, worried, overwhelmed…" "What can I do to help?" "There are places you can call to talk about the things you are going through." "Calling Spruce Run has been helpful for others, perhaps it would help you, too." "Do you know about the University's policy? There may be options available that would help you." 46 Helpful Questions "Have you talked with your supervisor, Spruce Run, Safe Campus…?" "You seem reluctant to talk with them. What stops you from contacting them?" "Would you like me to go with you to ____?" "Are there particular things you would like the University to do for you?" "Are there particular things you would not like the University to do?" 47 Workplace Safety Planning A strategy developed in collaboration with the person affected by abuse to identify and implement workplace safety options 48 Workplace Safety Basics Workplaces can put security measures in place to increase employee safety, as outlined in policy Abused employee's knowledge of abuser should drive workplace safety plan Be aware that leaving an abuser is the most dangerous time for the person being abused Refer to Spruce Run for personal safety planning assistance 49 Workplace Safety Plans Sometimes are simple and invisible Sometimes are extensive, developed collaboratively with the employee and: Spruce Run Safe Campus Project UMaine police EAP Supervisor Human Resources Coworkers 50 What safety and support measures might help someone in your workplace? 51 Workplace Support Options Referrals Time off, flex time, or shift change Information regarding employment benefits Information regarding changing insurance or pay arrangements Collaborative planning Privacy and time for calls to get help 52 Workplace Safety Options Cell phones Providing parking close to building or police escort to vehicle Develop protocol for what to do if abuser should appear at work site Explore alternate work sites 53 Workplace Safety Options Review employee's exposure in the building Prevent employee from sitting with back to doors, lobbies, or street level windows Identify exits Include potential barriers in work space such as desks, bookcases, furniture Explore possibility of a PFA with workplace on the order 54 Case Scenarios 1. What, if any, "red" flags do you see? 2. What is the person seeking from you? 3. What additional information do you need? 4. What would your initial response be? 5. What support and safety options, if any, might be considered in this situation? 55 Thank you! Carey Nason, Safe Campus Project firstname.lastname@example.com 581-2515 David Scheidt, Office of Human Resources david,email@example.com 581-2365 Francine Stark, Spruce Run Association firstname.lastname@example.com 945-5102 – administration 56


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TESOL English Language Bulletin
- States expanded availability and uses of student K-12 data, new report says 24 November 2014
- International teachers fill district shortages 24 November 2014
- 6 trends improving K-12 learning experiences 24 November 2014
- Survey: English makes big strides in China 24 November 2014
- Annandale High School theater program opens doors for English language learners 24 November 2014
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Tech-Break: Running Dictations
After sharing so much tech-related information, I thought it might be time for a short break. In this post I'll just explain a fun tech-less classroom activity called Running Dictations that I learned from one of my coworkers in China. It … Continue reading
Posted in TESOL Blog Tagged as classroom, classroom practice, ELT activity, ESL dictation, tara arntsen 10 Comments


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Vaxcel Lighting MN-CHU012TZ 5 Light Chiasso Mini Chandelier
Product Description
Chiasso Mini Chandelier.
- Crystal drops.
- 16' Lead wire and 6' of chain included.
|120 volt
Chandeliers come in a wide variety of shapes and styles. More common types include Candle-Style, Crystal, Williamsburg, and Wrought Iron among others.
|Specialty Chandelier Type
|Candle-Style Chandelier, Crystal Chandelier
Bulb sold separately
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Vaxcel Mini chandelier
By Anthony G. from North Babylon, NY on Mar 11, 2014
Casual Do-It-Yourselfer
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A Gem
By Dr Arnold M. from New York, NY on Jun 07, 2013
I hung this in a large foyer of an apartment that I am selling to give some "foyer appeal". It is absolutely stunning, like jewels hanging from the ceiling. The amber colored beads pick up the light beautifully. It looks way more expensvie than it is.
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