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They Were Right
November 24, 2014 § 26 Comments
It is one of those mornings that anyone who aspires to some version of this life would do well to experience before making any sort of irrevocable commitment. Oh, sure, it is warm enough, but the rain is relentless and the wind fierce, and on my way to pigs, heavy bucket of slops thumping my leg with every step, I saw not one, not two, but three slender balsam firs succumb, folding sudden at the waist, as if bowing to the storm. I upended the slops and scurried back to the comfort of home and hearth.
We are into winter now, it is true, to hell with the ignorant and arbitrary seasonal demarcations of the calendar. The real seasons do not abide by dates but rather are defined by events. Spring begins with the first sap run, drop-by-drop, 30 or more drops to make one drop of syrup, plink, plink, plink, plink into the bucket. There might be three feet of snow on the ground, there might be sub-zero nights in the forecast going out two weeks. There might be a cord of wood still in the shed, still to be burned. But the sap is running. Spring.
Summer starts the day the cows are turned onto pasture, endless waves of boot-high grass, the stuff that makes butter so yellow it's orange. The first day of fall? That's the morning we're walking down the field to collect the cows for milking and notice that the leaves on the biggest of the big maples lining the boundary between our pasture and Melvin's hayfield have begun to turn. Winter comes on the first covering of snow; not the first flakes, mind you – hell, those can come anytime after about July 4 – but the first that actually turns the ground white and slick underfoot.
You know why we live the way we do? Shit, I just realized this, I really did, and shame on me for that, but then I've never claimed to be the thickest pig in the litter. We live the way we do because it means we can bloody well decide for ourselves when the seasons begin and end. We live the way we do because it means we have a methodology for determining season that belongs to us and relates to our lives in this place. Sap, grass, leaves, snow.
Soon enough it'll be the holiday season. Or maybe it already is, and it probably won't surprise you to hear that we've sort of thumbed our noses at that, too. As I wrote nearly a year ago, we up and quit Christmas about the time we realized we couldn't really figure out why we continued celebrating it. Why, year-after-year, we continued allowing it to make us a little crazy. So we host our annual Solstice eve sledding party and the next day we have a nice meal to celebrate the return of light, ironically (I guess) on the very date the calendar tells us is the onset of the season we know actually began six weeks earlier, when we awoke to the first sticking snow.
That was the morning the boys ran outside, strapped on their skis, and raced around the yard, yelling "it's winter, it's winter." And they were right.
The Things We've Created
November 19, 2014 § 47 Comments
Yesterday I drove to Boston for an interview on WBUR and a reading at Brookline Booksmith. I do not as a rule mind these excursions; in some regards, I daresay I enjoy them, though there is always a certain amount of anxiety involved. For instance: I own exactly two sets of attire that might (might, I say!) be deemed appropriate for public appearances beyond the boundaries of my rusticated existence, and there is the lurking complication of getting from the bedroom, down the stairs, across the kitchen, over the porch, and into the car without malodorous or gelatinous (or worse yet, both) substances adhering to me. I'd give the boys a goodbye hug, but they are wearing the same outfits they wore the day before, and the day before that, and the… eh, you get the point. Truth is, even the car isn't a safe haven, what with the sundry effects of the boys' hunting and trapping exploits and the greasy layer of mudshitsnowmelt pooled atop the floor mats.
And then Boston, and 45 minutes of driving in confounding circles until finally I call my publicist (who lives and is based there) to talk me onto Commonwealth Ave. And then I go to park, only to remember that the door locks in our car do not. Lock, that is. Well, actually, they lock, it's just the unlocking process that has become, shall we say, tenuous. So I can't lock the car for fear I won't be able to unlock it (and how convoluted a situation is that?), which only makes me more anxious until I suddenly realize (wave of sweet relief washing over me) it needn't, since what on heaven's earth could any nefarious Bostonian desire to liberate from our Subaru? A muskrat trap? A homemade axe sheath with the inconsistent stitching of my younger son's hand? A dog-eared copy of the Vermont Atlas and Gazetteer? Ah, I know: The Complete Classic Rock Collection on CD, volume 5, which includes such gems as Foreigner's Urgent and No More Mister Nice Guy by Alice Cooper his ownbadself. Hell, they can have it. (Though not volume 6, no way. Why? Because that one contains Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper, that's why) I am suddenly grateful to realize how little of what we own has value to anyone but us and I know there is an important lesson in that realization. Perhaps for another day.
In my mind's eye, however bleary and half-lidded it might be, I like to see myself as one of those people who embodies the particular type of resourcefulness that allows him (me) to thrive in any environment. You know one of those people, right? Always cool and collected, always comfortable in their own skin, always sure of their place in this great and beautiful mess of a world. Not quite cocksure but close enough to it. Yeah, that's how I like to think of myself. That's the guy I want to be.
Of course, the reality is somewhat different, and the city always crumbles my façade, generally in as much time as it takes for me to become well and truly lost, turning down one-way streets in the two-way direction, shutting off the radio as if the absence of its chatter will somehow imbue me with directional super powers. I suppose that's why I sometimes resort to haughtily poking fun at urbanity – it's really just a reflection of my own insecurity, of the way all that concrete and steel and motion and noise and commotion exposes me as the rube I am. Not cool. Not collected. Not comfortable in my own skin. And sure and shootin' not cocksure. Just a bewildered rural fool backing up traffic on Beacon Street, lost among the masses.
Yet there is something strangely beautiful in the chaos of the city. I see the bike commuters bundled against the cold, making their way through traffic as if impervious to its perils. It blows my mind, the speed and fearlessness of these cyclists. The fluidity. I am jealous. I want to grab a bike and do something improbable, like ride across the city in the middle of a November night, thumping my bared chest with a clenched fist and screaming into the frozen air. Alas, that would likely be the last anyone would ever hear from me.
And I see the noodle shops and the people on the trains and on the sidewalks and how in their own, quiet, unassuming way, everyone makes room for everyone else. You don't need to do that where I come from, you know – there's space for everyone to do their thing and no one has to make room because there's all the friggin' room in the world – and it occurs to me that it's a skill worth having. Not merely making room, but navigating the chaos of humankind, pedaling with all your might to shoot the slim gaps between the hard edges of the things we've created.
White With Frost
November 17, 2014 § 34 Comments
It snowed last night, not a lot, but enough to cover the ground, the white interrupted by tufts of winter-dead grass. The snow is granular and slick, heavy with water, slippery underfoot. I almost fell twice during chores but each time regained my footing at precisely the right moment and thus was quietly pleased with myself, as if saving myself from falling on my ass were a skill cultivated across years of rigorous training. Which, in a certain sense, it is.
The second time I slipped, I remembered (for reasons that elude me) the summer and fall we lived in a tent on friends' land not far from here. This was before we bought this property; it was while we were saving for this land, and part of our savings plan involved avoiding rent at all costs. One of those costs involved clearing our tent roof of snow, and I suppose that's the connection between my almost falling this morning and my remembrance of that experience: The early, slippery snow. The way a warm, wet snow is actually colder than a cold, dry snow. The way we used to poke the snow off the roof of the tent with a stick we kept by our sleeping bags expressly for that purpose. We called it the snow stick. Have I written about this before? It feels familiar.
Anyway, I remember one particularly grim night, when we gathered in the shell of our friends' as-yet-unisulated house (they were building on the same land). All of us were bone weary and chilled right to the gut, and we sat in a silent semi-circle around the wood stove, which radiated enough heat to warm whichever side of us faced the hot iron. Each of us were lost in whatever personal miseries we'd decided to carry, mostly having to do with the raw and exposed nature of our respective shelters, which had seemed sort of charming and even romantic only a few weeks prior, but now seemed squalid and desperate.
Penny and I would be breaking camp in a few days, as we'd secured a $100/month rental. It did not have electricity or running water, but it had a metal roof, and as we sat around the stove with our friends, changing position whenever the discomfort of the too-cold side of us grew greater than the discomfort of the too-hot side of us (or vice-versa), I remember thinking how nice it would be to not have to worry about poking snow off the roof. As if it were a great luxury. As if it were something to aspire to.
Twice recently I have been asked what I hope people take from my work. Both times, I struggled with my answer, because I guess I don't know what I hope people take from my work. And maybe I struggled because some part of me thinks I should know, that knowing would provide a reason, and that a reason would somehow guide my work in a way that gives it shape and form. Logic, maybe. I didn't used to worry about this, because it was quite clear why I wrote: Money. Not that I didn't enjoy my work, but still. Money.
But that's all messed up now, and to be honest, I feel sort of caught between the reasons I used to write and the reasons I write now, which aren't even all that clear to me. Someone else asked me about my mission recently, and there was another thing I couldn't articulate but wished I could. A mission. That would make things easier, wouldn't it? That would give me something to point to, sort of like when Penny and I were living in that tent in December in Vermont. That was some serious mission-based camping, right there. We sat 'round that stove in our friends' hollow box of a house and we were sort of miserable, true, but we were also on a mission and we could point to that mission – the land we didn't yet own but someday would – and say see that? Even if we only said it to ourselves.
I am envious sometimes of other writers who seem driven by a mission, who seem to know exactly what they are doing and why they are doing it. I think of someone like Charles, who seems propelled by a force much larger than himself. I mean, just look at his event schedule. Australia, Bali, a weeklong workshop in PA (he's a great speaker and a wicked nice guy, you should go). How does he do it? I have no friggin' idea. Or someone like Sandor Katz, who travels almost constantly, preaching the gospel of fermentation. I know his editor. "He's relentless," she told me, and that made me feel sort of shitty (though that was clearly not the intent), because I am anything but relentless. In fact, I might be the most unrelentless (irrelentless?) person you ever met. Nor do I feel propelled by a force larger than myself. There is only little old me, 6'3″ and 185-pounds of eroding bone, atrophying muscle, and expanding love handle, scratching the age old itch of putting words together in a way that is pleasing to the ear. My ear, anyway. I mean, sometimes it works that way, though you might be surprised at how often it doesn't.
Anyway. I've come a long way from slipping in the snow during my morning rounds, and that was not my intent. Really, I just wanted to tell the story of the new snow and my near-falls, and how they made me remember the story of the night almost two decades ago when we sat around our friends' wood stove and then went back to our tent to poke at the roof with our snow stick and climb into our sleeping bags and fall asleep as the sky cleared above us.
And in the morning when we awoke we could see that our expelled breath had turned everything white with frost.
Sometimes it's Handy
November 13, 2014 § 34 Comments
Yesterday I drove to western Massachusetts to retrieve a load of used windows for a top secret project (never fear, all will be revealed in due time).
I saw a hawk crumpled at the side of the interstate, feathers fluttering in the air displaced by the speeding traffic. It looked almost as if it were still trying to fly.
I heard Panama. I heard this one and I wasn't even sure who it was but I knew all the words. I heard GW Bush talking about what he imagines might have happened if he hadn't invaded Iraq. I heard the novelist Richard Ford mention that he doesn't believe in legacies, and after that I listened a little more closely to everything else he had to say. I heard that someone landed a rocket on a comet and about everything that would be learned and I thought that sometimes it's better not knowing.
I learned that the fellow I bought the windows from is a contractor and that on average, his clients spend $90,000 on windows alone. I didn't know what to say about that. I told him about our project, and what our budget was, and he gave me two real nice doors for free.
I saw an old stone wall, all round field stones, thousands upon thousands of them, running unbroken through the forest until it reached the mown buffer at the interstate's edge. I realized I was doing 74 mph across someone's former pasture. I slowed down for a while, but then sped up again.
I fit five windows in the back of the Subaru, but I had to slide my seat forward so that I drove the whole way home hunched over the steering wheel. I put the doors and two more huge windows on top and by now the 'ru was riding real low and people looked at me funny and maybe a little worriedly as they passed.
I remembered the time Penny and I took a pre-kids bike camping trip to the island of Tobago and a car came by and it was dragging a long board. I mean, they'd actually tied a rope around the bumper of the car and were literally dragging the board home. There were two men in the car and they laughed and waved as they passed, the board bouncing and scraping behind them. Penny took a picture. We still have it somewhere.
I had to pee real bad and I didn't want to stop, so I pissed in my empty coffee cup as I drove, then stuck it back in the cup holder. I reminded myself to not sip absentmindedly.
Sometimes it's handy being a guy.
PS: For those who interpreted my comments in Tuesday's post about my parents not teaching me anything or worse yet not supporting me as being literal, a brief clarification. My parents are really friggin' great. And incredibly supportive. However, I stand by my primary point, which is that the big lessons in life – the ones we remember decades later, the ones that shape and sometimes shatter our world view – often come from unexpected places.
What Really Mattered
November 11, 2014 § 22 Comments
Let me tell you a story (don't worry, it's short). Back when we were building this place, so maybe 15 years ago or even a little more, we knew a fellow named Bob. We didn't know him very well, hardly a'tal, really. He stocked shelves and handled produce at the natural foods store where we shopped, and Penny worked on a vegetable farm that sold to the natural foods store where Bob stocked shelves and handled produce and where we shopped. So we knew him by name, but first name only. We knew him enough that he knew we were building a house.
One day, out of the blue, Bob asked if we needed any money. I mean, not as a gift, but as a loan, which in-and-of-itself was a gift, since we had essentially no credit. Plus, we were broke. I don't think Bob was wealthy (though maybe he was), but he lived a simple life and had managed to put away a sizeable next egg from his job stocking shelves and handling produce and he wasn't doing anything with it and thought maybe we could use it. We could. So Bob loaned us, I think, $6000. Interest free. Handshake deal. Actually, probably not even a handshake. We still didn't even know his last name. Or at least, I didn't. Maybe Penny did. There was no specific repayment schedule. We'd get it back to him when we had it.
We bought windows with the money, and the windows went in the formerly gaping holes in the walls of our half-built house and we were able to move in by that winter. We repaid Bob, of course. I don't think it took us very long. A year, maybe two. We despise debt and anytime we've had it, we've worked real hard to not have it. I have no idea where Bob is now. He worked at the natural foods store for a few more years, then sort of disappeared. Maybe by then he'd saved enough money to go live the life he always wanted to live. Or maybe he just moved on.
Why am I thinking about Bob? Partly because I'm sick of thinking about heavy shit like kids and media and technology and parenting and all that jazz. Friggin' A. Somebody shut me up already. And partly because on some level, maybe all that stuff really doesn't matter so much. I mean, like Miss Mama suggests, it's probably best if you don't smoke meth in front of your kids. It's probably best to remember that on some level, you're screwing up your kids and that despite it all, they'll be just fine. I mean, lord knows my folks screwed me up good and proper and look how I turned… oh, wait. Never mind.
I guess what I'm saying is that there's all this stuff we, as parents and people, do all day, every day, thinking it matters so damn much. But honestly, I don't remember any of the little stuff my parents did or didn't do. Sorry, but it's true. Instead, what I remember is a guy whose last name I never knew trusting me enough to loan me $6000 so I could buy windows for my house before winter. Before Bob, I didn't even know people did things like that. Now I do.
And the loan, that was real nice, it made a big difference in our lives at the time.
But the act of the loan, the knowledge of it, the simple trust: That's what really mattered.
Extra Warm
November 10, 2014 § 45 Comments
One of the things I like best about this blog is that every so often I get a comment that sort of blows me away. I mean, of course I appreciate all the comments, which to be honest is something I'd say even if it weren't true, because what the hell else am I supposed to say? That I wonder if sometimes Eumaeus comments after he's had a few beers? That sometimes I have no idea what he's saying? That I don't even know what an Eumaeus is?
Thing is, I really do appreciate all the comments, even those I find indecipherable (which, to be fair, is at least as indicative of my stunted intellectual prowess as it is of the comments themselves). Even those of dissent. Maybe particularly those of dissent, if only because they are evidence to me that something of value is being discussed. But the truth is, I long ago decided to by-and-large let go of the comments, and not reply to all those that strike me in one way or another. I remain extremely wary – perhaps even paranoid – of this blog outgrowing its proper role in my life, although I have to admit I'm not always sure what I mean by that. Maybe one of you can enlighten me.
Anyway. This is all just my wordy way of drawing your attention to the comment below, which just might be my favorite comment ever. I was a little nervous to publish that post; in my experience, folks can get pretty riled up and defensive about the role of technology in their children's' (and their own) lives, maybe because on some level they know it has outgrown what might reasonably be considered healthy. But damned if that post didn't lead to the creation of something that is by any honest measure worth a hell of a lot more than what I originally wrote.
I think there are any number of ways to judge the value my work. Is it entertaining? Does it flow? Does it make someone feel differently than they felt before they read it? Funny enough, it never occurred to me until now that the very best measure of its worth might be whether or not it leads to the creation of something of even greater value. In that regard, I think Miss Mama's comment is far and away the most flattering comment I have ever received, and I am grateful for it.
Oh, and one more thing: Is anyone else experiencing a sudden hankering for a pair of socks knit from the ass hairs of a sheep? Damn. Those would have to be extra warm, don't you think?
So sorry that I am writing this long comment but I was thinking about this post all last night and this morning and asking myself a few hard questions: why do I let me kids have screen time? Why do we live in a massive urban sprawl? Do I really like that my kids know more about Starbucks than apples?
All of this is sincere, by the way, I'm not about to mock beets or farms or anything like that. I do mock sheep a little bit but it's way down at the end and it's more about me than them.
So…. I let my kids have screen time because, um, because then I can have screen time, too? Because then they can play with the kids next door and I can fold laundry? And talk on the phone? Oh hell. That's weak. I let them have screen time so that we can all run from each other in our tiny home with our massive baskets of fear and grief that we are carrying? That I realize every single human carries? Oh dear. Oh my god. Worse. Uh, because we can't always go outside? I have to be outside watching when they are running up and down the sidewalk (big urban sprawl, etc.) and I can't always do that and make dinner (frozen pizza) at the same time? Because I am LAZY? Because I am a working single parent and tired and sometimes a little defeated?? That doesn't really sit well but I'm glad that thanks to this post I was motivated to ask myself the questions… even if the answers are cringe-worthy!
Why do we live in a massive urban sprawl? Because this is where my ex wanted to live and then when my ex left I didn't have the money to leave and was too heartbroken and freaked out to make any changes. (Oh my god… because I was so thrilled to be a genuine victim, apparently!!!! Mortifying!) But… urban sprawl also helped when I went back to school and got a degree… my kids were in school and in after care… I didn't have to pay as much as I might have… oh my gosh… this is slightly better but not much! ANYWAY… the irony is that NOW the faceless and crazy urban sprawl is our community and we love our neighbors and our school. But not the air quality. And not the cars speeding down the street. Blah.
And I hate that my kids know more about Starbucks than trees or seasons and that they like coffee better than apples! Oh my gosh. I can't really even attempt to salvage that. I am tired! I need coffee! There is a Starbucks on every corner!
Here are the other bullshit reasons I give for NOT having a more organic/holistic life:
1. I am a single parent! (Did I mention that? Did I mention that thirty-five times?) I can't do it alone! Plus the new person I like isn't very handy! Plus I don't have savings! Plus, um, plus I get poison ivy really badly? Plus, um? PLUS?????
2. I do not want to homeschool. NO! PLEASE! NO! I WILL RUN SCREAMING FROM THE WOODS! Because I am afraid to sit still with my children? Because we are sad about the divorce and the tiny house and dead tree out front and the no garden and the car that has to keep running? Or because I have three braincells left to myself and by God I want to keep them!?! WHAT AM I SAYING? THREE? Oh, poof, gone.
3. This is kind of valid but probably not really: I am afraid of livestock. ALL OF THEM. Not kidding. I had to gather eggs with a friend ONCE years ago and I ran out of the coop hollering because I almost got pecked on the wrist. ALMOST PECKED. Almost pecked by a tame hen. Oh my god. I know I could try harder but cows are huge. HUGE. Goats and sheep are bigger than they look on everyone's blogs. Also one of my kids hates dogs. ALSO. Also blah blah blah pecking hen, barking dog, kicking sheep, etc.
Oh my god. Have you ever tried to articulate your life philosophy and realized the reason you DO NOT articulate the poor thing is because it's a wee rag or a shred of something and held up to the light is not even worth calling a philosophy??? Oh my god, put it away, please.
But! Here is the one thing that I did come up with last night that I don't think is BECAUSE of screens or is trying to say OH THANK GOD for screens or anything… it is the only TINY shred of goodness I can claim and it is VERY TINY. Here is it: Living with the inability or unwillingness to make a change that might be good for all of us but for which I am not ready or prepared or even completely desirous of making is PAINFUL. I must daily learn to live with real grief and regret… and hourly try desperately to manufacture both forgiveness and accountability for myself.
I don't read this blog (or any other blog made by an earth-loving, animal-dealing, kid-raising family) thinking, well, probably they are smoking meth and ANYWAY their kids are going to grow up insane and not even know when to use a semi-colon. And equally true, I don't (often) look at myself and say, oh my god, you are practically smoking meth (not) and your kids are growing up insane and don't even know what punctuation is. Plus cannot spell. Plus what is up with homework for a first grader? WHAT IS THAT?
I know this is going to sound so stupid but I am grateful for the ability to hold on to every bad decision, every selfish act (or neglect) that I make (am sure I don't see them all) and acknowledge that right now I have not done the right and best thing. I have to sit with that. But just because I cannot do it NOW doesn't mean I won't someday. But not now.
And that's a failing like a lot of other failings that I have to own but it doesn't mean that I should lose my worth or my children, or that they are doomed to a miserable life, it doesn't mean I should be praised, either, and maybe on some level it doesn't mean ANYTHING except that I am a complex human being like all other human beings, with resources and flaws and strengths and terrible weaknesses; and for a human being staying open to as much truth as you can stand is honorable and worthy.
As much truth as I can stand? Sometimes it's not much, apparently. I'm not on facebook because I would lie all the time. I would be such a liar and I would pretend I wasn't lying, too. I would be good at that. It would take HOURS of my time and it would beat back the proof of what's missing, too: YO! HELLO! Here is our great urban life! Here is our cool party with spray paint and rocks and sticks! YO! Here we are baking bread! YO! Here I am with my hair so long and so shiny and DID I LOSE WEIGHT OR WHAT? DOES GRIEF LOOK GOOD ON ME OR WHAT?? FOR REAL! FEAR IS HOT! At least I am open to the truth that I can not be trusted to even tell the truth most of the time.
Urban sprawl with screen time is possibly better FOR ME right now than raising sheep and making my socks from their ass hairs. WHAT? I MEAN IT! Because IF the reason I am raising and knitting is because anything less than that will fill me with self-loathing then I don't trust the process!!! I mean I don't trust ME in the process! I don't mean I don't trust the farm. The farm is good. But I want to have sheep because it is right and good for me to have them and because I am okay with or without them. Right now I am scared of them and their little sideways teeth and their smell and scared of standing in a field with four dying sheep by myself and having nobody.
This is so hard to explain because I barely understand it and probably it's all a way of saying to my children (who are young) I am sorry that I could not bring you back to the land and give you what you most needed but I didn't have the courage to do it. I hope I am giving you enough love and strength and conviction to do the right thing for you and for the earth and even when I am a little old person wearing diapers (or leaves) I promise to honor as much of the truth and revolution as I possibly can. And I will live in the woods with you if you will have me.
Done in Silence
November 6, 2014 § 55 Comments
This year, we experimented with giving the beets a bit more breathing room. It worked out real good.
I bet I get more questions pertaining to kids and screens than anything else. It's amazing what a stranglehold these devices have over children, probably because it's amazing what stranglehold they have over parents. By-the-by, I'm clearly no exception, because as I've pointed out a time or two before, it's not like I'm scratching these words on the fire-lit walls of my cave with a sharpened brontosaurus bone. On the other hand, relative to the screen-immersed extremes of contemporary American culture, we're just a bit off the back. We don't have a TV, although we do have a cell phone, one of those el cheapo prepaid jobs. Every time I need it (maybe once per month), I spend a frenzied 30 minutes or so trying to find the damn thing and then another dozen or so minutes trying to figure out how to retrieve the number, which is hidden deep in the bowels of its click-through menus. So. Computer. Cell phone. Not exactly luddites now, are we?
At the risk of upsetting some readers, I'm going to say what I really think: The immersion into modern digital technology is messing up our children. It's messing up us. This does not mean there are not good things that come of these technologies; it only means that the damage wrought by these technologies outweighs their benefits. By how much? Hell, I don't know, but I suspect by a whole awful lot. At least by a hanging half of milk-fed pork. Probably more.
I think things took a dramatic turn for the worse with the introduction of smartphones and tablets, because the introduction of such devices marked a turning point between the need to consciously choose to interact with these technologies and constant, almost ubiquitous presence of them. In many ways, they have become our culture's default engagement point with the world around us. In our house, we make it as difficult as realistically possible to use the family computer: It's stuck in the far corner of our living room, it's generally powered down, and it always has a cloth draped over it, kind of like a diaper. There's not even a chair next to it, so if you want to use the computer, you have to schlep a chair from the kitchen, remove the cloth, and wait for the damn thing to power up, at which point the brontosaurus bone/cave wall approach starts looking pretty good. Or hell, with all that trouble, why not just read a book or play guitar? Or, I don't know, talk?
I don't really know what to say to folks whose kids are already good and hooked on video games and smartphones. As I've mentioned before, we just didn't go that route, in part because we are not of the ilk that deems these technologies essentially benign or even beneficial. You want to know what I really think? Ok, so that's a rhetorical question, 'cause I'm going to tell you no matter what: I think these things are bad fucking news. I think they erode resourcefulness and discernment. I think they have become a delivery mechanism for the idea that our lives are incomplete, which is a very profitable idea. I think the over saturated experience they offer dulls the senses. I think if my kids were hooked on 'em, I'd do something really drastic, like put them all through a wood chipper or take the chainsaw to 'em. I think whatever short term ramifications I had to deal with on the back end of these actions would be preferable to the long term ramifications of allowing their continued use. I realize that's easy for me to say, not having to deal with either. But still.
Sometimes people ask specifically what we've done to avoid the creep of these technologies and devices in our lives (again, being clear that we haven't avoided it entirely). I've already mentioned one of those things – arranging our technology in a such a fashion that our use of it simply cannot be unconscious. This means no mobile devices beyond our barely-used cell phone. You want your kids to spend less time looking at screens? Then you better spend less time looking at screens. Ain't no way 'round it. This is the hard truth that many parents seem unwilling to acknowledge, probably because they're just as addicted as their kids.
At my reading last weekend, someone made a really salient point, which, in approximate summation, is this: Every minute we're with our kids, we're teaching them. We tend to think of teaching as proactive, as being about books and papers and talking. And sometimes, it is. But the truth is that often it is not, and I'm beginning to think that perhaps the most important things we teach our kids are done in silence.


text:
Via Gamedayr:
Switzerland is famed for its neutrality in any and every war, but it still has a military. Unfortunately for Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox, the Swiss army was not quite neutral enough recently. Fox will be losing freshman walk-on Dusan Langura for at least a major portion of the 2013-14 season following a bomb explosion that left him with a torn ACL.
We guarantee that this is the first time you have read anything like this: A Georgia basketball player tore his ACL while fulfilling his military service duties in his native Switzerland.
"It really is a unique story," Fox told The Telegraph. "He was injured in the explosion, and one of the injuries was a torn ACL. We had committed to have him come. He can really shoot the ball. He was gonna be on our team. He had to serve his military commitment, and this happened during it. "
When asked if Langura would still be making the move from the middle of Europe to the middle of Georgia, Fox responded in the affirmative.
"We're still gonna honor our commitment to him, and once he gets healthy he'll be out there with us," Fox said. "But he probably won't be cleared to practice until January or February."
Navigating raucous SEC arenas should be a piece of cake for Langura after this one.
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Football season is right around the corner. We can feel the football fix being soothed already. There's another reason to celebrate, too—more football in high-def!
Actually, it'll be more than just football, but that's what's kicking off another high-definition channel offering from ESPN. Yep, ESPNU is going HD on Thursday, August 28, with the kickoff of its college football coverage—Vanderbilt at Miami (Ohio) at 7:30 p.m.
Sure, the first game probably isn't a Sugar Bowl preview or anything, but hey, it's football season and we're craving just about any match up now that the high-def Olympics are over and baseball's pennant races are another couple of weeks away from really heating up.
ESPN says its Thursday and Saturday college gridiron matchups (the live ones, at least) will be part of more than 200 high-def events during the U's first year in HD. You'll get plenty of college basketball, lacrosse, baseball, softball, volleyball, wrestling, hockey and more, says ESPN.
The mothership adds that ESPNU HD has agreements in place with Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV, RCN, Atlantic Broadband and Broadstripe customers, and that ESPN is trying to ink distribution deals with more cable, satellite and telecommunications operators.
Plus, as Engadget HD reminds us, ESPN recently worked out a mega 15-year deal with the SEC to broadcast that conference's events on its family of networks, so you know you'll be seeing plenty of Top 25 football, baseball and hoops action in HD.
Follow Electronic House on Facebook and Twitter.
Check out our recommendations for the season's best new TVs for home theater, living room or anywhere.
Home automation system helps wounded war veteran live more comfortably.
Check out our recommendations for the season's best new TVs for home theater, living room or anywhere.


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The inability for some individuals to assess the entire story before bringing tidbits to the table in the form of fact.
You can't believe anything that bitch says, she's suffering from Breaking News Syndrome.
by wisconsin quinn September 29, 2008
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November 28, 2014
Gang Unit officers say that last summer, they tracked the crime of about two to three gangs around town. This year, they've already seen activity from about *seven different local gangs. That jump has them concerned about what's ahead this summer.
A total of 21 law enforcement officers are dedicated to suppressing rising gang activity in Washoe County. Whether on foot or behind the wheel, they're looking for familiar faces.....license plates....and vehicles. They target areas where gangsters live, work, or just hang out. And they say the areas they go are no longer confined to certain neighborhoods....but all over the city.
"Our gang activity isn't astronomical, but sometimes it gets to that critical mass for a city of our size," says Sgt. Walt Frazier with the Regional Gang Unit.
This year they're starting earlier to get a jump on what could be a busy season. The gang unit is working longer hours and conducting special operations because they've already seen more activity than what is typical for this time of year, from up to seven different local gangs.
"The gang unit's gonna be out trying to find what that pattern is, and see if we can break that before we get into summer months when the activity gets to its higest peak," says Frazier.
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Ask Slashdot: Swift Or Objective-C As New iOS Developer's 1st Language?
Learning Resources (316 comments)
I would stick to Objective-C for the moment as there are more learning resources online.
I agree with this. As a new user, for the moment, Objective-C is likely the way to go due to their being more documentation out there. Swift documentation though is rapidly increasing.
As a developer in both Swift and Objective-C, the primary advantage of Swift is it is slightly faster to do many things as it doesn't require strict classing of variables, so you find yourself not having to spend as many lines of code swapping strings to integers as that kind of thing and end up with slightly more readable code.
However, these advantages likely aren't as important for a new user as having a wealth of documentation to learn from.


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All meetings are held at the Settlement Home, 1607 Colony Creek Dr, Bldg. B, Austin, TX on the third Monday of each month. Meetings begin at 7:00 p.m., followed by discussion groups for birth families, adopted people, and adoptive/prospective adoptive parents. If you have a topic that you would like to see presented at a future meeting, please let us know.
Upcoming Meetings
No November Monthly Meeting
Please join us at our Annual Conference November 7-8, 2014 with Leslie Pate Mackinnon, L.C.S.W.
Annual December Potluck
Monday, December 15, 2014 at 6pm
Bring your family and friends to celebrate the holidays with AKA. Everyone is invited. This is a great chance to re-connect with old friends and meet new AKA members in a casual setting. Please bring a salad, vegetable or dessert for four to share. AKA will provide the meat, drinks and bread. Children should bring a book for a book exchange. Bring a re-gift or a gift under $10 for the White Elephant Gift Exchange.
Click here for the evite.
Saturday, January 24, 2015 time TBD
Please join AKA and The Austin Psychoanalytic Society for a collaborative fundraising event at the Alamo Drafthouse at Slaughter Lane. Tickets will be $35 per person and will include the movie, brief lecture, panel and Q&A along with brunch.
Past Meetings:
October, 2014 - October 20, 2014 "Making Sense of Sensory Processing Issues-What You Need to Know" Tammy Santoro
September, 2014 - September 15, 2014 "What's it Like to Have Biological Siblings Who Grow Up in a Separate Home?" Panel of Presenters
August 2014 – August 18, 2014 "Doing Their Best When Out of Your Nest; Helping Adopted and Foster Teens Prepare for Adult Living" with Janet Legler Luft LMSW
July 2014 – July 21, 2014 "What I Thought I Knew About Adoption as a Mental Health Professional of 40 Years And What I Have Come to Learn as an Adoptive Parent of 14 Years " with Suzi McCoy
June 2014 – June 16, 2014 "Adoptee Rights to Their Records & Access to their Original Birth Certificates" with Shirley Dodson and Connie Gray
May 2014 – May 19, 2014 "Healthy Openness in Adoption" with Michelle Crawford, LPC
April 2014 – March 21, 2014 "Closure Ducumentary"
March 2014 – March 17, 2014 "Let's Make a Lifebook…A Mini Workshop with Glitter, Glue and Guidance from the Adoption Guru" with Janie Cravens, LCSW
February 2014 – February 20, 2014 "Human Connections: They Power of Play" with Suzette Lamb, LPC-S
January 2014 – January 20, 2014 "Authenticity, Identity and the Adopted Individual" with Doug Feldt
November 2013 – November 8-9, 2013 AKA Conference "Chapters in Adoption: Telling Our Stories" with Keynote Speaker Debra Wesselmann, MS, LIMHP
October 2013 – September 21, 2013 "Birthmother Stories" with Janet Mulcahy and Sheri Williams
September 2013 – September 16, 2013 "Back to the Books" Roundtable Book Review
August 2013 – August 19, 2013 "Race and Adoption" Panel with Families with Children from China
July 2013 – July 15, 2013 Lecture Video – Adoption & Addiction: Remembered not Recalled by Paul Sunderland
June 2013 – June 17, 2013 "The Father's Perspective" A Panel of Adoptive Fathers
May 2013 – May 20, 2013 Unlocking the Heart of Adoption
April 2013 – April 15, 2013 "Greatest Lessons Learned/Greatest Lessons Needed" (with extended discussion group time)
March 2013 – March 18, 2013 "Trust-Based Relational Intervention: How To Empower, Correct, and Connect With Your Adoptive Child" by Katie Ludtke, MA, LMFT-A
February 2013 – February 18, 2013 "Martha McCutchan's Adoption Story" by Martha McCutchan and Family
January 2013 – January 21, 2013 "Changed by Adoption: Stories from the Adoption Triad" by Janie McMahan
November 2012 – November 2-3, 2012, AKA Annual Conference with Keynote Speaker, Sherry Eldridge
October 2012 – October 15, 2012 "Openness in Adoption Panel" by Patricia Cody, PhD, MSW and a panel of adoptive parents representing the various paths to adoptions (private adoption, international adoption and adoption of children from foster care)
September 2012 – September 17, 2013 "Openness in Adoption" by Patricia Cody, PhD, MSW
August 2012 – August 20, 2012 "The Myth of the Five Stages of Grief & the New Science of Loss" presented by Suzi McCoy, M.S., LPC
July 2012 – July 16, 2012 "Teenage Adoption" presented by Sally Fussell, LCSW.
June 2012 – June 18, 2012 "A Birth Father's Story" presented by the birth father (a member).
May 2012 – May 21, 2012 "The Hero's Journey from the Primal Wound to Wholeness: The Development of the Self in Adoptees" presented by Michelle Bohls, LMFT.
April 2012 – April 16, 2012 "How to Talk about the Hard Truths of Adoption" presented by Robyn Gobbel, LCSW
March 2012 – March 19, 2012 Viewing and discussion of the movie First Person Plural.
February 2012 – February 20, 2012 "Nature vs Nurture" with Kathryn Paige Harden.
January 2012 – January 16, 2012 "20 Years With AKA – How Does AKA Serve the Core Issues of the Triad?" presented by a panel of AKA members


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Looking for an e-book reader? You have more choices than ever before--though the number of models we at CNET can enthusiastically recommend is actually pretty short.
While it doesn't necessarily beat the Kindle Paperwhite, the $119 Nook GlowLight is an excellent e-reader that's strongly worth considering if you don't want to buy into the Amazon ecosystem.
The most important things to know when shopping for a new laptop, hybrid, or Windows tablet.
Amazon's entry-level $79 Kindle is the company's most affordable touchscreen e-reader to date and is only missing one key feature.
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Barnes & Noble's next-generation e-ink e-reader costs the same ($119) as Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite, is lighter at 6.2 ounces, and has an improved lighting scheme. Check out CNET's photos of the new device.
The presentation will detail the companies' efforts in tablets, including their first device -- the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook -- which they discussed in June.
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text:
- 04.
ITAT Radio: Wednesday Podcast--Iron Bowl Week
/ Inside The Auburn TigersFull Story
- 05.
Threat And Toros Shooting For No. Four
/ Inside The Auburn TigersFull Story
- 01.
Iron Bowl Preparations 'Solid,' Malzahn Says
/ Inside the Auburn TigersFull Story
- 02.
Auburn Basketball Game 5 Preview/Notes
/ Inside the Auburn TigersFull Story
- 04.
ITAT Radio: Wednesday Podcast--Iron Bowl Week
/ Inside The Auburn TigersFull Story
- 05.
Threat And Toros Shooting For No. Four
/ Inside The Auburn TigersFull Story
- 01.
Iron Bowl Preparations 'Solid,' Malzahn Says
/ Inside the Auburn TigersFull Story
- 02.
Auburn Basketball Game 5 Preview/Notes
/ Inside the Auburn TigersFull Story
Rivalry Week on Scout
Build yourself a sky-high left-over turkey sandwich, cover it in a creamy sauce of hate, and get ready to scream!FULL STORY
Dismukes In Final 3 For Outland Trophy
Reese Dismukes, a candidate for the Outland Trophy, says he is focused on winning the Iron Bowl as the senior heads into Auburn's regular season football finale.FULL STORY
Quoting Gus Malzahn: Alabama Game Week
Auburn football coach Gus Malzahn talks about preparations for the Iron Bowl.FULL STORY
Lambert Out For Tigers, WR's Expected Back
Defensive end DaVonte Lambert will miss the Iron Bowl after having knee surgery, but wide receivers Duke Williams and Ricardo Louis are expected back for the Tigers.FULL STORY
ITAT HD: Gus Malzahn--Iron Bowl Week
Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn talks about facing Alabama in the Iron Bowl.FULL STORY
Big-Time 2016 WR Has "Great" Trip To Auburn
Big Stephen Sullivan talks about his first look at the Auburn Tigers.FULL STORY
Dye-Gest: Tigers Need Aggressive Aproach
College Football Hall of Fame Coach Pat Dye writes about the Tigers-Tide matchup and gives his picks on this week's SEC football games.FULL STORY
A Not So Grand Performance Vs. Tulsa
Cold-shooting Auburn dropped its second game of the season, losing 53-35 in Las Vegas.FULL STORY
ITAT HD: Frost And AU Gear Up For Iron Bowl
Auburn linebacker Kris Frost talks about getting ready for this week's Iron Bowl against Alabama.FULL STORY
ITAT Radio: Monday Podcast--Iron Bowl Week
Talking about Auburn's win over Samford, the Iron Bowl, basketball and more.FULL STORY
Auburn Basketball Game 4 Preview/Notes
The Tigers are in Las Vegas for a tournament and will take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane Monday night.FULL STORY
Monday Morning QB Column: Iron Bowl Week
It's a big football week in the state of Alabama and across the Southeastern Conference with rivalry games on the schedule including the Iron Bowl.FULL STORY
1,744 Fans online
- Wednesday Football, Basketball and Gymnastics Tiger Tidbits:
- Congrats to TigernMD
- Inside the Numbers - Beating Alabama
- ITAT College Football Pick'em Week 14
- Tuesday Football and Basketball Tiger Tidbits
- OT Martez IveyPosition Rank: 01
- DE CeCe JeffersonPosition Rank: 02
- DE Byron CowartPosition Rank: 03
- WR Christian KirkPosition Rank: 04
- DT Daron PaynePosition Rank: 05
- FBPosition Rank: 01
- RBPosition Rank: 06
- OGPosition Rank: 08
- TEPosition Rank: 14
- SPosition Rank: 15
01.AlabamaCommits: 21Points: 4,117Conference: SEC
02.GeorgiaCommits: 23Points: 3,916Conference: SEC
- Commits: 20Points: 3,538Conference: ACC
04.TennesseeCommits: 26Points: 3,501Conference: SEC
05.Texas A&MCommits: 21Points: 3,429Conference: SEC
- Commits: 26Points: 3,300Conference: SEC
07.Ohio StateCommits: 22Points: 3,239Conference: Big Ten
08.AuburnCommits: 19Points: 3,183Conference: SEC
09.Notre DameCommits: 21Points: 3,128Conference: Indep
10.USCCommits: 17Points: 3,070Conference: Pac-12


text:
Trailer Bulletin: The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Starring alongside the virginal Mr. Carell are Catherine Keener ("Full Frontal"), Paul Rudd ("Clueless"), and Seth Rogen ("Donnie Darko"). "Virgin" was co-written and directed by Judd Apatow, known to comedy fans as the man behind TV series like "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared." Mr. Carell's first starring vehicle hits theaters on August 19th.


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09:29 24th March 2014
Squad for tonight's game
Wolves Under-21s are in action tonight away at Bolton in the Barclays Under-21 League.
The game will take place at the County Ground in Leyland, kicking off at 7pm.
SQUAD: Flatt, Burgoyne, Kellerman, Kostrna, Cranston, Hause, Tank, Bancessi, Jakobsson, Torras, Whittall, O'Hara, Davis, Forde, Erdie, Keita, Reid.
Ten man team pushes Villa all the way.
2 days ago
Next Generation: Ben O'Hanlon
3 days ago
Loan deal for young keeper
20 Nov 2014
Defender moving closer
11 Nov 2014
Date set for Under-21s cup tie
11 Nov 2014
New Academy & Arena to be opened today
06 Nov 2014


text:
HOUSTON -by Nakia Cooper/www.khou.com
Houston Mayor Annise Parker enlisted an A-list hip-hop legend with major street credibility to help her tackle the growing problem of texting and driving among teens. Bun B of the rap duo, UGK, joined the mayor at City Hall Tuesday as she launched her anti-texting-while-driving campaign.
"In 2011, 13-percent of the more than 3,000 traffic fatalities in the state of Texas were due to texting while driving," Parker said.
Just last December, a Texas A&M student from Montgomery County was killed in a single-car crash. Investigators said Chandler Small was texting while driving when she lost control of her car.
"Driving is hard enough as it is, much less trying to incorporate texting and phone calls," Bun B said.
There is a bill pending in the state legislature to ban texting while driving statewide. If it doesn't happen, Parker hopes to make it illegal in Houston.
In the meantime, she urged drivers to use common sense.
Longtime political cartoonist Clyde Peterson joined Mayor Parker and Bun B at the news conference.
"There is a great comic who likes to use the line, 'You can't fix stupid.' Texting while driving is about as stupid as anyone could behave," Peterson said. "Beginning now here in Houston we're gonna fix stupid."
The mayor is launching a full public awareness campaign, focusing on schools, in an effort to make young people understand just how dangerous texting and driving can be.
The Houston Police Department and the Houston Fire Department are going to schools as part of their regular presentations conducting workshops, but Mayor Parker wanted someone who could "connect" more with the youth.
"We have lots and lots of statistics, but statistics really are something that really kind of wash over people and they just go about their lives. What we want is to have that people-to-people connection and we want people to recognize that it can be cool to do the right thing, it can be smart to do the right thing and it is not just mayors and school teachers and parents lecturing," she said. "It's people in the popular culture who recognize that this is a problem and who kids are used to listening to in other context, so it is my honor to introduce local rapper, Bun B."
The rapper said he was honored to be selected to join in the fight and would do all he could help spread the word.
"As a person that has a bit of influence with the younger people of the city of Houston, I felt it was imperative to be a part of this program. Our young people, unfortunately, unlike ourselves have learned to text and communicate with these electronic devices before they learn to drive. So they are incorporating that into their driving," he said. "As human beings we are creatures of habit, most of us are used to doing what we are used to doing and usually these habits are only things that affect us, but when your habit is texting and driving, it not only puts your life in danger, but many other people's lives in danger."
Texas Southern University, the University of Houston and Rice University are part of the initiative.
Together, with the city's top officials, they are hoping to drill it into the brains of the young that this is a dangerous habit and should be taken seriously.
"If my influence can help put those phones in pockets and keep those phones in purses and keep both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road, I am more than happy to be a part of it and I am happy that the mayor asked me to be a part of it," Bun B said.
This story comes to us through KFDM's media partnership with KHOU 11 News in HoustonRap star from Port Arthur works on Houston anti-texting and driving campaign
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A Bell, Florida man shot and killed his 28-year-old daughter and her six children before killing himself Thursday night, according to USA Today.
Authorities responded to a 911 call made by Don Charles Spirit, 51, at about 4:00pm Thursday.
Spirit had contacted officials explaining that he was considering doing harm to both himself and others.
After authorities arrived, they found Spirit's daughter, 28, and her five children ranging from ages 3-months-old to 11, shot and killed in the home. Spirit later killed himself, according to Fox News.
Authorities identified Spirit's daughter as, Sarah Spirit, and her children as Destiny Stewart, 5 , Kylie Kuhlmann, 9, Kaleb Kuhlmann, 11, Jonathan Kuhlmann, 8, Brandon Stewart, 4, and Alanna Stewart, who was born in June of this year.
Spirit had a previous arrest record, according to authorities.
In 1990, he was arrested under a felony fugitive warrant.
Spirit was charge with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon as a result of him fatally shooting his 8-year-old son in a hunting accident, according to Fox News.
Spirits other arrests include drug charges as well misdemeanor battery.
Authorities have declined to comment on a motive, stating that it is currently an ongoing investigation.


text: That's the contention of the African American priest who is filling in for Pfleger at his Chicago parish. Details: The priest sent to take over for the now-suspended Fr. Michael Pfleger said he didn't feel comfortable following the cardinal's orders but did so because he took a vow of obedience. During a Saturday evening homily [Read More...]


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Ether: Nelly GOES IN On Floyd Mayweather For Trying To Scoop Ashanti While They Dated – "We Were Friends? Nah.."
Nelly goes for the TKO and claps back at Floyd's bitter shenanigans…
Nelly Responds After Floyd Mayweather SPAZZES On Shantel Jackson Flaunting New Relationship – "She Killed Our Babies"
Floyd rarely goes down without a fight….and this one is getting ugly…
Full Floyd Mayweather Vs Canelo Alvarez Fight Just In Case You Missed It And Have Been Living Under A Rock [Video]
Some people claim to like boxing, but in the same breath will tell you how "boring" Mayweather fights are. Those people… do-not-know-boxing.
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What Do You Know About It?: Floyd Mayweather's Ab-Workout! [Video]
Get like him in the gym!!!


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Fiddler on the Roof, Tony-Winning Musical Celebrates Tradition
* Additional fees apply.
The last date listed for Fiddler on the Roof was Sunday August 24, 2014 / 2:00pm.
Most Popular Theater Event Nearby
A Very Orwellian Christmas Special: Noir Comedy With a Dystopian Spin
- Full Price:
- $23.00
- Our Price:
- $11.50
What could be better than celebrating Christmas every single day? While this may sound like a dre...Learn More
Venue Details
bring a snack for this long show...Damn Yankees dining • Jun 16 2014 star this tip starred
There are numerous places to park in Evanston. See below for additional information on parking. Free parking is available after 4 p.m. on weekdays, as well as all day on weekends, in the garage south of Pick-Staiger Concert Hall at 50 Arts Circle Drive. Free parking is also available in the university lot west of Lutkin Hall at 700 University Place, and on University Place. Limited street parking is available on Emerson Street. Paid parking is available in the Church Street self-park garage, located at the intersection of Church Street and Chicago Avenue.Damn Yankees travel • Jun 14 2014 star this tip starred
Reviews & Ratings
Featured review from Gary Schwab
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I thoroughly enjoyed this production. All the performances were excellent. Tevye was wonderful. He seemed to be imitating Zero Mostel, and that's fine by me.
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wonderful play, great music, glad I went.
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Wonderful cast, great choreography, first-class orchestra - definitely a five-star production in every respect.
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It was way too long and the dynamics were lost. It could have been cut in half
This show is recommended for ages 10 and older.
The performance is two hours and 50 minutes long, including one intermission.


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Director/Director of Photography: Damian Michalak
Production: Dobrekino Studio
© 2009 Dobrekino Studio
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12-10-14. Build Your Marketing Toolkit
Join us and start to build a foundation marketing knowledge, from which you can build a more effective campaign to help your business or organization grow. Register for this free workshop here: http://bit.ly/bizworkshop1
12-17-14.Social Media 101.
We'll take a look at the 5 most popular social media networks -- Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest -- and help you decide what is right for your business. Register for this free workshop here: http://bit.ly/bizworkshop2
01-07-15. Social Media 102.
This workshop will give you a closer look at the popular social media networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+. We'll show the benefits of using each, how other organizations and marketing with them, and some do's and don'ts of each channel. Register for this free workshop here: http://bit.ly/bizworkshop3
01-14-15. Email Marketing for Success
This session will reveal some simple but effective best practices and considerations for the small business or nonprofit seeking to make their email newsletter service more effective. Register for this free workshop here: http://bit.ly/bizworkshop4
The Conway Public Library seeks an energetic, outgoing, creative, friendly and tech savvy team member to provide a high level of service at the circulation desk.
Click or tap here to view the full job announcement.
Conway Public Library now offers access to Learning Express Library (LEL), which is an online practice test taking platform that offers patrons the opportunity to prepare for hundreds of different types of tests including the ASVAB, HISET, AP, and Praxis. The site also offers a wide range of computer learning tutorials as well as a large collection of e-books. Registration is quick and easy. Click on this link to get started. For more information contact David Smolen at 447-5552.


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Additional Information
From: $39.00
A stylish gothic design makes these candles a superb addition to your dining table.
Home > > Home Decor > Gothic Candlestick
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