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July 14, 2010
Update, 7/19/10: As if to underscore my point, the New York Times today has a report on an abortion-related episode of The Family Guy (yet another show I don't watch) that both Fox and Adult Swim declined to air last year. Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane refers to the topic as a "comedy red zone you just shouldn't enter." It's finally coming out on DVD, albeit separated from the rest of the season within which it was produced.
Here's an important New York Times piece, by Ginia Bellafante, about a recent abortion storyline on the (sort of) NBC drama Friday Night Lights. Sort of, because these days Friday Night Lights airs first on DirecTV (and I don't even know what the heck that is, exactly, except that I either can't afford it or can't get the landlord to install it on my roof) and only later creeps onto NBC as a summer rerun, an arrangement that may allow the show to fly under the radar a bit. Important, because if Bellafante is right about Friday Night Lights (I've only seen the series' 2006 pilot), it represents progress of a kind that I've been waiting impatiently for television to make.
Since most of the major taboos of the fifties and sixties are long gone, we sometimes assume that television has no more taboos. That's not true. Yes, television can now depict all of the following things that it once could not, and in a variety of contexts, serious and humorous, positive and negative: violence; gore; graphic sexual talk; promiscuity; homosexuality; nudity (at least on cable); racism and other forms of discrimination; non-white characters and cultures (although stereotypes persist, and there remains a lamentable unwritten prohibition against minority leads, or all-minority casts, in certain types of shows); and all but the most colorful profanity. And probably a lot of other once-forbidden topics that I haven't listed. Remember, no one could say the word "pregnant" even when Lucille Ball was visibly so, and they bleeped out "gas" anytime the gas chambers were mentioned in the Playhouse 90 production of "Judgment at Nuremburg."
As a First Amendment absolutist, I'm all for this kind of progress, even when it doesn't seem like progress. Even when freedom of speech results in something like the xenophobic, torture-happy sludge of 24, there's still a beneficial effect, because thinking people can see the ugliness in what's being shown even if the show's creators are indifferent. But I wish more critics were doing the work that Bellafante has done with considerable insight, which is to point out some of the ground that we've lost during the same time in which it has become permissible for a "good guy" like Jack Bauer to electrocute suspects with a table lamp or slice off their fingers with a cigar cutter.
In an era where the oxymoronic phrase "liberal media" still does not provoke the guffaws it should, it's gratifying to see the paper of record offer the blunt diagnosis that "[f]or years . . . television has consistently leaned to the right on the subject of unwanted pregnancy." Bellafante explains that the teenager in Friday Night Lights who decides to terminate her pregnancy is one of the first TV characters since Maude Findlay of Maude whose abortion is depicted, without much equivocation, as the right choice for her. (That was in 1972.) Bellafante mentions a 2008 Private Practice episode (which I also haven't seen) that examined a woman's decision to have an abortion "with all moral positions respectfully represented." I think that's the key. Every time I've seen a fictional character have an abortion, or confess to a past abortion, there seems to be an obligatory scene meant to undermine that character by implying she will be forever crippled by some vast chasm of remorse. In the guise of objectivity, a kind of anti-feminist judgment is passed. That's a more insidious cultural chill on women's reproductive rights than movies like Knocked Up or Juno (or a Sex in the City plotline cited by Bellafante which, yep, I haven't seen either), in which a character's decision to keep an unplanned child seems so out of character that it launches a productive debate as to the creators' political agenda.
In an era where Roe v. Wade is in real jeopardy, I wish more of our artists would (or could, because many have probably been shut down) take the step into actual abortion rights advocacy or, at least, come up with some scripts that don't tiptoe around the subject. I've written elsewhere about an episode of The Defenders which presented a passionate plea for the legalization of abortion. That was in 1962, and I doubt that as forceful a case for the continued legality of abortion could be made on a network series today. I wish I could be more, er, fair and balanced, and call for the other side to make its case into compelling art too; but at the moment, I don't think the Sarah Palins and Sharron Angles of the real world need a whole lot of help from Hollywood. Or, perhaps, they're getting it already: Bellafante points out that Bristol Palin managed to insert herself into The Secret Life of an American Teenager, a kids' show that offers "didactic and soulless cheerleading for anti-abortion sentiments."
Abortion may be the most taboo of the new taboos, but it isn't the only one. Sometimes I'm surprised by how much left-leaning and even anti-capitalist comment certain shows (namely The Wire) have gotten away with. I think that's because viewers are generally so ill-informed now that detailed political and economic talk goes over their heads, or else the censors think it will go over their heads, or else it goes over the censors' heads. But there is a limit: look at how much vitriol David E. Kelley attracted during the last few seasons of Boston Legal, which contained many impassioned, up-to-the-minute, name-naming tirades against specific officials and policies of the Bush Administration. It's true that Kelley was burned out by that point, and that some of this material took the form of lazy speechifying. But I found it courageous, and cathartic, because Boston Legal seemed to be the only show on television willing to engage the headlines of the day. And much of the criticism directed against Kelley seemed less interested in illuminating the dramaturgical weaknesses in his writing than in scolding him for being the guy at the dinner table who won't shut up about politics.
It may also be impossible now for a television show to suggest that recreational drug use can be a positive, or even a neutral, component of an average person's lifestyle. The closest you can get is a defiant, curmudgeonly chain-smoker like Sharon Gless's character on Burn Notice, or maybe the clownish potheads in the supporting cast of Weeds. I'm not sure that's a great loss, but I know a lot of intelligent people who don't share my own anti-drug stance, and it would be nice to see a character on television who reminds me of them.
The drug issue is my favorite example of a topic where ground has been lost in terms of what you can say about it on television, and Exhibit A is another episode of The Defenders called "Fires of the Mind." In that show, which was made in 1965, Donald Pleasence plays a Timothy Leary-like LSD advocate who is tried for murder after one of his patients commits suicide. What is remarkable about this show is its unwillingness to take as a given the idea that psychotropic drugs are harmful. The father-and-son attorneys fall on either side of a generational split on LSD, with Lawrence Preston (E.G. Marshall) so disgusted that he drops out of the case and his son Kenneth (Robert Reed) curious enough to take an acid trip. Ken is permitted to enthuse about his expanded consciousness without rebuke, and on the witness stand the LSD doctor demonstrates some of the positive effects that drugs have had on his perception and memory.
Bellafante writes that it is "not just the rise of evangelical Christianity" but also "the dramatic realignment of women's priorities since the most active days of the feminist movement" that account for television's current anti-abortion bias. Indeed, but I think we can safely blame television's equally timid and right-skewing depiction of religion on the networks' (and cable channels') fear of that loudmouthed evangelical minority. Just as television is loathe to produce scripts about women who do not regret aborting their pregnancies, it is also unlikely to deliver many unrepentant, well-adjusted atheists into your living rooms. Or even an unrepentant, well-adjusted agnostic; or a person who insists upon rationalism rather than superstition as a basic worldview; or a sympathetic character who mocks creationism. (The only recent, partial exception I can recall is Boston Legal's Alan Shore.) This may not seem like a big deal, but it's an absence that speaks volumes. I know a great many atheists personally, so why do I see so few on television (or in public office)?
There's a parallel here to the abortion issue: often when a character is identified clearly as a non-believer, there's a corresponding scene suggesting that he or she is somehow empty or soulless or in need of enlightenment. The Defenders had something to say on this subject, too, in a 1963 episode called "The Heathen," in which a teacher is persecuted for his open atheism. Ernest Kinoy's teleplay for "The Heathen" equates atheism with rationalism and comes down solidly on the side of both. "It's so easy to demand the symbol and ignore the reality," says the teacher (played by Gerald Hiken), in a scene meant to indict hypocrites who pledge a public allegiance to our dominant religion that does not reflect their private beliefs. That seems more relevant now than ever, both in politics (yes, Mr. President, I am thinking of you) and on television, which couches Christian dogma in vehicles both obvious (Joan of Arcadia) and surreptitious (Battlestar Galactica). Lost proposed its overarching narrative as a kind of dialectic between science and faith; in case anyone missed that, the writers helpfully titled one episode "Man of Science, Man of Faith." I always considered the show a lot less brainy than it fancied itself, but even I was a little surprised by the absence of nuance in the final act of the final episode. Spoiler alert: Faith flattens science with a TKO.
I consider Christianity to be enormously destructive, but I grew up around many fine, principled people who were devout Christians and who insisted on crediting their faith for some of the qualities I admired in them. I still struggle to reconcile their examples with my abstract views about Christianity, and to understand the distinction that they made (but that I cannot) between their Christianity and the anti-intellectual intolerance and hypocrisy which constitute the public face of that religion. I wouldn't bring that up here, except to say once again that characters who reflect any of those complexities have been mostly absent from popular television in my lifetime. The only series I can think of that gazed upon religion or faith with an intelligent, ambivalent eye on a regular basis was Nothing Sacred, which made it through one shortened, controversial season in 1997-98.
The only contemporary drama I can think of that tries to engage with religion as a facet of its practitioners' daily lives is HBO's Big Love, a show that strikes me as a failure largely because it doesn't seem to have any of an idea of what it wants to say on that subject. The Christians in Big Love are a rogue sect that even the Mormon church has disowned, and so the show can relish the hypocrisy and craziness of most of its characters without offending too many people. Bill Hendrickson may drop to his knees and pray for guidance in trying times, but it doesn't seem to occur to Big Love's writers to try to explore why he does that and the ladies of Wisteria Lane do not. With that piece missing, Big Love is just another sensationalist suburban melodrama, as tawdry as Desperate Housewives and a lot more leaden and self-important.
You might guess that I'd cheer on any show that equates religion with charlatanism, and gives us characters like Roman (the wily Harry Dean Stanton), a spiritual leader who's really a despot and a crook. But that's the easy way out and it, like Big Love in general, gets boring in a hurry. I wish Big Love had built itself around some substantive argument in favor of Christianity, because I honestly can't understand why Bill Hendrickson, or anyone, falls for it, and as always I turn to art for enlightenment when I can't find the answers in life.
Also in the news: Matt Zoller Seitz, formerly a film reviewer for the New York Press, has penned some impressive television criticism at Salon lately, especially this detailed breakdown of a shift in Jon Stewart's approach to the Obama Administration. For people (like me) whose response to reality shows is to pretend they don't exist, Seitz's look at a crucial arc on the Discovery Channel's The Deadliest Catch is a reminder that the genre can on occasion approximate the form of legitimate documentary. But I disagree with Seitz when he shrugs off the show's cheesy, pumped-up music, arguing that "decrying it . . . would be as pointless as complaining water is wet." Not good enough. If a work of art/entertainment hopes to transcend a schlock genre, then eschewing the baser conventions of that genre is precisely what it must do. The obvious analogy is to sitcom laugh tracks: critics complained about them for decades and, finally, unlike the weather (or global warming), somebody finally did something about it.
And lastly: This week in the New Yorker, Nick Paumgarten compares God to the Balladeer, the off-screen voice (actually that of Waylon Jennings) that narrated each episode of The Dukes of Hazzard. It's not so much a tongue-in-cheek joke as a clumsy metaphor. In fact, the Dukes reference is such a non sequitur that I think Mr. Paumgarten may have outed himself as a fan. The last time I remember seeing The Dukes of Hazzard cited in the pages of the New Yorker, it was when Malcolm Gladwell complained that the show (along with the likes of Dallas and Starsky & Hutch) made us all literally, scientifically, dumber. I'm not sure how I feel about this shift but it's an obvious testament to the durability of Dukes, which was my favorite thing in the whole world around the time I was four years old. Where I come from, God was very big, and so was the Balladeer.
9 Responses to "Taboos"
July 14, 2010 at 8:49 am
"Bellafante explains that the teenager in Friday Night Lights who decides to terminate her pregnancy is one of the first TV characters since Maude Findlay of Maude whose abortion is depicted, without much equivocation, as the right choice for her."
Actually, NBC's short-lived drama series "Skag" contained an episode titled "In Trouble At Fifteen" (aired 1/17/80) which depicted 15-year-old daughter Barbara's abortion in a surprisingly stark and practical script. This series is now all-but-forgotten and, due to its low-rated status at the time, obviously managed to fly under the radar of the "moral majority".
"Ernest Kinoy's teleplay for "The Heathen" equates atheism with rationalism and comes down solidly on the side of both. "It's so easy to demand the symbol and ignore the reality," says the teacher (played by Gerald Hiken), in a scene meant to indict hypocrites who pledge a public allegiance to our dominant religion that does not reflect their private beliefs".
This is an interesting example, since 20 years later in 1974, Gerald Hiken would portray a crusading agnostic that breezes into the sleepy town of Appleton, Iowa to block the construction of an interfaith chapel on public land in an episode of Apple's Way titled "The Outsider" (CBS 12/15/74). Hiken's character relies on the separation of church and state argument to obtain an injunction against the construction, prompting lead character George Apple(Ronny Cox)to plead the town's case for an exception to Hiken's godless tactics.
Interesting considering that the George Apple character in previous episodes was campaigning for freedom of the press and free speech issues-yet is quite prepared to abandon his constitutional ideals when it comes to an issue related to religion and the god-fearing citizens of Appleton. Another example of public allegiance to our dominant religion that does not reflect private beliefs.
July 14, 2010 at 9:27 am
In 1985 THE PAPER CHASE on Showtime aired THE CHOICE, an episode devoted to the subject of abortion. Two law school students, engaged in an affair, are faced with a conflict when the girl announces she is pregnant. She wants an abortion; the boy does not want her to have one and takes legal steps to prevent it. The subject was discussed pro and con from both their points of view. The final scene had the boy coming to escort her to the procedure. I was asked to come meet the producer of the show. The purpose of the meeting — to find out my feelings on the subject, since the show was going to be pro-abortion. I accepted the assignment willingly. I shall be discussing the production on my blog site in the near future. And hopefully Twentieth Century Fox will be issuing additional DVD's of the series so that what I think was an exceptional production can be viewed by a wider audience.
July 14, 2010 at 11:39 am
Great post. The people who complain about the alleged lack of overt religiosity on prime time tv should be happy that 20th century post-war rationalism has been scrubbed from the airwaves as well, though they probably haven't noticed.
I remember being surprised watching an early episode of Wyatt Earp (from 1955) and seeing Earp defend his pistol-confiscating policy by explaining how firearms had no place in the West as it became more civilized. I don't think such a blatant gun control message would get on the air today, especially coming from the protagonist.
Too bad The Defenders is unlikely to ever make it to DVD! It sounds great.
July 22, 2010 at 1:42 pm
"I consider Christianity to be enormously destructive."
Which makes you a bigot of the first order, and had we simply substituted the word "Judaism" for "Christianity" in the remarks, we would see the mind of a bigot in full Mel Gibson splendor.
"In an era where the oxymoronic phrase "liberal media" still does not provoke the guffaws it should"
That's because flat-earth society style remarks like this are the ones furnishing the real guffaws. :) Especially when we now have the inconvenient truth of all the Journolist e-mails that reveal how those who consider "liberal media" to be an oxymoron are the morons who haven't been getting enough oxygen!
And there were much bigger laughs to be found throughout the rest of this post, with its shrill demand that the partisan left-wing extremism of TV shows in general be ratcheted up even further and that the one-way street of left-wing advocacy be louder. And woe unto those who would ever deign to show even the slightest of pretenses for the idea that a good deal of the country doesn't share the sentiments of pampered fat-cat Hollywood leftists.
But here's an idea for how TV might deal with abortion more graphically and honestly. Let's see an abortion performed live and up-close in all its ugliness, and better still let's see a partial-birth abortion performed in graphic detail, and then we'll find out about how the public reacts to whether this dubious concept is really a matter of "choice" or whether it should instead be regarded for the sick infanticide that it really is.
(Standing by to see rocks hurled at me, but I don't mind! After all, come November, things are going to be quite different in the political landscape. :))
October 5, 2010 at 10:15 am
Right on about anti-Christian bigotry! The same reviewer also called the excellent 24 xenophobic. Just what planet does this reviewer come from anyway?
May 22, 2013 at 3:04 am
Different how? Obama won again, and your neocon nonsense is going to be exiled to the netherworld one day. As for you..I suggest you find a time machine and go back to the distant past and stay there-it's pretty clear you weren't meant for these times.
July 27, 2010 at 9:40 pm
I'd find it difficult to have a more compelling argument than this:


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Reflection on the morning - Roger Hardy
Roger Hardy (b.1969) Roger attended Kingston Upon Thames University and graduated with a B.A.hons in graphic design i... Read more
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Roger Hardy (b.1969)
Roger attended Kingston Upon Thames University and graduated with a B.A.hons in graphic design in 1994. After 10 successful years working in design, creating among other things the Wall's ice cream logo and Formula 1 identity, he and his wife decided to leave London in 2000 and return to where Roger was born and raised in Suffolk to concentrate on his own fine art practice full time.
He has focused on the landscape he knows so well. Drawing inspiration from the woods and heathlands he walks in, developing his unique palette of colour and form. Distilling this complex and beguiling landscape into his poetic paintings.
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Minn. program rewards farmers who keep pollutants from waterways
A pilot program to encourage water conservation practices on Minnesota farms reached a milestone this week.
A Red River Valley farming operation became the first to be certified under the Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program, which rewards farmers who go the extra mile to reduce pollution.
State Department of Agriculture officials visited the Nordick family farm about an hour south of Moorhead to determine if it is using accepted phosphorus and nitrogen management and conservation practices. The Nordicks also had to prove that they are properly using and disposing of pesticides, planting grassland buffers along public waterways - and that the farm's septic system meets state standards.
• Last year: Minn. farm water quality program launched
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Whiskey Creek runs through the Nordick farm, carrying water to the Red River. That's why it's one of four pilot sites for the water quality certification program. The other locations are Whitewater River in southeast Minnesota, Elm Creek in the southwest and Middle Sauk River in the central part of the state.
The Nordicks, who largely farm corn and soybeans, have restored several spots along the creek where fast-moving water dug deep gullies. They hauled in tons of rock and created grass-covered berms to reduce erosion.
But they still need to make improvements to culverts that move about 296,000 gallons a minute at full capacity. All that water not only erodes the creek, which is more like a ditch, but also spills out onto farm fields carrying soil and nutrients back to the stream.
"We've got great black dirt out there and we just hate to see that end up in our streams," Jared Nordick said. "So by doing this we're detouring the problem of overland flooding and reducing the erosion out in the field."
For Nordick, conservation isn't simply a matter of doing the right thing for the environment. He said managing water and fertilizer makes economic sense.
Once certified, farmers are exempt from new water quality regulations for 10 years, and they move to the top of the list for funding from existing conservation programs.
The pilot program is funded by state and federal dollars. To ensure they follow through on the agreement, certified farmers will be audited once during the 10-year program.
Environmental groups have some concerns about the program, but Kris Sigford, water quality director for Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy said it's a good way to reward conservation-minded farmers.
"I think that to be certified would mean that an operation is doing a pretty darn good job for water quality," Sigford said.
Sigford, who serves on an advisory group for the agricultural water quality program, said it will help reduce sediment and phosphorus runoff from farm land. But she said it doesn't to enough to fix nitrate pollution and she doubts enough farmers will sign up.
"I don't think we're going to get anything like the widespread participation we would need to meet our major statewide goals that have already been established of a 20 percent nitrate reduction by 2020," Sigford said. "We're going the opposite direction."
Sigford also wants to see more robust oversight of the program. She said since data about participating farms will be private, program managers will also have the role of ensuring that farmers follow the rules.
State agriculture officials say they will adjust requirements during the pilot program.
Convincing local farmers to participate will be critical, said Don Bajumpaa, a district manager for the Wilkin County Soil and Water Conservation District. Bajumpaa will play a key role in that effort because he knows the local farmers and their land.
"I can specifically say, 'you know that northwest quarter of section 11 you got there in township XYZ, I noticed that you've got a little problem there,'" Bajumpaa said. "And when they know we know, there's the credibility."
On the recent tour of the Nordick farm, Bajumpaa told Assistant Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Matt Wohlman that he thinks he can sign up 25 percent of local farmers. But Bajumpaa he doubts that can happen in a three-year pilot project.
Wohlman said the Agriculture Department is committed to the effort.
"We had to pilot this to kind of get the acceptance and start working out the kinks," Wohlman said. "But we're looking at this as a long-term effort. You don't change water quality overnight."


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A biblical way of describing a time of peace and prosperity is expressed in the following passage describing the time of King Solomon.
And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon. (1 Kings 4:25 ESV)
It is not uncommon in the middle east to see vines used as a shade. Sometime the vine runs up the side of a house and covers a porch on the roof. When I saw this single vine by itself in front of the theater at Miletus I could not help but think of the biblical saying. I asked my traveling buddy, Leon Mauldin, to make a picture of me sitting under my vine.
I can imagine a person sitting under the vine in the late summer and enjoying the fresh grapes from the vine.
Miletus is the city where the Apostle Paul met with the elders from the church at Ephesus as he returned to Jerusalem at the end of his third journey (Acts 20).
The prophet Micah used the same illustration to describe the nature of the Messiah's kingdom.
It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, 2 and many nations shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 3 He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; 4 but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. (Micah 4:1-4 ESV)


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DEARBORN, Mich. — To pin-drop silence, former Secret Service agent Clint Hill recalled everything in detail about the morning of Nov. 22, 1963.
At the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Mich., on Tuesday, Hill recounted the pivotal moments from the motorcade's tight turn on Elm Street in Dallas to his leap onto the presidential limousine in a desperate effort to protect first lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
Hill, assigned to her detail for years, said he "heard an explosive noise over my right shoulder, from the rear. … I realized something was wrong. The president grabbed at his throat and moved to his left … I jumped." But it was the third shot, he said, that did the most damage. "I heard it. I felt it … because it hit the president in the head."
Standing on a stage to the right of that same four-door Lincoln Continental, now on display at the Dearborn historic museum, Hill, 81, described the moment when Jacqueline Kennedy refused to let go of her husband, John F. Kennedy, outside Parkland Hospital.
He took off his jacket to cover the assassinated president's head. "She didn't want anybody to see the condition he was in, because it was horrible," he told the rapt audience.
Hill's appearance was part of the Henry Ford's "JFK Remembered" events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of that tragic day in Dallas.
The vehicle used by Kennedy that day, which was rebuilt and returned to the White House motorcade in 1964, is one of the history-preserving site's most popular exhibits.
This week was Hill's first encounter with the limo since his retirement from the Secret Service, according to the museum.
Tuesday night, Hill stood onstage before about 430 people with Lisa McCubbin, co-author of his 2012 best seller, Mrs. Kennedy and Me, as well as his new book that came out Tuesday, Five Days in November. To a backdrop of photos and videos, McCubbin guided Hill through a look back at the events surrounding the Kennedy assassination.
Hill stood throughout the presentation as he offered his recollections, often with his hands clasped behind his back and never turning to look at the car where it all happened.
He talked about key moments, such as the flight back to Washington, D.C., on Air Force One, during which Jacqueline Kennedy asked to speak to him. "She stood up, she grabbed my hand and said, 'Oh, Mr. Hill, what's going to happen to you?' " he said, describing her concern for others at a time when she was still wearing her blood-spattered pink suit.
Hill addressed his decades-long struggle to deal with the emotions of that day. "It has been very cathartic for me to finally unload this information, really," he said of working with McCubbin on the books, noting how he was persuaded ultimately to share his story for history.
For those in attendance who were not alive in 1963, they said they learned a lot from Hill.
"I think it was very cool he told his story. Now I have a better perspective than I had before. This is someone who was actually there at the time," said Dresden Cogan, 13, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Also in the audience was Paul Landis, who served on Jacqueline Kennedy's Secret Service detail with Hill and drove from the Cleveland area for the event. "I just wanted to be here tonight to see Clint," he said.


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Rachel Uchitel Goes to 'Rehab' ... for a Price
Tiger Woods' mistress numero uno Rachel Uchitel is heading to "Celebrity Rehab" -- but TMZ has learned the show resorted to drastic measures before she agreed to check in.
Sources connected to the production tell us Uchitel had originally turned down the show -- but after producers DOUBLED their offer and Dr. Drew personally paid Uchitel a visit, Rachel changed her mind.
We're told Uchitel will make around $500,000 for her stint on the show.
A rep from VH1 claims Uchitel is hoping to kick an addiction to pills.
We're told it's unclear if this will affect Uchitel's offer to join Donald Trump on "Celebrity Apprentice."
The network claims Uchitel will be joined on the show by supermodel Janice Dickinson, actor Jeremy London, musician Leif Garrett, oil heir Jason Davis, ex-reality star Jason Wahler and singer Keyshia Cole's mother.


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McAlister's Deli, a leading fast casual restaurant, announces a same-store sales increase of 8.3 percent during the fourth quarter of 2012. Company-owned restaurants were up 9.2 percent and franchise restaurants were up 8.2 percent.
Company sales performance was driven by a 7.6 percent increase in entrée sales, indicating overall traffic gains for McAlister's restaurants system-wide.
For the full year, total system sales were $419 million. System comparable sales increased 8 percent, with company restaurants up 8.4 percent and franchise restaurants up 7.9 percent. In addition to reporting comparable sales growth, McAlister's announces the opening of six new restaurants in the fourth quarter for a total of 12 new locations in 2012.
"McAlister's experienced a very strong 2012," says McAlister's Deli President and CEO Frank Paci. "It is rewarding to see that our guests appreciate the great food and genuine hospitality provided each and every day by our dedicated franchisees and operators."
Over the past two years, McAlister's has undertaken initiatives to strengthen its brand including upgrading menu offerings and improving speed of service. Technomic recently recognized McAlister's as an inaugural winner of the Chain Restaurant Consumers' Choice Awards in the fast casual category for its food and beverages.
News and information presented in this release has not been corroborated by WTWH Media LLC.


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Indianapolis' New Memorial for Homicide Victims Will Be Built Out of the Guns That Killed Them
An Indianapolis firefighter is trying to turn weapons into art as a memorial for homicide victims -- of which, sadly, the city has plenty.
An Indianapolis firefighter is trying to turn weapons into art as a memorial for homicide victims -- of which, sadly, the city has plenty.
A few weeks ago, Indianapolis was the site of the National Rifle Association's annual convention. At the same time, the city had its 50th homicide of the year, putting it on track to hit 150 homicides in 2014. That's 25 more than 2013, which was the highest number of homicides in seven years. To put this in perspective: Indianapolis has almost twice as many homicides per capita as Chicago, which had the most murders of any city in the country in 2013.
Ryan Feeney, a firefighter with his own forging business, is in the middle of creating a memorial to those homicide victims: a peace dove, built out of confiscated firearm parts provided by the Marion County sheriff's office. Some of those parts have even been used in the homicides the sculpture is memorializing.
That, Sheriff John Layton told Fox 59, was the point: "These aren't just stolen guns. These were actually guns used in crimes themselves, crimes that hurt people, guns that murdered people."
"I want to do this for the families of those victims," Layton said. "Maybe we can find a place of solace where they can actually gather around the peace dove in remembrance of the one they loved."
Right now, the dove is just a two-foot-tall model, but Layton is raising money so Feeney can create one twice as big, to be displayed somewhere yet to be decided.


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King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I think I've read this book before, as a child. I certainly saw the film as a child. The only scene I remember from my first reading of the book was Captain Good going around for half the story with a half-shaven face. For the rest of the story it was like reading it for the first time.
But re-reading a book after a lifetime of experience and acquisition of knowledge makes a difference to what you notice, and the significance of things that passed you by when reading it as a child. For a child, it was a straightforward adventure story; the heroes got into difficulties and dangers, and they got out of them. Reading it as an adult, the historical and political background moved to rthe foreground.
The book was published in 1885, and the action of the story seems to have taken place in 1883-84. The protagonist and narrator, Allan Quatermain, was living on the Berea in Durban then. And my great great grandfather, Richard Vause, was also living there, and was mayor of Durban at the time — he died the following year, in 1886. That gives a new and personal interest to the story. I didn't know that when I first read the book. Yes, I knew I had an ancestor who had been mayor of Durban at one time (acually five times), but had little idea of the dates until I began researching family history.
Quatermain also mentioned fighting in the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879, and escaping from the Battle of Isandlwana (which the Zulus won pretty decisively) because he was sent back with some wagons — precisely what happened to my great grandfather, Wyatt Vause. Perhaps H. Rider Haggard himself lived on the Berea, heard the story from my great grandfather, and decided to incorporate it into his book;
Allan Quatermain also mentions having been an elephant hunter, and describes in some detail how elephant hunters travelled in those days — the kind of wagons they used, the features they looked for in buying them, and how they travelled. That sort of thing is rarely mentioned in contemporary primary sources — letters and diaries and news items and the like. The people who wrote those things assumed their readers knew about them. But a writer of fiction, who knew most of his readers would be in the UK and would be unfamiliar with them, takes care to describe them in some detail. My wife Val's great great grandfather, Fred Green, was an elephant hunter in what is now Namibia and Botswana, and so those little details throw light on his life too.
In many ways the story is fantasy. It describes a country unknown to outsiders. In the 20th century, when most of the world was mapped, it was no longer possible to do that, and so such fictional countries were moved to other planets and other galaxies and became science fiction. But in other ways the story is not like that — the people in the strange country are hypothetical relatives of the Zulus, and speak a dialect of Zulu, so the travellers are able to communicate with them.
It is also a typical fairy story — the exiled prince who returns to overthrow the wicked usurper and reestablish justice in the land.
And there is also a darker side to the story, which takes place on the cusp of the New Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa. From about 1880 onwards the New Imperialism gave rise to an ideology of imperialism, which was racist at its root. While racism was not unknown before, it became much more ideologically driven after the rise of the New Imperialism, and a consciousness of ethnic superiority was actively promoted in the imperialist powers. Children's literature abounded with it, and it was taught in schools.
There are some echoes of this in King Solomon's Mines. Allan Quatermain disapproaves of the budding romance between one of his white companions and a young black woman. While in Natal, Quatermain is upset and annoyed when "natives" speak in a too-familiar manner with white men. In the fictional African kingdom they travel to, he describes the local inhabitants in terms of a somewhat grudging equality. At times I wondered whether Haggard was doing this consciously or unconsciously. Could he be consciously trying to show the changes in Quatermain's attitude to black people the further he travelled from colonial Natal, as part of his character, and as a result of the influence of his less racist companions? But what is certain is that after 1885 there was a sharp increase in racism as part of the ideology of British Imperialism.
So re-reading the book was interesting for various reasons — as filler material for family history, but also as a mirror reflecting changing attitudes in the British colony of Natal in the 1880s.
Filed under: family history, Green family, history, Vause family | Tagged: adventure stories, books reviews, colonial Natal, imperialism, racism, Rider Haggard | Leave a comment »


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The French Supreme Court has ruled that Google may have to censor the words "torrent," "RapidShare," and "Megaupload" from its instant and autocomplete searches, according to TorrentFreak.
In its ongoing court case with French music industry group SNEP, Google has been accused of implicitly allowing copyright violations for not filtering out these words. The SNEP alleges that when users type in names of well-known musicians in Google search, file-sharing sites get added on with the autocomplete feature.
"We are disappointed by the court's ruling," a Google spokesperson told CNET. "Google Autocomplete algorithmically returns search queries that are a reflection of the search activity of all web users."
Despite the shock value of having to censor words, the case is actually moot at this point. According to TorrentFreak, Google already started filtering "piracy-related" terms last year from its autocomplete feature. While users worldwide will see "torrent" and "megaupload" in search results, they won't see them in autocomplete or instant services.
Autocomplete aside, Google has already begun removing URLs on its own accord. According to the Transparency Report it released in May, the company said it was deleting millions of URLs that allegedly host copyrighted or pirated material. It takes down the URLs based on requests from the copyright holders.
Also, this isn't the first time Google has been sued in French courts for copyright infringement. In May, the search giant won a YouTube copyright case, in which the court ruled that Google was not liable for filtering out pirated content on YouTube.
The current case brought by SNEP is moving to the Court of Appeal for a final ruling.
Updated on July 19, 2012, 9:35 p.m. PT with comment from Google.


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Microsoft today announced it will deliver seven security updates next week to patch 11 vulnerabilities, including the first that apply to Internet Explorer 10 (IE10), the company's newest browser.
As it did last month, Microsoft will also patch Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows Server 2012, its new desktop, tablet and server operating systems.
Five of the seven updates will be marked as "critical," Microsoft's highest threat ranking, while the remaining pair will be labeled "important," the Redmond, Wash. developer said in an advance warning published today.
Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Security, put the IE update atop his tentative to-do list. Others did, too, including Paul Henry, a researcher with Arizona-based Lumension.
In an email Thursday, Henry said that the bugs in IE9 and IE10 -- the only versions directly affected -- were "use-after-free" memory management vulnerabilities.
By the IE update's critical label, it's likely that the bug(s) can be exploited by hackers using "drive-by" attacks, those that execute as soon as an unsuspecting user surfs to a malicious or compromised website.
Although IE9 and IE10 -- the latter is the latest in Microsoft's browser line and so far has shipped in final form only for Windows 8, Windows RT and Server 2012 -- will be patched, other still-supported editions will get fixes as well.
"Microsoft is making 'defense-in-depth' changes to the other browsers," said Storms of IE6, IE7 and IE8.
Microsoft has infrequently issued code changes meant to beef up security of a product even though it's not technically vulnerable to attack.
"The general idea is that the vulnerability is on a new platform, and that during its due diligence, Microsoft found the same [flawed] code in older platforms," said Storms. "But because they couldn't actually execute the vulnerability on those [older versions], they're making changes just in case something in the future is found that can exploit the bug."
This will be the second month running that Microsoft patches IE: In November, it quashed three critical bugs in IE9. At the time, Storms argued that Microsoft had probably also found one or more of those flaws in IE10, but had managed to fix them before it shipped the browser on Oct. 26.
Other updates will tackle one or more critical vulnerabilities in Windows -- including one applicable to Windows 8 and Windows RT; at least one critical bug in Word 2003, 2007 and 2010 on Windows; and some critical flaws in Exchange 2007 and 2010.
That last caught Storms' eye.
"Exchange is one of the most highly-critical business applications, and it's not something you want to shut down, especially in December," Storms said.
But he wasn't ready to tell companies to pass on the Exchange update. "They may well release some easily-performed mitigations next week," Storms said, referring to Microsoft's habit of offering work-arounds to keep software secure until a patch can be applied. "We'll have to wait and see. This one may have the typical risk-reward equation.... Is it worth the risk to patch or better to leave it alone?"
If companies apply the Exchange update and break their mail systems, especially during a very busy time of the year for retailers, it could be chaos.
Henry, who regularly talks with Microsoft after they've issued their advance notification, said that the Exchange update will address new vulnerabilities in the Outside In code libraries that Microsoft licenses from Oracle.
Exchange uses the libraries to display file attachments in a browser rather than to open them in a locally-stored application, like Microsoft Word. In the past, Outside In bugs have resided within the Exchange code base that parses those attachments.
Oracle patched two low-threat Outside In bugs in a massive Oct. 16 security update.
If Microsoft ships all seven of the planned updates -- occasionally it holds one back at the last minute -- the company will have issued 83 security bulletins in 2012, a 17% drop from 2011's 100 updates, said Storms.
The individual patch count, however, will slip just 5%, with 196 in 2012 compared to 206 the year before.
Microsoft will release the seven updates at approximately 1 p.m. ET on Dec. 11.
Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed. His email address is email@example.com.
See more by Gregg Keizer on Computerworld.com.
Read more about malware and vulnerabilities in Computerworld's Malware and Vulnerabilities Topic Center.


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Past Posts
- Bas Relief, LLC Books, Educational Supplies and Artwork Celebrating Natural History (especially monarchs!) Bas Relief, LLC is the work of Ba Rea, exploring natural history. It includes books, educational materials, writing, and artwork. The subject matter often focuses on monarch butterflies and the milkweed community.
- Edith Smith's (of Shady Oak Farm) Wednesday, January 21, 2009, Blog page "What is Going On Inside a Monarch Chrysalis?" Edith Smith presents a great labelled image of the body parts visible on a newly formed monarch chrysalis.
- Journey North's Monarch pages An excellent resource for monarch information where students and monarch enthusiasts track monarch migration.
- Monarch Watch Monarch Watch at the University of Kansas offers tagging, Monarch Waystations programs and more.
- Monarchlab at the Univarsity of Minnesota Check out this excellent monarch site
- The Monarch Larva Monitoring Project A great citizen science project investigating the population dynamics of the monarch butterfly. You can be involved.
- WordPress.com
- WordPress.org
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Category Archives: Monarchs on the Knobs
Monarchs Arrive on the Knobs April 27, 2012
May 6, 2012 12 years ago, I concocted a plan to single-handedly provide enough eggs for all of the teachers in the greater Pittsburgh Area to use in their classrooms. At the time I was operating under a theory that … Continue reading
Chasing Monarch Eggs
This year the monarchs came early to the Knobs of West Virginia. Usually I see a few eggs in May. The butterflies are likely the offspring of the Mexican migrants hatched from eggs laid in the southern tier of states. … Continue reading
Back in the Milkweed Patch.
Monarchs arrived early this year on the Knobs, in southeastern West Virginia. I spotted a tattered, faded monarch—likely a Mexican migrant— on April 30. Between those she left and those I found checking out milkweed on other spots on the … Continue reading


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Sullivan & Cromwell's Melbourne office, established in 1983, advises clients on a wide variety of securities offerings, privatizations, mergers and acquisitions, and project financings. S&C's relationships with many of these clients go back more than 30 years.
S&C is also a leading law firm in U.S. capital markets financings for Australian and New Zealand issuers and a leading U.S. legal adviser on Australian and New Zealand privatizations by equity offering.


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Quit and the Heart Foundation (Victoria) hope more outdoor areas in Victoria will go smokefree, after news a Melbourne council is looking to pursue the idea.
Download the media release
Quit and the Heart Foundation (Victoria) hope more outdoor areas in Victoria will go smokefree, after news a Melbourne council is looking to pursue the idea.
Monash City Council will decide at a meeting tomorrow night whether to commence talks with the public about the possibility of introducing smokefree outdoor areas.
It comes as new data from the Cancer Council Victoria shows widespread support for the concept:
Over three-quarters (77%) of Victorians believe smoking should not be allowed in outdoor areas where children are present
Seven out of 10 (71%) disapprove of smoking in outdoor restaurant dining areas
Heart Foundation (Victoria) Chief Executive Officer, Kathy Bell, said early indications to the Heart Foundation had shown a growing interest in smokefree areas from councils across Victoria.
"We know in some outdoor areas people can be exposed to dangerous levels of secondhand smoke. Strengthening smokefree policies in outdoor areas helps reduce this risk, as well as to de-normalise smoking. Making areas such as alfresco dining spaces, sporting fields and parks smokefree makes a strong contribution to improving the health and wellbeing of everyone in the community."
Quit Executive Director, Fiona Sharkie, said making more outdoor areas smokefree was vital in helping continue to drive down smoking rates in Victoria.
"Smokefree policies can motivate existing smokers to smoke less and quit, discourage young people to take up smoking and support ex-smokers to stay smokefree. Eventually we would like to see a whole of state approach to this issue, but it's fantastic individual councils are taking action now."
This year Heart Foundation Victoria and Quit have started working with local councils to offer encouragement and support for the implementation of smokefree outdoor areas.
Since a similar program in NSW started in 2007, the number of councils implementing smoking bans in outdoor areas has almost tripled to 76, which is approximately 50 percent of all councils in NSW.
In Victoria, other councils taking a lead in smokefree outdoor policies include:
Frankston City Council - will implement a smoking ban within the Frankston central activity district from November
Surf Coast Shire - has implemented a ban on smoking on beaches
Monash City Council already has some history with smokefree outdoor areas, being the first council in Victoria to have a smoke-free playground policy.


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Changing conditions in sea turtle nesting and foraging areas as a result of climate change are potentially serious for sea turtle populations already under pressure from over-exploitation, fisheries bycatch and habitat modification.
How might marine turtles be affected by climate change?
Regional Climate Projections
|Understanding how nesting habitats may be affected by climate change, specifically changes in temperature and precipitation, is an important early step in assessing the vulnerability of regional sea turtle populations. Climate changes will not be uniform across the globe as they are influenced by local physical processes. WWF has used regional projections for changes in temperature and precipitation to investigate projected changes in nesting conditions in the Wider Caribbean.
|Flooding models under different sea-level rise scenarios are needed to better plan for coastal development and protected areas, in a way such that both marine turtles and local communities benefit. In this report we examine the impact of a 1 m sea-level rise on Playa Grande, the most important nesting site of the Eastern Pacific for the critically endangered leatherback turtle.
Rising Sea Level due to Climate Change


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Jor Luxury Jockstrap 0956
0956 Luxury Jockstrap takes the sporty-meets-sexy look a few steps beyond, giving you a two-in-one style you'll love. On one hand, it's a super revealing, comfy style of underwear. On the other, it's a jockstrap, specially designed to offer extra athletic support up front. Wear when you dare.
- Hand made in Colombia - South America with USA and Colombian fabrics. Please refer to size chart to ensure you choose the correct size.
- Composition: 78% Nylon 22% Spandex. Smooth fiber provides support and comfort exactly where needed.
- Minimal rear coverage features wide rear straps for extra athletic support.
- Thin elastic waistband.
- For best long-term appearance retention, avoid high temperature washing or drying. Wash separately from rough items that could damage fibers (zippers, buttons).


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Al Gore on Gun Control
2000 Democratic Nominee for President; Former Vice President
BUSH: Law-abiding citizens ought to be allowed to protect their families. We ought to keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them. That's why I'm for instant background checks at gun shows. I'm for trigger locks. I think we ought to raise the age at which juveniles can have a gun. I also believe that the best way to make sure that we keep our society safe is to hold people accountable for breaking the law. If we catch somebody illegally selling a gun, there needs to be a consequence. The federal government can help.
GORE: All my proposals are focused on that problem: gun safety. None of my proposals would have any effect on hunters or sportsmen or people who use rifles. They're aimed at the real problem. Let's have a three-day waiting period, A cooling off, so we can have a background check to make sure that criminals and people who really shouldn't have guns don't get them.
GORE: I'm not for registration. I am for licensing by states of new handgun purchases: A photo license I.D. like a driver's license for new handguns.
Gore would fight to enact legislation to prohibit the carrying of a firearm in churches, synagogues, mosques, and all places of worship, as well as places where school events are held. And Gore supports "lock box" legislation that would protect criminal justice funding for the next five years, and would allow local communities to plan for the future without having to worry every year that their funds would be used for other purposes.
Local gun owners were no exactly sold on their new best friend Al Gore. Their instincts were right. As a senator in 1990 he would support an unsuccessful attempt to ban assault-style weapons. A year later he voted for the Brady Bill, which required a 5-day waiting period and police background check for handgun purchases.
GORE: I agree with that. I was a co-sponsor of the Brady Law. I cast the tie-breaking vote to close the so-called gun show loophole. The NRA has targeted me as a result. We have got to take them on strongly and pass new gun control legislation-not aimed at hunters and sportsmen, but at these handguns that are causing so much distress in our country.
BRADLEY: How many lives will have to be taken by gunfire, how many families will have to be marred for life? We need very tough gun legislation, registration and licensing of all handguns, gun dealers out of residential neighborhoods, trigger locks, background checks, but above all, what we need is a leader who's committed to this every day he's in office. Otherwise, you'll never beat the NRA.
GORE: I feel so deeply for the family of this little girl who was killed. The boy [lived in] a flophouse, [with] guns laying around. We need child-safety trigger locks. We need to ban junk guns. We need to reinstate the 3-day waiting period. We need to also deal with drugs. That was part of this problem. We need more psychologists and guidance counselors in our schools and more teachers with smaller classes so they can keep track of these students and their family situation. And so much more.
GORE: The Clinton-Gore administration has passed the toughest gun control measures in the last 30 years. I cast the tie-breaking vote to close the gun show loophole.
BRADLEY: What you've seen is an elaborate "Gore Dance." It is a dance to avoid facing up to your conservative record on guns. It is a dance that denies the fact that you do not support registration and licensing of all handguns, but you want to give the impression of that, so you say, "I'm for licensing of all mmmm-handguns." What does that mean? It means, "I'm for licensing of all new handguns," only new. Not the 65 million that are out there.
GORE: I support a complete ban on junk guns, assault weapons, and yes, I support photo license I.D.'s for the purchase of all new handguns when somebody goes down to the gun store.
GORE: I do support licensing of the purchase of all new handguns. The president said, yeah, he supports that idea. But it doesn't have a prayer of ever becoming law. It's much more sensible to try to get the maximum gun control that we possibly can. We have to find a way to make our political system work, taking into account the fact that there are so many people who are going to fight tooth and nail against measures [like those Bradley proposes].
BRADLEY: [You're saying], essentially, that it's too difficult to do. The essence of leadership is taking something that is difficult and making it possible [by] engaging the American people.
Make America the "Safest Big Country" in the World
After climbing relentlessly for three decades, crime rates started to fall in the 1990s. Nonetheless, the public remains deeply concerned about the prevalence of gun violence, especially among juveniles, and Americans still avoid public spaces like downtown retail areas, parks, and even sports facilities.
We need to keep policing "smart" and community-friendly, prohibiting unjust and counterproductive tactics such as racial profiling; focus on preventing as well as punishing crime; pay attention to what happens to inmates and their families after sentencing; use mandatory testing and treatment to break the cycle of drugs and crime; and enforce and strengthen laws against unsafe or illegal guns. Moreover, we need a renewed commitment to equal justice for all, and we must reject a false choice between justice and safety.
Technology can help in many areas: giving police more information on criminal suspects so they do not rely on slipshod, random stop-and-search methods; allowing lower-cost supervision of people on probation or parole; and making it possible to disable and/or trace guns used by unauthorized persons.
Above all, we need to remember that public safety is the ultimate goal of crime policy. Until Americans feel safe enough to walk their neighborhood streets, enjoy public spaces, and send their children to school without fear of violence, we have not achieved public safety.
|Other past presidents on Gun Control:
|Al Gore on other issues:
Former Presidents:
Barack Obama(D,2009-2017)
George W. Bush(R,2001-2009)
Bill Clinton(D,1993-2001)
George Bush Sr.(R,1989-1993)
Ronald Reagan(R,1981-1989)
Jimmy Carter(D,1977-1981)
Gerald Ford(R,1974-1977)
Richard Nixon(R,1969-1974)
Lyndon Johnson(D,1963-1969)
John F. Kennedy(D,1961-1963)
Dwight Eisenhower(R,1953-1961)
Harry S Truman(D,1945-1953)
Past Vice Presidents:
V.P.Joseph Biden
V.P.Dick Cheney
V.P.Al Gore
V.P.Dan Quayle
Sen.Bob Dole
Political Parties:
Republican Party
Democratic Party
Libertarian Party
Green Party
Reform Party
Natural Law Party
Tea Party
Constitution Party
Civil Rights
Foreign Policy
Free Trade
Govt. Reform
Gun Control
Health Care
Homeland Security
Social Security
Tax Reform


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Ron Len Net Worth
Complete Wiki Biography of Ron Len, which contains net worth and salary earnings in 2023. Ron Len body measurments, height, weight and age details. Ron Len wiki ionformation include family relationships: spouse or partner (wife or husband); siblings; childen/kids; parents life. Wiki Bio of Ron Len net worth is updated in 2023.
Ron Len Net Worth is
$3 Million
Mini Biography
Ron Len can be an acting professional, known free of charge Willy (1994).
Known for movies


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After a long period away from the arclights, Viveck Goenka, the scion of one of India's most influential newspapers, The Indian Express, is slowly bouncing into the main frame.
He is now playing an increasingly hand's-on role at his own paper, making key decisions; is seen at media events, is making his presence felt on industry bodies—and is starting to give interviews.
In his first formal powwow in 20 years, in a special issue on Marwaris in the business magazine Forbes India, the chairman of the Express group, talks fondly of his grandfather, the late Ramnath Goenka, and even poses with his son Anant Goenka in a photograph (above) in the paper's presses.
Viveck Goenka tells Forbes India:
# "Ramnathji taught us never to compromise on editorial values and freedom… to be fearless and not to be aligned to any political party. I have had a whole lot of people threatening me."
# "There was one thing clear about Ramnathji. 'If I have an end-goal, I don't care how I reach that…' I agree with him but not everyone does."
# "I see myself as a proper Tamilian Brahmin [Goenka grew up in Tamil Nadu], that's my upbringing."
The chairperson and editorial director of Hindustan Times, Shobhana Bhartia; Subhash Chandra and his son Punit Goenka of Zee; Gulab Kothari and his sons Nihar Kothari and Siddharth Kothari of Rajasthan Patrika, are the other media Marwaris featured.
The interviews give an inside view of the austere and conservative business and management ethic of the original media Marwaris, which later generations are eagerly dismantling.
# Shobhana Bhartia: "When we started innovative advertisements, my father [K.K. Birla] was taken aback. 'No, we can't do this. You can't affect page one, can't place something in the middle of it.' I can understand that his generation was not used to these things. He felt colour pages would be more like a comic book."
# Anant Goenka: "[As a Marwari, I have] an inherent drive to spend wisely and to build wealth. Whether large or small, [the 2,500 sq ft bachelor pad he bought after running up hefty hotel bills] is our own. It's a Marwari thing. We are obsessed with appreciation."
# Punit Goenka: "It is clear that we are in the business to make money; we are not here for charity or for building power or influence."
# Gulab Kothari: "If you borrow money for growth, I believe you can't reverse that decision. The question is, do I give my children 100 per cent of the business or leave them to deal with an outsider who I sold a stake to? My view is, expand less and gradually… we don't need to jump the gun by taking debt."
The Marwaris who own The Times of India group, Dainik Bhaskar and Dainik Jagran "did not participate in the story or were not available".
Photograph: courtesy Forbes India
Also read: When Samir served a thali, Vineet served a scoop


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Evaluate evaluations
It's not exactly news when a labor union opposes policies intended to measure its members' productivity and hold them accountable. Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly.
However, given Florida's track record with education metrics, it's probably a good idea to take seriously the complaints of the state teachers union.
The Florida Education Association is ringing the alarm bell over the state's attempt to include a "Value-Added Model" (VAM) into teacher evaluations that will determine their salaries and their contract statuses. It employs a mathematic calculation that assigns a number to reflect a teacher's effectiveness; three years of student test scores will make up 50 percent of the rating. Starting in 2014, the VAM will be one component used to evaluate a teacher's performance as highly effective, effective, needs improvement or unsatisfactory.
The assessments were part of Senate Bill 736, the substantial reform measure passed in 2011 that also eliminated tenure for teachers. It was the first piece of legislation Gov. Rick Scott signed into law. He, most lawmakers and state education officials believe that there must be a system that holds teachers accountable for student performance.
The FEA says it doesn't disagree, but it has been calling attention to the method by which teachers are evaluated. In a Nov. 5 letter to Scott, union President Andy Ford argued that "data and infrastructure" were insufficient or not sophisticated enough to determine a teacher's effect on his students' learning.
For example, teacher evaluations are based on test scores for students who aren't even in their classrooms — because third-graders don't take the FCAT, a third-grade teacher can be rated based on the scores of other students at the school.
The union has been publicly parading teachers from around the state who take issue with the value-added system. One said all kindergarten through third-grade teachers at her school received the same school-wide VAM rating of 11.27 out of 50 possible points. Another said she received a low VAM despite getting high evaluations from her principal over several years.
The union also complained about the timeline. Ford in his letter said teachers received their 2011-12 evaluations in mid-October, five months after the previous school year ended. He said the value-added model is "complicated" and uses an "unproven statistical formula."
Gov. Scott and interim Education Commissioner Pam Stewart responded basically with, "Thanks, but we're moving forward."
Senate President Don Gaetz, who formerly was superintendent of Okaloosa County Schools, was more tart: "I'm shocked, shocked that a union doesn't want to have their members evaluated on the basis of performance."
The sarcasm is not unfounded. Nevertheless, the state shouldn't be too cavalierly confident in its ability to perform statistical analysis of educational outputs. Earlier this year the State Board of Education was forced to lower grading standards because of problems with the FCAT writing exam. Scores plummeted dramatically and surprisingly — far more than could be explained by making the test more challenging. Also this year, the state acknowledged that it miscalculated grades for hundreds of schools because if failed to use a new piece of a complicated grading formula that it had revised earlier.
That didn't inspire public confidence in the system.
Tests are not inherently bad, and neither are teacher evaluations — so long as they are reliable. For too long the only objective education measurements have been inputs — i.e., the amount of money spent. The public needs to quantify and qualify the outputs — i.e., student performance. That's not as easily done as comparing sales across a department or calculating a baseball player's batting average. But methods must be tried and refined.
The state can take the FEA's complaints about VAM seriously without backing away from teacher accountability. Indeed, soliciting educators' input, and making changes that reflect their concerns, might persuade them to buy into it.
Florida deserves a rigorous education accountability system — one that everyone is confident is being administered accurately and fairly.


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Last weekend Rex and I put the holiday decorations away. This meant me sitting on top of the ladder in our "covered attic" - a bunch of plywood nailed to garage support beams. My patient husband would send up one box at a time while I attempted not to hurl all 180 pounds of me off the second story into his waiting arms below.
In my oh-so-perfect future, the rickety ladder will be replaced by a set of stairs that will allow me access to seasonal items, crafts and miscellaneous junk any time I wanted it. I won't have to coordinate Halloween with Rex's car repairs. I won't need to drag him away from a riveting episode of South Park to swap out the Valentine flag for the four-foot faux chocolate bunny that delights the munchkins Easter after Easter.
And yet, as exciting as a made-over garage loft would be - a bit of teamwork would be lost. In the days of cell phones, emails and texting, I'd have yet another excuse to stay separated from my mate.
More From Good Housekeeping
The same is true of other humans. As I speak, I'm typing away on a lap top while my kids tap dance in a studio down the hall. Instead of chatting with other mamas, I'm seizing an extra twenty minutes to get this column done. Is this smart and time efficient, or just another check on an ever growing list of "why do I feel so disconnected" laundry list?
I suppose half the battle is being aware of a situation. Certainly a set of stairs to an attic, or writing a post during a dance class, is not going to isolate me from engaging with my spouse and community at large if I never forget that people, not material comforts and time savers, are what give me the most joy.
Perhaps such clarity comes with a house clear of holiday clutter. Perhaps you're like me: You don't know how much something weighs you down until it's gone. Whether it be extra stuff (like those piles of unsold Ebay clothes I gave to friends this week), additional weight (I've lost a few pounds and am feeling lighter) or dried out hair (still need to get that cut and color), "less" really is "more" when it comes to a spiritual life - not to mention a sexual one.
I saw this last point only too clearly with Rex gone last week. I missed his touch... his quiet, methodical ways. He is my daily dose of grounding ritual. He's my shoulder when I'm tired. And he's my undercover crazy man when, even though I'm exhausted, reminds me how transforming and connecting a good romp can be for the body and mind.
These are odd things to type with little kids hip-hopping down the hall. And yet, insight comes in the most average circumstances, as well as conversations.
And so, if you'll excuse me, I've got ten minutes left before dance class lets out. Perhaps some mama will inspire me to greatness in the waiting area. And later this eve, I'm certain someone else will be waiting in a room for me. (Here's hoping that encounter takes a little longer than ten minutes!)


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Life-threatening infections as iatrogenic complications of outpatient pain treatment - Report on 7 cases
Lebensbedrohliche Infektionen als Komplikationen ambulanter Schmerzbehandlung – dargestellt an 7 Fällen
Search Medline for
|April 23, 2004
Invasive treatment of radicular pain by various methods including epidural injections, epidural catheterization and periradicular infiltrations has become very popular in Germany. Severe complications of these, mainly, outpatient procedures may occur but are rarely published.
The authors present a prospective clinical series of 7 life-threatening infections occurring within 2 years following such procedures.
The patient group included 4 males and 3 females (age 32 - 71 years). There were 3 cases of pyogenic meningitis, 3 paracervical abscesses, and 1 subdural/epidural emypema/spondylitis with subsequent septicemia and multi-organ failure. Causative organisms were exclusively E.coli and Staph. aureus species. Besides proper antibiotic treatment 5 patients were operated on (one removal of a remaining lumbar catheter tip, 3 evacuations of cervical abcesses, and one spondylectomy /spondylodesis. 6 patients recovered completely; one patient died as a result of her septicemia after 6 weeks of ICU treatment.
Infectious complications following invasive outpatient pain treatment are often neglected. For medicolegal reasons, however, it should be kept in mind that even a "harmless" injection may lead to life-threatening complications and may even kill patients.


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Dr. Thibault de Garidel-Thoron is currently a researcher at CEREGE in France. He was post-doctoral associate at the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University. His main scientific interest is to reconstruct past tropical climate changes using micropaleontological and geochemical proxies from oceanic sediment records.
Dr. de Garidel received his Bachelor's degree in Earth Sciences from the Université Lyon I, France, completed a Master in the Université Bordeaux I, France and a Ph.D. in Geosciences at CEREGE, Université Paul Cézanne (a.k.a. Aix-Marseille III).
More information about his research and publication record can be found here.


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SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants are going quickly, quietly, meekly and confusingly. They are going, going, going … and they probably aren't coming back.
The Giants are losing to the Cincinnati Reds in every way — on every day — and now the Giants are in deep and demoralizing trouble in this National League Division Series. Sunday's dismal 9-0 loss at AT&T Park put the Giants down two games to none, on the brink of elimination and maybe dancing on the brink of many other things.
"We don't really have a choice — our backs are against the wall," catcher Buster Posey said in a hushed post-game clubhouse. "We've got to go out and bite, scrap and claw until the end."
Left unsaid: There hasn't been a lot of scrapping and clawing so far. Not even Tim Lincecum riding in from the bullpen for two clean innings could save the Giants on Sunday, and that event came with its own head-scratching drama. Lincecum — bypassed in the rotation for this series — didn't warm up much, didn't seem to know he was actually coming into the game and still was the Giants' only successful pitcher on the night. So there's your perfect summary of the Giants' October chaos:
The only thing that worked was plugging in the guy they're trying to avoid using. But the Giants aren't losing this series because of the chaos; they're getting chaotic because they're simply not as good as Cincinnati. And now the series heads to Cincinnati for Game 3 on Tuesday for a possible Reds clincher. Games 4 and 5, if necessary, also would be at Great American Ball Park, one of the great home-field advantages in baseball. "It's not exactly where we want to be," first baseman Brandon Belt said, "but at the same time it seems like we've done pretty good with our backs against the wall this season.
"We're going to go in on Tuesday looking to win." The reality is that the fans who stuck around for the final innings spent the time hugging ushers and waving symbolic goodbyes to this team. It was quiet when this park is supposed to be loud. "Our plan is to go over there (to Cincinnati) and do the same thing," Belt said. But, unless there's a Cincinnati miracle, the Giants aren't coming back for any more playoff games. Because the Reds are the better team — better pitching, better hitting, better balanced, better organized. The Reds are better than the Giants at AT&T Park, and you'd figure they'll be much, much better at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. In Game 2 on Sunday, Reds starter Bronson Arroyo followed Mat Latos' Game 1 performance by completely dominating the Giants. Arroyo retired the first 14 Giants he faced with a mixture of slow curves, change-ups, not-so-fastballs and various fluttering objects. By the time Belt broke up the perfect game with a single in the fifth inning, the Giants were already down 4-0 and sinking fast. Nobody could get on base (table-setters Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro are a combined 1 for 17 in the two games). Nobody hit for power (Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence have combined for two hits in the series). No Giant could do much of anything. Giants starter Madison Bumgarner couldn't come close to matching Arroyo — like Matt Cain in Game 1, Bumgarner gave up a titanic early home run to Ryan Ludwick and couldn't halt the Reds' onslaught. Bumgarner lasted only 41/3 innings, giving up four runs and seven hits. Saturday night, Cain lasted only five innings, giving up three runs. Everything is falling apart — the Giants won the 2010 World Series built on starting pitching, and that's unreliable now.
The Giants surged in the second half this season with a rush of offense, and they've managed only two runs in two games against the Reds in this series. The Giants had a great chance to take the first game of this series when Johnny Cueto, the Reds' Game 1 starter, had to leave after eight pitches Saturday; and the Giants lost that game.
Now the Giants have to win three in a row in Cincinnati, which seems nearly impossible.
"At this point, there's not much to lose," Posey said. "It's go out and give everything you've got. I think it's as simple as that."
Nothing is going right. The Giants' heads are spinning, and their season is almost over. That's why it's so quiet, and that's why the crowd at AT&T was saying goodbye.
Read Tim Kawakami's Talking Points blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami. Contact him email@example.com.


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Blast victim named
There are no signs of foul play in the explosion in a Ball Hill Road house that claimed the life of the occupant Thursday, a spokesman for District Attorney Joseph P. Early said Friday.
The resident, Rick Conway, 61, was the only person home at the time of the fiery blast, according to officials.
Some witnesses said they were alerted to the fire by a loud explosion at the split-level home at 140 Ball Hill Road. The cause of the fire remained under investigation Friday.
"We believe this was some sort of gas explosion," Acting Fire Chief John Bennett said Thursday after the 10:30 a.m. fire was extinguished. It had burned for more than an hour.
Neighbors say Mr. Conway had been living in the house that belonged to his mother, who had recently moved to a nursing home. The house is owned by Daveeda A. Conway, according to town records. An oil tank in the basement caught fire, according to officials, and there were propane tanks inside and outside the house. The propane tank outside the house did not catch fire.
State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan said the exact cause of the explosion was being investigated by state troopers assigned to the fire marshal's office and local officials.


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A Whale of a Cocktail Ingredient
Peter Kaminski/flickr
You know how sometimes the most obvious joke is that last one you want to tell? I really wanted to avoid writing about ambergris in cocktails and punches—a current micro-trend in bartending—for this very reason. Ambergris is clotted whale cholesterol excreted by sperm whales. Despite the fact that we, as humans, eat just about every organ represented in nature—and so many substances from said organs—it really does sound, well, gross. And a few small quips about "excretions" and "sperm whales" can become a torrent of sophomoric humor in the wrong crowd. So why risk the snickers and sneers?
Ambergris has been used in food, perfumes, and punches, but it garnered early attention as a curative used by medieval physicians. Historian Paul Freedman writes that "Ambergris was considered the sovereign preventative drug against the plague." However, just like juniper brandy (gin), which was also considered a curative for the Black Death, it didn't work. And there were plenty of good uses apart from the intended one that led it to be a highly sought-after ingredient, but none more compelling than its pungent, sea-drenched, musky aroma, which can be described as nothing less than "umami" of the nose.
With the steam from the hot beverage, the aroma of the ambergris wafted, and even those who initially shunned an extra cut eventually added it.
I added a small, pea-like nugget of the substance to a hot Negus I served this New Year's Eve at the Columbia Room. I was initially spurred by pioneering ambergris user and drinks historian David Wondrich's latest tome of pre-cocktailian compounding, Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl, along with some cajoling from former cocktail blogger Damon Fodge. After adding the small amount directly shaved in the punch, I then offered guests an extra shave of ambergris on top of the Negus. The comparison to truffles is obvious, although pound for pound ambergris is more expensive. With the steam from the hot beverage, the aroma of the ambergris wafted, and even those who initially shunned an extra cut eventually added it after tasting their date's cup or sniffing a neighbor's. It really is a compelling smell and it's no wonder why it has been part of perfumery.
Now before you call the Sea Sheppard on my bar, please consider that no whales are killed in the making of ambergis. As Wondrich writes, "Ambergris is... secreted in large lumps that float around until they wash ashore." In other words, it's beached sans whale. Once ashore, some lucky beachcomber finds the sea nugget—lucky, because ambergris costs a small fortune. This, of course, also makes the supply somewhat uncertain. You can get it by ordering it from New Zealand. Here is the recipe I used for an Excellent Negus from William Terrington's Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks:
Recipe: Excellent Negus
• 1 bottle Port (tawny or vintage for best results)
• 2 ½ pints distilled water
• juice of 1 lemon (I used Meyer lemons, and it was a good call)
• 1 lemon peel rubbed off on caster sugar
• grated nutmeg and sugar to taste
• shave pea-sized chunk of ambergris or create a tincture of ambergris for extended use and easier storage (recipe below)
Mix ingredients. Serve warm.
Recipe: Tincture of Ambergris
Grate 5 grams of Ambergris (please keep in mind that this is approximately $125 worth of ambergris and you can make it weaker if you want). Add to 1 cup overproof spirit (more than 50 percent alcohol by volume). Put the ingredients in a secure jar and seal tightly.
Store the jar out in the open (in a window sill, warm and exposed to light is ideal) for one month. Agitate daily. Decant the clear portion and filter if necessary.


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Family friendly Holiday Accommodation in Bristol County
We have found 1 properties to book, based on your search for Family friendly Holiday Accommodation in Bristol County, England.
Alveston House Hotel North of Bristol
Hotel in Bristol, Bristol County, England
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By Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg
W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research
January 2012
Elephants Out - Homo Sapiens In
It is being claimed that the disappearance of elephants from the Levant led to the emergence of Homo Sapiens replacing the more primitive Homo Erectus some 400.000 years ago. The claim is based on work by researchers from Tel Aviv University. Archaeologists and anthropologists, at the Qesem Cave at Gesher Bnot Ya'akov, a ford north of Lake Kinneret, have discovered the teeth of the Levantine Acheulo-Yabrudian, a species of Homo sapiens. The theory is that Homo erectus lived in association with the local elephants, using them as sources of meat and fat. When the large creatures died out, a new breed of humans evolved able to hunt faster and smaller animals to sustain their necessary level of consumable fats. This, according to scientists from Tel Aviv University, "was the evolutionary drive behind the emergence in the Middle Pleistocene Era of the lighter, more agile, cognitively capable homini." The researchers were not able to say whether the new species evolved in Africa and migrated to the Levant, or whether the remains found at the Qesem Cave were those of a local species.
Carvings in the Floor of Silwan Dwelling
In Jerusalem in the remains of a house dated to the late Iron Age, three V-shaped carvings were found cut into the limestone bedrock floor. The arms of each V are about 40cm long and 5cm deep and the point of the V is accentuated by a slight widening into a miniature triangle. The excavator, Prof. Ronny Reich of Haifa University, thought the signs were unique but later discovered that similar carvings had been recorded in a nearby house during the abortive Parker Mission of a century ago. The markings being enigmatic, the excavators put the details on Facebook to ask for suggestions and were overwhelmed by the response, but out of thousands of replies no credible ideas were received. It appears that the floor cuts may have been used to secure the feet of a piece of weaving apparatus. However, as the room was previously filled with rubble to act as a support for a defensive wall possibility constructed in the time of King Jehoash (842-802 BCE), the cuts may have served as a base for a framework used to reinforce the rubble fill.
Mughrabi Bridge to Temple Mount, Agian
The Jerusalem city engineer continues to insist that the present temporary bridge is unsafe and a potential fire-risk, but sharp protests from the Waqf and other Islamic bodies, objecting to any change to the "status quo," have made it virtually impossible to replace the bridge without causing anti-Israel violence throughout the Arab world. The temporary solution has been to treat the timber structure with a fire- retardant substance and to have a fire-truck on permanent standby near the present structure.
Byzantine Bath House in Judean Hills
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) revealed that an ancient bath-house dated c.400 CE has been uncovered at Moshav Tarum, about 25 km west of Jerusalem near Bet Shemesh. It was found during work on a new water supply line to Jerusalem. The main room is cruciform in plan and heated by a fine hypocaust floor with about thirty squat stone pillars, and fed by a heating channel from a nearby boiler house. The find was open for viewing for a few days and it is not clear if plans will be made for permanent access.
Archaeological Finds Vandalized in the Afula Area
Several archaeological sites in the vicinity of Afula, in the Lower Galilee, have been vandalized and precious remains destroyed. At Khirbet Amudim the contents of a locked steel container were destroyed, including First-Temple pottery and later artifacts. This has set back the work of several rescue digs in the area that were being conducted by the IAA in advance of new road building. The culprits appear to be ultra- orthodox elements who object to the occasional but necessary moving of ancient graves and the removal of bones for examination and respectful reburial. Police are investigating and plan to bring charges.
Second Temple Token a Seal of Purity
Eli Shukron of the IAA continues to make important discoveries in the area of the channel that leads to the base of Robinson's Arch by the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The latest discovery is a small button-sized (1 cm) clay seal that came up in sifting the dirt from the north side of the Siloam Pool, where 30 coins have already been recovered. The seal or token is inscribed with the Aramaic formula "t-k-a l-H" which is translated as "Pure to God." The token is dated to the late Second Temple period, perhaps fifty years before the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. The use of similar seals or tokens is recorded in the Mishnah, where it describes how a person wishing to purchase a libation would pay one official, receive a token from him and pass it on to another official who would hand him the appropriate drink offering (Shekalim 5:4). The find was hailed by Mrs. Limor Livnat, the Israeli Minister of Culture and Sport, for demonstrating the connection of the Jewish People to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.
Stop the Press, 'Geniza' Find in Afghanistan
Rumors are surfacing about the discovery of a cache of early medieval Jewish documents in Arabic, Judeo-Arabic and early Persian at Samangan Province on the Silk Road. The 150 fragments, which seem to be a kind of 'geniza' of unwanted scrolls, are in the hands of dealers, and Jewish institutions are hoping to purchase them, but details are still very sketchy.
Comments (1)
On "The Carvings in the Floor"
Your comment that the floor cuts may have been used to secure the feet of a piece of weaving apparatus is dead on! The numerous Iron age loom weights found nearby indicate activity by the fullers who utilized this area with its clean limestone floors, vats and tables. Warren's Shaft would have offered access to an abundant water supply.
#1 - A B Chrysler - 01/06/2012 - 23:22


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Judge: DA can use Holmes' cellphone as evidence
DENVER – Eerie self-portraits that Colorado theater shooting defendant James Holmes took with his cellphone hours before the attack could be shown to jurors after the judge ruled that prosecutors can use evidence from the phone at his trial.
Other photos on the phone amount to surveillance of the theater taken up to three weeks before the shootings, prosecutors have said.
In a series of rulings made public Monday, Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. also said prosecutors could use evidence from Holmes' bank records, emails and computers. Defense attorneys had argued that the search warrant used to seize the cellphone, along with Holmes' cellphone records, bank records and other evidence, were flawed. The judge disagreed and rejected eight defense motions to suppress the evidence.
The cellphone photos, shown in court last year, included one of Holmes wearing black contact lenses and a black stocking cap, with two tufts of his orange-dyed hair sticking out like a pair of horns.
In another, he held a pistol beneath his face and grinned into the lens. A third showed an assault rifle and shotgun, magazines for ammunition, tactical gear and bags to carry rounds arrayed on a red sheet on a bed.
Police have testified the photos were taken about six hours before the July 20, 2012, shooting, which killed 12 people and injured 70. A rifle and a shotgun were used in the attack.
The photos of the theater were taken on June 29 and later.
Holmes, a 26-year-old former neuroscience graduate student, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to more than 160 counts of murder and attempted murder. His attorneys have acknowledged he was the shooter but said he was in the grip of a psychotic episode.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Holmes' trial date is up in the air while both sides work their way through dozens of pretrial motions.
Prosecutors could use the cellphone photos, bank records and other evidence to make their case to the jury that Holmes planned the attack. But as dramatic as the photos are, they will likely be less important to the outcome of the case than a mandatory sanity evaluation that Holmes underwent at the state mental hospital last month.
The verdict on Holmes' sanity is up to the jury, and the evaluation will be a key piece of evidence. If jurors decide Holmes was insane, he could not be executed but instead would be committed indefinitely to the state hospital.
The critical conclusions of the evaluation have not been made public, but prosecutors have asked for another by their own experts, saying the doctor who conducted the first one was biased.
Samour has not said when he will rule on the request. He held a four-day hearing on the issue last month that was closed to the public and reporters.