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JORDAN 2 - The North
22.06.2010 - 23.06.2010
View The East & Middle East on skyewilson's travel map.
22 JUNE – Kerak, Dead Sea, Mt Nebo to Madaba
Today we traveled along the King's Highway to the historic crusader castle of Kerak.
Iyad took us on a tour of the evocative ruins and explained the legends of the 12th century battles between the Crusader's and the Muslim armies led by the Arab hero Saladin. It was pretty funny but Iyad had all the spots for posed photographs – a beam of light piercing the cavern below (the hole was originally used as a communication point) but Iyad placed Dan underneath, looking up with his hands spread by his sides. The effect was very Godly! The other photo involved all of us sitting on steps on the outer wall of the castle – we were all lined up and told to sit looking in a particular direction. We did what we were told and the photos were duly taken…
Iyad would give us 'information' about Jordan as we were driving along from one place to the next. I fell asleep during one, which gives you some idea of the animation with which the stories were told. He was prone to gross exaggeration and inaccuracy – quotes like "Saudi Arabian men come to Jordan to pick a wife because 70% of Saudi women are ugly" and "All Middle Eastern women wish they were Jordanian". On the subject of religion he said that 95% of Jordanians are muslim but on 25% are practising - 'IYAD FACT' as we came to call them.
Or, when we asked him if Jordanian men can take more than one wife, Iyad responded by going around the bus, pointing at each man in turn, asking, "Could you love two women? Could you or you or you?" Ely responded with, "I could try!" I don't think we ever did get a straight answer to that one.
It is standard practice throughout the Middle East for the man to provide a home - they have to save for most of their 20s and don't get married until their mid 30s. In Iyad's case he had been working so hard that he hadn't had a chance to meet any nice women he wanted to marry so he turned to his mother to set him up meetings with a few girls. Twelve women later (ALL of whom said that they would marry him) and he chose one women who he has two kids by. What a catch! At one point Iyad was talking about the God of Love, "My favourite God", he said - the old casanova.
Another time we were talking about construction and he asked each of us who did the building in our various countries -"Australia?" "Australians" Ely and I responded. "New Zealand?" "New Zealanders?" Alan and Karyn responded. "Canada" "Canadians" Dan responded. "USA?" and before Dustin or Ben had the chance to respond Iyad cut in with "The Mexicans - in the US it's the Mexicans who do your building! In here in Jordan we have the Egyptians doing our building. The Egyptians living in Jordan and like the Mexicans of America!" Bold sweeping statement.
I had to look out the window so I couldn't see the faces of the other guys or else I don't think I would have been able to stop giggling (and, once or twice, potentially getting offended). Anyway, his quotes gave us great fodder and kept us laughing long after the story had been delivered.
From Kerak we continue to the Dead Sea. We drove along the shore which is dotted with military viewpoints (Israel is clearly visable across the sea). Stretching 67 kilometres long and 18 kilometres wide at its widest point, the Dead Sea lies in the Jordan Rift Valley and forms part of the border with Israel. We stopped at a private beach, changed and headed straight down to the water for a float. Here at the lowest point on Earth (420 m/1,378 ft below sea level) the water is 7 times saltier than a normal ocean at 30% salinity - making it the 2nd saltiest lake in the world. This means that you are extremely buoyant and seem to float on top of the water rather than in it. It's a really bizarre feeling and almost impossible to be vertical in the water, it just doesn't allow it, much less swim. I put my finger to the tip of my tongue and the water is so, so salty that it actually burned.
The mud here is supposed to have healing properties and Ely and Dan covered themselves from head to toe in a beauty mud bath. It was so hot, and because the mud was black it attracted the heat, so they had to wash it off before it had dried.
The private beach also had a normal swimming pool and it was a very strange feeling to jump in there, after having been in the Dead Sea, and sink! There was also a little shop for anyone who had forgotten their bathers - birkinis as opposed to bikinis appear to be the order of the day.
We didn't have too far to travel before stopping at Mt Nebo, where the prophet Moses is said to have seen the promised land and is supposedly buried ("by angels", said Iyad, "so we have no idea where his remains are." Uh huh).
According to Iyad Moses, being a prophet and therefore having superhero eyesite, could see the Mediterranean Sea some 75 kilometres away. You know, maybe Moses could see that far but I was so jaded with Iyad's exaggerations that I took everything he said with a giant pinch of salt. Apparently, if you are visiting in winter, the views from Mt Nebo over the Dead Sea to Jericho, the River Jordan and Jerusalem are spectacular (even for non-prophets) but there was a heavy haze when we were there, limiting visibility.
We were lucky, however, to have a lovely breeze on the top of the mountain and it was the start of cooler weather that we were going to experience for the remainder of our time in the Middle East. What a relief! We explored the Mt Nebo sanctuary and viewed the remarkable mosaics of the 4th century church.
Next we continued the short distance to Madaba. This historical town is famous for its Ottoman-style houses and beautiful Byzantine-era mosaics, including the famous 6th century mosaic map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Other mosaic masterpieces can be found within the church of the Virgin and the Apostles in the Archaeological Museum and scattered throughout Madaba's churches and homes.
Biblically known as the Moabite township of Medeba, it was one of the towns allotted to the twelve tribes of the Israelites Since its formation it has been an important centre for religious events – the Meshe Stele was raised in 850BC. In 865BC it came under the control of the biblical Ammorites. In AD106, under Roman control, it became a wealthy province and this continued until the Byzantine period of AD614. This was the time when the majority of Madaba's famous mosaics were made. The town was abandoned after an earthquake in AD747 until late in the 19th Century when thousands of Christians migrated from Karak.
Our hotel, Mariam, was the best we'd stayed in on this trip so far with a SWIMMING POOL! It was a little walk to the centre of town and we had a wander before settling in a bar with beer, wifi and World Cup (although probably not in that order of importance).
I wasn't up for dinner that night and got a little snack to eat in my room. I can't tell you how lovely it was to have a cool breeze coming in through the open windows – no need for aircon here!
23 JUNE - Madaba
We had a couple of options today and the group decided to take advantage of both of them – touring the beautifully preserved Roman city of Jerash and visiting Amman, Jordan's capital.
First stop was Jerash, situated in the north of Jordan, 50 km north of Amman and known for the ruins of the important Greco-Roman city of Gerasa. It is sometimes nicknamed the 'Pompeii of the Middle East', because of its size and degree of preservation. Recent excavations show that the area was inhabited during the Bronze Age as far back as 3200 BC. Conquered by the Romans and then the Persians, Jerash was destroyed by an earthquake in the 8th century.
Excavation and restoration of Jerash has been ongoing since the 1920s. Monuments of note in Jerash include the Corinthium column, Hadrian's Arch, a circus/hippodrome, two temples (to Zeus and Artemis), the oval Forum surrounded by a colonnade, a long colonnaded street, two theatres, baths, small temples and an almost complete circuit of city walls.
and a pipe band (who participate on behalf of Jordan in the Military Tattoo in Edinburgh) piping up a storm in the theatre.....
There were the usual tourist stalls lining up the entry way to Jerash and I stopped to watch a sand artist at work.
Then we drove back to Amman, just 25 km from Madaba. Amman has served as the modern and ancient capital of Jordan and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, with a 1994 excavation uncovering homes and towers believed to have been built during the Stone Age (circa 7000 BC). We stopped for a cheap falafel lunch (I may not have been feeling great but I found it impossible to pass up a freshly made falafel sandwich).
Then we drove up to the Citadel, on the highest hill in town, offering panoramic views over the city including the highest free standing flap pole in the world! Apparently North Korea takes the honors of having the highest flag pole in the world but it's held by supports so doesn't count.
The Citadel is covered with ruins which you can wander through and there is an impressive mosque at the top.
Within the Citadel is a wonderful museum which contains the Dead Sea Scrolls and also the excavated ruins of an Umayyad Palace. It was all in chronological order and fascinating to wander through the ages. This photo is of terracotta 'coffins' which held up to five people.
From the Citadel we could view the 6,000 seat Roman Theatre built in the 2nd century. It is situated in amongst the modern city and still used today.
There was a huge swarm of pigeons turning in circles above us as we looked over the city and I spotted this pigeon house and it's keeper
We were back in Madaba by the mid afternoon and I wandered down the souveniry street to see if I could find my Jordan 'thing'. My first stop just happened to be in a small store belonging to a lovely man called Yusef. Yusef had worked in banking in both Madaba and Amman for many years before retiring. He found that he needed to be doing something rather than get under his wife's feet so he opened the store – not to make money necessarily but just to chat to people. He opened when he felt like opening and closing rules were along the same lines. He immediately asked if we'd like a cup of tea – Dan and I said yes but Ben and Dustin kept on moving. On chatting to Yusef we found that we had a long running competition for the most cups of tea consumed in one sitting. The record was at 38 and there was no way we were in the running to compete – I think I managed three or four!
Yusef had recently done some building in his backyard and found mosaics – his backyard is now being excavated. He told us that when he's feeling sad in his heart, he only has to walk out to his backyard and look at the history evolving there to make his heart happy (even though he's lost his backyard). It was such a pleasure to buy my Jordanian present (cushion covers) from Yusef who employs local women to embroider in the traditional Palestinian way. It will be nice to look at those cushions and think of the afternoon spent drinking tea in his little shop and listening to his stories.
We had our last meal in Jordan at a rooftop terrace restaurant where the specialty was wood fire cooked casserole type meals in a pan. Don't ask me why but I went for lamb in yoghurt (probably trying to replicate the delicious meal we had in Petra) – with my stomach I ate one bite then off loaded it on to Brendan. It was expensive and none of us particularly rated it. I did, however, manage a glass or two of very tasty Mt Nebo wine.
And so that was Jordan – highlights: Wadi Rum, Petra, Jerash (and the bizarre Dead Sea). It seems the King (particularly the father of the current King who was much revered) seem to be doing good things with infrastructure, economy, etc. Like all countries in the Middle East, there were photographs, posters, stickers, etc of the leader EVERYWHERE.
Iyad spoke a lot about 'equal rights' which, again, I took with a pinch of salt but certainly on the surface there seemed to be some truth to what he told us – particularly in the city which is to be expected. We didn't have many opportunities to engage with the locals but when I did I found that they are happy and proud of how far their country has come compared with their neighbours, albeit acknowledging there's a way to go. The Bedouin culture is still strong in Jordan and they cling to their nomadic way of life - the rest of the population seems in a hurry to catch the western world. I did wonder how much they were influenced by Saudi Arabia (from a religious and political perspective) but was unable to get a true gauge on this.
I enjoyed the diversity of what Jordan had to offer – Jerash, Dead Sea, Mt Nebo, Karak and Madaba all rate highly. So too does Wadi Rum although maybe I've been spoiled but this desert adventure had nothing on my travels though the southern Algerian Sahara or even Egypt's Western Desert. Saying that, if this is your first 'desert' experience then it will probably be a highlight of your trip to Jordan – and the history of Lawrence of Arabia is certainly an added bonus. Petra? Well, Petra is Petra and nothing compares – it is, without doubt, one of the Middle East's most spectacular, unmissable sites battling it out with Machu Picchu or Angkor Wat for the title of the world's most dramatic 'lost city. It's worth a trip to Jordan for Petra alone which is what a lot of tourists seem to do. Despite the number of coach loads at the main sites (the Treasury, for example) it's still easy to get away from the crowds and have your own Petra experience.
We didn't come across a lot of tourists at the other Jordan's other historical attractions (although definitely more tourists here than anywhere else in the Middle East, bar Egypt – which says a lot about the stability of the country). On that point, Jordanians are a passionate and proud people and the country truly welcomes visitors with open arms. Despite being squeezed between the hotspots of Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Israel & the Palestinian Territories, Jordan is probably the safest and most stable country in the region. Regardless of your nationality, you'll be greeted with nothing but courtesy and hospitality. Jordan was an expensive place for the budget traveler with their currency doing better than the USD. For me it's probably a once in a lifetime destination but it certainly deserves to be visited once.
Posted by skyewilson 02:54 Archived in Jordan Tagged blogsherpa


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Council eyes speed bumps for Export
Gerry Hooper worries one day her 85-year-old mother will be struck by a driver racing through her Export neighborhood.
For months, she has pleaded with Export council to do something. Now she has teamed up with Puckety Drive resident Rosann Barr in asking for speed humps. With unanimous support from council, the borough solicitor will investigate options, including speed humps, to deal with the chronic speeders.
"The speeding is out of control," Hooper said. "It's an accident waiting to happen, and that's what we're trying to prevent."
Speed humps are longer than speed bumps and typically are made from rubber. They could be the solution, the women said.
The next step isn't clear, but the state won't be involved.
The state Department of Transportation doesn't have jurisdiction, department information specialist Jamie Legenos said.
"Puckety Drive is a local drive owned by Export borough," she said. "That would be a decision they would make."
Residents argue that three municipalities technically own the road: Export owns Puckety Drive from its origin at Old William Penn Highway to Route 22, then Murrysville picks it up there to just past Cornerstone Ministries, and Penn Township owns the tail end where the name changes to Boyd Road.
Although Hooper does not live on Puckety Drive, she said she visits her mother there once a week. Her mother enjoys walking along the street for exercise, but it's too dangerous for her to go alone, Hooper said.
Because there are no sidewalks, the women have nearly been clipped several times as they walked along the edge of the road, she said. When Hooper motions to drivers to slow down, she said many respond with an obscene gesture.
Although it's a residential street, many people use it as a shortcut, Barr said.
The borough does not have data on the number of vehicles that travel the road daily. The volume of traffic has steadily increased with the growth of an industrial businesses at the foot of the street and the construction of Cornerstone Ministries at the top of the hill, the women said.
Export council is expected to discuss options at its June meeting.
Amanda Dolasinski is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.

subset: commoncrawl


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During his closing remarks at Tuesday's School Board of Levy County meeting, Superintendent Bob Hastings voiced his support for changing the state's class-size amendment.
Hastings said that there was "no way" the district could meet the amendment's requirements this year, which means the state could impose penalties that could total in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"There's no way we're going to meet it 100 percent," Hastings said. "One size does not fit all."
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Tours Calendar
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USA / Route 66
Kicks Photography
For people with less time we offer the 12 day photo tour Route 66 "Kicks", which takes you from Chicago to Los Angeles through eight states. You pass through the "Gateway to the West" in St. Louis and see the unique natural wonders in the Wild West, including the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and the Petrified Forest near Gallup. You will spend the night in comfortable individual hotels and eat in typical Route 66 restaurants, where hearty American dishes are cooked. In the ghost town of Calico you will experience the Wild West, before your Route 66 photo tour comes to an end on the Pacific coast in Santa Monica.
Day 1
Welcome to Chicago. After the individual arrivals and the transfer from the airport to the hotel we will start off with a welcome drink and dinner and set the mood for our shared photo tour.
Day 2
Chicago > Springfield/Il.
Our Route 66 adventure starts. Around midday we will reach Wilmington with the Gemini Giant, a large fiberglass figure of the 1960's era. After an obligatory stop at the Dixie Truckers Home, we will end our first day in Spingfield/Illinois which was for many years the chosen home city of Abraham Lincoln, the president of the United States during the civil war.
Day 3
Springfield/Il. > St. Louis
Today we want to dedicate our day to the "Gateway to the West": the pioneer town St. Louis. The town's landmark is the more than 190 m high steel Gateway Arch. Inside, we will take trams to an observation platform to the top of the highest monument of the nation. The afternoon in St. Louis is free to your disposal, for dinner we will meet in downtown Lakelade's Landing.
Day 4
St. Louis > Springfield/Mo.
We deliberately want to do without the unnecessary challenges of confusing streets in the city, bad road conditions and misleading signs to the "Mother Road". We will travel some distances of the tour on the Route 66 and others on the Interstate. Today's highlight and absolute must are the Meramec Caverns. The famous limestone caves have been a tourist classic since the beginning of the Route 66 and served the outlaw Jesse James as a welcome hiding place from his pursuers.
Day 5
Springfield/Mo. > Oklahoma City
The motto of the day today is: travellling - namely through three states: Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. The latter is known through countless thunderstorms, the particularly striking red earth and for all Route 66 fans the probably longest continuous route on the Highway 66.
Day 6
Oklahoma City > Amarillo
We will start our day with a real photo highlight: A bridge with 38(!) huge arches spanning the Canadian River. And the Route 66 museum in Clinton that we will visit is a memorial that is different to all others: each room is dedicated to a decade of the "Main Street of America". A further highlight on our tour is the next stop and overnight stay at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo.
Day 7
Amarillo > Santa Fe
We continue our photo tour on Route 66 to the legendary Cadillac Ranch. As a reminder of the golden days of the Route 66 ten Cadillac's are buried vertically into the ground. Next stop is Adrian, the geo-mathematical center of the old Route 66. This is as important as crossing the equator. Brunch at Russell's Travel Center with its world class Car Museum rounds up the morning. At the end of our eventful day, we will spend the night in historic Santa Fe.
Day 8
Santa Fe > Gallup
This morning we want to check out the original film location of Maggie's Diner from the cult movie "Wild Hogs" with John Travolta in Madrid. After taking a group picture our tour takes us past Mesas, cottonwood trees and continues on the gentle winding road to Laguna Pueblo where the Spaniards built the mission church, which we will visit. Just in time for dinner, we will reach the hotel El Rancho in Gallup after riding several more beautiful miles through Indian Territory. The heydays are gone, but there once was a time when famous Hollywood stars met up here. Ronald Reagan slept in room 103; Humphrey Bogart in room 213, Doris Day in room 109, Kirk Douglas stayed in 105, Gregory Peck in 111. The Marx brothers resided in room 118, John Wayne recovered in room 100 after a long days ride and for Hermann the German room 101 is regularly reserved for the night.
Day 9
Gallup > Flagstaff
Starting off in Gallup, the first stage leads us to the Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert. The more interesting of the two natural wonders is the Petrified Forest, which was formed millions of years ago by a freak of nature. The northern part of the park, the Painted Desert, consists of sedimentary rocks that change color depending on the exposure to the sun going from red to orange to purple. On our journey towards the west ("Go West", is our phrase of the day!), we will pass the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook and cruise on to Winslow, Arizona to Winslow Corner, known from the song by the Eagles. Today's destination is Flagstaff which is located between the two Indian reservations of the Navajo and Hopi on the legendary Route 66. We will end the evening at the Museum Club that the locals call "The Zoo" and which is probably the best dance club between Oklahoma City and Los Angeles.
Day 10
Flagstaff > Seligman
Today's highlight is the gigantic Grand Canyon - if you wish, enjoy a spectacular helicopter flight. After lunch we will travel over Williams to Seligman. Here the long loop of the old Route 66 begins right up to the Californian border. Even the very old street layout is navigable along this beautiful section. Arriving in Seligman, we will first visit the founder of the "Historic Route 66 Association" at the Route 66 Visitors Center. We will certainly have the opportunity to meet the "Guardian Angel", Angel Delgadillo and perhaps somebody might be in the mood to receive one of his famous barber shaves. By the way, in his barber shop, you can find many Route 66 souvenirs - a true paradise for bargain hunters. In the evening we will set up our sleeping quarters at a typical Route 66 motel in order to get to know something very simple and rustic.
Day 11
Seligman > Barstow
We will have breakfast today in Westside at Lilo's Café, an original 66 restaurant owned by an expatriate German, who ensures that all the guests in Seligman are well fed. Through Kingman we continue on to Oatman and the hottest city in America to Needles. Other stops are the Sahara Oasis and Roy's Cafe in Amboy. Before we arrive in Barstow we will turn a few miles north - if time allows it - to visit an old silver mine in the Mojave Desert in the ghost town of Calico. In the still inhabited and lovingly renovated original Western town over a thousand adventurers once sought their fortune. If you want to you can pick up your very own personal Western photo. A beautiful day and a beautiful trip ends in Barstow. By the way in 1886, the town was named after the president of the Santa Fe railroad company. Barstow also managed to end up in the refrain of the Route 66 classic "Get your kicks".
Day 12
Barstow > Santa Monica
The last day "on the road" starts today. From Barstow we will travel the last miles on the Route 66 to Victorville and then take the Interstate straight to Los Angeles. Our Route 66 photo tour ends here at the Pier of Santa Monica, where we will spend our last night directly on the promenade. During our final dinner we will reminisce about our common photo tour.
Route 66 Kicks Photo Tour - what's included:
* Guided Adventure Tour by Reuthers Photo Tour Guide
* Travelling in comfortable Van / Mini Bus
* 12x Accommodation Middleclass Hotels in shared Double Room (1 common bed)
* Standard WiFi at Hotels
* Reuthers Secured Payment Certificate (Sicherungsschein)
* Reuthers Tour Book with Itineraries and Tips
* Reuthers Travel Lecture USA / Route 66
* Reuthers Welcome Drink
* Welcome- and Farewell-Dinner in Restaurants
* Transfers Airport-Hotel-Airport
* Entrance Fees
* Reuthers Rewards
Per Person = USD 2155
Single Room extra charge = USD 955
Twin Room (2 separate beds) extra charge = USD 165
All pricing payable in US Dollar.
3% "Early Bird Discount" (booking more than 12 months prior tour start)
2% "Golden Ager Discount" (age min 60 years prior tour start)
10% "Group Discount" (from 8 participants, all registrations within one week, common Payment of Balance by Bank Transfer)
Please note: Total Discount max. 10% for Deposit by Credit Card and Payment of Balance by Bank Transfer. No Discount for Deposit and Payment of Balance by Credit Card or by PayPal.
Of course we also realise individual dates for VIPs, private and group tours.
You prefer > Riding a Harley-Davidson Motorcycle on Route 66


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RFE: Conference Listings
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INHOLLAND University
- Dates:
- May 03-04, 2007
- Description:
- IC-Congress 2007
- Location:
- Haarlem, Netherlands
- Subject:
- Focus of the conferenceThe main question we want to address in this conference is: ???what is the future of business navigation, and how do we get there??? TopicsIntellectual capital, innovation, knowledge management, intangibles assets, human capital, organizational learning, knowledge based view / theory, knowledge productivity, etc.[gem?_?? den Informationen des Anbieters - according to site editor's information]
- Notes:
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- Sponsor:
- http://www.iccongress.com


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Here's a tip for handling a difficult and argumentative employee. If she tells her supervisors she doesn't like her job, wants to avoid some tasks and otherwise doesn't seem interested in progressing, note her lousy attitude.
She just may be the type of employee who later sues, alleging some form of discrimination.
Recent case: Dyneshia Joseph was fired from her bank job for poor performance and absenteeism. She claimed neither was true and that she had never had any work problems. She blamed her termination on racial discrimination.
But the bank provided extensive notes detailing her negative attitude, including verbatim records of her claiming she wanted to "throw in the towel" and avoid the sales aspects of the job. That was enough for the court to toss out her case. (Joseph v. Columbus Bank and Trust, No. 11-11948, 11th Cir., 2011)


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Several weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to attend a meeting at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) on a new mandatory payment model for joint replacement. I was the only resident physician among the more than 70 health professionals at the meeting. What I learned is that for most trainees in medical school and residency, little time is spent understanding the nuances of health care finance or practice management. Continue reading Left Behind: Why Excluding Residents from Delivery System Reform Hurts Us All
Category Archives: Payment Reform
The Price of Certainty in the ICU
Originally posted August 10, 2015
By Tom Peteet, MD
Mr. J was as close to a typical sixty-year-old patient as possible, wary of doctors and selective in when he took his blood pressure medications. On a sunny Thursday, he woke up nauseated and called an ambulance. During evaluation in the emergency room, his blood pressures reached atmospheric levels (nearly 300 systolic). He began seizing, which soon stopped; he was transferred to the ICU. As the admitting resident, I dutifully went through the potential causes of his elevated blood pressure: medication noncompliance, surreptitious cocaine use, and even the zebra diagnosis of a pheochromocytoma. As for the seizure, I held firm on the diagnosis of PRES, an acronym for posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, an under-diagnosed condition of abnormal blood flow to the brain in the setting of high blood pressure.
Mr. J was on course for a typical hospital admission. We would run a battery of tests, determine a singular diagnosis for his problem, and send him home on treatment. The hospital would be reimbursed for his coded diagnoses of hypertension, PRES, seizure, and he would have close follow-up with specialists.
If Mr. J was a typical case, our discussion of costs and appropriateness of testing was not. Despite a resurgence of "cost consciousness" within medicine, the word cost rarely comes up in the ICU. Much of the discourse around cost and of the Choosing Wisely campaign is an effort to avoid unnecessary tests in clearly defined circumstances. However, Mr. J's case shows us that the vast majority of clinical decisions live in a gray zone of appropriateness. On rounds, the question came down to this: Does he need a brain MRI and angiography (MRA) to "prove" he has PRES? The clinical history seemed to support the diagnosis, and the study could potentially offer limited prognostic information. Also, in the highly improbable scenario the patient did have a small stroke, we would see it on the MRI. What is the value we place on this minimal increase in certainty? According to the Healthcare Bluebook, the cost of both studies is $1,206.
Taking a step back, I wondered about our zeal to "prove" a diagnosis. Physicians so frequently frame clinical questions around diagnostic proof that we forget this is not the only way. Why not frame clinical questions around appropriateness, cost, or even risk-benefit to the patient? Context matters. In settings like the emergency room or ICU, ruling out the worst is highly valued. If Mr. J continued to be stable after a few days, the diagnosis would be PRES by exclusion, and we would all save time and money. Similarly, in one month, if he remained fine, his primary care doctor would not rush to get an MRI. But Mr. J was in the ICU, we needed an answer, and a test offered us the psychological boost we needed.
Mr. J walked out of the hospital five days later on a different regimen of blood pressure medications. He thanked the staff profusely, who in turn, felt they provided excellent care. Each actor behaved rationally: the patient and clinician to get a diagnosis, and the hospital to generate revenue. The system, however, behaved irrationally, to the cost of the public and also the patient. Despite a confirmed diagnosis of PRES, Mr. J will follow up with two specialists to verify the results of other rare causes for high blood pressure, again generating revenue, visits, and a minimal gain in certainty.
As a physician in this structure, I struggle to maintain hope, as thoughtfulness contradicts rationality. For Mr. J, I pushed against getting the MRI because I valued diagnostic utility and system costs over diagnostic accuracy. The system pushed back. The neurologist highly recommended the test, the ICU attending changed over, and the fellow "needed to rule out a mass." Considering the cost and appropriateness of each test is hard work, and too great a task for one person. While I am skeptical of top-down change, I take solace in the ability of clinicians to think complexly: to weigh accuracy alongside cost, risk, and benefit. In the gray areas of medicine, we as clinicians would do well to ask and wrestle with the question, "What is the price of the certainty we seek?
Tom Peteet, MD, of Massachusetts is one of the winners in the 2015 Costs of Care Essay Contest. He practices in Boston, where he contemplates the price of certainty in his surroundings.
The Costs of Cancer Care
Originally posted August 3, 2015
By Holly Woodcock
I'm a nurse and a patient. My story starts out during Thanksgiving of 2009 when I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at the tender age of 47. Stage IIIB. Metastatic but curable, they told me. After three surgeries, hospital stays, blood work, traveling, chemotherapy for six months, all the follow-ups with physicians, CT scans, the medications needed at home, I'm still paying.
As a consumer, it's really enough to make a head spin. As a nurse, I'm aware of hospital costs. I know it's expensive. Expenses add up fast as $100 co-pay after $100 co-pay are requested with every doctor's visit, every clinic visit, and every X-ray visit. Cancer didn't take into account all the income I'd lost post-surgery or the days I couldn't go to work because I was too weak or too sick to go in. It ate through my sick leave and savings quickly. I am so fortunate to have great health insurance.
Undeniably, my insurance company paid well. I'd look at the explanation of benefits every month, astonished and overwhelmed that chemotherapy could actually cost $75,000 a month or that one shot to keep my white blood cell count could cost $7,000 and I needed two every month. It's still bizarre to think I paid them to inject poison in my veins.
When the end of chemo came in 2010, I was well over $35,000 in the red – all from stupid cancer. Costs are crippling cancer patients to the point of losing jobs, losing businesses, losing homes, having liens, going bankrupt. Sadly, due to complications from treatment, I can no longer do bedside nursing. I am currently going back to school for my master's degree to teach nursing students. A lot of people don't have that option. What happens to them?
The economic impact of cancer care alone in the U. S. during 2011 was astronomical; annual costs were estimated to be at $88.7 billion. Yes, that's billion with a "B." In 2012, it was estimated that over 15 percent of Americans didn't have insurance. Those that are "lucky" enough to have insurance are burdened with the higher costs of deductibles; they're also paying for the newer FDA-approved medications that are helping win the fight. A drug that cost a few hundred dollars last year is being replaced with the newer drugs this year, costing consumers tens of thousands a month now. When I sat with my oncologist for the first time, we talked about side effects of chemo. The tingling in my hands and feet, the mouth sores, how my balance would be affected, how I could only eat and drink room-temperature foods, to cover up when it's cold because it will feel like shards of glass are ripping your skin off. He never mentioned the side effect of my finances. He didn't tell me just how expensive it would be to fight the beast.
Countless colorectal cancer friends I've met along this journey have similar stories. One friend lost his business and his home. He'll never work again due to the after-effects of this treatments. Even though his insurance paid, his treatments ate up his retirement, his savings and his way of life. Another friend, after his wife died, filed for bankruptcy from the resulting medical bills. His credit is ruined, he drives a $200 car and lives with his mom.
Cancer expenses are about more than just money. Cancer has cost us peace of mind. It's knowing you wake up in the morning and can never go back to a job you love, one that you planned on retiring from. It's about keeping the wolf away from your back door.
We've worked hard and we've mostly dug out from the bills that cancer gave us. I've sat my husband down and told him however, under no terms, if this cancer returns, I'm not treating it. I refuse to leave him bankrupt. I believe I live in the richest country in the world, with the best medical care available; fighting cancer shouldn't have to make you pick between treatment and food or medicine and rent.
Holly Woodcock is a nurse from Idaho.She was one of the winners in the 2015 Costs of Care Essay Contest. Her cancer has returned incurable, not terminal, and she has decided to treat it.
Duke, Colorado Explore Innovative Payment Models for Specialty Care
By Khin-Kyemon Aung
There's no time like now to test new ways to pay for specialty care, and the federal government has offered immense support in this endeavor. Earlier this year, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) sought input from stakeholders to develop payment models for diseases cared for by specialists. CMMI is also in the midst of testing bundled payments for 48 different episodes of care, launching a new accountable care organization (ACO) model for patients with end-stage renal disease, and developing an episode-based payment model for oncology care. Additionally, through Health Care Innovation Awards and State Innovation Model funding, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is aiming to further drive innovation around how specialty care is delivered and paid for to incentivize improved outcomes and higher quality at lower costs.
Continue reading Duke, Colorado Explore Innovative Payment Models for Specialty Care
Health Wonk Review: Polar Vortex Edition, July 2014
Okay, so the vaunted summer polar vortex didn't exactly bring the expected plummeting temperatures this week, but at least the oppressive humidity is lessened. Along with that refreshing change, some fresh thoughts from our Health Wonkers:
Over at InsureBlog, Henry Stern, LUTCF, CBC, kicks things off with a post on "SexistCare." Stern reveals that the ACA mandates a whole raft of benefits specifically for women and children, but none for men. He wonders why mammograms are covered as preventive care, for example, but there are no corresponding provisions for prostate cancer screening. "Where's the hue and cry?" he asks.
Continue reading Health Wonk Review: Polar Vortex Edition, July 2014
WSJ Contributors Have It All Wrong About CMMI
By Coleen Kivlahan, MD
On April 23, 2014, an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal described the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), one of the few bright spots on the health reform horizon in our country, as "a stealthy menace." It was written by Lanhee Chen from the Hoover Institute (a scholar and attorney) and James Capretta from the American Enterprise Institute (a scholar and long term public policy government servant). The authors are not working in one of our nation's health systems
Continue reading WSJ Contributors Have It All Wrong About CMMI
Rebooting Primary Care from the Bottom Up
Originally posted on April 16, 2014
For the better part of a decade, I practiced inpatient hospital medicine at a large academic center (the name isn't important, but it rhymes with Afghanistan…ford).
I used to play a game with the med students and housestaff: let's estimate how many of our inpatients actually didn't need hospitalization, had they simply received effective outpatient preventative care. Over the years, our totals were almost never less than 50%.
For my fellow math-challenged Americans: that's ONE HALF! Clearly, if there were actually were any incentives to prevent disease, they sure as heck weren't working.
In a country whose care pyramid is upside down—more specialists than primary care docs, really?—we're squandering our physical, emotional, and economic health while spending more per capita than anyone else. Four percent of our healthcare dollars go towards primary care, with much of the remaining 95% paying for the failure of primary care. (The missing 1%? Doritos.)
Connecting Physicians to Health Care Cost Transparency
By François de Brantes, MS, MBA and Neel Shah, MD, MPP
We recently returned from the National Summit on Healthcare Price, Cost, and Quality Transparency, where leading thinkers convened to discuss next steps in a growing movement to hold caregivers accountable for delivering better care at lower costs. Traditionally quality, cost, and patient experiences remained locked inside black boxes of individual patient–physician encounters. However, at the cusp of 2014, the window of opportunity to shine a light on physician performance appears to be permanently jammed open by public demand, payer pressure, and a technology marketplace that is eager and capable of making it happen. Continue reading Connecting Physicians to Health Care Cost Transparency


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School Description
The Faculty of Technology, Design and Environment at Oxford Brookes University has an international reputation for excellence, innovation and an ambitious desire to be recognised as one of the most exciting places to study in the world.
We have built a learning community underpinned with an understanding that innovation comes out of our students being able to take risks in a supportive environment. We encourage experimentation, playful trial and error, and academic curiosity. The results of this approach are there to be seen in the student satisfaction statistics, research rankings and graduate destinations.
We work closely with our graduates' future employers and marketplaces, and understand that there is a world out there with a voracious appetite for new and exciting creative ideas welded to solid business acumen.
The Faculty is home to six Schools and Departments providing specialist and interdisciplinary teaching, research and knowledge transfer across a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in purpose-built facilities in Oxford. However, much of our portfolio is also now delivered by academic partners elsewhere around the globe.
Our Schools and Departments are:
- The School of Arts
- The School of Architecture
- The Department of Planning
- The Department of Real Estate and Construction
- The Department of Computing and Communication Technologies
- The Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
The Faculty integrates theory and practice within an enthusiastic and informed collegiate culture; one that embraces new technologies, creates and communicates new knowledge, and celebrates the achievements of all our stakeholders and partners - staff, students, businesses, and community organisations.
Because over a quarter of our students are from other countries, we have strong international links and friendships with individuals and institutions all across the world. International aspiration marks everything we engage in.
We hope you will join with us in open, honest debate, developing your discipline within a twenty first century context of technological development and interdisciplinary innovation. You will be made very welcome.
This school offers programs in:
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192 pages | 6 x 9
Paper 1991 | ISBN 9780812213652 | $32.50s | Add to cart || Outside N. America | £27.99
Not for sale in the British Commonwealth, except Canada, or in Europe
Janet MacGaffey examines the case of Zaire where, according to the published statistics, wages are at starvation level, production is declining and the infrastructure is falling apart. The center is increasingly held by "system D," the second economy, whose activities, often illegal, take place outside the official economy.
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E.J. Dionne has an important article in this morning's Washington Post about the need for the President to stop divorcing "politics" and "governance."
Regular readers of this column will recognize that this has long been a concern of mine. Dionne shows how both FDR and Reagan were largely successful because they did not divorce politics from governance, but FDR lived long before, and Reagan lived just at the dawn, of the age of the professionalized elections, with media consultants, and polling consultants, and fund-raising consultants, and direct mail consultants.
The point is not just if Obama can regain his mojo in time to avert a midterm meltdown. The point is that the essence of American liberalism is that government is the only actor in our culture with the power to identify and achieve those social goods that are unmet in a free society where the moneyed interests are dominant. Obama needs to get his mojo by re-reading Arthur Schlesinger's "The Age of Jackson."
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Kareem Richardson gets UMKC job
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Louisville assistant Kareem Richardson, a former News-Gazette All-Area Player of the Year from Rantoul, has been hired as the basketball coach at Missouri-Kansas City, where he'll try to rebuild a program heading to a new conference next season.
Richardson agreed to a five-year deal worth $250,000 annually. He'll remain with the top-seeded Cardinals for the NCAA tournament. Louisville opens against North Carolina A&T or Liberty on Thursday in Lexington, Ky.
Richardson has ties to UMKC after serving as an assistant from 2007-08. He's also been an assistant at Wright State, Indiana State, Xavier, Drake and his alma mater, Evansville.
The 38-year-old coach takes over for Matt Brown, who was fired after five seasons with the `Roos leaving the Summit League for the Western Athletic Conference next season.
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ED Magedson – Founder
Ripoff Report
Drive Financial - Santander Consumer USA1010 W. Mockingbird Ln Ste 900 North Dallas, Texas United States of America
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This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 12/19/2009 12:18 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/drive-financial-santander-consumer-usa/north-dallas-texas-/drive-financial-santander-consumer-usa-erroneous-reporting-and-poor-record-keeping-nor-542297. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
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#1 Consumer Suggestion
SUBMITTED: Sunday, December 27, 2009POSTED: Sunday, December 27, 2009
Are you an owner, employee or ex-employee with either negative or positive information about the company or individual, or can you provide "insider information" on this company?
#2 Consumer Suggestion
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, December 22, 2009POSTED: Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Going through the credit bureau to dispute the data? If you have all the supporting data indicate that in the dispute and submit it they have 30 or 45days to reply. Also, I seem to recall the Army or at least most of the branches of the service I though had an "advocate" that either you or your wife could work through to resolve this if your deployed. I have not served in any branch but for some reason thought this position existed.
If your on leave ask your "boss" sorry not sure your ranking for some guidance if this "advocate" exists. I thought this group was specifically setup for situations like this so you can focus on staying safe and not about the car payments. Next step might be your attorney general for your state or your state representative in Congress or Senate.
Good luck!
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Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Going for the Gold
But--to quote one former SLJ editor speaking of another former HB editor--I think she is all wet. The main problem with Silvey's argument is that she's comparing the popular appeal (which is in any case not part of the Newbery's criteria) of current winners with that of winners from earlier decades. But the question before each committee is not "how does this book stack up with the great books of the past?" but "how does this book stack up with the others published in the same year?" It's easy to compare, say, Kira-Kira with The Giver and find the first book wanting in terms of wide resonance, but what book published in 2004 should have won instead? To make this argument work, Silvey needs to name names, and not those cherry-picked from the Newbery's long and (sometimes) illustrious past.
Silvey writes:
In the humble beginnings of the Newbery Award, its founders clearly sought a book that would have broad appeal. As children's book historian Leonard Marcus reminds us in Minders of Make Believe (Houghton, 2008), back in 1922, when the first Newbery was awarded, ALA allowed any librarian who worked with kids—even part-time librarians—to nominate one title. The Story of Mankind (Liveright, 1921), nominated on 163 of the 212 ballots, won that year. Obviously, the founders cared deeply about the opinions and needs of those who worked directly with children.
But librarians are still allowed--encouraged--to nominate books for the Newbery, and the awarding committees still largely comprise librarians working with children. What has changed? One thing that hasn't: complaining about the winners.
22 comments:
"All wet" is a kind way of describing this writer. Obviously she didn't like the last few years' selections -- big deal! who cares? -- and she wrote a 100% opinion piece that pretends to be a "study."
For example, one of her anonymous sources said of this past year's committee "Possibly the committee has too many 'experts' on it, and not enough working, small-town public librarians." Ignoring the Palin-esque reference to the superiority of small-town values, did it ever occur to to Silvey to challenge or verify this comment? How hard is it to dig up the names and work places of last year's Newbery Committee members? I found a press release on the ALA website without too much trouble which shows that the majority of the committee members were garden-variety children's librarians from places such as Oakland, CA, Winston-Salem, NC, Houston, TX, and Bettendorf, IA. So what if there were a few "experts" in the mix? Don't we want all kinds of smart people involved in the process?
Second, she allows an adult Newbery Discussion group in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to define which Newbery winners have the most staying power without questioning their methods or, frankly, their sanity. I myself can't give too much credence to a group that ranks "Shadow of a Bull" above "Holes," "Adam of the Road" above "Bud Not Buddy," and "Gayneck: The Story of a Pigeon" above both "Jacob Have I Loved" and "Walk Two Moons." Are they on crack, or what?
Lastly, can we finally put the old Secret of the Andes/Charlotte's Web argument to rest? I am so sick of seeing this argument dusted off and touted as proof that the Newbery Committee is out of touch. That happened more than half a century ago -- get over it!
- 4:43 PM, October 01, 2008
- Robin said...
I never like to hear statements like "some librarians" or "a reviewer." How about some specifics? Who are these folks? Are they so scared of others' opinions that they will only talk if their name is not used? It reminds me of children, when they say, "everyone hates ___________ ." Things are rarely so definitive.
I imagine if Anita had asked our teachers she would have gotten quite different answers.
And, what? No mention of the honor books? There were some pretty spectacular honor books in the last two decades...
Which books were better than the winners in the particular years?
- 7:57 PM, October 01, 2008
I am puzzled that SLJ would publish a piece with so many anonymous sources. Unless there is a compelling reason for a source to be anonymous, aren't journalists supposed to find sources that will go ON the record? SLJ and Silvey are at fault for including the anonymous sources. I'd also like to know: what are these people afraid of, anyway?
- 9:37 PM, October 01, 2008
A naive question: did SLJ commission the article (I mean the subject matter, not the conclusions, of course) or did the author just send it in? Have no idea what SLJ'S editorial policy is - can anyone just submit, or wait to be asked or assigned a topic?
- 9:44 PM, October 01, 2008
- Franki said...
This is such a great discussion. I just read Nina's post and now yours. I think so much of the Newbery for me, as a teacher, is the talk around it. Is it one that I love or one that I wouldn't have chosen? It is always interesting to try to figure out what the committee saw in the book that wasn't one that I agreed with. Has there ever been a Newbery Award that most people loved? I doubt it.
I remember when Kira-Kira won--I shared it with some kids in my class, telling them I had read it and really didn't see why it won. One of my students read it, came back to me a few days later with sticky notes throughout the book letting me know that "you clearly missed some of the great writing. This is definitely worthy of the Newbery." And, of course, she was right!
- 10:15 PM, October 01, 2008
- Roger Sutton said...
Anon 9:44, I imagine SLJ works the same way we do--some articles are submitted, others commissioned. For example, I've commissioned Anita Silvey to write an article about the BGHB Awards, which will appear in our January issue.
I agree with Anita about how great it is when a Newbery winner is a crowd-pleaser, like Tale of Despereaux or Holes. In those cases, the award can act as an ambassador for children's books. But that's not what the committee is asked to choose, and, since crowds are fickle, there's no guarantee of the committee choosing correctly anyway.
Make sure to look at Nina Lindsay's thoughts on the article. And let me quote again from that TV producer: "There are awards for [popularity]; they're called ratings," Mr. Shore said. "There are really good shows on cable, and even if only 10 people are watching them, if they're good they should be recognized."
- 10:18 AM, October 02, 2008
I like to see good writing rewarded: writing that raises the bar and that challenges readers to engage and to think. I want to see outstanding character development (unforgettable characters) and solid plotting, active verbs, control of point of view, and no sloppiness. That's the book that should win the Newbery.
The problem, obviously, is that we don't all agree about what good writing is.
- 11:41 AM, October 02, 2008
I tried to post these comments at Nina's SLJ blog, but they have not appeared, so I'm hoping they can be posted here to further the discussion.
I do think Silvey has captured a widespread sense of disappointment with many of the recent Newbery choices, but I do find the article annoying on several different levels, and I wanted to add my two cents.
1. You cannot serve on the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award committee that selects the book that has less child appeal than the last four Newbery winners combined . . . yes, I speak of The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing . . . that popular crowd pleaser. No, you cannot do it, Ms. Silvey. It's rank hypocrisy. It's the pot and the kettle. Shame!
2. You cannot rank A Single Shard with Bud, Not Buddy and A Tale of Despereaux as the best winners to date from the new decade. We note you did not state that it was a children's favorite--even you cannot pretend that it is--but teachers love to teach that book, really? Hmmmm. Can't we just be honest and say that you feel an affinity for the book since you were a publishing executive at Houghton Mifflin when it won?
- 11:51 AM, October 02, 2008
Perhaps professional reviewers, and also people involved with book publishing, should be enjoined from commenting in print on awards in their own fields. Sour grapes may be suspected.
- 2:56 PM, October 02, 2008
...or, when comments from people in the relevant fields are published, should we assume that the periodical (SLJ or whoever) endorses the writer's opinion?
- 4:05 PM, October 02, 2008
- Melinda said...
When the Higher Power of Lucky won the Newbery, I rushed out to my local libraries to get my hands on it. But neither had it! I was aghast.
Then I found out that the print run had been so small that the book was nowhere to be found and everybody had to order copies.
Now I think that's awesome. (I hope that the Printz award bestows the same kind of blessing on Elizabeth Bunce's book. SHAMELESS PLUG.)
- 4:37 PM, October 02, 2008
I would agree melinda, if I didn't think The Higher Power of Lucky was twaddle. I think this is the most important point that Silvey failed to address. Everybody agrees that the Newbery committe has picked some losers. There's no consensus, though, on which ONES were the losers.
Is there an objective way to pick which were the "good" Newberys and which were the "mistakes?" Silvey's measure seems to be "The ones I like were good, the rest were misguided." Hardly objective. Do you use sales? Count how many teachers are using them? Survey schoolchildren? Wait fifty years? I don't think there is a measure. This isn't science and it's a mistake to try to make things too hard and fast. I think the criteria of the Newbery has highlighted great books over the years, and I wouldn't want to see it changed.
I also would really like to see the dead horse of Secret of the Andes buried.
- 9:51 AM, October 03, 2008
[also posted on SLJ Talkback; I apologize for cross-postings!)
It's great sport to second-guess awards! Many thanks to Anita for bringing this up, and to others for engaging in discussion. I'd like to take a moment to myth-bust. From a look at the past 5 years of Newbery ballots: 1) On 4/5 slates, both chair candidates had served on the committee previously. On 1 slate, only 1 had. 2) On 4/5 slates, only 1 candidate for membership (out of 14) had served previously. On 1 slate, 0 had. 3) Out of 80 candidates (2 for chair + 14 for member X 5 years), 44 were in children's services in either public or school settings. This reflects ALSC's belief that a variety of persectives yields great results, but tips the balance slightly in favor of practicioners versus "experts." Next: A look at the actual committees. The above reflects only the ballots.
- 12:15 PM, October 03, 2008
- Nina said...
Anonymous 11:51am Oct 1...sorry you couldn't post over at my blog. SLJ's comments are filtered, causing many frustrations. (Maybe the use of the words "child" and "pot" caused the problem for you?)
Anonymous 9:51am Oct 3: well, the Secret of the Andes is, for all intents and purposes, buried. That is, no one reads it anymore. The only reason we all know about it is because of Charlotte's Web.
Last year when I was reading every eligible Newbery title of 2007 for the committee...my husband decided to read every single Newbery medalist of the past. And he did. He's now better rounded in Newbery reading than I am, which gives him absolutely no advantage in his profession (construction). But what he found interesting was that the more he read, the more he got a sense of what different measures of "distinguished literature" exist in the winners over the decades. I think he was really able to "appreciate" books he didn't necessarily "like." And there were, actually, a couple that he just couldn't finish reading. Secret of the Andes was one...Caddie Woodlawn was another, even though it was one of my favorites as a child. Even bribery couldn't move him on that one.
- 1:53 PM, October 03, 2008
- Melinda said...
*gets out backhoe and buries the dead horse*
Anon 9:51, I'll just call you Boss because otherwise I feel like I'm addressing a Bible verse. I did like "Lucky" and was moved by the scene where they all gathered in the desert. Though I have to say, I tried to explain "scrotum" to my daughter the way it was explained at the end of the book (my daughter had questions about the cat which was to be neutered) and my husband laughed so hard he couldn't catch his breath. Fiction, 1; Real Life, 0.
I have the same interesting issues with Printz award winners that you've had with Newberys, Boss. I think The White Darkness is a super-awesome book, though the big flaw through it has made a lot of people denouce it. I felt Part-Time Indian should have gotten a Printz. There are other Printz winners that left me scratching my head. I kept wondering, is there perhaps something that I'm not seeing in these books that these other people are seeing? Am I perhaps a little dense? Maybe I don't read enough, ha ha.
Really, though, books aren't like math. You do math, you get definite answers. Books on the other hand ... you can't line up variables and say, "This one is worthy; this one sucks." We just do our best.
- 2:05 PM, October 03, 2008
I haven't read Andes, and wouldn't be surprised if it was the result of good intentions at work. I also don't know the climate of the time that might have driven the choice. The reason it narks me when people cast it up as an example of a bad Newbery pick, is that they DID pick Charlotte as an Honor Book. I think it's splitting hairs to say that it should have had a gold sticker instead of a silver one.
We aren't talking about Suzanne Freeman's The Cuckoo's Child, which vanished without a trace. Or Katherine Sturtevant's True and Faithful Narrative, or any of the Obviously Deserving Candidates each of us would pick if WE were in charge of the world.
that said. . .
I'd be interested in what you have to say about "the right book at the right time" versus "books with staying power."
Can a book be the right pick, right now, even if ten years from now people will be scratching their heads over it?
Anon 9:51
And ye will go forth and read . . .
- 4:39 PM, October 03, 2008
- fairrosa said...
It's quite coincidental -- but tonight's Jeopardy's Final Jeopardy Question is
And I believe neither the contestants who "got it right" spelled Newbery correctly :)
- 9:51 PM, October 03, 2008
I always thought "Secret of the Andes" won over "Charlotte's Web" because it was published by Viking. The joke in the publishing world at the time was that Viking editor May Massee was tallying the votes back then.
- 2:46 PM, October 04, 2008
I understand that some people put polls on their blogs. Can you make a poll that offers people a chance to click on which Newbery of the last ten years they'd throw out? And a simultaneous "Newbery I'd defend to the death?" pick? I'd love to see the results.
- 8:58 PM, October 04, 2008
- JLH said...
I'll say, after readinbg the post and the comments, that the Newbery is chosen in one time period and that we can't always predict what will have lasting power. But I;m always wondering why we don't spend a little more time looking at Britain's Carnegie Awards, both their choices (though the age range is a bit different) and the process that goes on through the year of choosing.
- 9:19 PM, October 14, 2008
I am with Ms. Silvey on this one. I am a small town children's Librarian who grew up in a city (just so you you all don't think I am some small town small minded person). I get upset when people look to the Newbery list as the authoritative list of what to read, because there are so many better books out there. I would say that the 90% of the kids in my community who read Higher Power didn't like it. I am concerned that this award is being given to the obscure, beautiful writers who don't write for a child. They write for adults who read children's books. I think there should be some kids on the committee. The same with the National Book award, I groaned when I saw the list. BUT, on a side note, I love that the children's ambassador of literature is a comedy-writer. A man who gets the kids. What a joy to get to share Jon's work!
- 7:53 PM, October 26, 2008
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but I find it disturbing that Silvey doesn't make it clear that she worked at Houghton for years. All the Houghton/Clarion books in the article get positive comments. Is she biased? You can't be sure, but the readers certainly need to be informed that it could be an issue. I think SLJ has done a shoddy piece of work here in many ways, including that one. Surely someone at SLJ knows that the Newbery criteria explicitly say not to consider popularity; that books are to be compared to those of the same year; and that, in fact, ALSC actively solicits suggestions. Shoddy, shoddy, shoddy.
- 3:47 PM, October 31, 2008


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$20 On A Fishing Line Prank
What happens when you put a $20 bill on a fishing line in the middle of the city? HILARITY!
Photo: Youtube
If you found this funny, I guarantee you'll enjoy watching Drake go up to random people on Hollywood Boulevard and finding out what they really think of him!


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Time Schedule:
Frank Coker
Seattle Campus
Introduction to financial accounting, including the principles of double-entry accounting, balance sheets, income, and cash flow statements. Covers key financial ratios and their use for various analytical purposes, along with the elements of a financial plan or budget.
Class description
This course provides an introduction to financial accounting, standard financial reports, and basic financial analysis to support business decisions. The course includes coverage of ongoing operations accounting, financial modeling and forecasting, investment cost/benefits analysis, budgeting, and general business management accounting.
Student learning goals
Understand the basics of financial accounting.
Be able to formulate and describe the financial impact of business decisions.
Be able to present the rational and thought processes behind financial analysis
Understand the concepts that drive financial value of a business
Determine the impact of changes in operating processes on financial performance
Understand the basics of financial forecasting and financial data analysis
General method of instruction
Weekly classes will include a combination of instructor led presentations and discussion, student team presentations, and problem solving discussions. Each week will include readings from the online text book and research on topic assignments.
Recommended preparation
Some familiarity with business operations would be helpful, but not required. Students with experience in accounting and financial management will have opportunities to sharpen leadership skills in the class.
Class assignments and grading
Most assignments will involve teams. Most will be specific problems based on reading assignments. Teams will also be assigned an analysis of a company and its financial performance as a team project and for a final presentation.
Described on web site.