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Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Bad behavior in cheap hotels
I forget who they were discussing or what criteria they used to determine the likelihood of a hotel guest blowing snot rockets on the shower curtain, but it reminded me of one of 1,000 jobs that helped pay my college tuition.
I cleaned rooms at a mediocre hotel, which is precisely as glamorous as it sounds. I got to handle people's soiled bed sheets and wonder about the crusty things clinging to damp towels.
In mid-summer, we got word that a big motorcycle rally was passing through town. The hotel staff braced for the worst, picturing leather-clad bikers smashing televisions and punching holes in the walls.
We couldn't have been more wrong.
They made their own beds and picked up their towels. They left generous tips and arranged their leathers neatly in the closets. One biker even left a rose and a heartfelt note thanking me for my service.
I felt guilty for equating Harleys with bad behavior and gratefully pocketed the cash.
Two weeks later, a well-known symphony group booked a block of rooms. I prepared for more tips, perhaps an entire bouquet of roses from the well-heeled musicians.
They trashed the place.
Puke glued to the side of the toilet, unmentionables stuck to the sheets, furniture destroyed, and not a single tip for any of the maids.
In a way, it was a better lesson for me than the bikers had been. The cultured symphony folks were just as capable of bad behavior as I'd assumed the bikers would be, and the bikers were as tidy and thoughtful as I'd naively thought the musicians were. Bottom line, you can't judge a book by its cover, a biker by his chaps, or a pianist by the fact that is job title sounds delightfully like penis.
It's been 15 years, but I still cling to my mental picture of the tattooed biker in his leather jacket writing a poignant thank you note to the maid, or the violinist standing atop the television to urinate on the carpet.
That may be one reason my books always end up with characters who bend stereotypes. MAKING WAVES includes a former NFL tight end turned cross-dressing gourmet chef, along with a ruthless pirate who happens to be a literary theologian. The romantic hero in BELIEVE IT OR NOT owns a male strip club – something that made my editor nervous when she first read the manuscript.
I had fun mulling people's preconceived ideas about those characters and then turning those stereotypes on their heads. Toying with the unexpected is what romance writing is all about for me.
Do you play with stereotypes in your own stories? Do you like reading books where people aren't what they seem? Please share.
And please tell me you never touch the comforter in a hotel room. Not unless you're wearing rubber gloves and a HazMat suit.
27 comments :
- Jessica Lemmon said...
BLARGH! Eewwwwwwwwww! I think the grossest job I ever did was waitress - I had to pick up soiled napkins and used cutlery, but that is nothing - NOTHING - compaired to your tales of cleaning. *hurk*
I love that you gleaned something from it, too - stereotypes are more fun (and funny) when bent!
- October 13, 2010 at 6:39 AM
- Linda G. said...
That's what I loved most about MAKING WAVES -- your characters are unexpected, and yet so genuine. You hit on two of my favorites in this post. :)
Re the bikers: I've never met one personally (and yes, I've met a few) who wasn't a perfect gentleman. And I've met more than a few of the "upper crust" who were perfect arseholes. ;)
- October 13, 2010 at 6:39 AM
- Harley May said...
You should absolutely equate Harleys with bad behavior.
No, no...jokes. I think it's wonderful that you write against streotypes. We all should. This might be a touchy topic, but one WIP of mine is set in Korea and in it, I discuss racism and racial sterotypes. It's been a tricky thing to handle. Great post, Tawna.
- October 13, 2010 at 6:43 AM
- Christi Goddard said...
I've cleaned hotels for a living, too. The worst were always the Prom and Homecoming crowds.
My second MS deals a lot with stereotypes through the eyes of one pretty judgemental teen.
- October 13, 2010 at 6:48 AM
- Laura Maylene said...
I don't specifically set out to play with stereotypes, but in one of my short stories being published next month, the big tough security guard is actually a softy who whispers knock-knock jokes to his charge...not really a blown stereotypes, but for some reason I always liked him a lot. :)
And thanks for reminding me how gross hotel comforters are. I always try to forget...
- October 13, 2010 at 6:59 AM
- Claire Dawn said...
Funny you should mention this...
I went to a conference this weekend, and in one of the exercise we had to think of a profession for a character and all the most stereotypical things we could attach to that profession. Then we had to change one (or more) to the exact opposite.
Also, I teach a hearing impaired kid. You'd think he'd have a lot of trouble with English as a Foreign Language, since it's listening intensive. But he's got hearing aids, and he never has a problem with the listening or speaking. BUT he has some of the worst handwriting I've ever seen. Every time I look at his book, I think, "Dude, you're half-deaf, which excuses you from a lot of things. But it doesn't give you a reason to write this badly."
- October 13, 2010 at 7:27 AM
- Amanda C. said...
Ich! I already hate hotel beds....don't make me think about the comforters!
Great post though. I always prefer reading about characters that go against the typical stereotype!
- October 13, 2010 at 8:27 AM
- Colene Murphy said...
That is awesome! I love hearing about bikers being super cool and not the destructive rude brutes they appear because it's so true that most are just really cool, nice fellas.
I worked as a housekeeper for a year and...ugh.. never again. And this was at a 5 start hotel too! Just nasty.
Characters that break stereotypes are really fun especially if you don't know about it before you start reading. That surprise is the best!
- October 13, 2010 at 8:35 AM
- Abby Minard said...
Rest assured I NEVER touch the comforter in hotel rooms. And you validated that for me, so thanks ;p
My female characters are always strong and independent- I rarely have the "damsel-in-distress" in my fantasy stories.
I love characters that break from stereotypes.
- October 13, 2010 at 8:44 AM
- Sierra Godfrey said...
I never touch the comforter. AND I have problems touching the TV remote control, too. And I....let's just say hotels are difficult for me.
I think the mark of a clever, successful writer is their ability to turn the expected into the unexpected, and your story is a great example (and a great story). It's one of the reasons I love the movie Juno so much--because it cleverly expects us to believe the girl (Juno) will mess with the older guy, but she DOESN'T--she's better than HIM and I love that.
- October 13, 2010 at 8:49 AM
- Danica Avet said...
I had to laugh upon reading about the symphonic group because...well I was in band when I was in college. For some reason people believe band nerds do nothing but sit around and blow on their uh, instruments when in fact, they're probably trouble than football players AND any Animal House type fraternities...band folk are naaaasty. At least, we were. Just saying.
Anyway, yes. I love to play with stereotypes...like the Uptown girl with the $4k shoes who swears like a sailor, or the giant cyclops who faints at the sight of blood. Things like that always make me giggle. And of course, if I hadn't decided to read your books before, I have to now after learning you have a former NFL tightend who's a crossdresser and a chef. Yeah, those sorts of things make me giggle.
- October 13, 2010 at 9:21 AM
- Unknown said...
Yes, I love portraying certain characters as Stereotypes and then get into the story about why they act that way. I don't think any of the characters I create and write about are flat characters. Just like the people you meet, every single one of them has a story behind how they got there and where they are going to be going. Some are much more fun and writing spontaneous twists about them are hilarious.
And it's always fun to have my Barracuda (that's the nickname for my Beta-reader) snapping my head off over a twist and cliffhanger combination. ;)
- October 13, 2010 at 10:47 AM
- Candyland said...
LOL! I prefer reading about "sterotypical" characters that don't turn out the way you *think* they will. I like finding surprises in people. Sort of like in life.
- October 13, 2010 at 11:15 AM
- Catherine Stine said...
Good post! Speaking of the unexpected coming from biker types, a teacher in my MFA Creative Writing program walked into class with tattoos, ear and tongue piercings, and wearing leather pants and shades. I figured he could teach me nothing I didn't already know. Boy, was I wrong!!! He ended up being the most intelligent and inspiring lit teacher I had.
- October 13, 2010 at 12:42 PM
- Jan Markley said...
I love the juxtaposition of qualities in a character and finding out that the character isn't who you thought s/he was. Makes for complex characters!
- October 13, 2010 at 1:11 PM
- Dr. Goose said...
Fire and Beast love motorcycles and the people who ride them. They wave and holler at them at stop lights and, bar none, the kindest guys are the Harley riders.
They go from a killing look to wide, sometimes toothless, grins and big waves. The kids LOVE them!
- October 13, 2010 at 1:13 PM
- Kristen Lamb said...
What a day! I am so glad I can always stop by your blog and be guaranteed a smile.
I love books and movies that are daring enough to break the stereotypes. I think that's why I so loved female action heroes back when I was a kid in the 80s. And I would love to give clever, witty examples, but I am down to five brain cells...and two are having a smok break. Sorry. Thanks for a wonderful blog, though :D.
- October 13, 2010 at 5:38 PM
- Christine said...
I used to be a maid as well. Great job for future writing ideas LOL. I think Bikers are very misunderstood. Many are vets and very courageous people. I think sometimes the "richer" people are the less they tip or the worse they behave because they believe they can get away with the behavior.
I love your tilting stereotypes! I have to play around with that a little more. It's easy to get locked into a mindset. I do have a retired lieutenant colonel who reads romance novels (and he is a real person!) in my life. I think maybe the best kept secret is that those geeks in HS are really pretty amazing heroes!
- October 14, 2010 at 7:23 AM
- Christine said...
I used to be a maid as well. Great job for future writing ideas LOL. I think Bikers are very misunderstood. Many are vets and very courageous people. I think sometimes the "richer" people are the less they tip or the worse they behave because they believe they can get away with the behavior.
I love your tilting stereotypes! I have to play around with that a little more. It's easy to get locked into a mindset. I do have a retired lieutenant colonel who reads romance novels (and he is a real person!) in my life. I think maybe the best kept secret is that those geeks in HS are really pretty amazing heroes!
- October 14, 2010 at 7:23 AM
- TAWNA FENSKE said...
Jessica, the hotel cleaning was gross, but washing dogs for a groomer might've been one of the ickiest jobs I held. Ever cleaned an anal gland? Don't answer that.
Linda G, aw, thanks! Here's that twenty bucks I promised.
Harley May, all Harleys are bad. Duh.
Christi, miraculously, I never had to deal with homecoming or prom crowds. The tourists were bad enough.
Laura, that sounds like a cool story!
Claire Dawn, love that exercise!
madameduck, most hotels wash the comforters only once or twice a year. Ick.
Colene, I definitely revised my idea of what bikers are like!
Abby, funny, there's a "damsel in distress" reference in MAKING WAVES. I'm talking about the former NFL tight end :)
Sierra, I'd never thought of Juno like that, but you're totally right -- great point!
Danica, one time at band camp...
Matthew, LOL about the barracuda beta reader. I might have to start using that!
Candyland, indeed, it's the surprise that makes it fun!
Catherine, I'd definitely sit up and pay attention if a professor like that walked in!
Jan, complex characters are the best!
Dr. Goose, I do that with bikers, too.
Kristen, I always wanted to be Wonder Woman.
Christine, no joke, the maid job was excellent for writing inspiration!
Thanks for reading, guys!
- October 14, 2010 at 7:45 AM
- Unknown said...
I like using stereotypes as a mold, just to then twist them around a bit. However, I think I'm much better making the evil/unlikeable dudes unstereotypic than I am playing with my heroes. :)
And no. Not that kind of playing. Sheesh!
- October 14, 2010 at 10:43 AM
- Squeaky said...
Egad, woman - have you never read any of Jilly Cooper's orchestra-based romps? you wouldn't have been surprised if you had, believe me! *grin*
- October 15, 2010 at 11:43 AM
- Mommy A. said...
Love this post, especially considering I just bought my husband the Harley for which he has been begging for 10 years of marriage. Incidentally, he is a stay-at-home dad and served in the Marine Corps as a scout/sniper. We bend stereotypes daily in our home.
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- December 11, 2010 at 4:10 PM
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- December 17, 2010 at 2:06 AM
This is a good blog. Keep up all the work. I too love blogging and expressing my opinions. Thanks
watch the tourist online
- January 13, 2011 at 7:25 PM


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SUNY Canton Responds to SUNY Board of Trustees ResolutionMonday, December 5th, 2011
Taskforce created to initiate SUNY's shared services efforts
Responding to a Nov. 22 State University of New York Board of Trustees resolution, SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy has initiated a proactive plan attempting to create new ways to share services with SUNY Potsdam and potentially other SUNY schools.
The resolution establishes a timeline and directs the presidents of SUNY Canton and SUNY Potsdam to submit results of a joint report on shared services by July 15, 2012. To initiate these efforts, Kennedy has created a special taskforce and assigned his senior leadership team to investigate possibilities for the two colleges to share services and create a sustainable plan for continued growth and prosperity.
"It's an opportunity, not a challenge," Kennedy said. "Our goal is to ultimately improve the students' experience, reduce costs, and direct an even higher percentage of our budget toward academics. There are opportunities for innovation and efficiency, and those are two traits our College takes great pride in."
Members of the taskforce include two faculty members, two students, one community member, one College Council member, one Alumni Association representative, and one representative from each of the College's labor unions (United University Professions and the Civil Service Employees Association). Kennedy said he expects many new concepts for shared services to emerge from the discussions. He has even suggested the possibility of sharing some services with other additional SUNY colleges and universities.
"We share in SUNY's vision to provide the absolute best educational and career opportunities for our students, and we will continue to do everything we can to maximize their experience and our budget," the president said. "Through an open environment and community input, we will establish clear guidelines and fiscally measurable outcomes for as many shared services as feasibly possible. We want constructive input toward our efforts college- and SUNY-wide. I'm confident by working together we can achieve significant cost reduction, and I'm hopeful some of our ideas may also be helpful to other colleges and universities within the system."
The SUNY Board of Trustees resolved to maintain the presidencies at both SUNY Canton and Potsdam respectively while each of the campuses work together promptly, diligently, and cooperatively to explore and implement shared services where appropriate. Savings from the efforts will be redirected to academics and student support services, in accordance with SUNY's ongoing directives.
Current plans include creating new revenue-generating opportunities – similar to the way the College has capitalized upon its online programming and supplementary semester offerings. Kennedy wants to see both colleges increase enrollments and work to strengthen each other's academic offerings. "We can start by offering common start dates and expanding cross-registration opportunities," the president suggested. "We can offer each other support for new degree programs and offer joint minor options. These are simple ways to further our collaborative efforts and add academic options for our collective student bodies."
"We've already begun the process of sharing services with SUNY Potsdam," noted SUNY Canton Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Carli C. Schiffner. "We currently have two joint searches underway for a Chief Financial Officer and a Military and Veteran Student Services Coordinator. These two positions will oversee their respective areas at both colleges."
The searches came about following a series of discussions between Kennedy and SUNY Potsdam President John F. Schwaller and ongoing planning between the two college's leadership teams to combine some administrative operations. The colleges are studying shared services within the purchasing, accounts payable, human resources, information technology, institutional research, continuing education, and research programs, among others. SUNY Canton officials have also reached out to SUNY Plattsburgh to discuss possible shared services.
SUNY Canton officials recently calculated that more than 52 percent of its expenditures are currently spent on academics. To view the expenditure breakdown, visit www.canton.edu/shared. The College will be updating the page with the latest news and resources about shared services. "Even though we've already exceed the Board of Trustees goal of 52 percent of expenditures geared toward academics, we are going to work hard toward increasing that percentage even more," Kennedy said. "Our newly created Shared Services Taskforce will have the opportunity to assist in guiding those efforts and executing the directives of the Trustees and Chancellor."
SUNY Provost David K. Lavallee has reassured both colleges and the Board of Trustees that shared or jointly appointed positions between the colleges would happen through attrition rather than the elimination of current faculty and staff members. "I'm truly proud that Provost Lavallee and Chancellor (Nancy L.) Zimpher have taken this stance and reaffirmed a commitment to maintaining jobs in St. Lawrence County," said David F. Butler, SUNY Canton's UUP President. "If our plans are effective, it will enable both colleges to hire more faculty members and further enhance our service to students."
The concept for shared services was created to benefit students, according to SUNY Administration. "Our students are the very core of SUNY Canton," Kennedy said. "We have been and will remain committed to providing them with every opportunity possible to ensure their success both academically and in their future careers. They deserve to be included in whatever decisions we make while moving forward with our plans."
Media inquiries should be directed to Gregory Kie, Media Relations Manager, or call 315/386-7527.

subset: commoncrawl


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Everyone Loves a Mystery: A Genre Study
|6 – 8
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Marysville, Washington
Students examine story elements and vocabulary associated with mystery stories through Directed LearningThinking Activities and then track these features as they read mystery books from the school or classroom library. Several activities at the Millennium Mystery Madness website, plus a story map project, add to their understanding and appreciation of the mystery genre. Students plan their own original mystery stories with the help of the interactive Mystery Cube, peer edit and revise their stories, and publish them online.
Millennium Mystery Madness:This student-created website offers a history of the mystery genre, elements of a mystery, a scavenger hunt, and more.
Mystery Cube: Use this tool to help your students sort out the clues in their favorite mysteries or develop outlines for their own stories.
Richards, P.O., Thatcher, D.H., Shreeves, M., Timmons, P., & Barker, S. (1999). Don't let a good scare frighten you: Choosing and using quality chillers to promote reading. The Reading Teacher, 52(8), 830840.
- Students are able to actively participate in mysteries and scary stories in ways they cannot with other media.
- Students choose to read mysteries for entertainment and enjoyment. Therefore, mysteries may provide the best opportunities for literature study.
- Literary elements such as character, setting, plot, point of view, theme, and tone can be examined and discussed.


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|Up a level
Mohamed, K S and Sasikumar, Geetha and Koya, K P Said and Venkatesan, V and Kripa, V and Durgekar, N Raveendra and Joseph, Mathew and Alloycious, P S and Mani, R and Vijay, D (2011) Know... The Master of the Arabian Sea - Purple-Back Flying Squid Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis. NAIP Booklet. Project Report. CMFRI, COCHIN, Cochin.


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Download Finn Study Guide
Finn Summary
(Literary Masterpieces, Volume 3)
In Mark Twain's great Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), Pap is less a full-fledged character than the antic personification of menace. As Twain's Huck says, "He was just all mud," but from the opening appearance of his cross-marked boot print to the runaway Jim's concluding revelation of Pap's demise in the floating murder house, this pariah casts a shadow that chills the reader almost as much as it threatens Huck. At the same time, the focal character almost seems impotent, too whiskey-weakened and self-defeating to exact his vengeance upon anyone who is not completely powerless. Still, Pap has always provided readers with alluring mysteries: "How did this man become such a lowdown cur? How did he come to his end in that house and amid those peculiar props (cards, black masks, straw hat, women's lingerie)? Why did the apple Huck fall so far from the tree? And how could such a mangy river rat even manage to sire a son?" Jon Clinch's premier novel, Finn, sets out to provide a credible and compelling answer to these questions, and it succeeds splendidly because its gritty lyricism is at once authentic and original and because its engagement with the dark forces shaping both the wily Pap and the country that spawned him extends and even deepens the ways Americans ponder both the scoundrel of a classic book and the threads of villainy woven so intricately into the national fabric. As tempting as it might be to content oneself with such an exercise, Clinch has challenged himself further: He has created a world that is not quite Twain's long-ago borderland and not quite a parallel one, but somehow, miraculously and dangerously, the elemental one humankind always struggles to understand.
Sena Jeter Nasland's Ahab's Wife (1999), Geraldine Brooks's prize-winning March (2005), and Donald McCaig's Rhett Butler's People (2007), among others, have reinvigorated the project famously launched by the likes of John Gardner's Grendel (1971) and Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (pr. 1966): reminding readers that fascinating stories may be waiting to be summoned from the penumbral subtexts of canonical works. They have also demonstrated that being the second witness on the scene does not obligate a writer to give complete fealty to his antecedents. Clinch has taken the bold step of reimagining the antebellum conflicts along the banks of the Mississippi River to explore the heart of darkness that haunted Twain and troubles the world still, but unlike Twain, he is more concerned with those who fall prey to darkness than to those who ultimately elude it. A deep darkness it is, for Finn is no mere entertainment for the faint of spirit. The title character is a resourceful felon, a racist, a shrewd brute, and an incorrigible addict, and his story is not recounted in euphemisms or evasions. Amid the lies, lethal violence, and drinking bouts, the raw cunning of the talereminiscent at times of Cormac McCarthy's postapocalyptic territoriesmay invite some to avert their gaze, for as Jim says in the earlier book, "It's too gashly." Nevertheless, the eloquence and vivid poetry of the telling will never make the courageous reader wish for a gentler touch. Clinch has conjured a case resembling possession, and he has the gumption to let its madness reign.
In a nonlinear narrative that focuses on a central horrific act but encompasses a lifetime, the omniscient and eloquent narrator exposes Finn's stealth, theft, pillage, gouging, arson, rape, and swilling of liquor as he strives to both escape and come to terms with the woman who enchants him and the father who spurns him. Along the way, Finn fishes, trades, scuffles, prevents a piracy, watches a steamboat explosion, assists a child molester, sulks in jail, taunts a distinguished free African American, and taints everything he touches. Slinking from crime to crime and woman to woman, always returning to the home he was cast out of and the river that heals him,...
(The entire section is 1,979 words.)


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Agatha wrote:Awww poor Horace . It's sad how we treat NPC's . You people have no soul !
Let's roll the dice on his corpse !
Yay, no more huge signature that fills my screen!
Okay comic, but i was missing a punch-line (Atleast a better one)
EDIT: Bah - Nevermind, its actualy a very good comic after i figured the whole "LOST" refference out


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National Register of Historic Places Program:
National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month
Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District, Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan, Alaska
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.
"…a name once given (to a clan house) survive(s) the mere structure."
Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District
Photo by Louis A. Thompson, courtesy of the Alaska State Historic Preservation Office
So wrote U.S. Navy Lieutenant and ethnographic photographer George Thornton Emmons (1852-1945), who wrote extensively on the Tlingit culture. The same could be said of the Haida culture, which is culturally related to the Tlingit. The above statement would certainly prove true for the National Register site known as Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District, in New Kasaan Totem Pole Park. The site includes a traditional longhouse, nine free-standing totem poles, two cemeteries, and a bridge and trail connecting the features. The Whale House was built during the 1880s at Old Kasaan. Son-I-Hat moved from the village to a new site about seven miles north from Skowl Arm at Kasaan Bay. Some time prior to 1904, he moved his Whale House and entrance totem to the new site. The new village, called variously Kasaan or New Kasaan, is on the east side of Prince of Wales Island in southern Alaska about thirty miles northwest of Ketchikan. Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on June 11, 2002, for its importance to artistic, architectural and ethnic history.
The Haida and the Tlingit are Native American peoples that belong to the southeastern coast and coastal islands of Alaska. The Haida and their northern neighbors, the Tlingit, were among the most aggressive Northwest Coast people--the Haida were known for their fierce sea fighting skills and, according to Canadian anthropologist Diamond Jenness, introducing the totem pole tradition. The Tlingit Indians were a fierce coastal people, who extended their influence into Indian nations in the North American interior. The Haida and Tlingit both belonged to the larger culture of the Northwest Coast Indians who possessed a unique culture untouched by the strong cultural influences that emanated from the Mexican Indians on the North American Continent. Descent among the Northwest Coast peoples was traced from the maternal line, and status was based on individual wealth. The status of individuals and indeed, whole villages, was determined by the potlatch, a ceremonial occasion when gifts and food were given away to guests, and which displayed the wealth of the giver.
Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District
Photo by Louis A. Thompson, courtesy of the Alaska State Historic Preservation Office
The Northwest Coast Indians encountered Russian explorers and traders in Alaska, but eventually, with the sale of Alaska to the United States in 1867, the Alaskan Haida and Tlingit found themselves under American authority. The Kaigani are Haida Indians who since the early 1700s lived north of Dixon Entrance, a body of water which separates the islands of Southeast Alaska from the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia. The Kaigani people moved north from the Queen Charlotte Islands. It appears that the Haida and Tlingit negotiated the Kaigani move to southern Prince of Wales Island peacefully and incorporated each other into their social structures despite linguistic differences. Kasaan, for example, is a Tlingit word meaning "beautiful town.' Old Kasaan was a Kaigani Haida village on the north shore of Skowl Bay, on the east side of Prince of Wales Island. The community had seven house chiefs, among them Son-I-Hat, and one village chief, Chief Skowl.
The town had numerous totem poles in front of the houses that were in a line along the beach. In the 1870s and 1880s, several epidemics killed many of the residents including the village leader, Chief Skowl, who died during the winter of 1882-1883. Between 1892 and 1900, the Copper Queen Mine operated at Kasaan Bay. The mine went bankrupt by 1900, but in 1902 a salmon cannery opened near the mine site. In the 1890s, Chief Son-I-Hat decided to move from Old Kasaan to a seasonal camp site near the bay, probably because of the availability of jobs for his family members. He also changed the name of the village, Kasaan, as the old site was abandoned. The new site is sometimes referred to as New Kasaan. At the time, Chief Son-I-Hat had his clan's Whale House, built around 1880, and a totem pole moved to the new village. Chief Son-I-Hat had at least one other house at Old Kasaan. He donated several totem poles and house posts from it, known as Eagle House, to Territorial Governor John Brady in the late 1890s. The pieces were displayed at the World's Fair in St. Louis in 1904 and at the Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland in 1905 before being placed at Sitka National Historic Park in 1910 (listed in the National Register of Historic Places).
Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District
Photo by Louis A. Thompson, courtesy of the Alaska State Historic Preservation Office
In 1900, the census recorded 150 people living at Kasaan. The nearby cannery operated sporadically until 1953. A sawmill operated intermittently. New Kasaan's population has never been higher than 150 people, and in the early 1970s was only seven. The 2000 census count was 39, of whom 49% are Native. The U.S. Forest Service used the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a New Deal program, to provide jobs in Southeast Alaska during the 1930s. The program was used to develop recreational facilities in Tongass National Forest, to create parks for local residents and visitors in different communities, and to preserve the Native peoples' heritage. In several Southeast Alaska communities, the Forest Service hired local Native people to restore or reconstruct traditional Native houses and totem poles. The Forest Service moved a number of totem poles and pieces from abandoned Southeast Alaska villages, one being Old Kasaan, to Saxman, Sitka, Wrangell, Ketchikan, Klawock, Hydaburg and Kasaan. The poles were either repaired and refurbished or copied by carvers. Linn A. Forrest, an architect for the U.S. Forest Service in Alaska, led the effort. CCC funds paid for more than two hundred Native carvers and laborers to restore and replicate Tlingit and Haida traditional houses and totem poles. At Kasaan, the Whale House and totem pole moved to the community by Chief Son-I-Hat at least thirty-five years earlier were in need of repair. They were documented and restored as part of the CCC program. The Forest Service moved eight totems from Old Kasaan to New Kasaan. The men who restored the building and totem poles were the children of the people who had moved at the turn of the century to Kasaan, including Felix Young, Peter Jones, Walter Young, and Chief Son-I-Hat's son James Peele. The CCC created a park at Kasaan.
The totem and house poles at Kasaan display both Tlingit and Haida carving styles. In general, totem poles tell clan stories and history, serve as monuments to adorn graves, or hold the dead and their possessions. The three house posts in the Whale House show two styles. The two outer posts are identical, with the large faces tending to realistic shape, a key to the Haida style. The center post is predominantly carved in a Tlingit variation of the Northwest Coast style. It has Haida faces peeking out of the ears and nostrils of the creature portrayed. The center pole has a planed and drilled location for the head of a creature whose tail is in the hands of a bird.
Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District
Photo by Louis A. Thompson, courtesy of the Alaska State Historic Preservation Office
The house was the basic unit of Tlingit and Haida societies. Typically, it was large, square or rectangular, with cedar planks set vertically along the sides and a planked gable roof held up by massive decorated corner posts and equally massive round ridge beams. Inside, the floor was dug for two or more levels of benches. The inside also had separate platforms for sitting and sleeping. The house faced the water, and usually would be in a single line along the beach because of the limited availability of flat land in southeast Alaska. Each house had an entrance pole incorporated in the front facade or standing a short distance in front of the house. The Whale House is an example of the latter practice. Typical of Northwest Coast houses, its main entrance is in the center of the front facade. There is a second entrance at the south end of the east elevation and a smoke hole in the center of the roof. The Whale House and totems are composed of cedar, which has helped preserve them.
The historic district includes two distinct cemeteries. The north cemetery has some of the oldest burials, including one of Chief Skowl's sons. His grave is marked with a carved killer whale fin. Chief Frank is also buried in the older cemetery, and his grave is marked by an animal figure that rotates. Chief Son-I-Hat is buried in the southern cemetery. The southern cemetery has a number of ornate, upright marble headstones. In all, there are not more than fifty graves. A trail, cut by the CCC, starts at the west end of the original Kasaan town site, goes through woods and, in several places, emerges close to the shore. After crossing awooden bridge over Son-I-Hat Creek, the trail passes the nine free-standing totems and the Whale House. It continues to the southern cemetery and turns north to access the northern cemetery. The land, buildings, and totems are owned by Kavilco, Inc., the village corporation created by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971.
Thompson, Louis A. Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District. Alaska SHPO. June 11, 2002. This write-up is extensively based upon the National Register nomination.
McDonald, George F., Dr. "The Haida: Children of Eagle and Raven," Canadian Museum of Civilization http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/haida/haindexe.shtml#menu (accessed October 26, 2011)
Visit the Organized Village of Kasaan website to learn about the Chief Son-I-Hat Whale House Restoration Project
American Indian and Native Alaska Heritage Month


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The CIO's Role in Project ManagementBy Thomas Hoffman
The CIO's Role in Project Management
As is the case with many CIOs today, Dennis L'Heureux's IT organization is being tasked with more projects than it can handle.
"We have so much demand we can't meet it," says L'Heureux, who for the past 14 years has served as CIO of Rockford (Ill.) Health System. "I have to keep telling business managers that their demand exceeds our capacity."
His experiences reflect the tremendous pressure CIOs feel: too many projects, tight budgets, shrinking staffs--all while the business expects IT to deliver, and deliver fast.
"Business leaders are interested in results; they are not interested in why certain applications are running into problems," says Gregory Balestrero, president and CEO of the Project Management Institute. "The CIO is going to have to talk about the results and the scope of the projects and programs they're trying to achieve." So if a CIO needs to provide an update on an ERP initiative, for instance, he or she must be able to talk about the project's benefits in business terms, explains Balestrero.
To help keep the physicians, nurses and department managers aware of his IT organization's project constraints, L'Heureux meets frequently with organizational leaders who participate in an information management advisory services steering committee. This committee reviews the inventory of projects being worked on, the resources being applied to them, and the pros and cons of pulling back or pushing ahead with certain projects.
To help put some structure and discipline around project management efforts at Rockford Health, L'Heureux created a project management office (PMO) about a year ago. A PMO officer recommends who should be placed on various project teams, while L'Heureux lobbies senior management for the staff needed for different projects, as well as to determine the timeline for utilizing each of those people.
L'Heureux describes his role in project management as a careful mix of art, politics, and identification of resources and staff availability. "It takes some bobbing and weaving," says L'Heureux. "We have business managers identified as the project leaders, and I shadow them. If they fail, I get hung. If they succeed, I get glorified."
L'Heureux's experiences are partly a reflection of how CIOs need to set the standard for establishing discipline around project management while communicating their objectives and status effectively with line-of-business peers in terms they understand.
The CIO also plays a critical role in the governance processes associated with project management, says Andre Spatz, former CIO at UNICEF. While in that position from 1997 through 2006, Spatz made sure that he co-owned every project with the business leaders whose organizations were responsible for the results of those efforts. In other words, they had skin in the game.
"That feature was critical because I didn't want to have sponsors," says Spatz. "I wanted owners who were fully accountable for the investments and attached to those investments."
Setting Priorities
Setting Priorities
When establishing project priorities, the CIO's role is "to make sure the priority process happens and to be an enabler, making sure those decisions get made," says Bob Benson, a senior consultant at Cutter Consortium.
The CIO also has to be ready to put his foot down, says Bill Hagerup, a senior consultant with Ouellette & Associates. "The CIO has to be firm enough to say, 'We can't do everything at once; we don't have adequate resources for that,'" says Hagerup. "It's easy to say 'yes' at the top when you're not doing the work at the bottom."
Much as Spatz did in co-owning projects with business leaders, Georgia Aquarium CIO Beach Clark has taken a collaborative approach to establishing milestones. "Because we're such a small company, we tend to work on projects together," he explains. For instance, Clark and the director of the aquarium's husbandry department are teaming up to establish and track project goals for a new animal records implementation.
Although L'Heureux also sets project milestones with the business, he's learned that he has to be the heavy when it comes to setting expectations. "My job is to make sure we have that discussion, to set expectations as to what a reasonable timeline is," he notes.
He's also learned the importance of building some slack into project milestones, since the project schedule often depends on a variety of extraneous factors, including regulatory requirements.
Speaking in Business-ese
Speaking in Business-ese
Beyond effectively delivering project updates to other executives in business terms they understand, CIOs need to tutor rising IT staffers to be able to do the same.
"I really like the idea that the CIO mentors the project management group or PMO in how to deal, in a businesslike fashion, with clients and how to communicate effectively and see things from other people's points of view," Hagerup says.
Of course, the style that each CIO uses to communicate with C-level peers on a project's status will vary depending on the nature of the relationships. The Georgia Aquarium recently completed a corporate dashboard that is used by its CFO and COO to examine such statistics as year-to-date revenue and visitor figures compared with prior years. Since the COO had been Clark's boss before being promoted, Clark speaks to him frequently. "We're able to get away with an informal method of communications," he says.
In many instances, of course, the CIO will need to drive the discussion. During L'Heureux's tenure at Rockford Health, the company has had five different CFOs. During those times when he felt that project management wasn't getting the attention it deserved from top management, L'Heureux, at its senior-level systems operations council meetings, would produce a list of the top projects the company was working on to ensure that the business leaders were aware of the various projects' status and milestones.
Says L'Heureux: "Sometimes I feel like Gen. Patton in my organization."


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Mike Smith posts his first shutout of the season
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Mike Smith stopped 28 shots for his first shutout of the season, Antoine Vermette had a power-play goal in the first period, and the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Vancouver Canucks 1-0 on Thursday night.
In a game full of penalties and killed power plays, the Coyotes got stellar goaltending and just enough offense while the Canucks continued to struggle on the offense. Phoenix also got a break on a reviewed goal in the third period.
Vancouver lost for the eighth time in nine games as an apparent goal from captain Henrik Sedin near the midpoint of the third was waved off after a replay review.
Smith stopped Kevin Bieksa's shot but the rebound came to Sedin, who knocked the puck into the net with his body. The Canucks have one goal in their last three games and lost all three on their road trip to Southern California and Arizona.
Still, Vancouver had a chance to draw even after a high-sticking double-minor against center Martin Hanzal. The Canucks were on a power play for all but the last 4 seconds of the game, with six attackers for the final minute, but failed to score.
The teams combined for five power plays in the first period, three for the Canucks and two for the Coyotes. Phoenix scored on its second man-advantage situation with 7:09 remaining in the period.
Keith Yandle faked a shot from the point and passed to Vermette in front of the red line almost directly to goalie Eddie Lack's left. Vermette took the tough-angle shot and the puck glanced off a Canucks defender and past Lack.
Earlier, Lack's reflexes kept the game scoreless when he turned away a good opportunity for Oliver Ekman-Larsson at the 6:18 mark.
The Canucks started the second period on a power play that didn't produce results. Daniel Sedin had an open net 4:32 into the period, but his shot sailed high and over the goal.
The Coyotes had a 3-on-1 chance with just over 8 minutes left in the second, but Lack stretched out to stop Radim Vrbata's shot and the Canucks cleared the puck, to the delight of a large contingent of blue-clad Vancouver fans inside Jobing.com Arena.
Ekman-Larsson hit the post with a shot with 24 seconds left in the period and the Coyotes on their fifth power play of the game. Vancouver's penalty minutes were an improvement from the 142 combined from the Canucks' previous two games.
The Canucks had several good chances in the third period but Smith turned them away each time, including a save on Brad Richardson's wrist shot with no defender in front of him at the 1:20 mark.


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|Just another Perl shrine
Re: Learning Perl as a First (programming) languageby oakbox (Chaplain)
|on Aug 02, 2002 at 07:51 UTC ( #187015=note: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
Aside from some very BASIC programming in grade school, Perl was my first language. The motivation was to build some form handlers for a web site I wanted to put together. From personal experience, I can say that Perl is very easy to pick up, you can start writing USEFUL programs almost immediately, the community support (here and on other sites) is outstanding, Perl is available on virtually every operating system/environment, the learning curve is shallow but VERY long (there's always One More Thing to pick up), and, as mentioned above, it's very forgiving.
Having said all of that, it IS a bit difficult to hop down to a low-level language. But, as you advance in Perl, you start moving closer and closer to C, object-oriented programming, attributes, etc. etc. etc.
Most texts try to introduce you to Perl as if you are coming from a different language. I would like to see some texts going the other way!
In Section Meditations


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RTC Summer Updates: Northeast ConferencePosted by Brian Goodman on August 19th, 2011
With the completion of the NBA Draft and the annual coaching and transfer carousels nearing their ends, RTC is rolling out a new series, RTC Summer Updates, to give you a crash course on each Division I conference during the summer months. Our latest and final update comes courtesy of our NEC correspondent, Ray Floriani.
Summer Storylines
- Monmouth Makes Noise – First came the hiring of King Rice to take over for Dave Calloway. Rice promises a significant upgrade, change in culture and return to winning ways for the New Jersey Shore-based school. To beef up its revenue stream, the university recently announced a partnership with New Jersey's Millennium Radio Group. As part of the deal, all Monmouth games will be aired on WOBM-AM for the next three seasons. Each Monday, the King Rice Show will also be broadcast on the station. Finally, Monmouth accepted a bid to play in the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Hawks will face Virginia Tech in Blacksburg in the East Regional. Other teams in that group are George Mason and Florida International.
- Phenomenal Phelan: NEC Hall of Famer Jim Phelan will receive the Lapchick Character Award at Madison Square Garden. The former Mount St. Mary's mentor joins Hall of Famer Pete Carril and Virginia women's coach Debbie Ryan in receiving this year's honor. The trio has enjoyed wonderful and winning careers punctuated with loyalty, longevity and success.
- Red Flash Commemorates History: St. Francis (PA) looks to improve and be competitive in the NEC, but not without forgetting its past. St. Francis will honor the "Golden" basketball legacy between 1940 and 1970. Players from that area will be nominated and reviewed by a selection committee to be included in an extended wing of the St. Francis Hall of Fame. As 1970 alumnus Bob Moore said, "Small Catholic colleges, particularly in the East, ranked among the nation's collegiate powers. To pay tribute to those early players and the teams St. Francis produced is long overdue."
- Hurley Hunkers Down: Wagner head coach Danny Hurley is getting his teams exposed to the highest level and toughened up for league play. His Wagner club will visit 2011 NCAA Tournament representatives Princeton, UConn and Pittsburgh on the road. The Seahawks will also travel to the Cable Car Classic out west in December. Wagner opens that tournament with Air Force before facing Santa Clara or Eastern Michigan in the next round.
- More of Moore: Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore was awarded a well-deserved extension through the 2015-16 season. Terms of the pact were not disclosed. Moore led Quinnipiac to 23 victories and a NEC regular season title in 2010.


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Most genealogists are nitpickers. We have to be. It's usually the tiniest detail that can make (or break) a proof argument. Over time, we all develop the habit of thoroughness, especially in our communications with other genealogists. After all, if we can't be exact, how can anyone else understand what we're trying to convey?
I am no exception. Nitpickiness is a downfall of mine, one I struggle to control in my dealings with non-genealogists. But when dealing with other family historians, I admit to letting this character flaw sway my judgment.
For some unknown reason, it has become the norm to drop words like county and district from place names. This can cause an undue amount of confusion. In Georgia, for instance, there is both a Newton city and a Newton County. When I see the phrase "Newton, GA" I automatically think someone is referring to the city and not the county…
…except when dealing with other genealogists, and especially with newer members of our realm. Then, I know that "Newton, GA" could refer to either the city or the county.
Users of Ancestry.com's vast array of services seem to be the worst offenders, in part, I think, because many of Ancestry's databases omit jurisdictional designations from location fields, resulting in places named, for instance, Clayton, Rabun, Georgia. Most people could probably work out that what should be written is Clayton, Rabun County, Georgia, but you have to stop and think it through first.
Unfortunately, my knee jerk reaction to people who omit "county" and "district" from place names is, This person has no clue, and I write their research off as sloppy and unworthy of further notice. (Didn't I already explain how nitpicky I am?)
It may be common practice for these to be left out, but from a technical standpoint, those designations complete the location's name, and should be included in any usage. This tiny detail can help others pinpoint exactly the area in question, rather than sending him or her on a wild goose chase looking for records that are actually somewhere else.
Nitpicky, I know, but exact, and exactness, as we all know, is another trait of successful genealogists.
And now my plea to all of you: Please, please use complete place names when writing about your ancestors. By doing so, you just might save my sanity.


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Rate This Movie SYNOPSIS: Two teenage girls on a mission to find drugs at a rave get more than they bargain for. One is sexually assaulted and they are both killed in horrific ways. The attackers seek refuge in the parents' of one of the victims' homes… REVIEW: Starring: Kevin Gage, Sage Stallone, Steve Wozniak, Kelly K.C. Quinn, Chantal Degroat …Read More »
Home | Tag Archives: Kelly K.C. Quann


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Tomorrow's story today ….
NEW ORLEANS — The Lakers will learn today whether Kobe Bryant can play tonight against the New Orleans Hornets, the second stop on a three-game trip that began with the superstar guard sitting out Saturday's 20-point loss to the Phoenix Suns.
A painful left shin injury kept him seated on the bench in a well-tailored dark blue suit, his first absence from the Lakers' starting lineup in 139 games, dating to the final two meaningless regular-season contests of 2009-10.
In many ways, this could be the finest of Bryant's 16 seasons, if for no other reason than he has been a rock in an ocean of change. It hasn't hurt that he's also the NBA's leading scorer, averaging 28.1 points going into tonight's game.
With longtime running mate Derek Fisher now a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder after a trade last month, Bryant has moved into a leadership role on a team that has lack consistency and cohesion at times.
Bryant's goal of a sixth NBA championship drives him during this transitional season, with Phil Jackson retired as Lakers coach, the triangle offense no longer an option and the focal point of replacement Mike Brown centered on defense.
"Kobe Bryant is always going to be Kobe Bryant," former Lakers player, coach and executive Jerry West told The New York Times. "He's going to play the game differently. He's going to approach it differently.
"I heard someone say he doesn't enjoy the game. The hell he doesn't. He just looks on it as war. … His greatness is taken for granted. Everyone knows how great he is, but you can't look inside. What's inside makes him. Forget the talent.
"He's got something inside that no one can measure."


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Fragrance Trends
Spring/ Summer 2014
Uncertainty & Hope
Since September 11, 2001, the American mindset shifted from one of confidence and security to one of fear and uncertainty. For more than a decade, you could not even turn on the TV without being inundated with some sort of message of fear; Fear of terrorism, fear of global warming, fear of our country's economic status, fear of our civil rights being taken away, fear of unemployment, fear of the foods we eat…fear of just about everything. But, how long can people continue to live fear-infested lives?
There comes a point where people who have lived in fear begin to question why their outlook is so grim. There have been plenty of moments in our country's history where things looked grim, but we have always survived and moved forward.
Recovery begins with a positive attitude, and it is this attitude that will truly give us hope. Incidentally, studies have shown that there is only one thing more powerful than fear; and that is hope. One of the easiest ways to focus on "brighter times" is to look back in time. The 20's, 50's, and the 80's were all known as "happy times". As Americans try to find their "ray of hope", trends will be affected by their need to be "free from fear". There are typically two ways that the mind deals with fear: "fight or flight".
We think the trends of 2014 will incorporate these conflicting mindsets. Rebellious elements versus "happy-go-lucky" elements will influence color, fashion, home décor, and fragrance trends. Both of these conflicting trends have one thing in common: They are looking to the past to find the answers to our future.
Pantone Colors
Spring/Summer 2014
Pantone colors for spring/summer 2014 include cool pastels and vibrant bold colors which put a modern twist on traditional colors of the past.
The color experts at Pantone say that the following things inspired them to create the colors for 2014: bright florals, international travel, and confident women.
Fear It and Do It Anyways
There are things in life that people do which could seriously end in death, but they do them anyways. Skydiving, mountain climbing, walking a tight rope, surfing, and race car driving are all examples of "taking a risk" in exchange for having fun.
One could say that there is a thrill that accompanies doing anything radical; even if the possibility of death is the result.
For example, in the TV show, "Breaking Bad", Walter White was a law-abiding, chemistry teacher who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Prior to this diagnosis, Walter had lived a life of doing and saying the right things to please other people.
Long-story-short, Walter does a 180 and uses his chemistry knowledge to begin cooking and selling crystal meth.
Although viewers of this show were aware of the criminality of his actions, they found themselves rooting for the "bad guy" because he stopped living a life of fear, and took complete control of his own life.
How Does This Mindset Affect the Trends for 2014?
Bold, brightly-colored florals will be found in fashion, home décor, and in fragrances; especially the "exotic or poisonous florals". Although these flowers are beautiful and enticing, if the live flowers were to be eaten, they would be poisonous and may even cause death.
In fragrance, these "deadly floral" notes will be infused with fruity characters and peppery notes to create the feeling: "Fear it and do it anyways".
Deadly floral notes include: Poppy, Crocus, Dahlia, Calla Lily, Queen of the Night Tulip, Lily of the Valley, Bella Donna, and Oleander. Natures Garden's new Che Bella Donna is a sassy, fruity floral fragrance, with up-scale fragrance notes; demanding the attention it deserves.
Men's fragrances will follow the same course, but include more woodsy notes in their base. A new male scent by Natures Garden called Deadly Weapon clearly demonstrates this trend; enticing, sexy, yet rebellious.
*By the way, no deadly flowers are actually used to make fragrances. The fragrance notes are the perfumist's rendition of what these flowers smell like in nature.*
In addition to bold floral prints, designers have incorporated bold "text" statements on their clothing. If you have something to say, why not put those words on your clothes, and say it loud and clear for everyone to hear! You will see "text" messages on shirts, pants, dresses, handbags, and even shoes. How is that for getting your message across?
For this trend's flash back in time element, we focus on the 20's flapper. With disdain for conventional thinking, insubordination with authority, and pleasure-seeking lifestyles, flappers wore clothing that got them noticed. The fashion world has picked up on these attitudes in clothing, and you will see fringe and more fringe. Whether you are wearing casual wear or evening wear, fringe will be added. You'll even see denim with raw-edge fringe. Thank you flappers for the inspiration!
Peppered Poppies
Mysterious, yet elegant top notes of pomegranate and orange lead way to the spicy heart of cherry blossoms dusted in a sinfully exotic blend of cinnamon, cardamom and cocoa for an unexpected twist.
Top: Cherry, Pomegranate, Orange
Mid: Cherry Blossom, Cinnamon, Cardamom
Base: Cocoa, Vanilla, Mint
Che Bella Donna
The essence of opulence and femininity are personified through sparkling citrus notes mingling with romantic floral notes of heady tuberose, lily and sassy carnation. This unforgettable blend culminates with lingering notes of resinous galbanum.
Top: Lemon, Orange, Tuberose
Mid: Tea Rose, Carnation, Lily
Base: Galbanum, Sandalwood
Deadly Weapon
A rugged and masculine scent with the perfect balance of intense spices including black pepper, cardamom and clove with a touch of sweet mandarin set the scene for the introduction of rich leather, smooth frankincense and edgy woods.
Top: Mandarin, Black Pepper, Cardamom
Mid: Clove, Vetiver, Leather
Base: Frankincense, Myrrh, Sandalwood, Musk
Poison Crocus
The first flower to bloom in Spring is surely a temptress. Bright citrus notes of Bergamot, and Sweet Orange Oil lead this deceptively delicate fragrance with mid notes of Iris, White Rose and Mediterranean Fig. A soft powdery finish of Woods, Musk and Vetiver finish this intriguing floral blend.
Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Orange, Lime
Mid: Iris, Rose, Mission Fig
Base: Sandalwood, Musk, Vetiver
Lily of the Valley
Beautiful and alluring, this fragrance oil by Natures Garden is a very fresh and green muguet de bois. You will swear you are standing in a flower bed filled with lily of the valley.
Just as important as it is to grab life by the horns with "fear-it-and-do-it-anyways"; it is also crucial to relax and find serenity for your own peace of mind.
As a society, our panties have "been in a bunch" for far too long. Worry and anxiety tend to bog down our minds; preventing us the ability to think clearly and truly relax. This undo stress has a direct effect on the bodies, physically impacting our immune systems, as well as our outlook on life.
Relaxation is the key to rejuvenating the mind, body, and soul. The truth of the matter is everything that lives, must also expire. With that notion, life should be lived to the fullest each and every day. Fear and doubt should never be the pillars to which you gauge your life or your happiness.
The world of fashion and fragrance have picked up on this trend. Oversized coats and flowing, wide-legged pants are set to be popular in 2014.
In addition, for every bold color that Pantone has projected to be trendy in 2014 (Dazzling Blue, Cayenne, Freesia, Radiant Orchid, and Celosia Orange), they have also forecasted numerous pastel colors (Placid blue, Paloma, Violet Tulip, Hemlock, and Sand). This trend promotes relaxation and a sense of freedom.
Fragrance notes that induce relaxation and mental clarity will be trendy in 2014. You will see lavender taking center stage for the "relax" trend; followed by notes of chamomile, jasmine, bergamot, and rose. Research has shown that the smell of roses may help reduce anxiety. Maybe that is why they say, "Stop and smell the roses."
Lavender Martini
Gin Martini meets floral lavender. We've successfully captured the effervescent carbonation in this unique fragrance. Natures Garden's lavender martini fragrance begins with top notes of tangy lemon zests, orange, and carbonation; followed by middle notes of spicy bergamot, mint, and lavender; sitting on a base note of rosewood.
Cannabis Rose
This fragrance oil by Natures Garden is quite possibly the most unique blend of uncommon fragrance notes ever found in a fragrance blend. Unique, and absolutely fascinating! The blend of Bulgarian rose, pomegranate flower, bergamot, cannabis accord, sheer jasmine, dark chocolate, white musk, patchouli, and oolong tea.
As society beckons for happier times, it is almost as if they realize that they must look to themselves to make things better. The baby boomers enjoyed the happy times of the 50's. They went on to raise generation X, who got to enjoy the fun times of the 80's. Both of these generations had something major in common: self responsibility.
The baby boomers told their kids that they could become amazing if they worked hard and dreamed big. There was no such word as "can't". Generation X went on to become our nation's first "Yuppies". "Proud to be American" was something that was heartfelt and embraced. Songs like: "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobbie McFerrin, and "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi echoed the mood of the 80's which was "Be Happy and Live It Up".
Trends for 2014 are showing elements of the 50's and 80's infused in fashion, home décor, color, and fragrance. Flowing skirts reminiscent of the 50's, ornate embellishments, and vintage, vintage, vintage.
In fact, Shutterstock, a stock photo company, claims that vintage pictures are now a huge trend in downloaded pictures.
The 80's have influenced fashion for 2014 as well with bright colors, bold stripes, crop tops, and sheer panels. Bomber jackets will be a staple wardrobe piece in 2014. Designers are also showing off one shoulder in their designs.
Fragrance trends are also being influenced by the mood of the nation. With the ambition of designing scents that "make you smile", perfumists are using top notes that are juicy and bubbly. Launching fun, soda pop fragrances fits the bill. Using juicy top notes with hearty florals, perfumists will create unique scents to spotlight their creativity.
In addition, perfumists are using "feel good" notes that offer the feeling that success is attainable.
Fragrance ideas that meet that challenge are: the scent of money, cognac and Cubans, ocean water regatta, and diamond diva. To represent the bold colors of 2014, perfumistsare using brightly colored berry notes, of which, strawberry is taking the lead.
At the present time, generation X is raising their children. How will it turn out? They feel like the future of this nation is up to them. With that being said, 2014 will surely have a level of uncertainty, but at the same time, we begin to see a "glimmer of hope" as we look to the past to provide a brighter future.
We actually had our perfumist chemically analyze fresh money in order to create Natures Garden's Money Fragrance Oil. You wouldn't believe how long it took to get our hands on fresh, new money! You can actually smell the cotton of the money, as well as the fresh ink top notes. It smells wonderful in candles, and you would not believe how good it smells in bath products and cologne! This is a unisex fragrance all the way! Now you can say that you have MONEY to burn!
Cognac & Cubans
The smell of money, status and masculinity are wrapped into this blend of aromatic bergamot with fresh lemon zest spritzing a heart of velvety cognac essences and rich, spiced tobacco leaves.
Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Orange
Mid: Cognac, Nutmeg, Crushed Tobacco Leaves
Base: White Woods
Strawberry Soda Pop
A delicious, bubbly, sugary strawberry accord intermingled with fruity notes of raspberry and peaches sitting on base notes of vanilla and musk.
Top: Strawberries, Bubbly Notes
Mid: Raspberries, Peaches
Base: Musk, Vanilla
Tropical Soda Pop
An effervescent burst of juicy orange, sweet bing cherry and sparkling red raspberry blend with fruity floral notes of dried plum plus a pop of violet to create this mouthwatering soda fragrance.
Top: Orange, Cherry, Raspberry, Melon
Mid: Orange Blossom, Dried Plum, Violet
Base: Vanilla
Blue Raspberry Slushie
Remember the blue raspberry snow-cones you enjoyed as a child? How about those fabulous blue raspberry slushies that can still be enjoyed at most movie theatres? This fragrance captures the aroma of ripened raspberries, sugary cotton candy, and the effervescence of crushed ice. This trip back to childhood truly smells good enough to eat…but better not.
Top: Raspberries
Mid: Peaches, Strawberries
Base: Cotton Candy
Orange Soda Pop
A "fizzie", citrus aldehydic explosion of strong Brazilian orange peel, Californian orange, Japanese grapefruit, and Lemon zests sitting on a dry down of vanilla. Let this bubbly, fun fragrance add excitement to your product line.
Top: Brazilian orange, Lemon zests
Mid: Japanese grapefruit, Californian orange
Base: Vanilla
Grape Soda Pop
Indulge yourself with this effervescent aroma of Kyoho grapes intermingled with fresh peaches, pineapple, raspberries, and strawberries on a dry down of vanilla.
Top: Grapes, Bubbly Notes
Mid: Peach, Pineapple, Raspberries, Strawberries
Base: Vanilla
To view the full Spring/Summer Trends 2014 by Natures Garden, please click on this link.


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Celebrating Rye Breads
Celebrating Rye Breads
This weekend has involved multiple home bakes as I feed up my leavens in preparation for the 2 day "UK Fresh Loaf" course which I will be running at the College on 19th and 20th July. Many thanks, in particular to ruralidle for suggesting this in the first place, and for his work to make it happen. It will be my swansong at Newcastle College, as I am leaving at the end of this month in search of more exciting professional adventures in the wake of the savage cuts currently being inflicted across the board by the ruthless and deeply unimaginative Government currently in power over here. The result is that the College has re-structured to continue to attract sources of funding without being brave enough to find ways to continue to fulfil a key aspect of its traditional role in UK education. I am not short of ideas and leads, so am optimistic that a far more exciting future lies on the horizon. The only definite part of the plan is to make sure I complete my MSc in Food Policy between January and August of next year.
So, the show, very much, goes on. Here are the breads I made at home over Friday, Saturday and Sunday [8th – 10th July], having started refreshing the 2 leavens on Thursday evening, 7th July 2011.
1. Caraway Rye with Blackstrap Molasses
This is a bread I first developed and made some time ago, not long after joining the TFL community and beginning this Blog. You can read about it here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/16273/carawy-rye-bread-black-strap-molasses-superwet-ciabatta-too This version is, however, quite different in that the leaven is wheat-based, with Dark Rye being added at the dough stage. The original used a Rye Sourdough with only wheat flour added to the final dough. There is half the amount of caraway in this formula, as this is all the stock I currently had in. More detail on taste is given below. I made 2 large miche type loaves from this dough; the recipe/formula and method detail are shown below:
Formula [% of Flour]
Recipe [grams]
1. Wheat Leaven Refreshment One
18:15, Thursday 07.07.2011
From Stock
40 [25 flour, 15 water]
Marriage's Strong Organic White Flour
2. Refreshment Two
13:30, Friday 08.07.2011
Wheat Leaven
[from above]
Marriage's Strong Organic White Flour
680 [40 retained as stock]
TOTAL used
640 [400 flour, 240 water]
3. Final Dough
19:00, Friday 08.07.2011
Wheat Leaven
[from above]
[25 flour, 15 water]
[400 flour, 240 water]
Carrs Special CC Flour
Bacheldre Organic Dark Rye
Organic Blackstrap Molasses
Caraway Seeds
% pre-fermented flour
% overall hydration
- Weigh the dough water, and dissolve molasses and salt into that. Add the flours and caraway seeds and mix until clear. Autolyse for one hour.
- Combine the leaven and autolyse and develop the dough. As Shiao-Ping originally noted, the empirical feel of the dough is akin to much higher hydration than that actually used. This is the effect of using molasses and 25% rye flour making the dough very sticky indeed. Persevere with slow and gentle mixing, avoiding adding any flour at all to the dough. I used Bertinet's slap and fold here, mixing for almost an hour, but with lots of resting phases along the way.
- Bulk ferment for 2 hours
- Retard for 7 hours, overnight.
- Scale, divide and mould the dough pieces. I scaled one at 1550g and the other at 1200g and placed each piece upside down in prepared bannetons. The large loaf stayed out for proof, and the other went back in the chiller for a further 2 hours to give a manageable production schedule, with the second bread following, then another bread after that. Final proof time for loaf one was just short of 4 hours, and for loaf two exactly 5 hours.
- I cut the tops of each loaf with a diamond pattern and set them to bake at 220°C using plenty of steam. For the bigger loaf, I baked it for 15 minutes at 220°C, then 20 minutes at 200°C, then a further 15 minutes at 180°C. The smaller loaf baked the same, but for 40 minutes instead of 50 minutes.
- Finished loaves cooled on wires, as always. The baked loaves had a finished weight which showed moisture loss of just under 10%. I achieved a core temperature of 96°C for both loaves.
Some photographs of the finished loaf are shown below. Regarding analysis of the finished bread, this is one of Alison's absolute favourite loaves. There is sourness and bitterness coming from the rye and molasses. There is sweetness too, and plenty of aroma from the caraway. The crumb colour is particularly lovely, and the moistness brings great pleasure to the final eating quality. We took one of these loaves along as a gift to some friends' house last night, as we had been invited round for dinner. That was the first chance we had to sample the bread, but we had a slice each for breakfast this morning, with just a thin coating of butter.
2. Borodinsky – The Auerman Formula [or thereabouts anyway]
I have now tracked down a supply of Red Malt, and managed to find a way to fit the more complex 3-stage build used for this bread into my home schedule for the last couple of days. It's something I have long wanted to do, have been slightly taken to task for previously on TFL, and am really happy with the finished result; subject to tasting and crumb analysis which I have yet to carry out.
I made one large loaf, in a Pullman Pan, weighing just over 1660g
Formula [% of flour]
Recipe [grams]
1. Rye Sour Refreshment
18:15, Thursday 07.07.2011
From Stock
70 [26 flour, 44 water]
Bacheldre Organic Dark Rye Flour
2. Full Sour
13:00, Friday 08.07.2011
Rye Sour from above
Bacheldre Organic Dark Rye Flour
710 [38 retained as stock]
TOTAL used
80 [30 flour, 50 water]
672 [252 flour, 400 water]
3. "Scald"
22:30, Friday 08.07.2011
Bacheldre Organic Dark Rye Flour
Red Malt
Organic Blackstrap Molasses
Coriander, freshly ground
Boiling Water
4. "Sponge"
23:30, Friday 08.07.2011
Rye Sourdough [from 2]
80 [30 flour, 50 water]
672 [252 flour, 400 water]
Scald [from 3]
5. Final Paste
07:30 Saturday 09.07.2011
Sponge [from 4]
Bacheldre Organic Dark Rye Flour
Carrs Special CC Flour
% pre-fermented flour
30 from sour + 20 from scald to make "sponge"
% overall hydration
- Refresh the rye sour as directed in the table above.
- Make the "scald" as follows: Weigh the red malt and dark rye flour into a bowl, add the salt, and coriander, which should be freshly ground using a mortar and pestle. Weight the molasses into a pan, and pour boiling water onto this to the specified weight. Bring this to a rolling boil on the cooker hob top. Pour onto the dry ingredients and combine well with a stout plastic or wooden spatula. Add any extra boiling water required first by checking the weight of the contents to allow for any evaporation. Cool the scald as rapidly as possible down to a maximum temperature of 45°C. This took an hour.
- Combine the scald and the full sour to form the sponge. Leave this to ferment for 5½ hours. I then retarded it a further 2 hours, as it was 05:00 and I needed a bit more sleep!
- Add the 2 remaining portions of flour to the sponge to form the final paste
- Prove in bulk for 1½ hours, and meanwhile prepare a large Pullman Pan by lining it with silicone paper.
- Pan the paste, smooth it off and dust the top with a sprinkling of freshly ground coriander. Put the lid on the Pan and set for final proof for 2 hours.
- Use a pan of water in the oven and set to bake at 160°Cfor 2 hours, with a gentle supply of steam, topped up as needed.
- De-pan and cool on wires. The finished weight of the cooled bread was 1400g, indicating a weight loss of 15.8%. This means that the moisture retained within the bread remains at just under 70% of the flour, and equates to 35% of the total weight of the finished bread!
- Red Malt: this is derived from malted barley, ground to a fine powder. I believe it has been lightly roasted to the levels which would be known in the brewing industry as "Crystal Malt". In terms of amylase, it makes no contribution, as the grain has been roasted at too high a temperature for the enzymes to survive. I suspect the Russian version would use rye as the source, rather than barley, but this is as close as I can get at the moment. It looks like this:
- Constructing the Scald: I did this exactly the same as I have done it in the past, except for using the red malt instead of the barley malt syrup which I have previously had to use as an alternative. The formula does not use molasses or salt in the scald. The reason I added the molasses at this stage is because I did not want to use sugar in the formula, as the "official" recipe directs. Adding molasses to the final paste would be a difficult mixing process, as there is no liquid added at this stage to use to dissolve the molasses into.
- Additionally, the sponge process had to be left for longer than the 4 hours directed in the formula, on account of me requiring a bit more sleep. So I added the salt in the hope it would retard the ferment. I also hoped that the level of molasses in the formula would be sufficiently high to have a slight retarding effect too. In the event, I woke up 5 hours into the final fermenting phase, and stored the sponge in the fridge to retard it for just over 2 hours before getting up to make the final paste. This worked very well; some pictures of the dark and rich "sponge" are attached here.
- Undoubtedly this is the best version of this bread I have made. You can reach your own conclusions about the origins of the term "Borodinsky" from the various stories uncovered in the research posted above. I've never been to Russia, and have no idea what the "official" Borodinsky produced in Soviet times, or, the older, traditional loaf of its type tasted or looked like. This version is stunning. The bitter/sweet flavours are intense, the crumb is DARK, and very moist. For all that, it is very easy to eat, and intensely "moreish"!
- References: there is more information about the Borodinsky formula given below. Some of these are taken from previous discussion threads of interest on TFL. This one http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/11812/rye-amylase is of interest in that discussion is given over to the part played by the scald in the formula, and the extent to which the water should be heated before it is poured onto the flour. Here, I am left wondering if the key purpose of the scald is to fully gelatinise the starches in order to encourage maximum liquid take up in the final formula? Or, have I still not got this part right, and missed that the scald is actually a "mash" and not a "boil up"? Informative further discussion on mash chemistry and its potential impact here would be much appreciated.
- I did then go on to complete the process as outlined originally by Borodin, by combining the sour and scald. However, I wonder if, because my scald was a "boil-up", and not a "mash", whether that meant the sponge would not work exactly as intended, and as outlined here in an earlier post on the referenced thread: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/11812/rye-amylase#comment-66360
- Two clear derivations are offered for Borodinsky bread, and this topic seems to spark off heated debate about what is the "true" Borodinsky. Is it a black bread created in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Borodino, to celebrate the Russian army success in 1812? Or, is it the heavily prescribed Soviet bread of the GOST standards, as referenced here: http://www.borodinsky.com/recipe/index-r.html on this thread: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/20370/russian-sourdough-no-more My attempt here was to re-produce the latter style, and I acknowledge I have not been entirely successful. Some of this is deliberate…avoiding sugar, and replacing it with molasses. The story on the zavarkha is another matter. Can anyone provide further detail on whether the process is carried out primarily to mash, or, to gelatinise? That would be much appreciated; if we can avoid derogatory comments this time, that would be all the better.
- For further information, I highly recommend reading the various discussion posts here: http://www.foodbanter.com/baking To do this, you will have to register. Then use the "Search" tab in the top menu, and type "Borodinsky" into the search box when it comes up. Select the threads you want to see from there.
For information on the very precise rye bread recipes from the Soviet era, see this table here: http://www.indiana.edu/~pollang/Russian_bread_table.pdf
I would like to dedicate this bread and post to my friend and TFL colleague Daisy_A, and pass on all good wishes for a speedy recovery, as I know you are having an operation on one of your eyes round about now. Your intellect shines through in some of the passages referenced above and these typify the enormous cultural contribution you make to the pages of TFL. "Get well soon!"
3. Pain de Campagne with mixed levains
Just a quick one, to give me an excuse to feed up the rye sour and wheat levain one more time. Recipe/formula and method below for one large loaf in a banneton. The refreshment programme for the 2 leavens is not given, however, I used the cultures leftover from the previous 2 doughs, fed them each once more, and used these to make this bread, returning small amounts of each to stock for re-generation.
Formula [% of flour]
Recipe [grams]
Wheat Levain
36.1 [22.5 flour, 13.6 water]
256 [160 flour, 96 water]
Rye Sourdough
36.6 [14.1 flour, 22.5 water]
260 [100 flour, 160 water
White Bread Flour
% pre-fermented flour
% overall hydration
- Combine all the items in the table in a bowl to form a dough. Mix by hand on the bench for 15 minutes.
- Retard overnight in the fridge.
- Mould round and place upside down in a prepared banneton.
- Prove for 5 hours
- Score the top of the loaf, and bake in a pre-heated oven with steam, for 45 minutes.
- Cool on wires.
A somewhat less detailed formula to finish with. Photographs of the crust and crumb are here. The loaf has gentle flavours in comparison to the full-on tastes of the other 2 breads.
Happy Baking!


text:
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Warning Text: For external use only.
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It was a privilege to be interviewed by Rich Birch at UnSeminary Podcast recently. Check out the video on YouTube or listen to the audio on Itunes. Find all the details at the UnSeminary website. If you don't already subscribe to this podcast, I'd suggest checking it out. Its got some great practical topics to help you out in everyday ministry.
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For more information about our course offerings and additional discounts please email us as below:
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Well, I am holed up at home with bronchitis. Cue sad "awwwwww." It's misery and I am not a good patient. I'm pretty whiny and miserable. I would like to be asleep but the cough and medications make that tough so, since I have to be awake and upright, what better time to jump back in the routine of posting about some great events in and around the Heights? I mean, I was going to get back to it, sick or not, but I have to admit my summer vacation was nice. You can't blame me for wanting to stretch it out a little bit, can you?
So, here we go. Not much to report, but it's a start!
Friday, August 26, 7 or 9 PM: GGallery presents "No Hidden Meanings: Original music inspired by the paintings of Wayne Gilbert."
- Dan Workman, who Wayne calls a "magical musical shaman," and members of the Two Star Symphony will be putting on two performances of original music.
- Enjoy the "deliciously mystical universal sound" in the wonderful Obsidian Art Space.
- For more information, contact Wayne Gilbert at email@example.com
- Congratulations to both GGallery and Redbud Gallery for their acceptance in to the prestigious India Art Fair, January 2012 in Delhi, India!
- This little non-disappearing bullet seems to want to stay here as a reminder of why Blogger bugs me so much!
Thursday, September 8, thru Saturday, October 1, 2011: Obsidian Art Space presents "Republic Day."
- Obsidian Art Space is very proud to present Big Head Productions' newest work about a family struggling to survive in the chaos of ethnic conflict.
- "Republic Day" was written by Obsidian's own Tom Stell and Big Head Productions is their resident company. They are very proud to bring this work "from conception to written word to a realized production."
- Register on line to join them for a show, every Thursday- Saturday during the show's dates.
- 3522 White Oak
Do you have any old newspapers lying around?
- Friends For Life, our Heights based non-profit, no kill shelter, needs them! They use newspaper to line kitty litter boxes at the shelter, roughly 100 each day, and are almost completely out! Please drop off newspapers at during biz hours if you have any to spare.
- They are also desperate for dog food, if you care to make an additional donation!
- 246 W. 19th Street, Tu-Sa 12-6 and Sunday 12-5.
Registration now open for 6th Annual Heights Scavenger Hunt and Bike Rally
- The Annual Bike Rally is open to riders of all ages, and designed as a casual self-paced ride.
- Entrants can choose between a 20-mile course through the Heights and near-by neighborhoods, or a shorter 5-mile ride designed for kids and their adult companions -- OR DO BOTH -- starting and finishing at Marmion Park, located at 18th Street and Heights Boulevard.
- After completing the ride, participants are invited to celebrate at Marmion Park for the Post Ride Party beginning at 3:30 p.m. and Awards Ceremony at 4:30 p.m., with entertainment, fabulous door prizes, and great refreshments including picnic fare, beverages and more!
- This is a great event for the whole family to participate in and help raise some money to support the Heights. Proceeds from the Bike Rally go directly into the community for beautification, restoration, maintenance and education.
- For more details or to register, call the Houston Heights Association at 713.861.4002, extension 6, or http://www.houstonheights.org/bicyclerally.htm


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In response to the "What would you do?" editorial, if you have to ask, then I think you already know the answer. Or are you hoping there will be enough sickos who would actually express a desire to watch the torture-killing of an animal?
Just because something is already viewable on the Web doesn't justify Nashoba Publishing's pandering to the gutter. Would you show on your website the burning of the Koran? I seriously doubt it. But if someone set fire to puppies, that would be OK?
The issue is journalistic integrity and whether the showing of the video serves the public good. Reputable newspapers don't resort to graphic, sensationalistic and gratuitous imagery to complete a story. In this case, a description of the crime is more than sufficient.
The focus of the story (and any imagery) should be on the grossly inept and/or sadistic hunter who perpetrated this disgusting act of animal cruelty. Report on the prosecution of this individual and his ability to plea down to a lesser sentence. Don't insult my intelligence by asking if I need to see a shocking video of a needlessly suffering creature.


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I've been very fortunate to be invited to participate in RIMPAC Exercises in the past. In 2010 the most exciting thing I got to do was fly out to the USS Ronald Reagan Aircraft Carrier and have lunch, tour the ship and meet the Commander.
When they catapulted me off the buggah, the velocity of the thrust off the carrier made me feel like I had left my stomach back on the ship!
This past year I got to do several cool things like take a LCAC Military Sealift Hovercraft out to the USS Essex.
That was a trip as a sailor actually fell overboard while I was on the trip!
My most memorable trip in 2012 was getting flown out to the USNS Mercy by helicopter and "Manning the Rails" of the Mercy as she returned home from the 2012 Pacific Partnership.
That was special because that was the second time I had visited the Mercy… the first time it was already in port.
Well I just learned today… That CHINA is going to be participating in the 2014 RIMPAC Exercises!!!
"I am pleased our two Navies conducted a successful counter-piracy exercise in September, and we welcome China's participation in the Rim of the Pacific exercise in 2014. These kinds of opportunities are invaluable when it comes to building trust between our two Navies." – Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus in Beijing
*Cough* I'd love to the first US Civilian aboard a Chinese Navy Ship!
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