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Evil & Beyond
September 20, 1999
Kay S. Hymowitz
IN 1968, a juvenile from a poor section of the decaying English industrial town of Newcastle-on-Tyne murdered two neighborhood children in separate incidents nine weeks apart. The case differed strikingly from the rash of juvenile murders that has erupted with such fury here, most recently in Littleton, Colorado.
For one thing, the killer was no glandular teenager out for revenge against cruel peers or a jilting lover; she was a clever and pretty eleven-year-old girl, and her two male victims were, shockingly, three and four years old. Nor had Mary Bell gone to violent movies like The Basketball Diaries or played video games like Doom; instead, she watched the 1950's-style Westerns popular on English television at the time, entertainment we associate with a safer and more innocent age.
Mary Bell's crime was different in other respects, too. She did not use a gun like today's child-murderers, whether from the affluent suburbs or the streets of the inner city; rather, she strangled the two little boys, and drew her initials on the belly of one of them, with her bare hands. Nor was Mary an alienated loner. Though her family was deeply troubled and her neighborhood poor, she was well-integrated into a community where children played in the streets and wandered in to purchase french fries and lollipops from local shopkeepers who would scold them if their hands were dirty or they said a bad word.
Gitta Sereny, an English journalist who covered Mary Bell's 1968 trial 30 years ago and has written a previous book about the case, has now returned to the crime with Cries UnheardWhy Children Kill. Sereny has long devoted herself to the subject of evil, seeking to explore its mysteries in earlier studies of Frantz Stangl, the commandant of Treblinka, and Albert Speer, Hitler's minister of armaments, both of whom she came to know intimately through intensive, probing interviews.
In her new book, Sereny appears to be working in the same mode. She spent five months talking with Mary Bell, who was released from prison in 1980 after serving eleven and a half years of a mandatory life sentence for manslaughter and is now a woman in her forties with a child of her own. Sereny's object was to revisit two interrelated and important, not to mention timely, questions: why do children kill, and what is society's appropriate response when they do?
THOUGH Mary Bell's crime does not resemble our recent high-profile cases, it does fit in handily with mainstream explanations of the causes of child violence: specifically, underclass dysfunction and sexual abuse. Mary Bell came from a poor family in a city with the highest crime rate, the highest incidence of alcoholism, and close to the highest unemployment in Britain. Her mother was a prostitute specializing in domination, a cruelly narcissistic woman incapable of much feeling for the daughter she bore when she was seventeen. "Take the thing away from me," she screamed upon being shown her newborn baby; indeed, it might have been best if that had happened.
On four different occasions during her early years, Mary "accidentally" ingested dangerous medications. At around the age of four, she was forced to act as her mother's professional sex toy as she was held down, sometimes blindfolded, and sodomized anally and orally. By the time of the murders, Mary was no longer subject to such torture, but she slept covered only by rags and without sheets or blankets on a sagging mattress that held the urinefor she was a persistent bed-wetterinto which her mother would rub her face.
As in a mystery story, Sereny reveals the horrific extent of Mary's abuse only in the last chapters of this book. But it is what informs her guiding thesis throughout: namely, that children commit violence only when, as a result of severe trauma, their "long pent-up anger and suppressed emotions" can no longer be contained. In Sereny's view, it is unjust to subject such children to trial and punishment, or even to think of their crimes in terms of evil; they are less actors than acted upon.
Unfortunately, Mary's fate was otherwise. In their singleminded concern with determining her guilt or innocence, the authorities made no attempt to discover the truth about Mary's horrendous home life. As a result, a child who needed the help of trained psychiatrists was instead put on trial before a jury "neither qualified nor required to deal with the pathology of disturbed children," was found guilty, and was punished. For Sereny, the outrage is that the very thing most relevant to this casenamely, Mary's pastwas ignored, while the "almost irrelevant" facts of the two murders were elevated to center stage.
THE INDICTMENT Sereny levels here is forceful but hardly novel. Interpreting misbehavior by reference to childhood sexual abuse is by now a soap-opera trope, and psychiatry, to which Sereny is passionately devoted, has long since been the partner of the juvenile-justice system. Still, she has written a fascinating book whose novelistic details keep bursting out of the neat frame into which she has vainly attempted to stuff them. Ironically, the story she tells ends up dramatizing the limitations of her own therapeutic worldview.
What is most compelling in Cries Unheard is the tale of how a morally conscious adult emerged from a half-conscious, damaged girl. Like the Littleton killers imagining that, on completing their high-school massacre, they would hijack an airplane and crash it into the Empire State Building, the young Mary lived in a dream world of cops and robbers in which she was on the lam, "living with horses in the wilds of Scotland." Lost in her grandiose reveries, she could not comprehend fully the finality of death. Four days after one of her murders, she arrived on the doorstep of the victim's family and grinningly asked to see the little boy in his coffin, to make sure he was really dead. It was as if other people were play figures in her mind, and death a mere plot device.
Nor did moral consciousness arrive with adolescence. Even at sixteen, upon learning she was to be transferred to a prison from the exemplary reform school where she had spent the previous five years, she asked: "Why? What have I done?" But her native intelligence was stirringand, with it, an inchoate moral sense. After another six years in prison, where she made the first close friendships of her life, Mary gradually came to share society's view of the "absolute enormity" of her crime and to feel the reality of other lives.
"Basically it has hardened me," she wrote in 1976 about her stint in prison, "and at the same [time] softened me. I feel . . . softer because maybe I have an insight into how others feel . . . getting involved with some people makes one softer." This ability to accept the actuality of othersand to grasp the anguish the loss of them would bringclimaxed when she gave birth to her own child. Today, though she remains moody and chaotic, she is, according to Sereny, a devoted mother and at least a functional citizen who ponders daily the pain she has caused the families of her two victims.
IN ENGLAND the age of criminal responsibility is ten; here, it varies from state to state, though some have proposed setting it as low as ten. Cries Unheard successfully provokes serious questions about this. Eleven-year-old Mary Bell was hardly a deliberative individual, and giving her an adult sentence, whe ther of life in prison or even twenty years, utterly fails to take that fact into account. Nor can we pretend that a jury trial is a useful means of fostering a child's moral reckoning. Though highly intelligent, Mary understood little of what was happening to her; she did not know what a jury or a verdict was, or the meaning of rules of evidence. No one tried to explain to her the alien language and rituals of a trial or, for that matter, the seriousness of what she had done.
Still, the argument against subjecting children to adult-style justice would be more convincing if Sereny herself showed any understanding of the broader social purposes of criminal proceedings. As her only concern is the personal development of the child, which she is convinced can come about successfully with the help of psychiatrists, she utterly ignores the outrage to moral order that murder represents, and the need of any society to address that outrage.
Further undermining Sereny's argument is her own problematic engagement with her subject. In her previous books on Stangl and Speer, she came close to giving herself a starring role in a kind of psychological melodrama. She was the confessor, in whose intelligent and sympathetic presence an evil man could finally relieve his conscience and accept personal responsibility. So, too, in Cries Unheard, her interviews, she hints, played a vital role in Mary's healing. Repeatedly, Sereny's own finely honed compassion intrudes into the narrative. When she first sees Mary, she embraces her"an impulsive gesture, not at all because it was expected or even appropriate but because I suddenly felt like it"much as, years earlier, she had brought soup to Frantz Stangl, a monster who presided over the deaths of hundreds of thousands, because the two of them had become friends.
WHATEVER ELSE one might say about Sereny's predilection for assuming the role of redeemer, it does tend to cast a shadow of doubt over certain of her facts. Thus, although there is good evidence that Mary's mother behaved monstrously and even murderously toward her young daughter, ultimately we have nothing more than Sereny's own over-involvedand biasedinterviews with the grown Mary Bell, who incidentally was paid for her cooperation in doing this book, to prove the specific charge of sexual abuse.
More importantly, however, Sereny's self-dramatization prevents her from confronting another fact, even though it stares her in the face: without benefit of effective psychiatric treatment, Mary Bell still became, in Sereny's own words, a "morally aware adult." The juvenile-justice system Sereny sets out to criticize may have bungled in important respects, but it was more humaneand more edifyingthan she can bring herself to admit.
Mary was convicted not of murder but of the lesser charge of manslaughter precisely because it was understood that a child cannot have adult-like moral understanding. She was placed in a civilized and well-appointed reform school, under the direction of a highly gifted educator. Even prison, for all its degradations, helped teach her to share society's horror at her crime. And though given the life sentence required by law, she was released when she was only twenty-three, young enough to pursue a normal life. In about as happy an ending as could be expected under the circumstances, a severely violated, disturbed, and cruel child emerged a morally aware citizen and a loving mother. Evidently there are more paths to decent humanity than can be dreamt of in Gitta Sereny's philosophy.
Original Source: http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/_comm-evil_and_beyond.htm
America's Legal Order Begins to Fray Heather Mac Donald, 09-14-15
Ray Kelly, Gotham's Guardian Stephen Eide, 09-14-15
Time to Trade in the 'Cadillac Tax' on Health Insurance Paul Howard, 09-14-15
Hillary Charts the Wrong Path on Wage Inequality Scott Winship, 09-11-15
Women Would Be Helped the Most By an End to the 'Marriage Penalty' Diana Furchtgott-Roth, 09-11-15
A Smarter Way to Raise Paychecks Oren Cass, 09-10-15
Gambling with New York's Pension Funds E. J. McMahon, 09-10-15
Vets Who Still Serve: After Disasters, Team Rubicon Picks Up the Pieces Howard Husock, 09-10-15
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Written Answers - Clinical Indemnity Scheme.
Thursday, 11 December 2008
Dáil Eireann Debate
119. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health and Children the progress that has been made in discussions aimed at including independent midwives in the State's insurance package; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45823/08]
Minister for Health and Children (Deputy Mary Harney): Historically the Irish Nurses Organisation has facilitated a certain level of insurance cover to independent self-employed community midwives who were members of that organisation. As and from 30th September it withdrew this facility. I would like to emphasise that I support choice for women in childbirth. However, the option of domiciliary births must only be provided in a safe and secure manner. This was the key finding of the Expert Group on Domiciliary Births which reported in 2004. The Health Service Executive established a National Implementation Committee, representative of all the stakeholders involved, to implement the recommendations of the report.
Following extensive consultations, agreement has been reached for the extension of the HSE's cover, under the State's Clinical Indemnity Scheme, to include self-employed community midwives. This is subject to the signing by the individual midwife of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Health Service Executive (HSE). The MOU is constructed on the [678]basis of appropriate forms of governance, clinical supervision, clinical care pathway, performance management and audit frameworks being in place to ensure a safe system for home births.
The new arrangements came into operation on 1st October 2008. These arrangements cover those midwives who have signed the MOU with the HSE and provide a robust national clinical governance framework which ensures that self-employed community midwives work closely with the HSE, the HSE maternity services and voluntary maternity hospitals.
|Last Updated: 07/10/2010 16:11:20
|Page of 243

subset: commoncrawl


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As a young surveyor and before serving as our country's first president, George Washington developed the ability to measure up a landscape and to take advantage of its natural features. He also had an eye for spatial awareness. Washington learned by observation, by reading, and by the study of new styles of landscape design.
Later, he put those skills to use creating a landscape plant for his now-historic home, Mount Vernon in Fairfax, along the banks of the Potomac River, according to Mount Vernon curators.
The public can see Washington's vision and purpose for the estate's grounds in a new exhibit "Gardens & Groves: George Washington's Landscape and Mount Vernon." The exhibit includes five 18th-century views of Mount Vernon – oil paintings of the river and land fronts of the mansion. Two special drawings that detail the layout of the grounds will be on view through Sunday, Aug. 17, while the entire exhibit can be seen until January 2016.
"These artwork records record details of the landscape we would not otherwise know, information that continues to inform our ongoing research and restoration efforts," says exhibit curator Adam Erby.
Built in stages 1758-1778, Washington's estate and its gardens are owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association, which was founded as a preservation group in 1853.
When George Washington returned to Mount Vernon after the American Revolution, 1775-1783, he found the estate needed extensive repairs and improvements. The buildings and grounds surrounding the mansion lacked a cohesive design because they had happened over time out of necessity rather than beauty, according to curators. Instead, he wanted a plan for "pleasure grounds" that enhanced the site's natural beauty, which featured the crest of a hill overlooking the Potomac River.
The landscape
Three of the four primary gardens — the upper or pleasure garden; the fruit garden and nursery; and the botanical garden — have all been restored to their 18th-century appearance, using recent research and archaeological evidence as guidelines.
"The lower or kitchen garden remains as it was implemented in 1937, based on research at the time and its design is reflective of the Colonial Revival landscape movement," says Dean Norton, director of horticulture
Washington included a modern greenhouse in the upper garden, according to curators.
Completed in 1789, the building housed his semi-tropical and tropical plants during winter months. In the spring, container plants were put out in the garden. Tall triple-hung windows allowed beneficial southern light, and could be opened to allow good air flow. A heating system with a stove room on the north side of the greenhouse attached to a series of flues that ran under the stone floor, heating the floor of the greenhouse.
Original gardens
The lower or kitchen garden was the first space created in 1760. It was a garden of necessity, benefiting survival and good health. For 254 years, vegetables, fruits and berries have been cultivated within those garden walls.
The upper garden began in 1763 as a fruit and nut garden but became a pleasure place when Washington began his new landscape plan. Pleasure gardens — plots of flowers were grown for beauty and not for use — were not that common in the 18th century. Even in Washington's pleasure garden, flowers were only grown in borders that surrounded larger beds of edibles.
The botanical garden was Washington's own experimental space. He fondly called this small space his little garden and kept detailed records as to what he planted and where, according to curators. The space was intended to try out different types of plants that might be "Virginia-proof," or could survive the harsh conditions of both winter and the summer.
The area known as the fruit garden and nursery began as a failed attempt at a vineyard, according to curators. Today, fruit trees are planted in the arrangement that Washington recorded in his diaries. The nursery area was where plants that required more space were planted: grasses, vegetables and ornamentals.
Diary notes
At age 16, in his "Journal of my Journey over the Mountains" he wrote "… about 4 miles higher up the river we went through the most beautiful Groves of Sugar trees & spent the best part of the Day admiring the Trees and the richness of the land."
Washington loved nature and upon return from the Revolutionary War he decided to mimic nature by creating a naturalistic garden. He spent 18 months on the design. Once it was completed, he returned to his passion — farming — and let the gardeners he hired take care of day-to-day maintenance.
Through his letters and diary entries, Washington left a great deal of information about his plans for Mount Vernon Estate. And there are a few drawings, for example, the arrangement of greenhouse spaces and the ha-ha wall (a landscape barrier that keeps grazing animals from entering turf spaces) on the east lawn.


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The Evo-Stik League League Division One South & West Play offs
Semi-Finals (one off match);
2nd vs. 5th
3rd vs. 4th
Both 2nd and 3rd in the league campaign will be home. These games will take place after the regular league season finishes (w/c Monday 29th April).
The winners of both Semi-Final games will play each other on Bank Holiday Monday 6th May. The highest placed side (during the league campaign) of the two remaining in the Play Off Final will be the home club.
To view the current league table please click here


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Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is a National Public Radio Foreign Correspondent. She was honored at Colby College's 59th Elijah Parish Lovejoy Convocation and dinner on October 16th. The award is given to honor courageous journalism. Nelson reported from Libya this summer during the rebel uprising.
For more information on Nelson click here: SORAYA SARHADDI NELSON
For more information on Colby College and the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award click here: COLBY COLLEGE


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Foreigners can buy property in designated areas. The three main ones are The Pearl, West Bay lagoon and Al Khor but other places are now becoming available. The Pearl is currently being promoted hard, but if you ring Barwa they will offer you other areas. Prices are sometimes quoted in riyals, sometimes in dollars. 1 dollar is equal to 3.64 riyals. The currency is tied to the dollar, and so is not subject to short term fluctuation.
Mannzili.com provide the facility to all about the property just like purchase details, property cost, buy & sell and so on. You pay for the registration of your property with the land department. There is no capital gains or inheritance tax. The developer also has first right of refusal. However, these conditions end when you have taken complete possession of the property.
When you buy a property you can obtain residency for you and your dependents. You have to organize the visa yourself (or pay someone to do it for you). This involves going to and providing proof of ownership. You can also obtain residency for your dependents. This includes parents, wives, husbands and children. According to the Pearl's representative, when children get married they are no longer considered to be dependents.
Mannzili.com provide the facility for Expatriates to rent out property and can either do so through an agency or by themselves. They retain their residency when renting out property.


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See other Salerno properties
Koine' Hostel
Real Reviews
Real reviews from fellow travellers
These are trusted reviews from guests who have actually stayed here. We hope you find them helpful.
Note: we only give a property a rating once it has received a minimum of 3 reviews.
- Page:1/1
- " We did not feel safe as not all doors locked and the bathrooms and shower was very open. Lots of weird people wandering around that questioned our safety. "
- 13 Sep 2015 Lindsay Canada
- " it was so good to me. kind staffs, taking care of my lugggage. thanks. I want recommand to my friends. "
- 21 Aug 2015 Anonymous South Korea
- " It is a sheep place and the rooms are wide and comfortable But the problemi is the people who lives there you don't feel safty out of the room in the comon areas there is no telecamera I did forget my shampo in the bath room and i did come back after 10 min i didn't find it "
- 06 Aug 2015 mohamad Palestine
- " Difficult to find and its a lot of older people. No air conditioning or private rooms. Nice staff who are very accommodating. Close enough to Salerno and the train, but a tad exhausting. "
- 12 Jul 2015 Ryan USA
- " Located 15 min walk from the train station and harbour a bit out of the buzzling city centre in a calm neighborhood, this could be a quite large hostel but there were not many around when we stayed there. People said it used to be a school, and there is a lot of space. Some people seem to live there forever, but who cares? The beds are tidy, everyone gets their own lockable wardrobe, and the value for money is incredible! And don't miss the awesome Italian bakery in the same lane! "
- 08 Apr 2015 Anonymous Germany
- " For €13 a night, it wasn't bad, but I would not stay there again. To start with, it's a little difficult to find, and as a whole, is kind of run down. The showers (at least in the women's bathroom) is communal. The dorms have a locker, &The wifi only works in the main living area, which is essentially used for smoking.My main issue was safety, as the people there seemed to be homeless, and not other travelers. For a place to sleep, it's fine, but even then I was nervous as a young solo traveller "
- 14 Mar 2015 Kyra USA
- " Stayed for 3 nights in November and loved it. Huge, spacious, not too far from the railway station and even closer to the bus station. The staff was SUPER sweet and they made our stay really pleasant. The only trouble we had was with the bathroom lights that were switching off automatically too soon, but I hope they will fix it. The rest was perfect, would definitely stay there again. "
- 01 Nov 2014 Anonymous Russia


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Serials Check-in
- State Reporters
- State Statutes
- Supplemental Pamphlets
- Annuals
- Anything that will require end-processing
Begin in Aleph Acquisitions/Serials module.
Our example is West's Federal Reporter. The piece in hand is ser.3 v.682.
Highlight the desired record by clicking on it. Click Orders (or in ALEPH terms, "PUSH" the record to the Order screen)
The order record is displayed. There are 7 orders entered on this record. Identify the open order by looking at the Status field. An open order will be coded as "SV". Click on the open order which corresponds to the piece you have in hand. If there is an order for more than one copy or for a different format (such as microfiche), there may be more than one open order.
Take note of the Library Note box.
This box contains any special instructions for this title. A streamer is placed in the piece for end-processing. This streamer will tell the end-processor where the piece will reside in the library and any special treatment it should receive before being released for shelving. In this case, West's Federal Reporter resides in the Federal Core and receives a DOES NOT CIRCULATE (DNC) stamp.
Click on [A] Arrival
This brings up the ARRIVAL screen. This screen will show all past receipts if there are any. This title has many past receipts.
Click the ADD button.
Type in the Note box the description of the piece(s) in hand. Make sure to note the number of pieces in the No.Units Arrived box. This is used for statistics purposes.
Click the Add button
The piece has been successfully added.
Click on the [2] Overview button.
From this screen, go to the Cataloging module so that the item can be added to the summary volume holdings and linked.
Click on Cataloging.
We are now in the Cataloging module and the full bibliographic record is on the screen.
Click on the HOL Records TAB
Highlight the correct holdings. In this case, the first Holding is for
BUFLA FEDC = Law Library Federal Core Collection
The second holding is for BUFAN NS = Libraries Annex Non-Circulating
Select the Federal Core holding.
Click Edit.
The holding record is displayed.
Note Call number and summary volume holdings.
Since we have ser.3 v.683 in our hand, we can now add this to the holdings.
To save changes, Type Ctrl L
Click Continue and accept all overrides.
The summary volume holdings are now updated.
In Left pane, click on the plus (+) sign next to HOL – BUFLA FEDC STA to display all of the previously created items.
We can see that there are many previously created items.
Double click on ANY of the items.
All items are now displayed in the upper pane.
Highlight any of the items by clicking on it.
Click the Duplicate button.
This makes a duplicate copy of the highlighted item. Edit the form to match the piece in hand.
Place a barcode in the back of the volume and use the barcode reader gun to insert the 39072… number into the Barcode field.
Change the description field to match the piece in hand.
In pencil, print a "B" to the right of the barcode to show item has been linked.
Click on TAB 4. Serial Information
Click Arrival date. Click on today's date.
Click on TAB 5. Serial Levels
Insert proper coding for piece in hand following Item Sequencing Instructions found in the Technical Services Procedures Manual.
Click on Update button.
Count number of pieces received and record on statistics summary sheet which will be gathered at the beginning of each month by the Head of Cataloging.
Check-in is complete.


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Last Updated: February 1, 2013 01:42pm ET
Brookfield Office Gains in FFO, NOI
NEW YORK CITY-�It was another successful year,� says CEO Dennis Friedrich, and the company expects 2013 to build on 2012 initiatives.
You can now be notified via email if this story is updated by clicking on the "Follow this Story" link. You must be a registered member to take advantage of this "members only" benefit.


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Pamela Green has had a yahoo page for some time. It was pretty dormant for a while but it has recently be relaunched by the owner.
You are currently browsing the monthly archive for May 2011.
A Society Film Club event
Monday, May 23 · 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Sanctum Soho Hotel
Strip! Strip! Hooray! — A Tribute to Pamela Green (28 March 1929 – 7 May 2010)
Britain's very own queen of curves, famed for her appearance in Michael Powell's Peeping Tom (1960), star of the epic nudist picture Naked As Nature Intended (1961) and joint founder of Kamera films and magazines. A short introductory talk by Yak El-Droubie followed by a selection 8mm Striptease films and rare footage from The Naked World of Harrison Marks.
Poet and former pin-up Tiffany Anne Tondut will be reading extracts from Pamela's biography.
The fabulous Trixie Malicious, the living embodiment of Mae West's quip about 'a girl who lost her reputation and never missed it.' will be performing a special dance for us in honour of Pam.
Art for Art's Sake (1959) 3.32m
Cover Girl (1960) 6.49m
The Naked World of Harrison Marks (1966) 30m extract
Xcitement (1960) 5.47m
The Window Dresser (1961) 5.51m
£7.00 members £9.00 non-members


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Me + Nordic Skiing = ?
Long blog... warning!
This blog originally started when Ahvo, the owner of Finn Sisu, convinced me that it would be interesting to have a blog that followed a more "average" person learning how to ski and race, and trying to combine that with training for another sport (in my case, running).
Off the blog went. I was in the Sisu program at the time, and moved into Vakava the next year. I loved it! I loved the challenge of something new & the fact it required me to think about so much (balance, strength, technique, etc.). There were many frustrated blogs as well, when I'd come back scraped up after a rollerski, be unable to remotely use my fitness when on skis, etc. I know some of the early blog entries were erased when we switched over to this blogspot format, so I don't know how many of those entries still remain.
Anyway, after I entered and ran the Houston 2009 winter marathon, I decided I wanted to see where I could take my running. Was I a 3:03 marathoner, or did I have more in me? I just wanted to find that limit, wherever it was. That's still my goal today. In that next year, I struggled to find a balance between running competitively and learning to ski -- both take so much time, and I found that skiing with the Vakava group caused me to be pretty tired the next few days in my running workouts. It became increasingly hard to do both (especially as my weekly running mileage increased), and I eventually decided that in order to really see where I could go with running, I needed to run. Skiing could be an occasional way to cross train, but my skiing hours needed to be fairly minimal, and very "easy".
I decided not to do Vakava this fall/winter as a result, and my skiing has suffered because of it. I no longer get out for practice once a week with the team, and no longer make time during the week to ski either (when I went to practice, I came back with about 15 things to work on, so would make time 2+ times a week to get out and practice those). Do you know how many hours I've spent "on snow" this year? 7.6!!! (Go ahead, you can shake your head and laugh :)) 2 of these hours were at the Boulder ski race and 2 were at Mora.
I've fallen out of love with skiing. I don't know why -- I actually do like it (once I'm out there), and would really like to concentrate on it to improve a ton. It's just that now when I go out, it's usually tagging along to one of Nate's races, and I am not enjoying it at all. Probably because I don't find a point to it now: why race if I'm not actually going to be able to compete and to improve on last year's performance? My personality doesn't exactly lend itself to "race participation" :). I also fight (mentally) against the sport a little, I think because it's Nate's sport and he's so good at it. I sort of feel like then that I need to like it, need to be competitive. I'm not super motivated when expectations or goals are set on me by someone else -- even though I know he isn't setting any expectations for me, I just feel like they are there.
Anyway, what's the point of this blog entry, you're asking? Well, the Birkie is just days away. The "BIG" ski race. The one I am COMPLETELY unprepared for. This race will increase my total ski hours by 50%. That's absurd. It's like showing up to participate in a fall marathon when you've only run about 50 miles the entire summer. Luckily, I have strong legs from the running I do, and a great engine, but that won't help me when trying to navigate around fallen skiers or slick downhills :/. I'm actually a little terrified of the event this year. I've never been so unprepared for anything...
I'm going to try to just take it easy, to talk to people out on the trail, and to smile... but I know even that will be hard for me. Why is this? I would have no problem entering a running race and running really slow, enjoying the people/scenery/event. Why am I dreading and loathing this upcoming ski race?
Ah, well, just need to get it done. Then the weather can warm up, I can store my skis away, and the running season can commence :). Just hope I survive Saturday in one piece! :)


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CatalysmUse Betina's Flasks on living elementals within Lake Mereldar to obtain 8 Active Liquid Plague Agents.
|Active Liquid Plague Agent (8)
|Betina's Flasks
DescriptionCoagulated rot is potent on its own, but we need something to activate its concealed powers... a catalyst. You can find just such a catalyst to the south, in Lake Mereldar.
If you look down, you'll notice that I slipped a set of flasks into your bags while you weren't looking. These flasks can be used on the water elementals in the lake. The living, corrupted water that flows through their bodies will be the perfect catalyst!
We're nearly ready to strike, <name>.
Uh oh... it looks like we may have gathered a little too much coagulated rot. Oh well, we'll just have to improvise, then!
What could possibly go wrong?
What could possibly go wrong?
GainsUpon completion of this quest you will gain:
- 4,820 experience
- 250 reputation with Argent Crusade


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Best of Entertainment
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Division of Humanities
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Inspired by and consistent with the mission of Louisiana College as a Christian liberal arts college, the mission of the Division of Humanities is to cultivate students' personal, intellectual, and spiritual growth and to develop students of faith, intellect, and character. Through the study of literature and languages, students obtain knowledge of human culture and explore the meaning and significance of human existence. Humanities courses provide students with historical perspective, increase cultural awareness, and highlight the great insights and inspirations of the past that have formed the culture of the present. Complex issues and concepts about what it means to be human, the human experience, and the human condition are examined through the lens of a Christian worldview that encourages students to integrate learning into a meaningful framework in harmony with Christian faith and beliefs. The Division ultimately educates students to embody knowledge, hone critical and analytical thinking, possess dynamic oral and written communication skills, embrace creativity, and practice ethical behavior. Such emphasis fosters rational thought, intellectual growth, scholastic excellence, and personal responsibility. The focus on critical thinking and communication skills, the exposure to great works of literature, and the fundamental understanding of languages and the culture provide the student with the resources and behaviors to pursue service to God and others.
Why Major in the Humanities?
For students wishing to land a job right after the BA degree, it is crucial to have a plan for developing a skill-set that will be identifiable and attractive to employers. Humanities experiences will help you achieve this goal. Students of the Humanities are prepared to begin advanced study or embark on careers in virtually any type of vocation. Employers value students who are broadly educated, who can speak and write effectively, and who are capable of tackling complex problems.
The evidence for the marketability of humanities skills is abundant. In our globalized marketplace, many recruiters are turning directly to humanities majors for their foreign-language and intercultural expertise, their leadership abilities, communication skills and above all for their intellectual flexibility and creativity. In a rapidly changing world it is important to gain a broad education that will be applicable in a multitude of contexts and over a lifetime. Our undergraduate programs are designed to serve those who wish to pursue careers immedicately upon graduation as well as to provide a solid foundation for further studies. Our majors are well prepared for graduate/professional schools or careers in writing, publishing, editing, government, law, business, public relations, church-related vocations, and education. Graduates of our education programs have produced outstanding PRAXIS scores and are in teaching positions locally and abroad or furthering their degrees in various graduate schools. Others have secured positions in public relations and law firms; one even recently served as a clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Some are serving in government agenies, such as the Federal Marshall's Program. Graduates whose interests are in business and journalism are working in related fields, as the Director of Graphic Services, as a newspaper reporter/editor, and as executive assistants in various businesses.
Areas of Study
The Humanities Division of Louisiana College
Celebrates 2013-2014
Spectacular Year of Student Accomplishments and Honors
Each year during Honors Convocation, the Division of Humanities recognizes outstanding students who have distinguished themselves through superior scholastic achievements, creative manuscripts, and researched analytical compositions. These students exhibit diligence and dedication to academic excellence. Scholarships and awards are drawn from endowments created to honor and to remember individuals who have been instrumental in creating an environment of academic excellence in the Division of Humanities. In presenting these awards, we are not only helping students pursue their academic studies, but we are also honoring the legacy of those who established the highest standard of academic achievement. Students who earn awards and scholarships are held to these high academic standards and are expected to maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA. However, the current students receiving the awards hold a GPA of 3.7 or above.
Caitlin Rose Sellers won the George Amos English Scholarship. This award was established to honor Dr. George Amos who chaired the LC Department of English from 1970-1979. An unusually energetic and creative problem-solver, he is responsible for developing the strong sense of departmental identity that impacted the academic growth of the department. In addition, through partnerships with area businesses, Dr. Amos became the first to provide LC students an opportunity to study in London. This scholarship is awarded to an outstanding student who has maintained a 3.0 throughout high school and earned at least a 26 on the English portion of the ACT. Caitlin has not only exceeded the 3.0 requirement by maintaining a 4.0 throughout high school, but she also earned a 34 on the English portion of the ACT.
The Mary Kate Bailes Freshmen Essay Award was awarded to Hannah Elisabeth Ostoj. It was established to honor Mrs. Bailes, a 1936 graduate of Louisiana College, who taught English in Vernon Parish for 34 years. Even after her retirement, she continued to be involved with the schools of Leesville and was instrumental in encouraging young people to attend LC. The influence of this vibrant woman continues to impact the lives of young people through this scholarship. This award is presented to a returning student who has written the best overall essay in Freshmen Composition.
Ruth Ann Crigler was awarded the Honors Composition Essay Award for the best Honors Composition essay. To be eligible for Honors Composition, students must score at least 30 on the English portion of the ACT and must write a validation essay that demonstrates their competency for the academic rigor of the class. This award recognizes Ruth's commitment to academic excellence and scholastic achievement that exceeds even these expectations.
The Ellander Ridge Award was presented to Emily Anne Smith. The scholarship was established by her son as memorial to Ms. Ridge, who graduated from LC in 1927. She delighted in literature studies and promoted academic excellence. This award is presented to a student who demonstrates outstanding scholastic achievement in English. This student must possess intellectual curiosity, display a spirit that is conducive to learning, and demonstrate the ability to excel in literary studies. Emily not only displays these characteristics, but she also assisted the department with her exceptional administrative skills and served as an outstanding writing assistant in the Writing Center.
Paige Elisabeth Jordan was awarded the W. P. Carson Scholarship in English. This scholarship was established to honor Dr. Carson's 28 years of service to Louisiana College. From 1917 until 1945, his devotion to literature, quiet dignity, and commitment to learning established an intellectual standard and legacy that has characterized the best in those who have followed him in the study of English. It is presented to a superior ranking Senior English major. This student must demonstrate academic excellence and superior scholastic achievement. Paige certainly merits this award. She has balanced her responsibilities as an editor, resident assistant, and writing assistant while still maintaining an outstanding GPA of 3.91. Her academic accolades are numerous: she received a Top 30 Scholarship, the highest scholarship Louisiana College offers students; she has been named on the Dean's List every semester; she is listed among the Who's Who Among College Students, and she was nominated and elected by faculty to represent her class on the Gala Honor's Court. In addition, she has not only been accepted into the Summer Publishing Institute of NYU Graduate Program, but she will be attending Emerson College in Boston for graduate study.
Both Haley Paige Laird and Kristen Leigh Bonnette were honored with the Ada Osborne Scholarship. This award was established to honor Dr. Rosanne Osborne's mother. Dr. Osborne served as chair of the Department of English, Journalism, and Languages from 1980-2002. While her mother never attended college, she valued the importance of education and provided her daughter with the opportunities to attain 4 Masters degrees and 2 PhDs. Students receiving this award must display a love of learning and a passion for education. The first winner, Haley Laird, has served the division with dignity and distinction beginning with her freshman year as an administrative assistant. What is even more impressive about her is her ability to balance her work responsibilities as a Writing Center assistant and her academic studies as a double major in English and business and still maintain an outstanding GPA of 3.80. She was nominated for a Top 30 Scholarship; she has been named on the Dean's List; she is listed among Who's Who Among College Students; and she was nominated by the faculty to represent her class on the Gala Honor's Court. More impressively, she received the highly coveted Pearson Student Fellowship, a scholarship awarded through Pearson's Publishing for academic and community achievement. In addition, she has served as President of the English Honor Society, Sigma Tau Delta.
The second winner, Kristen Bonnette, is an outstanding Languages Major who is presently studying Spanish, French, Greek, and Hebrew. In her pastime, she is involved with the Theatre Department, serves as member of Testify, and actively participates in efforts to stop human trafficking. She is pursuing her Spanish study abroad this summer in Costa Rica. This award will be used to enhance her studies abroad.
This year Megan Slayter Prestridge was honored with the English Faculty Scholarship. The English faculty seeks a student who shows intellectual curiosity, dedication to academic studies, leadership qualities among her peers, and stands exemplary in her academic conduct. Megan captures the spirit of the study of Humanities. Each faculty member has expressed how she has brought a directness and clarity to classroom discussions as she generously offered her unique view of the world. Her creative works demonstrate that she has a clear understanding of human nature and a genuine way in expressing significant truth. She recognizes the image of God in others and gives dignity to saints and sinners with her discerning spirit which demonstrates wisdom beyond her years.
Every year Alpha Mu Gamma recognizes members for exemplary scholarship and service to the organization. Alpha Mu Gamma is a National Foreign Language Honor Society that was founded in 1931. The Zeta Gamma chapter of Alpha Mu Gamma was founded at Louisiana College in 1968 to recognize outstanding students in the field of foreign languages. Members must have earned an A in at least one foreign language course and have at least a 3.0 GPA. This year the Alpha Mu Gamma presented two the Alpha Mu Gamma Senior Award to the past president, Lauren Carriere, and the Alpha Mu Gamma Outstanding Member Award was awarded to Alexa Edwards.
English Majors' Accomplishments
Emily Smith, a junior English education major, was recently featured in the Burney Letter, the semiannual newsletter of the Burney Society. The society was founded to promote the study and appreciation of Frances Burney's works and of the life and times of her and her family. Burney, an eighteenth-century female writer who recorded everything from Johnsonian wit to Napoleon's last stand, provides acute observations of eighteenth-century society. The powers of expression in her works played an essential role in the development of the novel and made writing women respectable. Her four novels--Evelina, Cecilia, Camilla, and The Wanderer--influenced and inspired a generation of writers, such as Jane Austen, who repaid her predecessor with a tribute in Northanger Abbey. The Burney Letter solicits and publishes articles, news, and information of interest to the membership and Burney scholars. Membership in the society includes scholars and laypersons from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and France.
Smith's submission emerges from one of the reading responses from her Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature class. One required reading focused on selections from Frances Burney's journals and letters. Smith's response explored Burney's account of her mastectomy, a procedure she endured without any anesthetic. In her analysis, Smith pinpoints Burney's physical fortitude, mental stamina, and emotional strength and suggests thatBurney "disproves the societal myths of her culture that women were physically, mentally, and emotionally weak."The professor of the course, Dr. Cheryl D. Clark, secretary of the Burney Society, was so impressed with Smith's paper that she submitted it to the Burney Letter for consideration and was very pleased with its acceptance.
Humanities Student Paige Jordan accepted into Graduate School
New York University and Emerson College
Paige Jordan has been accepted to the Summer Publishing Institute at New York University. The Summer Publishing Institute is a six-week, intensive program that provides its students with the opportunity to study the fundamentals of magazine and book publishing as well as cutting-edge publishing technology. Leading executives in the publishing industry will give lectures to SPI students and offer guidance and feedback in workshops and strategy sessions. Confirmed speakers include the CEO of one of the "Big Five" publishing companies and the publisher of the Divergent/Insurgent series. SPI students also receive extensive professional guidance and networking opportunities. The Summer Publishing Institute is a fantastic opportunity to immerse oneself in both the publishing industry and in the media capital of the world – New York City!
After the Summer Publishing Institute, Paige will head to Emerson College to work toward her M.A. in Publishing and Writing. Located in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, Emerson College is internationally recognized for its strong academic program devoted to communication and the arts. The M.A. in Publishing and Writing program uniquely focuses on writing as being both an artistic pursuit and a business endeavor, and students in the program thus have the opportunity to study in-depth both the business and marketing side of publishing and the creative, literary side. Boston is home to many major book publishers, including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Beacon Press, Da Capo Press, Bedford/St. Martin's, and Pearson, and countless publishing internship opportunities are made available to M.A. students through Emerson's connections to these industry giants.
The Humanities Division Sponsors Four Honor Societies
Freshman Dean's List
On Friday, May 2, Louisiana College held its second annual ceremony for freshmen students who achieved the Dean's List. With over two hundred faculty, staff, parents, and guests in attendance, thirty-seven students were honored for their freshman academic success. After Travis Alexander opened with prayer, Chair of Humanities Dr. Cheryl D. Clark welcomed guests and introduced the guest speaker, graduating senior Paige Jordan. Ms. Jordan shared her valuable insights to academic success at Louisiana College and encouraged students to strive for academic excellence. Students honored at the ceremony were Travis Alexander, Gina Arnold, Hunter Augustine, Hiram Wade Bailey, Jr., Amber Bennett, Jeffrey Breaux, Haley Brown, McKenzie Nikole Burkett, Mayme Elissa Covey, Ruth A. Crigler, Lawrence Harvey Dautel IV (Lance), Victoria Elizabeth Dixon, Cory Duplantis, Jr., Sarah Nicole Flynn, Nicholas Charles Foght, Reagan Franklin, Jonna' Maria Guidry, Joshua Dillon Harper, Kortney Tyler Kling, Bryce Louviere, Stephen Marsalis, Katherine Suzanne McCormack, Kaeli Alene Morgan, Zachary Shane Morris, Kimberly Nijoka, Hannah E. Ostoj, Caitlin Rose Sellers, Youngsup "Ron" Soh, Matthew Grayson Standiford, Sarah Lelin Thompson, Kaitlin "K.C." Toler, Emily Ann Vigé, Casey Warren, Briana Marnae White, Lauren Elizabeth White, Julie Yeoman, and Chan Young Jin. Faculty and staff were also recognized whom students identified as "most challenging professors" or encouraging supporters who aided in their academic success: Ms. Cecile Barnhart, Prince Borde, Dr. John Carson, Dr. Cheryl D. Clark, Mr. David Culp, Dr. Julie Driessen, Ms. Sherri Duffy, Dr. David Elliott, Dr. Loryn Frey, Dr. Fred Guilbert, Ms. Karen Ivie, Dr. Neil Johnston, Julia Kim, Dr. Langford, Dr. Lu, Clay Matchett, JoLynn McConley, Dr. Sarah Payne, Dr. Roland Pippen, Dr. Bayne Pounds, Dr. Christine Reese, Ms. Jill Reid, Dr. Pete Richardson, Dr. Leonard Shank, Dr. Don Shipley, Sr., Dr. Wade Warren, Gabrielle Walker, and Ms. Nancy Whitlock. Administration and faculty enjoyed refreshments and socializing with students, parents, and friends. Faulty sponsors for the Freshman Dean's List are Humanities professors Lillian Purdy and Nancy Whitlock.
Alpha Mu Gamma
Louisiana College's Zeta Gamma chapter of Alpha Mu Gamma (Foreign Language Honor Society) held its annual induction on April 10, 2014 at 6:00pm in the Louisiana College Alumni House. The initiation ceremony included the AMG rituals (lighting of candles, secret knock, and the formal pledge) followed by the conferring of certificates and pins by the president, Lauren Carriere. During the cording ceremony, senior members (May 2014 and December 2015 graduates) were awarded honor cords by sponsors Cecile Barnhart and Nancy Whitlock. An informal reception closed the event.
Alpha Mu Gamma members must have earned an "A" in two high school language courses or in one college language course. They must also maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0. Full members inducted on April 10 were Spanish students Kathrynn Duberville and Craig Jones. Associate members inducted were French students Karen Christopher, Cory Duplantis, Emilia Graves, Dwayne Rogers, and Caitlin Sellers. Associate members inducted were Spanish students Trey Boyette, Jennifer Dykes, Lenzi Gill-Flores, Tiara Reynolds, Jennifer Rittenhouse, and Cameron Vauclin.
Sigma Tau Delta
Sigma Tau Delta, an international English honor society has had an active chapter at Louisiana College for over three decades. The motto of the society is "Sincerity, Truth, and Design," three essential elements of excellent thinking, writing, and speaking. On May 2, 2014, Louisiana College's Epsilon Xi chapter met to induct ten new members into its ranks. President Haley Laird and Vice-President Paige Jordan presided over the ceremony, overseeing the swearing-in process, and orchestrating the evening. The new members were inducted into the society, all of whom have managed to maintain grade point averages well above the required 3.0 in their chosen major or minor of English. The newly inducted members are Megan Prestridge, Gina Arnold, Bruce Ragas, Sarah Caskey, Kyle Franklin, Lauren White, Annie Champagne, Haley Brown, Steven Craig Jones, and Emily Smith. An associate member, Caitlin Sellers, will soon be eligible for full membership when she completes one more upper-level English course. Epsilon Xi will indeed benefit from both the students' keen interest in the humanities and their commitment to the craft of writing. Members elected Kyle Franklin to serve as their new president, and Alexa Edwards will take over as vice-president.
Following the initiation, Dr. Cheryl Clark spoke about the useful skills acquired through an English degree and named several household figures who had majored in English: Steven Spielberg and Stephen King to name two. Dr. Johnston, a faculty co-sponsor, then spoke briefly on the importance of the motto and its relevance for today's postmodern climate. Faculty co-sponsor Ms. Lillian Purdy then presented the senior members—Jordan Paige, Megan Prestridge, and Haley Laird—with their honor cords to be worn during graduation. As the evening concluded, faculty and students enjoyed a time of fellowship and refreshments.
Mississippi Literary Excursion
On April 4-5, five LC students from Professor Lillian Purdy's Southern Literature class participated in a literary excursion to visit Mississippi writers Eudora Welty and William Faulkner's homes. The first stop was on a bluff above the mighty Mississippi River, where students read a passage from Twain's Huckleberry Finn and imagined Huck and Jim attempting to survive on a raft in the middle of the river. The next stop was Welty's home in Jackson where students enjoyed a guided tour of the author's home, which has been preserved much as it was at her death, and spent time visiting her beloved gardens and an information center about her works. The first day ended with an evening drive through the beautiful Ole Miss campus in Oxford. Saturday morning, the group found "good" coffee and visited the Ole Miss campus to visit a monument built to honor James Meredith, the first African-American student to attend Ole Miss. The next stop was Faulkner's home, Rowan Oak, where students enjoyed self-guided tours of the home and grounds. Before leaving the home, students read a passage from The Sound and the Fury. They then drove to Oxford Square, where the final scene of The Sound and the Fury occurs. Here they imagined Luster and Benjy's mad dash around the court house. Afterwards, students visited Square Books and Neilson's Department Store (est. 1839), the oldest department store in the South. Following a photo opportunity at the famous Faulkner sculpture, the group saw the home that Faulkner imagined as the Compson home. Finally, they visited Faulkner's final resting place before heading home to Louisiana and "good" coffee. Accompanying the group on the trip was Mr. Luke Purdy and Ms. Kim Harper.
Assistant Professor Jill Reid Completes MFA at Seattle Pacific Univeristy
Humanities Division Assistant Professor, Jill Reid, completed her terminal degree in Creative Writing through Seattle Pacific University's MFA program in March of 2014. Seattle Pacific University, home to IMAGE Journal, offers one of the nation's few MFA's in Creative Writing with an emphasis on both art and faith, appealing "to writers for whom matters of faith are central" and "who not only want to pursue excellence in the craft of writing but also place their work within the larger context of the Judeo-Christian tradition of faith."
As an MFA graduate, Ms. Reid has produced an original manuscript of poetry, Bearing Root, which includes poems that have been recently published or placed as finalists in contests in journals like Ruminate and Relief. Her poetry also has been published by other nationally recognized journals such as The Fourth River, Big Muddy, Tipton Poetry Review, and Catapult Magazine. With her MFA degree, Ms. Reid will continue to help develop a space at Louisiana College where student writers can hone their craft while also developing their faith. For more information on Jill Reid, her writing, or her philosophy on writing a creatively spiritual act, please contact her at email@example.com.
French Major Teaching in Africa
Leah Marshall, a May 2013 graduate of Louisiana College with a B.A. in French, is in Kenya, Africa serving as a missionary through the African Inland Mission. She is serving as a dorm parent and part-time French teacher at the Rift Valley Academy (RVA) in Kijabe, Kenya from August 4, 2013-July 15, 2014.
English Major Teaching in China
Jessica Hazmark, a May 2013 graduate of Louisiana College with a B.A. in English is teaching in China. She works with children and teaches basic and upper level English to adults and with nursing students. She also assists the school with marketing ideas and is creating business classes for young adults.
Fall 2013 Welcome Back Pizza Party
On September 3rd, Louisiana College Humanities Division sponsored a pizza party to welcome its new and returning English and Language majors and minors. Held in what is known as the seminar room, the festive event kicked off the fall semester in good fashion. The food—four different kinds of pizza, plus a wide variety of beverages—proved an excellent draw: counting faculty and students, nearly forty people enjoyed the occasion to catch up with old friends and meet new students. Additionally, Haley Laird, president of the Epsilon Chi chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, invited new students to learn more about this English honor society at an upcoming meeting. Judging from the lively discussions taking place around the room, the students bring with them a high level of enthusiasm for this year's academic efforts.
Freshman Dean's List Ceremony Recognizes 42 Outstanding Freshmen
On Friday, April 26, 2014 Louisiana College held its first annual ceremony for freshmen students who achieved the Dean's List. With over one hundred guests in attendance, forty-three students were honored for their freshman academic success. Students were presented certificates and especially recognizing their parents and their most challenging LC professors. Administration and faculty enjoyed socializing with students, parents, and friends. The LC administration, faculty, and staff congratulate all the freshmen Dean's List honorees. Faulty sponsors for the Freshman's Dean List are Humanities professors Lillian Purdy and Nancy Whitlock.
Humanities Division Sponsors Second Spanish Immersion Night
Louisiana College Humanities Division celebrated its second Spanish Immersion Night this year on Friday, April 11. Ms. Nancy Whitlock reports that more than 50 LC students mingled with special guests from Argentina and Puerto Rico. Students practiced speaking Spanish with each other and with guests. Professor Kathleen Scataglini prepared several international dishes, including Argentine oregano chicken, Puerto Rican Beans, Mexican rice, and flan. Spanish students ranging from beginners to advanced enjoyed international food, music, and cultural exchange, all while practicing their conversation skills.
Ten Humanities Students Receive Scholarships at 2013 Convocation Day for Outstanding Academic Achievements
Each year the Division of Humanities awards thousands of dollars in scholarships to recognize outstanding students who have distinguished themselves through superior scholastic achievements, creative manuscripts, and researched analytical compositions. These students represent diligence and dedication to academic excellence. The scholarships and awards presented are drawn from endowments created to honor and to remember individuals who have fostered academic achievement and success in the Division of Humanities. These awards not only help students pursue their academic studies, but also honor the legacy of those who established the highest standards of academic achievement. Students who earn awards and scholarships are held to these high academic standards and are expected to maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA. However, this year's recipients hold a GPA of 3.6 or above.
The Humanities Division presented Jade Johnson the George Amos English Scholarship, which was established to honor Dr. George Amos who chaired the LC Department of English from 1970-1979. An unusually energetic and creative problem-solver, he developed the strong sense of departmental identity that enabled the academic growth of the department. In addition, through partnerships with area businesses, Dr. Amos became the first to provide LC students an opportunity to study in London. The award is presented to an outstanding freshman who has a 3.0 high school GPA and who earned at least a 26 on the English portion of the ACT. Jade not only exceeded the 3.0 GPA requirement and has maintained a 4.0 throughout high school, but she also scored a 32 on the English portion of the ACT.
Bruce Ragas was awarded the Mary Kate Bailes Freshman Essay Award, established to honor Mrs. Bailes, a 1936 graduate of Louisiana College who taught English in Vernon Parish for 34 years. Even after her retirement, she remained involved with the schools of Leesville and avidly encouraged young people to attend LC. The influence of this vibrant woman continues to enhance the lives of young people through this scholarship. This award goes to a returning student who has written the best overall essay in Freshman Composition.
The Mayme Hamlett English Scholarship went to Emily Smith. This scholarship honors Ms. Hamlett for instilling in her students the rich value that literature brings to life. She taught at Southwest Baptist College, Union University, and Louisiana College and was known as a mentor and role model for her students. This award was presented to Emily, recognized by the Humanities faculty as an outstanding sophomore who displays diligence, determination, academic integrity, and demonstrates superior academic potential for the study of literature.
Haley Laird won the Ellander Ridge Award. This award is given to a student who demonstrates scholastic achievement in English, possesses intellectual curiosity, displays a spirit that is conducive to learning, and demonstrates the ability to excel in literary studies. The award, given by her son, commemorates Ms. Ridge, a graduate of LC in 1927. She delighted in the study of literature and promoted academic excellence. Haley additionally received the W. P. Carson Scholarship in English, which was established to honor Dr. Carson's 28 years of service to Louisiana College. From 1917 until 1945, his devotion to literature, quiet dignity, and commitment to learning established an intellectual standard and legacy that has characterized the best in those who have followed him in the study of English. This scholarship is presented to a superior ranking Senior English major who demonstrates academic excellence and superior scholastic achievement.
The Humanities Division awarded Paige Jordan the Ivey Gravette Scholarship that honors the memory of Ms. Gravette, who taught English at Louisiana College from 1945-1961. She returned in 1965-66 to serve as Convener of the Department of English. She combined the qualities of a vigorous intellect and generous spirit, a disciplined mind and a warm personality. Known for her exacting standards, she inspired students to rise to the challenges of scholarship and integrity. The award goes to a Junior English major of superior standing who demonstrates academic excellence and the potential for the study of literature.
Carlee Wilson was selected for the Inez Parker English Education Scholarship, which celebrates the memory of one of this community's leading high school English teachers. Inez Parker taught at Bolton High School and demanded the very best of her students. She was recognized several times as one of the top ten high school teachers in the nation. Single-minded, she insisted that her students be challenged to rise above what they believed they could accomplish. Following her public school career, she taught English at Louisiana College for eight years. This scholarship is awarded to the student who is deemed the department's outstanding English education major who shows great promise as an exceptional English teacher.
Jessica Hazmark received the Ada Osborne Scholarship, established to honor Dr. Rosanne Osborne's mother. While Dr. Osborne's mother never attended college, she valued the importance of education and provided her daughter with the opportunities to attain four Masters degrees and two Doctorates of Philosophy. The student receiving this award must be an English major who displays a love of learning and a passion for education.
The Humanities faculty selected Leah Marshall for the English Faculty Scholarship, which is awarded to a graduating senior in the Humanities Division. Given to a student who shows intellectual curiosity, dedication to academic studies, leadership qualities among her peers, and stands exemplary in her academic conduct, Leah's academic accolades are numerous: she received a Top Thirty Scholarship; she has been named on the Dean's List every semester in the past five years; she was nominated for the Who's Who Among College Students for three years; and last year, she received a highly coveted CODOFIL scholarship to study French in Belgium during July 2012. She also received last year's Choate Scholarship in French. She has served LC as a resident assistant, Writing Center assistant, and Alpha Mu Gamma secretary and president. Leah managed these accomplishments while maintaining a 3.91 GPA.
Justin Branch was awarded a CODIFIL Scholarship to study abroad in Belgium this summer. CODOFIL is state organization created in 1968 to advance and preserve the French language and culture in Louisiana. Each year, numerous students from throughout the State compete for these highly coveted scholarships. It covers educational expenses and room and board for the summer. In addition to this scholarship, the Humanities Division would like to recognize the outstanding achievement of this student by awarding him the Addie B. Choate Scholarship in French. This award honors Addie Choate, an exceptional French instructor known particularly for her sacrificial commitment to the college and her students. This scholarship is reserved for students who show exceptional promise in the study of French.
In addition to these awards and scholarship, the foreign language honor society Alpha Mu Gamma recognizes members for exemplary scholarship and service to the organization. Alpha Mu Gamma is a National Foreign Language Honor Society that was founded in 1931. The Zeta Gamma chapter of Alpha Mu Gamma was founded at Louisiana College in 1968 to recognize outstanding students in the field of foreign languages. Members must have earned an A in at least one foreign language course and have at least a 3.0 GPA. This year the Alpha Mu Gamma presented two awards: Leah Marshall received the Alpha Mu Gamma Senior Award, and the newly elected president Lauren Carriere was presented the Alpha Mu Gamma Award.


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This article is fan fiction
The contents herein are entirely player made and in no way represent official World of Warcraft lore or history. The characters, places, and events listed are of an independent nature and are applied for roleplaying purposes only.
|Kaiyan Duskblade
[[:File:|Image of Kaiyan Duskblade]]
|Blood elf
|Knights of The Ebon Blade
|Death Knight, formerly General, Warrior, Paladin and Noble.
Kaiyan Duskblade, previously known as Kaiyan Dawnblade, is a Blood Elf Death Knight currently fighting in Northrend against the Lich King's forces under the banner of The Knights of the Ebon Blade. He is also a member of the Horde and a champion of Silvermoon and The Undercity.
Early LifeEdit
Kaiyan Dawnblade was the favoured nephew of Malak Dawnblade, a figure of high political and military power within the silvermoon hierachy. Kaiyan proved himself from an early age as an immensly skilled and cunning warrior as well as a fierce general. He was good friends with Sylvannas Windrunner, and they fought together many times defending Silvermoon. He barely knew his parents and was raised by his Uncle, although he never required too much attention or care, something Malak greatly respected him for.
Third WarEdit
During the Third War, after news of Arthas' treachery, Kaiyan was put in charge of a small high elf fleet to chase down fleeing cult of the damned members who had been hiding in Silvermoon. It was during this time that Dar'Khan Drathir betrayed the high elves allowing Arthas and his scourge to assault the city. Kaiyan and his troop had managed to eliminate the cult of the damned and were sailing home, unaware of what was happening to their homeland. When their ship came in, the first person the young general saw was a nervous looking Dar'Khan, who fell at his feet, crying that the city was under siege and the scourge were breaking through. He also told Kaiyan that Sylvannas was being tortured and soon to be killed by Arthas' commanders in the Court of the Sun.
Frantically, Kaiyan led his troops into the city, slaying all the scourge they could on the way to rescue Sylvannas. However, once they had made it to the Royal Exchange, the party was held up by a wall of abominations and necromancers, raising the corpses of their former brothers to fight against them. Kaiyan knew that they didnt have time to try and fight their way through so told his troops to follow him through a secret passage to reach the Court of the Sun. His troops saw that the passage was blocked, and in an act of sacrifice for their general, took the attention of the scourge, and drew them away, yelling at Kaiyan to go on and save Sylvannas.
On the other end of the passage, Kaiyan found the court deserted, but covered with the ravages of war. Thinking he was too late, he ran into the open where Arthas' Lietuenants Falric and Marwyn emerged from the shadows, grabbing him and bringing him to his knees, facing towards the Sunfury Spire. From the spire, Arthas himself emerged and walked slowly towards Kaiyan. Arthas revealed that he had admired Kaiyan's prowess for a long time, and used the traitor Dar'Khan to trick the young general so that he could transform him into one of his elite death knights. Kaiyan was in part relieved that Sylvannas was safe, but Arthas saw this, and told Kaiyan that Sylvannas whad been killed and converted long before his arrival.
In furious rage, Kaiyan managed to free himself, seriously wounding Marwyn and charging at Arthas, managing to clash blades with him before the tratior prince threw him down, raising frostmourne and laughing as he killed then raised his new Death Knight, mindless to serve, but with all the power and cunning he possessed in life.


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Nov. 14, 2012
MADISON, Wis. - Head women's basketball coach Bobbie Kelsey announced the signing of two athletes to National Letters of Intent today. Mikey Crall, a 6-3 post from Olathe, Kan., and Malayna Johnson, a 6-3 post from Bellwood, Ill., will join the Badgers in 2013-14.
"I'm very pleased with this class," said Kelsey. "Real posts are hard to find and these two are very skilled. I think they will both work very hard to develop into collegiate players and they'll do what's asked of them to help our team.
"We needed the size and they'll fill the void at post that we're lacking this year. Our inside game should be really strong next year with the addition of these two."
Crall aided Olathe Northwest High School, under coach Joel Branstrom, to a second-place finish in the 2012 Kansas state tournament. The Ravens also won their league championship with a perfect 11-0 mark. Crall earned second-team all-state and all-league honors as a junior.
At her high school, Crall set school single-season records for field goal percentage (61 percent) offensive rebounds (79) and blocks (6). She also set single-game record for blocks (6) and field goals (9). Crall is ranked in the top 10 percent of her class and is a member of the honor roll.
"She's a big body and a very strong, very smart player," said Kelsey. "She has a very high IQ and that's going to help her in basketball - she's going to catch on very quickly to college basketball. We're looking for her to contribute right away and help our team."
She also plays with Mokan Eclipse under coaches Jon Lewis, David Peterson, Gary Brown and Joe Erskine. Her AAU club won the National Division at the 2012 U.S. Junior Nationals-Cincinnati and Crall was named to the all-star team at the 2012 USJN Mountain Madness tournament in Denver.
Johnson is the younger sister of current Badger Michala Johnson. Malayna is the member of three state and conference championship teams at Montoni Catholic High School for head coach Jason Nichols. She also plays with the Illinois Lady Lightning under coach Mike Seberger. Malayna was named the MVP of the Music City Madness Tournament in 2012.
"Malayna is a tall, lanky, long player who can run the floor," said Kelsey. "We'll need her to score on the block for us, run and get rebounds. She has the ability to block shots as well. We're looking for her to come in and get some easy baskets and rebounds."
2015 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. All rights reserved worldwide.
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First - don't forget to see the movie in Michigan this weekend. Especially if you're in Detroit on Saturday because I'll be there but also especially if you're in Ann Arbor on Sunday because I won't be there and it could use some extra negin-y-ness.
Second - in the absence of NR-related videos, I figured I would share this with you. Its a satirical healthcare vid made by the same people who brought you Nerdcore Rising (i.e. me). Watch below and tell your friends because I totally want stable health insurance one day.
And if you're in New York on Wednesday, please check out the vigil for Iran.
Hey guys,
The movie will be screening on Saturday as part of the Detroit-Windsor International Film Festival and on Sunday as part of the Ann Arbor District Library summer film series this weekend. And, I'm not gonna lie, Frontalot & band will be performing at both events. Find your infos for Detroit here and for Ann Arbor here.
I'll be at the Detroit screening and would love to heartily shake your hand so stop by and say hello.
Our friends are cool. They do stuff like theatre, and art, and performance-based fake stage sex. Of course that means its the Air Sex Championships and the finals are happening this Friday June 12 at the Highline Ballroom in New York City. Untrue to form, a nerdcore rapper will be in there midst. In this case the most sexually advanced nerdcore rapper is Chris Trew (AKA Terp 2 It) and he will be thrusting his fully clothed crotch into an invisible vagina for your entertainment. The details are here.
And on the following night our friend Schaffer the Darklord of Schaffer and The Darklords will be performing at Arlene's Grocery. He is the most sinister, the most forboding, and the most violently delightful of the nerdcore rappers. Direct yourselves here for informations on that showz.
If you don't live in New York then I don't know what you should do this weekend but don't forget to call your pops on Sunday!
of the lady directors guild
Discovered an awesome new site, I think its worth looking at:
A birdie tells me that a particular nerdcore rapper of note (okay fine, MC Lars! I can't keep it in!) will have a particular web comic of note (okay fine, 27th Street! I'm no good at being coy!) on the site soon. RSS that shit to know exactly when!
Furthermore, it gives me lots of joy to announce the new album from Blak Lotus (AKA Brandon Patton), "Underhill Downs." Here's what Lotus had to say about it:
The project was delayed by the enormous success of my other band, MC
Frontalot, and the movie that was made [Nerdcore Rising] documenting our journey from
inexperienced wimps to road weary, jaded, super-wimps. I was homeless
for 8 months (don't worry, I had places to stay.) And all the while, I
was just trying to get a home studio going again so I could finish this
behemoth, my own little heartbreaking work of staggering genius, my own
little Chinese Democracy, the document of my rising from the ashes of
past failures and asserting that, yes, beyond all reason, making a
personal rock record was the most important thing one could achieve. I
laughed contemptuously as people reached major peace agreements, saved
innocents from oncoming traffic, and eradicated microbial scourges from
the earth. Ha! THEY weren't taking forever to make a personal rock
album like I was. Like Axl Rose. Like... James Joyce and Finnegan's
Wake. What? Although, I am pretty sure, my product will be somewhat
more accessible. You won't need cliff notes.
If you're me, then you can't wait to hear this new music (and you suffer from severe seasonal allergies). For the New Yorkers among us, you can do that here:
April 17 - 8pm
Piano's - New York, NY
That's about it. Enjoy things.
If you're at sxsw, and you mildly give a shit about publicity issues surrounding independent film, well then have I got the panel for you! Its the alternative publicity panel at SXSW on Saturday and I'll be speaking on it because I'm an 'expert' [read: shittalker] in the 'field' [read: my living room].
But we have other extremely important events to tackle, namely, the Nerdcore showcase. Thanks to Chris Trew AKA Terp 2 It (and maybe a little attention sparked by our little movie at SX'08) some of our favorite nerdcore artists will be having a showcase at SXSW. Here's what Chris had to say about it:
When I approached SXSW to do a Nerdcore showcase, there was zero
debate. Matt Sonzala (music programmer) was aware of the Rising and was
eager to work with me to make this happen. He gets props for that, and
props in advance to the fans for the huge turnouts we are going to get.
Show Info!
So if you see a man named Matt Sonzala you are to give him a hug of thanks. And if you see a man named Chris Trew, you are to admire his rapping. He'll be joined by our very own MC Frontalot, MC Lars, and the most Canadian of the bunch, Jesse Dangerously.
your most faithful of shittalking director ladies
Blak Lotus
MC Router
Penny Arcade
Schaffer the Darklord
Shael Riley
Weird Al
YT Cracker
Nerdcore Rising


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DialogTech, formerly known as Ifbyphone, is the market leader in call analytics and automation. Thanks to smartphones, consumers are calling businesses to engage in conversation at record rates throughout every stage of the customer journey. DialogTech provides marketing, sales, and support professionals with a single platform that enables transparency and control over every conversation, so companies can optimize lead generation, acquire new business faster, and increase customer loyalty.
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Video: State Senator Proposes GPS Stalking Legislation
Buffalo, NY -- The family of Jackie Wisniewski, the woman killed last year at ECMC by her ex-boyfriend, Doctor Timothy Jorden, joined State Senator Tim Kennedy Tuesday to announce new legislation which would make it a felony to stalk someone using a GPS device.
Wisniewski's brother, Dave, remembered his sister as someone who loved life and being a mother to her young son.
WEB EXTRA: Read the entire bill here
"She was deeply devoted to her family. She wanted nothing more than for everyone to come together. We called her the glue of the family," Dave Wisniewski said.
Jackie lost her life last June, when Jorden shot and killed her at point blank range in a stairwell at ECMC, where they both worked, before turning the gun on himself in a wooded area near his Lakeview home.
When her brother spoke with us last year, less than two months after Jackie's death, he said Jackie was so afraid of her ex that she would have friends walk her to and from her car at work.
"There was never a question she was in fear of her life. All of her family and friends knew it," he said.
After the couple broke up, Jorden kept calling and texting Jackie. Then, he started stalking her. He would show up where she was. Jackie discovered Jorden had installed a GPS device on her car.
Three months before she was murdered, Jackie told West Seneca police about the tracking device and harassment, but she did not want to press charges.
The new legislation proposed by Senator Kennedy would allow law enforcement to pursue the case without the victim pressing charges.
"It takes the onus away from the victim," Senator Kennedy said at Tuesday morning's news conference. "Oftentimes the victims are afraid to press those charges. They're fearful for their life, for good reason."
The proposed bill defines an electronic tracking device as any device attached to a vehicle or other movable thing that reveals its location by electronic signals.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, one in 13 stalking cases involves some type of electronic monitoring. Right now, there is no law specifically outlawing GPS devices in stalking cases.
"My family and I recognize there are a lot of stories like this out there where the ending hasn't yet been written and the hope is someone out there will hear our story, and it won't end like this," says Wisniewski.
And, if this proposed legislation becomes law, the hope is that it won't have to.
There are a few exceptions. Parents and guardians would still be allowed to use GPS devices to track their children. There are cell phone apps that let you do that. Also, some parents use GPS tracking to keep an eye on their teenage drivers. That would still be legal. And, police of course would still use this technology to track people who are missing and solve crimes.


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If anyone should be a master of the art of seduction, it's the man behind some of the most elegant, provocative, and covetable lingerie money can buy. Yes, we're talking about La Perla, and at last night's presentation of the label's fall 2013 collection, we spoke with creative director Giovanni Bianchi about the story behind his newest selection of underpinnings and what he thinks is the ideal lacy little gift for Valentine's Day. His answer might surprise you.
The space, in Manhattan's Dream Hotel, was divided in two, for the brand's two collections. On one end was the Black Label, which Bianchi described as "the dark side" of La Perla, "very intriguing, very erotic, but never vulgar." The ultra-sexy offerings were almost couture-like in their detail, from a mesh set with strategic cutouts and matching garters, to look with high waisted nude briefs topped with a fur capelet.
On the other side of the divider, guests like Rachel Roy, Olivia Palermo, and Zoë Kravitz admired the main line, which was inspired by Spain in the late 1930s. Bianchi, in a heavy Italian accent, explained that although his native country and Spain are very close, "I think in Italy we lost something that in Spain is still very alive." The color palette likewise borrowed from ornate jackets of the nation's toreadors, with their "very strong reds, very deep greens, beautiful sapphires."
For Valentine's Day, an occasion on many people's minds at the moment, Bianchi also had a strong opinion on the color of lacy La Perla lingerie that makes for the best gift:
It's very easy to choose something in red because Valentine's means red, but I think that red is a little bit obvious. A woman can wear a very particular pink or black. Black is always the seduction. To be seductive, if a woman wears black, they cannot make a mistake. Red is ok, but my dream one day is to make something special for Valentine's Day that is something else — something not just red.
So there you have it, lovestruck lingerie fans.
See photos from the presentation in the gallery below:
Image title
this is some kind of spaceship or something.


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This forum is normally about fabrications and modifications which worked. Good,keep them coming, but lets also hear details of a few failures and why they didn't work.Benefits of this would be both in saving many of us from spending time making the same mistakes, and occasionally allowing someone else to suggest a modification which would make the original idea work.Those who find this embarrassing could use the "post anonymously" feature.David
My biggest failure was an attempt to create my own version of an HS Squall TarpTent, but without a door, rather an elongated extension of the main tarp canopy. The idea was to fold the opening down when closing off the entrance. What I ended up with was a shelter that was about 15 feet long! Granted, after making about eight hammocks, it was my first real sewing project. When my wife saw it set up in the nearby park she said, "Well, at least we can both get away from one another when we want to be alone!"
I like the confession of mistakes idea. But in the interest of brevity, I only mention my successes. But seriously folks... My mistakes are numerous enough to organize into categories:1) Over-elaboration (OE) - this might be called over-design - or complexification. In every design project, I notice that I start with something too complex but nowadays I try to hone it down into something simple. At one time, I left things over-designed with predictably disasterous results. Examples: attempting to make alcohol stoves with closable reservoirs (a la Trangia) or remote fuel supplies(as in "call the fire department!!!"); Solution, Pop can stoves. Bivy tents - bivy sacks that erect like small tents to create a little headroom. Internal framed and external framed packs (various ingenious designs including carbon fiber framesheets); solution, go lighter and eliminate frames entirely. Multiple use sleeping bag with zippers to turn it into vest to replace jacket around camp. This had a huge fiddle factor and never worked to my satisfciton. Solution, serape-type neck hole in center of quilt (from Jack Tier of Jacks'R'Better). 2) Combining incompatable materials. Imagine a light day pack made of 4 ounce nylon with seat belt webbing straps and reinforcements. The bag hung like wet toilet paper from the almost rigid straps. Any combination of a heavy, stiff fabric with a lightweight, flexible one. That kind of thing. But usually more subtle. The worst mistakes of my 'mature' period were putting excessively heavy zippers on things - until I learned that #3 coils will handle almost anything. 3) Over-reinforcement. Strengthening items beyond the general capacities of their materials or design use. This one is a little subtle, but generally, reinforcements are useful only when failure at that point will preceed and/or cause failure elsewhere in the structure due to the limits of the dominant fabric. If you made a tarp of tissue paper, no amount of corner reinforcement would save it from disaster. Over-reinforcement makes stuff too heavy and less packable, obviously, but it can also weaken a structure by directing stresses to the wrong areas or by concentrating stresser that would be spread out by a weaker reinforcement. 4) Over-building in general. With modern materials it is entirely practical to make gear that will last several generations. For the last 50 years most backpacking gear has been retired not because it is worn out, but because its design becomes obsolete. Losses are due primarily to accident, abuse, misuse or getting lost in the garage. The exception is gear coated with polyurethane – which deteriorates sooner or later. Manufacturers overbuild because it is the easy way to avoid returns. Heavier fabrics also have a better 'hand' or feel. Rarely does performance dictate their use. So, yeah, I have a lot of excessively heavy gear. It gets used for utility duties such as storage bags and covering the lawn mower.
I made a Fuzzy's Lil' alcohol stove.http://home.att.net/~ofuzzy1/alcohol.htmI left the pot off, though, and burned it up. To see if I could make it sturdier, I decided to try leaving part of the top on and just make a medium-sized hole in the top. I used a syringe and shot the alcohol into the hole. When I lit it, the top of the stove rocketed into the air accompanied by a large blue fireball. Fortunately my face wasn't very close to the stove. Lesson: either make a really small or covered hole as in the Cobra or Penny stoves, or make a really big hole, as in the Pepsi-can or SuperCat stoves, not a mostly-enclosed combusion chamber.http://www.boblog.org/at/cobrastove.htmhttp://www.csun.edu/~mjurey/penny.htmlhttp://www.pcthiker.com/pages/gear/pepsiGstoveinstruct.shtmlhttp://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat/index.htmlBTW, Lil Fuzzy is a good stove design to know how to make, because all it takes is a single soda can and a knife. If you ever step on your alcohol stove, this is an easy field replacement (assuming you can find a can somewhere, which is often depressingly easy).
Edited by Otter on 04/07/2006 13:55:59 MDT.
Here's one of my favorite screw-ups: http://www.freewebs.com/jasonklass/paintedstove.htm
Gee, Jason. If we are going to confess about stoves how about the time I melted the front off my microwave oven when a photon alcohol stove disintegrated rapidly (not to say, exploded). The holes were too small and it overpressurized. But the big mistake was playing indoors.
That's a pretty good one Vick. I haven't caused any property damage yet. Mostly I work with low pressure or open flame designs indoors. I'm not so sure I'd be brave enough to try a pressurized one inside. A while back I lit one of Tinny's SST stove in my kitchen (now discontinued for safety reasons). Picture a tiny alcohol stove made from small V-8 cans that sounds like a white-gas stove! this thing was a jet engine! As soon as I lit it, I just got this eerie feeling and grabbed the hose from my kitchen sink just in case. As soon as it burned out, I wiped the sweat off my brow and made a vow that if I was going to test out something that powerful, I'd do it outside. Thanks for the reminder.
Edited by jasonklass on 04/07/2006 16:25:19 MDT.
Close call, huh?But those Fuzzy stoves are pretty good and very adaptable. I make them from V8 cans and make them shorter than Fuzzy recommends. They work well - like any do-it-yourself stove - with some tweeking.
Edited by vickrhines on 04/07/2006 20:06:04 MDT.
Huh, you couldv'e simple marketed it as a new 'all-in-one' solution... never lose your stove again... ;)
I'll make you a deal on on right now.
I heard about a tent company (in the UK I believe) who offered carbon fiber tent stakes with their tent. Thinking these might be the lightest things going, I got some broken carbon fiber arrow shafts really cheap and made myself a few stakes to try.First problem: they're hollow, so when you slice an end at an angle to make a point that will enter the ground decently, you end up filling the silly thing with dirt, thereby negating the weight saving you started with. So I filled the end with a bit of epoxy--fairly heavy (relatively speaking), but lighter than dirt. These worked OK to start with, but I soon found that the heads mushroom (or just plain split) when I pounded them into really stiff soil. I also snapped a couple getting them in/out. I "solved" the mushrooming head problem by epoxying a small bit of aluminum tubing on the end--the aluminum withstood the pounding better, but added more weight. I never did figure out why some of them snapped. I finally gave up on the whole idea since I ended up not saving that much weight over titanium skewers which is what I currently use.
Steve,You had the same experience I had. Except you left out getting your hand skewered by fine graphite fibers. Mine went into the Bad-Ideas-Are-Us file.
I bought 8 ray-way carbon fiber stakes a while back. He does not appear to carry them any more however. The 8 stakes weight 1.2 oz, so 0.15 oz a piece.I like the design of these and they work pretty good and don't seem to have the problems of these other stakes described. They have a pointy turned aluminum point in the business end, and the other end has a bright yellow plastic button end that besides making the stakes visible allow you to grab them to pull them out of the ground.I prefer them to ti skewers for softer ground, since they hold better due to the larger diameter. I have not used them in real hard soil however. The instructions indicated they could be carefully tapped into hard soil.
Yeah, I heard about Ray's version, but by the time I decided my homemade ones weren't all that great, his weren't listed on his website any more. Glad to hear yours are working out....
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