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"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice," reads a Martin Luther King Jr. quotation stitched into a new rug in the Oval Office. King recast this abolitionists' rallying cry on his march to Selma, Ala.
Growing up in a conservative Calvinist Midwestern community, I often heard King's critics object to his calls for racial justice. They scorned King as a Communist who lacked patriotism.
He wanted to redistribute wealth, they contended, by forcing the rich to sacrifice personal fortunes to support the poor. Critics aim similar barbs at President Barack Obama, saying his welfare state runs on the rails of socialism.
The president defended his pursuit of justice in Time Magazine's interview as 2012 Person of the Year. Echoing Martin Luther King, the president asks, "Are we satisfied with an America that is becoming more unequal, in which the combination of globalization and technology are creating a wider and wider divide between a few who do extraordinarily well and the majority of people who see their prospects diminish?
"Do we believe in an America that says some folks are more American than others or more worthy than others or more valued than others? Or do we believe in an America where that Declaration means what it says: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men, women, gays, straights, blacks, whites, disabled, not disabled - that all people are created equal?" (Time Magazine, Dec. 31, 2012-Jan. 7, 2013, p. 90).
Our president's impatience rises against those who raise unjust barricades. King's credo woven into the White House rug is more than a code of honor. It's what inspires Obama's passion to spread fairness. With shrewd analytical skills honed by community service work in Chicago, President Obama shows zest for bold political action. He's outmaneuvered Republican policy aimed at keeping wealth accumulation in the top 1percent.
The president commiserates with an electorate not retired in gated communities. He harnesses their energies against inequity. Obama crafts effective political messages promoting justice. He amplifies the Christian call to protect the weak.
Has the Republican Party veered from traditional American values of practicing charity to the poor? Is it their intent to slash the social safety net and allow Wall Street to run free of regulation? If so, declares the president, the corrupt prosper.
King and President Obama have stayed the course when pressing for a more just society. Their devotion to structural change that fairly treats citizens isn't deflected by belligerent foes. Like King, Obama resents Republicans who stubbornly insist that compromise is selling out on principles.
More than political conviction stirs justice. Furthering justice is at the heart of the Christian message.
At a 2011 Prayer Breakfast, Obama witnessed to how he "came to know Jesus Christ for myself and embrace him as my Lord and Savior." Such conviction coaxes Christians to press for justice. "We are reminded," Obama declared, "that ultimately what matters is not what other people say about us but whether we're being true to our conscience and true to God. 'Seek first his kingdom (Jesus' rule on Earth) and his righteousness (Jesus' just concern for the poor), and all these things will be given you, as well'" (Matthew 6:33).
Like King, Barack Obama believes social insurance programs ranging from Social Security to food stamps are concrete, just ways of helping needy citizens. They are favorite targets of those who dismiss welfare as disguised socialism.
Pressing for justice causes battles. In 1944 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt expressed ardor in a prayer he gave to the nation as our troops invaded Europe on D-Day beaches and fought against unjust Axis powers.
On Nov. 6, Roosevelt prayed, "Guide, we beseech thee, the nations of the world, into the way of justice and truth, and establish among them that peace which is the reward of righteousness.
"Make the whole people of this land equal to our high trust, reverent in use of freedom, just in the exercise of power, generous in the protection of weakness.
"Enable us to guard for the land among us the freedom we covet for ourselves; make us ill content with the inequities of opportunity which still prevail among us. Preserve our union against all our divisions of race and class which threaten it.
"And now may the blessing of God almighty rest upon this whole land. May it give us light to guide us, courage to support us, charity to unite us, now and forever more. Amen."
"Amen" means, "so be it, right on, do it!" Justice prevails when citizens and the Congress practice the faith Roosevelt, King and Obama share.
The Rev. Jack R. Van Ens is a Presbyterian minister who heads the nonprofit, tax-exempt Creative Growth (www.thelivinghistory.com), which enhances Christian worship through storytelling and dramatic presentations aimed to make God's history come alive. Van Ens' book, "How Jefferson Made the Best of Bad Messes," is available in local bookstores for $7.95.


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This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.
May 20, 2009
EPA Sets Energy Star Specifications for Computer Servers
Some computer servers will soon carry the Energy Star label, thanks to new specifications finalized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 18. Computer servers are the workhorses of the Internet, serving up text, image, and video files each time someone visits a Web page. To earn the Energy Star label, servers will have to employ efficient power supplies that don't degrade power quality and will have to include advanced power management features. To help server owners minimize their energy consumption, servers must also be able to measure their real-time power use, processor utilization, and air temperature, and server manufacturers must provide purchasers with information on their server's energy performance and energy-saving capabilities. On average, computer servers that carry the Energy Star label will be 30% more energy efficient than standard servers. Energy Star is joint program of DOE and the EPA. See the EPA press release and the Energy Star Web page for computer servers.
Electronic devices such as computer servers can be either villains or heroes for energy efficiency, depending on your viewpoint. The villainous viewpoint was expressed by the International Energy Agency (IEA) last week, when it released a report warning that the global energy use of household electronic devices may triple by 2030, unless policies are enacted to make them more energy efficient. The report notes that 15% of household electricity consumption goes toward electronic devices such as televisions, computers, and mobile phones, and their share of household electricity use is steadily rising. However, available technologies could slow the growth in consumption to less than 1% per year through 2030, avoiding the need for another 260,000 megawatts of new power generating capacity, which is more than today's generating capacity in Japan. See the IEA press release and a summary of the report (PDF 245 KB). Download Adobe Reader.
Of course, computer chips serve as the brains for today's electronic devices, and semiconductors are the building blocks for computer chips, sensors, and many other electronic components. But semiconductors are the heroes of energy efficiency, not the villains, according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Had the U.S. economy grown to its present size using technologies from the mid-1970s, we'd be using 20% more electricity today, according to a new ACEEE report. In fact, the U.S. economy could expand by more than 70% through 2030 and still use 11% less electricity than today, thanks to energy efficiency gains from semiconductor-based technologies. For instance, semiconductors enable the improved operation of motors and help provide a variety of "smart" energy solutions, from smart appliances and smart buildings to the Smart Grid. See the ACEEE press release and report.

subset: commoncrawl


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Led by top-three finishes from Ruby Wood, Quinntin Butler and Ryan Murphy, the Wolverines claimed the overall team victory in a CNISSF snowboard race at Northstar last Monday.
In the boys race, Butler finished runner-up to Jacob Peek of Placer High, posting a two-run combined time of 2:10.94 to Peek's 2:01.37 in the giant slalom race. Murphy followed in third place, with a time of 2:11.13.
Konrad Przybyslawski led the North Tahoe boys, as he finished fifth in 2:13.80, while Truckee's Casey Curtis was the next-best finisher for the Lakers or Wolverines in 22nd. There were 42 boys total.
The Placer boys took the team win with 1,497 points. Truckee's boys were second with 1,426 points, followed by Davis (1,410), Nevada Union (1,345), Colfax (1,338) and North Tahoe (720), which had only two racers.
Wood finished second for the Wolverines in the girls race, posting a time of 2:07.47 to Colfax winner Nelly Steinhoff's 2:05.92. Drew Bernadette of Nevada Union was third in 2:10.61.
Roxy Schumann led the Laker girls with a fifth-place finish in 2:17.70, while teammate Courtney Peters was ninth in 2:25.70, Brie Dubuc 15th in 2:35.51 and Sierra Aildasani 21st in 2:43.55.
Truckee's Sofie Maciel finished 10th in 2:26.08, while Claire Roberts was 12th in 2:27.35, Nichole Graham was 14th in 2:31.96 and Wynter Lim was 19th in 2:40.86. A total of 35 girls raced.
The Truckee girls came in second as a team behind Nevada Union, with 1,475 points to Nevada Union's 1,490. North Tahoe's girls were third with 1,440 points and were followed by Placer (1,336), Davis (1,320) and Colfax (1,050).
The second-place finishes by both their boys and girls teams gave the Wolverines the overall win with a combined score of 2,901 points. Nevada Union was second with 2,835 points, followed by Placer (2,833), Davis (2,730), Colfax (2,388) and North Tahoe (2,160).


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SAN JOSE -- Just like she did every year, Joy Johnson finished the New York City Marathon Sunday. The following morning she stationed herself outside the "Today" show where weatherman Al Roker, as always, looked for her and let the Willow Glen resident display her finisher's medal to a national audience.
But afterward Johnson, an 86-year-old retired P.E. teacher who was renowned in the worldwide running community for her marathon prowess, became ill at her hotel and was taken to a New York hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Her daughter, Diana Boydston, said the family is still piecing together the details of Johnson's last day.
"What's keeping us going right now is that she was doing what she loved," Boydston said Tuesday. "She wanted to die with her running shoes on, and she did."
Boydston said her mother apparently fell and hit her head Sunday around the 20-mile mark of the famous marathon. But she got up and completed the race -- for the 25th consecutive time. Then she made sure she was waiting for Roker first thing Monday morning.
Johnson was the oldest female finisher at a race that attracted more than 50,000 entrants. Chris Weiller, spokesman for the New York Road Runners, said Johnson also was a member of the prestigious "streakers" -- a tightknit group of runners who have completed 15 or more consecutive New York City Marathons.
"We're just so sad to hear about her passing," Weiller added. "She was an inspiration to everyone. We're really feeling her loss here."
Johnson, who grew up on a Minnesota dairy farm and landed in San Jose, was a well-liked and recognizable figure among South Bay runners with her bright smile and white hair tied neatly in a bun. She never understood the fuss made over her at races, and was a little star-struck when the media discovered her after she turned 80, highlighting her rare endurance running ability, including in a lengthy 2008 profile in this newspaper.
"So many people work harder than me and are so much better," Johnson said back then. "I just try to do the best that I can."
She didn't begin running until retiring from teaching at age 56. When a friend suggested they attempt the 1988 New York City Marathon, a passion was born.
"When I crossed that finish line in Central Park, I just knew this is what I would do the rest of my life," Johnson said in 2008. "Running makes you feel good. It's energizing. You sleep better at night. And the best part for me is you can eat anything you want."
Still, Boydston sometimes worried about her mother's love of running the 26.2-mile races.
"I live with her, so I would see the 86-year-old woman who struggled to walk late at night," she said. "But then in the morning, she would stretch a bit, eat some oatmeal, go to the track and then suddenly she was 32."
Johnson traveled last week to Minnesota to meet up with her sister, Faith Anderson, 83, before they continued on to New York.
The New York Daily News reported that in a pre-race interview Johnson said she proudly would be running at her own pace.
"I'll be at the back of the pack, but I don't mind," she said. "I just praise the Lord I can get out of bed each morning and run. A lot of people my age are in wheelchairs."
Boydston said she followed her mother's progress in the race online and knew that she completed the course in 7 hours, 57 minutes and 41 seconds -- a slow time by her standard. It was only later that Boydston learned from her aunt about the fall. Weiller, the race spokesman, said medical personnel examined Johnson after she crossed the finish line.
"She was alert, in good spirits and said a nice person had helped her up," he said. "She declined to go to the hospital for further evaluation."
It's unclear if Johnson's fall was related to her death.
The next morning, she was well enough for her annual chat with Roker, where she wore a scarf and held a rose. Her medal hung around her neck. There also was a bandage on the right side of her face and head.
Back at their hotel room, Johnson told her sister she wasn't feeling well and needed to lie down. She never woke up.
Since then, Boydston said she has been fielding calls from around the country, and even further away.
"I had somebody from Paris call, and I don't think she ever went there," Boydston said. "But she makes friends wherever she goes."
Boydston then caught herself speaking about her mother in the present tense, and began to choke up.
"This is how my mother wanted to live her life," she added. "I think she's probably looking down now and saying, 'Yeah, that's the way I wanted it.' "
Services are being planned in Minnesota, and a service will be held later in San Jose.


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'Asian stocks were mostly higher after a choppy session on Wednesday, with a U.S. monetary-policy meeting on tap for later in the global trading day and with European sovereign-debt woes never far from the spotlight'.
The Wall Street Journal reported late yesterday that Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1% to 18824.17, while the more volatile Shanghai Composite Index jumped 2.7% to 2512.96.
The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.2% to 8741.16 in Tokyo, the S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 0.8% to 4071.80 in Sydney, India's Sensex fell 0.2% to 17065.15 and the Kospi climbed 1% to 1854.28 in Seoul after seesawing earlier in the day.
"Investors are waiting for more news on Europe and for the Federal Open Market Committee meeting," said Ben Kwong, chief operating officer at KGI Asia. "The trend remains uncertain, and sentiment remains cautious."
Sadly, however, Wall Street reversed this trend overnight, despite rumours of the US Fed introducing 'operation twist' for the first time since 1961.
Robert Gottliebsen reports that CCB International Securities managing director Paul Schulte, publisher of the CCBIS-China Credit Monitor, has agreed to keep him updated on changes in China banking.
'Last night', Gottliebsen said, perhaps helping explain Shanghai's market surge, 'he sent me important news saying that it looks as if China may now be joining the growing number of non-Western countries that are loosening in the face of Western economic stagnation.
After 16 months of tightening, we are seeing an easing in the lending attitudes of the banks. More banks are expecting an increase in loan approvals. Demand for loans remains strong.
Northern hemisphere eyes are mostly switching nervously between the Euro debt mess and the US Fed's meeting, where the smarties are hoping Ben Bernanke finds yet another way to spread global inflation.
Henry is leaving early today (Thursday) to travel to Sydney to the conference of the NSW branch of the Economic Society.
Stay tuned, there is sure to be interesting gobbets of fresh analysis to report.
And please consider booking for the launch by the Hon Andrew Robb of Henry's e-book version of Great Crises of Capitalism. Apart from a rattlin' good time, you will be sure to better understand the lessons of history as the world grapples with the biggest economic and financial crisis this generation will face, if we are lucky.
Details here.
And in distant Australia ...
BHP Billiton Chair Jac Nassar and RBA Deputy Chair Ric Battellino gave relatively cheerful accounts of the future of the company and Australia respectively.
And well they might, so long as China powers on.
Labor remains 51-49 and Bill Shorten on one measure (net lack of popularity) has equalled Malcolm Turnbull. Well, Comrades, what a turn up for the bookies, the pundits and Malcolm Turnbull. As Richo said, the Libs sacked a bloke with no judgment for a bloke with no ticker. And no debt and deficit reduction strategy either, substituting instead what a great time it is for Australia, and to be Australias Prime Minister, even if it will turn out to be for less than a year. One your bike Malcolm, lots of ground to make up and the possibly fatal decision to punish your heartland with retrospective changes to their retirement plans.
And can we believe it? Caaaarlton! beats Premiership hopeful Geelong despite having no fit players on the bench for most of the last quarter. This side is very special. 'Grit and determination, spirit' this is the secret.
Read all about at the Herald Sun.
Janet Yellen has now said US rates will rise in coming months. In distant Bergen, last weeks weekend FT was 39 Norwegian Krona, 40 with a plastic bag to keep out the rain. Its editorial says The Fed nudges investors toward another rate increase following the release this week of hawkish-sounding minutes from its late April meeting. Yet, the FT says, inflation is still falling and in Japan and Europe (and, we hasten to add, Australia). In Japan and the Eurozone, monetary policy is still being eased. Even with some increase in commodity prices, a sudden upsurge of inflation is unlikely. The FT says A fresh rate rise in the United States at this time would be a mistake and it must be agreed that inflation is apparently still falling despite improving activity.
The more important issue, at least for Henry and Mrs T, is the outlook for equities. The FT asserts that fund managers are braced for a summer of shocks. These shocks include: Corporate earnings are falling and no-one likes equities. (Bad luck for self-funded retirees. They will be told by financial planners to spend up big and apply for a pension.) The world is entering a time of falling returns. (Any chance of this effecting Australian companies? CEOs, especially overpaid bank CEOs, will find downward pressure on remuneration.) UK leaves the Euro zone, although recent polls are discounting the Brexit shock. Europe must negotiate a deal with Turkey on immigration. Support for Greece needs sorting. Spain is experiencing the need for another election after recent elections failed to produce a government. (No chance of this in Australia?) Italy is facing a constitutional crisis which one guru said might turn out to be a referendum on the popularity of the European Union as a whole. (In Henrys modest view, the Euro zone is doomed because the Euro is too weak for the strong nations of Europe and too strong for the weak countries.) And there is the old Northern hemisphere advice to sell in May and go away.
Here is one prediction with especially relevance to Australia. A Mr Barry Norris, head of Argonaut Capital Partners, is quoted as saying: Nearly every commodity in the world, with the exception of salmon, is oversupplied relative to demand. Recent signs of fresh demand has just delayed the reckoning Norris believes, which has merely been delayed for six to twelve months.
Henry and Mrs T are determined not to let all this pessimism ruin their current journey. Indeed, the report on our time in Norway has been added to here. Page down to Balestrand - the Kaiser's playground
The Raff reports on Vietnam -booming economy, great place to invest, or take a holiday.
Image of the week The trouble with Mexicans, correction Australians
Bill Maher, an American comedian, has realised that Australians are quietly taking over lots of fun areas of American life working bars, teaching skiing and surfing, taking acting jobs from Americans. It seemed to Henry that he was trying to illustrate Donald Trump in action, although he did sort of apologise for asserting that Australians are rapists.
Click here for a You Tube extravaganza. WARNING: do not do this if you are a sensitive adult or if children are in the room.)
Fiona Prior falls for the charm of the latest film version The Jungle Book. More here
Henry cannot access The Australian despite being a lifetime subscriber and a person who also had a digital subscription almost from inception of that service, he cannot access all the locked articles in that great organ's site. This problem first occurred two months ago when Henry took a digital subscription to the Herald Sun. It took three long phone calls to the laughingly incompetant 'Help Desk' before Henry was again able to access the Digital Oz.
Now sitting the La Guardia airport awaiting the flight to Washington, Henry is off the air again. Lordy, lordy, as they say in parts of the mighty USA, what can be done? Call the Oz's 'Helpline' on the mobile and wait for 20 minutes to reach a nymphette who cannot fix the situation?
Better still, email David Uren and see if he can get me back online for the Oz and Herald Sun.
I have been touched by the high levels of public civility we have experienced in New York. It this the aftermath of the so-called 'Great Recession', more thoughtful civil leadership or more NYPD presence on the beat? Who knows, but the culture seems different compared to that experienced during our one month visit about 30 years ago.
We had the great good luck to obtain tywo cheap seats at the Saturday afternoon performance of The Book of Mormon. A snip at $US69 each, sitting in a box at the front side box. Wonderful show, and top prices were $US750 each, an offer we declined with shocked amusement.
Economic and civility commentary here.
Due to above-mentioned interrnet news black-out, I am unable to comment much on events in our dearly beloved Banana Republic. Our gently skeptical comments on the late, much lamented budget have been overshadowed by the news that Treasury Secretary John Fraser is to resign after the election and by a brilliant analysis by former Secretary of Treasury John Stone. This was published in the Australian Spectator and may be accessed at the link below.
Like the Book of Mormon, a treat not to be missed.
Great excitement and 'white hot rage' about the clearly retrospective changes to Superannuation law and practice. Messrs Turnbull and Morrison are sticking to their guns despite this being a major issues for the Liberal faithful. Especially with people who have accumulated enough money not to need to suckle on the gummint teat like, apparently, 50 percent of Australians of working age.
First leaders debate saw Bill Shorten apparently more sincere and able to connect with real people, while 'Harbourside man' spoke well and smiled nicely with an invisable thought bubble hoverering over his head suggesting 'Why am I bothering?'
As many people have said: 'It will be long and it will be hard (no sniggering please) and it may well end with a hung parliament and more of Australia's increasingly dysfunctional politics.
Henry and Mrs T leave for the USA on Tuesday and will find it difficult to get access to all the political goss, and for that we are very grateful. In fact today we shall explain courtesy of Australia post - with the letter 50 % likely to get tossed in a bin - why we shall be unable to vote.
The most important reason apart from destroying people's sense of financial well being in their twlight years for objecting to the mooted changes in the law and practive of Superannuation is this. Like assassinating a serving Prime Minister (which both major parties have done), major changes to the law and practice of Superannuation provides a reason why, in due course, the other mob will use the Coalition precedent to inflict further, probably worse, damage on Superannuants. Bleak this week said it so well, although not all the allegedly 'rich' people are as fat as the bloke on the donkey.
In the USA, Donald Trump surges on and after clumsy attempts to block his ascendency Republicans seem now to be doing their best to embrace him.
Sensible, moderate government seems to be breaking down everywhere, perhaps as a delayed response to the Global crisis.
From Wednesday we shall be in the once-mighty USA, watching the political antics close up and personal. It will be something of an antidote to the shananigans in the Banana Republic down south and around the globe.
Henry's editor's art show has opened well with two sales and lots of polite interest. We have emailed our list of special buddies and we'd welcome feedback from anyone who visits the exhibition, details here. Contact Henry here.
Fiona Prior sees director Andrew Rossi's The First Monday in May. Oooo-eee! More here
Footy'n'other stuff
The eighth round of AFL footy has begun with Geelong scoring a comfortable win over Adelaide.
Tomorrow Essendon meet the Shinboners, Hawthorn will presumably belt the hapless Freo, the Giants play the pygmies from the Gold Coast, Richmond will fail to redeem its season by slowing Sydney's stately run, for the flag and Brisbane and Collingwood play for twe wooden spoon.
Sunday looms as of most interest to Henry, if only because a newly competent Caaaarltonn! play the porters from Adelaide in Melbourne. Then Melbourne take on the mighty Western Bullies and the inconsistent Weagles meet rising St Kilda.
Not much 'other stuff' about this week. Will Rio be able to host the Olympics, is Kurtley Beale going to the Wasps in old blighty, and will this weaken the newly resurgent Wallabies, when do th futballers play again? These are the big questions in the Thornton household, apart from the outlook when Henry is diverted from the world of High Kulture to again be planning for a financial future with a tax on superannuation and worse atrocities to come if Billy Shorten wins the current oh so boring election race.
Who'd of thort that Malcolm seems like the tortoise so far. If it was a boxing event it would be promoted as the smooth talking Harbourside Mansion dweller vs the rough diamond who has (gasp!) taken up running.
Image of the week
Courtesy The Oz
Gor Blimey, Comrades, aint politics confusing. Messrs Turnbull and Morrison are willing to screw Australians who have built up sufficient funds to avoid demanding a tax-payer funded pension with retrospective changes in the rules, and Bill Shorten opposes the change on the grounds that retrospective changes to tax policy are just not on.
In respect of the $1.6 million limit on tax free disbursements, Cory Bernardi asked the killer question of a senior treasury official. What if markets crash and $1.6 becomes, say, $0.8 million, with income halved? Tough titty said the Treasury officer, or words to that effect. I bet she smugly mused that couldnt happen to her good self due to defined benefit nature of her pension, even if she were paying 15 % tax on pension amounts over $100 K. Same point for pollies, folks, so lets get on with screwing financially successful non-pollies, non public officials.
Other than that, the budget was a timid affair and provides no guarantees that Australia will keep its AAA credit rating. When that is lost, plus global interest rates finally rise, the costs of servicing our rapidly growing international debt will increase catastrophically. Bill Shorten has outlined $70 billion of tax cuts plus new spending plans, while the government is hoping wealthy donors will overlook the extra work and accounting fees to restructure a superannuation plan that was adopted in good faith based on rules provided by the Howard-Costello government.
And the Libs will not just find donations dry up. Just about everyone in Henrys circle, almost all rolled gold Libs, are threatening to vote Labor, in most cases for the first time since they were hard-playing university students. Even the normally well-behaved Centre of Independent Studies has unleashed a missile. A leading free market think tank has lashed the Turnbull budget, saying it offers no crediblepath back to surplus and has permanently entrenched big government.
The executive director of the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), John Roskam, sent an email to members last night saying "the size of government will have grown by nearly 10 per cent in the course of just over a decade".
"That's unsustainable. That heads us down the path of European-style economics," he wrote.
"If Labor win the election the situation will be even worse."
Mr Roskam said he had received phone calls and emails from IPA members worried about what would happen to their superannuation.
"It's not just that the Government is increasing taxes on superannuation," he wrote."What will really concern people are the retrospective changes to superannuation taxes that will hit people already in retirement.
Read on here.
The election will be held on July 2 and battle is joined. Labor is for more spending and higher taxes. The Coalition offers relative (but insufficient) spending restraint and (assumed) gradual restoration of an acceptable fiscal position.
Both sides make optimistic assumptions and neither seem to take into account the possibility of a 'reasonable worst case' - China's economy and indeed global growth struggling, the new Senate just as reactionary as the old one and the ideological battle leaving a divided polity unable to agree on either the economic problems facing Australia or the most sensible solution.
Malcolm Turnbull has failed to produce his promised convincing economic narrative and seems to struggle with basic political strategy. Bill Shorten has began to look like a winner. A Liberal apparatchick suggested to Henry this weekend that another minority government was possible, indeed likely, with Greens and Xenophons holding the balance of power in the House of Representatives. And who knows how the Senate will pan out.
Henry's editor's exhibition of paintings has been launched and readers are urged to visit the Whitehall Gallery and restaurant, details here.
Fiona Prior sees Gail Louws Blonde Poison starring Belinda Giblin, a confronting one-woman drama about a Jewish Nazi-informer. More here
John Elliot once said that no season in which Caaaarlton! defeated both Essendon and Collingwood was too shabby, and this was achieved at the 'G' yesterday. Unlike the wins over Freo and Essendon, the game was of a reasonable quality - moderate AFL rather than Nunawading seconds or Auskick under 12s.
Hawthorn redeemed itself by flogging Richmond, Sydney were awesome and Geelong is top of the ladder.
Image of the week
Courtesy The Oz
It will be long, it will be hard, and there is always the chance that Bill Shorten will win, or there will be another messy minority government.
No point in pontificating today. All is being revealed before the official release. 'Living within our means' is the mantra, there will be a bandaid to prevent bracket creep for the year ahead. A start on cutting company tax, or a promise to do this if reelected. And cuts to superannuation tax benefits for the rich, and also for the merely well-to-do who place serious weight on living within their means after regular earnings have come to an end.
And increased tax on smokes, foreign tax-evaders - why was this never tackled before? - and a few other good things to do. Sadly no tax on capital inflow - far cleaner than agonising political decisions about good capital inflow (allowed) or bad capital inflow (buying the farm).
Do not miss the review of the Japanese economy by Nick Raffan, the Raff to Henry's readers. This is a possible future for us all if Australian governments cannot take a grip on the budget and restore a sensible fiscal policy with budget balance on average over the years.
Greg Sheridan tells all today about Japanese hurt and anger at Australia's rejection of their offer to build our new submarines. Their claim is that they were encouraged to get into the game by Tony Abbott, supported by the US government and then informed of their failure by leak and not deep and meaningful
From all accounts the French will quickly become our best buddies in ship-building and are also likely to teach us a fair bit about modern manufacturing along the way.
Great to learn that 'Tabs' has recognised his mistakes and is settling down to a new political career as an elder statesman and general good guy.
Presumably, China is probably a tad unhappy at Scott Morrison's decision not to sell to Chinese interests the Kidman empire, including its over 1 % of Australia's sacred soil.
For a satirical account of a previous attempt at an Australian land grab, read Banana Republic, Henry's take on the modern direction of university life and work in Australia. Link here.
Henry is in the throes of excitement as his editor's exhibition gets set up on Monday and opens on Thursday. Link to location below image of Henry's favourite painting at end of blog below.
Then with Mrs T he leaves for the USA and then Europe for immersionn in global economics and culture.
Sadly we shall miss the election although hope to follow it on our devices from Prato, near Florence, where Mrs T is teaching for several weeks.
Fiona Prior pays tribute to David Page, music director of the internationally acclaimed Bangarra Dance Theatre by visiting the first Bangarra Dance Theatre performance she experienced back in 2002, Walkabout. More here
image by Edward Mulvihill : Bangarra Dance Theatre
The Shinboners brought the Doggies down to earth last night in a clinal display that represented their best start to a seasonm since 1890, correcvtion, 1971. It warms the cockles of one's heart to see such a club from the inner suburbs of Melbourne doing so well. Only the fact that yet another Caaarlton! reject - Vin Waite - helped with the game with a display well above anything he ever produced for the Blues.
Caaaaarlton! has the chance to go two wins in a row on Sunday when playing Essendon, the team of blokes too young or too old, but nevertheless a serious chance to win the battle with Caaarlton! to avoid the wooden spoon this year.
The top teams are just so far above the cellar dwellers that we need some sort of divisional split in Aussie footy. Hawthorn, Sydney, West Coast, Adelaide, Geelong as well as North Melbourne and Footescray are all well above the rest.
Alternatively, a split of all sports into three groups - amateur, professional (clean) and professional (enhanced).
It is already getting hard to keep track of illicit drugs, and what happens when gene therapies become a regular feature of life?
Image of the week.
Uluru in the Gloaming
Exhibition opening Thursday May 5. Details here.
We apologise, with Telstra, for lateness of this report. At our rural hideaway, one hour plus change from the Melbourne CBD, mobile phones do not work and this weekend was worse. While the PC said it was 'connected' the Internet would not open. Great stuff, Telstra, what if there is an emergency?
Politically we could ask Malcolm Turnbull for an explanation based on his time as El Supremo of the NBN. But he's having such fun running the nation that he presumably would be disinclined to account for his failure with the NBN, at least as it effects residents of Mornington Peninsula.
Redemption in sight, Tony Abbott admits to his flaws. Read on here, in the third and final article in Quadrant's fine series, an edited version published in the Weekend Australian.
Just a glimpse. 'People needed a greater appreciation of the governments aims. We needed to explain better that sensible economic policy is not an end in itself but the means to a better society and to people being more able to achieve their potential. In the busy-ness of public life and in the crossfire of politics, the Abbott government was too often unable to convey that its fundamental purpose was a stronger society and more fulfilled people'.
An early Double Dissolution election seems a sure bet. Both teams can claim underdog status. Labor because of the mess they made in their last try and the Coalition because they have lost so much ground in the polls, there is clear evidence of disunity and the leader seems to have failed to present us with a coherent economic narrative. It is an exciting time to be leading such a wonderful nation as Australia, but where, sir, are you leading us?
Presumably the budget will provide hints and the election campaign will become definitive.
Mrs T has a 'strange feeling' that the gummint is in deep trouble and may be facing the first first term loss by a government since 1931.
Fiona Prior enjoys Ralph Fiennes being really, really naughty in Luca Guadagnino's A Bigger Splash. More here
Footy'n'Rio'n'stuff (ie idiocy)
An allegedly 'accidental' crash into the back of Geelong's new star, Patrick Dangerfield, started a quartertime brawl with Geelong struggling. From then it was a comprehensive flogging of Port Adelaide, as so often results when a winning team gives offence to the losing team in a big day.
And Hawthorn won another game they could have lost by, you guessed it, 3 points after a late surge.
Caaaarlton! meet Freo in Perth! We watched in the hope of a miracle but was been advised by Mrs T not to hold his breath. But the Blues WON, comrades, restoring our faith in our footy team.
Australia's swimmers look to be in great shape and some of the younger athletes ditto. Provided the venues are ready, and drug testing is of high quality, Rio may present happy viewing after a long run of ordinary performances by our young athletes.
Greg Craven, who should know, reported this week on the subject idiocy in our world.
'Cravens Law of The Constant Proportion of Idiots [now being shared after long cogitation] holds that no matter how theoretically clever a group of people ostensibly is, it still will contain the same average proportion of absolute dipsticks. And the corresponding number of seriously bright sparks'. ...
'I thought deeply about all this, and came to an astonishing conclusion. In their distribution of mugs and magi, my fellow parcel heavers in Shed B at Spencer Street were just the same as the intellectual elite at dear old MU. The fact all my classmates had stratospheric ATAR equivalents made no difference at all.
'This revelation has supported me throughout life. There is no group so clever, so august or revered it does not harbour its own village idiots.
This is a real gem of a contribution, and deserves to be read widely and thought about. Click here.
Image of the week'
'Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens has slammed calls for central banks to directly pump cash into the pockets of households and governments to resurrect moribund global economic growth, warning that such "helicopter money" drops would be almost impossible to stop once they start', reports Jacob Greber from the AFR.
"Are we that desperate," Mr Stevens said in a speech in New York on Tuesday, in which he also challenged a growing view that the world is suffering from an obsessive desire to save over investment, a growth-retarding trend dubbed the great "secular stagnation" by figures such as Barack Obama's former top economic advisor Lawrence Summers.
What can be done about this? The starting point is that the world needs to face the possibility that global trend growth may have been permanently lowered since the 2008 crisis.
'If true, that would mean savers, pension funds and even governments need to dramatically rethink expectations about rising future incomes, he said. "It may be that this reconfiguration is, in fact, what is happening. That would explain why ultra-low interest rates are not, apparently, as successful in boosting growth in demand as might have been expected," he said.
"The future income against which people would borrow looks lower than it did, not to mention that the current income against which some already had borrowed has turned out to be lower than assume
'All of which, according to Mr Stevens, intensifies the need for governments to redouble their efforts at blowing away barriers to growth, which he listed as including teetering banks without enough capital; households and companies burdened by too much debt, and; protectionist government policies that impeded productivity or slowed the transitions from old industries to new'.
Read the full speech here.
Nicholson said it best, as he does so often when politics in Australia hots up.
A triumph in China, more warnings about Australia's AAA credit rating, Bronnie de-selected in Mackeller, a lovely week for the Prime minister of the greatest nation to be alive in. Seriously, dear readers, it's all happening and it is no longer a dead cert that the voters will fill in the voting forms with the blue pen. Malcolm must have reflected just a bit about the weaknesses of democracy as he hobnobbed with the senior leaders of our great trading partner.
The Weekend Oz has lead with a big headline about the fact that almost half of Aussies are reliant on the public teat. Also we hear that the new disability support program when expanded from the relatively small set-up to the full disaster will be unsustainable due, you guessed it, cost. And the same international credit rating agency that warned of our unsustainable AAA credit rating opined that we could not save this unless and until taxes were raised. Rolled gold conservatives will almost certainly dismiss this view with a snort, but what if it's true? Higher borrowing costs, greater budgetary pressure, less money for people who cannot work. Cor blimey, comrades, what is to be done about it?
Even the RBA weighed in last week, with another edition of its splendid Financial Stability Review. As I read it, the housing sector may no longer represent a threat, however remote, to Australia's financial stability, except for the gross oversupply of units. The fresh news concerns 'the possibility of large losses on lending to residential property developers and on banks commercial property portfolios'.
These and other risks should be 'managable', because Australian banks have improved their capital ratios since the recent global crisis. The remote possibility of a global banking crisis is mentioned briefly in the same paragraph as New Zealand, where 'high levels of mortgage debt and rapidly rising housing prices have raised the risk that a price correction could adversely affect banks asset quality, while persistently low milk prices and declining land values have increased the probability of defaults and likely losses on loans to the dairy industry'.
Read on here.
Seriously, dear readers, there is no stone unturned in this report. Here is a modest suggestion for Kelly O'Dwyer. Why not ask the RBA to write a regular 'Sustainability Review'. Or if the RBA pleads this is not its main job, Treasury could be asked to provide such a report with a mandate that it should be an independent view, to be written by the brightest and smartest young people in the service. 'Dream on, Henry,' I hear you cry, 'it ain't gonna happen Comrade'. So what about the IPA? Or the Centre for Independent Studies?
Fiona Prior sees the performance of Savages by Patricia Cornelius, top-notch theatre, though a play you feel reluctant to encourage others to see because of the challenging nature of its subject matter. Directed by Tim Rossen, Savages goes way beyond men behaving badly to men behaving like savage dogs - hence the name. To give you a hint of this chilling work, you would be forgiven for thinking the rape and murder of Dianne Brimble on a P&O cruise in 2002 at least in part, has motivated the work. More here
It's official, folks. Aussie rules is the world's most exciting game, originating as it does in the world's most exciting nation. So said our dear leader whilst in Singapore. The Prime minister has offended a majority of Australian voters, who variously support one or both versions of Rugby, Futball (Soccer to we Aussies), Gaelic Footy, Gridiron, netball, the list goes on.
Hawthorn again won a game logic said it should lose. With the help of Eddie Betts ('let go' by Caaaarlton!), Adelaide won a game it was headed to lose. Meanwhile, judged by the unbalanced injury toll, Caaaarlton! won the fights but lost the game against the rising stars from Footscray. Actually, the Blues got absolutely flogged in the first half but won the second half and for a while in the last quarter looked as if it could cause a massive upset.
So there are green shoots to be seen at Caaarlton! and the fans are coming back in droves.
Courtesy Google Images
World economy slowing says the International Monetary Fund. Aussie economy picking up says various surveys, despite the persistent rebound in the Aussie dollar and the third year of falling income for Australia inc, itself due to a slowing global economy.
Paul Kelly points out that 'In the democratic world dominated by America and Europe there is a growing and lethal nexus economic tribulation and weak growth is linked to political dysfunction, rising populism and distrust in the political system.
'The world suffers from what former US Treasury secretary Larry Summers brands The Age of Secular Stagnation, the failure of economies to recover from the 2008-09 global financial crisis, the upshot being weak growth, low or negative interest rates, rising asset prices, more inequality and poor investment.
'The former governor of the Bank of England during the crisis, Mervyn King, in his recent book The End of Alchemy, argues that while the 1930s Depression produced a robust policy response this has not been replicated in the years since the GFC.
Without reform of the financial system, another crisis is certain and the failure to tackle the disequilibrium in the world economy makes it likely that it will come sooner rather than later, King says. Since the end of the immediate banking crisis in 2009 recovery has been anaemic at best. There was a continuing shortfall of demand and output from the pre-crisis trend path of close to 15 per cent.
Australian politics looks more and more dysfunctional. The major parties are slowly unveiling their policy pitches for the widely anticipated Double Dissolution election that may be held on 2 July, if the Commander-in- Chief does not lose his gorm. Bill Shorten will have a spend'n'tax pitch, though he will de-emphasise the 'tax' bit.
Malcolm Turnbull will go for a 'prudent', living within our means kind of pitch that may prevail wiven Labor's horrendous record under Rudd'n'Gillard'n'Rudd. Despite the track record that says his 'Liberal' government cannot find a way to cut spending effectively and cannot find the gorm to fix the budget by raising the GST to 15 % with a broader base.
However, there is a tiny, flickering light on the horizon. Grace Collier has gone in with great gorm in the Australian against the dreaded union'n'big.truckers companies attempt to push self-employed truckies out of business. The even worse aspect of the relevant legislation, introduced by Bill Shorten when the last, much unlamented Labor government was in power, was that users of the services of self-employed truckies are liable to large fines. Bloody hell, Comrades, what were you thinking?
Clive Palmer hits the headlines today with allegations that he siphoned $200 million from his corporate plaything, now sadly in the process of being wound up. Why has ASIC or the police not called on Mr Palmer to check these allegations? The answer provided by an eminent lawyer over dinner recently was simple. 'The regulators have all the law they need to nail the bad guys but are very weak in their attempts to enforce it'. (Of course, Mr Palmer may be as innocent as a baby lamb. But there is sufficient smoke to demand a proper investigation.)
Henry can attest from personal experience that the regulators go hard against the small guys, like Henry himself. Recently a first demand for payment for our tiny corporate vehicle never arrived, probably because the mighty $1 per letter postage system failed to deliver it. We returned from an overseas trip to find a second demand had arrived, with a large fine added to the original demand and the due date was overshot by 2 days. Our accountant wrote a respectful letter to ASIC requesting clemency, but no, the response was 'pay up or there will be another fine', making the demand more than 4 times the original payment.
Mr Medcraft, I do hope you get reappointed, but I also hope the Treasurer grills you on matters such at this and extracts a promise to focus on the bad guys. 'Why have you never called on Mr Palmer?' could be the first question.
There is a link between Australian regulation and slowing global growth. Yes, Prime minister, you could convert Australia into the fastest growing 'developed' nation, the best place in the world to be alive. But you need to reform the tax'n'transfer system and get the regulatory agencies focussing on the important issues, not harassing the small folk. And you need to fix the budget deficit, quickly, as Paul Keating did in 1986.
These reforms are even more important because of slowing global growth.


text:
About the Book
Carol Miller is indisputably America's premiere female rock 'n' roll disc jockey, as her well-deserved induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame proves.
In her illuminating, fascinating, sometimes heartbreaking memoir, Up All Night, the legendary "Nightbird" tells the story of her colorful career—her rise to success in a male-dominated music industry; her close and personal dealings with rock royalty like Bruce Springsteen (whose music she first introduced to New York radio), Sir Paul McCartney, and Steven Tyler (whom she dated)—and details openly and honestly her battle against breast cancer for the very first time.
The all-American chronicle of radio legend Carol Miller, from her rise to success in a male dominated world, to the rockstars she's know along the way, to, for the first time, the private story of her quietly waged battle with a deadly disease.
As one of the nation's top radio DJs, Carol Miller introduced the music of Bruce Springsteen to the New York airwaves, was on a first-name basis with Sir Paul McCartney, dated Steven Tyler, and has been recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Her on-air approach and singular voice have influenced the sound of rock radio for more than four decades, and her satellite and syndicated Get the Led Out programs are heard nationwide.
In Up All Night, Carol spins the entertaining, moving, and revealing story of her life and times in rock radio and beyond. A nice Jewish girl from Queens, Carol was supposed to be a doctor or, at the very least, a lawyer. But hearing a doo-wop trio in the alley under her window changed the direction of her life forever: she fell in love with popular music.
As the tumult and excitement of the sixties rocked colleges across America, Carol—a biology major at the University of Pennsylvania—became an underground rock DJ at the campus radio station. Radio jobs in Philadelphia and New York City quickly followed, and Carol rose to the top of the profession. But even as she enjoyed a professional and personal life imbued with rock and roll glamour, Carol harbored guilt, disappointment, and alienation, believing she'd failed her traditional, intellectual Jewish parents and often feeling like an outsider in the very culture she had helped to create. The specter of an unnamed illness that had claimed many of her relatives' lives hung over hers as well, and she too would face a monumental challenge when diagnosed with breast and uterine cancer. Told in the distinctive voice that has charmed millions of listeners for decades, Up All Night is a frank, funny, and inspiring memoir. Offering snapshots of the rarefied world of pop music and the shifting social history of our times, it is as much a cultural chronicle as it is one woman's candid and moving story.
Educator and Librarian Resources
Critical Praise
"Radio legend Carol Miller…the sultry-voiced and still-fabulous airwaves icon…is a beloved veteran of…classic rock." — New York Post
"[Miller's] voice drew a generation of teenage boys to their radios." — New York Times
Product Details
- Imprint: Ecco
- On Sale: 08/28/2012
- Trimsize: 6 in (w) x 9 in (h) x 0.961 in (d)
- Pages: 272
- List Price: 26.99 USD
- BISAC1: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs
- BISAC2: MUSIC / General


text:
Cortez in running for Ultimate Fishing Town
Published: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 12:50 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 12:50 p.m.
CORTEZ - Each morning commercial fishermen take their boats from Cortez — a west Manatee County village — into the Gulf of Mexico.
Click here to vote in the World Fishing Network's Ultimate Fishing Town contest
Some return in the evening; others embark on an off-shore endeavor lasting several days. But the trips always end the same.
Harvested mullet, grouper, stone crab claws and shrimp are off-loaded at the dock in Cortez — some of the catch will be sold and shipped to restaurants as far as Egypt and Italy; the rest will remain in the small west Manatee County village to be sold at market or prepared in local kitchens.
"You don't see many towns like that," said Rose Alstrom, who nominated Cortez for the World Fishing Network's Ultimate Fishing Town. "My son is a fishing captain and commercial fisherman. I know how hard the guys work.
"It's a tiny town, but they do a lot of fishing."
Alstrom, who lives on Longboat Key, was searching television show times for "Fishing the Flats," which features her son, Billy, when she came across the challenge.
"I thought, 'What better place to nominate than Cortez?' " Alstrom said. "We've come a long way."
Cortez, one of nearly 700 U.S. and Canadian towns nominated for the title, is in seventh place on the leaderboard with nearly 2,300 votes. It is ranked third in the Southeast.
"I think it's just another nice affirmation for the popularity of the village," said Karen Bell, manager of AP Bell Fish Co. and owner of Star Fish Co. Market and Restaurant. "I think people are becoming more appreciative of commercial fishing."
The fishing village, founded in the 1880s, is now home to fishermen, supporters of fisheries and artists — many of whom are descendants of early settlers.
"It's an eclectic mix of people," Bell said.
Amara Nash, supervisor of the Florida Maritime Museum in Cortez, said the village has a unique history.
"It's one of the oldest continually functioning fishing villages," Nash said. "It was a functioning commercial fishing village at the turn of century and it is still a functioning commercial fishing village. Some were frozen in time or more recently became that."
The Ultimate Fishing Town winner will receive $25,000 to fund fishing-related endeavors, and will be featured in a segment on the network. Regional winners will receive $3,500. The village is unsure about what might be done with the prize money.
"We would love to be in on the conversation as to how we could build the community," Nash said.
Voting ends at 1:59 p.m. Friday. A winner should be announced in June.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


text:
The Kirksville City Council race is down to five.
City Clerk Vickie Brumbaugh released information early Friday that Brandon Athon, Richard Detweiler, Richard Green, Randall Bacon and Glen Moritz have been certified for the April Municipal Ballot.
Kevin Alm, however, was disqualified for violating statute RSMo. 115.346, which reads, "Persons in arrears for municipal taxes or fees shall not be candidates for municipal office."
Alm did not reply to an attempt for comment as of press time.
Location, ST | website.com


text:
Definition of short in English:
1Measuring a small distance from end to end: short dark hair a short flight of steps the bed was too short for him
More example sentences
- The offender is described as a white man, 5ft 10 in tall, with short dark hair and of medium build.
- He had short dark hair, a small thin moustache and brown eyes.
- The suspect is a white man, 6ft tall, with stubble, short dark hair, and crooked white teeth.
small, little, tiny, minuscule
informal teeny, teeny-weeny
low, squat, stubby, miniature, dwarf;
Scottish wee
direct, straight
1.1(Of a journey) covering a small distance: the hotel is a short walk from the sea
More example sentences
- This is not a problem on short journeys but on a long haul it can literally become a pain in the neck.
- Now hardly anybody works on Saturday mornings and cars and buses are freely available to make the short journey to Ibrox or Parkhead.
- I was put up at a villa that stood on stilts in the sea and which required a short journey by boat to reach from the main resort itself.
1.2(Of a garment or sleeves on a garment) only covering the top part of a person's arms or legs: a short skirt
More example sentences
- Wrapping her arms about her, Jenni cursed her choice of a skirt and short sleeves.
- Only now they were incongruously dressed in sheepskin jackets and short skirts.
- She was never associated with skimpy bathing suits, low cut gowns and short dresses.
1.3(Of a person) small in height: he is short and tubby
More example sentences
- You have to imagine a tiny, thin, short fellow with a white beard and bald head.
- She's short and petite, with dimples in her smile and her hair in small little buns.
- She is short and petite in frame - a trait she inherited from her Japanese mother.
small, little, petite, tiny, squat, stocky, dumpy, stubby, elfin, dwarfish, diminutive, Lilliputian;
Scottish wee
informal pint-sized, teeny, teeny-weeny, pocket-sized, knee-high to a grasshopper
British informal fubsy
1.4(Of a ball in cricket, a shot in tennis, etc.) travelling only a small distance before bouncing: he uses his opportunities to attack every short ball
More example sentences
- Bevan was said to have a weakness against the short ball and was restricted to playing limited overs cricket.
- I was putting away the short ball, hitting the forehands well and not missing anything on the backhand.
- Two of them came in Kirby's first over and both were dispatched to the boundary, along with a short ball which was pulled to the fence.
1.5 Cricket Denoting fielding positions relatively close to the batsman: short midwicket
More example sentences
- However, McIntyre quickly took revenge to have the batsman caught at short mid-wicket by Love.
- The big-hitting Justin Kemp ran himself out on 18 as Boje did some fine fielding from short cover.
- I was fielding at short leg and had the best seat in the house.
2Lasting or taking a small amount of time: visiting London for a short break a short conversation
More example sentences
- We'll continue our conversation with both of these senators after a short break.
- After a short conversation he left but the residents believe someone tampered with a back window while he was there.
- She was suspicious and, after a short conversation, told the man to leave.
brief, momentary, temporary, short-lived, impermanent, short-term, cursory, fleeting, passing, fugitive, flying, lightning, transitory, transient, ephemeral, evanescent, fading, quick, meteoric
rare fugacious
2.1 [attributive] Seeming to last less time than is the case; passing quickly: in 10 short years all this changed
More example sentences
- I have seen far too many people give up too quickly on their programs after a few short weeks.
- The cake was a replica of the old school where Catherine taught for all those years and which closed only a few short months ago.
- I noticed how much has changed over these 10 short years, cinema prices, for instance.
2.2(Of a person's memory) retaining things for only a small amount of time: he has a short memory for past misdeeds
More example sentences
- Yet those who might write off the Commonwealth and European medallist have short memories.
- Investors, institutional and retail, have famously short memories.
- Only those who are blessed with short memories can believe that the history of ideas is a tale of progress.
2.3 Stock Market (Of stocks or other securities or commodities) sold in advance of being acquired, with reliance on the price falling so that a profit can be made.
Example sentences
- The effect was to throw prices and expectations into chaos when stocks were short.
- Speculators have no firm commitment to the long or the short side of the market.
2.4 Stock Market (Of a broker, position in the market, etc.) buying or based on short stocks or other securities or commodities.
Example sentences
- Take short positions with caution until the market reverts back to bull confirmed.
- Unlike other investors, he can establish either long or short positions in securities.
- Shorters or short sellers are traders who sell shares that they don't already own.
2.5Denoting or having a relatively early date for the maturing of a bill of exchange.
Example sentences
- It is unusual because of the falling interest rate environment during most of the period, at least for short bonds, followed by a leveling off and slight rise in the last few months.
3Relatively small in extent: a short speech he wrote a short book
More example sentences
- Plan to write a relatively short novel; you are producing one book, not a library.
- One of the key issues to be considered in this short introduction is the extent to which this is true.
- The third book is longer than the first two, but is relatively short.
concise, brief, succinct, to the point, compact, terse, curt, summary, economical, crisp, short and sweet, pithy, epigrammatic, laconic, pointed, thumbnail, abridged, abbreviated, condensed, synoptic, compendious, summarized, contracted, curtailed, truncated
3.1 (short of/on) Not having enough of (something); lacking or deficient in: they were very short of provisions I know you're short on cash
More example sentences
- We have not gotten off that, which is why we're short on equipment and personnel and training.
- They were short on information, but all said Deane had resigned from the OPP.
- If you're short on time and desperately in need of a one-stop option for all of your green needs, you're in luck.
deficient in, lacking (in), wanting (in), in need of, low on, short on, missing, with an insufficiency of, with too few/little …
informal strapped for, pushed for, minus
3.2 [predicative] In insufficient supply: food is short
More example sentences
- Six days after Tropical Storm Jeanne hit the island, water and food supplies are short.
- The co-operative's arable manager, Phil Rees, warned that supplies could be very short next spring.
- He added that there is a short supply of trained diabeticians.
scarce, in short supply, scant, scanty, meagre, sparse, hard to find, hard to come by, not enough, too little, insufficient, deficient, inadequate, lacking, wanting;
at a premium, like gold dust, not to be had, scarcer than hen's teeth;
paltry, negligible, thin
informal not to be had for love nor money
rare exiguous
4 Phonetics (Of a vowel) categorized as short with regard to quality and length (e.g. in standard British English the vowel ʊ in good is short as distinct from the long vowel uː in food).
Example sentences
- Maybe it's all part of a plan to nullify the threat from the land of the short sharp vowel.
- There are other vowel sounds in our language besides the short and long vowels.
4.1 Prosody (Of a vowel or syllable) having the lesser of the two recognized durations.
Example sentences
- Many local accents are marked by a rhythm that tends to lengthen stressed vowels and to reduce or eliminate unstressed short vowels.
- It can occur in syllable coda position, but only after a short vowel.
- A trochee is a metrical foot of two syllables, the first long and the second short.
5 [predicative] (Of a person) terse; uncivil: he was often sharp and rather short with her
More example sentences
- He was short with the press, which did not endear him when it came to the races with Coe.
- British Transport Police are being very short with their version of events.
- I don't know what I have done to upset him but I must have done something as Gareth has been very short with me of late.
curt, sharp, abrupt, blunt, brusque, terse, offhand, gruff, ungracious, graceless, surly, snappy, testy, tart, rude, discourteous, uncivil, impolite, ill-mannered, bad-mannered
6(Of odds or a chance) reflecting or representing a high level of probability: they have been backed at short odds to win thousands of pounds
More example sentences
- Otherwise Mark Read will be offering very short odds indeed on NT Labor being a one term government.
- George has very short odds to be evicted from Celebrity Big Brother, but he's providing us with too much fun for him to go just yet.
- Scotland's top trainer over the jumps is short odds to achieve his aim despite the attentions of the handicapper.
7(Of pastry) containing a high proportion of fat to flour and therefore crumbly.
Example sentences
- The easiest way to do this with very short pastry is wrap it lightly around the rolling pin, lift the pastry up on the rolling pin, and lay it on top of the fruit.
- The short pastry is good and the sauce emulsified, but filling is bland invalid food and the ham is elusive.
- This had thin, short pastry nicely dusted with icing sugar and was delicious.
crumbly, crispy, crisp, brittle, friable;
7.1(Of clay) having poor plasticity.
Example sentences
- A short clay will not bend well and tends to break instead of forming when bent.
1(Chiefly in sport) at, to, or over a relatively small distance: you go deep and you go short
More example sentences
- This allows a wider variety of attacking options, with an aerial or passing game, long or short all possible.
- He has to mix playing the ball long and short, and is playing it long too often.
- Flintoff spotted Ganguly charging down the pitch and dropped it short only for the batsman to carve the ball deep into the crowd.
1.1Not as far as the point aimed at; not far enough: all too often you pitch the ball short
More example sentences
- He does tend to hit a lot of balls short, which allowed me to move up in the court and attack.
- Instead, we end up making an ugly pass at the ball and almost always leave it two or three feet short.
- Today, they are playing away from the body when the ball is pitched short.
1British A drink of spirits served in a small measure.
Example sentences
- Nicholas said he had drunk about six shorts and other alcohol and had taken heroin in the hours leading up to the encounter.
- She had drunk a litre of cider and three shorts of vodka and had taken too high a dose of her prescribed medicine.
- There is a fan nearby which fills one ear with white noise and makes me slightly giddy as if I had drunk a short.
2A short film as opposed to a feature film.
Example sentences
- Arteta made several well-received shorts and the feature film Star Maps, about a would-be movie star who makes a living selling Hollywood maps - and sex.
- It means feature films, not shorts; fiction not documentary.
- The Raindance festival commences on October 23 and will include 70 feature films and 200 shorts from 22 countries.
3A short sound such as a short signal in Morse code or a short vowel or syllable: her call was two longs and a short
More example sentences
- To reach Phillip W Steele's grandparents on Gilliland farm, the caller would have to ring two longs and a short on a wooden box on the wall.
4A short circuit.
Example sentences
- The transformer laminations or coating of shellac, enamel or varnish is to insulate adjacent turns from shorts between winding.
- An internal short can cause the battery cells to overheat, posing a fire hazard to consumers.
5 Stock Market A person who sells short.
Example sentences
- During a downtrend, shorts are selling aggressively while the only participants that are buying are bottom pickers.
- The shorts are also alarmed by corporate insider selling at Stericycle.
- If you conclude the shorts have a good case, sell or lighten up.
5.1 (shorts) Stock Market Short-dated stocks.
Example sentences
- He's right too about the Commercials putting out more shorts on a price rise.
- A bullish divergence issues a signal to cover your shorts and prepare to enter into a long position.
6 (shorts) A mixture of bran and coarse flour.
Example sentences
- The diets contained shorts, bran, or flour alone or in combination.
1Short-circuit or cause to short-circuit: [no object]: the electrical circuit had shorted out [with object]: if the contact terminals are shorted, the battery quickly overheats
More example sentences
- If you did not do anything with the flyback, gradually the internal capacitance will become shorted and you will need to refurbish the flyback.
- Only by using a ringer test you will know if it shorted or not.
- It sort of reminded me of when you see powerlines shorting out, or see a lot of sort of slow sparks leaping out from this central point.
2 [with object] Stock Market Sell (stocks or other securities or commodities) in advance of acquiring them, with the aim of making a profit when the price falls: the rule prevents sellers from shorting a stock unless the last trade resulted in a price increase
More example sentences
- Take our investors, for example, who made money shorting financials over the last year.
- Some 1.6 million shares, 10 % of shares outstanding, have been shorted.
- Almost time to short the faster-moving currencies, I think.
be caught (or British taken) short
- Be put at a disadvantage: he encouraged young people to build up a range of skills so they are not caught short when employment ends suddenlyMore example sentences
- The council is still caught short with its plans to build public toilets in the centre of the CBD.
- After 68 minutes, Town were caught short at the back and Kasowali was allowed to run through and crack a firm shot from 30 metres that gave Ward no chance.
- Given Yeltsin's snap Hogmanay decision to quit it perhaps isn't surprising that Aron's weighty bio was caught short when it came out in hardback earlier this year.
- British informal1.1 Urgently need to urinate or defecate: those caught short in the store will have to pay £1 to use the toiletsMore example sentences
- On one occasion, after being caught short during a particularly exciting match, he merrily urinated over the heads of the fans sitting below.
- It's actually a two-seater earth toilet called a midden that was built about 200 years ago during the time of the hall's foremost owner, John Spencer, for when residents were caught short in the park.
- Shoppers were caught short as facilities remained locked when cleaners went on strike.
a brick short of a load (or two sandwiches short of a picnic, etc.)
- informal (Of a person) stupid or slightly mad: she's two bricks short of a loadMore example sentences
- People must think I am two sandwiches short of a picnic.
- In short, because I've retired, I'm now being treated as if I'm two sandwiches short of a picnic.
- No surprise, really - Harry has been a failure all his life, not to mention two sandwiches short of a picnic.
bring (or pull) someone up short
- Make someone check or pause abruptly: he was entering the office when he was brought up short by the sight of JohnMore example sentences
- As I walked out to the car this morning there was something about the sunshine that brought me up short, made me check the sky for rain clouds, the tyres for pressure and my ankles for matching socks.
- The power of the word froze Cordelia, while Joyce was brought up short by confusion.
- Yet suddenly we are brought up short by an act of heroism so obvious and yet so unexpected that one can't help feeling somewhat ashamed of one's voyeurism.
come short
- Fail to reach a goal or standard: we're so close to getting the job done, but we keep coming up shortMore example sentences
- Sin is falling short of the standard set by God: 'All have sinned and come short of the glory of God'.
- Failing to do so, a church 'will both fail to develop its people and come short of a world opportunity.'
- The US business is still poor and is likely to have come short of the targets but they've continued to win new customers in the UK and have two new power plants on stream.
- South African 4.1 Get into trouble: if you try to trick him you'll come shortMore example sentences
- You work your own hours and have lots of time to practice ice-hockey but you have to be very disciplined or you'll come short.
for short
- As an abbreviation or nickname: the File Transfer Protocol, or FTP for shortMore example sentences
- Our best idea yet, is to call it Tropical Intelligence Team, or T.I.T. for short.
- The recommended way of doing this in general is with Cascading Style Sheets - css for short.
- We could call the journey the Yorkston Acoustic Movement or YAM for short.
get (or have) someone by the short and curlies (or short hairs)
- informal Have complete control of a person: they had you by your short and curlies the minute they got you into that uniformFrom military slang, referring to pubic hairMore example sentences
- I tell you this… the only time we matter to those scum is when we have them by the short hairs.
- . He has you by the short hairs, especially if he sells food and you are hungry.
- We should know if the US has us by the short and curlies.
go short
- Not have enough of something, especially food: you won't go short when I dieMore example sentences
- Their report - Going Hungry, carried out by the Food Commission - found that 46% of parents on low household incomes had gone short of food in the last year to feed someone else in their family.
- For a hard pressed working class couple it could mean an unpaid gas bill or going short of food.
- It wasn't too long before they started up again, with a different kind of balance (and everyone went short on everything).
in short
- To sum up; briefly: we hope, in short, to bring theory and practice together in each sessionMore example sentences
briefly, to put it briefly/succinctly/concisely, in a word, in a nutshell, in a few words, in precis, in essence, to cut a long story short, to come to the point;in conclusion, summarizing, in summary, to sum up, in sum
- It has, in short, become impossible to ignore the fact that obesity is a class issue.
- In short, this bill allows the Attorney-General to appoint an almost infinite number of judges.
- In short, those twin categories must be thought of as indicative, and not absolute, for analytical purposes.
in short order
- chiefly North American Immediately; rapidly: after the killing the camp had been shut down in short orderMore example sentences
- The choice helps explain why California drained its once plentiful reserves in short order.
- Of course there are some, very few, that step over the line and they are usually slapped down in short order by the other posters.
- Articulate, meticulous, and a very quick study, he makes himself indispensable in short order.
in the short run (or term)
- In the near future: they will increase output in the short run in the short term some sacrifices may be madeMore example sentences
- You will find that it is possible to reach large numbers of the poor with these measures in the short run, even as you plan for the longer term.
- The solutions may cost money in the short run but will save it in the long term.
- Are they going to be able to resist the temptation of low prices in the short run in exchange for less innovation in the future?
little (or nothing) short of
- Almost (or equal to); little (or nothing) less than: he regarded the cost of living as little short of scandalousMore example sentences
- This was served with a creamy garlic purée, which was nothing short of sinfully good.
- Mental, crushing, and amazing all in equal doses, the mix is nothing short of perfect.
- These figures are nothing short of staggering and should serve as a wake-up call.
make short work of
- Accomplish, consume, or destroy quickly: we made short work of our huge portionsMore example sentences
- The task was accomplished though, and U.S. forces made short work of what was until then the world's 5th largest army.
- Sparrows, finches and other hard-billed birds will make short work of all the left-over seeds, so they won't be wasted; and Mr Aconley will doubtless be treated to even more conversations and songs!
- The huge and powerful Hilti drill is a little bit too heavy for bolt climbing but it made short work of the age-old limestone.
sell short
- Stock Market Sell stock or other securities or commodities which one does not own at the time, in the hope of buying at a lower price before the delivery time.Example sentences
- The stock began the year with 50 million shares sold short.
- One million shares in company A have been sold short.
- Short interest is simply the total number of shares of a company that have been sold short.
sell someone/thing short
- Fail to recognize or state the true value of: don't sell yourself short—you've got what it takesMore example sentences
undervalue, underrate, underestimate, disparage, deprecate, belittlerare derogate
- To say Christopher is a well-connected British gent is to sell him short.
- In the same instance you shouldn't sell yourself short.
- Neither does he sell himself short on the talent front.
short and sweet
- Brief but pleasant or relevant: his comments were short and sweetMore example sentences
- 'Well that was short and sweet,' Deed commented on Merkaydi's answer.
- Martin Scorsese is a true film buff and knows to keep his comments short and sweet when dealing with The Golden Coach.
- 'No point in boring the crowd, keep it short and sweet,' says Tim.
the short end of the stick
- North American An outcome in which one has less advantage than others.Example sentences
- Some Americans find themselves on the short end of the stick, 'limited by failing schools, hidden prejudice and the circumstances of their birth.'
- But at least the hope was that that 2% would ease things a bit for those who got the short end of the stick.
- We were and are facing a new definition of class - the Digital Divide - and guess who's on the short end of the stick?
short for
- An abbreviation or nickname for: I'm Robbie—short for RobertaMore example sentences
- The Queen's first family nickname was Lilibet, short for Elizabeth.
- Sam, in fact, was short for Sambo, a nickname he accepted with the grace and good humour that characterised the man.
- They also didn't want it to have a shorter nickname like Jenny, short for Jennifer.
short of
- Less than: he died at sixty-one, four years short of his pensionable ageMore example sentences
- Alan Knott remembers it with some bitterness as he was stranded on 96 not out, four runs short of a maiden test century.
- They were four players short of the team that had won the Munster crown but the replacements were also top class.
- He was out caught to a fine catch by Hayward at mid-off just four short of his best of 73 not out.
- 18.1Not reaching as far as: a rocket failure left a satellite tumbling in an orbit far short of its proper positionMore example sentences
- She had to abandon her singles effort when she fell short of the main draw.
- We had reached the village of Brecy by nightfall, some way short of our objective.
- She backed up and sped down the driveway and stopped just inches short of the closed gate.
- 18.2Without going so far as (some extreme action): short of putting out an all-persons alert, there's little else we can doMore example sentences
apart from, other than, in any other way than, aside from, besides, except (for), excepting, without, without going so far as, excluding, leaving out, not counting, disregarding, save (for)
- Accept that there will be no solution to Muslim extremism short of a settlement for Palestine.
- If you're good friends with people throwing the kegger, you have no excuse not to go short of a wedding or funeral.
- I don't know if Arthur Lee is in the house, but short of that, can you be the one to help our friend?
short of breath
- Panting; short-winded: they become short of breath on very slight exertionMore example sentences
- Laughing until she's short of breath, her panting pleas for release are finally granted.
- After five heart attacks and a stroke, Charles Neal's heart was so worn out that he could not walk across a room without feeling exhausted and short of breath.
- If you have asthma, and you inhale the airborne pollen, you may start coughing, wheezing, and be short of breath.
short, sharp shock
- see shock1.
stop short (or stop someone short)
- Stop (or cause to stop) suddenly or abruptly: she began to speak, but stopped short at the look on the other woman's face I was about to reply with a sarcastic remark when a thought stopped me shortMore example sentences
- She stopped short at the sight of Tyler and a smile spread across her lips.
- She looked like she might have a hangover, but she stopped short at the sight of Faith.
- Casey stopped short at the sight of the other five training agents, staring at her with questions.
stop short of
- Not go as far as (some extreme action): the measures stopped short of establishing direct trade linksMore example sentences
- Were you surprised at the charges that the attorney general leveled against him - stopping short of treason, stopping short of something that could have justified the death penalty?
- But the Christie measures stop short of clamping cars whose drivers exceed parking time they have paid for, or who fail to pay.
- He stopped short of actually defending high fuel taxes on environmental grounds, but the link has been made.
- Example sentences
- I think she would look amazing in a white leather shortish dress with beading.
- You're getting close to a good mix of two broad streams: shortish, formless, off-the-cuff opinion pieces; and formal, well-argued pieces, both long and short.
- Playing With Time is tremendous fun: a collection of shortish Quicktime movies of time-lapse and high-speed photography.
Old English sceort, of Germanic origin; related to shirt and skirt.
shirt from Old English:
The garments shirt and skirt (Middle English) share an ancient root, which is also that of short, the basic sense probably being 'short garment'. The idea behind shirty (mid 19th century), 'bad-tempered or annoyed', is the same as that behind keep your shirt on, 'don't lose your temper, stay calm'. The offended or riled person is about to take his shirt off ready for a fight. In lose your shirt or put your shirt on the shirt is seen as the very last possession that you could use to bet with.
Words that rhyme with shortabort, apport, assort, athwart, aught, besought, bethought, bort, bought, brought, caught, cavort, comport, consort, contort, Cort, court, distraught, escort, exhort, export, extort, fort, fought, fraught, import, methought, misreport, mort, naught, nought, Oort, ought, outfought, port, Porte, purport, quart, rort, snort, sort, sought, sport, support, swart, taught, taut, thought, thwart, tort, transport, wart, wrought
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BERKELEY -- At one point during the season, Stanford volleyball player Jordan Burgess shared a secret dream with her fellow freshmen:
"How cool would it be if we win every year we are here," she told the four other members of the country's top-ranked recruiting class.
Pretty cool, everyone agreed.
The Cardinal still has three more matches to win the first title after a 3-0 victory Friday night over No. 18 Iowa State in an NCAA regional semifinal in Haas Pavilion. Burgess had 16 kills and 14 digs to lead Stanford (30-3) to a 25-16, 25-19, 25-17 sweep in front of an announced crowd of 1,614.
It will play Michigan on Saturday night for a chance to reach its first Final Four since 2008. The Wolverines (26-11) eliminated Big Ten rival Michigan State 3-0 in the other semifinal match at Cal.
"I feel like we ran into a buzz saw tonight," Iowa State coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said after Stanford hit an impressive .322. "They don't have a lot of areas to exploit. They handle the ball, they pass, they block. We couldn't quite get a handle on what we could do to slow them down."
Freshman setter Madi Bugg added 30 assists and three service aces, as coach John Dunning praised the way the Cardinal passed and served.
"They were coming at us front row, back row, middle," Cyclones senior Jamie Straube lamented.
Stanford has won a record six NCAA titles, with the last coming in 2004. Cardinal fans hope to see that number increase behind the Fab Five -- Inky Ajanaku, Brittany Howard, Meghan McGehee, Bugg and Burgess.
Dunning wasn't sure how the freshmen would integrate with 10 returnees who played a lot last season.
"It's hard to ever come up with a group that is five deep in our sport," he said. "It's a mystery."
More like a short-lived mystery. Dunning and the returnees saw in preseason practices how quickly the players acclimated. All but McGehee started Friday and had big games.
Burgess, the 2012 high school national player of the year from Fort Myers, Fla., said the freshmen didn't feel extra pressure before the season.
"We deferred a lot of that just focusing on our team," she added. "We knew we would just add to a great team already."
Stanford absorbed two defeats in August when falling consecutively at Hawaii and Penn State. Discouraged in Honolulu, Dunning saw something special at State College, Pa., playing in front of a large Penn State crowd. The Cardinal fell 15-13 in the fifth set while using a handful of freshmen.
"That was our moment when I said they can handle this," Dunning said.
Since that match, Stanford has lost once in 29 matches, falling at eighth-ranked USC two weeks ago.
Four of the new players made the All Pac-12 freshman team.
Now the second-ranked Cardinal is trying to reach an NCAA-record 19th Final Four. Michigan stunned Stanford in the second round at Maples Pavilion last season. But the current roster doesn't resemble the last year's group in spirit.
"Honestly the biggest part of our success has been our practices," Burgess said of how the nonstarters have dominated. "The scrimmages have been insanely intense."


text:
Fundraiser set for young fire victims
Published: Friday, September 27, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, September 26, 2013 at 6:07 p.m.
Pisgah Forest Elementary is holding a fundraiser for first-grade student Adrian Marcos, who was recently hurt in a fire at his Transylvania home along with his younger brother, Jaden.
As of Thursday, the boys were still recovering at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, where a spokesman said they were in "good condition."
So far, families of students at the school have contributed funds, along with school staff. Additional money is being raised through a staff "weekly Wednesday dollar donation." In exchange for a donation, staff members are permitted to wear jeans to school for the day.
Those interested in contributing can mail donations to the following address: Rosales Family Fundraiser, c/o Ashley Witt, Pisgah Forest Elementary School, 1076 Ecusta Road, Brevard, NC 28712.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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Yahoo Goes Glam on Video Earnings Conference Call
The surprise in Yahoo's second-quarter earnings may have been the company's live video conference and real-time tweets.
Breaking the staid tradition of executives huddled around a speakerphone, Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer and Chief Financial Officer Ken Goldman explained their quarterly results from a studio with wood paneling and exposed brick, soft lighting and a large flat-screen monitor behind them.
"It's actually a lot of fun to be experimenting with a new format and we hope you'll think it's an improvement," Mr. Goldman said.
He had some reasons to smile at the camera. Yahoo's second-quarter profits jumped 46% to $331.2 million, or 30 cents a share, as the company's cost cutting paid off. Revenue, however, was down 0.9%.
The new format means analysts may have to become experts in facial cues. When Barclays Analyst Anthony DiClemente asked how the company could monetize its stake in Alibaba in a tax-efficient manner, Mr. Goldman demurred.
Mr. DiClemente joked, "Okay, well now we can try and read the expression on your face on the video stream so we'll try and do that."
Ms. Mayer posted photos of herself getting ready for the earnings video on Tumblr, which the company purchased in May.
Yahoo also live-tweeted its own earnings call to more than 22,000 followers, as executives discussed its $5 billion share buyback authorization and monthly mobile users.
Yahoo's tweets even included a safe harbor: "Our forward-looking tweets are subject to risks & uncertainties. Actual $YHOO results could differ materially."
The new formats come just months after the Securities and Exchange Commission relaxed its stance on using social media – opening the door for companies to experiment with new communications technologies.
Netflix Inc. is also set to live-stream a live video earnings call next week, moderated by CNBC media reporter Julia Boorstin and BTIG LLC analyst Rich Greenfield. Investors can submit questions via e-mail and Twitter.
Write to Emily Chasan at email@example.com
Our forward-looking tweets are subject to risks & uncertainties. Actual $YHOO results could differ materially http://t.co/ex3Nbmq06W
— Yahoo! Inc. (@YahooInc) July 16, 2013


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John is a Master of Divinity and Master of Arts 2014 dual candidate. John comes to the Princeton Seminary community from Blyth, Ontario - Canada. Current Co-Moderator of BGLASS, he is also a Candidate for Ministry with the Presbyterian Church (USA) under the Philadelphia Presbytery. Simply put, PTS is fortunate to have such an amazing heart and mind here with us. In this reflective blog, John shares with us the culture shock he never expected and at one time could only hope for ---
Diversity is a funny thing. How diverse a community is completely depends on the person judging that diversity. For someone from a large urban center with experience in communities that have a large diversity of races, cultures, religions, gender identities, sexual orientations, artistic preferences, occupational backgrounds, etc., etc., Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) may seem pretty homogenous, boring, and even dangerously unaware of its lack of diversity. For other individuals who don't come from such a community or city center, PTS is wrought with new people, ideologies, experiences, and, loosely put, extreme diversity.
I come from a community that would identify as the latter. Statistically, the county I hail from has very few individuals that are of a visible minority (1.5% of the total population). The community in which I spent most of my pre-college years was made up of mostly recent immigrants (or first-generation Canadians), all white, almost all farmers, very few with university education, and almost all members of the same conservative, Calvinist, Reformed denomination. All of my pre-Seminary education was completed in schools started by that denomination and most of my professional and summer work experience was in ministries affiliated with that denomination. For me, it didn't take much to experience something that was more diverse than my community.
To make matters a little more complicated, having come from such a conservative community, my theology reflected a very conservative and evangelical perspective. Not that this is a bad thing, but my opportunity to explore other perspectives was highly limited simply because of a lack of exposure. Growing up as a young man who struggled to identify his sexual orientation in such a community was difficult to say the least. I felt like a black sheep not only because of my different orientation, but also because I wanted to move away from rural Ontario, I had a passion for school, and I wanted to explore other theological perspectives.
For me, moving to Princeton Theological Seminary was a breath of fresh air. It was liberating and exciting to experience a community that was so diverse (comparatively) and theologically open. In learning about other theologies I was able to better define my own understanding of Scripture, providence, and God's love for me. By finally having the space and resources to do that, I was finally able to explore my sexual identity in a space that was open, accepting, and supportive. The diversity of PTS was enough to break through my single-track theological experience, to create an open space for personal reflection and new personal identification, and to support my growth as a man of God seeking God's will for me, someone who does not identify with traditional sexual identity norms.
Some have said that PTS has diversity issues and needs to expand its perspective on the diversity of God's people and creation. I agree, but only because everyone and every institution needs to. PTS may be behind some institutions on this issue, but it is also a 200-year old institution that has some pretty dense history to work through and reconcile. There will always be institutions that are doing it better than we are, but I am a testament to the fact that PTS' diversity development is working and has already had huge positive impacts on its students.
I pray that our community would continue to embrace opportunities to explore our diversity and not see it as something less than an opportunity. The community can only grow in this area if we all commit to recognizing our need for continual growth in this area.
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text:
Study of Skin Microflora in Children with Atopic Dermatitis: Eczema
Overview General Information Study FAQ Study Diagnostic Criteria Online Resources
Study Updates Study Contacts
We invite your child to join a research study of atopic dermatitis ("eczema") at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). We are trying to determine how microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, contribute to this disease. With these studies, we hope to lay the groundwork for development of more effective treatments of atopic dermatitis.
Flyer for the Study of Skin Microflora in Children with Atopic Dermatitis
Julie A. Segre, Ph.D.
Principle Investigator
National Human Genome Research Institute
National Institutes of Health
Heidi H. Kong, M.D .
Dermatology Branch/National Cancer Institute
Bldg 10/12N238
10 Center Dr
Bethesda, MD 20892
To view the PDF document on this page, you will need Adobe Reader.
Last Reviewed: April 19, 2012


text:
Delivered bikes to the Maxwell Hotel yesterday for their bike program. Guests can check out bikes and ride around town. The Maxwell is located in Queen Anne, near Seattle Center and has a bike lane right in front of it.
Available at Pushbike, a Mondrian Saddle. With this, you can say your bike is influenced by De Stijl.
Via Mission Mission.
About now your legs should feel good. Riding more with the better weather. How are you going?
Photo: David from our Photostream.
Excuse me for a moment while I take a break from the normal bike-related content on this site and address the Gizmodo story. To me, it's interesting how the usage of blogger and journalist gets intertwined, depending on the story and changes with the point being made. In different contexts, whether bloggers are journalists or not has come up in the past ten years. Often blogs like Gizmodo use the description as it suits them. Don't play by the same rules as traditional media because were bloggers, but want the respect of the journalist title and entitlements.Â
When they turned off the TVs at CES at few years ago, they were bloggers, Gawker (parent of Gizmodo) defended their actions saying basically they don't play by the same rules. When the cops come a knockin, they're journalists.
I've never found myself in possession of a stolen, or not stolen, prototype phone or bike. I've also never thought of myself as a journalist. I've been blogging since we first called it that. Not sure if the search was legal, not a lawyer either. The most troubling thing is I've not seen camps get divided like this about Apple so fast. Apple as a villain is an entirely new web phenomena.
Do Not like iTunes DRM! Sure, you can make that case, but now it's playing out as conspiracies and villains and horrible things are being said in comment threads. Whenever it happened, the art of arguing, even flaming, got lost in responses that go straight to F-bomb you and your mother.
What Gizmodo has done with that iPhone Prototype is shown the ugly side of the Internet. We've got a good community here, on Twitter, and Facebook and have very little flaming or hate. I appreciate it and think you likely share my concerns about the Internet these days.
Now back to bikes. Check out FreMo: India's First Bicycle Sharing Program.