The Imperial War Musem
The Houses of Parliament
09 May 2009
08 May 2009
28 April 2009
12 April 2009
A theatrical weekend
Friday: Imagine a really, really bad 1950’s science fiction movie.
No. Imagine a SPECIFIC really, really bad 1950’s science fiction movie: Ed Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer Space (often called the worst movie ever made).
Now, imagine you’re sitting in a lovely theatre, waiting for a production of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors.
OK. Now imagine this: a man in a suit, riding on some sort of rolling cart with a large Chinese gong attached, holding a coffee cup with a light inside of it to his chin so that the light illuminates his features in a scary, Hallowe’en sort of way.
Then imaging that same man in the suit humming a high-pitched Theremin-like wail (the sort you’d hum when commenting on something that is really “out there").
Finally, imagine him repeating, word for word, the monologue from Plan 9 from Outer Space that was given by the 1950’s “seer,” Criswell.
You can see the original here:
(The term, “grave robbers from outer space” was left out for this particular play, since there were no grave robbers from outer space in Shakespeare... that I know of.)
So, the stage is set. There is a little bit of Balinese shadow-puppetry, there is a bit of Keystone Cops-like mad chase (with Boots Randolph’s Yakety Sax playing as the actors ran around in circles), there is a “space doctor” whose nurse (in webbed feet and a beak) shocks people with her touch (she even lays an egg at one point), there is a plea from the Criswell-esque narrator at intermission to go out to the lobby and buy stuff (with the old movie theater organ intermission music playing), there are people with aluminum foil space helmets, AND, yes, there is someone in a gorilla suit to round out the mayhem.
And, oh, by the way, the cast performed Shakespeare’s play with all the dialogue as the Bard himself wrote it.
It was WONDERFUL. I wish they had filmed it. I haven’t laughed so hard in a long, long time. The genius of Shakespeare (who will be 445 years old next week) came through. He wrote a very funny play.
Saturday: A more somber play, Vigils at Alex’s Know Theatre (the other show was by the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company). A widow who has forced her dead husband’s soul to remain with her, locked in a trunk in her room (because she doesn’t want to let go quite yet), goes on her first date. ("Can we talk about this not right in front of your husband's Soul?" he asks early on. "It's weirding me out.")
You can see the trailer here:
It’s a complicated play, too difficult to explain, but I really liked it. The actors actually speak about being in the play, breaking down the barriers between them and the audience. It was about love and loss and moving on, and there were tearful moments and there were some very funny moments, as the husband’s soul converses with the new boyfriend. I’m totally flummoxed by the ending, however. I made a joke afterward that I would have to wait for Arthur Clarke’s novelization to come out so I would know what the hell it was about (like I did after first seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey). Actually, Alex said that the actors were of differing opinions about the meaning of the play’s ending.
No. Imagine a SPECIFIC really, really bad 1950’s science fiction movie: Ed Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer Space (often called the worst movie ever made).
Now, imagine you’re sitting in a lovely theatre, waiting for a production of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors.
OK. Now imagine this: a man in a suit, riding on some sort of rolling cart with a large Chinese gong attached, holding a coffee cup with a light inside of it to his chin so that the light illuminates his features in a scary, Hallowe’en sort of way.
Then imaging that same man in the suit humming a high-pitched Theremin-like wail (the sort you’d hum when commenting on something that is really “out there").
Finally, imagine him repeating, word for word, the monologue from Plan 9 from Outer Space that was given by the 1950’s “seer,” Criswell.
You can see the original here:
(The term, “grave robbers from outer space” was left out for this particular play, since there were no grave robbers from outer space in Shakespeare... that I know of.)
So, the stage is set. There is a little bit of Balinese shadow-puppetry, there is a bit of Keystone Cops-like mad chase (with Boots Randolph’s Yakety Sax playing as the actors ran around in circles), there is a “space doctor” whose nurse (in webbed feet and a beak) shocks people with her touch (she even lays an egg at one point), there is a plea from the Criswell-esque narrator at intermission to go out to the lobby and buy stuff (with the old movie theater organ intermission music playing), there are people with aluminum foil space helmets, AND, yes, there is someone in a gorilla suit to round out the mayhem.
And, oh, by the way, the cast performed Shakespeare’s play with all the dialogue as the Bard himself wrote it.
It was WONDERFUL. I wish they had filmed it. I haven’t laughed so hard in a long, long time. The genius of Shakespeare (who will be 445 years old next week) came through. He wrote a very funny play.
Saturday: A more somber play, Vigils at Alex’s Know Theatre (the other show was by the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company). A widow who has forced her dead husband’s soul to remain with her, locked in a trunk in her room (because she doesn’t want to let go quite yet), goes on her first date. ("Can we talk about this not right in front of your husband's Soul?" he asks early on. "It's weirding me out.")
You can see the trailer here:
It’s a complicated play, too difficult to explain, but I really liked it. The actors actually speak about being in the play, breaking down the barriers between them and the audience. It was about love and loss and moving on, and there were tearful moments and there were some very funny moments, as the husband’s soul converses with the new boyfriend. I’m totally flummoxed by the ending, however. I made a joke afterward that I would have to wait for Arthur Clarke’s novelization to come out so I would know what the hell it was about (like I did after first seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey). Actually, Alex said that the actors were of differing opinions about the meaning of the play’s ending.
29 March 2009
Bat Masterson, Job Re-org, Fixing the Garage Door, and Daughter in Career Crisis...
As Bat Masterson rides off into the sunset (isn’t the THIS network fun?) I’m sitting here in peace and quiet, just me and the cat. It’s been a busy week, and I’m glad to have some alone time.
My boss is no longer my boss. The reorg is afoot, and Matt, who was my boss the last time, is my boss again – and he’s here in Cincinnati (what a concept). I really like him, so it’s all good.
My garage door opener is fixed, my personal best for the week. It was fulfilling to be able to take it apart and figure it all out for myself, and to end up with a working garage door that can be disabled (without help) if there’s a power outage.
I had lunch Thursday with my daughter to discuss her career crisis, per her request. By the time I picked her up, she’d made her decision, and was asking for affirmation that she’d done the right thing. I think she did.
It amounts to this: the theatre is in financial crisis (as are most of the city’s arts organizations) and has to downsize significantly next season. The non-production staff next season will consist of the executive director, education director and a position that handles both development and marketing -- so my daughter will do two jobs. She wanted to do marketing anyway, so that’s good. The current marketing person has decided that she’d rather be performing, so she’s off to New York next season.
So, mu daughter came up with a list of “demands.” She’ll stay on at the same salary, but the theatre will provide free housing and utilities (her current share of the rent is $313 plus electricity). They will also provide free parking (she currently pays $50 a month), and she’ll have some paid time off for vacation. At the end of next season, she wants to be able to renegotiate the salary when things are better, and she wants a “real” apartment provided just for her (versus the shared housing that she and the actors will live in next season – a 12-bedroom house with three kitchens owned by the theatre). It looks as if all her demands will be met. They know how valuable she is to the organization.
So her beau will be off to grad school, and each will focus on their individual tasks at hand. He’s writing a book (requiring travel) as well, so both of them will be doing two things at once. They’ll see each other on weekends, and neither will have to feel guilty about neglecting one another. They are joined at the hip, and are each so supportive of one another. Not being together will be hard for them, but they are smart enough to realize that this new arrangement will make sense until Justin is out of school in a couple of years (assuming he doesn't go on for a PhD -- which is possible). One step at a time. They're each taking the right steps to prepare for their future together.
All in all, I thought it a very mature decision. She’ll finally be responsible for marketing, which is her special interest, and this will be a huge thing for her resume. She did marketing at the American Rep at Harvard last year on co-op, and loved it. Her goal is full-time arts management, and so every bit of experience is really a do-it-yourself arts MBA. She told me about other people in local arts organizations with master’s degrees in arts management who are spending their days walking the ballet director’s dog (and scooping their poop) or running errands, while my daughter is actually responsible for something.
Two weekends running she organized fund raising parties. The first one went 25% over the goal and the second one was 150% of goal. I think she’s doing something right and the theatre recognizes her contribution.
At lunch with her on Thursday, I saw yet again how much of an influence she’s been in the ten months she’s worked at the theatre. As we ate in a trendy restaurant in the Over the Rhine neighborhood known as the Gateway Quarter, a very classy guy walked by and greeted her effusively. “Hi, Alex! Good to see you!”
Alex introduced us, “Mom, this is [so and so]. [So and so], this is my mother, [Meridian13113].” Handshakes and greetings all around. After he left, she explained that he’s the president of the Over the Rhine Chamber of Commerce. He is typical of the people I been introduced to by Alex of late. She knows all the local movers and shakers in town – in less than a year since she graduated from Antioch.After lunch, she took me on a shopping tour of all the new trendy retail in the neighborhood, where she knows who owns what, what cool stuff is for sale (did you know that Marimekko is still putting out new stuff?). As we went through the stores, she was checking the supply of Know Theatre brochures in each one. They were all empty. She's doing something right, it appears.
Oh, and she’s also actively involved in the Antioch Alumni association, as part of the national communications committee, too.
I am SO proud of her.
17 days until we leave for London!
My boss is no longer my boss. The reorg is afoot, and Matt, who was my boss the last time, is my boss again – and he’s here in Cincinnati (what a concept). I really like him, so it’s all good.
My garage door opener is fixed, my personal best for the week. It was fulfilling to be able to take it apart and figure it all out for myself, and to end up with a working garage door that can be disabled (without help) if there’s a power outage.
I had lunch Thursday with my daughter to discuss her career crisis, per her request. By the time I picked her up, she’d made her decision, and was asking for affirmation that she’d done the right thing. I think she did.
It amounts to this: the theatre is in financial crisis (as are most of the city’s arts organizations) and has to downsize significantly next season. The non-production staff next season will consist of the executive director, education director and a position that handles both development and marketing -- so my daughter will do two jobs. She wanted to do marketing anyway, so that’s good. The current marketing person has decided that she’d rather be performing, so she’s off to New York next season.
So, mu daughter came up with a list of “demands.” She’ll stay on at the same salary, but the theatre will provide free housing and utilities (her current share of the rent is $313 plus electricity). They will also provide free parking (she currently pays $50 a month), and she’ll have some paid time off for vacation. At the end of next season, she wants to be able to renegotiate the salary when things are better, and she wants a “real” apartment provided just for her (versus the shared housing that she and the actors will live in next season – a 12-bedroom house with three kitchens owned by the theatre). It looks as if all her demands will be met. They know how valuable she is to the organization.
So her beau will be off to grad school, and each will focus on their individual tasks at hand. He’s writing a book (requiring travel) as well, so both of them will be doing two things at once. They’ll see each other on weekends, and neither will have to feel guilty about neglecting one another. They are joined at the hip, and are each so supportive of one another. Not being together will be hard for them, but they are smart enough to realize that this new arrangement will make sense until Justin is out of school in a couple of years (assuming he doesn't go on for a PhD -- which is possible). One step at a time. They're each taking the right steps to prepare for their future together.
All in all, I thought it a very mature decision. She’ll finally be responsible for marketing, which is her special interest, and this will be a huge thing for her resume. She did marketing at the American Rep at Harvard last year on co-op, and loved it. Her goal is full-time arts management, and so every bit of experience is really a do-it-yourself arts MBA. She told me about other people in local arts organizations with master’s degrees in arts management who are spending their days walking the ballet director’s dog (and scooping their poop) or running errands, while my daughter is actually responsible for something.
Two weekends running she organized fund raising parties. The first one went 25% over the goal and the second one was 150% of goal. I think she’s doing something right and the theatre recognizes her contribution.
At lunch with her on Thursday, I saw yet again how much of an influence she’s been in the ten months she’s worked at the theatre. As we ate in a trendy restaurant in the Over the Rhine neighborhood known as the Gateway Quarter, a very classy guy walked by and greeted her effusively. “Hi, Alex! Good to see you!”
Alex introduced us, “Mom, this is [so and so]. [So and so], this is my mother, [Meridian13113].” Handshakes and greetings all around. After he left, she explained that he’s the president of the Over the Rhine Chamber of Commerce. He is typical of the people I been introduced to by Alex of late. She knows all the local movers and shakers in town – in less than a year since she graduated from Antioch.After lunch, she took me on a shopping tour of all the new trendy retail in the neighborhood, where she knows who owns what, what cool stuff is for sale (did you know that Marimekko is still putting out new stuff?). As we went through the stores, she was checking the supply of Know Theatre brochures in each one. They were all empty. She's doing something right, it appears.
Oh, and she’s also actively involved in the Antioch Alumni association, as part of the national communications committee, too.
I am SO proud of her.
17 days until we leave for London!
31 January 2009
------ In The City (Fill in the blank)
Sex?
Crime?
Business?
Overcrowding?
No, no, no and no.
Give up?
How about eagles? American Bald Eagles?
Yup. Whodathunkit? There is a colony of 12 American Bald Eagles in Syracuse, New York, of all places.
See them here.
They're the revered bird of the Onondaga Nation, and they're back at Onondaga Lake.
Onondaga Lake abuts the city of Syracuse and was once the most polluted body of water in the country. The Solvay Process dumped industrial waste into the lake and along its shoreline for decades, turning it into a putrid and stinking morass, and essentially killing it. City sewage compounded the problem. It was surrounded by oil tanks, and the asphalt smell was the punch line of many jokes about the village of Solvay on its banks ("Evening in Solvay" perfume, for example, was often listed as a gag door prize at parties).
There is a lot that can never be cleaned up, such as the mercury that is embedded in the lake bottom, but there has been a concerted effort to improve things. The oil tanks have gone, and the piles of pollutants and refuse have been removed. A new sewage treatment plant has significantly reduced human pollution. A fancy mall sits on the site of the old oil tanks and there are plans afoot to build housing and more shopping (some under glass with year-round golf, of all things).
Whatever has been done so far has helped a miracle to occur. Maybe it's time to just stop and forget "progress." I think what's happened here now is an excellent height to reach.
I wonder what the people of the Onondaga Nation think. Many of them live not too far away, south of the city. The bird they revere has returned, in numbers not seen for a century or more.
Isn't it wonderful?
19 January 2009
What a mess...
was my garage. David was a trooper, helping me to destroy and recycle the myriad carboard boxes ("Save the box in case you have to send it back, or to transport it when you next move" was the mantra, and of course the things that came in those boxes are long gone). The recycling truck will be busy -- we filled the recycling bin and two trash cans with cardboard, plus one trash can with trash. Once those are gone, there should be room for the car.
Once the boxes were flattened, we hit Home Depot and bought 24 feet of shelves and installed them. That got a lot of stuff and all my toolboxes off the floor. There are still some boxes to go through, but by and large, I'm done. I may go back and get more shelves for the other side of the garage when spring comes. There were already three shelves that cover the entire width of the garage at the back and they could use some neatening up when it gets warmer. That cold concrete slab just sucks the heat out of your body through the soles of your feet, so doing much in the garage will have to wait -- the space heater we had out there didn't do much good.
The garage door was replaced this afternoon and it looks great. It's a paneled door. One young man did mine and my neighbor's in under three hours in the bitter cold -- all by himself. I spent my time digitizing the three choruses from Schubert's Rosamunde, a much warmer occupation.
Saturday night I went with a fellow chorus member to see a lovely musical, I Love You Because, at Alex's theatre. It was really a great show and got a standing ovation. Good singing, good acting, good musicians, good play. It was funny and sweet and very enjoyable.
Sitting behind us was a couple that used to be in the chorus, and who, in fact, let us all watch their courtship many years ago. Their oldest son is a year older than Alex, and they used to bring him trick or treating at our house when the kids were small. They loved seeing Alex as the mature young woman she has become and we had a great time catching up.
Yesterday David and I went to Dayton for a family get together. His sister April is still here, waiting for all her papers to arrive so that she can go back to the UK to work for the next 8 or 9 months, and she is staying with their mother. We took them out for pizza and met David's two other sisters and one brother-in-law at the restaurant. Such a family -- in your face, opinionated, funny.
David and I and perhaps his recently widowed sister Debbie are planning to go to visit her in April.
We came back here for the night, and David left very early this morning to get home to vocalize. He sang at a funeral this afternoon for the mother of another former chorus member while I waited for the garage door to be installed. He just called a while ago to say that it went well and that he was heading home for a nap before going back to work tonight.
I'm enjoying a peaceful day after the crazy and busy weekend, and I may just take a nap. It's back to work tomorrow.
I hope to be able to walk across the street to the Underground Railroad Freedom Center to watch the inauguration (they're broadcasting on a big screen in their auditorium), but in case there are business things happening, I'm taking a portable TV to the office just in case.
One of my co-workers, Babacar, a naturalized US citizen from Senegal, was given inauguration tickets by our newest Congressman, Steve Driehaus, and flew to D.C. yesterday. He was so excited to be a part of the event. He's promised to wave to every camera he sees -- so if you see a 6'5" black man with glasses with a big grin on his face, it's probably him.
The way he came to know Congressman Driehaus is a great story. About a dozen years ago, Babacar and a Senegalese friend were eating at a restaurant in northern Kentucky, just across the Ohio River. At a nearby table was a man (Steve Driehaus). He was with two women. Babacar's friend made some cute comment to Babacar, in their native language, Wolof, about how lucky that guy was to have two women to eat with.
Driehaus responded to the remark -- in Wolof -- and of course, Babacar and his friend nearly fell off their chairs. It turned out that Driehaus had served in Senegal in the Peace Corps and knew Wolof well. Babacar and (now Congressman) Driehaus have been friends ever since. It really is a small world, after all.
13 January 2009
Hope for Antioch College
From today's Dayton Daily News!
Another step taken towards a new Antioch College
By Dave Larsen
Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
DAYTON — A newly independent Antioch College moved one step closer to reality on Tuesday, Jan. 13, with the approval of a letter of intent by the boards of Antioch University and the Antioch College Continuation Corporation.
"This letter of intent seeks to protect the interests of Antioch University while creating the prospect for a newly independent and viable Antioch College," said Richard Detweiler, president of the Great Lakes Colleges Association. "This letter of intent, while not binding on the parties, establishes the framework to negotiate a more detailed and comprehensive definitive agreement."
Detweiler is the mediator and chair of a task force of alumni and trustee representatives that has worked since August 2008 to create a new, fully independent Antioch College.
The letter of intent, dated Jan. 9, between the Antioch University Board of Trustees and the Board Pro Tempore of the Antioch College Continuation Corporation outlines the terms and conditions under which the two boards intend to enter into one or more definitive agreements.
Under the basic terms and conditions of the transaction, Antioch University would license the right to use the name "Antioch College" to the independent college.
The independent college would acquire the right and title to assets including the Antioch College campus in Yellow Springs, the real estate comprising Glen Helen Nature Preserve, the "Antioch Review" periodical, the Coretta Scott King Center assets, and the real estate associated with the university's power plant.
Antioch University would retain assets including WYSO-FM (91.3) radio and its associated FCC licenses, the Antioch Education Abroad program, and the Kettering Building at 150 E. South College St. in Yellow Springs.
Cash provided by the independent college on the closing date would total $6.5 million, including $5 million cash at closing and $1.5 million for bonds payable.
The boards will attempt to finalize the definitive agreements within 90 days of signing the letter of intent.
Antioch College closed June 30, 2008 because of declining enrollment and other issues.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2419 or dlarsen@DaytonDailyNews.com.
Another step taken towards a new Antioch College
By Dave Larsen
Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
DAYTON — A newly independent Antioch College moved one step closer to reality on Tuesday, Jan. 13, with the approval of a letter of intent by the boards of Antioch University and the Antioch College Continuation Corporation.
"This letter of intent seeks to protect the interests of Antioch University while creating the prospect for a newly independent and viable Antioch College," said Richard Detweiler, president of the Great Lakes Colleges Association. "This letter of intent, while not binding on the parties, establishes the framework to negotiate a more detailed and comprehensive definitive agreement."
Detweiler is the mediator and chair of a task force of alumni and trustee representatives that has worked since August 2008 to create a new, fully independent Antioch College.
The letter of intent, dated Jan. 9, between the Antioch University Board of Trustees and the Board Pro Tempore of the Antioch College Continuation Corporation outlines the terms and conditions under which the two boards intend to enter into one or more definitive agreements.
Under the basic terms and conditions of the transaction, Antioch University would license the right to use the name "Antioch College" to the independent college.
The independent college would acquire the right and title to assets including the Antioch College campus in Yellow Springs, the real estate comprising Glen Helen Nature Preserve, the "Antioch Review" periodical, the Coretta Scott King Center assets, and the real estate associated with the university's power plant.
Antioch University would retain assets including WYSO-FM (91.3) radio and its associated FCC licenses, the Antioch Education Abroad program, and the Kettering Building at 150 E. South College St. in Yellow Springs.
Cash provided by the independent college on the closing date would total $6.5 million, including $5 million cash at closing and $1.5 million for bonds payable.
The boards will attempt to finalize the definitive agreements within 90 days of signing the letter of intent.
Antioch College closed June 30, 2008 because of declining enrollment and other issues.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2419 or dlarsen@DaytonDailyNews.com.
10 January 2009
Seeing More Clearly
The Champion Window installers came on Monday, and I was impressed. They replaced the window in the living room, the two windows in the front bedroom, and the patio door (the new one has little blinds between the panes of glass).
All that remains is the 8-foot wide window in my bedroom and the 4-foot wide window in the kitchen. That's another $1500, so will have to wait until I see that the tax refund looks like.
Champion was founded here in Cincinnati, and has become a national firm. Their reputation is pretty solid, and I saw why during the installation. The installers were polite, neat and thorough, and after the installation, explained the warranty in detail and gave me all the information I could ever want. Then they left, with a handshake and a "Thanks for using Champion."
Despite the cold outside, I've already noticed that the furnace isn't cycling on as frequently as usual, so I'm hoping that these energy-efficient windows will mean lower gas and electric bills.
I ran out the same night and bought new curtains for the living room and bedroom windows, and both rooms now have a new look. The yellow walls of the living room are now complemented with pale gold faux silk curtains with light cotton semi sheers underneath (they have a lovely lace border.). The bedroom, which has periwinkle walls, now has creamy damask balloon curtains.
The patio door will get a white wooden rod and white tabbed curtains eventually, replacing the former very 80's vertical blinds. The room is painted in two shades of yellow with white woodwork and a cobalt and gold border paper above the chair rail. I think the white curtains will look great, softening the expanse of glass in the doors, and will usually be open. There is a white wooden shelf about the door that has part of my teapot collection arrayed on it . There are 15 teapots, in shades of white, yellow, gold and blue.
Rehearsals started up again on Tuesday, and it was good to get back to music. We've begun to learn Ralph Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony, and it's difficult. We have only 5 more rehearsals to learn it, so homework will be needed.
Also on Monday, I came back to work after the long break for the holidays. Things are still pretty quiet. I've got one major regulatory project mandated by the FDIC, as well as a number of small maintanance projects for an existing system. All our systems will continue to run for two years, as customers are going to be converted to the other bank's systems by geographic areas over the conversion period. Once they're all converted, we'll turn the switch and we'll all be together for real.
I'm not yet involved with any conversion projects, but I'm hoping that I will be -- which would mean continued employment for a while. This not knowing what's going to happen business is irritating. The other bank doesn't seem to have a clue as to how to approach such a massive integration of customers (they have 2.5 million accounts, we have 4 million) so we're doing most of the work, it appears. That's a good thing, and should keep some of us employed for a while. I hope I'm one of them.
All that remains is the 8-foot wide window in my bedroom and the 4-foot wide window in the kitchen. That's another $1500, so will have to wait until I see that the tax refund looks like.
Champion was founded here in Cincinnati, and has become a national firm. Their reputation is pretty solid, and I saw why during the installation. The installers were polite, neat and thorough, and after the installation, explained the warranty in detail and gave me all the information I could ever want. Then they left, with a handshake and a "Thanks for using Champion."
Despite the cold outside, I've already noticed that the furnace isn't cycling on as frequently as usual, so I'm hoping that these energy-efficient windows will mean lower gas and electric bills.
I ran out the same night and bought new curtains for the living room and bedroom windows, and both rooms now have a new look. The yellow walls of the living room are now complemented with pale gold faux silk curtains with light cotton semi sheers underneath (they have a lovely lace border.). The bedroom, which has periwinkle walls, now has creamy damask balloon curtains.
The patio door will get a white wooden rod and white tabbed curtains eventually, replacing the former very 80's vertical blinds. The room is painted in two shades of yellow with white woodwork and a cobalt and gold border paper above the chair rail. I think the white curtains will look great, softening the expanse of glass in the doors, and will usually be open. There is a white wooden shelf about the door that has part of my teapot collection arrayed on it . There are 15 teapots, in shades of white, yellow, gold and blue.
Rehearsals started up again on Tuesday, and it was good to get back to music. We've begun to learn Ralph Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony, and it's difficult. We have only 5 more rehearsals to learn it, so homework will be needed.
Also on Monday, I came back to work after the long break for the holidays. Things are still pretty quiet. I've got one major regulatory project mandated by the FDIC, as well as a number of small maintanance projects for an existing system. All our systems will continue to run for two years, as customers are going to be converted to the other bank's systems by geographic areas over the conversion period. Once they're all converted, we'll turn the switch and we'll all be together for real.
I'm not yet involved with any conversion projects, but I'm hoping that I will be -- which would mean continued employment for a while. This not knowing what's going to happen business is irritating. The other bank doesn't seem to have a clue as to how to approach such a massive integration of customers (they have 2.5 million accounts, we have 4 million) so we're doing most of the work, it appears. That's a good thing, and should keep some of us employed for a while. I hope I'm one of them.
07 January 2009
Romantic Off-Broadway Musical Brings Love to OTR
Play about finding love where it’s least expected to show at Know Theatre
Know Theatre of Cincinnati is excited to announce the regional premiere of Joshua Salzman and Ryan Cunningham’s hit Off-Broadway musical I Love You Because. I Love You Because will open on Saturday, January 17 and close February 21 with two performances on Valentine’s Day.
I Love You Because is a modern day telling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Set in New York City, the six-person cast, comprised entirely of the Know Theatre's Resident Acting Company, takes the audience on an adventure through two completely different relationships between four lovably awkward characters.
When Austin, a conservative greeting card writer, discovers that his long-time girlfriend has been cheating on him, he thinks his life is over. His knuckleheaded brother Jeff immediately runs to his rescue and encourages him to play the field. In no time, the two are on a double date with best friends Marcy, a free-spirited photographer, and Diana, a number-crunching actuary. Marcy is wild and liberal and knows just how to push Austin's conservative buttons. Diana is an actuary who tries to teach Jeff to be practical in his life.
While the individuals in the relationships contrast vastly, their love develops in interesting and comedic ways. The musical tells the story of two unlikely relationships that somehow make sense, and how each of the characters learn how to let themselves fall in love again.
Director Jason Bruffy believes that Cincinnati will fall in love with I Love You Because. "It's a wickedly funny musical with enough heart to make the cynic in all of us melt," says Bruffy. "It's a perfect musical for a romantic date or a date with friends!"
I Love You Because debuted in 2005 at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and became an immediate hit. Since then it has played across the country and internationally at Broadway Overseas Theatre in Korea (December 2007), and Royal Holloway Music Theatre Society in the United Kingdom (March 2007). Know Theatre will host the Midwest regional premiere of this internationally acclaimed musical.
I Love You Because will be directed by Artistic Director Jason Bruffy and will feature resident actors Fang Du, Courtney Brown, Daniel Hines, Jenny Guy, Ayla Ocasia, and Babs Ipaye. I Love You Because is sponsored by The Court Family Foundation.
The opening night party on Saturday, Jan. 17th will be sponsored by Rick Robertson and Tim Conway. Food will be provided by Mixx Ultra Lounge and wine will be provided by City Cellars. The opening night party starts at 7:00 pm, performance at 8:00 pm with reception to follow.
Tickets for the entire season are $12 thanks to a generous partnership with the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./US Bank Foundation, and can be obtained online at knowtheatre.com or by calling the Know Theatre box office at (513) 300-KNOW (5669).
Synopsis:
Set in New York City, this musical comedy follows Austin Bennet, a young greeting card writer, whose life is turned upside down when he finds his girlfriend with another man. Forced back out into the treacherous New York dating scene, Austin meets Marcy, whose spontaneity is matched only by her ability to drive him insane. It's a comedy that explores the rules and nuances of dating and reminds us that true romance is learning how to love someone, not in spite of their differences, but because of them.
Bios:
Joshua Salzman (music) and Ryan Cunningham (book and lyrics) met at the NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. Their thesis musical, "I Love You Because", went on to be professionally produced Off-Broadway, earned a Drama Desk nomination for the team, spawned a cast album on PS Classics, and garnered a licensing deal with Theatrical Rights Worldwide, resulting in productions both nationally and internationally. They continue their collaboration with many projects; "Queen Esther", a family musical comedy based on the story of Purim, commissioned by the Kauffman Center; "Next Thing You Know", a song cycle currently in development with director John Simpkins; and as contributing songwriters on the Disney Channel's "Johnny and the Sprites." Their song "Just Not Now" from "I Love You Because" was featured on Lauren Kennedy's new solo album "Here and Now". Ryan and Joshua are both members of the BMI Advanced Writing Workshop, ASCAP and the Dramatist Guild.
Creative Team:
Director: Jason Bruffy
Musical Director: Michael Flohr
Lighting/Set Designer: Andrew Hungerford
Sound Designer/Engineer: Doug Borntrager
Stage Manager: Marcie Schellenberger
Assistant Stage Manager: Rachel Collins
Cast:
Austin- Fang Du
Jeff- Daniel Hines
Marcy- Courtney Brown
Diana- Jenny Guy
Man- Babs Ipaye
Woman- Ayla Ocasio
Know Theatre of Cincinnati is excited to announce the regional premiere of Joshua Salzman and Ryan Cunningham’s hit Off-Broadway musical I Love You Because. I Love You Because will open on Saturday, January 17 and close February 21 with two performances on Valentine’s Day.
I Love You Because is a modern day telling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Set in New York City, the six-person cast, comprised entirely of the Know Theatre's Resident Acting Company, takes the audience on an adventure through two completely different relationships between four lovably awkward characters.
When Austin, a conservative greeting card writer, discovers that his long-time girlfriend has been cheating on him, he thinks his life is over. His knuckleheaded brother Jeff immediately runs to his rescue and encourages him to play the field. In no time, the two are on a double date with best friends Marcy, a free-spirited photographer, and Diana, a number-crunching actuary. Marcy is wild and liberal and knows just how to push Austin's conservative buttons. Diana is an actuary who tries to teach Jeff to be practical in his life.
While the individuals in the relationships contrast vastly, their love develops in interesting and comedic ways. The musical tells the story of two unlikely relationships that somehow make sense, and how each of the characters learn how to let themselves fall in love again.
Director Jason Bruffy believes that Cincinnati will fall in love with I Love You Because. "It's a wickedly funny musical with enough heart to make the cynic in all of us melt," says Bruffy. "It's a perfect musical for a romantic date or a date with friends!"
I Love You Because debuted in 2005 at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and became an immediate hit. Since then it has played across the country and internationally at Broadway Overseas Theatre in Korea (December 2007), and Royal Holloway Music Theatre Society in the United Kingdom (March 2007). Know Theatre will host the Midwest regional premiere of this internationally acclaimed musical.
I Love You Because will be directed by Artistic Director Jason Bruffy and will feature resident actors Fang Du, Courtney Brown, Daniel Hines, Jenny Guy, Ayla Ocasia, and Babs Ipaye. I Love You Because is sponsored by The Court Family Foundation.
The opening night party on Saturday, Jan. 17th will be sponsored by Rick Robertson and Tim Conway. Food will be provided by Mixx Ultra Lounge and wine will be provided by City Cellars. The opening night party starts at 7:00 pm, performance at 8:00 pm with reception to follow.
Tickets for the entire season are $12 thanks to a generous partnership with the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./US Bank Foundation, and can be obtained online at knowtheatre.com or by calling the Know Theatre box office at (513) 300-KNOW (5669).
Synopsis:
Set in New York City, this musical comedy follows Austin Bennet, a young greeting card writer, whose life is turned upside down when he finds his girlfriend with another man. Forced back out into the treacherous New York dating scene, Austin meets Marcy, whose spontaneity is matched only by her ability to drive him insane. It's a comedy that explores the rules and nuances of dating and reminds us that true romance is learning how to love someone, not in spite of their differences, but because of them.
Bios:
Joshua Salzman (music) and Ryan Cunningham (book and lyrics) met at the NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. Their thesis musical, "I Love You Because", went on to be professionally produced Off-Broadway, earned a Drama Desk nomination for the team, spawned a cast album on PS Classics, and garnered a licensing deal with Theatrical Rights Worldwide, resulting in productions both nationally and internationally. They continue their collaboration with many projects; "Queen Esther", a family musical comedy based on the story of Purim, commissioned by the Kauffman Center; "Next Thing You Know", a song cycle currently in development with director John Simpkins; and as contributing songwriters on the Disney Channel's "Johnny and the Sprites." Their song "Just Not Now" from "I Love You Because" was featured on Lauren Kennedy's new solo album "Here and Now". Ryan and Joshua are both members of the BMI Advanced Writing Workshop, ASCAP and the Dramatist Guild.
Creative Team:
Director: Jason Bruffy
Musical Director: Michael Flohr
Lighting/Set Designer: Andrew Hungerford
Sound Designer/Engineer: Doug Borntrager
Stage Manager: Marcie Schellenberger
Assistant Stage Manager: Rachel Collins
Cast:
Austin- Fang Du
Jeff- Daniel Hines
Marcy- Courtney Brown
Diana- Jenny Guy
Man- Babs Ipaye
Woman- Ayla Ocasio
03 January 2009
Graduation Day
On December 19, 49 graduates of the Cincinnati Police Academy threw their hats into the air and you could see the relief on their faces, as well as their pride. They had just completed 26 grueling weeks at one of the most rigorous police academies in the country, and this time, every single person who started the program finished, which is unusual.
At the academy, they learned about law, self-defense, cultural differences, mental health issues, marksmanship and probably completed thousands of pushups apiece. They ran several thousand miles. Two of the class members lost over 50 pounds apiece (one of those two lost 83 pounds!). The class valedictorian had a degree in Biology (with a minor in Chemistry) and a large number had bachelor’s degrees in Criminal Justice or Criminology. There were many with military service (including Iraq and Afghanistan) and one man had 24 years in the U.S. Army. One was a brand-new US Citizen (from France) with family members service in police organizations in France and the Netherlands. She had only been here ten years, but in the time learned English, got a GED, took college classes and earned her citizenship.
David was dethroned as the oldest-ever CPD rookie. Louis Arnold, 56, the father of a Cincinnati Police officer was in the class. David was 54 when he graduated, 53 when he started the Academy.
Although he no longer has that age-related distinction, he is now a Field Training Officer and he will train some of the new grads as they complete their 6 month probationary period, taking them along with him on patrol for two of the six months.
David started off the ceremonies with a stirring rendition of the National Anthem. I didn’t get the first couple of words, but the rest is on the video above.
A local TV station covered the event and included a video on their website:
When you look at that video, I appear briefly (right after the announcer’s picture disappears) as the blonde in the gray sweater in the front row of the audience (with my back to you). So now you know who I am!
22 October 2008
Gilbert Kaplan and Mahler 2
Friday and Saturday night we (the Cincinnati May Festival Chorus ) performed the Mahler 2nd Symphony with Gilbert Kaplan and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
The concerts went well.
It was a fun experience to work with Mr. Kaplan. He's a little stiff as a conductor, but his obvious passion for the work carried him through. The orchestra was little ragged here and there, but by and large, they did the piece justice.
The Mahler 2 is a wonderful thing, and even a bad performance of it is better than a great performance of many other works -- and this was not a bad performance by any stretch of the imagination. There are places in it that move me to tears every time I hear it.
Being able to sit on the stage and watch it being performed is a rare privilege. And a live performance is infinitely more exciting than any recording.
As a singer, my only problem with the piece is that after waiting for an hour and quarter, getting wrapped up in the splendor of it all, I always wonder if any sound will come out of our mouths when it's time to sing "Auf erstehen." Eventually the sound comes, but those anxious few seconds before it does are terrifying.
I've been lucky enough to perform the piece with several conductors. In my opinion, the best was with Jesus Lopez-Cobos. James Conlon, whose performances are usually more about James Conlon instead of about the music, does a fine job with the Mahler 2 as well.
Kaplan, on the other hand, has a metronome in his head and approaches the music almost scientifically, never taking a chance or varying his approach. The emotional content of the performance does not come from Kaplan -- it comes from the music itself. The music on the page, if played in time and together, can't really be screwed up. Mahler's genius will always come through.
As a conductor, Kaplan is OK. He is a precise conductor. From intense and in-depth research, he knows (or at least believes he knows) what Mahler's intentions were, and conducts accordingly. He set his precise tempos and interpretation, and the music and the musicians did the rest.
Under another conductor, it might have been more polished or more emotional, or more something else, but it was still Mahler's music and Mahler's genius that was the star of the show and you can't go wrong with that.
I feel privileged to have participated in the performance. I find it hard to understand how the mind of one man could generate such an incredible work.
Bravo to Mahler. Bravo to the orchestra. And Bravo to Gilbert Kaplan for loving the music and promoting it all over the world. His intriguing story brings new listeners to this wonderful piece.
The concerts went well.
It was a fun experience to work with Mr. Kaplan. He's a little stiff as a conductor, but his obvious passion for the work carried him through. The orchestra was little ragged here and there, but by and large, they did the piece justice.
The Mahler 2 is a wonderful thing, and even a bad performance of it is better than a great performance of many other works -- and this was not a bad performance by any stretch of the imagination. There are places in it that move me to tears every time I hear it.
Being able to sit on the stage and watch it being performed is a rare privilege. And a live performance is infinitely more exciting than any recording.
As a singer, my only problem with the piece is that after waiting for an hour and quarter, getting wrapped up in the splendor of it all, I always wonder if any sound will come out of our mouths when it's time to sing "Auf erstehen." Eventually the sound comes, but those anxious few seconds before it does are terrifying.
I've been lucky enough to perform the piece with several conductors. In my opinion, the best was with Jesus Lopez-Cobos. James Conlon, whose performances are usually more about James Conlon instead of about the music, does a fine job with the Mahler 2 as well.
Kaplan, on the other hand, has a metronome in his head and approaches the music almost scientifically, never taking a chance or varying his approach. The emotional content of the performance does not come from Kaplan -- it comes from the music itself. The music on the page, if played in time and together, can't really be screwed up. Mahler's genius will always come through.
As a conductor, Kaplan is OK. He is a precise conductor. From intense and in-depth research, he knows (or at least believes he knows) what Mahler's intentions were, and conducts accordingly. He set his precise tempos and interpretation, and the music and the musicians did the rest.
Under another conductor, it might have been more polished or more emotional, or more something else, but it was still Mahler's music and Mahler's genius that was the star of the show and you can't go wrong with that.
I feel privileged to have participated in the performance. I find it hard to understand how the mind of one man could generate such an incredible work.
Bravo to Mahler. Bravo to the orchestra. And Bravo to Gilbert Kaplan for loving the music and promoting it all over the world. His intriguing story brings new listeners to this wonderful piece.
15 October 2008
Knitting, Mahler 2nd, other miscellany
I finished the vest illustrated here the other night, in slightly different colors. It looks awesome over a white long-sleeved shirt. Can't wait for the weather to cool off so I can wear it.
I also finished another vest , that one a pullover, that's been sitting in the knitting basket waiting for the neckline ribbing for about six years. It's made in a celadon green twisty yarn with narrow vertical cables and knitted-on pockets. I'm very pleased with how it came out, but it's going to have to get really cold before I can wear it, since it's so heavy.
Well, the bank hasn't been sold, so I guess the rumors of an immanent merger / acquisition weren't as accurate as they were cracked up to be. Our stock has gone up about 40% since I bought some last week. I wish I had bought more -- it would have been worth going into debt to buy them, but it's too late now, and it's really too much of a gamble to do that anyway.
With all the other mergers and acquisitions, we're now the ninth largest bank in the country, but we weren't invited to the table in Washington over the weekend. If we had been, that would have sent a message that we're in bad shape, and that we weren't sent the same message. You can't win.
We have the highest tier I capital ratio of any bank in the country, but the market still hasn't figured that out yet.
I had a good day today. It's another "Work at Home Wednesday," my normal pattern these days, but with a twist. The project lead on one of my projects is an all-the-time telecommuter, and we had a meeting today. Instead of going to the office, we met at a cute restaurant halfway between our homes and had a great working lunch. The food was great, and we accomplished our task. It was a beautiful day, but although it looked very fall-like, the temperature was in the 80's.
We (the May Festival Chorus) rehearsed with Gilbert Kaplan last night on the Mahler 2nd. He was impressed with us. He was apparently unaware that some of us have sung the damned thing almost as many times as he's conducted it. Well, not exactly -- but I sang it as far back as 1981, which was two years before he first conducted it.
I was sort of impressed with him, primarily because of his passion for the piece. He had facsimiles made for us of the opening choral parts in Mahler's own hand, a nice gesture, with the names and dates of our performances at the bottom, suitable for framing, I guess. He presented Bob with a facsimile of the entire choral section, with all of Mahler's ink colors, intact -- from black, to blue, to purple at the end (it gets really passionate at the end).
His conducting was easy to follow, much better than that of many of the big shots we've worked with. One of my good friends in the chorus worked with him before, when she sang with the London Symphony Orchestra Chorus. She related how rude the musicians were to him -- taking forever to tune the timpani, delaying the start of the rehearsal in the process, and then ignoring his direction and playing however they damned pleased. Half the chorus refused to sing, and they had to bring in outside singers.
The stories I've heard about that orchestra and its arrogance have always amazed me. The musicians usually step out to the pubs during rehearsal breaks and seem to have little respect for anything or anyone but themselves. The chorus' rehearsal discipline is apparently appalling as well.
Bob gave us a pep talk last night after Kaplan left, telling us how proud he was of us and our rehearsal with Kaplan. "People some to the midwest and always seem surprised that something this good should be here -- as if the midwest was in the backwoods somewhere. New York City does not have a chorus half as good as you are. Your discipline and work ethic and talent always amaze me -- and you should be proud." Then we worked a little on the Brahms Requiem and he let us go an hour early.
There will be no orchestra run through -- just the dress rehearsl tomorrow night, and Kaplan is being good enough to do the choral movement first, so we can leave early. Performances are Friday and Saturday at eight. If you're in the region, please come. It will be worth any trip -- the piece is amazing (like Kaplan, I, too, have a passion for Mahler). Details of the performance can be found at: http://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/Events/Details/oct17-18cso0809.asp
Tomorrow at lunch I need to look for some artwork for David's house for his 60th birthday on Sunday. When Carol moved out she took all of her little pictures of cats and her gawdawful crewel embroidery off the walls, (thank god - her taste was pure kitsch), his house has had bare spots ever since and he needs some decent art to hang there. He bought her furniture, but he's in the process of replacing 99% of it, so it's finally beginning to look as if a man lives there.
I guess that's it. I need to do some laundry.
05 October 2008
Celebrate!
Thursday was a busy day of dining out experiences. David was downtown singing for the Rotary luncheon of bigwigs at the Hall of Mirrors at the Netherland Hotel (nice work if you can get it -- he shows up, sings, leaves, and gets paid for a full shift). He blew off lunch there to meet me.Hall of Mirrors:
We met in my building's lobby: (While it says PNC bank on top, I don't work for them). I work in the annex, the low building at the left)
We headed for Tiffany's to find a present for Alex. Alex turned 23 on Thursday, which doesn't seem possible, but -- there you are. I bought her the Venetian Link Bracelet, which turned out to be the perfect choice -- at night in the right light it sparkles as if it were diamonds.
After Tiffany's we went for a quick lunch of wraps at Roly Poly -- not exactly Tiffany-esque, but much better than a PB&J at my desk.
After Tiffany's we went for a quick lunch of wraps at Roly Poly -- not exactly Tiffany-esque, but much better than a PB&J at my desk.
After lunch, we walked back to my office and he came up to see where I work. He was wearing his dress uniform, and looked very impressive. Of course, he had the gun and the taser and all the rest of the weaponry, too, which I could have done without. Oh, well.
He walked back to his car, and I went back to work. At day's end, I ran home, picked up a couple of things of Alex's and drove to her apartment to pick up Alex and Justin for dinner.
Alex decided that Pekoe's birthday is the same as hers, so she bought the silly cat a birthday present.
A fish.
In a bowl.
Swimming.
The cat is scared of it.
Dinner was costly, but delightful. The place was Nicola's Ristorante, a hip place located in Over the Rhine in an old car barn for the incline cars from streetcar days. It's a pretty special place, with fabulous food and the possibility of spending as much as $400 for a bottle of wine. We didn't do that. We had the three-course tasting menu, with wine.
The waiter brought us water and bread. The bread selection was a work of art. The bowl was about eight inches across, and was filled to at least eight inches above the top of the bowl.
There was enough bread for a table of ten people. There was a huge variety -- probably 20 different things -- and the variety was interesting. There were little one inch pillows with a filling we couldn't identify, cracker-shaped flatbreads with cucumber or tomato or onion slices baked in, slices of cake-like herb breads, crusty rolls, dark bread, light bread, you name it. Inserted into the pile of bread were reed-like breadsticks about 18 inches long. It looked like a flower arrangement. Beautiful. And delicious.
The waiter solemnly intoned that he wouldn't bring the first course until we had finished all the bread. Alex believed him.
After the bread, they started us off with complimentary champagne.
Before the main courses, they brough out a complimentary (not even on the menu) tomato and basil pudding and butternut squash soup with goat cheese. Then it began:
Seared scallop "Spiaggia" with sauteed shiitake mushrooms, Mache salad, Parmigiano Reggiano and brown butter vinaigrette; Wine: Sauvignon Blanc Alto Adige, San Pietro, 2006
Crispy Potato Gnocchi with four cheese fondue, truffle oil and truffle shavings; Wine: Rosso Piceno Vigna Piediprato, 2005 Umbria
Skinless Peking Duck Breast Confit with seared Grade A Foie Gras, pinenuts and raisin sauteed spinach, celery root puree and jus; Wine: Bardolino superiore Santa Lucia, Veneto 2006.
Justin got a little drunk from the four glasses of wine. The wine was good, and he drained his glasses. Alex and I tasted.
I really enjoyed the Rosso Piceno Vigne Piediprato - it was rich and dry and velvety. I thought the Bardolino was way too acidic, but Alex and Justin liked it. It was interesting that we had such different opinions.
For dessert, we shared an order of gelato -- hazlenut, french vanilla and pink grapefruit sorbet. Yummmmmm.
Then, the waited appeared with one more scoop of gelato, this time dutch chocolate, with a candle for the birthday girl.
When we finished, we had been at the table for nearly three hours. My credit card groaned, but I'm sure the waiter was happy with his $45 tip. He and his cohorts were amazing. Each time we were served with a new plate or glass, three servers appeared and every plate and every glass arrived simultaneusly. The choreography was precise.
As we left, Nicola, the chef, appeared from the kitchen to thank us in his beautiful Italian accent. A wonderful experience, all around.
The meal was reminiscent of Alex's 13th birthday, when a friend took us to Cincinnati's legendary Maisonette, now gone, to celebrate her arrival as a teenager. That meal ended up costing my friend over $400, much more than I spent at Nicola's. That night, Alex drank some of the champagne, and ate snails and marveled at the service and the elegance of it all. I think a monster gourmet was created that night, because she's now a foodie.
It was quite a night, and Christmas will be a little less expensive this year as a result -- but it was worth every penny. Both Alex and Justin really appreciated the experience, and the conversation was a delight. It sparkled like Alex's bracelet.
Alex had a great year -- being recruited by Harvard's theater for her internship, the great work she did there, her graduation from college, being recruited by her theatre company (and how they love what she's done for them!), her involvement at both the local and national level of her college's alumni efforts to revive Antioch College. She's flown my nest and is on her own and is being responsible and happy and so grown up. I'm very proud -- did you guess? The evening was an attempt to show her how very proud I am.
Her father phoned her, a day late, to wish her a happy birthday. But he did phone. I don't expect him to spend money on her. He doesn't have any money to spend, and never has (never a penny of child support), but perhaps he could have sent a card, or come to visit or invited her to his house for dinner. In the past twelve months, he came to her graduation, had her sing at his wedding, and hired her to show houses for an afternoon for an auction he was running on a foreclosed housing development in Kentucky. So in twelve months, he's seen her face to face maybe three times. Grrr.
Friday I indulged myself. I bought a new TV. Circuit City sold me the floor model of a 26" Sony for about $100 less than the usual price, with the same warranty, and it's wonderful. I had been resigned to getting cable or satellite, but I don't think I need to now.
I'm a PBS or Netflix person. In the analog world, I had Cincinnati PBS and a very fuzzy Kentucky PBS, plus CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, and a couple of local independents (with a lot of infomercials). Now I have CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, and a couple of local independents PLUS 2 Cincinnati PBS channels, 4 Kentucky PBS channels, and 5 Dayton PBS channels. So from two PBS stations to 11, I'm in heaven. And of course, all the channels are crystal clear. Bye-bye, analog.
Yesterday's class in Yellow Springs was again an inspiring and electric afternoon. I presented my findings on the role of women as expressed in the Qur'an, and told of my plans to contrast that with the teachings of the Haditha and Islamic traditions next week. We read some Old Testament stories in both the Qur'anic and Biblical versions to see the differences, which were subtle, and talked a lot about current Islamic behavior.
One of our class members lived in Bahrain for a couple of years and has some interesting observations. He's taking the class to better understand his experiences there. He knows nothing about the the Qur'an, or the Bible either, for that matter, so he's learning both of the traditions at once and has great questions that inspire fascinating discussions.
I'm so glad I signed up for this class. It's worth driving 150 miles each Saturday to do it.
________________________
My Sister
It's hard for me to think about Connie without tears. It has been just thirty years since she died, but I still miss her terribly. She was my role model, my ideal.
Outside of the farm and the kids and teaching, she was a force to be reckoned with. She sang in the choir at church, and got lots of laughs as a member of a ridiculous vocal group called "The Lee Sisters." They were Ug-lee, Ghast-lee, and Beast-lee. The accompanist was Marian Dud-lee.
I remember the first time I saw them perform. I was home from college and went to a fireman's show at the school, with local talent doing silly things (it was a replacement for the politically incorrect minstrel shows that they had done for many years). I had no idea that they even had a group, much less that they were coming on stage. Out came three women in fright wigs and strange makeup, singing songs about being pregnant and about udder supports for cows. They were hilarious. They sang at events all over the county, much like my high school trio had done -- farm bureau banquets and the like.
Apparently she sang in high school and I think was in her senior play. Of course, I wasn't around, so I only have memories from long ago of things I heard as a child. She played a little piano, although not as much as mom and I did. She played cornet in the high school band, too, I think.
She was 17 when I was born. She graduated from high school a month after my birth, and went off to Alfred University (the school of Ceramic Design) that fall. She was a bit overwhelmed at Alfred, and thought she didn't have the talent needed to compete with the more sophisticated students from NY city (she was wrong).
The summer after her freshman year, she took some courses at Cornell, and transferred to what was then Buffalo State Teachers' College. (The University of Buffalo was private then and had not yet become part of SUNY, and there was a separate state school just for teachers.) She majored in Home Economics.
She put herself through school by working as what we'd now call an au pair, living with dentist's family in Buffalo. She graduated in 1950.
That fall, she started teaching, and just taught home economics for one year. She and Bob married in August of 1951. Bob had started school at Cornell before the war and had finished up his degree in Agricultural Engineering in 1948 once the war was over. I believe he served in the European theater, I think with General Patton's tank corps.
Once they married, they moved into the big house on the farm that Bob had just bought. I remember when they first moved in that the place was a disaster. It had been lived in by some bachelor hired men, and was a real mess.
Milli arrived about 11 months after the wedding, and the boys arrived at regular intervals after that. Connie was pretty busy being a mother and helping to keep the books for the farm and keep Bob and the hired men fed. When Grant, the fifth and youngest, was about three, our mother, who had retired, came to the farm to help out, and Connie went back to teaching, this time teaching art. She didn't have the proper credentials, but she took classes at RIT in Rochester at night and got the certification she needed.Outside of the farm and the kids and teaching, she was a force to be reckoned with. She sang in the choir at church, and got lots of laughs as a member of a ridiculous vocal group called "The Lee Sisters." They were Ug-lee, Ghast-lee, and Beast-lee. The accompanist was Marian Dud-lee.
I remember the first time I saw them perform. I was home from college and went to a fireman's show at the school, with local talent doing silly things (it was a replacement for the politically incorrect minstrel shows that they had done for many years). I had no idea that they even had a group, much less that they were coming on stage. Out came three women in fright wigs and strange makeup, singing songs about being pregnant and about udder supports for cows. They were hilarious. They sang at events all over the county, much like my high school trio had done -- farm bureau banquets and the like.
Apparently she sang in high school and I think was in her senior play. Of course, I wasn't around, so I only have memories from long ago of things I heard as a child. She played a little piano, although not as much as mom and I did. She played cornet in the high school band, too, I think.
Connie was very active in the county Farm Bureau. She was also instrumental in getting zoning laws for the Town -- they hadn't existed before. She pretty much steamrolled that into happening.
I don't know how she managed it all, trying to raise five kids and being so involved in the community. Somehow, she managed, despite the frustrations of not being able to be perfect at everything. She was not the greatest housekeeper (it runs in the family -- my house is always a disaster, too -- but she had five kids; I have no excuse). She would, like me, start projects that somehow didn't always get finished, and there were always too many books around (same here).
She also had the family photography and gadget bug -- with good cameras being proud possessions. I think that, had she lived, she would have been as crazy about computer technology and the assorted related gadgets as I am. We both inherited that from our father's side of the family -- the more gadgets the better.She was a great cook (so was our mother). She also had some health-food obsessions. I used to hate eating breakfast at her house, because I was forced to drink mass quantities of brewer's yeast in a tall glass of orange juice. I still gag at the memory of how awful it was.
I think that she decided (like me) that an interesting life, raising your children well, improving your mind, pursuing your bliss and surrounding yourself with worthwhile people were more important that a clean house and a tidy life.
Before she died, she said something that I've tried to keep as my mantra. "This isn't fair. But nobody said life was fair. As I look back on my life, I can say that I loved every single minute of it." I want to be able to say that when my time comes.
She lived life to the fullest. She was a fascinating woman with an excellent mind, many talents and unlimited energies. She produced five fabulous children from the happiest marriage I've ever seen. I am proud to be her sister.
21 September 2008
Taking a Class on the Qur'an and People Who Ask Why
Why? People are asking why I would be taking a course on the Qur’an.
First of all, I’m taking the class because it’s being offered by the Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute, the little do-it-yourself college being set up by the alumni and former faculty of Antioch College. Its efforts are intended to keep the unique spirit of Antioch alive. I want to be some little part of that effort because Antioch was so important to the person my wonderful daughter has become, and because Antioch’s graduates have made a real difference in our world – and I want that to continue.
So, I went through the proposed courses, and found four on Saturdays (the only day I can attend, since the campus is 70+ miles away):
The Qur’an, Muhammed and Islam
Principles of Photography
A History of the American Civil Rights Movement (taught by a distinguished retired Antioch professor, whose brother was one of three white civil rights workers murdered in Meridian, Mississippi in 1964)
The last two classes ended up not being offered, so here I am, reading the Qur’an.
As to why this should interest me, why not? Had the class been on Zen, or the Tao, of Shinto, I would have been equally interested.
What I really find interesting is that so many people ask me why I would want to do this. The simplest explanation is that I think it's important to understand my fellow man.
First, some background:
They say that there are three subjects that, in order to avoid conflict, should never be discussed in polite company: politics, sex, and religion. I’m going to talk about the last one now, so be forewarned. Here goes:
Let me first say that I respect the right of people to hold their own beliefs, whatever they may be. I am a tolerant person. The stories of my Puritan and later, Quaker, ancestors taught me about the freedom of religion and its honored place in our American history. One ancestor signed the Flushing Remonstrance, the first North American document that prescribed religious tolerance and freedom of worship. I have a rich heritage to honor.
Let me also say that as a respecter of the rights of others to their respective religions, that I hope others would exert the same tolerance in my direction. I do not believe in the right of anyone to proselytize unless the recipient of the proselytizing has given consent.
At the age of five or six, I came to the conclusion that the bible stories I was being taught in Sunday school were really nice stories, with lessons to be learned from most of them. I did not, however, differentiate them from other stories, such as Aesop’s fables, or Grimm’s fairy tales. At the same time, I was reading a lot of mythological stories , such as the story of Pandora’s box, Beowulf, Perseus and the Gorgon, and so forth. I was enthralled with them all.
I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about in church. Why did the minister and Sunday school teacher confine themselves to just the biblical and Christian history stories (Luther, Calvin, etc.)? The other stories were valuable, too.
Eventually, all the talk of God and Jesus finally got through to me, and I understood the concept of divinity. There was something supernatural about many of these characters—as there was about the ones in the other stories. However, for some reason, the supernatural characters in the bible stories warranted worship, while the gods in the Greek and Norse tales were described as being only the amusing stories of primitive peoples.
Then there was the Catholic church in the next village. For some reason, it was located on a back street near the cemetery, out of sight. The protestant churches stood proudly on the main street. Somehow, the Catholics were something to be ashamed of. Children at school giggled when Catholic children couldn’t read the books the rest of us were reading, because they were on “the list.” Those Catholic children couldn’t even understand their minister, who they called a “priest,” because he conducted services in another language.
The Jewish family in the next village was well-liked, but their Jewishness set them somewhat apart (although, oddly enough, not as far apart as the Catholics).
I chewed on these thoughts for a long time—and still do. Why was it that our community had so many different groups: Baptists, Presbyterians, Jews, Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Catholics, Dutch Reformeds, Methodists, Presbyterians? We even had a “Federated” (Presbyterians and Baptists) church and a “Union” church (Disciples of Christ and Dutch Reformed). How interesting it was that people were one or the other because their families were one or the other. Democrats and Republicans (the other local religions) didn’t necessarily have the same familial connection. Why was that?
What if you decided to be a Jew and were born a Presbyterian? Of course, no one I knew did anything like that. Catholics were what they were, and didn’t change. Protestants didn’t either.
It seemed interesting to me that an accident of birth determined one’s religious path for life. Since each denomination was convinced that their way was the right way, it was sort of unfair that the rest of the world was accidentally being led astray.
Who was right? Was anyone right? Did the Bible, or Aesop, or the Norse, or the Greeks, for that matter, have a lock on correctness? Were these the only answers? What was the question?
My conclusion was that religion is a feeble attempt to answer universal questions.
And, you may ask, what are those questions? Here is a list, by no means exhaustive:
1. Where did we come from?
2. Who/what is the creator of this universe?
3. Does this creator still exist?
4. Does this creator care about us?
5. Is this creator all powerful?
6. What can we do to appease this creator so that life here will be better?
7. What happens after we die?
8. What can we do to appease the creator so that “life” in the hereafter will be good?
9. Are we alone in the universe?
10. Are we really as insignificant in the universe as we seem to be?
11. Are we really as important in the universe as we seem to think we are?
12. Do any of these questions matter?
My cat has some questions, too:
1. When is dinner?
2. Where is it warm?
3. What is calculus?
Neither human beings nor cats can answer most of these questions. For the cat, dinner is when it’s there. There is no concept of specific times in a cat’s life. It’s warm where it’s warm. Calculus is beyond any cat’s ability to understand, and there is little point in any cat spending any time worrying about it.
For us, most of our questions are analogous to the cat’s calculus questions. It’s highly unlikely that we’ll ever find these answers, and it’s probably just a waste of time to try to answer them.
Astrophysicists, string theorists and particle geeks are exploring the where did we come from question, looking backward in time to the nanoseconds at the beginning of the Big Bang. Now they’re even trying to recreate some of it under the Alps in Switzerland. The closer they get to that very first nanosecond, the more the “laws” of physics don’t seem to apply. Things start to look like calculus does to my cat—incomprehensible.
Our world view has been developed by virtue of the environment in which we live. The “laws” of physics, the concepts of a “beginning” and a “creator”—these all exist because those concepts are part of our experience here in this part of the universe.
Our experience doesn’t really allow for a universe with no beginnings. We think we understand the concept of infinity, but that’s all it is—a concept. It’s difficult to comprehend a universe with no boundaries that just goes on forever. Even the physicists understand the idea only with the aid of complex mathematical constructions. What if the “laws” of mathematics break down at some point, as do the “laws” of physics?
Do we really have the ability to grasp the knowledge we seek?
I think not. To change my mind, convince me that my cat can learn calculus. We’re not ready for answers to these questions until we’ve evolved considerably further. We don’t even know the real questions yet.
Speaking of evolution, who do we think we are, anyway?
We’ve only been around a short time, 2 or 3 million years, perhaps, and already have fouled our nest. There’s no guarantee that we’re going to last much longer. Other species lasted hundreds of times longer than we’ve been here, and managed to become extinct through no fault of their own. Would a species so all-fired important in the scheme of things manage to extinct itself? To me, it sure looks like we’re on the way to accomplishing that.
Are we really certain that we’re the apex of evolution, and that planet earth’s highest achievement has been to grow the human race? Could we perhaps be only one more evolutionary step to the next species, or the next, or the next—and could we be just a very low rung on the evolutionary ladder?
It seems to me to be the height of egocentricity (anthropocentricity?) to assume that the human race is at the center of the universe. It took us a while to realize that the sun and stars don’t revolve around the earth. Eventually we may realize that we’re just another organism in an outlying district of an insignificant galaxy in the backwoods of an infinite universe—and that we’re really not all that important.
Our sole responsibility is to make our lives as comfortable as possible for one another while we’re here. The Golden Rule is a good ethical precept for us to follow. As Jerry Springer says, “Be good to one another.” The reward for good behavior will be right here and now, not later in some heaven.
If it turns out that I’m wrong, it won’t matter. I try to follow the golden rule, and do the best I can to be kind to my fellow man. If there is a heaven, I’ll probably get there. But I don’t worry about it. As Cleo Laine sings, “The least you can do is the best you can.”
_______________________________________
Now that I’ve laid the foundations about my (very strong) opinions, I’ll attempt to respond to the questions I've been asked about why I'm taking a class about Islam:
There is a lot of prejudice in the west about Islam. I think that may be because we don’t separate the cultural from the religious. We hear of a woman sentenced to death by stoning after she was raped and immediately, because it occurred in a Muslim country, attribute the cause of the atrocity to Islam.
Why is it that when we heard of the torture death of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming in 1998 we didn’t blame Christianity?
Religion is most of the world is a part of a culture, but not all of it.
What I’ve learned about Islam, so far:
It is a continuation of the Judeo-Christian tradition. A series of prophets have been given revelations from god.
- Abraham established the idea of monotheism – one god, not many
- Moses was given the ten commandments
- Jesus taught us to love our neighbor
- Muhammed gave us the Qur’an, which tells us how to love our neighbot – a system of ethical behavior.
Islam does not believe Jesus is the son of god. They think we’re all the children of god and that god does not beget – he is way above that, and his ability to create is far and beyond mere begetting. He’s done more important things.
Islam has five “pillars:”
- There is one god, and Muhammed was his prophet
- Prayer – they tend to pray 5 times a day, but there’s not rule that you must – Muslims want to pray
- Charity – giving one-fortieth of all you possess (not just 10% of only your income)
- Observation of Ramadan
- Making a pilgrimage
The basic thing I’ve gleaned so far is that Islam permeates the lives of its adherents – being aware of god and being thankful/appreciative of his creation is something that Muslims try to be aware of all of the time.
The other basic thing that I’ve learned is that, as our professor said yesterday, god is a lot like Santa Claus. He’s “making a list and checking it twice, gonna find out who’s naughty and nice.” The Judgement will come and the graves will open and we’ll be sent off to heaven or hell according to how we’ve lived our life.
Heaven is a place of gardens and cool streams, where Muslims will have “pure spouses.” The claptrap about the 12 virgins awaiting martyrs in heaven appears to be just that – claptrap.
Women were not enslaved by Islam. On the contrart, Muhammed’s revelations from god elevated the status of woman and put an end to the orgiastic polytheism of 7th century Arabia. Sex became restricted to marriage. Women were no longer property. Women could inherit. Divorce was possible, and women could initiate it. Motherhood was made valuable.
Obviously, I’m just beginning my exploration and there’s a lot more to learn.
Islam, like any religion, is practiced according to the interpretation of the faith by its followers. Fundamentalists are often pretty zealous (as in Orthodox Judaism, Evangelical Christianity, fundamentalist Islam). Don’t condemn the faith because of the misguided actions of some of its adherents.
07 September 2008
More about Palin
What follows is an open letter written by a resident of Wasilla, Alaska named Anne Kilkenny.
I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.
She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because she is a “babe”.
It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months. She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby. She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out there” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit. Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans. Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters. She’s smart.
Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents. During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.
Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.
The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.
While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once. These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city. As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.
In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s surplus, borrow for needs.
She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideasor compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.
While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).
As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated” her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska’s top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.
She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.
Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.
When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job.
In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit, exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).
As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.
As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects–which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance–but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.
She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.
Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness.
Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.
As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.
Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked toglobal warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a state initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar bears as threatened species.
McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President. There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she. However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.
CLAIM VS FACT
· “Hockey mom”: true for a few years
· “PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary school, not since
· “NRA supporter”: absolutely true
· social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
· pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.
· “Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation
· “Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.
· political maverick: not at all
· gutsy: absolutely!
· open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.
· has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
· ”a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
· fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
· pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.
· pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents
· pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla’s history.
· pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.
WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar.
For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny + Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.
Secondly, I’ve always operated in the belief that “Bad things happen when good people stay silent”. Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.
Third, I am just a housewife. I don’t have a job she can bump me out of. I don’t belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that’s life.
Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah’s attempt at censorship.
Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla, and I can’t recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall–they are swamped. So I can’t verify my numbers.
You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the population of Wasilla, ranging from my “about 5,000″, up to 9,000. The day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.
_______________________________________
Note: This letter has been verified on Snopes.com as being an actual letter written by Anne Kilkenny, a resident of Wasilla, Alaska.
__________________________________________
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qUVQDmLf7s
I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.
She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because she is a “babe”.
It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months. She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby. She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out there” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit. Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans. Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters. She’s smart.
Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents. During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.
Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.
The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.
While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once. These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city. As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.
In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s surplus, borrow for needs.
She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideasor compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.
While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).
As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated” her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska’s top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.
She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.
Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.
When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job.
In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit, exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).
As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.
As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects–which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance–but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.
She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.
Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness.
Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.
As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.
Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked toglobal warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a state initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar bears as threatened species.
McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President. There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she. However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.
CLAIM VS FACT
· “Hockey mom”: true for a few years
· “PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary school, not since
· “NRA supporter”: absolutely true
· social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
· pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.
· “Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation
· “Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.
· political maverick: not at all
· gutsy: absolutely!
· open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.
· has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
· ”a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
· fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
· pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.
· pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents
· pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla’s history.
· pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.
WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar.
For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny + Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.
Secondly, I’ve always operated in the belief that “Bad things happen when good people stay silent”. Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.
Third, I am just a housewife. I don’t have a job she can bump me out of. I don’t belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that’s life.
Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah’s attempt at censorship.
Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla, and I can’t recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall–they are swamped. So I can’t verify my numbers.
You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the population of Wasilla, ranging from my “about 5,000″, up to 9,000. The day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.
_______________________________________
Note: This letter has been verified on Snopes.com as being an actual letter written by Anne Kilkenny, a resident of Wasilla, Alaska.
__________________________________________
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qUVQDmLf7s
30 August 2008
Oops, wrong Palin!
Well, the pot can no longer call the kettle inexperienced, after his recent choice of a vice-presidential running mate.
“She’s not from these parts, and she’s not from Washington, but when you get to know her, you’re going to be as impressed as I am,” said McCain. How the hell does he know that? He'd only met her once, six months ago.
Better we should elect Michael Palin!
This indicates that he's depending on others to figure things out for him. Scary thought, when we've already had a hands-off president for the last eight years. We don't need more of that.
If elected, he will be the oldest elected first-term president. She, who asked, "What does a VP do all day?" would be next in line.
Scary, scary, scary.
The Republican president in the 80's was already sinking into dementia during his term. Has this one begun a similar process? Sure looks like it.
Thank you, Mr. McCain. I think you've pushed the Republicans out of office. It's about time.
To fill your days between now and the election with giggles, visit this site:
http://www.palinfacts.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
