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A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. "But why," they asked, as they moved off. "Because", he said, "I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."
Two young boys were walking home from a traditional Sunday School having been taught a lesson on the devil. One little boy was overheard saying to the other, �What do you think about all this devil business?�
The other youngster (no doubt a future Unitarian Universalist) replied thoughtfully, �Well, you know how Santa Claus turned out. It�s probably just your dad, too�
Perhaps we could say the same thing about God; it�s probably just our father and our mother, but mostly our father, since God is seen as male. So during these holidays I usually use the abbreviation of Christmas as X-mas. I use X for the unknown, to be discovered by working out the problems of life. As is often the case in mathematics, what is often laughing called �the answer� is not as important as the working out of the problem along the way. I interpret that in my spiritual language as the journey is the working out of the problems of life and therefore, it is the most important thing, not the end or the answer. To be religious seekers after the metaphors of religious meaning, we have to be willing to explore language as well, and like listening to Xmas carols, sometimes just sing with great feelings. It is said that the reason that we UU�s are not great singers is that we are often too busy reading ahead to see if we agree with all the words!
Like saying that Santa Claus turns out not be a real man, but the spirit of Xmas which means giving generously, even anonymously, and not for an expected return. After all, what does Santa get for Xmas other than one heck of a long work day and countless frequent flyer miles? Almost Godlike satisfaction of helping others, not as bribe for eventual heaven, but simply out of the goodness of his heart.
Santa would be almost the exact opposite of Scrooge, at least the pre-transformed Scrooge, but there was no �Santa Claus� in Dickens� 1840 England; there was a kind of Pagan �Father Xmas� that actually appears as one of his visions. Dickens� Christmas Carol� became a bestseller and it was good thing, because he was one step away from the literal �poorhouse� or even debtor�s prison. Scrooge becomes one of the famous Characters of Xmases ever since, even to the Disney cartoon. Many of us have never actually read it, and I would urge us to. Like almost remembered Bible Stories of our youth, we must as adults reread our childhood stories, myths and fable, to find anew level of mature understanding. Today we use the word Scrooge, not as the finally enlightened and transformed Scrooge, but as the �Bah, Humbug� cheap and greedy Scrooge. Indeed, Walt Disney again would cast him in comic books as Uncle Scrooge and his nephews ,Hewey, Dewey and Louie, no doubt symbolizing the trinity.
While at a bookstore some years ago, I came across a book with a title that caught my eye, then my mind; it was Transforming Scrooge: Dickens� Blueprint for a Spiritual Awakening,by Joseph D. Cusumano.PhD., a high school literature teacher and psycho spiritual therapist. One jacket blurb from well known therapist John Bradshaw: �Transforming Scrooge brings Dickens� powerfully relevant message of ego death and spiritual� rebirth back to us full-force. No one will think of Scrooge in the same way after this clear, thoughtful work, It is truly a work for all seasons.�
Cusumanos says that the major problem is that we identify with certain characters from our childhood, not our adulthood. �most of us,� says the author, identify with Bob Cratchit, Scrooge�s work place victim, or with Scrooge�s nephew, Fred, his family victim, or with Tiny Tim, Scrooge�s physical victim. Because most of us were initially exposed to A Christmas Carol as children, we have not taken the time to meditate maturely upon the story as adults. In order to understand and feel the full impact of the message, we need to let go of our fairy tale preconceptions of the story, derived from and filtered through a variety of media, and read it as serious adult psychology and mythology. Dickens always intended his story to inform us about our own lives.�
It is also a good resource for bringing sanity and spirituality back to Xmas as well as for helping others less fortunate. Dickens himself survived childhood poverty and wrote much of his famous works decrying the terrible enslavement of young children in industrialized England. Today, of course, childhood enslavement continues but now invisibly, not in England or the US but in poor undeveloped countries where our corporations have transferred work to find, once again almost literally slave labor at a fraction of the cost. Indeed, one scene in the book which comes back to literally haunt Scrooge, is when the two alms collectors, like a bell-ringing kettle of today to help the poor in this season of plenty, Scrooge sends them away saying there are prisons and workhouses for children if they are poor.
Dickens wrote: �The deep remembrance of the sense I had being utterly neglected and hopeless, of the shame I felt in my position, of the misery of it was to my young heart to believe that day by day, what I had learned, and thought, and delighted in, and raised my fancy and my emulation up by, was passing away from me, never to be brought back any more, cannot be written. My whole nature was so penetrated with the grief and humiliation of such considerations, that even now, famous and caressed and happy, I often forget in my dreams that I have a dear wife and children, even that I am a man and wander desolately back to that time in my life.� (Wilson 1941).
Dickens� book�s popularity was a financial as well as spiritual resurrection for him, just as Scrooge is resurrected into love and generosity in the story. It is a story today for Enron executives and corporate CEOs and yes even for President Bush as well as for all of us, especially those of us, and I�ll admit to it, feel more like the pre-enlightened Scrooge and our mantra is Bah, Humbug, because it so profoundly reminds us of our connection to the rest of the world, especially those in poverty and especially this season where we spend more on just wrapping paper than some folks have to live all year long.
The transformation is not just about becoming generous, it�s also about becoming aware of the ego, and how our selfishness prevents us from being part of the whole, from sharing deeply, from loving unreservedly, from trusting the universe and letting go of our need for feeling like we are in control, which by the way, we�re not! The ego os elfishness keeps us from getting along with others, especially family, yea, especially this time of year! Part of the transformation is the giving up the need to be, or even to believe that we are always right.
In Cusumanos� book, Scrooge is psychoanalyzed, seen through Family Therapy eyes, as well as spiritual, while also looking from an Eastern view of the Chakras of our bodies. There were very few Eastern Scriptures translated into English, and interestingly, Cusumano writes that we also know from a 1976 biography by Hearns, �that Dickens was associated with Unitarianism during the 1840�s. Again it is possible that he may have learned of it (Eastern Chakras) through the open-minded spiritualism exhibited by this religion.�
Dickens wrote before the age of Freudian psychology, yet provides us with enough biographical information about Scrooges tortured childhood and the loss of his great adult life that it becomes a case study in what we might call common sense psychology/religion. . �During Scrooge�s night of transformation,� says Cusumano, �Dickens provided us with a completely valid blueprint for change, which included all the fundamental principles that we, too, need to realize and deal with in order to be reborn into spiritual awareness. Those steps are brought to light as this book progresses, and it is clear that they include a combination of psychological and spiritual elements. From this nineteenth century work, we are given a glorious gift that can help make our twenty- first century world a place that reflects this psycho spiritual awakening to our true Selves. We will all be better for it.�
We are all Scrooge, of course, as much as we want ot identify with the nicer characters, our ego of selfishness, not the true needs of the self, is Scrooge personified, and must also be transformed. �We are also given the golden opportunity,� Cusumanos writes,� to project our own unresolved childhood traumas onto his blank screen, or we can project the painful pasts of significant others in our lives onto this screen. By doing so, we can learn to identify with and begin to understand our own wounded Scrooges within...� oh sometimes these words sound like therapeutic clich�s, I thought, but once past that I realized that it was my inner Scrooge trying to rationalize away a message I needed to hear-whether from God, Scrooge, or Dickens.
� And we can learn to understand those wounded Scrooges surrounding us who have either negatively affected our lives in our pasts, or those who continue to dysfunctional affect our lives today. At any rate, the main point is we are not to gloss over this subtly presented information; we are to reflect on the profundity and severity of it, perhaps even own it.�
Those dream ghosts have so many different interpretations, and again, by rereading the story and not thinking in cartoon or children�s versions, the symbolism is mythological as well as spiritual. The ghosts or visions or dreams, like Biblical characters never are fully understood, since the author is long gone, and perhaps even he wrote of unconscious things.� Scrooge�s wounded inner child was easy to locate,� writes the author,� The defense mechanisms he freely used in adulthood to protect himself from further pain, although life killing, were the predictable result of unresolved childhood trauma.
There is no doubt that the three dream -ghosts were performing intensive, brief, experiential psycho spiritual therapy to free him from the bonds of the past. Scrooge�s �three day� trek through his unconscious mind perfectly follows the classic mythological structure known as the hero�s journey, in that he experienced the following sequential elements: departure, attainment through ordeal, and return with altered knowledge. After his reclamation, Scrooge immediately and obviously demonstrated spiritualized behavior by his ability to productively live and relate to his other �fellow-passengers� of the world in a totally loving way.�
Scrooges� journey, the working out of the problem, the attempt to solve the algebraic value of �X,� is because he was not happy, though economically successful by corporate standards, where Scrooge behavior seems the norm. there are many different ways we could interpret this story, none of which might have been Dickens� intention, but we must agree that Scrooge was not a happy, or even satisfied man and was the epitome of loneliness. Indeed, the author compares Scrooge�s conversion to people�s description of near death experiences or even alien abduction reports-both of which can be explained psychologically as well as metaphorically. Scrooge�s heart had been hardened by his abusive childhood; he could have as easily turned to a life of crime or drug or alcohol addiction to try to ease the pain.
. Cusumano talks about John Bradshaw in his book, Creating Love,(1992) of �people adapting to their traumas of childhood. Bradshaw discusses what he calls �the inevitable development of the �false self� which surfaces as a direct result of parental abandonment. It attempts to mask the intense inner pain and loneliness of the neglected �true Self�, or wounded inner-child. The false self eventually leads people to become either �more than human� by taking on the role of the abuser, or �less than human� by taking on the role of the abused. Bradshaw�s teaching gift and the various facets of his extensive therapeutic endeavors have had a positive and lasting effect on thousands of people.�
The story of Scrooge, told and retold around this holiday of supposed generous giving, has often been trivialized as just another Xmas story; indeed, perhaps the reason that it is usually considered a children�s story is that it might ring just a little bit to true for those of us who are more selfish, to those of us who believe that the one with the most toys wins at our death, to those who put profit in front of people, who literally steal the pensions from the lower scale workers.
Scrooge�s ego, the author continues, �made his transformation extremely painful, even to the point that he ends the dream sequence staring directly at his own grave, not sure if he would be given a second chance at life or not. In his reasoning mind, he knew that the dreams were intended to maintain its existence until the bitter end, made it appear that Scrooge was the one who would die, not it.�
Scrooge was a victim of child abuse, plain and simple, not uncommon in those times or these, though we have made progress. He had to have his heart opened or touched to change his life. Joseph Campbell writes �when the center of the heart is touched, and a sense of compassion (is) awakened another person or creature, and you realize that you and that other are in some sense creatures of of the one life in being, a whole new stage of life in the spirit opens out. The opening of the to the world is what is symbolized mythologically as the virgin birth. It signifies the birth of a spiritual life in what was formerly an elemental human animal... It happens when you awaken at the level of the heart to compassion, com-passion, shared suffering; experienced participation in the suffering of another person. That�s the beginning of humanity.�
I like to think it was because Dickens was Unitarian that he saw beyond the religious clich� into the deep need of humanity, the poor, especially the children, in all the world, not just England, though one must start in one�s own corner. Dickens wrote a deeply religious story that required neither Bible nor Supreme-Being God nor specific doctrines or dogma. Indeed, Scrooge�s transformation is universally religious lesson; he did not begin spouting religiously empty words, but went right to deeds.
� The glory of the situation,� writes Cusumanos,� is that Scrooge successfully went through his fear, into the light of his new life... Staring directly into his own grave, he did not succumb to his ego-induced fear. Instead, Scrooge prayed, asking his Holy Spirit within, for the first time in his adult life, to help him in a way he had always so desperately needed. His prayer, like all properly motivated prayers, was answered. His ego was defeated, once and for all. At that point, he died to his old self and was reborn spiritually. He was ready to begin his new life, living out of love instead of fear.�
As many religions teach about our inner strength, inner peace, inner divine spark, inner love, so Scrooge is changed and begins to changes the lives of those around him, like a spiritual chain reaction of love and generosity. The characters around him can also perhaps be responsible for his visions, his visits from the ghosts of the past, present, and future. His old partner, Morley, his kind mentor, Fezziwig, his nephew Fred, only child of his long dead beloved sister, Fan, who had loved him through the terrible childhood, and managed to get him back home after being sent away to a dreary and abusive boarding school, his employee Bob Cratchit and Mrs. Cratchit, and of course, Tiny Tim, the Pollyanna of the bunch, and even his once betrothed love, Belle. And perhaps most of all the vision of children he was given.
Ghost showed him children, and the author writes �He also allowed himself to think about the innocent children of the world who were being brutally affected by institutionalized neglect, of which he was an integral part. These anonymous children were being victimized by forces beyond their control, having no real chance for survival, given no love, broken in spirit, perverted from the life intended for them. The Spirit opened his robe, showing Scrooge something he had not previously allowed himself to realize: And here we use Dickens' own words-
�They were a boy and girl. Yellow, meager, ragged, scowling, wolfish, but prostrate, too, in their humility. Where graceful youth should have filled their features out, and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shriveled hand, like that of age, had pinched and twisted them, and pulled them into shreds. Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked, and glared out menacing. No change, no degradation, no perversion of humanity, in any grade, through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread �(86).
When Scrooge asks who they are, Dickens' ghost says: �They are Man�s. ...This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased...� Scrooge asks, �Have they no refuge or resource?�
� �Are there no prisons?� said the spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words.� Are there no workhouses? The bell struck 12.�
Are there not still sweatshops? Still prisons where we in this 21st century still put away the poor and abused, even executing the worst and most violent of the poor and abused children .
Dickens wrote stories that give society warnings in many of his books, but especially this one where Scrooge has the opportunity to change. what Cusumano describes as � our shamefully pervasive mistreatment of children. He clearly prophesied that if we don�t heed his warning to change this situation, as a society, we will all suffer from the dire consequences that will inevitably result from this shameful neglect. Unfortunately and appallingly, what he foretold has already, to a large degree, come to pass. So far, we have survived these horrors. If we do not wake up to his warning soon, however, we will not be able to survive the chaos and destruction our mass denial engenders.�
The recent series on the poverty stricken Mt. Pleasant area o East Cleveland is about s scrooge system which has not yet been spiritually enlightened. The Black activist author, Geoffrey Canada has been often quoted, His books were pubished by our own Beacon press, and he is a common speaker at our General Assemblies, because he is working in Harlem hands on, to effect change, It�s what must happen in this country, in Cleveland and elsewhere. The scrooge of social justice must be transformed as well. The story of Jesus is one of poverty, of unwed mothers, of being stuck in an oppressive system.
The metaphor of this season is that hope and love is born in what traditional religion calls the �Christ child,� a wonderful metaphor about a special child who will change the world by preach love above all doctrine and even denomination, and live out a life cut short, in his prime, if you will. Peace on earth and goodwill to men and women is a wonderful message to sing about in this time of cold and shortened days. Love one another and also yourself. The kingdom of God is within-everybody, not just a certain religious few. This metaphor laden season is an absolute patchwork quilt of meanings and interpretations from the worlds religions.
We realize that we need each other. Luciano De Creschenzo: �We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly embracing one another.�
I love to sing the Xmas carols and I like to hear them even as dreaded mall Muzak think of them as being in Latin. Don�t fight them; play along with the myth as well as the myrrh, frankincense and don�t forget the Gold. The story of Scrooge also tells us that we are never to old to change! The message of Jesus still rings true today of love and peace, of committing one;s life to serving the good, of finding religious meaning in our own ways. Let this season work its magic on us; let the Scrooge in all of us be transformed, awakened, kindled into roaring fire of love and compassion, working for a world of love and justice for all.
�Peace� in English,� Shalom� in Hebrew, �Salaam,� in Arabic; and love, understanding, generosity ; in Spanish, �Abrazos a todos,� hugs all around, �Vaya can Su Dios,� Go with your idea of God, �Feliz Navidad� - Merry Xmas, and finally, have a satisfying Solstice
We Pray for Children . . Ina J. Hughs
We pray for children
who sneak popsicles before supper,
who erase holes in math workbooks,
who can never find their shoes.
And we pray, for those
who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
who never "counted potatoes,"
who are born in places where we wouldn't be caught dead,
who never go to the circus,
who live in an X-rated world.
We pray for children
who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.
And we pray for those
who never get dessert,
who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
who watch their parents watch them die,
who can't find any bread to steal,
who don't have any rooms to clean up,
whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
whose monsters are real.
We pray for children
2. who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
who like ghost stories,
who shove dirty clothes under the bed,
and never rinse out the tub,
who get visits from the tooth fairy,
who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool,
who squirm in church or temple and scream in the phone,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at
and whose smiles can make us cry.
And we pray for those
whose nightmares come in the daytime,
who will eat anything,
who have never seen a dentist,
who aren't spoiled by anybody,
who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
who live and move, but have no being.
We pray for children
who want to be carried and for those who must,
for those we never give up on
and for those who don't get a second chance.
For those we smother . . .
and for those who will grab the hand of anybody
kind enough to offer it.
Please offer your hands to them so that no child is left behind
because we did not act.


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The holidays are filled with seasonal parties, and while you likely already have a few glittery dresses to wear, it is important to also plan out your makeup looks. Whether you want…
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Arts Committee Breakfast Series #3 |Panel Discussion
"How do you Make It in Today's Art World"
Asia Society Japan Center
Asia Society Arts Committee Breakfast Meeting #3
Wednesday, 24 April 2019
Christopher P. Wells: Asia Society Japan Center Founder Member & Arts Committee co-chair
Jenny Hata Blumenfield, Artist
Yurina Roche, Intern, Gagosian Gallery Hong Kong
Masako Shiba, Director, Asian Cultural Council Japan Foundation/Director of Engagement and Outreach, Asian Cultural Council
Panel Discussion – How do you Make It in Today's Art World
Following introductory comments on about their individual backgrounds, the three panelists engaged in discussion, expressing their views from the perspectives of those involved, in creating, promoting and marketing art. Discussions covered the status quo of the Asian art environment, including comparisons with the New York art scene, the support available for artists at different stages of their career, the role of established artists and the roles of collectors and patrons.
Ms. Shiba started by introducing the contribution that Asian Cultural Council grants have made in promoting US-Japan and intra-Asia cultural exchange, offering artists opportunities for not only specialized training but also broadening their horizons through communication and exchange with other artists, as well as encounters with diversity. Ms. Blumenfield seeks to expand upon identity through the lens of ceramics, exploring ideas such as denial and acceptance, and functional and non-functional in her art. Photography, prints and paintings have also played into her artwork as a new way to represent ceramics. Yurina Roche started her art education in studio art but works as an in-between for artists with artists, business-minded people, and different cultures.
Asian art environment: Hosting Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong has established its presence as the world's third largest art auction market after the US and UK. The Asian market is maturing from a time when collectors, proud of their own country's development, mainly bought modern and contemporary art from their own countries. Asian collectors and buyers - millionaires who have emerged out of the blue - have demonstrated different purchasing patterns from traditional Western collectors whom everyone knew, and this new potential is attractive for art dealers and gallerists.
Japanese art scene is distinct from others because during the bubble economy, the Japanese bought Impressionist art instead of Japanese contemporary art; and therefore, the Japanese contemporary art market unfortunately failed to develop to the full scale that it could have reached. However, successful artists like Kusama Yayoi, Murakami Takashi and Shiraga Kazuo, initially gaining high recognition overseas, have led the market to its highest. Asian Cultural Council supports the beginning of art professionals, and thus is often the first to recognize potential artists. There are many emerging and established Japanese artists yet to be recognized, and Asian Cultural Council aims to provide them with access to the appropriate audience.
Support mechanisms for artists: Once an artist establishes one's identity, it is easier to cultivate a stronger response to his/her work in the secondary market. The strong connections among alumni of select schools in New York always works beneficially for young artists, but Ms. Blumenfield has chosen to place herself in different dimensions of the art scene, including the non-profit world, where artists can create art without the pressure of having to figure out how to sell their work. Having experienced residencies as well as working for artists and art advisors, she pointed to the different ways to exist in the art world.
Compared to New York, which offers the infrastructure, support mechanism and spirit that for example enable artists to have a day job and still be an artist, Hong Kong tends to be less affordable for artists. Ms. Roche observed that in the long term, whenever M+ opens after the long postponement, the market side and philanthropic side of the Hong Kong art scene would balance out, possibly serving to increase the working artist population.
It is also difficult to make a living as an artist in Japan and artists need to prove themselves before they can gain exposure. Emerging artists can sometimes receive recognition through alternative art spaces or events, but art events such as the Triennales tend to be reserved for established artists. Most galleries are interested in artists who already have collectors or fans and are not yet strong enough to introduce emerging artists to the international platform. While non-profits and museums are important channels for emerging artists in New York, Japan offers less space for their works to be shown. Mid-career artists universally find difficulty in continuing to work as artists universally, but this is more so in Japan. Promising new initiatives to support mid-career artists in Japan include the Tokyo Contemporary Art Award .
Role of established artists: Brand names are still dominant in the Chinese and Hong Kong markets, in terms of both artist and art companies. In this sense, well-known art companies have large potential in promoting mid-career artists.
Ms. Blumenfield pointed out that some artists are not even classified as "emerging" but that despite their plight, most artists regard communicating their work as a large part of defining themselves. On the other hand, Ms. Shiba felt that many Japanese artists might not even know how to present their work. New York has a larger number of good residencies and schools that attract collectors and galleries interested in knowing who has yet to be discovered.
Given the global demand for locality, originality and innovation, some collectors are interested in who ACC is currently supporting so that they can meet future "big names." Japan has the potential to grow into the country that collectors come to discover unknown names that produce reputationally high quality work at a reasonable price. Japanese galleries need to make bigger efforts to expose Japanese art.
Role of collectors and patrons: Ms. Blumenfield saw art advisors as effective in-betweens connecting prospective patrons with artists, as they would be able to walk collectors through what their interests are. Ms. Roche observed the difficulty for collectors to visit galleries and studios in Japan because they tend to be closed during most of the year. Tokyo also lacks the resources that allow people to explore different galleries, while New York, Los Angeles and Berlin have websites that provide access to individual artists. Studio visits will help collectors reach beyond museums, which still have a strong presence in Japan, to get to know the artists, who can introduce them to a wider network of artists. ACC also seeks to support collectors and is in the process of building a community embracing not only grantees but also other artists and art collectors. Art collection is a reflection of one's personality and interests and matches present-day trends of self-expression.


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Sometimes five sentences works. Here are four such cases.
The Overnight (2015)
The Overnight is brisk, thoughtful, and most important, very funny. It borders on cringe a fair bit, but generally hits, has its share of interesting visual flourishes, and the mystery of the host's true intentions is played out well. At 80 minutes, it goes by fast, but its enjoyable and surprisingly packed ride. It also finally takes the crown of "Funniest Prosthetic Penis" from Boogie Nights, so that's something.
Grade: A-
Tangerine (2015)
Like its entire cast of characters, Tangerine is a bit of a mess. It's a bit aimless, and though it ends very well, a lot of what it took to get there seems pointless. One of the three main characters seems entirely excisable. At 90 minutes, it feels a bit long. And while the iPhone aesthetic works in spades occasionally, its often painfully oversaturated. However, it deftly builds an interesting world, and the scenery-chewing whirlwinds of Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor are incredible. It's patience-testing for sure, but Tangerine is a very memorable experience.
Grade: B-
San Andreas (2015)
Big-ticket natural disaster movies have had a tendency to fall far too deep into science fiction in recent years. San Andreas is admirably not-too-stupid, with buildings being a bit more toppleable and chasms being a bit more chasmy than I imagine real life would allow, but never straying so far outside the realm of believability to break the illusion (give or take something about magnetic pulses). Instead of focusing on a large, disparate group, San Andreas homes in on how the disaster affects one family, with a relatively small number of wide shots (but enough to get the effects buzz) and allowing more of a fly-on-the-wall feel. While plenty of stuff breaks and falls down, the movie admirably avoids dehumanizing the whole experience; when one heel meets their demise, we are immediately reminded of the immense toll the disaster has on those unfortunate enough to not have The Rock as our daddy. San Andreas is ultimately a bit disposable and by-the-numbers, but its enjoyable and much more involving than I expected.
Grade: B-
Jurassic World (2015)
Jurassic World is a movie that's afraid to play dirty, despite being more than a touch sociopathic. Despite having ostensibly the biggest catastrophe potential of the series (give or take the end of The Lost World), there is never a hint of the tension that fuels the most memorable moments of the original films, and only a couple adrenaline-running moments that hold up on the small screen (admittedly, it may have played better in theaters). The human characters might as well have been cardboard cut-outs, whom are required by-plot to be glaringly stupid and ill-prepared. Still, there are odd moments of beauty when the dinosaurs own centre stage (except for, unfortunately and surprisingly, the raptors), and its certainly not much worse than Jurassic Park 3. It would need a heck of a lot more character to hold a candle to the first two though.
Grade: D+


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4 Crafty Chicks - Die for Dies
Pin And Tack - Anything Goes
Beautiful card Tracey!! Lovely papers and the image also!
Thanks for joining the TTCRD challenges!
Really pretty, love the paper & the doily!
Thank you for sharing with us at MAWTT this week, good luck!
Hugs Shell xx
Adorable card. Love the image. Thank you for joining our Anything Goes Challenge this week at
Created With Love Challenges
Hello Tracey. Beautiful creation. Love the colours and fab image. Thanks for sharing at Created with Love. Sandra xxx
Reminds me of my 'yoooof' when my mother had budgies as pets. Seems really bizarre looking back.......
Anyway, I digress.....beautiful card, lovely image and what's even better it's the WEEKEND...WOO! HOO!! xxx
just love it tracey! the reds and aquas are gorgeous together...love the image :)
Nicely created, thanks so much for joining us at 4 Crafty Chicks for the Die for Dies Challenge, indeed a lovely card!
Beautiful, Love the image and all the details, Thanks for sharing with us at CreatedWithLoveChallengs
Lisa O
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Tracey, this is so gorgeous! Love the design, the corner die cuts you used with the image, the beautiful paper, the color palette, and fab doily! :^)
Hugs, Penny
This is so sweet Tracey!
Simply a lovely and funny Christmas cards. Lovely coloring with colors.
Hugs Judith
So sweet and seems like a difficult image to paper piece - so kudos!


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As you plan to downsize, you might feel good about donating some of your unwanted items to local thrift stores, giving your things another life. We have compiled a list of local stores in Kingston for you to consider. Each listing includes a description of how they 'give back' to community through funds generated by your donated items. By recycling in this way, your items get a new home, organizations get funding for community programs and we avoid contributing to landfill sites.
Salvation Army
277 Bath Road, Kingston – 613-544-4396
472 Division Street, Kingston – (613) 531-5002
National Recycling Operations' (NRO) role, within the context of The Salvation Army, is both to generate funds to help The Salvation Army achieve its mission, and to influence positively the communities in which we operate. The Salvation Army exists to share the love of Jesus Christ, meet human needs, and be a transforming influence in the communities of the world.
540 Gardiners Road, Kingston – (613) 877-2056
Did you know that 85% of all textiles end up in landfills despite 95% being fully recyclable? Each of our stores saves more than 2 million pounds of goods per year from landfills. Look good and feel good about making eco-conscious choices.
Talize is a proud sponsor of the Children's Wish Foundation, having donated over $2 million since our inception in 2005.
Mission Thrift Store
2455 Princess Street, Kingston – (613) 531-7852
All donated goods are converted into cash and invested in leadership and literacy programs in over 40 countries, enabling access to the empowering message of The Word of God.
Value Village
1300 Bath Road, Kingston – (613) 536-5051
We purchase used clothing, household goods and textiles from nonprofit organizations to extend the life of used goods and reduce what ends up in a landfill.
The vast majority of our suppliers are nonprofits, and we pay them based on an agreed upon purchase price that corresponds to pounds delivered. This way, our partners can count on a regular revenue stream that helps them do what they do best — realize their missions. Every month, we provide regular payments to more than 100 leading national and regional nonprofit organizations.
The Goodway Thrift Store
844 Division St, Kingston – (613) 817-1213
The Goodway aims to make a lasting impact on the Kingston community through enhanced community involvement, economic participation, and a reduction of the barriers to employment and education.
Goodway helps local organizations with donations to their initiatives.
Re-Store – Habitat for Humanity
607 Gardiners Road, Kingston – 613-547-4111
Habitat for Humanity Kingston Limestone Regions is one of 56 Habitat affiliates in Canada and one of 1400 affiliates worldwide sharing a common vision of safe and decent housing for all. At Habitat for Humanity Kingston Limestone Region, we serve the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington regions to ensure hardworking families in need of better housing to have a safe and affordable place to live.


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Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area Study Programme
During the past thousand years, the fate of Karelia has, in turn, been to come under the rule of the Vikings, Novgorod, Tsarist Russia, Sweden, Finland, the Soviet Union, and once again, Russia. Nowadays Karelia is divided between Russia (the Republic of Karelia, capital Petrozavodsk) and Finland (the province of North Karelia, capital Joensuu, and part of South Karelia). In other words, Karelia shares the complex history of Eastern Europe.
The University of Eastern Finland is an important centre for the study of Karelian history and culture. It is also a centre for Baltic studies. The University has established relations with the University of Petrozavodsk, several universities in St. Petersburg and Moscow, the University of Tartu in Estonia, the University of Latvia in Riga and many universities in Lithuania.
Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area is an international, multi-disciplinary area studies programme co-ordinated by historians at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business. The non-degree programme is offered in co-operation with the Philosophical Faculty. It is intended for both international and domestic students who have completed at least one year of university studies. The programme includes courses in History, Geography, Ethnography and Folklore, Social Sciences, Finnish and Russian.
The duration of the programme is one academic year. It is also possible for students to enrol for only one semester. The language of instruction is English. The Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area Programme comprises six modules: seminar, basic modules (Finland and Russia) and option modules (History and Culture, Society, Multi-disciplinary Topics).
Courses, academic year 2019-2020
Timetables, academic year 2019-2020
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Pasi Tuunainen Programme Coordinator
Department of Geographical and Historical Studies
tel. +358 50 523 5514
email: pasi.tuunainen(at)uef.fi


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Some things need to be left in the past… After the break…
The Y-Files…
I'll make a confession right now – I never got into the TV series "Lost." I know that everyone else on the planet seemingly did but it just never caught on with me. I was never intrigued by the story or the little hints that the shows gave out, all of the little minute foreshadowing details, the complex character interactions… None of that stuck to me. I've probably watched all of an hour and a half of that show in "here-and-there" brief burst segments and that's only because I've had friends and family who used to watch it.
The reason why I never cottoned to the television show was because I had been inoculated from it by an earlier television show that had performed many of the same storyline tricks… "The X-Files."
I have a love/hate relationship with "The X-Files" but not for the reasons that you may suspect. For me, "The X-Files" sort of represents a swan song of what I will dub "The Golden Era" of my life when:
- I was still fairly young.
- A lot of my friends were still living in the same area.
- I could go to a computer store and (gasp!) buy a computer game… That didn't have 'steam' or some other destructive DRM attached to it.
- There were still honest-to-goodness real hobby stores that sold… Sit down for this one… Actual pen-and-paper role-playing games that weren't limited to Warhammer 40K, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering or that Vampire RPG with all of the goth imagery!
Being completely honest, I've never been a hardcore fan of the show or even, for the most part, a fan. The friends that I had at the time were often huge fans but they also believed in such things like MJ-12, the trilateral (or was it "bilateral") commission, the NSA, "Area 51″… Such beliefs were all rubbish but, in that era, all harmless rubbish. I absorbed more of the story through them then directly from a television screen. The same way that alcohol is a social medium to get people to interact with each other, the same held true with those friends and "The X-Files."
In my mind, "The X-Files" lasted a few years too long, especially once it turned into a "We have no idea where the plot is going but if we keep asking questions and answering questions with more questions, no one will notice" storyline. Since I hate taking notes while trying to enjoy myself, I allowed my friends to gracefully fill me in on all of the unnecessarily nauseatingly specific details (which, of course, always was going to lead to somewhere… Of course!).
I've heard that the show has been attempting to be re-booted for a few years now and, in my opinion, I'm not certain what more it could bring to the television landscape. It's offspring, "Millennium" never really went anywhere.
In an era where we know now, for certain, that the NSA will spy on you all the way up to and through the limits of the law, where Area 51 has been as debunked as it could get without having guided tours, where the Internet has matured well past being a "geek's haven"… I just don't know where a new "X-Files" would fit in. I honestly think that "The X-Files" was the recipient of it's era – The Internet was still in it's infancy, computer geeks were still very much regarded as geeks in society (I would know… I was there at the time!), word-of-mouth was still prevalent, Cyberpunk was still "In" because nothing had yet to replace it…
I'm sure a new "X-Files" is possible. Actors will act in anything. Writers will write about anything. If there's money to be made, producers will produce anything. Directors will direct anything.
What would be the point, though? What new niche would it fill that hasn't been filled since? I could only imagine that people would be clamoring for guest appearances by the original cast but not many of their characters are alive to appear – The Three Lone Gunmen are all dead (or are they…?), Smoking / Cancer / Whomever man is dead… Skinner would have to be retired by now… Would Doggett & Reyes make an appearance or were they regarded as the "Coy & Vance Duke" brothers of the X-Files once Skulley & Mulder? Will it disregard the comic book "Season 10"?
Nobody knows what the future will hold but, as they said on the show… The Truth is Out There. And eventually, we'll know, one way or the other.


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More than nine million Brits could be forking out for mobile phone handsets they have already paid for by not switching tariffs at the end of their contract.
Nearly three-quarters of people on pay-monthly contracts opt for a deal which comes with a 'free handset', which effectively means their tariff is inflated to include the cost of the phone.
However, a third of mobile users whose contracts are up for renewal haven't bothered to switch to a new deal, according to research from uSwitch.com, and this means they are overpaying for the cost of the phone.
If they switched to a SIM-only or a new pay-monthly contract, Brits could save a staggering £1 billion - or £104.40 each - over 12 months, the price comparison site found.
Unsuitable contracts
Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com, added: "Sometimes it pays to spend a small amount upfront and go for a deal offering a lower line rental, rather than opting for a free phone with a hefty amount to pay each month."
Consumers are also regularly exceeding their data allowances, with 23% of users paying £7.60 a month in out-of-tariff data charges. Annually, people are wasting more than £885 million by not being on a contract that is most suitable for them.
The average Brit uses just 39% of their monthly minutes, while 21% estimate that they use less than a fifth of their talk allowance in a typical month, meaning people could be losing money by not switching to a more appropriate deal.
While two-thirds of people (67%) have switched mobile deals at least once, only 33% are with the same network they were when they first had a mobile.
A fifth (18%) said it has too much hassle to swap networks and 10% said the process was too complicated but the majority (64%) said they were happy with the service they received.


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A three-time graduate of the University of Kentucky, with two degrees from the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, William E. Seale worked in the education and financial sectors for nearly 40 years. The Fayette County native earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry then earned both his master's degree in 1969 and doctorate in 1975 in agricultural economics.
He began his career teaching in the community college system before joining the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service as a county agent. After completing his doctorate, he joined the staff of Kentucky's U.S. Sen. Walter Huddleston.
The next step on Seale's career ladder was as government relations vice president for a New York futures exchange from 1979 to 1983. He was then appointed by President Ronald Reagan, and served for five years as commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
After serving with the commission, he joined the faculty at George Washington University. He went on to serve as chair of the department of finance and as senior associate dean of the business school. During this time, he also developed a consulting firm, Financial Markets Group Inc. He frequently spoke before congressional committees and to the media.
After retiring from the university, Seale founded and helped launch the ProFunds Group. One of three partners of the Maryland-based mutual fund investment firm, he also served as the chief economist until 2008. He remains a principal in the firm.
Seale served on the board of directors of the National Futures Association. He was also a public director of the Kansas City Board of Trade, The New York Cotton Exchange, New York Board of Trade and the New York Futures Exchange. Other memberships include the Southern Agricultural Economics Association, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, American Finance Association and Financial Management Association International.
He is a trustee with the Keepers Preservation Education Fund, and in 2006, founded the William E. Seale Family Foundation to support higher education. Seale is a generous UK supporter, particularly to the Gatton College of Business and Economics and the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. He established the D. Milton Shuffett Agricultural Economics Endowment Fund, in honor of his mentor. The endowment funds undergraduate scholarships for Kentucky students.
Today, Seale spends much of his time between his homes in Annapolis, Maryland, and Florida.


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CB Worship
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." – Colossians 3:16
Charleston Baptist Church is a "singing" church, and music plays a large part in all of our activities. We invite you and your family to "join in" and sing with us. You may want to join a choir and participate regularly (we'd like that very much!), or you may just want to "make a joyful noise unto the Lord" in the congregation. We would love for you to find your place in the CB worship ministry and sing, SING, SING!
"Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord!" – Psalm 150:6
If you would like more information on this exciting ministry, contact Shaun Burn or the church office at (843) 556-4673.
Charleston Baptist Church
13 San Miguel Road
Charleston, SC 29407


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Nick Cave has announced he will be bringing his acclaimed Conversations tour to the UK later this year.
After a sold out tour of Australia and New Zealand, which saw the iconic singer take questions and engage with fans in an intimate setting, as well performing some solo piano tracks, the tour will hit the UK in June.
"I thought that a direct conversation with the audience might be valuable in the recent live shows we have all shown a kind of willingness to open up," Cave said in a Statement.
Dates for the tour can be seen below:
Saturday 15 – Wales Millenium Centre, Cardiff, UK
Monday 17 – Symphony Hall, Birmingham, UK
Wednesday 19 – The Barbican, London, UK
Thursday 20 – The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK
Saturday 22 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh, UK
Saturday 23 – Sage One, Gateshead, UK
Tuesday 25 – Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham, UK
Wednesday 26 – Eventim Olympia, Liverpool, UK
Friday 28 – Brighton Dome Concert Hall, Brighton, UK
Be sure to check out the rest of our Nick Cave catalogue on eil.com, and if you have any items to sell, please call us on 01474 815099
eil.com – the world's best online store for rare, collectable and out of print Vinyl Records, CDs & Music memorabilia since 1987
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Christopher O'Riley, piano
Latest News
For full bio, photos, and concert schedule, visit www.christopheroriley.com
Meet Christopher
Acclaimed for his engaging and deeply committed performances, From the Top host Christopher O'Riley performs around the world and has garnered widespread praise for his untiring efforts to reach new audiences.
O'Riley has performed as a soloist with virtually all of the major American orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, National Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony. In addition, O'Riley has performed recitals throughout North America, Europe, and Australia.
Living by the Duke Ellington adage "There are only two kinds of music, good music and bad," O'Riley – a proponent of the former in all of its guises – has received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and an equally coveted four-star review from Rolling Stone magazine. O'Riley strives to introduce new audiences to classical music with an almost missionary zeal by performing piano arrangements of music by Radiohead, Elliott Smith, Pink Floyd, and Nirvana alongside traditional classical repertoire. He has collaborated for many years with the flutist Sir James Galway and cellists Matt Haimovitz and Carter Brey.
A prolific recording artist, O'Riley has recorded the music of Beethoven, Stravinsky, Scriabin, Liszt, Ravel, Gershwin, Debussy, and John Adams for Sony Classical, Oxingale Records, RCA Red Seal, Decca, and Harmonia Mundi.
Christopher O'Riley splits his time between Los Angeles and rural Ohio. For full bio, photos, and more information, visit him online at www.christopheroriley.com.
We are currently unable to display individual tracks on some musician pages. Please find them on our Soundcloud instead. Full-show tracks are still available on our show pages. We apologize for this inconvenience!


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108 Unisex Mala with Precious Wood Timber Ebony
Price: $19.00
Product Details
ABOUT THIS MALA This bracelet, which could also serve as a necklace is the perfect addition to your meditation practice with its smooth ebony beads that total to 108. This can be worn daily to promote internal balance and alignment during yoga or meditation.
Ebony Metaphysical Properties
- Stimulates intuition
- Balances emotions
- Protects and purifies spirit
108 Symbolism
There are several theories about the meaning of 108, and everyone has their own personal relationship and intention with their malas—below are a couple theories about 108 that we resonate with us:
- There are 108 energy lines to your heart chakras.
- The 1 represents the "oneness," that we are all one part of the bigger picture or universe, the 0 represents the non-permanence of the physical world, and the 8 is a vertical representation of infinity.
- The distance from the sun to Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Earth
If used as a bracelet, it can be wrapped around one's wrist 3 or 4 times, and as a necklace it can be wrapped once. Each bead measures 0.5 cm.
Δ Handcrafted with Love!
TREAT YOURSELF or GIVE THE GIFT of love, light, protection, and intention...
Namaste, friend!
Please note: the metaphysical properties and symbolism of charms and/or crystals are spiritual supports to healing and isn't intended as healthcare information.
Shipping & Returns
Our philosophy is simple: YOU have to be happy with your purchase. That's it. If you're happy, we're happy.
If for any reason you're unhappy with this product, then please return it to us within 7 days for a full refund.
All orders are shipped within 24 hours after payment. You will be sent tracking information when it is shipped so you can track its arrival.


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Your final week will be filled with packing, rushing, and trying to arrange the last of your address changes. Your bank, credit card, mobile phone and utilities should all know that you are moving and on which date you are transferring to that address – so all that remains now is to make sure that you have new utilities in your new house and that they have an absolute date for beginning.
The last week of packing is everything you have left – with an eye to making sure that you'll be able to live out of as few boxes as possible and seal the rest. At this point, you'll most likely realize that you've got a whole lot of boxes stacked in several rooms and will be fed up with the entire moving process. But in simply over a week you will be in your new home, unpacking.
Your appliances ought to be checked and cleaned with 7 days to go – you ought to possibly consider not buying frozen goods at all over the next 7 days, unless you're certain that they will not defrost during the move. Wastage is easily averted and you can consume all of the items in your freezer without having to buy more. You may also wish to begin making a list of any items you'll need when you move to your new house – anything you have ran out of or will use prior to the move, in order that you can buy more as soon as you're in your new house.
You must also consider, if feasible, cleaning any rooms you are not going to make use of much. Give them a good scrubbing – it will save you having to do it (or hire somebody to do it) on the last few days before your move.
You should also order any items notifying people of your new address now – giving them plenty of time to reach you – or a lot of time to be printed and collected.
If you want more information on bestmovingcompaniesreviews.com/8593/washington-dc-movers/, don't read just rehashed articles online to avoid getting ripped off. Go here: http://www.bestmovingcompaniesreviews.com/8593/washington-dc-movers/


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Category: Ophthalmology
Blue light blocking glasses: How much of the hype is science-based?
Blue light from our electronics is said to be harmful, and "blue blocking" glasses are touted as a panacea to numerous health issues. Is there any evidence to substantiate these claims?
Vision Therapy Quackery
Behavioral optometry claims to treat a wide range of disorders, including learning difficulty and attention problems. But these claims are not based on solid scientific ground, and are not supported by rigorous evidence.
Patients blinded by stem cell therapy: more egregious than you imagined
Three patients were treated with a slurry of stem cells and blood products, in both eyes, on the same day. Could the outcome, three patients becoming legally blind, have been foreseen? Probably.
Stem Cells for Macular Degeneration: Meticulous Science vs. Unethical Carelessness
Rigorous scientists stabilized a patient's macular degeneration with a cutting-edge stem cell treatment; less rigorous scientists misapplied stem cell science and left three women blind.
Acupuncture for Macular Degeneration: Why I Reject the Evidence
This post is dedicated to two people who are frequent commenters on SBM, Stephen S. Rodrigues and Peter Moran. Rodrigues is an MD/acupuncturist who tries to persuade us that acupuncture is effective. Moran is a retired surgeon who objects to insulting language and thinks more can be accomplished by trying to better understand why people turn to CAM and by explaining the...
Anti-VEGF treatment of Macular Degeneration: Science-Based Success
Let's celebrate some good science with a story about some evidence-based treatments for macular degeneration!
Blind-Spot Mapping, Cortical Function, and Chiropractic Manipulation
Steven Novella recently wrote about so-called "chiropractic neurology" and its most outspoken proponent, Ted Carrick. In 2005 I published an article in The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine (Vol 9, No 1, p. 11-15) entitled "Blind-Spot Mapping, Cortical Function, and Chiropractic Manipulation." It was an analysis of a study Carrick had published. Carrick read a shorter, popularized version of my critique in Skeptical...
Acupuncture for Amblyopia
An recent article in the journal Ophthalmology reported the results of a clinical trial that evaluated acupuncture as an adjunctive treatment for anisometropic amblyopia. In the abstract, the authors conclude: Acupuncture is a potentially useful complementary treatment modality that may provide sustainable adjunctive effect to refractive correction for anisometropic amblyopia in young children. Further large-scale studies seem warranted. A little background information...
Antioxidant Supplements for Macular Degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the major causes of visual impairment in the elderly: it affects central vision, impairing the ability to read and recognize faces while preserving some peripheral vision. It comes in two forms: wet and dry. Dry macular degeneration is by far more common, but wet macular degeneration, involving the proliferation of blood vessels, is more severe. ...
A Science Lesson from a Homeopath and Behavioral Optometrist
Charlene Werner is getting a lot of attention she probably did not anticipate or desire. She is the star of a YouTube video in which she explains the scientific basis of homeopathy. Before you watch it, make sure you are sitting down, relax, and brace yourself for an onslaught of profound scientific illiteracy combined with stunning arrogance. For those with more delicate...


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About Lockbox
Led by executive chef Cody DeRosett, Lockbox uses thoughtful yet simple preparations and cooking techniques in a contemporary setting. The local, high-quality ingredients from around the Bluegrass region shine in seasonal dishes.
Designed by Deborah Berke Partners, the Lockbox space highlights historic features like original marble floors, decorative plaster details, and large windows. Communal tables in both the dining room and lounge provide opportunities for large groups to dine together, or for individual guests to meet new people while they dine.
The original vault, The Safe, provides an intimate setting for private dining of small groups up to 12. The communal table just outside The Safe seats 14 and is serviced by a separate bar.
Lockbox features rotating exhibitions and original works of contemporary art, like site-specific commission Tomorrow's Weather.
> Learn more about the 21c Museum Hotel Lexington.
Kira Hassenger
Food & Beverage Director
Hassenger began her career in hospitality at seventeen, unaware that she had discovered her true passion. She quickly moved from cleaning hotel rooms to a guest-facing position at the front desk for Marriott Hotels in Cincinnati, before relocating to Chicago to pursue food and beverage roles at the downtown Marriott and independently-owned steakhouse restaurant, Kinzie Chophouse.
Hassenger joined the 21c team as a restaurant manager at Metropole in 2014, working her way up to Assistant Food & Beverage Director. She returns to 21c to serve as Food & Beverage Director of Lockbox and is pleased to continue to share her love of food, genuine service, and thought-provoking art with guests and her team.


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Schroon Lake: A summer place in the north
During the 1870s, people couldn't wait to get to Schroon Lake.
The Leland House was one reason folks made the trip north. Thomas Leland built his three-story hotel on six acres of land and could accommodate 300 visitors to the Adirondacks.
People came for the elegance, but also appreciated the community's mountain lake - framed by earth tones of green and brown. Air was clean and crisp; pine trees everywhere provided both beauty and fragrance.
The Leland closed down - after two fires and two rebuilds - in 1952. But the people still come.
Visitors can't find a 300-room hotel in 2018, but they can book rooms at places like the Schroon Lake Place, the Schroon Lake Bed and Breakfast, Chamlar Lakefront Resort and Cottages and bunches of other places.
They can explore a short main street - actually Route 9 - that offers a modern Tops supermarket, a post office, the Irish-style pub Flanagan's, a breakfast cafe, busy restaurant, town general store and an old-fashioned theater.
I have both visited and explored. I first visited the lake in 1978, on assignment during my first year as a newspaper reporter for The Post-Star in Glens Falls.
Part of that first story was about the community's history. The town of Schroon was first settled in 1804, north of the current Schroon Lake hamlet. During the Colonial period, Schroon Lake bordered colonial New York and New France; historians say Schroon was once a battleground, and lives were lost near the cool, blue water.
I never thought about vacationing at the lake until 1992 or so, when photographer Bruce Squiers and I did another story about quiet Schroon as an alternative to busier Lake George. I started my "4B" vacations soon afterward - bicycle, books, beers and briquettes.
For me, Schroon afternoons generally include bicycle rides up scenic Route 9, to North Hudson. The peaceful rides are natural stress reducers, pedaling north on roads that become more crowded with pine trees and less crowded with cars and trucks the farther you go.
Some years, I've taken a right turn on Route 74 and wheeled over to Paradox Lake. Neither rides are long or grueling. For now, my 40-mile round trips over steep mountain hills are over.
Happy hour starts after the rides are over. Coors Light may be a "lawnmower" beer, but I find they both "taste great" and are "less filling" when I'm lake side, reading in an Adirondack chair planted on a private beach.
Cooking on the beach in a charcoal grill is another perk. At many places in town, you can start burning briquettes, walk to the nearby Tops market for grill mates, return to home base and still have to wait 15 minutes for the charcoal to turn white-hot.
Pretty soon you're cooking, as dusk and waves from the lake roll in. Citronella candles mark your place in the sand, and hopefully annoy any pain-in-the-arm mosquitoes.
The Schroon Lake Chamber of Commerce can't say why mosquitoes show up. But staffers know why people do.
"It's a great summer family vacation without all the hustle and bustle of Lake George," said Nicole Howe, manager of the chamber visitor's center. "It's a close-knit community and generation upon generation have come."
All generations will see new things in Schroon Lake this summer.
"We're getting a brand new Stewart's," Howe said. "It's going up behind the old Stewart's and there are going to be three more gas pumps."
That's good news - there are few gasoline stations in Schroon Lake.
"There's a new store - Bark Eater Outfitters, where the former Ursula's was, next to Flanagan's. It's going to carry hiking apparel, T-shirts, books on the Adirondacks."
The town library has expanded, the town fountain - a landmark lit by changing colors - is in operation and the beach is open. Lifeguards begin their shifts in July; until then, swimmers are on their own.
Other attractions:
* "We specialize in barbecue," said Marie Rice, who has owned the popular restaurant Pitkins since 1975. "We sell a lot of turkey clubs, hand-pressed burgers, we do a pork Reuben which is very popular. All our desserts are made in-house, our strawberry-rhubarb pie, chocolate cream pie, coconut cream pie."
During the summer, Pitkin's is open from 7:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. Rice knows people like the home-style dishes, but they're really in Schroon Lake to be outside.
"It's the lake," she said. "People are boating, fishing, swimming."
* The Schroon-North Hudson Historical Museum, housed in a post-Civil War home, contains vintage photographs, postcards, maps and posters of the days when the Leland House - and other grand hotels and summer camps - lined the shores of Schroon and Paradox lakes.
Visitors can also listen to tapes made by older residents or check out local military records from wars starting with the War of 1812 to the Vietnam War.
* The Adirondack General Store is located on the east side of the lake, so people have to drive or pedal to visit. Maureen and Robert Diaz are beginning their fifth summer as proprietors.
"We have breakfasts, lunch, a full deli," Diaz said. "We have a lot of home decorations, kids' toys, candy. It's just your basic general store."
The store building was built in 1855. It's easy to find - visitors just have to look for the vintage Texaco gasoline pumps outside. They no longer work, but still advertise the brand's famous "Fire Chief" and "Sky Chief" fuels.
With summer here, Diaz knows he'll see more July and August travelers.
"We'll have motorcycles and more on bicycles," he said. "We get a lot of that all summer long."
* Joe and Debbie Jones have run the Schroon Lake Place, a mini resort off Route 9 at the southern end of Schroon's commercial corridor, since 2014. Joe Jones believes people come because they enjoy Schroon's laid-back pace.
"It's not as commercial as Lake George or Saratoga," Jones said. "It's kind of quaint, nice, quiet."
No parasailing, no arcades. Jones knows some people just want to bring their bicycles, books, beers and briquettes to Schroon - even late in the season.
"They think they own the lake," Jones said. "It's like, 'It's me and the lake and nobody else.'"
Schroon Lake Facts:
* The lake is 9 miles long.
* The Adirondack Marathon, which circles the lake and concludes in downtown Schroon Lake, is held every September.
* The 1957 Warner Brothers film "Marjorie Morningstar," which starred Natalie Wood and Gene Kelly, was filmed at Schroon's former Scaroon Manor resort.
* The "Word of Life" Christian organization is headquartered in Schroon Lake.
* The Seagle Music Colony, the oldest summer singer training program in the country, has been based in Schroon Lake since 1922.
Contact Gazette reporter Jeff Wilkin at 518-395-3124 or at [email protected]


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Marigold Cottage
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Marigold Cottage is at the top of Church Street, 100 metres from the beach. It has a lovely fresh look, still in sympathy with this old and much-loved house. If you have stayed here before, you will know it has a wonderful location by beaches, a sweet sunny courtyard and parking. But you will be amazed by the interior transformation.
Marigold Cottage is actually two 19th century dwellings, seamlessly joined together some six decades ago. Today, this much-loved holiday home has been given a fresh lease of life, decorated in a simple coastal style. White walls, tongue-and-groove panelling and clean-cut stripes predominate. Each of the spacious rooms are also layered with soft, natural textures, including fluffy sheepskins laid in window seats, to make this a stylish yet very relaxing home.
The location is pretty special too. It stands on Church Street, on the corner of the footpath that meanders down to the village's smaller Little Perhaver Beach (the final descent is via steep steps). Alternatively, the main village beach is a short, gentle stroll down Church Street.
Marigold Cottage is an exceptionally light and sunny house, benefitting from a generously sized kitchen, while the living room has a lovely woodburning stove inside the recently restored 19th century fireplace.
This room is accessed from the entrance hall via a quirky reclaimed door with pretty coloured glass. The room is dotted with subtle decorative touches and original artworks and has an unusual curved wall to one side of the fireplace. There is a petite sofa, a super-comfy velvet snuggler armchair and a rocking chair.
In the kitchen, all appliances (including a dishwasher and washing machine) are new, but are partnered by old-fashioned touches, such as a well-weathered farmhouse table, a vintage Indian cabinet and lovely old-fashioned china. Our favourite activity is sitting in the sunny window seat and watching the world go by.
Upstairs, the first single bedroom is double aspect, with sea glimpses from the back window and a view down the picturesque, winding Church Street to the front. The original wide floorboards have been painted white, covered with a woven wool rug that is soft on bare feet. The gilt and white painted bed is vintage and a selection of carefully chosen vintage floral pictures hang on the walls. There's even an old doll's house, which older children are welcome to play with.
In the slimmer middle bedroom, an old French bed evokes a fairytale feel with a carved headboard and tongue-and-groove cladding feels snug and charming.
Both these bedrooms have sliding barn-style doors.
The double bedroom style is pared-back, simple and very restful. A Habitat oak bed, a vintage chest of drawers and Forties brass lamps are complemented by original artworks by the owner's father, who is an artist. Again, painted floorboards are covered with a texture-rich wool rug.
Bedding in all three bedrooms is in monochrome stripes, for a fresh, seaside feel.
There is a newly fitted upstairs WC while the main bathroom is on the ground floor, refurbished with Laura Ashley floor tiles and rustic cladding.
The owner loves interiors (the house has been featured in Country Living magazine) and the carefully chosen mix of old and new make this a welcoming, unique Cornish cottage.
There is a good-sized garden behind the garage. It is paved, with a high bed on one side, abundant with untamed lavender, wild mint, rosemary and Agapanthus. The paved garden gets the sun all day, with a raised area that catches the late afternoon sunshine and has sea glimpses.
In the garage, you'll find logs in winter, a Lloyd Loom sofa and rugs, cushions and dining chairs, all available for relaxing and dining outdoors. A new small freezer and a tumble drier also live in the garage.
We mostly use the back door to come and go, where there is an area for shoes and coats etc. A side gate divides the house from the neighbouring cottage (the family or their holidaying guests have an old-fashioned right of way over Marigold's drive, so may pass by your back door from time to time).
Marigold Cottage benefits from parking on the drive, suitable for a small-to-medium sized car. However, Church Street is typically narrow and the drive is steep, so we'll send further advice on this along with directions. Alternatively, the village car park (where most holidaymakers park) is a 10-minute stroll away.
1 Bathroom, 3 Bedroom, 1 Dining-Room, 1 Kitchen, 1 Living room, 1 Toilet
Beds1 Baby Cot, Bed linen, 1 Double bed, 2 Single bed
CookingCooking utensils, Dishwasher, Oven, Fridge, Toaster
Heating/CoolingCentral heating, Fireplace, Log Burner
OutsidePrivate Terrace, 100m from the beach, Sea Views
EntertainmentWifi Internet, TV
TowelsBath Towels provided (please bring own beach towels)
ParkingParking Included
OutsideCharcoal grill BBQ, Deck chairs, Private Garden
Church Street, Gorran Haven , Gorran Haven, pl26 6Jh, United Kingdom


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Happy Anniversary Chocolate Pecan Brittle, Premium 24-Piece Chocolate Gift
We made our small batch classic pecan brittle. Enrobbed with stribbons of milk chocolate to make the perfect treat. 24 pieces per box.
This collection combines the very best of Ethel M Chocolate. First, you've got twenty-four pieces of our world-famous pecan brittle. More buttery and softer than most brittle you'll find. Then, we drizzled our premium gourmet chocolate over the top of each piece to make each bite even more perfect than before.
Contains Pecans, Milk and Soy. May Contain Peanuts, Other Tree Nuts and Eggs.
For nutritional information please call customer service at 1-800-438-4356


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Looking for a tool that can protect your privacy? If yes then you have landed at the right place. In this article, we are going to do Cyberghost VPN review. For those who don't know, it is one of the best Romanian based VPN provider.
What Is Cyberghost VPN?
As I mentioned above, Cyberghost is one of the most preferred Romanian based VPN providers. It gives access to a variety of strong features which ensure to fulfill the requirements of its customers. It is considered to be one of the best VPN as it is a zero logs VPN.
Cyberghost VPN was launched 7 years back but was not popular in starting. This was so because it couldn't provide its best. But after giving the best, it has reached quite above and has been listed in the best VPN's present in today's market.
Zero log VPN refers to the VPN which does not keep information about the purpose for which you used it for. Cyberghost provides blazing fast access to movie streaming websites and Netflix too. It is also considered to be best as it keeps the log of people connected to a server. This helps it to regulate the users on a particular server. This ultimately helps in getting greater speeds.
In the Cyberghost VPN review, we are going to provide its pros, cons, amazing features and the conclusion too. If you want to reach a conclusion too, then keep reading the article until the end.
Cyberghost VPN review: Pros
- Variety Of Features: Cyberghost gives access to a large variety of amazing features which are necessary for VPN to perform well. Cyberghost is basically a VPN that protects you while you are working over wifi. It helps to change your IP address. You can not only change the IP address but you can hide it too with the help of Cyberghost VPN. The main features of Cyberghost VPN which make it the best are:
- Kill Switch
- Hide IP Address
- You can connect 7 devices once at a time
- Total number countries supported by Cyberghost: 59
- Total number of servers packed in Cyberghost: 2,960
This VPN can be used on almost all the platforms. The list of platforms which Cyberghost supports and has officially released is:
- Android
- Windows
- Mac
- iOS
The availability of 2,900+ servers and 59 countries makes it the best VPN to be chosen. This is because it provides a large variety of countries and servers to choose from. It is also packed with all the amazing major protocols such as L2TP, OpenVPN, and IPSec. It supports AES-S56 encryption too.
Also Read: Complete Beginners Guide To Start A Blog And Generate Revenue
2. No-Logging Policy: Many of the VPN brands boasts that they provide zero logging policy. But when researched deeply, none of all fulfills the criteria.
Therefore it is highly requested to no to invest your hard earned money in such a VPN that only boasts and does nothing. Logging policy is one of the main factors that you should not ignore in order to choose a good VPN provider.
But this is not the case with Cyberghost. It strictly follows the policy of no logging and doesn't keep the record of your activities done by you. This clearly shows that it makes you anonymous while surfing online.
3. No Data Leak Policy: One of the main reason you choose a premium VPN is to keep your data safe and private. If you sit back and make a checklist, then Cyberghost would have a checkmark on all the features.
Many of the other VPN providers sneaks viruses into the users' database. This helps them to become successful in stealing the precious data. But this is not the case with Cyberghost VPN. It has a good image in the past few years. And it also guarantees that the data of its customers is 100% safe.
4. Smooth User Interface & Easy To Use: When we used Cyberghost VPN for the first time, the user interface was found to be very simple and smooth to be used. Everything was easily accessible with a guide available too. This is one of the main pros that makes it one of the best VPN.
Basically, it takes less than 5 minutes to install Cyberghost VPN onto a windows laptop. The layout of it is so smooth and simple that even a non-techy person could easily use it without any problem.
Apart from this Cyberghost is compatible with TOR and almost all other proxies. For those who don't know what TOR is, TOR is basically a network in which you remain anonymous. The main function performed by TOR is that it transfers your data through a number of servers. This virtually makes impossible to find out who you are.
Cyberghost VPN review: Cons
1. Speed Is Less: The biggest cons with the Cyberghost VPN is the speed. If you are searching for a budget VPN with maximum features then speed is the only thing that you will be missing out.
You will suffer this problem only if you are in the free version. Jumping to the paid version will give you a speed which will be sufficient for your normal usage.
If you have ever listened about Express VPN, then it is more powerful than Cyberghost in terms of speed. Read about Express VPN review here.
2. Rough Reviews From Third-Party: When we searched some information about Cyberghost VPN over the web, we came across Quora and Reddit. There were many reviews which were submitted by many individuals and companies too.
The individuals which do not have the proper knowledge and haven't done deal with the VPN companies posted some rough reviews. Apart from this, Cyberghost VPN is one of the best choices to be chosen in terms of both pricing and features.
Cyberghost VPN review: Plans & Pricing:
Cyberghost has launched 3 plans for its customers. It basically offers a month to month plan for $12.99 per month. The best way to keep out from this high price is to purchase their long term plan. But it is advised to choose the long term plan only if you are sure about it.
The pricing of the plans provided by Cyberghost VPN are as follows:
- Monthly Package: $12.99 for every one month($155.88 per year).
- 6 Months Package: $7.99 per month( $47.94for half year).
- 18 Months Package: $3.50 per month($63 for 1.5 years).
Do we recommend you to buy Cyberghost VPN? Yes, we recommend buying VPN from Cyberghost. This is because Cyberghost has been changing a lot since the past few years. Not only this but its feedback and customer support are also too good.
Choosing a plan which supports your budget will provide you with amazing features from Cyberghost. Now we are pretty sure that our Cyberghost VPN review has been completely successful. Queries are highly appreciated in the comment section.


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I need to change the contents of the context menu of a Tree based on the node type.
I can use the onNodeContextMenuSelect event and hide the menu items that shouldn't show.
But the problem is that some nodes shouldn't have a context menu at all. Is it possible to intercept the show event and interrupt it?
Thanks in advance,
Dynamic tree context menu
UI Components for Angular
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Shell Australia announced this week it has opened the wells at its massive Prelude FLNG facility located off Western Australia.
The Floating Liquefied Natural Gas facility now enters start-up/ramp-up, which is the initial phase of production where gas and condensate is produced and is moved through the facility.
Shell says once ramp-up has concluded, the facility will be stabilized for reliable production of LPG and LNG.
"The focus continues to be on providing a controlled environment to ensure Prelude will operate reliably and safely now, and in the future," Shell Australia said in statement.
Located some 295 miles from Broome, WA, the 600,000-tonne Prelude FLNG is one of the largest floating structures ever constructed. It will be permanently moored for period of 20 to 25 years and, at its peak, will produce and export approximately 3.6 million metric tons of LNG per year (mtpa), 1.3 mtpa of condensate, and 0.4 mtpa of LPG from the nearby Prelude field via conventional gas tankers.
The Prelude FLNG facility arrived in Australian waters under tow from South Korea in March 2017. The facility took on its first gas in June 2018 and has been undergoing tests of systems since.
The facility is designed to weather-vane 360 degrees around a turret moored in approximately 248 meters of water.


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Replacement Doors in Petrolia, ON
It has often been said that Alberta is the oilpatch of the country, but for students of history, they know that is a false claim. Petrolia was the first community in the country to discover oil back in the 1850's when it was discovered oozing out of the ground in Petrolia. The black goo as it was affectionately known then was distilled and oil was the product at the end of the process. The boom and bust nature of the oil drilling business wasn't lost on the community and they saw their share of booms and busts over time. Wells would be sunk one day and produces hundreds of barrels of oil per day only to go dry in a few weeks or months later, leaving prospectors with a handful of bills and no product to cover them. Petrolians were hardy souls and they didn't let the bust in prices or supply dampen their enthusiasm for exploration in the area. Oilmen from the town traveled the world to teach the extraction method for mining oil and they were recognized throughout the world as experts in the field. The rough and tumble life of oil drilling spawned a nickname for the drillers and 'Hard Oils' stuck due to the difficulty extracting oil and the hard work that went into the process. Many of the old wells have gone dry in Petrolia, save for a few, but the town has never forgotten its' roots and The Oil Heritage District Community Centre was opened in homage to the roots of the town and stands to this day as a meeting place for the community.
When you work hard for your money you develop an appreciation of it and the efforts made to earn it. For town residents spending more money than they need to for heating and cooling their homes is a non-starter. When they found out they could save money and the environment with replacement windows in Petrolia they jumped at the chance. To purchase replacement doors in Petrolia the residents asked us at AM Window & Door Solutions for help. Petrolians reached out to us due to our sterling reputation for the installation of replacement doors in Petrolia and our craftsmanship drives our reputation. The doors we will install at your home come from one of the best company's in Canada, Vinylbilt Windows and Doors. They have been making windows and doors for over 40 years and the products they produce will last for many years.
Replacement doors in Petrolia can cut your energy bills in half if you believe the scientific studies that have been released over the years. The studies say that we spend copious amounts of money on energy that has no good use and the excess energy use is driving the costs to heat and cool our homes. Another important aspect that is very seldom mentioned when you think about installing replacement doors in Petrolia is the environmental impact they can have on our world. Using fossil fuels to heat and cool our homes creates greenhouse gases and those gases accelerate the effects of climate change. New, energy-efficient replacement doors in Petrolia will reduce the consumption of energy and in turn reduce the release of gases that hurt the planet. Once new, energy-efficient replacement doors in Petrolia have been installed the cost of the doors will quickly recede and turn into savings for a homeowner through reduced energy use.
To achieve cost savings and improved air quality, you need a contractor to install replacement doors in Petrolia at your home. It is one thing to think about a contractor but another to go out and find one. It doesn't have to be hard, just look in the area for competent contractors who have the expertise to install replacement doors in Petrolia.
Identifying contractors is one thing, vetting their credentials is another and this aspect of the screening process is important. Professional contractors carry insurance and are licensed to work as contractors and if the person you are interviewing can't provide validation of these two items, you should look for another contractor.
Installing doors is a craft like any other skill or trade and it takes a certain level of competence with tools and materials to get the work done right. When the contractor shows up for an appointment to meet with you, ask him how he will divide the labour. He can work from one of two positions; first off he can have a crew that he uses as employees of his company. Or he can get a subcontracting crew from a list of crews who supply labour. You want to have a clear picture of who will install your new doors because the installation is crucial to the success of the job.
Working hand in hand with labour are the warranties that will be supplied by the contractor. He should stand behind the work of his crew with a labour warranty and the products he installs should come with a manufacturer's warranty. When you contact our company at AM Window & Door Solutions and our partner Vinylbilt, you will receive a 10-year workmanship warranty and a 25-year product guarantee.
To conclude the screening process on a high note, the contractor will issue a written estimate to cover any and all work on the site and the materials necessary to bring the job home. This is a given in the construction trades business if the contractor can't or won't supply a written estimate it is time to shop around for another contractor.
Using AM Window & Door Solutions for all your replacement door needs means we have overcome any objections you may have and you are confident in our ability to supply the work in the way you purchased it. To get the work accomplished, our family has been our strength – and for three generations they have made many satisfied customers.
A call into our office for help with your dooring needs will see one of our experts come to your home for an inspection and consultation. Once he completes an in-home inspection, he will have a plan ready to go to meet your needs and a written estimate will be the final formality before he leaves.
Our supplier, Vinylbilt, has many different colours and styles of doors to secure your home that is durable and decorative.
When your home heating and cooling costs have become more than you can bear, contact us at AM Window & Door Solutions for help. We have a free inspection, no-obligation consultation and free estimate waiting for you when you call us today at 1.519.668.1555.


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Love to Have the Opportunity to Learn About Your Company: I Know I Can Help
It seems that the preferred CRM Cold Call script goes something like this, "I'd love to jump on a call with you and learn more about your company. I am sure we can help." Really?
The roots of this approach may be from the "Sell me this pen" sales model whereby the sales representative queries the prospect seeking to find a need that can then be filled. Understanding your customer and her business needs are a critical selling skill.
However, a cold call (using this sales model) from someone the prospect does not know and may even be unclear about the product/service being offered is usually a non-starter. Yet, increasingly this is the opening gambit in many digital marketing campaigns materials.
What is missing from all of this is the construct of homework. The race car driver, Bobby Unser is credited with saying, "Success is where preparation and opportunity meet."
Somehow, I don't think he jumped in the car 'cold' the day of the race. Long hours of preparation preceded race day.
B2B selling is all about solving a specific issue or challenge the buyer is facing. Whether the potential customer knows about the issue or is unaware (for example, the first-generation smart phone), he or she must perceive value from the selling firm.
While it is usually impossible to know the details of an issue, the rep must have a starting point. Rather than, "let's jump on a call" articulate that the rep has some actual knowledge about the prospect.
Value Proposition
If the purchasing authority works on average ten hours a day (plus or including commuting time) a 30-min meeting is 5% of his or her day. Is talking to this sales rep the best use of that time?
Frankly, teaching an uninformed individual about the company and fielding a battery of probing questions probably is not worth it to most of us. A more valuable approach would be to develop a 'strawman' value proposition.
The usual benchmark of value is financial. An increase in the top/bottom lines, stock price or more recently reputation (great place to work, etc.) drive operational excellence initiatives. Whether tangible or intangible organizations seek value from business cases put forth by suppliers.
Unfortunately, value often remains loosely defined; as shown in the text box. Moreover, it is often difficult and time consuming to develop a viable and valid value proposition. No matter, this homework must be done!
|At a recent conference about the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), two panels extoled the (technology) virtue available to heavy industry. An inquiry from the audience regarding the project risk of implementing enterprise level IIoT was not impressively answered. Likewise, when questioned about the value proposition one panelist timidly answered that IIoT was simply necessary to remain competitive.
Trust me, it's going to be good! Not the most compelling use case.
Early in my sales career, this rep often put forth value propositions along the line of the IIoT example. Often, the company provided me with presentation materials to that end.
My sales life forever changed at a Mexican restaurant one lunch when I was going through the usual pitch and was interrupted by the prospect. His question to me paraphrased, "If I buy from you will I be promoted?"
I thought I knew this individual reasonably well and was speechless at the question. Later I realized that instead of a laundry list of products, spares and other materials, he was looking for a solution.
His problem would have been apparent if I had done my homework. He was charged with installing all the instrumentation in a $ 1 billion refinery retrofit. When successful, he believed his career would advance
Grilling him about his business would have made me persona non-grata as he did not have time for that. Once I proactively engaged his organization it quickly became clear how to win the deal. Three million dollars later our manufacturing facility was in over drive. And he did get promoted!
Finally, there is a level of impersonality from this selling model. This includes the much 'loved' follow up email driven by CRM, "I haven't heard from you so I thought I would resend my email."
Certainly, persistence is required to close deals; however, pestering will drive prospects away as fast as they can run. Professional behavior coupled with persistence are two sales KPIs.
You want me to give you some of my valuable time? Then do your homework and show me why I should
Further Reading
The author and others have published extensively on this subject. The list of appropriate articles and papers is too extensive to list here. However, readers are invited to peruse Dr. Shemwell's extensive list of blogs and publications.
See our Economic Value Proposition Matrix® (EVPM) for additional information and a free version to build your own EVPM.
For further information Contact Us.
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Nuclear physicists define the term, "critical mass" as the amount of fissile material whereby a nuclear reaction is self-sustaining. From that original definition, the construct is further developed along societal and political terms as a function of the environment and number of adopters and their interdependencies that create enough of a consensus for individual actions that sustains an undertaking.
In 1996, the author published the first of several case studies on a societal interaction model based on the Relationships, Behavior and Conditions (RBC) construct among economic actors. Previously the model was only in the domain of academia.
This blog addresses contemporary issues from the RBC perspective and whether in the present state they are sustainable or not. Many readers may be familiar with the "Innovation Adoption Curve." RBC seeks to enlighten the causality of behaviors that cause movement towards the critical mass that generates movement along this diffusion curve.
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Other Blogs by Dr. Shemwell
Dr. Shemwell is an author/contributor for the following 3rd party blogs.
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Dr. Shemwell is a member of the Global Energy Mentors (GEM) Leadership Team. Every month he or one of his colleagues is posting timely tips to help entrepreneurs navigate the energy start up sector. Check out the Landing Page.
Governing Energy Blog
From 2012 to the closure of PennEnergy in June 2016, Dr. Shemwell has authored a bi-weekly blog in partnership with PennEnergy. Governing Energy addresses contemporary management issues facing the global energy sector.
The complete set of Governing Energy Blogs are available in book form..
BTOES Insights
BTOES Insights is the content portal for Business Transformation & Operational Excellence opinions, reports & news. Dr. Shemwell is a contributor.
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Consult 2050 connects organizations with a wide range of consultants all around the world. The firm operates an online marketplace for consultancy services.
Essays on Business and Information
This two volume set covers a series of newsletters and opinion pieces published circa 2002-2009, including Bug Lore–Lessons for the Online Economy that addressed real time systems vulnerabilities from Y2K (1998-99).
Alignment Topics of the Early Twenty-first Century
About the Author
Dr. Scott M. Shemwell has over 30 years technical and executive management experience primarily in the energy sector. He is the author of six books and has written extensively about the field of operations. Shemwell is the Managing Director of The Rapid Response Institute, a firm that focuses on providing its customers with solutions enabling Operational Excellence and regulatory compliance management. He has studied cultural interactions for more than 30 years—his dissertation; Cross Cultural Negotiations Between Japanese and American Businessmen: A Systems Analysis (Exploratory Study) is an early peer reviewed manuscript addressing the systemic structure of societal relationships.