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A man loses his soul at sea in "pen/man/ship."
Christina Anderson's richly imagined period piece takes us aboard an epic maritime voyage from America to Liberia in 1896. The densely plotted racial and class histories of her characters give this brave and gripping new play a sense of depth and mystery that's quite compelling. Shot through with elegant writing and astute performances in its world premiere at San Francisco's Magic Theatre, "pen/man/ship" nevertheless drifts off course in its second act and sacrifices some of the power of the experience. And yet it's hard not to cheer for Magic Theatre, which is making a comeback built on its genius for launching just such intrepid new voices.
Anderson embarks on a sly study in identity and politics on a 19th-century ship bound for Africa. All of the passengers on this ship, a rotted out whaling vessel that smells of butchery, are black. Some dream of coming home to Africa, and others fear the chaos of uncharted seas. At first it seems as if the well-heeled businessman Charles (a regal Adrian Roberts) is the captain of the ship. Burning with scorn for the common man, he has insulated himself from the rest of humanity with his wealth and stature. No one rates a very high estimation in his eyes, least of all Jacob (Eddie Ray Jackson), his son, who is bound to his father by a rigid sense of duty and religion.
The playwright navigates the power dynamics between the three main characters with great finesse in a compelling first act that isn't afraid of lulls in the action. Intelligently directed by Ryan Guzzo Purcell, the narrative unfolds at a steady pace that evokes the rhythm of a long voyage. Angrette McCloskey's stunning set, an ark of reeds that suggests both a seafaring vessel and a cage, grounds the ambiguous play in the concrete.
Almost everything outside the bones of the ship and the crashes of the waves (lush sound design by Sara Huddleston) is fluid and unknowable in this universe. That's part of the intensity of the first act, trying to figure out why Charles loathes women, why his son stands by him and what demons chased Ruby away from her home in the Jim Crow South.
Roberts colors Charles with a provocative combination of integrity and hatefulness. Trapped below decks, pen in hand, he keeps a journal of his passage with little but his bottle of gin to keep him company. He is not a personable sort and only the gentle-hearted crewman Cecil (a deft Tyee Tilghman) can stand him.
Large is memorable as the sole woman aboard. Raised to scrape and toady to white people, Ruby comes into her own with the promise of building a new life in Africa. Large nails her rage as well as her thrilling sense of discovery as she realizes that there are many men who will look to her to lead them to safety. Jackson etches a complicated character with nuance so that Jacob's changes of heart never seem strained. All of the characters are buffeted by the storms of fear and greed and violence as "pen/man/ship" gains speed.
If the drama never quite achieves the explosive emotional crescendo it seems to be reaching for, it may be because the playwright has not yet fully sketched out the arcs of her central characters. It's unclear where the turning points are, for example, in Jacob's quest to become his own man or Ruby's embrace of her bravery. The play closes with an unforgettable tableau, a black man coming back to Africa in shackles, but the journey to that image isn't yet fully realized.
Contact Karen D'Souza at 408-271-3772. Read her at www.mercurynews.com/karen-dsouza, and follow her at Twitter.com/karendsouza4.
By Christina Anderson,
presented by Magic Theatre
Through: June 15
Where: Building D, Fort
Mason Center, San Francisco
Running time: 2 hours,
one intermission
Tickets: $30-$60;


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The reason no minutes silence will be observed at Prem games this weekend (and indeed was not observed on Monday last) has been revealed. It is KNOWN that the silence would NOT be observed by those attending the games and would in fact cause great embarrassment to the memory of Margaret Thatcher,milk snatcher.
I say give her her minutes silence......and lets have a good chortle on her behalf.
To those bourgeoisie who gave my former 'Thatcher DEAD' post 3 thumbs down, without the balls to reply, you made my day.
I do hope it left you smarting!
Much love.
You're so desperate for attention, its quite pathetic really.

subset: commoncrawl


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Laurie O'Connell, the owner of Perch, a new women's clothing and accessories store, opened her doors on Wednesday night to welcome friends and admirers. The name Perch comes from her location, perched above the ice skating rink at Solaris, boasting a lofty view of the surrounding village. O'Connell hails from Eagle, and her downvalley friends showed up en force to celebrate her hard work turned into gorgeous retail store. There were many compliments to her style and merchandising.
Pamela Betoni had worked in Neiman Marcus and compared the Perch collections to the quality she saw while working in the high-end store.
"This store is beautiful," Betoni said. "I love the clothes and the feel of the space."
The open, airy, modern store boasts white on white with contemporary artwork and furniture. Be sure to stop in and see for yourself the sharp contrast to a past favorite, the previous tenant, The Bag and Pack Shop. Congratulations and good luck go out to O'Connell as she lives out a dream.
"My children are getting older, so I see the light at the end of the tunnel and was able to do this," O'Connell said.
The Perch gets high approval marks, and O'Connell was commended by friends and acquaintances alike.


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Shell Abandons Fracking Plans For BC's Sacred Headwaters
Carol Linnitt | December 18, 2012
By Carol Linnitt • Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 15:32
Shell Canada announced that the company will immediately abandon plans to frack for natural gas in an area of British Columbia known as the Sacred Headwaters on Tahltan Nation traditional territory. The province of BC says it will issue a permanent moratorium on oil and gas tenures in the area.
According to the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition, Shell's plans involved the construction of nearly 300 kilometers of road and over 4000 wells, as well as pipeline infrastructure and compressor stations.


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Does Anyone Here Know Much About Their Family History?
Posted 08 March 2006 - 08:49 PM
i'm ashamed to admit I don't but I'm going to investigate.
Anyone with interseting stories?
Posted 30 March 2006 - 11:01 AM
I do however know that at least three of my grandparents helped in the Second World War - one was in the army medical corp, one worked on the ground in the RAF and my Nan did bus conducting - I've got a picture of her - in Birmingham. I also know I have a history on the sea with relations in the merchant and royal Navy. I know I've had at least one relation somewhere up the line who ended up in the workhouse!
Posted 30 April 2006 - 02:44 PM
Posted 20 November 2006 - 09:03 PM
When I was about twelve they started introducing it to me, and loving history, I throughly enjoyed reading stories about my ancestors. And there are quite a few interesting ones.
My grandmother and her family are from Germany, and my great grandmother actually wrote her memoirs of the second world war, and my grandmother also wrote what happened to my great grandfather who fought in the German army. My grandfather and his side of the family is from Denmark, and have worked hard on genealogy for many years. I had always thought that that side was purely danish, but not that far back there were gypsy ancestors, and English. Also really, really far back were also some Russians and other random nationalities.
But to my families great surprise, it was my mothers unexplored side of the family that proved to be the most interesting on. As far as I know it is purely danish. Her uncle was a freedom fighter in Denmark during second World War. If you go further back in time, her family name actually came from a succession of priests in the local church, which took upon themselves the name of the town in which they served. Her family we have been able to trace really, really far back, and there are loads of cool stories about her family!
Posted 04 December 2006 - 08:18 PM
Posted 05 December 2006 - 12:13 AM
I would avoid the commercial websites.
Finally, try your local Mormon Church - they will be able to advise you how to use their records to trace your immediate ancestors.
Posted 05 December 2006 - 05:56 PM
http://www.genuki.org.uk/gs/ gives advice on how to go about it.
I would avoid the commercial websites.
Finally, try your local Mormon Church - they will be able to advise you how to use their records to trace your immediate ancestors.
My family are Mormons which partly explains why we know so much about our family history. Mormons believe that family history is very important.
Also if you want help with studying your family history, their are usurally always loads of books at the libraries, also for beginners like me.
Posted 15 December 2006 - 11:44 PM
Posted 22 December 2011 - 12:25 PM
Does anyone here know much about their family History?
I know this all began a long time ago, as it were, but I thought this thread was worth updating.
Mr. Clare's advice was:
I would avoid the commercial websites.
Nowadays these sites can be fantastically helpful in finding information, but you usually have to pay an annual subscription, so best to leave this until you are earning enough money. Fortunately, there is a huge amount of free information on the internet. Not all of it is necessarily accurate, but it saves an awful lot of time and effort.
However, as mentioned in some of the posts mentioned on this thread, there is one great free source of priceless information: your own family. This is especially true during the holiday season when many families get together. So, now is the time to start taking notice of what your grandparents say when they are reminiscing about the 'old days'. Or finding out if Uncle Fred or Auntie Doris (other aunts and uncles are available) remember what life was like during the Second World War, for example. Your parents will also have a lot of useful information, even if they haven't done any research themselves. Then, write it down before it gets forgotten. I never talked to my grandmothers about their lives and I've always regretted it. They were interesting people and I only found that out after they had died.
A caution: as good historians, you need to use the evidence you find carefully. Many families have stories which may be completely true, based on fact or just legends. So, you need to use the sources you can find (beginning with the site listed by Mr. Clare) to check whether what you have heard is true. Be careful not to upset anyone. As mentioned by one poster, some areas can revive painful memories.
You never know what you may find: my father always believed his family were dyed-in-the wool Geordies from the North-East of England, but found out that they originally came from somewhere else entirely.
To anyone considering looking at their family history, good luck.
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Hunter near a pond, in a clearing
Signed in black lead pencil bottom left: A v. d. Velde
Son and student of Willem van de Velde the Elder and brother of Willem van de Velde the Younger – both famous marine painters – Adriaen did not follow in their footsteps and far from being a specialist, he was equally accomplished at landscapes with figures, views of dunes and beaches, winter scenes, genre painting and a few portraits.
A painter, draughtsman and extremely gifted and prolific engraver, he died prematurely at the age of 36.
This drawing can rightly be called one of the master's most significant works on account of the fullness of its treatment of nature and the harmonious way in which man and dog are integrated into the scene.
The supple and monumental composition and consummate graphic mastery are characteristic of the mature artist in style.
The subtle arrangement of chiaroscuro and the variety of plant species depicted help to create the illusion of spontaneous naturalism. The sombre, refined tonal combination of greys and russets perfectly conjures up the hunting season of early autumn.


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This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.
June 28, 2006
Hawaii's New Energy Bills to Boost Efficiency, Renewable Energy
Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle capped off her approval of a package of energy bills on June 26th by signing Senate Bill 2957, which encourages renewable energy and renewable fuels. The new bill raises the limits on the state's tax credits for solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, and wind energy systems and makes the tax credits permanent. To encourage homeowners to install cost-effective renewable energy systems such as solar hot water systems, the bill establishes a pilot project for utility financing of the systems, allowing homeowners to pay the cost through their electric bills over a period of time. To boost the use of biodiesel in Hawaii, the bill establishes a preference for biodiesel when the state government buys fuel. The bill also establishes programs to provide funds to conduct a statewide biofuels assessment; to assist the agricultural community with the development of energy projects; and for the research, development, and testing of hydrogen power technologies. See the governor's press release and the full text of SB 2957.
The governor's "Energy for Tomorrow" package also included three other energy bills—House Bills 2175 and 2848 and Senate Bill 3185—that she signed on May 12th and June 2nd. HB 2175 requires the state to lead by example, setting green building standards for state buildings; instructing state agencies to maximize their use of energy-saving contracts; appropriating $5 million for solar power systems on public schools; and requiring 20 percent of the state's new vehicles to be hybrids, alternative fuel vehicles, or the most efficient vehicles in their class, with the percentage increasing to 35 percent in 2007 and to 75 percent in 2015. The bill also encourages new green buildings by giving them priority when they apply for construction permits. See the governor's press release and the full text of HB 2175.
SB 3185 strengthens the state's renewable energy requirements by removing language regarding utility profits and authorizing the state's Public Utility Commission (PUC) to set penalties for failing to meet the standards. It removes links between fossil fuel costs and the price paid to renewable power producers, and allows the PUC to determine if utilities should absorb some of the impact of rising oil prices. It also establishes a public benefits fund for energy efficiency programs, and allows the PUC to decide if an independent agency should run the programs instead of the utilities. Finally, HB 2848 appropriates $200,000 to reconvene the Hawaii Energy Policy Forum to develop an action plan, timeline, recommendations, and benchmarks to meet the state's energy self-sufficiency goals. See the governor's press release and the full text of SB 3185 and HB 2848.