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I am becoming a bit of a specialist in photographing nasty knee injuries. Add Greg Oden to the list. Before Oden, was the career ending injury to Dikembe Mutombo and the end of Dennis Dixon's Heisman hopes in AZ.
Tag Archives: sports
Beyond the Sideline
Week 1 | Burnt River
UNITY, OREGON – Wayne Wise has never coached football. In fact, he hasn't picked up a football in 34 years. Six of his eight players are foreign exchange students who have never played the game. His quarterback, from Taiwan, is affectionately called Harry, because few—including us—can pronounce his given name. It's 90 degrees, there's no shade, and no substitutes.
Wise knew all this was coming, and still agreed to coach The Burnt River Bulls eight-man football team this season. He did it for one reason; he wanted the kids in Unity to have the same experience as others across Oregon. He wanted them to have the opportunity to play football.
Fielding a team at Burnt River is often a challenge. The K-12 school southwest of Baker City is too remote to combine with other schools as some in their league.
So the 45 person student body and about 60 people from the community turned out to support their team when the season opened this past Friday afternoon against Prairie City.
There were some bumps; seven first quarter fumbles, but they did score a touchdown. The Bulls halftime locker room looked like a train wreck as players gasped for air and tried to process the new game.
Prairie City scored early and often though, and the game was stopped in the third quarter after Burnt River got down to five players. Cramps and dehydration take a toll.
But in the end, Burnt River met a goal; They will play again this Friday.
Week 2 | Santiam Christian
CORVALLIS, OREGON – Just like every one of his teammates, Santiam Christian team captain Matt Scruggs stood up and read his commitment aloud to the group before passing a note card with his promise to another player.
"Commitments, guys, that's what separates us from everybody else," explains coach Dave Langes. "When you get up and you make that commitment to the team, that's what family is. The only thing you have to fear is letting the guy next to you down."
A knee injury kept Scruggs from fulfilling his commitment to force three turnovers in their loss against Dayton. "Obviously, I wasn't able to do it, but it fuels you for next week," says Scruggs.
Week 3 | Astoria
ASTORIA, OREGON – The band was done playing, the grandstand empty, but over on the practice field, in the dark, crisp coastal air, a party was just beginning. It's this way after an Astoria High School football victory, time for the Fishermen celebration dance. The defending Class 4A champion defeated Estacada 47-30 last Friday, so the team finished the night with rituals that come with a win. Players hauled injured teammates in their arms, circled up together and honored one another for the effort. Then they danced and dived into the damp grass absorbing another victory.
Week 4 | Heppner
HEPPNER, OREGON – Chances are that sometime during your sporting life the word F-U-N has been tossed at you, perhaps when you least appreciated it. Something like this is supposed to be FUN, or it's not about winning, it's about having FUN. Well, out in Heppner they practice winning; the Mustang football team has not lost a conference game in something like a decade. But they also practice FUN. They are good at that too. Come on, wouldn't you love an excuse to belly dive into a pit of oozing cold mud, scream past a blazing bonfire or hand paint the family car for a parade. They do all this and more in Heppner where Friday night football is a town tradition.
Week 5 | Crane
CRANE, OREGON – For as long as anyone here can remember, kids have trudged up the mountain to tend to the large white letter C that stands for Crane High School. They call it C-Day and nearly everyone who has gone to school at Crane has a remembered tale about whitewashing the rock letter. Freshmen, of course, haul the paint, seniors bark instructions and everybody contributes to the annual tradition. But it's the freshmen who get doused in smurf-blue. And Friday afternoon, as alumni turn down the gravel road for the homecoming football game, they glance up at the "C," checking it, taking comfort in a Mustang tradition.
Week 6 | Culver
CULVER, OREGON – They will be gone from home for almost 23 hours, travel 552 miles and cross into a different time zone. They will ride from middle Oregon to the Idaho border where they will drop a 40-28 heartbreaker to the Jordan Valley Mustangs.
The football team is not alone though. The girls volleyball matches are scheduled at the same time, so schools can save on expenses. Everyone rides the same bus.
That means on travel days that 28 of the 39 students from Mitchell High School are on the bus. And for some of them it'll be the first time they have ever been to Burns or Jordan Valley.
Dalton started the morning with $14.00. Money his mother gave him for the two meals the team would eat along the way, but he won another dollar from his older brother Colton by taking a full breath into Colton's open shoe.
Dalton says the smell nearly turned his stomach but he pocketed the bill, looking forward to the teams stop at McDonalds on the way home. The brothers sat together for some of the trip, exchanging thoughts about what they could see from their window; the absence of trees, the probability of snakes, the happiness a cowboy might find in the geography.
Sports can become an effort all over Oregon's east side where schools like Mitchell often have to combine with a nearby school to have enough players for a football team. And once they get a team, they often travel long distances just to get a game.
For the past several years, Mitchell and Spray, communities separated by 36 crooked miles along highway 207 in Wheeler County, have combined because neither have been sure of enough players to have their own eight-man football team. Now they come together as the Mitchell-Spray Logger-Eagles. Spray wears the red helmets, Mitchell the blue helmets, but otherwise they dress as one team.
So for away games, like the one in Jordan Valley this past Friday, the Mitchell football and volleyball teams load up on one bus, which departs from their school, and the Spray teams do the same.
At the destination the boys combine to form the Logger-Eagles. The Mitchell girls play as the Loggers and the Spray girls play as the Eagles. All of them play against Jordan Valley.
The games are important, the kids will tell you that, but the long bus rides are part of the social fabric of living in a town like Mitchell. You might think it unlikely that most of any student body could load up on one school bus, but on Oregon's east side it's more common than you might think.
Week 7 | Mitchell
MITCHELL, OREGON – The first player breaks through the darkness a little after 5 in the morning. Others trickle behind, their movement stirring the aroma of wild sage, which hangs heavy in the morning air.
Teenage voices float through the predawn darkness as more kids trudge toward the idling school bus waiting to take them on a big adventure — as well as to a football game and a volleyball match.
They will be gone from home for almost 23 hours, travel 552 miles and cross into a different time zone. They will ride from the middle of Oregon to near the Idaho border.
The reason the football team is not alone is that girls volleyball matches are scheduled at the same time so schools can save on expenses. Everyone rides the same bus.
That means that on travel days, 27 of 40 students from Mitchell High School are on the bus. And for some, like freshman Dustin Collins, 14, this trip will be the first time he's ever been to Burns or Jordan Valley.
Dustin starts the morning with $14, money his mother gave him for the two meals the team would eat along the way, but he wins another dollar from his older brother Kolton, 15, by sucking in a full breath from Kolton's open shoe.
Dustin says the smell nearly turned his stomach but by the time he pocketed the bill, he is smiling, looking forward to the stop at McDonalds on the way home. The brothers sit together for some of the trip, exchanging thoughts about what they can see from their window: the absence of trees, the probability of snakes, the open country, the happiness a cowboy might find in the geography.
Playing sports can be a major effort east of the Cascades, where schools like Mitchell often have to combine with a nearby schools simply to have enough players for a team. Then they travel huge distances just to get a game. Mitchell, for example, makes round trips of 400 miles or more as many as four times a season when playing schools such as Jordan Valley, Adrian, Harper or Huntingon. The trips become even more frequent during basketball season.
For the past several years, the towns of Mitchell and Spray, separated by 36 crooked miles along Oregon 207 in Wheeler County, have combined forces to make sure they'd have enough players to field an eight-man football team. Now they come together as the Mitchell-Spray Logger-Eagles. Spray wears red helmets, Mitchell blue helmets, but otherwise they dress as one.
Kickoff comes at 2 p.m. MDT and despite a good effort, the Logger-Eagles drop a 40-34 heartbreaker to the Jordan Valley Mustangs. The volleyball team fares no better, losing in straight sets.
Then it's back on the bus and into the gathering dusk. Just 276 miles to go.
Week 8 | Willamina / Sheridan
WILLAMINA / SHERIDAN, OREGON – Sheridan and Willamina played football again last Friday, just as they have for as long as anyone here can remember.
Neighbors were shoulder to shoulder in the stands, the aroma of barbecue pork ribs filled the air and the promise of rain morphed into a golden fall evening, dry and warm.
No one here seems to know exactly when this rivalry caught fire. Heck, they can't even agree when the first game between these two Willamette Valley schools was played. Maybe it was 1926, say the folks in Sheridan; maybe it was sooner, say the folks from Willamina.
But they do agree on one matter: They each despise losing to the other. No victory is sweeter, no defeat more numbing than the one against the school five miles down the road.
The two towns are tucked along a stretch of Oregon 18, Business route, so you might miss them as you travel between McMinnville and the Coast. Even if you don't, there's not much difference, at least to the casual observer.
But don't tell that to folks who live here.
Roy Zimbrick, 75, a 1953 graduate of Willamina, says it comes down to this: His town, which once boasted 11 mills, is a logging town. Sheridan, blessed with land, is a farm town. The loggers and farmers see the world differently, according to Zimbrick, and to claim superiority, you have to win on the field.
Zimbrick should know. He played right halfback for the Bulldogs in his last game against Sheridan. Both teams were undefeated that night in 1953, recalls Zimbrick. The winner would be league champion. Zimbrick is so clear about the game that he can pencil out his team's starting lineup on a piece of paper. And he still carries the juice of that night's victory, too.
You can hear it in his voice as he cheers this year's Bulldogs from his seat along the 50-yard line, where he has watched almost every home game for the past 50-plus years.
A few rows away is DeArmond Bockes, 80, a 1947 graduate of Sheridan. Bockes weighed less than a 100 pounds in high school, but still lettered in about every sport the Spartans played. He had dialysis treatment before Friday's game but the way Bockes sees it, there's never a good reason to miss a possible Spartan victory against the Bulldogs.
So with both towns' residents gathered here, the teams played not only for pride but, just like in 1953, for something else, too. The league title was probably out of reach, but the winner of this year's game would be guaranteed a spot in the state playoffs. The loser would have to wait and see if it would get in.
Sheridan scored the first 12 points, but Willamina the next 29 to secure the win. After the game, the Sheridan players departed the field in a single file line and boarded the bus for the longest five-mile ride of the season.
Willamina players, meanwhile, lingered on their field, bathed in the glow of the best win of the year.
Week 9 | Vernonia
VERNONIA, OREGON – The six seniors stand shoulder pad-to-shoulder pad under their own goal post. It's raining sideways and an aching chill is setting in, but no one lets on about any of this. Teammates, coaches, parents and friends line up in single file to deliver one last hug to the six.
Alex Lende, Brandon Gilbertson, Zach Dillon, Ryan Cochran, Levi Timmerman and Charels Tungwenuk leave the field for the last time bathed in mud, their bodies steaming as rain smacks their skin. There is no championship for the Vernonia Loggers this year, not even a win, but there are plenty of smiles.
Four of these boys have played together since third grade, and they are all close friends. Despite losing 27-6 to Warrenton, the six agree that the season was a success. It gave them one more opportunity to solidify their friendship, lay a few licks and have some fun.
Their football dreams began in the humidity and grit of late summer when fresh-cut grass clung to the skin and sweat stung the eyes. Summer is a time when all football dreams seem possible. But for all of them, expectations eventually bow to results.
Winning eluded the Loggers this year, luck disowned them. The Vernonia team played the entire season without winning even one coin flip. And in their overtime game against Neah-Kah-Nie, they lost the flip twice. Nine times in eight games, the Loggers' captains walked to midfield for the ritual to decide who gets or gives the ball first, and nine times they lost.
By the time Friday's flip rolled around, the result was a foregone conclusion, a nugget of team lore to be rewound when the six friends reunite and talk about the 2009 Loggers.
Civil War
Joined the other Oregonian photographers for my first and only college football game of the season. I sure picked a good one to photograph. The winner of the Civil War was awarded an invitation to the Rose Bowl. The game went back and forth. Hands down, the best football game I have worked.
I started the day in an airplane where I photographed the stadium at dusk. It was a 6 pm game and we had to clear the airspace at 5 pm due to FAA regulations. Plenty of time to land and get back to the stadium for kickoff.
Jamie Francis and I teamed up to collect pictures and audio from the game. We put all the pieces in the talented hands of Rob Finch and here is what we all came up with … Civil War audio slideshow
Wild West Relay
Professional friends — skip this post if you don't want to see a cheesy slideshow of my vacation trip this summer … it's for my teammates.
I am not a runner and I don't really like running. With that said, here is a slideshow of pictures taken by myself and some of my teammates during the Wild West Relay this summer. It was a great event. Running through the mountains of Colorado in the middle of the night was breathtaking — in more than one way.
Continue reading


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Freedom New Mexico: Clarence Plank ENMU freshman Logan Turnbow rebounds the ball and tries to dunk during practice at Greyhound Arena on Tuesday.
Freedom New Mexico
PORTALES — The Eastern New Mexico University men's basketball team played well in the first of three preseason exhibitions on Saturday, losing at Texas-El Paso 80-76.
UTEP is coming off an NCAA tournament appearance last season. ENMU will face another team from last year's NCAA Division I field tonight when it helps debut New Mexico's newly renovated Pit in a 7:05 p.m. tipoff at Albuquerque.
The teams will be meeting in an exhibition for the third time. They've also played 16 regular-season games, including ENMU's stunning 81-76 victory at The Pit in December 1991.
Fourth-year Lobos coach Steve Alford is trying to work younger players into the mix after the graduation of All-Mountain West Conference selections Darington Hobson and Roman Martinez.
"The obvious question is how quickly some of these guys grow up," Alford was quoted as saying on the UNM website. "This is my youngest team ever."
The Pit renovation cost $60 million and was unveiled to the public in an open house on Monday.
ENMU travels to another Division I tournament team from last year, New Mexico State, next Monday. The regular-season opener is Nov. 12 against Northern New Mexico at Greyhound Arena.

subset: commoncrawl


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Please enjoy the following humorous story with a wonderful moral.
James Richard "Rick" Perry dies. His soul arrives in heaven and he is met by St. Peter at the Pearly Gates.
Welcome to Heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there's a problem: We seldom see a Republican around these parts, so we're not sure what to do with you."
"No problem, just let me in; I'm a believer." says Rick.
"I'd like to just let you in, but I have orders from the Man Himself: He says you have to spend one day in Hell and one day in Heaven. Then you must choose where you'll live for eternity."
"But, I've already made up my mind; I want to be in Heaven."
"I'm sorry, but we have our rules," says St. Peter.
And with that, St. Peter escorts Rick to an elevator and he goes down, down, down, all the way to Hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a lush golf course; the sun is shining in a cloudless sky, the temperature a perfect 72 degrees. In the distance is a beautiful clubhouse. Standing in front of the clubhouse are Bush 41 and Bush 43...and thousands of other Republicans who had helped him out over the years: Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh. The whole of the "Right" was there...everyone laughing...happy.... casually but expensively dressed.
They run to greet Rick, hug him, and reminisce about the good times they had getting rich at expense of the "suckers and peasants". They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster and caviar.
The Devil himself comes up to Rick with a frosty drink, "Have a Margarita and relax, Rick!" You should also check with Rush to see if he has any Oxycontin.
Rick takes the drink and finds himself liking the Devil, who he thinks is a really very friendly guy who tells funny jokes and pulls hilarious nasty pranks—like an Aggie yell leader. They are having such a great time that, before he realizes it, it's time to go. Everyone gives him a big hug and waves as Rick steps on the elevator and heads upward.
When the elevator door reopens, he is in Heaven again and St. Peter is waiting for him. "Now it's time to visit Heaven," the old man says, opening the gate.
So for 24 hours Rick is made to hang out with a bunch of honest, good-natured people who enjoy each other's company, talk about things other than money, and treat each other decently. No nasty pranks among them, no fancy country clubs and, while the food tastes great, it's not caviar or lobster. And these people are all poor, Rick doesn't see anybody he knows, and he isn't even treated like someone special!
Worst of all, to Rick, Jesus turns out to be some kind of Jewish hippie with his endless 'peace' and 'do unto others' jive.
"Whoa," he says uncomfortably to himself, "The religious right never prepared me for this!"
The day done, St. Peter returns and says, "Well then, you've spent a day in Hell and a day in Heaven. Now choose where you want to live for eternity."
With the 'Jeopardy' theme playing softly in the background, Rick reflects for a minute, then answers: "Well, I would never have thought I'd say this -- I mean, Heaven has been delightful and all --but I really think I belong in Hell with my friends."
So Saint Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down, all the way to Hell.
The doors of the elevator open and he is in the middle of a barren scorched earth covered with garbage and toxic industrial waste--kind of like Houston. Rick is horrified to see all of his friends, dressed in rags and chained together, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags. They are groaning and moaning in pain, faces and hands black with grime.
The Devil comes over to Rick and puts an arm around his shoulder.
"I don't understand," stammers a shocked Rick, "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a clubhouse and we ate lobster and caviar...drank booze. We screwed around and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and everybody looks miserable!"
The Devil looks at him, smiles slyly, and purrs, "Yesterday we were campaigning; today you voted for us."


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CLOSEOUT Precious Cargo® - Infant Short Sleeve 1-Piece with Shoulder Snaps. CAR09
This jersey must-have pampers the most delicate newborn.
Infant Sizes: 6M, 12M, 18M, 24M


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I've had the last 5 months off so it was my pleasure to sit with my LO and nurse her for 3 hours while she slept. Now I must help pay the bills so we can eat. I will be with my LO during the day but I MUST have her nap times to work at home. That being said..
Have you tried CIO and it work? I am actually considering it if it works and quickly. At this point my LO and I co-sleep for everything, naps and bedtime. I get NOTHING done. I must pay bills now so I cannot sleep anymore with her during the day. Currently I will nurse her to sleep but when I leave she will wake after only 10 min and search for my breast. I must help her get to sleep by herself. So did you try cry it out and did it work. Also how quickly did it work? Did you notice a difference in you LO after you did it? Did you regret it? If you are against CIO then please do not make me feel any worse than I already do.
Thank you!


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KB021-ARC- Tender Vibes Travel Bassinet (lime green cover)
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KB022-VER- Tender Vibes Travel Bassinet
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Tender Vibes Deluxe Rocking Bassinet (polka dot cover)
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KB043-BNT1- Light Vibes Deluxe Rocking Bassinet
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Kolcraft Tender Vibes & Light Vibes bassinets
The latches that attach the bassinet base onto the metal frame can appear to be locked in place but still remain unlocked. This allows the bassinet to become detached from the metal frame, causing the bassinet to fall and the infant to be injured.
For additional information, contact Kolcraft toll-free at (888) 624-1908 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm's website at www.kolcraft.com
About 46,000
This recall includes Kolcraft Tender Vibes bassinets with model numbers KB021-ARC, KB022-VER, KB039-CMR1 and Light Vibes bassinet with model number KB043-BNT1. A label with the model/item number of the bassinet is located on one of the legs of the metal frame. The recalled bassinets were manufactured from July 2008 through May 2010. The words "Kolcraft Tender Vibes" or "Kolcraft Light Vibes" is located on the removable music box which is attached to the side of the bassinet.
CPSC and Kolcraft have received seven reports of latches that detached from the bassinet frame. One infant received a bruised cheek when the bassinet detached from the metal frame and landed sideways on the floor with the infant inside.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled bassinets and contact the firm by phone or on-line to receive a repair kit and instructions for securing the latches to the metal frame. In the meantime, parents are urged to find an alternate, safe sleeping environment for the child, such as a crib that meets current safety standards or play yard depending on the child's age.
Mass market and independent juvenile specialty stores nationwide and online from July 2008 through May 2012 for between about $50 and $100.
Kolcraft Enterprises Inc., of Chicago, Ill.
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Came across your blog from your featured photo on the homepage, sounds like you had a really awesome trip. I want to go to Tibet now!
Luc gets stoned in Tibet, literally!
Trip Start Feb 20, 2002
26Trip End Nov 18, 2002
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I hereby acknowledge and fully agree that my french sucks... seeing as how, for 80% of the Tibet trek I was accompanied by French people and spoke french 80% of the time ( Ohh yes that's right... Mom would be proud ), I have written some of the dialogue in this entry in french and simply translated others to english.
DISCLAIMER: By continuing to read this entry, you acknowledge that you may not criticize or make fun of any french spelling and/or grammar errors.
If you agree, read on :)
-- Flashbacks
"Tibet will change you, it is like no other place on this earth", my travel agent said in a thick french accent as she laid out the map of China before I left on my journey 4 months ago
After having been in Tibet for over a week I'm not sure that I've changed but I can attest that this country ( Ooops, have to stop doing that ), this *province*, is, without a doubt, one of a kind on this planet.
It's crisp autumn-like air, high altitude ( almost 4000 meters above sea level ), secluded location nestled in the Himalaya, mystical spiced-up flavour of Buddhism which, at times, seems as mythological as Hinduism, ancient preserved temples and stupas which are still used as pilgrimage sites and it's dynamic, *mostly* friendly people, ( read the "Luc gets stoned in Tibet... " section to find out why I say mostly )
did in fact make Tibet one of my all time travel highlights.
Seeing as Tibet is still fairly backwards and undeveloped, it isn't quite as easy as travelling in say Singapore or Thailand, but in Tibet the biggest problem wasn't figuring out how to get around or how to cut through the political red tape, it was just selecting which photos to upload when after I left the country!! In just over a week I took an astonishing 300 photos... read on to find out why this former country inspired so many photos.
-- The road to China
I awoke at 4am to prepare for the new day's long journey to China. The trip to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet ( a now-Chinese province ) was a 5 day journey and day one was just beginning.
I was excited, for weeks I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to arrange a new trip to Tibet quickly enough, before I would have to return to India but here I was with the elusive, Chinese visa, permits and transportation successfully captured in only 3 days time.
I zipped up my new wooly brown jacket I had purchased in Kathmandu for the cold Tibetan weather and boarded the bus. The journey to the Nepal-Chinese border was a fairly painless one, relatively speaking of course. When we reached the border, we disembarked the bus and crossed, by foot, to the other side, to China. Leaving behind our Nepalese bus and driver. The Tibetan / Chinese transport and guide awaited on the other side. The reason for the duplicate guides and transports? More Chinese politics.
"Ummm, excuse me, I'm supposed to be in a Land Cruiser, where should I go?" His eyes glazed over. The tour guide had no idea what I was talking about.
I queried the 3 guides but no one could help me find a land cruiser.
"No Land Cruiser, just bus, is good."
I'd been screwed again. Although my tour agent promised, without a doubt, under numerous doubtful enquiries on my part, that I would make the long journey to Lhasa via Land Cruiser, and did infact pay extra for the rugged vehicle, I was climbing aboard a mini-bus for the bumpy trip over and across the Himalaya. I guess I was right to be doubtful of the agents... huh, and I thought I picked "the good one".
"Est ce ce que je peu m'assire ici?" The stocky bald french man asked.
"Certainment, assis toi." I said slapping the seat next to me showing him that it would be alright if he sat next to me.
Francise, was a kind aging French Buddhist man who'd come to Tibet on somewhat of a spiritual quest. He was a large man, an ex-wrestler who still, at the age of 65 managed to pull of the costo look. As he sat in the seat adjacent to mine, I felt myself compress against the bus window.
The tour package was a share-room accommodation deal. For the next 7 days Francise and I shared that tiny bus seat and hotel room. Over time, his parental instinct would scratch slowly on my nerves as he would scold me if I didn't drink enough water to counter the altitude sickness that I was suffering from or leave the room without a jacket.
Seeing as he spoke not a word of English though, it made for a strang arrangement. At times I felt as though I was the baby sitter and he the child. Not speaking english in today's world is a difficult task. Francise would adjust his schedule to meet mine and would stay in his room when I would venture off alone which I enjoyed doing and did often.
Although some almost father-son-like friction became irritating from time to time, we got along well and I learned a great deal about Buddhism from him.
The first day we climbed 3500 meters in the Land Cruiser, passed well guarded damns and through lush green valleys, stopping to yell at herds of yaks blocking the route along the way. I'd never been at that altitude before and when we arrived at our hotel room at the end of our first day, I could feel the effects already
Barely able to string a sentence together, I retired to my room early for my first night in China. Oddly it was still sunny when I layed to rest at 9pm. As vast as China was, the whole of the country was on the same time zone and although Kathmandu and Tibet were only a short 6 hours driving distance apart, a two and a half hour time difference took effect. This had the bizarre outcome of having an early sunrise at 6am and a late sunset at 9:30pm. This mixed in with the lack of oxygen made for a very disorienting first night's sleep. Regardless, I crashed down exhausted and passed out.
Ear plugs kept Francise's snoring to a low moan.
-- 5000 meters and rising
The following day we kept rising as we climbed the first Himalayan mountain pass
The scenery was stunning. I'd never seen such beauty. Tall snow capped mountains crashed through the horizon surrounding us in a 360 degree canvas. The peak of the pass where we'd stopped, as most high passes in Tibet, had a make shift shrine made of multi-colored prayer flags flapping wildly in the cold gusting wind. The prayer flags had sacred mantras printed on every square inch of thin materia. Mantras like the popular "Ohm Mani Padme Hum". As the wind blew the flags, the sacred words were said to dance out into the air.
Francise, combating the tiring effects of the lack of oxygen, slogged out to the prayer flags and tied a white Buddhist scarf he'd brought from France to the makeshift stupa. It fluttered in the wind along with the hundreds of prayer flags.
We gathered back into the bus and continued on. For the remainder of the 10 hour drive to Lhatse, our second over-night pit stop on the way to Lhasa, altitude sickness crept in with almost everyone. Head aches, loss of appetite, irritability, we weren't a happy bunch. Seeing as how I'd decided to go without the malaria meds a week back, I decided to stick to my "all-natural" diet and tuff out the altitude problems rather than taking one of the Diamox tablets which other's had already began to ingest.
"Oxygen - LARGE -- 8 Yuon, Oxygen - SMALL -- 6 Yuon" read the menu at the restaurant we stopped at for lunch. Just what the doctor ordered, I ate one meager quarter of my fried rice and sucked back half a bottle of pressurized, canned, Oxygen for lunch. I was already feeling better.
As we approached Lhatse, the clouds were too thick to see Mt. Everest as was passed by but I was so tired from the altitude that I didn't care much.
When we arrived in Lhatse it was already almost dark. I desperately wanted to run out and snap some prize photos of beautifully wrinkled, and sun burned, Tibetans which I had been keen to capture, but my body disagreed forcefully. The altitude was sucking the last bit of energy from me. It was very dry in Tibet. After dinner, which I barely touched, I went out to find some Tibetan lip balm to soothed my purple, sun scorched and wrinkled chapped lips.
The village was tiny, resembling a frontier town from a western movie. I was scanning for the tumble weed as 2 Tibetans walked up to me and attempted a conversation. They spoke no english and I no Tibetan
"Monestary? Hmmm, no.. that doesn't work. Ummm. Ohh.. Lama?... yeah, Lama... you know Lama?" I questioned.
They nodded and pointed off to the distant right. "I've made contact! There's a monestary!". Just in time, a tractor puttered by as they were pointing. I'd heard that hitch hiking was highly common in Tibet so I gave the sidewards waving motion with my hand and jumped into the back along with 6 other hunched Tibetans.
When I reached the monestary, I ran inside. The short run knocked the wind out of me and I bent over to catch my breath as 3 young novice monks walked over and took me inside.
All of the monks gathered in the courtyard to examine the unexpected intruder. Unfortunately it was too dark to take any good pictures, the sun had already set over the horizon, but the sky was still a deep bright blue. They took me to some locked rooms which contained gigantic prayer wheels. Prayer wheels, much like prayer flags, contained mantras, as the wheels spun, the mantras blew into the air. This wheel was the size of a refrigerator and took a strong 2 hands to slowly spin it as I walked, clockwise, circumbulating the shrine. Using my torch for light we walked through the dark monestary to finally stop in a monk's room for some sugar tea, which consisted of, boiled water with 2 lumps of sugar.
"Dalai Lama?", they repeated signalling that they wanted me to give them a photo of the Dalai Lama
-- Shigatse
When I awoke the next morning my head was pounding like a bad hang over. I was drastically dehydrated. It took two large bottles of water to get me back on my feet but when I finally mounted the bus sans-head ache, the AMS was finally gone. I was beginning to get accustomed to the altitude and could begin to enjoy the breathtaking scenery along the drive north to Lhasa.
Arriving in Shigatse, we visited the Tashilumpo monestary. The monestary was one of the Gelupa sect's ( The Dalai Lama's sect )
Not wanting to wait too long before the sun set, I scurried out of the monestary to climb Shigatse Dzong (Shigatse Fort). The Fort towered over the city and offered a great panoramic view from above. The VERY steep climb kept everyone else away. When I reached the top only two monks sat perched under strings of prayer flags watching the sun set.
Completely exhausted from the lack of O2 and the climb, I staggered back for some dinner of Yak and Tibetan Momos with Francise and a french couple, Jeff and Si.
Jeff and Si, being french speaking, helped out with Francise and allowed me to venture off alone while they took custody.
-- Gyantse
Continuing on our whirlwind trek to Lhasa, we awoke and bussed off north
We had expected the road to be a nightmare but it was relatively sane. As soon as we arrived, I bolted to the fort to make the best of the hour I had free before the tour of the monestary began. The negative part of being on a tour was that I was confined to the group's schedule, and unfortunately, it was a rushed schedule at that, which didn't cover all of the sites in each city. Reading my guide book I knew exactly what to do as soon as I arrived.
"If I don't make it back for 4pm, I'll meet you at the temple." I shouted to the group as I ran out into the street to flag down a passing tractor.
When I arrived at the Fort, I jumped out of the back of the tractor and ran up to the top of the mountain. The view was magnificent. Below the fort, the Kumbum monestary layed in a one kilometer wide bowl, dug, seemingly naturally, into the solid rock and surrounded by a fortified wall. In the center, stupas and temples rose. Surrounding me on all sides were the Himalayan mountains. As the clouds parted and merged, massive bright and dark cloudy patches slowly swept across the landscape. I unloaded a roll of black and white film and ran back to the temple to meet the group.
On the way, I bought some yak butter to offer to the temple. I'd seen other monks do it in previous temples and thought I'd give a little something back. A little butter to keep the ever-burning chandeliers burning.
Once the group arrived we walked passed the golden prayer wheels which lined the entrance to the temple. The Kumbum, as with all other Tibetan temples we'd seen was pleasantly speckled with pilgrims and monks. Unlike other countries, were temples had since been turned to unused museums, in Tibet, the temples were still very sacred and holy sights to be treated as such.
As the sun began to set, the town was filled with good-photo inducing light. I met up with Jeff, himself an excellent photographer, in the Gyantse side streets.
(Translated to english from french)
"Hey how's it going?" I asked
"Good... excellent light"
"Do these people mind having their photos taken?"
"Yeah some of them do, like this one and that one."
"Err.. hey let me try with my digital."
My digital camera had always been a big hit when english failed.
I snapped a few pics of the street and showed them to the woman with a baby strapped to her back and another cradled in her arms. They all began to laugh and tug at the camera. I was used to this reaction and it usually meant that I could progress to the next stage which was to gesture the can-I-take-a-picture-of-you motion. She gave me the yeah-what-the-hell gesture back. I was in. I snapped away and they all chuckled and giggled as they pointed to the tiny screen behind my camera with the women's face trapped within. The women didn't let me off that easy, I bought her some dried instant noodles and bought the kids some candy and we ventured off down the street for more photo's.
Jeff took off snapping away at different angles of the now-distant fort while I walked passed a man making dung-balls. In Tibet/India and many other neighboring countries, dung (crap, shit, or whatever you call it ) is collected like a precious metal. Once harvested, it's rolled up into paddies and slapped onto houses to let it dry in the sun. Once dried, the hard, highly flammable paddy is used as fuel for the cold winters or sold on the market. I'd never seen someone actually making them and stopped to look. The man smiled, I smiled back and tapped my camera. He proudly shook a yes-you-can-take-my-photo shake with his head and stood up to wash his hands
"Ahhhh... no I am sorry no picture" I was now used to people asking for photos of the high Lama. I didn't have one but, I did have my lonely planet guide book. It then struck me that there was a stenciled picture of the lama at the beginning of the book.
"Ohhhhh... wait" I said, holding up my finger to indicate the timeout.
I quickly flipped through the book and turned to the rough sketch of the Dalai. His eyes grew wide and his smile even bigger. He quickly snatched the book from my hands and held the book over his head.
"Dalai Lama, Dalai Lama!" he repeated.
"Yak po..." I said. "Good" one of the only Tibetan words I knew. He shook his head in agreement.
After his wife entered and bowed to the lonely planet herself, he took me to his bedroom were he kept a small stash of Dalai Lama photo's. Something which would demand serious punishment if caught by the Chinese authorities
Sensing my time to leave had come, I left and headed back to meet Jeff.
-- "Luc gets stoned in Tibet, literally!"
I found Jeff kneeling on the side of the road with the fort smack in the center of his Nikon's sights. It was a good picture. I kneeled down next to him and got ready to snap my pic. Just before I snapped the picture, a man, walking a Donkey and a cart, walked into the frame. I waited, camera still aimed at the fort, with him now half in the frame.
Oddly enough, through my lens I could see that, he was leaning over and shuffling through the dirt on the side of the road, as if searching for something with one hand. His donkey's strap, still firmly clutched in his other hand.
He picked something up, then dropped it to quickly snatched up another object. As the object came hurling towards me I instantly realized that he was looking for a rock big enough to throw at me
"Holy shit!" I jumped back as Jeff turned to see what was happening. He had changed his focus to a small boy next to us.
"Hey, he just threw a rock at me!"
The man reach down quickly and grabbed another rock, launching it at me at high speeds. Luckily his aim wasn't that good but as he was yelling at me and walking foreword he quickly came within wiping distance. In his right hand he had a short whip that he was using for his donkey and was swinging it violently at me.
"It's ok, It's ok..." I shouted to the man, slowly motioning my hands downward as if gently tapping a drum.
He continued to shout as he moved in closer. Local Tibetans came out of their houses onto the street to see what the fuss was all about. The man was in a fury, spitting and literally foaming at the mouth.
After he refused to calm down and came close enough to strike me with his swinging hand which was holding the whip I slowly started to walk backwards constantly repeating "It's ok..
Thankfully he was still holding the donkey and couldn't move very fast. I stepped backwards to avoid a near miss with his whip, into a rice field which was next to us but he still kept coming. Seeing the Tibetans that I had bought the noodles for in the middle of the road waving me over, I fast stepped over to them. The man kept coming, whip a'flailing, donkey, cart and all.
When the man reached the Tibetans it was clear that they couldn't help and I ran back to Jeff.
"This is crazy!" I said to Jeff laughingly.
"Wait, when he gets here, I'll just calm him down." It seemed like a good idea. When the man approached, Jeff stood in the way, being an innocent bystander, the man didn't pay any attention to him. He quickly pushed Jeff aside and launched himself towards me, yelling and taunting me to come closer with his free hand.
"This is nuts!" I said as I quickly back stepped to the Tibetans again, now they were waving me passed them as if to say "Just keep walking, this guy's a nutter!"
So I did, as I passed the Tibetans they held him back along with Jeff and I walked all the way back to the Hotel.
"You are not going to believe what just happened." I gasped as I burst into the room. Francise sat up on his bed as I explained the story.
When Jeff finally made it back to the hotel he explained that the Tibetans signalled to him that the guy was a bit crazy. Something I would be willing testify to in court.
"After you left he started waving a 5 Y bill in the air, I think he just wanted money. I don't know why he didn't just start by asking for the 5Y instead of attacking you."
Through all of the crazy adrenaline it seemed like the event hadn't actually happened..
"Jeff, so has this ever happened to you before?" I asked Jeff a few days later while walking to town to take some photos.
"No, not like that, sometimes they freak out and wave their hands or say NONO!, but nothing like that"
I took comfort in having been through potentially the worse candid photo experience, it could only get better from here on in.
-- "Emails from Lhasa"
Our last stop on the journey through Tibet was Lhasa the capital of the Chinese province. Lhasa was were I would spend 2 days with the group then stay behind alone, after the group flew back home.
Having seen 7 years in Tibet and other Tibetan theme films, I expected Lhasa to be a rustic Tibetan village. Surely with some Chinese influence but I had no idea it would be this bad. The quaint backwards Lhasa I was expecting was speckled with Internet Cafe's, plain looking Chinese built office buildings and glitzy shopping malls. It seemed as though the Chinese had built a modern city in and around an ancient mystical village. Contrasts smacked the eye at every every glance. A prayer wheel and yak butter could be purchased off a horse cart or next to it, a VCD/MP3 player. Sacred pilgrimage circuits which surround ancient temples now passed Cyber cafe's and luxury hotels
Looking around I turned to Francise and said "I don't think the Tibet of before will ever be again..."
Francise's once optimistic opinion on the matter had soured, "Oui... je croix que to est correct"... he agreed.
I had been fighting off a flu since I foolishly scaled the mountain in Shigatse to view the city from the fort and decided that I would take it easy in Lhasa.
"We've been going too fast throughout Tibet, I think I'll stay here a little longer and soak it in"
"Oui, bonne idee"
-- Potala Palace and Sera Monestary
On the sixth day of the tour, we gathered the remaining tourists who had opted for the 7 day tour instead of the 5 day tour to visit the Potala Palace and the Sera Monestary
It was a gray day, the rain having finally subsided. Even shrouded by the dark gray sky, the Potala Palace, which used to be the winter palace of the Dalai lama before his exile, still towered with magnificence. The Potala was commonly seen as a symbol of Tibet and I'd gazed at it 2 dimensionally before. Seeing it first hand was breathtaking.
Before entering Tibet, I'd read about the Dalai Lama's story and the Chinese occupation of his country in disbelief. The story went something like this. A great monk established a pure Buddhist sect which was later named the Gelupa sect. One of the founder's disciples prophecized before his death that he would be reincarnated and told of specific ways that he could be recognized and so the story goes of death and discovery of the reincarnate for several hundred years. Through this time, the Dalai Lama became a strong spiritual leader of his country, Tibet. During the 5th Dalai Lama's life, the mogols were in full offensive. Luckily, they took heart to Tibetan Buddhism and adopted the Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader and thus saving Tibet from complete annihilation. With this new move, the Dalai lama attained great political power and since had been the leader of Tibet. As you may imagine, this did prove to be problematic
Despite the turmoil, Tibetans continued their ancient rituals and with their genuinely Buddhist tolerance, it's difficult to image that Tibet will ever be it's own country ever again.
The Potala Palace, with it's picasso'esque block like white and red towers, stands as a reminder of what Lhasa was once.
The Chinese have since converted the Potala into a pricey museum. The stupa filled rooms, tombs of previous Dalai Lamas and meditation rooms are all that remain. Walking through the dimly lit meditation halls, one can only imagine what it must have been like years before. The Dalai Lama, a young boy re-incarnated from the previous Dalai Lama, sitting on a humble throne meditating in front of hundreds of praying monks.
Having finished the tour of the Potala, we headed off to the Sera Monestary. We made sure to arrive at 3pm when the monks underwent their debating
Completely absorbed by the entire process and energy of the debate, I neglected to wander through the monestary. After 2 hours had passed I finally stood up and walked back to the bus to end the day.
-- The tour comes to an end... at last.
It was the last day of the 7 day tour
Before leaving for the Drepung monestary, I ran out in the early morning to try my luck, for a 3rd time, at checking my email. Sure enough, it failed yet again. Knowing that China monitored and controlled all Internet traffic in the country, and knowing a fair bit of how Internet technologies work, I came to the conclusion that the Chinese Government must have been blocking connections to mail servers outside the country and gave up. The conspiracy theory quickly disappeared once in Kathmandu when I discovered that my mail server had actually been down.
On the walk back to the Hotel to meet Francise, I picked up a pound of smelly butter from a street vendor for his offering.
The Drepung monestary was a holy place which once housed 10,000 monks, the largest in the world, at the time. It was also the home to the first to the fourth Dalai Lama ( The 5th opted for more luxurious dwellings and commissioned the Potala Palace). It seemed like the perfect place for Francise to make his offering. As we entered, Francise bought a yak butter candle and we followed the group, and the pilgrims, into the chapels. The monestary was dimly lit by the candles and had a strong odor, expectedly, of yak butter
Francise was dripping wax from his candle into every candle bowl along the way. The monastary's candles burn 24/7 thanks to pilgrims like Francise. He handed me the pound of hard butter I'd given him that same morning and motioned for me to spoon butter into the candles along with him as he did with his candle.
"Tu pense a ton voyage lorsque tu fais ca eh.", Francise suggested I think of my trip as I broke off chunks of butter and dropped it into the pools of melted butter.
When we arrived in one room with a solitary elderly monk banging a large drum with an odd looking stick which resembled a large wooden spoon bent over on itself, Francise walked over with cupped hands, made an offering and the monk roped a red stand of string around his neck.
When he eventually returned to our candle re-filling position, I had an idea. I asked him if the monk could bless the Meditation Beads that I'd bought in Myanmar months before. I'd been wearing them for weeks and had been having great luck since, having them blessed by a Tibetan monk could only bring more.
"Est ce que tu pense que je peu lui demanded de blesser mon collier?"
"Mais Certainment"
He showed me what I had to do, how to approach the monk, when to bow, and how to offer the beads for the blessing
With pseudo-confidence that I knew what I was doing, I walked over, encouraged by Francise pushing slightly at my back, cupped my hands and bowed my head to the monk. He stopped beating his drum and turn to me with hands cupped while reciting a mantra in Tibetan.
Once he was finished with his mantra, I took the beads off of my neck and presented them to him with both hands. I had no idea what he would do to them, for all I knew he might have thought they were a gift and have kept my precious souvenir. He smiled, took the beads, and began reciting the familiar Ohm Mani Padme Hum mantra on 5 beds. In theory, a proper meditation session should include reciting the mantra once for each bead, but the necklace had 108 beads, 5 would do.
He then rubbed them in both hands and them recited a mantra as I starred wondering what was going to happen next. Then he opened his hands and blew over the necklace as if blowing dust off of an old hardcover book. He handed the beads back to me, wrapped a hand around the back of my neck and gently tapped my forehead against his 3 times... sensing my cue to back out, I left 5 yuan in his bowl and backed away slowly with beads a'blessed around my neck
We continued around the monestary until finally, all of the butter was emptied and headed back to the hotel to prepare for the afternoon's visit to the Johkang, the most sacred temple in all of Tibet.
-- Solitude
"Tu fais mieux de me lancer un fil, eh!". Francise made me promise to visit him Bordeaux one day and left the next morning.
Francise had been through some very significant experiences on his spiritual journey to Tibet. I was happy to have been there with him through it and to have been able to help but, alas, I was glad to be alone again.
"Ahhh... la solitude..."
I inaugurated the morning by walking down to the Barkhor pilgrimage circuit at 7am and circumbulating the Johkang with the pilgrims. I sat as the sun rose over the temple watching the pilgrims cup their hands over their heads, squat and then stretch out on the pavement
For the rest of the day I relaxed and then organized a day trip to the Ganden monestary, the first ever seat of the Gelupa order, 45 minutes east of Lhasa. A fellow Canadian, Rob, and my French friends, Jeff and Si signed up for the trip as well, which made for a decently cheap ride out to the monestary in a private land cruiser.
-- Ganden monastery
It was my first full-day out and about in Tibet without the restricted itinerary of the organized tour. I was glad it was over. I had managed to venture off on my own enough during the tour to have had a good taste of Tibet, but now I had the freedom to do what ever I wanted without having to meet a set schedule.
The old, rusty, yet fully intact Land Cruiser arrived at 8:30am, as planned
We rode out, 45km east of Lhasa to the Monestary which stood perched 600 meters high, on a hill overlooking the mountainous valleys below. To climb the hill to arrive at the monestary, nestled in the hill side, we zig zagged our way up a good 3 dozen break neck switch backs as goats, yaks and cows were hushed off of the road to let us pass.
We decided that the best way to discover the monestary was to split up and wander aimlessly through the complex for the first 2 hours. Jeff and I launched in, passed pilgrims and monks carrying large silver water vases on their backs. Aside from it's unbelievably perfect location, the monestary was much like other's we'd visited but there was something about the monestaries and the friendly monks in Tibet that made it very difficult to get bored with. Every corner revealed a smiling face belonging to either a pilgrim, monk or nun. Before meeting with Jeff and Si, we visited Tsongkhapa's tomb, the pilgrim's highlight of the monestary
Feeling a little adventurous, initially at least, we ventured off south bound, by foot over the Himalaya. The 4 day trek to the Samye monestary started at Ganden and we had planned to walk out for a few hours and then turn back. Taking in the breathtaking Himalayan backdrop along the way.
We walked, up steep hills, passed prayer flags and grazing yaks, to finally rest on a out-stretched rock. The valley below us was green and dotted with bright yellow fields of flowers. Behind the valleys, gigantic mountains crashed upwards in every direction.
"It's just not possible to capture this on camera" Rob said perched on the rock as we all gazed out silently.
We had reached a fairly high altitude, 4500 meters. Jeff and Rob decided to climb to the top of the mountain we had managed to scale already one quarter of and Si went back to the monestary. The altitude seemed to be affecting me heavily. My head was pounding, my heart racing and my breath was short at every three steps
I ran back down and walked through the sprawling complex into an area I'd never been to.
"Hey! Up here" the monk shouted from atop a monastic dwelling.
"Can I come up?"
"Yes of course"
I climbed up to the roof of the white washed building and sat with the monk. The view was spectacular. The complex spread out beneath us. We talked for 20 minutes when 6 Tibetan girls climbed to the roof top to examine the odd foreigner. Thanks to the language section in my Lonely Planet we attempted a conversation for an hour
Jeff, Si, Rob and I meet up again. We had heard that the monestary had debates ( Much like I'd seen at the Sera Monestary a few days before ) and we decided to stick around to watch the monks battle it out in a wits matching contest to drain away the rest of the day.
We attended a session of class where the young novices are taught Buddhist scriptures waiting for the debate to begin. Unfortunately, the debates began 4 hours later. After 30 minutes, sitting in the back of the class as they all speed read aloud scriptures in unison, we left for Lhasa in our intrepid Land Cruiser. Back down the switch backs and passed the yaks and goats but this time bathed in the warm light of a cloud-free sunset.
"Well... I think this has been the best day since I arrived in Tibet..." I said reflecting on the day's events as we drove back.
"Oui, je suis d'accord...", everyone agreed...
-- Last days
The last day in Tibet had come. Jeff and Si were trekking up north on their multi-year endeavor around the world, Rob was moving on to northern China and I was flying back to Kathmandu the next day to continue south to India
When 2pm rolled around, we rendezvous'ed with Si and Jeff for late afternoon beers listening to music outside the threesome's room at the Yak Hotel.
To end the last day we had our proverbial last dinner by performing our nightly ritual of Lhasa beer, world cup soccer ( Yes even in Tibet the World cup is viciously followed ) and a nice fat, plump Yak steak.
"Ouin, j'aurais pus restez plus longtemps aux Tibet" I said to no one in particular reflecting that I could have easily stayed longer in wonderful Tibet.
"Tu *aurais* du restez plus longtemps?" Si asked, implying that perhaps I was regretting leaving.
"Non, non, pas de regrais... *j'aurais* pus" I added... "Pas de regrets", no regrets... this was my time to leave.
The next morning I flagged down a taxi in the 6am darkness trying to find a ride to the airport once my scheduled Land Cruiser pickup failed to show up and sped through the mountains to my awaiting flight out of Tibet. I gazed passed the mountain tops as the sun slowly rose painting the sky a soft baby blue which gradually matured into a bright fire red orange. As I intensely studied every passing undulating peak, I sighed knowing in the back of my mind that I would probably never be back in Tibet... Wonderful Tibet...


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The Eternal Beach-Body Plan
Phase II - Week 8: Workout X
Exercise V: Wide-Grip Pulldown
Sets: 2 Reps: 8 Rest: 75 Seconds
Sit at a lat-pulldown station and grab the handle outside shoulder width [1]. Pull the bar down to your collarbone [2], and then reverse the motion to return to the starting position (but don't allow the weight you're using to rest on the stack). That's one rep.
The Eternal Beach-Body Plan: Phase II was shot at Gold's Gym, Manhattan—Wall Street


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Ohio holds student art competition
MARIETTA – U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, announced that high school students in Eastern and Southeastern Ohio residing in the 6th Congressional District can participate in the 2013 Congressional Art Competition, "An Artistic Discovery."
The winning artist will be invited to Washington, D.C., for a national reception, and have his or her artwork displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year. Runners-up will have their artwork displayed in Johnson's Marietta, Salem, Cambridge, Ironton, or Washington, D.C. offices. All high school students living in Eastern and Southeastern Ohio are eligible to enter, regardless of where they attend school: public, private, home school or online school.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for high school students in Eastern and Southeastern Ohio," said Johnson. "I have been very impressed by the spectacular artwork submitted the last two years by the talented students in Eastern and Southeastern Ohio, and I would put the artistic talents of those in our region up against any in the country. I look forward to seeing all of this year's entries, and proudly displaying their work in my district offices and in the U.S. Capitol."
The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 and features artwork from students in nearly every congressional district in the country.
All artwork must be no larger than 28 by 28 by 4, including the frame, and can weigh no more than 15 pounds. The artwork should be original in design, concept and execution. Acceptable media are:
* Paintings: oil, acrylics, watercolor.
* Drawings: pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, markers.
* Collage.
* Prints: lithographs, silkscreen, block prints.
* Mixed media: use of more than two media such as pencil, ink, watercolor.
* Computer-generated art.
* Photography.
Full guidelines can be found at: billjohnson.house.gov/constituentservices/artcompetition2013.htm
Submissions are due by April 25, and can either be mailed or delivered in person to Johnson's Marietta Office (246 Front St.,), Salem Office (192 East State St.), Cambridge Office (116 Southgate Parkway) or Ironton Office (202 Park Ave., Suite C). The top submissions will be selected by a three-person panel of experts and winners will be notified the first week of May.
For more information, contact Ben Keeler in the Marietta District Office at (740) 376-0868.


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"The work of priestly formation these days must involve a strong catechetical component since so many of our people have been deficiently formed. The resources you provide are allowing the Church to do a better job in preparing Catholics to know and defend their faith more effectively."
~ Fr. James, Director of Priestly Formation, Pittsburgh
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"We keep the eighth day [Sunday] with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead."
~ Letter of Barnabas 15:6-8 (A.D. 74); just one of many early writings indicating the infant church in Apostolic times set apart Sunday for the public and solemn worship of God.


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Hanson Release Get the Girl Back Video (Recap)
The lead song from their forthcoming album Anthem, due out June 18, embodies a sultry retro vibe complete with a brass section, hand-clapped rhythms and Taylor Hanson's familiar vocals.
The single won't be released until April 9, but fans can check out the the song's music video which stars actresses Kat Dennings and Nikki Reed.
Hanson will be celebrating 21 years as a band this summer on June 17 with a birthday show at New York's Irving Plaza before they hit the road for their Anthem World Tour. The tour kicks off on July 18 in Argentina and ends November 20 in Charlotte, North Carolina. - Watch the video.
Radio.com is an official news provider for antiMusic.com.
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Shows & Tickets
January 23 - February 23, 2014
book by George Furth
music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
directed by Ted Pappas
When Company opened in 1970 it swept the Tony Awards and propelled the Broadway musical into a new era. Set in Manhattan, Company features five married couples, three single gals - and Bobby, the only eligible bachelor in the group. Through scenes and songs they celebrate and scrutinize married life and its alternatives. These hilarious, neurotic New Yorkers are ambiguous about their relationship, but the emotional impact of Sondheim's songs - such as "Being Alive," "The Ladies Who Lunch," and "Another Hundred People" - is crystal clear.
RUN TIME: 2 hours and 20 minutes with one 12-minute intermission.
NANCY ANDERSON (Sarah) Broadway: Wonderful Town (Helen, Eileen), A Class Act (Mona). West End and Tours: Kiss Me Kate (Bianca - Olivier nomination, Helen Hayes nomination, "PBS Great Performances"), Doctor Dolittle (Emma). Off-Broadway: Eleanor in Far From Heaven (starring Kelli O'Hara), Fanny Hill (Drama Desk nomination), Jolson & Co. (Drama Desk nomination), Yank!, Ionescapade. Encores!: No, No, Nanette, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Concerts: Carnegie Hall with Michael Feinstein, 92nd Street Y, Atlanta Symphony, and Birdland. Regional: Oolie in City of Angels (Goodspeed), Peter Pan in Peter Pan and Gloria in Damn Yankees (Papermill), First Fairy in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Theater), Side by Side by Sondheim (Signature Theater DC - Helen Hayes nomination), She Loves Me (Westport, Papermill), The Women (Old Globe), By Jeeves (Kennedy Center), The Black Monk (Yale Rep), Johanna, Crazy for You (Pioneer Playhouse). CD, Ten Cents a Dance. Upcoming cast albums: Far From Heaven, Yank! Mesmeralda (singing voice) on Skylanders: Swapforce video game. www.nancyanderson.name.
COURTNEY BALAN (Amy) has appeared in the original Broadway companies of [title of show], Cry-Baby, and In My Life. Off-Broadway: I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change; I Love You Because; Rated P for Parenthood; The Extraordinary Ordinary; [title of show]; The Marvelous Wonderettes; How To Save the World; and Stars of David. Her most recent regional roles include Funny Girl (Fanny Brice) at Riverside Theatre in Florida; Into the Woods (Baker's Wife) at the Alliance in Atlanta; The Music Man (Marian) at Connecticut Repertory Theatre; Urinetown (Pennywise) at Theatre Raleigh; and A Grand Night for Singing (Alyson) at Bucks County Playhouse. Courtney is originally from New Jersey and is a graduate of the University of Michigan Musical Theatre department. She is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association. For more information please visit www.courtneybalan.wordpress.com
PAUL BINOTTO (Peter) is very glad to be back at Pittsburgh Public Theater. His Pittsburgh credits include The Public's 1776, American Radio Company of the Air with Garrison Keillor at Heinz Hall, Starlight Express at the Benedum Center, Miss Saigon with the Pittsburgh Musical Theater, Peer Gynt at the Playhouse REP, and several shows at the University of Pittsburgh a long time ago! His Broadway credits include: the original cast of Dreamgirls, the first revival of Hair, Starlight Express, King of Schnorrers, One Night Stand, and It's So Nice To Be Civilized. Off-Broadway credits include: Forever Plaid, Enter Laughing, and Ionescopade. Earlier this year Paul played Gustav Mahler in Love, Genius and a Walk in the Midtown International Theatre Festival (Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play nomination). He also played a rogue FBI agent in the soon-to-be-released movie, Cold in July. Originally from Canonsburg, Paul makes his home in New York.
JUDY BLAZER (Joanne) Broadway: Love Musik, 45 Seconds from Broadway, Titanic, Me and My Girl, A Change in the Heir. Off-Broadway: Whida Peru; Resurrection Tango; New York City Opera's Sweeney Todd and Candide; The Torch Bearers, Hurrah at Last, Bernalda Alba, and Hello Again (Lincoln Center Theater); Connecticut Yankee (Encores!); Twyla Tharp's Everlast (Metropolitan Opera). Regionally: title roles of Funny Girl, The Night Governess, The Miracle Worker, Peter Pan, and My Fair Lady. Additional: Twelfth Night, On the 20th Century, Lend Me a Tenor, The Thomashefskys with Michael Tilson Thomas (for "PBS Great Performances"). Television: "Law & Order," "As the World Turns," "Guiding Light," "Bernstein's New York," and "In Performance at the White House."
ELIZABETH BROADHURST (Susan) is delighted to be performing in Pittsburgh, her second home, having married into the Altman Family, natives of Brookline! New York has seen Elizabeth as Grace in Annie (Theater at Madison Square Garden) opposite Kathie Lee Gifford and Conrad John Schuck. Most recently, Elizabeth toured the country for four years with the National Tour of Mary Poppins, understudying Mary, Mrs. Banks, and Mrs. Andrew (the evil nanny), and eventually taking over for Mrs. Banks in her final years. Other touring credits include Annie, 30th Anniversary Tour (Grace) and Hair (European Tour, Jeanie U/S). Regional credits include: 1776 at The Guthrie Theater (Martha Jefferson), Two Gentlemen of Verona, the rock musical at Baltimore Center Stage (Milkmaid), and Kiss Me Kate at Gateway Playhouse (Ensemble). Elizabeth can be heard singing Grace on the Annie, 30th Anniversary Cast Recording (Time Life Records) and holds a BFA from The Boston Conservatory.
DARREN ELIKER (Larry) most recently appeared at The Public as John Dickinson in last season's production of 1776. Past PPT performances include ART (Serge), Metamorphoses (Midas), The Comedy of Errors (Antipholus of Syracuse), with appearances in Oedipus the King, The Tempest, and Broadway. Other local roles include Pittsburgh Irish & Classical's Copenhagen (Heisenberg), Hamlet (Claudius), The Seagull (Aston), The Cripple of Inishmaan (Babbybobby), The Rivals (Jack Absolute), Translations (George), and leading roles in She Stoops to Conquer and The Picture of Dorian Gray, Macbeth, All My Sons, The Grapes of Wrath, and Death of a Salesman (Starlight Productions); The Underpants and Picasso at the Lapin Agile (City Theatre); The Lion in Winter (Unseam'd Shakespeare); and Take 2 Interactive's Black Dahlia (VG-1998). He is a prolific voice-over artist with numerous awards for his work in radio advertising and a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University's drama program.
DAINA MICHELLE GRIFFITH (Jenny) is thrilled to begin the New Year back at The Public! Company marks her sixth production with PPT, having previously been seen in Circle Mirror Transformation (Theresa), Metamorpheses (Aphrodite), Amadeus (Constanze), Cabaret, and Broadway. Most recently, Daina appeared in Well at Off the Wall Theater and The Motherf**ker With the Hat with barebones productions. She's performed with theaters across the country including Kansas City Starlight, Gateway Playhouse, Human Race Theater, NYC International Fringe, and heXtc, to name a few. Locally, she's performed with Quantum Theatre, City Theatre, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre, The REP, Bricolage, No Name Players, Carrnivale Theatrics, Prime Stages, Pittsburgh CLO, and Pittsburgh Musical Theater. Televions: "Guidng Light," "Munhall." Film: Civilians, Love and Other Drugs, The Dark Knight Rises (Foley's wife). Daina was recently named Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's 2013 Performer of the Year.
LEE HARRINGTON (Kathy) is excited to be making her Pittsburgh Public debut in Company! Favorite credits include Merrily We Roll Along (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), Marvelous Wonderettes (Stoneham Theatre), Man of La Mancha (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), Fiddler on the Roof (West Virginia Public), and 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Dead Man's Cell Phone (Carnegie Mellon). Lee also has a one-woman show, Jellybean, directed by Daniel Jenkins, that she performs at the PIT in New York. Training: Carnegie Mellon University. Represented by Stewart Talent.
LARA HAYHURST (April) is thrilled to be performing with Pittsburgh Public Theater, where she was an intern and Shakespeare Monologue & Scene Contest participant 10 years ago! Now a New Yorker with a BFA from Pace University, some favorite credits include Kim in the National Tour of Bye Bye Birdie, Clara in The Light in the Piazza (Carbonell nomination, Best Supporting Actress), Dainty June in Gypsy and Amber in Hairspray (both at Fulton Theater), and Margot in Legally Blonde (Maine State). Locally she has been seen as Elle in Legally Blonde and Maria in The Sound of Music, both with Pittsburgh Musical Theater. LaraHayhurst.com for more!
BILLY HEPFINGER (Paul) is ecstatic to make his debut with The Public in one of his favorite musicals. A graduate of Princeton and a Pittsburgh native, Billy's local credits include Pittsburgh CLO (Plaid Tidings, Side By Side By Sondheim, A Musical Christmas Carol), Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre (Three Sisters, Ivanov), Pittsburgh Musical Theater (The Sound of Music, Hairspray), City Theater (2011 Young Playwrights Festival), the REP (Antarktikos), and Carrnivale Theatrics (Next to Normal). NYC: workshop of Tamar of the River (Prospect Theater Company).
BENJAMIN HOWES (Harry) hails from Australia where his credits include Les Miserables, Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors, and Grease. Here in the U.S., his credits include Broadway: Scandalous, Mary Poppins, [title of show]. National Tours: Mary Poppins, Shrek the Musical. Off-Broadway: Mint Theatre Company, Vinyard, Encores!, and many regional theaters. His television credits include "Flight of the Conchords," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," and a small but glamorous recurring role on "One Life to Live" as a Shakespeare-reciting drag queen, Alma Children. Full scoop at www.benjaminhowes.com. Twitter: @benjthestar
DANIEL KRELL (David) is happy to return to The Public for his 22nd appearance with the company. His performances here have encompassed contemporary works, classics, and musicals and include such favorites as Born Yesterday, As You Like It, Circle Mirror Transformation, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Metamorphoses, Amadeus, Cabaret, Oedipus the King, Much Ado About Nothing, Sweeney Todd, and most recently the acclaimed Our Town. He has played a variety of major roles with the region's professional theaters, such as City Theater, CLO, Quantum, Bricolage, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical, and The REP as well as with theaters around the country, including Clarence Brown Theatre, PlayMakers Repertory, and Gateway Playhouse among others. Mr. Krell is also a veteran of many films, commercials, industrials and voice-overs.
HANNAH SHANKMAN (Marta) is thrilled to be making her Pittsburgh Public debut! Broadway: Hair, West End: Hair, National Tours: Rent and Les Miserables. Regional: Side Show (La Jolla Playhouse), The Last Goodbye (Westside Theatre and Joe's Pub), Tommy (Berkshire Theatre Group), After the Revolution and Golden Gate (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Rent (Syracuse Stage), Pippin (ReVision Theatre). Other NYC credits: Beauty Queens (The Lark), Kaspar Hauser (The Flea), Girls in Trouble (The Flea). Film/TV: "The 85th Annual Academy Awards" Singer/Performer for the film Les Miserables.
JIM STANEK (Robert) is a Cranberry Township native who's been a working actor in New York City (but still rooting for the Pirates, Penguins, & Steelers!) for the last 20 years, living with his wife, Beth, and their three boys. He couldn't be happier to be "home" playing Bobby in his Pittsburgh Public Theater debut! He got his start at Seneca Valley, Comtra, and Pittsburgh CLO. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon, he made his Broadway debut going on (nude) for Jude Law in Indiscretions. He then played Hero (not nude), for two years in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Other Broadway: The Rivals, Little Women, Lestat, and The Story of My Life. Besides multitudes of Off-Broadway/Regional shows, commercials, and voiceovers, his TV/Film Credits include: "Law & Order", "Guiding Light," "As the World Turns," "The Good Wife," Borough of Kings, and Bella, recordings of ...Forum, Frankenstein, 3hree Musketeers, Sweet Bye and Bye, Kitty's Kisses, Lestat and songs on Out of Context and Love on a Summer Afternoon. He most recently played "Son" opposite Marlo Thomas' "Mother" in the world premiere of Clever Little Lies at George Street Playhouse. His last performance in "The 'Burgh" was Leo Bloom in Pittsburgh CLO's The Producers.
TED PAPPAS (Director and Choreographer) celebrates his 14th season as Producing Artistic Director of Pittsburgh Public Theater and his 21st year of close association with the company as a director. He has staged more than 40 productions for The Public, including the works of Euripides, Shakespeare, Schiller, Wilde, Gilbert & Sullivan, and Sondheim. Some highlights include Sophocles' Electra, Shakespeare's As You Like It, Kaufman & Ferber's The Royal Family, Peter Shaffer's Amadeus, Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses, Kander & Ebb's Cabaret, the American premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's RolePlay, and the world premiere of Rob Zellers and Gene Collier's The Chief. His career began in New York City where he worked at Playwrights Horizons, Joseph Papp's Public Theater, John Houseman's The Acting Company, New York City Opera under the leadership of Beverly Sills, and shows on and off Broadway. His regional credits are numerous and varied and include productions for Williamstown Theatre Festival, Arena Stage in Washington DC, the Kennedy Center, the Canadian Opera Company, Toronto's Royal Alexandra, and Goodspeed Musicals. He staged a hip-hop concert hosted by Harry Belafonte which galvanized the Cannes Film Festival, directed a Las Vegas extravaganza for impresario Steve Wynn, and served as choreographer for NBC's legendary series "Saturday Night Live." He studied Shakespeare with Samuel Schoenbaum and modern drama with Eric Bentley, and holds degrees from Northwestern University and Manhattan's Hunter College. He is a past president of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, the national labor union.
STEPHEN SONDHEIM (Music and Lyrics) wrote the music and lyrics for Saturday Night (1954), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), Anyone Can Whistle (1964), Company (1970), Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973), The Frogs (1974), Pacific Overtures (1976), Sweeney Todd (1979), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sunday in the Park With George (1984), In the Woods (1987), Assassins (1991), Passion (1994), and Road Show (2008) as well as lyrics for West Side Story (1957), Gypsy (1959), and Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965), and additional lyrics for Candide (1973). Anthologies of his work include Side By Side By Sondheim (1976), Marry Me a Little (1981), You're Gonna Love Tomorrow (1983), Putting It Together (1993/99), and Sondheim on Sondheim (2010). He composed the scores of the films Stavisky (1974) and Reds (1981), and songs for Dick Tracy (1990), and the television production "Evening Primrose" (1966). His collected lyrics with attendant essays have been published in two volumes: Finishing the Hat (2010) and Look, I Made a Hat (2011). In 2010 the Broadway theater formerly known as the Henry Miller's Theatre was renamed in his honor.
GEORGE FURTH (Book) was born in Chicago and graduated from Northwestern University; he did postgraduate work at Columbia University. He has worked extensively as an actor, appearing in many films, including The Best Man, Oh God!, Doctor Detroit, Young Doctors in Love, The Man With Two Brains, Cannonball Run, Hooper, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Blazing Saddles, Shampoo, Sleeper, The New Interns, and Myra Breckinridge; he has also acted in many major television shows. In addition to Company, he has written the Broadway shows The Act, Twigs, The Supporing Cast, Merrily We Roll Along, Precious Sons, and Getting Away With Murder.
F. WADE RUSSO (Musical Director/Conductor) returns for his 12th production with Pittsburgh Public Theater. He most recently conducted Show Boat at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, FL, and received the St. Louis Critics Award (Best Conductor) for Sunday in the Park With George at Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Other conducting credits: By Jeeves (Broadway), The Boyfriend (National Tour directed by Julie Andrews). Regional theater: Goodspeed Musicals, Huntington Theatre, Barrington Stage, Lyric Theater of Boston, Williamstown Theatre Festival. He has served on the faculty of the Circle in the Square Theatre School, the Julliiard School, and currently at the Boston Conservatory.
JAMES NOONE (Scenic Designer) Designs for Pittsburgh Public Theater include Thurgood, 1776, Born Yesterday, Private Lives, As You Like It, Electra, Camelot, The Royal Family, Time of My Life, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Little Foxes, Harry's Friendly Service, Metamorphoses, The Lady With All the Answers, The Odd Couple, The Comedy of Errors, This Wonderful Life, and Amadeus. Mr. Noone's Broadway credits include A Bronx Tale, Come Back Little Sheba, Match, Urban Cowboy, A Class Act, Judgement at Nuremberg, Jekyll and Hyde (Drama Desk, American Theater Wing Design Awards), The Rainmaker, Night Must Fall (Drama Desk nomination), Getting and Spending, The Sunshine Boys, The Gin Game, and Inherit the Wind. Off-Broadway credits include Fully Commited, Full Gallop, Three Tall Women, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, The Boys in the Band, Cowgirls, Breaking Legs, The Green Heart (Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, Primary Stages, Roundabout Theatre, Atlantic Theater, Second Stage). Regional credits include Huntington Theatre Company, Goodspeed Musicals, Long Wharf, Seattle Rep, Washington Opera, Canadian Opera, Portland Opera, Geffen Playhouse, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and Cleveland Play House. Tours include Jekyll and Hyde (1999), The Belle of Amherst, The Gin Game, Deathtrap, Three Tall Women, Stieglitz Loves O'Keefe, and also The History of Sex at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas and Latin Soul in Atlantic City. He is the recipient of several design awards including the Drama Desk, American Theatre Wing, two Helen Hayes, and the LA Ovation. Mr. Noone heads the Scenic Design Program at Boston University.
MARTHA BROMELMEIR (Costume Deisgner) returns to The Public where she designed 1776, Around the World in 80 Days, Harry's Friendly Service, The World Goes 'Round, The Odd Couple, The Gin Game, Sweeney Todd, and RolePlay. Other design credits: The Kennedy Center Honors, Barbara Cook Tribute 2011. Playhouse 91 - Menopause: The Musical. The Century Theatre - The Gorey Details. LaMama - God, the Devil, and the Crackhouse. Naked Angels - Saturday Mourning Cartoons, Naked Faith, and The Stand In. Primary Stages - The Joy Solution and At the Still Point. Regional: The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, the Bay Street Theatre, Barrington Stage, Goodspeed Musicals. Broadway: Associate Designer for A Leap of Faith, Catch Me If You Can, Gypsy starring Patti LuPone, Sweet Charity with Christina Applegate, The Producers, Cabaret and Hairspray. www.marthab.com
PHIL MONAT (Lighting Designer) has designed often for Pittsburgh Public Theater over many years, most recently Thurgood, Good People, Private Lives and Superior Donuts. Regionally, he has designed more than 450 productions at theaters around the country, including Seattle Rep, The Old Globe, Cincinnati Playhouse, Mark Taper Forum, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The Alliance, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, La Jolla Playhouse, Syracuse Stage, McCarter Theatre, Alley Theatre, Huntington Theatre, among others. Broadway designs include Sly Fox staring Richard Dreyfuss, Finian's Rainbow, and Sally Mar...and Her Escorts. Off-Broadway credits include: Woman Before a Glass (Obie Award), Adult Entertainment, Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weil, Visiting Mr. Green, Mere Mortals, The Boys in the Band, Three Tall Women, Camping With Henry & Tom (1995 Lucille Lortel Award), The World Goes Round With Kander & Ebb, Godspell, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, and Goblin Market (Drama Desk nomination). In New York he has also designed at Playwrights Horizons, Lincoln Center Theater, Circle Repertory Theatre, the New York Shakespeare Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club, the WPA Theatre, Second Stage, and the Vineyard Theatre.
LARRY SHEA (Projection Designer) is a media artist who has exhibited his experimental films and videos, interactive environments, and kinetic sculptures at national and international venues. Larry designed the projections for Thurgood at PPT and is happy to be back. He has created video and media for several of Mike Albo's monologue performances at PS122, Here Theater, and Dixon Place, all in New York. He worked with artist Julia Scher for many years on her surveillance-art installations, including "Securityworld" (Galerie Hussenot, Paris); "Wonderland" (Rosen Gallery, New York and Kargl Gallery, Vienna); and "Predictive Engineering 2" (SFMOMA). He was the Technical Director for Mary Ellen Strom and Ann Carlson's outdoor video projection and performance extravaganza, Geyserland, staged on an observation-car train trip from Bozeman to Livingston, Montana in 2003. Larry is currently Associate Professor of Video and Media Design in the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University. His work can be seen at www.lshea.org.
ZACH MOORE (Sound Designer) marks his 70th sound design here at The Public, most recently designing The Chief, True West and Our Town. Past PPT designs include the world premieres of The Chief, Harry's Friendly Service, The Glorious Ones, The Secret Letters of Jackie and Marilyn, and Paper Doll; the American premieres of The Bird Sanctuary and RolePlay (also original music); as well as 1776, Around the World in 80 Days, Red, Electra, Circle Mirror Transformation (also original music), A Midsummer Night's Dream, Metamorphoses, I Am My Own Wife, Man of La Mancha, and Tea. Other designs include Pop! (City Theatre), Sweeney Todd and Angels in America (Pitt Rep), House and Garden (Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre), Completely Hollywood (abridged) (Reduced Shakespeare Company), Falsettos (The Huntington), Paper Doll (Long Wharf Theatre), and Fully Committed (PPT, Dallas Theater Center, McCoy/Rigby Productions). Zach also operates a small music mastering studio, HDdB.
JONATHAN TUNICK (Orchestrations) is an orchestrator, musical director and composer who has won all four major show business awards: Tony (Titanic), Oscar (A Little Night Music), Emmy ("Night of 100 Stars"), and Grammy (No One Is Alone). While most closely associated with Stephen Sondheim, Mr. Tunick has orchestrated, re-orchestrated or composed for nearly 60 films and two dozens scores for television. He also has a band called The Broadway Moonlighters.
RANDY KOVITZ (Fight Director) At Pittsburgh Public Theater, Randy staged fights for True West, Private Lives, As You Like It, Superior Donuts, and The Comedy of Errors and acted in The Odd Couple. His fights have appeared on and off Broadway, at the Kennedy Center, Mark Taper Forum, Yale Rep, South Coast Rep, and many others. Highlights include the world premiere productions of Angels in America and Burn This, the Broadway production of The Kentucky Cycle, Sir Peter Hall's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and four seasons at the Tony-winning Utah Shakepeare Festival. Film credits: The Ballad of the Sad Cafe with Vanessa Redgrave and Keith Carradine, the animated feature Quest for Camelot, The Addams Family - as fencing double for Raul Julia, and Racing Daylight with David Strathairn. Randy is also an actor, with many stage, film and TV credits. Randy is currently appearing in the solo show Underneath the Lintel at 12 Peers Theater. www.12peerstheater.org.
CAROL SCHUBERG (Associate Choreographer) is thrilled to return to Pittsburgh Public Theater where she previously performed in Cabaret and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Her association with Ted Pappas began several seasons back at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre and continued with productions at the New York City Opera and Goodspeed Musicals. She choreographed Last Dance (Manhattan's York Theatre), A Celebration of Women in the Arts (Kennedy Center), the musical version of Two Gentlemen of Verona (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), and segments for "The Late Show with David Letterman." In addition, she was assistant choreographer on the film version of The Fantasticks. Carol performed on Broadway in Meet Me in St. Louis, Off-Broadway in Chess, in the national tours of Cats, The Tap Dance Kid, Barnum, Gigi and regionally in A Chorus Line (Sheila) and Bye, Bye Birdie (Rosie).
CINDI RUSH CASTING (Casting) New York: Silence!, Anthem, Homo, Legacy Falls, Mother Wife, God's Country, Bonnie and Clyde, Foreverman, My Mother's Jewish Lesbian Wiccan Wedding, Rooms, Jacques Brel, Urinetown. Consultant for NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, 1999-present. Upcoming: Scary Musical, Ernest Shackleton Loves Me, Serrano, Freed, Madam, Galactic Cigarette. Many regional theaters including Triad Stage, Penguin Rep, Charleston Stage Co. Film: The Woman (Sundance 2012), Jugface (Slamdance 2013), In the Family (Independent Spirit 2012).
RUTH E. KRAMER (Production Stage Manager) returns to Pittsburgh Public Theater for her 17th season. Our Town, 1776, Around the World in 80 Days, The Royal Family, Amadeus, Cabaret, The Mikado, Man of La Mancha, You Can't Take It With You, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum are among her favorite, previous productions. Other credits include Off-Broadway productions of Anne of Green Gables and Tovah: Out of Her Mind, Ain't Misbehavin' and Buddy at the Riverside Theatre, several seasons at Maine State Music Theatre and Mountain Playhouse, stints at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Pioneer Theatre Company, Goodspeed-at-Chester, and the Great Lakes Theater Festival. Ms. Kramer lives in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, is an avid Geocacher, and proudly serves on the National Council of Actors' Equity Association.
FREDRIC H. ORNER (Assistant Stage Manager) 2013-2014 season at The Public: Our Town, Company, Candida. Pittsburgh Public Theater: Born Yesterday, Superior Donuts, The Price, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Rabbit Hole, Radio Golf, The Glorious Ones, Amadeus. Broadway: Private Lives, If You Ever Leave Me...I'm Going With You, The Capeman, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, City of Angels, Mule Bone, Sunday in the Park With George (Original Cast), Our Country's Good. National Tours: Cats, City of Angels, Laughter on the 23rd Floor. Elsewhere: MUNY (St. Louis), American Repertory Theater, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Long Wharf Theatre, Hartford Stage, McCarter Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Roundabout Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Pasadena Playhouse, ACT (Seattle), Theatreworks (Mountainview, CA), Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He also has stage managed in the UK, Ireland, and Canada.
MUSIC THEATER INTERNATIONAL in 1952, composer-lyricist Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker, transformed a fledging business into what is now known throughout the world as "MTI." In the intervening years, Music Theatre International has become a leader in the theatrical licensing industry, specializing in Broadway, Off-Broadway and West End musicals. Since its founding in 1952, MTI has been responsible for suppling scripts and musical materials to theaters worldwide and for protecting the rights and legacy of the authors who it represents. Whether it is the newest hit from the Broadway or London stage, or a timeless classic, MTI has been a driving force in cultivating new work and extending the production life of the great American musicals such as Guys and Dolls, West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Les Miserables, Annie, Of Thee I Sing, Damn Yankees, The Music Man, Goodspell, Little Shop of Horrors, and the musical theater collection of composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim, among others. Apart from major Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, MTI is proud to represent youth shows, revues and musicals which began life in regional theater and have since become worthy additions to the musical theater canon.


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Home List of Titles The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey: high-resolution kinematics of luminous star-forming galaxies
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/206337
|Download PDF (Accepted manuscript) (Adobe Acrobat PDF, 1 MB)
- Title
- The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey: high-resolution kinematics of luminous star-forming galaxies
- Author(s)
- Wisnioski, Emily; Glazebrook, Karl; Blake, Chris; Wyder, Ted; Martin, Chris; Poole, Gregory B.; Sharp, Rob; Couch, Warrick; Kacprzak, Glenn G.; Brough, Sarah; Colless, Matthew; Contreras, Carlos; Croom, Scott; Croton, Darren; Davis, Tamara M.; Drinkwater, Michael J.; Forster, Karl; Gilbank, David G.; Gladders, Michael; Jelliffe, Ben; Jurek, Russell J.; Li, I-hui; Madore, Barry; Pimbblet, Kevin; Pracy, Michael; Woods, David; Yee, H. K. C.
- Abstract
- We report evidence of ordered orbital motion in luminous star-forming galaxies at z∼ 1.3. We present integral field spectroscopy (IFS) observations, performed with the OH Suppressing InfraRed Imaging Spectrograph (OSIRIS) system, assisted by laser guide star adaptive optics on the Keck telescope, of 13 star-forming galaxies selected from the WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey. Selected via ultraviolet and [O ii] emission, the large volume of the WiggleZ survey allows the selection of sources which have comparable intrinsic luminosity and stellar mass to IFS samples at z > 2. Multiple 1–2 kpc size subcomponents of emission, or 'clumps', are detected within the Hα spatial emission which extends over 6–10 kpc in four galaxies, resolved compact emission (r < 3 kpc) is detected in five galaxies and extended regions of Hα emission are observed in the remaining four galaxies. We discuss these data in the context of different snapshots in a merger sequence and/or the evolutionary stages of coalescence of star-forming regions in an unstable disc. We find evidence of ordered orbital motion in galaxies as expected from disc models and the highest values of velocity dispersion (σ > 100 km s−1) in the most compact sources. This unique data set reveals that the most luminous star-forming galaxies at z > 1 are gaseous unstable discs indicating that a different mode of star formation could be feeding gas to galaxies at z > 1, and lending support to theories of cold dense gas flows from the intergalactic medium.
- Publication type
- Journal article
- Research centre
- Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies. Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing
- Source
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 417, no. 4 (Nov 2011), pp. 2601-2623
- Publication year
- 2011
- FOR Code(s)
- 0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences
- Keyword(s)
- Galaxy dynamics; Galaxy evolution; Galaxy formation; Galaxy kinematics; High-redshift
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing
- 0035-8711
- Publisher URL
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2011 The Authors. Journal compilation copyright © 2011 Royal Astronomical Society. The accepted manuscript is reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. The definitive publication is available at www.interscience.wiley.com
- Research Projects
- Full text
- Peer reviewed


text:
A solitaire diamond is much more than a solo diamond when paired with beautiful filigree white gold of 14k. A transitional cut diamond (mostly found in the 1930s to 1950) has an estimated weight of .05 carats. The setting is particularly lovely with eight sides hexagon shape surrounding the diamond, acanthus leaves on each side as well floral motifs.
Date: Mid 20th century.