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The Purpose of the United States
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Over the weekend I tweeted, somewhat provocatively, that the purpose of the British Empire was to enable Darwin to write and publish Origin of Species. Obviously this is a tongue-in-cheek statement, not meant to be taken entirely seriously. For one thing, it's science-chauvinist, for it ignores all other kinds of accomplishments. Like many such statements, however, it has serious underpinnings. It addresses an important question, one that I believe all societies should ask of themselves on a regular basis. Boiled down, it can be stated as, "by what deed(s) will we be remembered?"
Twenty years ago, I might have argued that the United States would be remembered for the Apollo Program. Now, though, I have my doubts. Apollo now seems like a one-off, a fluke. It managed to do some magnificent science, though the Apollo scientific program was hardly comprehensive or even systematic. That we didn't fly a lunar polar orbiter until the 1990s, for example, now seems bizarre, inexplicable. Everything about Apollo – for example, the restrictive Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous mode decision – was tailored to achieving its overriding geopolitical goal of an American on the moon ahead of the Russians and before the end of the 1960s. A comprehensive map of the geochemistry of the lunar surface just wasn't necessary for that.
Now I argue that 1000 years from now playfully provocative science-chauvinists will say that the United States existed to accomplish the early reconnaissance exploration of our home, the Solar System. Depending on the kinds of exploration missions we decide to fly in the next few decades, they might drop the qualifier "early." We need more orbiters, landers, and sample-return missions. We need to characterize the ice giants and more asteroids, visit some KBOs, dive into the Sun, and splash around in the oceans and lakes of the Outer Solar System.
I like to think that we might, for some reason that seems good at the time, get really, really ambitious, so that they'll say that our purpose was to launch the first probe to another star. I like to imagine us launching an ultralight, relativistic "starwisp" probe by 2050 that reaches its goal – the five-planet system of Tau Ceti, anyone? – by 2101. Tau Ceti, a star four-fifths as massive as our own, is located a mere 11.9 light-years away. It's the nearest single Sun-like star. Tau Ceti In This Century – now there's a kick-ass slogan for you.


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It may be the most overworked expression of existential crisis in the language, a phrase quoted so often it has become little more than a flippant cliché, and yet, to be or not to be: that really is the question at the heart of A Serious Man. The latest Coen brothers film opened recently to predominantly good reviews, and it certainly went over well with the crowd I was in the other night. But, in spite of all the laughs it got, it's hard to say just how much irony is implied in the title. A lot of the laughter I heard rippling around me had a bemused, nervous undercurrent, the kind of chuckle you give when you aren't sure if laughter is the expected response but still wish to signal you're in on any joke that may have been intended.
Like much of Joel and Ethan Coen's best work, A Serious Man mingles pathos and levity, not in order that the one should undercut or relieve the other, but to reveal just how fine is the razor's edge between the two. Incongruous humour is one of the brothers' favourite devices for keeping an audience off balance, and when the pretense of straight comedy is suddenly dropped, the viewer is bracingly made to see how brutal outrages and genuine pathos are sometimes born of unlikely beginnings. You might call this the reductio ad absurdum school of black comedy, where the dangerous potential of an amusing premise doesn't fully reveal itself until after you've taken the hook. Such abrupt shifts in tone can register like a sucker punch to the solar plexus. If they don't morally implicate you for finding humour in what may turn out to be no laughing matter, then they at least make you wonder what you found so damn funny in the first place.
This is part of what's going on in A Serious Man. It doesn't make sense to describe the movie in terms of plot, since that would imply a cause-and-effect chain of events set in motion by characters acting deliberately. Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a middle-aged suburban Jew who teaches physics at a local college in the '60s, is the quasi protagonist of the film, if not of his own destiny. Gopnik is an emasculated, ineffectual milquetoast, a spear-carrier in the ugly melodrama of his own life, and yet a man more to be pitied than scorned. His failure to intervene in the events of his life — a crumbling marriage, a household off its axis, a controversy that threatens his job — is not merely the result of a deficit of will, for of what use is free will in a universe ruled by chance? How can our actions be meaningful if we have limited or no control over their consequences — if they have no consequences at all? (Early in the film, a student attempts to bribe Gopnik for a passing grade. "Actions have consequences" is the professor's rebuke. "Yes. Often," says the student in clipped monotone. "Always! Actions always have consequences!" Gopnik insists, pounding his desk as if to persuade himself as much as the student seated opposite.) And what if — to echo one of the movie's repeated refrains — we've done nothing at all and yet find ourselves squarely in the path of the tornado? What if action and inaction lead to precisely the same outcome: who's to say this or that is the better course?
In many ways this is familiar terrain for the Coens. Time and again in their films, blind chance intrudes into the lives of characters and capsizes the notion of a world in which everything happens for a reason. As Anton Chigurh, the coin-flipping mercenary of No Country for Old Men, observes from behind the barrels of his shotgun: "If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?" Of what use is any rule, for that matter, when we are just a coin toss away from a confrontation with the forces of random chance that a character like Chigurh represents?
Larry Gopnik is very much the plaything of such dark powers, and the Coens surely mean for us to see our own smallness in him. Gopnik is so preoccupied with the "uncertainty principle" that he dreams of chalking up an acre of blackboard with a complex proof of the theorem. ("It proves we can't ever really know what's going on. So it shouldn't bother you. Not being able to figure anything out.") And yet, the obscure mathematical notation closely resembles his simpleton brother's nonsense scribblings in the so-called "Mentaculus," a small journal which the latter describes as a "probability map — of the universe." It's not altogether clear how seriously we should take Gopnik's embrace of (or capitulation to) the principle of uncertainty: it seems equally a craven refusal of responsibility and a philosophic acceptance of the absurd. Gopnik has allowed himself to be written to the margins of his own life, but though he has done nothing either to deserve or avoid what he gets, what should one do if the consequences are unpredictable? What does the universe owe us apart from whatever luck happens to be our portion? As one of the rabbis who Gopnik consults points out, "Hashem doesn't owe us anything. The obligation runs the other way."
With his life unravelling in his hands, Gopnik seeks stability in his Jewish heritage, but its rituals and traditions are presented as arid, cryptic, or mindlessly rote. Yet his search for meaning is never completely ironized, and often quite poignant. In the Coens' The Man Who Wasn't There, the protagonist attempts to take control of his destiny with disastrous consequences; Gopnik submits to circumstances and ultimately recovers some semblance of his old life — for what it's worth. But, as the last shot of the film makes clear, there's still no getting out of the path of the tornado. It would seem the Coens have answered Hamlet's question as sensibly as possible. To be or not to be? More like damned if you do, damned if you don't. So what are you laughing at?
(Photo courtesy of Wilson Webb/Focus Features)
Happy Halloween, once again, one and all! This year I ask that we consider some choice old horror anthologies, in whose pages lurk all sorts of scares and shocks. The horror tradition in comics has long been dominated by a model developed by the EC comics company in the 1950s, whose titles like Tales from the Crypt featured cornball "hosts" (the Cryptkeeper and his ilk), pun-filled narration, surprise twist endings (the werewolf was his brother!), wide-eyed bigfoot cartooning, and endless! exclamation! points! I admire EC and its murderer's row of artists as much as the next comics reader, but our attentions now turn to those collections that worry the boundaries of the EC-style anthology, or pounce outside of them altogether.
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In 1962, late in his career, kiddie comics master John Stanley briefly turned his hand to the horror genre. The indispensable Stanley Stories blog has lately been posting his strips from Ghost Stories and Tales from the Tomb in their entirety. The typically incisive commentary over there covers much of what I would want to say about these, frankly, kind-of-insane comics, so I urge you to click through.
I'd like to emphasize, though, just how much Stanley got away with, thanks to working under the aegis of Dell Comics, the innocuous, kids-only publisher of titles like Donald Duck, Little Lulu, and Fairy Tale Parade — atypical fare for the gore-and-guts set. Dell's spotless G-rated record allowed it to publish beyond the censorial eye of the Comics Code Authority, who in the mid-'50s had neutered or foreclosed upon bloodthirsty troublemakers like EC and its imitators. Stanley's first stabs at horror were allowed to revel in threats of dismemberment, ghastly suicide, child-killing monsters, parents devoured by malevolent forces, and a scissors-wielding grandma who wants to knit you.
These ghost stories are another order of spooky altogether, the kind that confounds expectation, logic, and often comprehension. Stanley's uncredited collaborators stiffly delineate these dreamlike tales, and though the results are sometimes crude, they are always very far from inept. Underlying every panel and every page is Stanley's visual sophistication, which grants even the most wooden or unpracticed renditions the stark and primal quality of nightmare.
When we break through the muddle of the story to those final, gigantic panels, the effect is authentically startling, if absurd. We come forcibly out of the tale as though we're waking up in a cold sweat, breathless, puzzled as to what our fevered brains have conjured up. Like, the psychiatrist's head is a quilt?
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Six issues of Skull appeared between 1970 and 1972. Gary Arlington, proprietor of the renowned San Francisco Comic Book Company, came up with the bare bones idea for a horror anthology in the EC tradition; artist Greg Irons fleshed it out, and underground comics had another addition to its onslaught of horror books. Most of Skull featured the grim crosshatching grotesquerie of Irons and Jack Jackson, as well as the first UG work from the smooth and heavy metal-friendly pen of Richard Corben, among others. Some less out-and-out examples of the genre formed part of the scene, too, though I'm less familiar with them, having only caught the barest glimpses of Slow Death, or Insect Fear or, most tantalisingly, the gruesome cute brut of Rory Hayes's Bogeyman (send in your unwanted copies c/o The Walrus).
Skull is worth singling out if only because it distinguished itself, late in the series, by taking EC's literary aspirations and turning them inside out. So where EC's go-to pulp auteur was the square and kind of respectable Ray Bradbury, the Skull crew gave over two entire issues to groovy, eldritch H.P. Lovecraft adaptations. True, the influence of Lovecraft and his Cthulhu Mythos in literary horror has been as pervasive and maybe pernicious as EC's in comics. At the time of the undergrounds, though, horror comics had as yet been been unmolested by the man's tentacles, so an infusion of the Old Ones into the genre could at least boast the virtue of novelty. And at best, transposing Lovecraft to this setting helped connect with the UG's flair for depicting goings-on in extremis (hence Michael Smith's flesh-melting psychedelic freak-out in "Cool Air"). The gleeful, de trop stylings of many of the artists match well with Lovecraft's squelching purple prose ("a nightmare caked and clotted with bloody shreds of alien flesh and hair, embraced by a malignant retinue of sleeping bats").
In Skull's final issue, the full-length "A Gothic Tale," Irons and Corben — the twin poles of slick and dirty UG professionalism — took turns illustrating writer Tom Veitch's centuries-spanning Lovecraftian story of mad science, gross monstrosity, and weird old religion. It's a fine capstone to an interesting series, one of those fully conceived, self-contained little packages of which the underground was sometimes impressively capable.
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In the 1980s, having helped redefine monster comics as part of the all-star Swamp Thing team (who, if you're wondering, had nothing to do with the film), artist Steve Bissette had yet further services to perform in his favoured genre. Determined to continue setting an example for seriousness in horror comics, rather than uphold the cheesy old punch-pulling norm, Bissette cofounded and edited a series called Taboo. The books were thick tomes rather than floppy pamphlets, whose bold conception was on occasion actually matched by the capabilities of their contributors. Taboo's publication history is fascinating and convoluted and depressing, tied as it is to the various industry implosions of the time. The result of this tortuous past is that the series is a record of projects interrupted, delayed, or left unfinished. Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's Jack the Ripper saga From Hell concluded elsewhere, for instance, as did both the Moore-written porno epic Lost Girls and Jeff Nicholson's Through the Habitrails, a sort of anti-Dilbert.
But the real one that got away was Throat Sprockets, an amalgam of not-quite-vampires and not-quite-snuff-films from Video Watchdog mastermind Tim Lucas. He completed the tale in prose novel form, but it's forever to be regretted that his working relationship with initial artist Mike Hoffman fell through. Hoffman's angular photorealism evinced a real feel for the sharpness and seediness of well-worn film prints, and Lucas proved remarkably adept at splicing and manipulating the language of comics.
Beyond this impressive array of halting serials, an above-average number of Taboo's highlights arrived in isolated contributions. There were some very pretty stand-alone stories from neo-pre-Raphaelite Michael Zulli, including a jaw-dropper written by Neil Gaiman's then-five-year-old daughter (Gaiman and Zulli's take on Sweeney Todd is another Taboo-fostered project that screeched to a skidding stop). Chester Brown wrung an unsettling amount of pathos out of funny animals falling prey to the food chain. Al Columbia, standard-bearer of modern-day horror comics, contributed some vivid, frenzied outpourings. What continues to haunt me, though, are a handful of candidates for career-best work from underground legend S. Clay Wilson: his graphic and sweaty and desperate "This is Dynamite" in particular strikes me as truly taboo, so relentlessly did his penlines scratch away at deep human ugliness.
We could've used another couple dozen volumes of horror comics under Bissette's stewardship, especially as the years have worn on and the talent pool has gotten deeper and darker, allowing for an easier skimming off of the dross. Imagine a thick regular instalment of something like Taboo, where Renee French's soft-penciled parables of death and deformity, or Josh Simmons's claustrophobic wrongness, or Columbia's cartoon apocalypses, all rub scabby shoulders. Ah well, such dreams are for Halloweens yet to come.
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Finally, in subject matter worlds away from this post: Saturday's spate of IFOA XXX events includes my interview with Seth, whom I've gone on about before, and R.O. Blechman, whose far-reaching career making perfect little drawings should provide much to talk about. Details are here. Toronto readers, I'll see you at noon in Harbourfront's Brigantine Room.
On October 2, the CBC and National Post announced a surprising new content-sharing agreement. The deal, effective immediately, grants the public broadcaster access to the Post's financial stories for its website, while the CanWest-owned Post will publish the public broadcaster's sports coverage online and occasionally in print. (Although unable to disclose the terms of the deal, CBC head of media relations Jeff Keay made clear in a telephone conversation that the agreement was modeled on revenue-sharing rather than licensing.) Although such story-swapping seems like a fairly innocuous announcement, it reflects an overwhelming trend in news media towards homogeneous journalism and the monopolization of the press.
"They make strange bedfellows ideologically," observes Andrew Coyne, national editor at Maclean's and former National Post columnist. He has a point—the CBC has long been accused of left-leaning bias, while the Post is known for its conservative editorial stance. Their divergent politics have led them to publicly lock horns on more than one occasion. From 2003–2004, the Post ran "CBC Watch," a recurring op-ed feature that provided a forum for readers to lambaste the Ceeb's supposedly liberal agenda, while numerous articles in the Post and other CanWest-owned dailies have called for the CBC's privatization, a sentiment echoed by CanWest founder Israel Asper in 2002.
The CBC hasn't kept silent, either. In a 2004 letter to the Post's editor, then editor-in-chief of CBC News Tony Burman wrote, "The CBC does not need the Post to assure its journalistic accountability to Canadians. Unlike the Post, the CBC has a comprehensive and publicly available set of journalistic standards and practices which are unmatched in their rigour."
Now, after years of animosity, it seems the former adversaries have banded together in the hopes that content-sharing might generate profit-sharing. Both news giants are struggling financially—last week, CanWest filed for bankruptcy protection, and in 2009, the CBC was forced to cut around 800 jobs to make up for a $171 million budget shortfall. In this unyielding economy, the CBC and the Post have gone from enemies to frenemies.
"We approached each other," explains Jonathan Harris, vice president of digital media for the National Post. "We both saw a good synergy there." When asked about the one-time animosity between the Post and the CBC, both Harris and Jeff Keay seem unconcerned. "We draw a distinction between news content and opinion content," Keay says. Harris dismisses the tension as ancient history. "It was quite a few years ago," he remarks. "We're in an age of partnership."
We certainly are. Although the unexpected announcement raised a lot of issues—the nature of privately versus publicly funded news sources, the dwarfing of print by web-based media, and the internet as a grey area between regulated broadcasting and unregulated press, to name a few—what is most compelling are the implications of what Harris calls the "age of partnership." The growth of concentrated media ownership, also known as corporate journalism, describes the control of the news media by only a handful of conglomerate chains—in short, a monopoly of ideas.
Not a new development by any means, the corporatization of Canadian journalism gained speed in the 1950s and '60s, and was first seriously identified as a point of concern in 1970 by the Special Senate Committee on Mass Media, spearheaded by senator Keith Davey. The Committee's report succinctly summarized the argument against corporate media ownership, stating, "This country should no longer tolerate a situation where the public interest in so vital a field as information [is] dependent on the greed or goodwill of an extremely privileged group of businessmen." The report recommended the development of a review board to approve all mergers and acquisitions of print media, a proposal that was largely ignored by the provincial and federal governments.
Throughout the '70s, the media continued to funnel into fewer and fewer hands. In 1981, former journalist Tom Kent was assigned to lead a new commission into the state of Canadian newspapers. He and his commissioners saw the situation as dire and advocated legislation to limit the number of newspapers any one chain could own. The Kent Commission's findings provoked livid reactions from both the public and the journalistic community. Both groups feared that empowering the government to pull the strings of the Fourth Estate would be even more catastrophic than allowing it to remaining under corporate control. As a result, the proposal was tabled.
The flatlined efforts of these two endeavours effectively gave corporations a free pass to continue merging without regulation. Over the past few decades, companies like CanWest, Torstar, CTVglobemedia, and Quebecor have been steadily gaining control over the majority of independent Canadian news sources. The results are alarming; since 1990, the number of independently owned newspapers reportedly plummeted from 17.3 percent to less than 1 percent, and by 2007, over 70 percent of daily newspaper circulation in Canada was under the thumb of four corporations.
In the short term, the appeal of corporate journalism is irresistible to executives. When a company like CanWest or Torstar controls a website, broadcasting network, and several daily newspapers, content can be generously shared among all levels of that corporation's holdings. A story that runs in the National Post can be reproduced in the Vancouver Sun or Ottawa Citizen on the cheap, while also being broadcast on Global TV and/or streamed on Canada.com. Like magic, the corporation is able to reach an enormous audience and collect more revenues with fewer expenditures.
But the monopolization of Canadian news by corporate chains sounds a death knell for the industry on an ideological level. Ideally, news reportage is a discourse. Audiences benefit from a wide spectrum of editorial positions and journalistic voices unfettered by the commercial interests of a larger conglomerate. The current state of affairs is silencing these independent voices in favour of homogeneous content, leaving many journalists and editors out of work and thinning the industry's talent pool.
Many of those remaining feel that their work must conform to the political and ideological persuasions of the controlling conglomerates. As a result, fewer divergent perspectives are voiced. For example, after resigning, former Post staffer (and recent Walrus contributor) Patricia Pearson wrote openly about having to censor her own liberal sympathies under the oppressive control of the Asper family. Although wire services such as The Canadian Press and Reuters also disperse homogeneous content, they are slightly less problematic. Like most news agencies, which supply news services rather than publish to a readership, both tend to be fact-based with little editorializing. In addition, Reuters enforces a strict objectivity policy, while CP is a not-for-profit cooperative, which nullifies the corporate influence held over most other media outlets.
In concentrating the media under a few corporate umbrellas, journalistic democracy is compromised, and the disconnect between the needs of the public and the word of the news product grows wider with every new acquisition. Content-sharing between the CBC and National Post is symptomatic of this trend, and draws the publicly funded CBC into the privatized media machine.
The New Yorker's A.J. Leibling once famously quipped, "Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." Fewer owners, then, translates to a greatly diminished free press. But let's not drum up the funeral march just yet. For one, CanWest's recent announcement that it will be restructuring under credit protection signals the prospect of one of the biggest media sales in Canadian history. Although rumours persist that National Post CEO Paul Godfrey has secured backers for a buyout of the chain, there is still a chance that the sale could eventually lead to the purchase of the papers by a variety of owners, increasing the number of controlling parties.
According to Andrew Coyne, another possible saving grace could be the government relaxing restrictions on foreign ownership of media. Canadian law currently prohibits foreign control of our cultural industries. Dismantling this legislation might encourage competition and a broader range of influence. "I think we've artificially encouraged monopoly in this country because of the ban on foreign ownership," said Coyne. "We're content with cozy duopolies and monopolies when we should be opening up the market and making [the corporations] compete."
Intriguing, yes, but Coyne's suggestion could be dangerous—rather than diversifying our media voices, opening up Canadian journalism to foreign ownership could very well throw the industry to the proverbial wolves. In theory, foreign ownership might be a step towards opening up the system, but the possibility of the Rupert Murdochs and Sam Zells of the world grasping Canadian media properties in their clutches seems too frightening to risk.
It's difficult to predict whether the de-corporatization of journalism is possible, or whether the current ebb in independent news voices will become permanent. In the meantime, the death of journalism has been greatly exaggerated. Sure, the industry is changeable, controversial, and constantly in flux. But news itself hasn't gone anywhere, and if it ever does, you can bet someone will be there to write about it. While deals such as the CBC/Post alliance may seem like harbingers of doom, hope still springs eternal in the human press.
(Photo by Thomas S. Denison)
Since at least 2002, when astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson gave it a name, photographers in New York City have observed the passing of Manhattanhenge, which happens when the rising or setting sun perfectly aligns with east-west streets that follow the island's 1811 planning grid. The phenomenon occurs in every metropolis with a similar plan, and is coming soon to Canada's city of skyscrapers. According to The Photographer's Ephemeris, a free application developed by landscape photographer Stephen Trainor, the next Torontohenge is due to illuminate T.O.'s downtown thoroughfares on the evenings of October 24–25.
The Walrus invites local photographers to send us your best photos of Saturday and Sunday's Torontohenge effect. Bree Seeley, our picture editor, will choose her favourite images for a gallery to be published on walrusmagazine.com. The overall winner will receive a gift bag from Drawn and Quarterly; two runners-up will each receive a pair of tickets to The Walrus events at the International Festival of Authors. All three winners will also receive a complimentary one-year subscription to The Walrus.
Submit images as JPGs (minimum 640×480 pixels) to email@example.com before 12:00 pm EST, Tuesday, October 27. Friends and family of Walrus employees are welcome to enter… but will not win prizes.
P.S. Watch this space for coming editions of Calgaryhenge, Montréalhenge, Ottawahenge, Vancouverhenge, etc.
(Photo of Bloor Street by Mike Hoye)
What do Jack Layton and David Byrne have in common? Sure, Layton's Twitter account tells us he'll be busking on the Danforth this Saturday, but at press time, the range of his musical talent remains untested. No, it's a shared interest in the future of cycling that unites the current NDP leader and former Talking Head, who will participate in an October 24 panel discussion at the International Festival of Authors. Along with Toronto Cyclists Union executive director Yvonne Bambrick and urban designer Ken Greenberg, Layton and Byrne will discuss the potential of urban planning — specifically, bike lanes — to improve the political climate of cycling in Toronto and around the world.
Walk a block in Toronto's downtown core on any weekday afternoon, and you'll see the strain of cyclist-motorist relations from the belly of the beast. Drivers roll their eyes and drum their fingers, and many cyclists ignore red lights and stop signs as traffic allows. At its worst, the drama plays out with fatal consequences, as it did in late August, when a downtown road altercation involving former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant, who was driving a convertible car, caused the death of bicycle courier Darcy Allan Sheppard. Toronto cyclists rallied for bike lanes in the wake of the incident, insisting that separate roadways guarantee safer transit, especially in regions where traffic is busiest. Drivers and business owners, however, have been less willing to accept bike lanes as the solution, citing slow commutes and limited street parking, respectively, as evidence that city roadways have already been compromised enough. So with cyclists getting killed and drivers getting angry, what's a judicious citizen to believe? Can't we all just get along?
If recent history is any indication, the answer is no. And there's more trouble coming: the newest version of the Toronto Public Works and Infrastructure Committee's official Bike Plan — a strategic proposal with a mission to introduce cyclist-friendly policies and programs — details measures to advance bike culture in six major areas. First up? Launching a public bicycle system by spring 2010.
Toronto's updated plan, modeled after Montreal's two-year old BIXI and the 20,000–strong Vélib "shared bicycle" program in Paris, proposes a start-up service area bounded by High Park in the west, Broadview Avenue in the east, Bloor Street in the north and Lake Ontario to the south. The projected system — roughly 300 rental stations with an initial capacity of 1,000 bicycles, to be increased to 10,000 over the next decade — will inevitably place a greater number of commuters on some of the city's busiest roads. As a public transportation venture, a bicycle system presents a unique safety imperative. But are bike lanes the solution? Beyond their formidable logistic and financial considerations, would separate lanes ease the competing interests of cyclists and motorists?
I call city councillor Adrian Heaps, chair of the Toronto Cycling Advisory Committee. Beyond novelty users at the program's inception, he expects that a public bicycle system will appeal to three distinct categories of riders: those who typically use taxis to travel short distances, those who currently use car-share services for shopping trips, and, in non-winter months, tourists. Ultimately, the councillor says, the TCAC's goal is to reduce car traffic in the downtown core, not to convert drivers outright. Ideally, cyclists and drivers would learn to share without incident. Heaps, though, is skeptical about the partitioning of bike lanes on existing roads as an easy remedy. "Putting a bucket of paint on the road doesn't make a safer bike corridor," he says. "It comes down to mutual respect."
Still curious, I contact Christopher Sumpton, co-producer of Pedal Power, a documentary recently commissioned by the CBC to examine the shifting tides of bike culture around the world. What would happen, I ask, if 10,000 public bicycles descended upon Toronto tomorrow? "I think it would work very well," he answers. "Toronto is a city of cyclists." Sumpton makes repeated references to cities like Paris, where the Vélib program generated 120,000 trips a day in its first year of operation. He says the "dramatic immediate effect" of a public bicycle system will be a societal awareness of cycling, a "push to the process of mental change that bikes are a serious part of the transit system." Moreover, he says, more bicycles and less cars in the downtown core will improve the quality of street life; Torontonians will experience "more human interaction, with people able to stop at shops and cafés instead of going by in a bus or car."
Still, Sumpton says any higher-order change to the city's transportation system requires the support and acceptance of most its citizens, not just those who cycle. "That's where it gets messy right now," he allows. "When you unleash a greater number of cyclists on the roads, you have to have some sort of provision for them." In the shadow of the Sheppard-Bryant affair, and with the debut of Toronto's public bicycle system on the horizon, Sumpton believes the bike lane debate is a study in prevarication. "Sure, a public bike system really ups the ante for safe cycling. Ultimately, that means providing bike lanes. But bike lanes are shorthand for a lot of things: rational traffic systems, advanced stop lines. A lot of imagination has to be brought to bear," he says.
Next, I call Richard Poplak, who has written about bike culture for Toronto Life magazine and is currently at work on a graphic novel about bicycle hoarder Igor Kenk, the "Fagin of Queen Street." As an authority on sharing the roadway, Poplak's credentials certainly pass muster — he estimates that between commuting and training as a UCI–licensed racer, he spends twenty-five hours every week on a bicycle. Poplak is doubtful that the riders who use Toronto's new public system will amount to a meaningful increase in the number of regular bike commuters, or a meaningful decrease in the number of cars downtown. In the meantime, he calls for improved road infrastructure ("so that bicycles can safely traverse the streets without having to dodge lake-sized potholes") and a large-scale safety campaign targeting cyclists and drivers alike. I ask whether Toronto's public bicycle system should underwrite an expanded network of bike lanes, and can almost hear him shaking his head from the other end of the telephone line. "What bike lanes don't do is enshrine cycling as a right," he says. "What they do do, is enshrine the primacy of the car." Like Heaps, Poplak believes cyclists should simply obey the rules of the road: no more rolling through red lights as they see fit. As well, motorists should recognize cyclists' right to share their roadways. "Cyclists have the right to be everywhere except the 401 [highway] and the Don Valley Parkway. End of story," he says. "We have rules — all we need to do is enforce them."
Whether enforcing the rules will neutralize the discord remains to be seen. What is certain, though, is that no one, whether they travel by car or by bicycle, has the prerogative to ignore where and how their fellow commuters take to the road. Just before he signed off, filmmaker Christopher Sumpton put it to me this way: "It's like the weather. Everyone has to deal with transportation." Poplak was more frank in the last email he sent me: "No matter how much you may loathe cyclists, you'd have to agree that something has to be done, and pretty fucking quickly. Painting white lines on the road and/or handing out bikes isn't the solution. Making sure we all understand the rules of the game, however, is."
Full disclosure: for roughly four years in high school, I played in a band called Scare Tactic with Jonah "Guinea Beat/Mr. Jo" Falco, drummer for Canada's best hard-core punk band, Fucked Up. Long before they won 2009's Polaris Music Prize, for Canadian album of the year, the Toronto sextet recorded one of their earliest demos in my basement.
There are a lot of good bands out there, but a rare few have It, that intangible quality that one can sense only once they've taken the stage. When It happens, you don't care about your job, you don't care about your girlfriend — nothing else matters. I recently saw hard rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures blow out the back wall of Toronto's Sound Academy. They had It.
Scare Tactic ended amicably, so I was very interested to discover a posting on Fucked Up's blog announcing a secret concert somewhere in T.O. this week. A phonecall to Falco landed me on the guest list at Lee's Palace, where the band jumped onto a Wednesday night bill headlined by the U.K.'s The Horrors. The Polaris winners opened their set with a hypnotic four guitar and bass intro. Singer Damian "Pink Eyes" Abraham strode on stage wearing a red baseball hat, white basketball shorts and a blue T-shirt with the pro-dog slogan "Pugs Not Drugs." The hat held firm for most of the show, but the shirt lasted less than two songs. As is his customary style, Pink Eyes let his gut fly free. (Thankfully, his shorts stayed on.) More impressively, he took command of the crowd in a way that only an experienced front man can. He glared at the crowd, stalked the stage, and climbed onto speakers; he finished the set by prowling around the audience, screaming in people's faces and standing on top of tables. The band, made up of Falco (drums/guitar), Mike "10,000 Marbles" Haliechuk (guitar), Josh "Gulag" Zucker (guitar), Ben "Young Governor" Cook (guitar) and Sandy "Mustard Gas" Miranda (bass), played with tightness forged by countless tours. Fucked Up made excellent use of their multiple guitar assault. Each guitar added something different to every song, rather than just doubling or tripling specific parts. Despite Damian's repeated insistence that this was just a warm-up show with a "half-assed," thirty-minute set, the experience was far better than that.
I left the punk scene shortly after my six years with various incarnations of Scare Tactic. My tastes have since shifted toward metal and rock 'n' roll. I don't listen to much hard-core nowadays, but have no doubt why Fucked Up beat out such indie luminaries as Metric for this year's Polaris. Simply put, it's because they deserved it. The Chemistry of Common Life, Fucked Up's winning disc, is a hell of an album. Forget the offensive name (chosen, Falco has told me, because the band was never meant to last); Fucked Up is the real deal, a great band that will undoubtedly enjoy more hard-earned success. They have It.
Alex Hutchinson ponders the effect of GPS technology on human sense of direction in this video, which accompanies his article, "Global Impositioning Systems," in the November 2009 issue of The Walrus.
It is the lot of public intellectuals to be simultaneously admired and loathed, and few evoke either feeling as intensely as British biologist Richard Dawkins. The pugnacious professor established his reputation in 1976 with the release of his first book, The Selfish Gene, a modern classic that, like all the best popular science writing, relates complex ideas in nuanced terms comprehensible to any educated layperson. Dawkins has written nine other books since then, including 2006's best-selling atheist polemic The God Delusion. His latest effort, The Greatest Show on Earth, is his first substantial attempt to catalogue the evidence for Darwinian evolution. It expertly combines his talent for scientific explication with his disdain for religious fundamentalism. I spoke with Dawkins last week as he began a North American tour to promote the book, which is a riveting, humbling, and stunningly informative read.
Who is the audience for this book?
I don't think it's going to change the minds of dedicated creationists, but there are lots and lots of people who have never been exposed to the evidence of evolution before. They may be sufficiently gripped by the book. I'm hoping to not exactly change people's minds, but to draw people off the fence — people who haven't really thought about it much before.
What is the greatest misconception about evolution not among creationists, but among people who believe in Darwinism?
That Darwinian evolution is a theory of chance. That's probably the largest one of all. There are many people who say, "I simply refuse to believe that anything as complicated as the human body — or any living body, for that matter — could be a result of chance." Well, of course it's not the result of chance. That's the whole point.
Your book debunks many creationist myths, from the suggestion that natural selection is only a theory, to the crocoduck canard about missing links in the fossil record. What are creationists' most pernicious mistakes about evolution, and why do they persist?
For creationists as well, the most pernicious mistake is the one about it being a theory of chance. Darwin's Theory of Evolution doesn't mean Darwin's Tentative Hypothesis Concerning Evolution; it means theory in the scientific sense, which is a body of knowledge gathered together and widely accepted. The crocoduck one is a bit of a joke. There are people who misunderstand evolution so much that they think it means there should be intermediates between not just ancestors and descendants, which would be reasonable, but intermediates between any animal and any other animal, like a crocodile and a duck. Or a fronkey! "Where are your fronkeys between frogs and monkeys?" And that, of course, is a truly grotesque misunderstanding.
That's a mistake many people make about missing links. Any species that is the halfway point between two other species is still going to be classified as one of those two species, or as a third species. Nothing is classified as mid-species.
That's right. We're lucky that we have fossils at all. It's an extremely fortunate circumstance that corpses do fossilize. Even if they didn't — if we had not a single fossil — we would still know that evolution had happened from other evidence. What's really telling is that there's not a single fossil in the wrong place. If there were mammal fossils from before fish evolved, for example, that would totally and utterly disprove evolution. But not a single fossil of that kind has ever been discovered in the wrong place.
The book details how easy it would be to falsify the theory of evolution. In your dealings with creationists, how do they account for the lack of such falsifying evidence?
They don't discuss it, or they try instead to make a big deal out of gaps in the fossil record, which is only negative evidence. You expect to find gaps. What you don't expect to find is evidence of something in the wrong place. Creationists basically ignore the fact that that hasn't happened. Or they make [things] up. There are some fake fossils. There are allegations of human skulls in rock measured from the Carboniferous Era. There are allegations of human footprints interspersed with dinosaur footprints. I'm happy to say that most creationists have now explicitly disavowed that particular one. The leading creationists have said, "No, we can't use that anymore, it's too obviously wrong."
You label creationists "history deniers," intentionally likening them to Holocaust deniers. There's considerable rhetorical power in this. Do you worry, however, that it might alienate some readers?
It hadn't occurred to me that it would be alienating or seen as a strong pronouncement. Maybe it's because I'm a scientist and I don't latch onto the political implications of it. To me, it's a perfectly good parallel. The historical evidence in favour of the Holocaust having happened is overwhelmingly strong, obviously, and the historical evidence in favour of evolution being a fact is also overwhelmingly strong. There are deniers of both. Why not link them as a good analogy?
The Greatest Show on Earth was only just released in Canada, but it's been out a little longer in Britain. What sort of reaction have you gotten from creationists?
The book went straight to number one on the British, Australian, and Irish bestseller lists, and I have great hopes for the Canadian bestseller list. But I haven't specifically heard any reaction from creationists. The kind of creationists you may be talking about are the young earth creationists, those who think the world is only 6,000 years old. I don't think they really read books anyway, do they?
There's at least one book that they read.
Yes, one book. And not much of it, by the way. If they read all of the Bible, they would get a nasty shock.
What is the most compelling piece of evidence for the theory of evolution?
That's a difficult one to answer because there's so much evidence that's very, very compelling. The single most compelling piece probably comes from molecular genetics compared across all living creatures: all living creatures have the same genetic code. That means you can quantitatively compare the genes of any creature with any other creature… Whether you take similar animals — rats and mice, or humans and chimpanzees, or moles and hedgehogs — or you take more different animals, you find a beautiful, hierarchical pattern: a tree. The tree is, of course, a tree of life. It's a family tree. It's a pedigree. These animals are all cousins of one another. Every single molecule you look at produces the same tree.
Is the sense of wonder with which you write and speak about evolution a conscious strategy, or simply unavoidable when describing this material?
The material is awe inspiring. It dwarfs Genesis or any other creation myth. It is an astonishing story that on this planet — and maybe on other planets, but we don't know about other planets — the ordinary laws of physics and chemistry could do this extraordinary thing from the arising, at some point more than three billion years ago, of a self-replicating molecule. From this everything followed. We now have the most staggering elegance, beauty, and illusion of design that, as Hume said, ravishes into admiration all men who have ever contemplated it.
(Photo by Josh Timonen)


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Homebound Delivery
Are you or someone you know unable to come to the library? Let us bring the library to you! The Groton Public Library staff will deliver library materials to the homebound. Requests may be made for all types of materials, including books, audiobooks, magazines, music, DVDs or Blu-ray discs, and more. Request specific titles or suggest subjects of interest. Many books are available in large print format.
To take advantage of our free homebound service, you must be a Groton resident who is temporarily or permanently confined to your home because of illness, disability or advanced age.
How to use the service
Simply call or email the Library to request this service and learn more about it. We will set up a schedule, find out what subjects interest you and what format is best suited to your needs (books, audio or videotapes, large print books, etc.). If you don't have a library card, we'll get one for you.
To request or learn more about this service
Please call Circulation Supervisor Lisa Baylis at 978-448-1167.


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12 Day Ireland Fall Discovery Tour
General Information
- Type:
- Cultural
- Price from:
- 2695 USD /person
- Phone:
- 1-800-511-7803
- Payment Types:
- Cash
- Credit Card
- Cheque
- Travellers cheque
- Paypal
- Wire Transfer
- Duration:
- 12 days
- Location Start:
- Shannon Ireland
- Location Finish:
- Dublin Ireland
- Start time:
- 11.00 am
- End time:
- 11.00 am
- We Speak:
- Spanish, English
Last updated: 06/09/2008
Amazing Castles, Unique Tearooms, Cozy Pubs, Spectacular Scenery and Picturesque Villages. Join this small group tour designed to get the most out of your Ireland experience.
Day 1
October 10th- Depart for Shannon Ireland
Day 2
Arrive Shannon International. On the way to Galway our first stop will be the southern part
of The Burren where limestone gives away to black shale and sandstone to form the dramatic Cliffs of
Moher. Even when shrouded in mist, the Cliffs of Moher are breathtaking, rising to a height of 650 feet out
of the sea and extending for 5 miles. We will drive through The Burren, a unique botanical environment in
which Mediterranean and Alpine plants rare to Ireland grow side by Side.Then it is on to
Galway and Galway Bay for a Welcoming Dinner. Overnight Galway.(D)
Day 3
This morning we visit Cong and Cong Abbey. The most fascinating remains of this 12th century
Augustinian abbey are the Gothic chapter house, stone bridges and the monks' fishing-house
overhanging the river. Next we travel through the beautiful National Park in the heart of Connemara,
a combination of bogland, lakes and mountains. Along the way we visit Kylemore Abbey sheltered by the
slopes of the Twelve Bens, this lakeside castle is a romantic, battlemented Gothic Revival fantasy. Once we
return to Galway we will take some time to investigate the city before we enjoy a lovely Seafood Dinner.
Galway is the center for the Irish-speaking regions in the West and a lively university city. The center of the
city lies on the banks of the River Corrib which flows down from Lough Corrib. Overnight
Day 4
Our first destination today is Strokestown Park House, an 18th century mansion which has been
faithfully restored. It is unique in that it retains its original furnishings and professionally guided tours allow
visitors to browse freely through the stately surroundings. There is also a Famine Museum which uses a
combination of original documents and images from the Strokestown Park collection to explain the
circumstances of the Great Irish Famine of the 1840's. This afternoon finds us at Boyle to visit Boyle
Abbey, an impressive and well preserved Cistercian Monastery which was founded in the 12th century
under the patronage of the local ruling family, the MacDermotts. Although a ruin, Boyle Abbey
nevertheless retains its ability to impress the visitor as one of the most formidable of the early Cistercian
foundations in Ireland. Pub Dinner Sligo. Overnight Sligo.(B,D)
Day 5
This morning we visit the Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery. Carrowmore is the largest
cemetery of megalithic tombs in Ireland. The tombs are spread out over 1.5 square miles in the shadow of
the Knocknarea and Misgaun Maeve(the name suggests that it was built for Maeve, the Iron
Age queen of Connacht) with each monument standing on its own little eminence. This afternoon we visit
Parke's Castle, a restored plantation castle of the early 17th century, picturesquely situated on the shores
of Lough Gill. After a lovely drive around the Lough we will find ourselves back in Sligo. Dinner on your
own in Sligo. Overnight Sligo.(B)
Day 6
This morning we visit the little border village of Belleek where the world famous Belleek Pottery
was founded in 1857. We will stop at the Visitors' Centre and Museum for a tour of the facility. Our next stop
is the Ulster-American Folk Park which is one of the best open-air museums of its kind! The park has
over 30 historic buildings examining why 2 million people emigrated to the States in the 18th and 19th
century. Then we are off to Derry where St. Columba founded a monastery beside the River Foyle in
546. The Walls of Derry are among the best preserved city fortifications in Europe. Dinner and
Overnight Derry.(B,D)
Day 7
Today we visit Bushmills and the Old Bushmills Distillery, the oldest distillery in the world!
We will tour the distillery and end up with whiskey sampling in the 1608 bar. Next we take in the
Causeway Coast and The Giants Causeway where 37,000 basalt columns extend from the cliffs and
into the sea. No matter how many times I have seen this, the sheer wonder and magic of the columns never
fails to impress! We will continue along the coastline of Northern Ireland on our way to Belfast. We will
stop in Ballymena for Dinner. Overnight Belfast.(B,D)
Day 8
Today we spend in Belfast, Northern Ireland's largest city and one of my favorite European cities!
You will board an Open Top Bus for a Tour of the City. You can get off an on all day long with your
ticket. You may want to make a lunch stop at the Crown Liquor Saloon, a flamboyant Victorian
drinking palace. Belfast's downtown is full of wonderful shops. Other places of interest are City Hall,
The Linen Library and St. Anne's Cathedral. Dinner on your own in Belfast. Overnight
Day 9
Today we stop in Lisburn and visit the Irish Linen Centre and Museum in a 17th century
Market House where in times gone by cottage weavers brought their cloth to sell. The centre tells the
story of the Irish Linen industry, with skilled demonstrations of hand spinning and handloom weaving
and a display of historic linen treasures. We will stop in Newry to visit Newry Cathedral, undoubtedly
the most commanding building in the City centre. Built in 1829 of local granite, it was the first Catholic
Cathedral opened after the granting of Catholic Emancipation. The interior marble work and
mosaics took five years with craftsmen coming from Italy to undertake the work. Dinner and Overnight
Day 10
Our first stop of the day is at Newgrange Megalithic Passage Tomb. Newgrange was built
about 3200 BC. The kidney shaped mound covers an area of over one acre and is surrounded by 97
kerbstones, some of which are richly decorated with megalithic art. Our next stop on the way to Dublin will
be The Hill of Tara. Tara was the political and spiritual center of Celtic Ireland and the seat of High
Kings until the 11th century. Dinner on your own in Dublin. Overnight Dublin.(B)
Day 11
Following a late breakfast you will tour the city aboard an Open Top Tour Bus with hop on
and hop off service all over Dublin. After the tour you will want to spend time shopping on Grafton
Street or taking in Trinity College and the Book of Kells. You can also visit St. Patrick's
Cathedral or Christ Church Cathedral. We'll meet this evening for a Farewell Dinner to say goodbye
to Dublin and our Ireland adventure. Overnight Dublin.(B,D)
Day 12
Following breakfast we are off to the Dublin International Airport for the return home.
Extra Information
- Extras -
- This tour is designed to accommodate only 8-10 people for a more personal experience to allow you to get the most of your Irish holiday. Keeping the tour size small gives us the opportunity to veer from the beaten path and take advantage of accommodations, restaurants and sightseeing venues that would not be available to larger groups. You may find yourself staying in a delightful city guest house, a small country house hotel, a comfortable farmhouse and an old coaching Inn all in the same visit. Our goal is to show you the real Irish people and some of the wonderful sights to be seen all over this beautiful country. You will not be rushed from venue to venue and we spend as little time on the bus as possible. Tour includes all accommodation in 3 or 4 star Irish Tourist Board Approved accommodations. Full Irish breakfast each morning, all meals listed in itinerary. Porterage of one suitcase per person. Minibus travel including tour guide. Knowledgeable guide for all tourist venues. All sightseeing as indicated in itinerary including any entrance fees. All taxes and service charges.
Couldn't find what you're looking for? Check out more tours & excursions in Shannon
1-day tours
Long tours
- 1st Timer - 8 days from 829 USD
- Irish Heritage - 8 days from 890 USD
Email the tour operator - 12 Day Ireland Fall Discovery Tour
Important Notice : Avoiding Fraud
It's rare, but some helpful hints to watch out for with regards to fraud:
- It is important to NEVER wire funds or use/employ other fund transfer mechanisms such as western union: Always use a credit card to protect yourself against fraud. If owners pressure you into providing a deposit or refuse to accept credit cards, there is a high probability that this is a scam.
- If at all suspicious of fraud, ask to see their website, or any other literature they can provide or send to you. Ask them for contact details for guests who have previously stayed on their property insisting on telephone numbers. Be suspicious of emails that originate from free email services (yahoo, hotmail, gmail, etc)
- Research the property thoroughly on the internet to see if there is any history or mention of scams associated with the property.


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LifeStyle: June Gloom
{Beautiful La Jolla, CA. Husband and I have decided we will retire here one day. And own a pet seal or sea lion.}
June is coming to a close this weekend and I cannot believe it. It's been a crazy, busy, hectic, stressful month (as if you couldn't tell from my lack of posting) but it's also been really good. Things kicked off with my anniversary, a trip to San Diego, then a ridiculously insane work schedule the past two weeks. I am not even sure what day it is at this point. All that to say, thanks for sticking with me through the radio silence. I promise I'll be back in no time, but sometimes it's good to take a step back from the PC and enjoy life. Real life, not just the one you see on Twitter and Instagram. July is looking to be equally as insane, but hopefully somewhere in between it all I can find some balance and get back in the blogging game. It's about time to switch things up a bit anyways right?!
And on that note, a gentle reminder that beloved Google Reader officially shuts down Monday, July 1st. If you currently subscribe through Reader, I would love to suggest Feedly or Bloglovin' as an equally awesome alternative to continue reading. With one quick click, Feedly automatically transfers all of your subscriptions from Google Reader and their iPhone and iPad apps are pretty stellar. Might I say I like it better?
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
StyleDiary: If It Makes You Happy
{Dress – c/o London Times; Heels – Jessica Simpson; Earrings – BaubleBar}
As you can see, I am a bit behind on blogging. I had the pleasure of attending Catwalk for a Cause last month at Michael Waltrip Racing headquarters, benefiting Levine Children's Hospital. Not only is this a fun evening filled with fabulous fashion, but also a cause near and dear to my heart as I lost a high school friend to a long battle with leukemia shortly after graduation. Special thanks to the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation for their dedication to raising money for the cause, support for the children and for a great night. Nothing will make you smile more than watching sweet children have the time of their lives strutting down the runway!
StyleDiary: Savvy Summer Vacay with London Times
Check out my Savvy in the city tips for San Diego along with a ton of my favorite bloggers over at London Times today!


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Just who is a typical CASL graduate? The simple answer is that there is no such person. CASL alumni have a diverse range of skills, talents, experiences, and goals. By spotlighting someone every other month, we hope to introduce you to our diverse group of alums ... and maybe you'll see a familiar face.
Name: Tracee J. Glab
Degree, discipline, graduation year: B.A. in Art History, 2001
What are your current job responsibilities and/or volunteer activities? I am the Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Flint Institute of Arts. My responsibilities include managing and overseeing curatorial staff and all projects relating to the permanent collection of over 8,000 objects, as well as temporary exhibitions. I carry out research and writing for works in the collection, which range in date from ancient to contemporary and represent cultures from around the world. I also conceive and develop temporary exhibitions, from the permanent collection and temporary loans from museums, galleries, and artists. I work collaboratively with other museum staff on installation design, programming, community outreach, fund-raising, and publicity.
Does your career/volunteer work relate to what you studied at UM-Dearborn or is your degree in a totally different field? I would say that not only does my degree relate to my career but that it was also critical in leading me to the job that I have now. When I decided to major in Art History, I picked the Museum Studies focus, which required an internship at a museum. I served as an intern for two semesters in the Education Department at the Detroit Institute of Arts. That internship was not only a great learning experience but it also helped me obtain a part-time and eventually full-time position at the DIA, where I worked for 10 years, in various departments. While completing my Masters Degree in Art History at Wayne State University, I applied and got a job in the curatorial department at Flint. My classes in art history and other humanities at UM-D have helped me a great deal in my museum career, in both building a strong foundation of knowledge but also equipping me with the skills to carry out research and writing projects.
Looking back at the classes you took, pick out one of your favorites and tell why. Thats so hard to do because I had so many classes that I really loved! But, if I had to choose, I would say a pivotal class was Art History 102, taught by Dr. Shelley Perlove. Before that class, I thought I would be an English major, but Prof. Perlove made art history come alive in a way that I hadnt imagined was possible. It wasnt just images and dates to memorize (as I had been warned about), but objects that carried stories, histories, and peoples lives. Her passion was infectious, and I could see how my love for literature, writing, travel, and history could all be fulfilled in art history.
If there was a favorite professor(s), let us know and why. Again, a hard question to answer because of the stellar quality of all the professors I had the privilege to know. Dr. William Travis (who taught Medieval Art) was an important mentor to me because he emphasized the need for good writing and research skills. I have very fond memories of meetings with Dr. Richard Axsom (who taught Modern/Contemporary Art), with whom I had an Independent Study course, because he gave me such sound advice, and most of all reminded me that art history is really a lot of fun! I also took courses through the MALS program before transferring to Wayne State, so had the pleasure of taking a Science and Literature course with Dr. Jonathan Smith. I took away a lot from that course, but most of all, I will never read science (and art history for that matter) in the same way again.


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OUT Magazine ranks Avenue as 'Top Pick' in Copenhagen
USA's leading gay fashion and lifestyle magazine OUT, and its sibling, the gay travel website OutTraveler.com, names Copenhagen among the Fab Four cities to visit in Europe.
And ranks Avenue Hotel among their Top Picks in Copenhagen…
Feels like a Stylish Upscale Home
"Avenue Hotel's smart decor, relaxed vibe, and indulgent staff make it feel like a stylish upscale home," writes the experienced globetrotter, Dan Allen.
He adds: "Unique touches like the Avenue Shop (selling groovy design items 24 hours a day) and the Yellow Lounge (a Berlin-born concept of bringing classical music into new environments) give it that extra punch."
Michelin-starred Chef "opens his Cookbook"
Henrik Yde-Andersen, a true Copenhagener and owner of the Michelin-starred restaurant Kiin Kiin, "opens his cookbook" to OUT and OutTraveler's readers, and recommends the relaxed vibe in the neighbourhood Nørrebro.
He high-lights pioneering quality projects like Meyer Bakery, Coffee Collective and Restaurant Relæ, all situated in vibrant Jægersborggade, and loves the atmosphere at 'The Lakes' (Søerne), a five minute stroll from Avenue Hotel.
More Information about Fab Copenhagen
Read the entire guide to Copenhagen, one of the Fab Four cities in Europe, at OutTraveler.com or check out Dan Allen's other articles at Danalyzed.com.
Find Henrik Yde-Andersen's insider tips to Copenhagen or enjoy his Michelin-starred food at Kiin Kiin (a leisurely ten minute bike ride from Avenue Hotel).
Or experience the relaxed vibe on your own at Avenue Hotel.
Photos by Wonderful Copenhagen
Tags: Avenue Hotel, Coffee Collective, Copenhagen, Dan Allen, Danalyzed.com, Frederiksberg, Gay-friendly, Henrik Yde-Andersen, Jægersborggade, Kiin Kiin, Meyer Bakery, Nørrebro, OUT Magazine, OutTraveler.com, Relæ, Søerne, The Lakes, Wonderful Copenhagen


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Check out our comprehensive directory of Hedon hotels with quality, independent reviews. Search for a Hedon hotel by name, star rating, or user rating. Travel Library always lists the real direct contact details for every hotel in Hedon including email, Web site address, telephone and location address.
Travel Library allows you to easily contact hotels in Hedon directly and compare their prices with online offers.


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Second GenerationPosted in: Fall 2014, Photo Essay
Vanderbilt business degrees are all in the family for these alumni.
Vanderbilt business degrees are all in the family for these alumni.
Over its four decades,Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management has produced hundreds of leaders in functions and industries all over the globe. Meet seven of them in the CEO circle.
The matador queried, "Is there no American brave enough to fight the bulls?" Only one man responded: Dewey Daane.
One alumnus is CFO of the major airline he joined right out of Owen. Another's focus on toys has taken him to Europe and back. Vanderbilt alumni share their personal leadership paths.
Legendary stories abound about Dewey Daane, the Frank K. Houston Professor of Finance at Owen. We use pictures to tell some of them in a salute to Daane.
We asked five alumni one question: What did you learn about leadership at Owen? That was all it took to spark an hour-long roundtable discussion.
From "136 Words to Live By," the anthem of Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University
A delegation from King Fahd University in Saudi Arabia spent six days in Nashville learning how to create and build an entrepreneurship program, courtesy of an interdisciplinary group at Vanderbilt. The visit was in response to a weeklong trip that Senior Lecturer of Entrepreneurship Michael Burcham took to King Fahd in October as an adviser. [...]
Vanderbilt's full-time MBA program is No. 25 in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings. Particularly significant: Among the top 25 schools, Owen had the fourth-highest rate of students employed at graduation and the ninth highest rate of students employed three months after graduation—two key metrics used in the survey. And Poets & Quants, [...]
How important is Latin America in global business? Just ask one of the MBA schools who participated in the first U.S.-based Latin Business Case Competition organized by the Vanderbilt Latin Business Association. The student-run competition was held at Owen March 28 and welcomed MBA teams from Ohio State, Washington University, Indiana University, Georgia Institute of [...]
A scholarship established to honor former Career Management Center Director Peter Veruki now bears his name. A group that includes Georgiana and Eric Noll, MBA'90; Paul Jacobson, MBA'97; Kevin Kimery, MBA'93; Heiki Miki, MBA'96; Dave Willis, MBA'97; David DiFranco, MBA'99; and Veruki's wife, Judy Spinella, EMBA'93, established the scholarship in 2012. Under funding rules, scholarships [...]
Todd Jackson, BA'96, EMBA'08, received the inaugural Alumni Volunteer Award from the Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board of Directors. The award recognizes an alumnus who has positively represented the institution and its mission and has a significant pattern of volunteer service to the university. As founders and co-chairs of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Young Ambassadors, Jackson [...]
What do the Milwaukee Brewers, the Emperor of Japan, and a famous shipwreck and song have in common with Owen ? The answer can be found in the life of the late Edmund B. Fitzgerald.
Editor Nancy Wise Designers Michael T. Smeltzer Art Director Donna Pritchett Photography Daniel Dubois, Steve Green, Lauren Holland, Joe Howell, Anne Rayner, John Russell, Susan Urmy Contributors Joanne Lamphere Beckham, BA'63; Eric Butterman; Bonnie Arant Ertelt, BS'81; Randy Horick; Rob Simbeck; Sandy Smith; Ryan Underwood,BA'96 Dean M. Eric Johnson, Ralph Owen Dean and Bruce D. [...]
Leadership at Owen: A special edition on how it's taught, why it grows and who exemplifies it.
Alumni-owned OwerDog has recruited hundreds of professional athletes to play the video world's most popular multiplayer games, including Call of Duty, Madden NFL, FIFA and NBA2K, with fans via the OverDog mobile application.
Last October,Amelia Emmert became the first member of Vanderbilt's 2008 inaugural master of accountancy class to reach the level of audit manager.
Every leader has an executive and an elephant inside them, says Dick Daft. Successful leaders must recognize both sides of themselves and use them to be effective.
A video made by students about Project Pyramid spread across the Web and earned a second place award from Johnson & Johnson in the company's "Be Vital" video contest.
American Airlines Group CEO Doug Parker, MBA'86, and his team celebrate the successful merger of US Airways and American Airlines.
Dr. Jim Jirjis, EMBA'06 Chief Health Information Officer, HCA Career Path Milestones: Chief Medical Information Officer, Vanderbilt University Medical Center "Go through the doorway that leads to the most other doorways." That advice from his premed adviser has served Jim Jirjis very well through a career that has led him to the post of chief [...]
Already, Owen's one-year master's program graduates are demonstrating that they have the skills needed to make a difference in the workplace.
Students take charge in the more than 40 student-run organizations at Owen.
Hands-on involvement has always been a hallmark of Owen student groups. See what they were up to this year.
Great minds, stretching from Aristotle to Steve Jobs, have come up with a variety of different ways to define the essence of leadership. How does Vanderbilt set about teaching leadership, a topic that has so many different meanings for so many different people? It comes down to three important pillars.
Despite handling demanding courses and intensive team projects, Owen students eagerly take charge of a variety of student organizations and activities. Is it worth it?
All high-potential leaders are marked by seven essential signposts that indicate their likelihood of future success. Identifying such high-potential leaders early lets an organization deliberately develop future executives.
Why does a business school professor study poverty? Why would a retailer allow one manufacturer to determine shelf space and even pricing for an entire category of product–even that of competitors? Two professors share about their research interests.
But what excites me most about this new generation of leaders—in addition to celebrating their many successes—is what it says about the growing robustness of the Owen network.
Francis Guess has been a problem solver in business, government, community and nonprofit arenas ever since he returned from Vietnam and picked Vanderbilt's new graduate management school instead of law school.
Alumni Jason Reusch, MBA'05, and Steve Berneman, MBA'10, JD'10, were among the Owen alumni who greeted incoming students at the welcome event in August. The incoming class includes 166 full-time MBA students, 53 Executive MBA students, 33 MAcc Valuation students, 43 MS Finance students and 29 Master of Management in Health Care students. More than [...]
Owen alumni donated $314,694 in honor of their reunion in April 2013. Alumni Board President Brent Turner, MBA'99, (center), prepares to present the really big check to Dean Jim Bradford during the weekend's kick-off barbecue.
Eric Johnson, Owen's new dean, is a leader, researcher, teacher, administrator and trailblazer. Discover why he came back to the school where he began his teaching career and why he expects big things and breakthroughs.
Owen and Vanderbilt's health care community are taking care of business—together.
A toast to New Harmony … and bonds that last. On a warm August evening, the incoming Class of 2015 toasted new friendships and surviving the day's rigorous schedule.


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Morning Music Musings: Bugattis, Stripes and Orange Jumpsuits
Contributing Digital Editor
This morning, during my daily workout session (read: torture), Ace Hood's "Bugatti" came on over the stereo. This prompted a conversation about the recent popularity of Bugattis in song lyrics. The cars themselves have been around for a while, but haven't received the same pop culture recognition as, say, a Ferrari. My friend recalled a few other fairly new songs that mention them, and then I brought it back to Konvict's remix of Gwen Stefani's "Sweet Escape". Gwen mentions peeling off in one of the 1.2 million dollar cars after swapping in her Maserati. Sweet life. Anyway, I argued that she was one of the first to popularize the car, even if it didn't take off.
Nobody seemed to care.
Whichever your preference, here are both songs to listen to. Both will help you take on the Monday you know is waiting. And of course, shop some convict clothing above.


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This Q&A originally was published in Enzymatic, the newsletter for the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology's Undergraduate Affiliate Network.
By Emily Heuring
Emily Heuring left the bench for a career that would help policymakers understand scientific concepts. Here, she reflects on her work at the Institute for Defense Analyses.
By Elizabeth Iorns
Now, instead of spending my days at the bench, I spend them with my small team of software developers and business developers in rented offices in Palo Alto — the heart of Silicon Valley. Instead of writing grant applications, I court investors and partners. But building a business is also about testing hypotheses: ideas about what our users need and want.
By Jonathan Gitlin
How one "fresh-faced pharmacology graduate" became a science policy analyst in the Policy and Program Analysis Branch of the Office of the Director at the National Human Genome Research Institute.
By Nick Zagorski
A conversation with Jorge Cham, the creator of "PHD Comics."
An interview with Alan Marnett, founder of BenchFly.com, a resource dedicated to providing researchers with protocols to support their lives both in and out of the lab.
By Angela Hopp
David R. Wilson, a member of ASBMB's Minority Affairs Committee, takes risks that promise to pay off for him and young underrepresented scientists.
By Mary Canady
Mary Canady is the founder of Comprendia, a firm specializing in helping biotechnology and life science companies grow through the creation, commercialization and communication of value. Here she describes her journey from crystallographer to marketing entrepreneur.
By Sarah Edwards
Why bother networking? "The statistics speak for themselves: I hear regularly that networking fills 80 percent of jobs. For four out of every five jobs, the person hiring is somehow connected to the person being hired. That's why you should bother."
By Catherine Griswold
Genetic counselor Catherine Griswold recounts the many steps she took to answer the ubiquitous question, "What do you want to do after school?"
Research scientist Saurabh Sen gives some practical job-seeking advice and talks about his current job at Lucigen Corporation.
More from the current issue


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Cambridge University Press et al v. Patton et al
Filing 470
USCA Acknowledgment of 465 Notice of Appeal, filed by Oxford University Press, Inc., Sage Publications, Inc., Cambridge University Press. Case Appealed to USCA Case Number 12-15147-F (fem)
Case: 12-15147 Date Filed: 10/05/2012 Page: 1 of 2 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ELBERT PARR TUTTLE COURT OF APPEALS BUILDING 56 Forsyth Street, N.W. Atlanta, Georgia 30303 John Ley Clerk of Court For rules and forms visit www.ca11.uscourts.gov October 15, 2012 Jonathan Bloom Weil Gotshal & Manges, LLP 767 5TH AVE NEW YORK, NY 10153-0023 Edward B. Krugman Bondurant Mixson & Elmore, LLP 1201 W PEACHTREE ST NW STE 3900 ATLANTA, GA 30309 Todd D. Larson Weil Gotshal & Manges, LLP 767 5TH AVE NEW YORK, NY 10153-0023 John H. Rains IV Bondurant Mixson & Elmore, LLP 1201 W PEACHTREE ST NW STE 3900 ATLANTA, GA 30309 R. Bruce Rich Weil Gotshal & Manges, LLP 767 5TH AVE NEW YORK, NY 10153-0023 Randi Wolkenbreit Singer Weil Gotshal & Manges, LLP 767 5TH AVE NEW YORK, NY 10153-0023 Appeal Number: 12-15147-F Case Style: Cambridge University Press, et al v. J. Albert, et al District Court Docket No: 1:08-cv-01425-ODE The referenced case has been docketed in this court. Please use the appellate docket number noted above when making inquiries. Attorneys who wish to participate in this appeal must be properly admitted either to the bar of this court or for this particular proceeding pursuant to 11th Cir. R. 46-1. An attorney not yet properly admitted must file an appropriate application for admission within fourteen (14) days from this date. In addition, all attorneys (except court-appointed counsel) who wish to participate in this appeal must complete and return an appearance form within fourteen (14) days. Application for Admission to the Case: 12-15147 Date Filed: 10/05/2012 Page: 2 of 2 Bar and Appearance of Counsel Form are available on the Internet at www.ca11.uscourts.gov . The clerk may not accept motions or other filings from an attorney until that attorney files an appearance form. See 11th Cir. R. 46-5. 11th Cir. R. 33-1(a) requires appellant to file a Civil Appeal Statement in most civil appeals. You must file an original and one copy of a completed Civil Appeal Statement, with service on all other parties, within 14 days from the date of this letter. Civil Appeal Statement forms are available on the Internet at www.ca11.uscourts.gov , and as provided by 11th Cir. R. 33-1(a). We have not yet received the Certificate of Interested Persons and Corporate Disclosure Statement (CIP) required by FRAP 26.1 and the accompanying circuit rules. The rules provide that the certificate must be filed by every appellant [and cross-appellant] with this court within 14 days after the date the appeal is docketed in this court, or along with the filing in this court by any party of any motion, petition, or pleading, whichever occurs first. The rules further provide that on the same day a paper certificate is served, the party filing it must also complete the court's web-based certificate at the "Electronic Filing" link of the court's website, www.ca11.uscourts.gov , by electronically providing the information required for that form. Only the ticker symbols for publicly traded corporations that are listed on the paper CIP must be entered in the web-based system. If your CIP does not include any publicly traded corporations, you are required to go to the website and simply click the button indicating that you have no publicly traded corporations to report. Pro se parties are not required or authorized to complete the web-based certificate. You are hereby notified that the clerk is not authorized to submit to the court any brief (except for the reply brief of an appellant or cross-appellant), petition, answer, motion or response that does not contain the certificate, but may receive and retain the papers pending supplementation of the papers with the required certificate. You are also hereby notified that failure to submit the required certificate will result in your document(s) being returned unfiled which may ultimately result in dismissal of your appeal. Pursuant to Eleventh Circuit Rule 42-1(b) you are hereby notified that upon expiration of (14) days from this date, this appeal will be dismissed by the clerk without further notice unless the default(s) noted below have been corrected: File a Transcript Order Form , as required by Fed.R.App.P. 10(b)(1); a Transcript Information Form is available from the district court clerk. Appellant is required to file and serve copies of the form in accordance with the instructions included on the form. Sincerely, JOHN LEY, Clerk of Court Reply to: Gerald B. Frost, F Phone #: (404) 335-6182 DKT-2 Appeal WITH Deficiency


text: When it comes to celebrities in t-shirts there is always underlying humor. Take Ashlee Simpson sporting a Led Zeppelin t-shirt. I'm shocked she listens to Led Zeppelin, let alone could spell it. A while back we spotted sister Jessica wearing a different Led Zeppelin concert tee. So who's borrowing from who?


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I hurt: the ones i love.
I love: the ones that have made me who i am today.
I hate: it when i don't know when to shut my mouth.
I cry: when i let my mind stray to the places where it shouldn't go.
I fear: too many things.
I hope: to live unashamedly and be content with what i have.
I sadden: when i think of lost chances.
I feel alone: even when i'm not.
I kill: the urge to run into heavy traffic.
I talk: when i feel so inclined.
I listen: when i am spoken to. (sometimes)
I break: in your pain.
I see: insecurities.
I smell: cigarettes.
I taste: your words.
I work: sporadically.
I remember: you.
I hold: onto the past.
I hide: my face.
I pray: not so often anymore.
I walk: not knowing where the next step will take me.
I drive: people away. [sometimes]
I read: that look in your eyes.
I burn: to know what love is.
I breathe: whenever i'm alive.
I play: with the notion of eternity.
I miss: the sound of your voice and the comfort of your smile.
I touch: but don't look.
I learn: from others' mistakes.
I feel: pretty damn uncertain.
I know: very little.
I said: don't let go.
I dream: the impossible.
I have: all that i need.
I want: you to know that i miss you.
I fall: over things thrown in my path.
I wait: for answers that never come.
I need: you tell me that it will be alright.
I live: for the possible outcome.
I die: everytime i wake.
this isn't my results.. these are somebody else's. but god, they're everything i feel right now.
|© 2002-2008. Blurty Journal. All rights reserved.


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Nearly four-fifths of the financial institutions that responded to a survey at First Datas Leadership Summit in May said that they did not have a clear understanding of the criteria they should consider when choosing a new or additional PIN debit network partner.
This poses quite a challenge because the Durbin amendment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 prohibits exclusive arrangements between a card issuer and a single debit network provider, or two affiliated providers.
The Federal Reserve Board recently issued its final regulations implementing that law (certain regulations were mandated in the statute), cementing the need for many financial institutions to diversify their network relationships by joining an additional, unaffiliated network. We now know that networks cannot enforce exclusive arrangements with banks beginning this October and issuers must participate in two unaffiliated debit networks beginning April 1, 2012. So what do banks need to bear in mind as they decide which debit network solutions to pick?
Until now, the focus of many financial institutions was on revenue generation. Card issuers often partnered with debit networks and promoted authentication methods that allowed them to generate the most interchange income. The Dodd-Frank law and the Federal Reserve Boards implementing regulations, however, set limits on debit interchange for financial institutions with $10 billion and above in assets, making pricing less of a differentiator.
Today, financial institutions need to look for long-term network value that goes beyond mere revenue. The decision will be based on the best overall value that can be realized throughout the duration of the partnership.
Evaluating an EFT network is no longer as simple as defining geographic coverage and comparing pricing, said Patti Hewitt, director, debit advisory service, Mercator Advisory Group. Even without the motivation of regulation, a debit issuers EFT network relationships can be important sources of value-added services. That makes these decisions more important and, one could argue, even imperative in todays expansive, competitive market.
Now that the final regulations have been approved by the Federal Reserve Board, it is time for financial institutions to make decisions to keep ahead of both the compliance deadline and their competition. The benefits of acting now include:
Here is a look at the five new value propositions for selecting a PIN debit network:
1) Acceptance
Now more than ever, financial institutions need to consider a networks value to merchants. Due to the new payment landscape created by Durbin, merchants will be a driving force in payments processing. So a financial institution should partner with a PIN debit network that can demonstrate broader merchant acceptance throughout the United States.
Merchant influence aside, the ability to use a debit card safely and securely is important to the consumer. According to Mercator Advisory Groups The Economics of Debit Acquiring, growth in debit card transaction numbers and dollar volume has outpaced credit, and this trend is expected to continue as cash and check payments at the point-of-sale are increasingly replaced by card transactions.
This further reinforces the importance of debit to issuers and the payments industry, and the need to choose a network that is positioned to grow acceptance broadly.
2) Operational Capabilities
With predicted growth of PIN debit payments, it is important that financial institutions consider the system integrity including network uptime and approval rates of any new debit network partner. Also, once the prohibition against exclusive debit network arrangements is in effect (beginning Oct. 1, 2011, for networks, and April 1, 2012, for issuers), there will be considerable movement of payments to alternative PIN debit networks. The new network partner must have the capacity to handle an influx of transaction volume from a processing and settlement perspective, as well as from a customer support perspective.
The new partner also must be able to handle other operational requirements that result from the regulation, such as a pricing structure that supports two rate tiers one for banks subject to the regulated rate and one for those that are not.
3) Fraud Mitigation and Risk Reduction
Financial institutions should look for a network partner that has innovative yet cost-effective fraud mitigation, risk reduction and data security solutions. Such solutions can help drive fraud and risk out of the payments value chain within the card, the merchant process, the issuing process, and the transaction, reducing a financial institutions costs and liabilities and providing a boost to the bottom line.
4) Future Positioning
Regardless of the Durbin amendment, the payments landscape is changing fast. The acceptance of mobile payments is increasing, the industry is beginning the migration from magnetic stripe to contactless and potentially to chip and PIN, and person-to-person payment services are emerging.
Given the innovation taking place in the financial services industry, banks need to plan and develop strategies for how to integrate these emerging technologies and solutions into their current offerings. A component of any future positioning strategy should include choosing a debit network partner that is positioned to successfully build and deploy solutions that can deliver value and position issuers for competitive advantage and has a track record of doing so.
5) Relationships
One notable outcome of the Durbin amendment is that, for the first time, merchants will now be able to route debit card transactions (to the networks enabled on the debit card). This may make it advantageous to consider selecting a network partner that already has deep relationships on the issuing and acquiring sides of the payments value chain.
The Bottom Line
In the midst of the changing payments landscape, one thing is certain: Some financial institutions may need to choose a new or additional debit network partner to comply with the new regulations. Financial institutions must choose their network partners based on long-term value, opportunities for growth and a strategic business advantage.
Not only should financial institutions carefully consider all of the strategic implications of selecting additional debit network partners they should act quickly to mitigate risks and capitalize on potential first-mover advantages in the altered payments landscape.
Kevin Barry is general manager, STAR Network.
Vendor Q&A
How will the Feds final rule on interchange fees affect your payments network offering?
PULSE: The majority of our network volume is from issuers with less than $10 billion in consolidated assets. These non-regulated issuers represent a core customer segment for us. Our plan for our PIN and signature debit products is to support an interchange fee structure that takes advantage of the exemption for small issuers and offers superior value.
SHAZAM: SHAZAM will continue to aggressively pursue new capabilities and growth opportunities for financial institutions in payments. For example, we have recently enabled PIN-based point-of-sale for Internet merchants using two different technologies. We are also developing a mobile infrastructure that will allow us to enhance card management and fraud alerting. We will add payment applications to this platform over time, including person-to-person transfers and near field communications for contactless payments.
First Data: We are already making the necessary investments and upgrades and preparing for conversions so that we can meet all regulatory deadlines and STAR can support the anticipated volumes. In fact, we are investing to scale STARs capacity by 300 percent.
How will the payments landscape change in the next two to five years?
First Data: We will continue to see dramatic changes in the financial services industry as a result of changing consumer behavior, including the growth of debit, especially PIN; the uptake of mobile banking and mobile payments; and even the use of social media to exchange money and gifts. Millennial and Gen Y consumers are used to having technology integrated into most aspects of their work and personal lives, and payments are no exception. Financial institutions will have to cater to these consumers needs as their influence continues to grow during the next several years. Offering secure banking and payments technology will be critical in keeping the younger consumer loyal.
PULSE: Despite the challenges posed by the FRB rules, we believe debit will continue to grow. In fact, the 2011 Debit Issuer Study, commissioned by PULSE, found that issuers expect 7 percent growth in transactions in 2011.
SHAZAM: SHAZAM is hopeful that over the next five years the payments industry will be driven by technology rather than regulation. These technological changes will come in the form of advances to a variety of payment transactions.
What is the most important criterion a bank should consider when choosing a debit network partner?
SHAZAM: In choosing a debit network partner, we believe financial institutions should consider low costs; high-touch customer service; financial stability; growth strategy; and payment programs. Additionally, Regulation II is likely a huge factor for financial institutions looking to choose a debit network partner. Using a PIN-based network as a payment brand will ultimately assist financial institutions in maintaining an appropriate return for their debit card portfolios post implementation of Regulation II.
PULSE: The most important criterion is value, which takes into account a number of factors, including interchange revenue, network fees, reach or acceptance, electronic payments services, customer service and services that add value for participants.
First Data: The first thing financial institutions should consider is acceptance. In this post-Durbin world, merchants are a newly empowered driving force in payments processing. Not only should financial institutions consider a networks value to merchants, but they should also partner with a PIN debit network that has merchant acceptance throughout the country.
Copyright © August 2011 BankNews Media


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Dear Ugly Betty writing staff,
You know I love you. You've helped me break my Survivor addiction. You've given me addictive catchphrases and descriptive terms like, "Hoe-lah," "Did you just gesture at me when you said Kwanzaa?" and "fabulously douche-y." You've even inspired me to consider redecorating my kitchen in sterile Wilhelmina chic.
But I've got a small bone to pick with you: Where the heck is my favorite futuregay, Justin? He was conspicuously absent from the November 2 episode, and last night, he had only a handful of lines. Granted, his "Martha Stewart?!" moment was hilarious, but I'm hoping, as TV Watch reader Rose fretted on our message boards this morning, that you didn't get some note from corporate to "Ixnay on the aygay idkay!" Tell me it isn't so. Tell me we'll get at least one major Justin scene per episode for the rest of the season. In fact, tell me right this minute, Justin's auditioning for the school musical, and he'll need Betty and Hilda's help to run lines. And, finally, tell me you're taking out an ad in Variety pushing Mark Indelicato's Best Supporting Actor Emmy bid. Because the kid deserves it.
All together now. (Slow clap.) Jus-tin! Jus-tin! Jus-TIN! JUS-TIN!
P.S. One other nitpick. I know Betty is Queens to the bone, but the prom dress last night? Seriously? Our heroine knows better than that, and you should, too.


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Utica Weather
Current Temp 29.0 °F
Wind : East at 3.5 MPH (3 KT)
Humidity : 78 %
Pressure : 1028.0 mb
Teen sentenced for murder and sexual assault of toddler he babysat
UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - The teenage babysitter who pleaded guilty to the sexual assault and murder of a toddler in his care has learned just how long he will spend in a detention facility.
On Monday in Oneida County Family Court, Judge Griffith gave Alec Champagne 18 months in a secure facility, 12 months in a residential facility. The judge said Champagne will then be under a 2 1/2 year evaluation by the Office of Children and Family Services for further action.
Judge Griffith could only sentence Champagne to a maximum of five years total, thus leading to the combined total of five years between the secure facility, the residential facility and the evaluation period.
He could be held up to the age of 21 if the OCFS feels it is warranted.
Champagne, 14, was a junior high student in Whitesboro when he pleaded guilty in Oneida County Court back in December to sexually assaulting and murdering two year old Melissa Calhoun, of Yorkville, a toddler he had been babysitting in June.
In December, Champagne told the court all the graphic details of June 18, the day he was babysitting the Calhoun. In court, Champagne said he was picked up that night by the Calhoun family and brought to their house to watch the two year-old girl and her one year-old brother.
A woman saying she was Melissa Calhoun's aunt tells NEWSChannel 2 that only the mother picked up Champagne that night and peeked in on the child, saying the father was not present for those events.
Champagne told the court he put the two to bed around 8 p.m., but Melissa Calhoun woke up around 10 p.m. crying, Champagne told the court.
"I hit her with the back of my hand because she wouldn't stop crying," Champagne told the judge back in December.
After the initial strike, Champagne said he texted Melissa's mother to tell her she bit her lip, but that it was no need to come home.
Champagne then described how he hit the toddler with the refrigerator, and knocked her down several times because she wouldn't stop crying.
After the two watched television for a while, Melissa spilled water on her clothes. Champagne said after he took the toddler's clothes off, he sexually assaulted her.
"You never thought to tell anyone about the injuries?" asked Oneida County Court Judge Barry Donalty
"No," Champagne replied.
According to Champagne, Calhoun suffered four blows to the head before she was put in her room to sleep. The Calhoun family arrived home around 1 a.m. at which time they "peeked" into the children's room to see if they were asleep.
The next morning, Champagne woke up around 7:30 a.m., just before the Calhoun family discovered Melissa was dead.
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