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Long-time blog readers will be pleased (?) to know that Dance Moms is back and once again it provides the background for my blogging activities. What's new in the world of Dance Moms you might ask? I don't know. There still seems to be lots of yelling and crying and Abby Lee Miller remains needlessly angry at those poor talented dancing children, so it's pretty much status quo as far as I'm concerned. For the finer plot points, of which there might be some, you can consult the Official Wife via the comment sections of this blog.
Meanwhile, in the world of bike commuting, it was another great afternoon/evening to be out on the roads. But it was very cold. I wore two pairs of socks. Frankly, I'm at the point where I can't wear enough socks. I don't have shoe covers for these bike shoes and that seems to be a problem for me. Were this some kind of rom com premised around a woman getting married, I'd be cast as the bridegroom with some mother-f-ing cold feet. In conclusion, I'm done with winter. It's not even cold and I'm still just done. Done. Feel free to remind me of this sniveling (and sniffling) when I'm complaining about the stupid hot summer.
Out: crazily driven black BMWs. In: crazily driven black Audis.
You would think that the worst part about following a bus would be the noxious exhaust, but in my experience, it's the lack of visibility. This bus, an N2, advertised on its rear panel the National Guard, an organization through which by joining, so said the ad, I could help my neighbor. I could also probably just pick up her mail when she's out of town without doing that, but hey, different strokes for different folks.
Rode on the sidewalk, then back on the street, turned onto 23rd and remained on the street until L Street, where I turned onto and then into the cycle track. I was the only cyclist I saw on the cycle track during the time I used it, but I was early on account of leaving work early. There was only one driver who saw it fit to park/idle in the bike lane. There are signs that say No Parking or Standing Any Time, but this must be confusing since drivers still sometimes stand or park there. I would suggest that these signs be replaced by other signs that either read "NO FUCKING CARS HERE EVER, ASSHOLES" or, for our illiterate friends, signs that show a silhouette of a Gozdilla crushing a car in his jaws. Personally, I'm inclined toward the latter though I don't know if the Godzilla can be mandated to chomp cars through administrative fiat. CONFUSION is confusing.
11th street was closed to cars for a block, but there was room between the cones and I rode through anyway. Later on 11th, a bus driver of a Maryland commuter bus tried to pass me in spite of my taking the lane and then, when the driver realized that she couldn't do that without crushing me, relented, thankfully.
No u-turns on Penn, but one inline skater. Later on, I might have seen friend of the blog Ben, but I can't say for sure. He was in front of me, so maybe? I rode up the House side of Capitol hill, passed a jogger on the hill, passed some security guards at the top of the hill and passed a number of idling cars in the right lane on Pennsylvania Avenue SE. Basically, there are two lanes on parking there from First to maybe 8th SE because drivers simply don't care and would prefer to use the right lane as a place to double park. That's fine with me, I guess. But it's the cyclists that slow down traffic, right? I turned left at 12th and passed another bicyclist on E and then he passed on front of me in the Safeway parking lot, having cut across the lot where I kept going to 14th before turning back in. He laughed, I laughed.
At the store, I bought cake, eggs and a roma tomatoes. When I went back to my bike, there was a man standing there talking into his cell phone. His words "And then she threw up on the keyboard. I don't know why she didn't move. She just stayed there and threw up all over it." I hope he was talking about a pet.
I biked down down D to 16th. I used to take 15th, which has a bike lane, but now I take 16th because unlike the street to its west, it has stop signs and not stop lights, making the likelihood of my being slowed that much less. I was passed by a white Mustang (car, not horse) from Texas.


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Dirk Philips (1504-1568)
Dirk Philips (Philipsz, Philopszoon, Filips) (1504-1568) was the son of a Dutch priest. He became a Franciscan monk. As a man of good education he had a command of Latin and Greek, and also knew some Hebrew. It is doubtful that he wrote in French his booklet on the ban and avoidance, which he published in the French language. It is possible that he studied at a university. H. Schijn (Hist. Menn. plenior deductio, 1729, p. 186) calls him a learned man, more learned than Menno Simons. He was not acquainted with Luther's writings.
At the end of 1533 Dirk joined the Anabaptist brotherhood. He was baptized at Leeuwarden in Friesland, by Pieter Houtzager, and was soon afterward, presumably early in 1534, "upon the wish of the brethren" ordained an elder by the laying on of the hands of his own brother Obbe Philips at "Den Dam," i.e., Appingedam, in the Dutch province of Groningen. He was soon a leader; in 1537 he was named as one of the outstanding Anabaptist leaders; he took part in the most important events of the following years, and nearly always was present at the conferences of the elders, as in Goch in 1547, where Adam Pastor was banned, and in 1554 in Wismar among the seven elders, who formulated an agreement on a number of contested points. Like Obbe and Menno he was an opponent of the Münsterite doctrines. Against Rothmann's Restitution (1534) he wrote his booklet, Van de geestelijcke Restitution (On the Spiritual Restitution).
At first Dirk worked in the Netherlands, then in East Friesland, Mecklenburg, Holstein, and Prussia. But he must have gone to the Netherlands on several occasions; about 1561 he baptized several persons in Utrecht and celebrated communion with about 20 brethren (DB 1903, 21 f.). We are told that the meeting lasted from four in the morning until seven in the evening; probably not because they needed so much time, but because they wanted to enter and leave the house under cover of darkness. Dirk is described on that occasion as "an old man, not very tall, with a gray beard and white hair." After 1550 his home was at Danzig, where a number of Dutch Mennonites had already located.
Dirk Philips is without doubt the leading theologian and dogmatician among the Dutch and North German Mennonites of that time. He is more systematic than Menno, though of course also more severe and one-sided. Like Menno he preached the doctrine of nonresistance, though there is not much in his writings on this subject. He shares Menno's conception of the Incarnation. Against Adam Pastor he upholds the doctrine of the Trinity. In opposition to his brother Obbe he always put much stress on the visible church, which should preserve itself from the world without spot or wrinkle. In the interest of protecting the brotherhood he demands a strict application of the ban and the subsequent avoidance. The open sinners shall be expelled from the congregation if they do not show genuine repentance; they are to be shunned in daily life, because the church of God, which consists of the elect, must be pure and holy. The bride of Christ dare not forsake her Bridegroom and yield herself to the world and the flesh.
In his book on the church he names seven ordinances of the church of God: pure doctrine, Scriptural use of the sacraments, washing the feet of the saints, separation (ban and avoidance), the command of love, obedience to the commands of Christ, suffering and persecution. On the whole it cannot be denied that there is in Dirk Philips' theology a certain moralism and legalism. He writes better than Menno, but he has less agreeableness, friendliness, and charm. He was a strict, indeed an obstinate person. This can best be seen in the disputes between him and Leenaert Bouwens. Even considering that the question at issue concerns the pure church of Christ and that this ideal requires a measure of severity, nevertheless the sad consequences of this strict banning and partisanship are without question to be reckoned against the obstinate and proud elder, Dirk Philips. Already in 1565 Leenaert Bouwens had been suspended from his office. In 1567 Dirk journeyed from Danzig to Emden. Then the division occurred: Dirk sided with the Flemish, who at once banned the Frisians, while the Frisians, whom Leenaert had joined, on their side banned the Flemish. Dirk was also banned (8 July 1567), but did not let it trouble him, because he no longer considered Leenaert and the Frisians as members of the church of God. (Kühler, Geschiedenis I, 395-426.)
In the next year Dirk died at Het Falder near Emden, after he had completed his booklet on Christian marriage on 7 March 1568.
Although Dirk Philips surpassed the other elders in knowledge and was a good writer and an eloquent and influential man, he was nevertheless inferior to Menno Simons, with whom he had worked so many years and upon whom he exerted a certain influence in his later years when the severe banning took its course. It is unpleasant to note that Menno's name does not once occur in Dirk's writings. When in the first half of the 17th century the practice of the ban became more lenient among the Dutch and North German Mennonites, the interest in Dirk Philips also waned; his writings are held in high esteem by the Old Order Amish because they advocate the ban and avoidance.
Dirk Philips spread his views in numerous booklets. At the end of his life he collected his writings that had been published, several of which are still extant in their various editions, and published them in a single volume. This is the Enchiridion oft Hantboecxken van de Christelijcke Leere, ... 1564. The "little" handbook (it contains almost 650 pages!) contains the following writings: Confession of Faith, Concerning the Incarnation, Concerning the True Knowledge of Jesus Christ, Apologia, the Call of the Preacher, Loving Admonition (on the ban), Concerning the True Knowledge of God, Exposition of the Tabernacle of Moses, Concerning the New Birth, Concerning Spiritual Restoration, Three Thorough Admonitions, Table of Contents.
In addition he wrote: Verantwoordinghe ende Refutation op twee Sendtbrieven Sebastiani Franck (printed in 1567, not extant, and 1619); Cort doch grondtlick Verhael (concerning the quarrels between the Flemish and Frisians, printed in 1567); Van die Echt der Christenen (printed in 1569, 1602, 1634, 1644, and perhaps other editions) ; and the tract left at his death on the ban and avoidance, which was translated from the French and printed in 1602.
Of the Enchiridion there are in the Dutch language editions of 1564, 1578, 1579, 1600, and 1627. A French edition of 1626 (in the same volume with some writings of Menno Simons and others), German editions in 1715 and Basel in 1802; Lancaster, 1811; Elkhart, 1872 (this and the following German editions include the writings on marriage and on the ban); Scottdale, 1917, Berne, IN, 1958; English edition, Elkhart, IN, 1910; Berne, IN, 1958 and Aylmer, ON, 1966.
Two hymns from the pen of Dirk Philips have been preserved, and were adopted into the old Dutch hymnals of the Mennonites.
F. Pijper edited a complete edition of all the writings (including letters and hymns) of Dirk Philips (BRN X). An English translation of Dirk's writings are included in the Classics of the Radical Reformation series published by Herald Press, Scottdale, PA.
Bibliotheca Reformatoria Neerlandica, 10 vols: Introduction. The Hague, 1914.
Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1864): 136; (1867): 59, 62 f.; (1873): 61; (1876): 26 ff., 38; (1881): 75; (1884): 2, 10, 15, 17, 20; (1887): 101 f.; (1893): 5, 12-14, 16, 50, 52-77, 88; (1894): 18-59 passim; (1903): 11, 21 f., 39, 41 f.; (1905): 106 ff.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. III, 368.
Hoop Scheffer, J. G. de. Inventaris der Archiefstukken berustende bij de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente te Amsterdam, 2 vols. Amsterdam, 1883-1884: v. I, No. 620.
Krahn, Cornelius. Menno Simons. Karlsruhe, 1936: passim, see Index.
Schijn-Maatschoen, Uitvoeriger Verhandeling van de Geschiedenisse der Mennoniten II. Amsterdam, 1744: 32585.
Vos, K. Menno Simons. Leiden, 1914.
Vos, K. Groningen Volksalmanak. 1916: 131 f.; 136-42.
Selected Bibliography:
Balke, Willem. Calvin and the Anabaptist Radicals. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981.
Beachy, Alvin J. "The Concept of Grace in the Radical Reformation." Mennonite Quarterly Review 36 (1962): 91-93.
Beachy, Alvin J. "The Grace of God in Christ as Understood by Five Major Anabaptist Writers." Mennonite Quarterly Review 37 (1963): 5-33.
Beachy, Alvin J. The Concept of Grace in the Radical Reformation. Nieuwkoop: B. De Graaf, 1977.
Beachy, Alvin J. "De herwaardering van Dirk Philips." Doopsgezinde Bijdragen , n.r. 7 (1981): 92-95.
Dirk Philipsz, Enchiridion, or Hand Book..., trans. A. B. Kolb. Aylmer, ON: Pathway Publishing Corp., 1966.
Doornkaat Koolman, J. ten. "The First Edition of Dirk Philips' Enchiridion." Mennonite Quarterly Review 38 (1964): 357-360.
Doornkaat Koolman, J. ten. Dirk Philips: Vriend en Medewerker van Menno Simons, 1504-1568. Haarlem: H. D. Tjeenk Willink en Zoon, 1964.
Dyck, Cornelius J. "The Christology of Dirk Philips," Mennonite Quarterly Review 31 (1957): 147-155.
Dyck, Cornelius J., William E. Keeney and Alvin J. Beachy. The Writings of Dirk Philips 1504-1568, Classics of the Radical Reformation, vol. 5. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1992.
Keeney, William E. "Dirk Philips' Life, Mennonite Quarterly Review 32 (1958): 171-191.
Keeney, William E. Dutch Anabaptist Thought and Practice, 1539-1564. Nieuwkoop: B. De Graaf, 1968.
Keeney, William E. "The Incarnation: A Central Theological Concept." in A Legacy of Faith, ed. Cornelius J. Dyck. Newton, 1962: 55-68.
Keeney, William E. "The Writings of Dirk Philips." Mennonite Quarterly Review 32 (1958): 298-306.
Keyser, Marja. Dirk Philips, 1504-1568. Nieuwkoop: B. De Graaf, 1975.
Mellink, A. F. Documenta Anabaptistica Neerlandica, Eerste Deel: Friesland en Groningen (1530-1550). Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1975.
Menno Simons. Opera Omnia Theologica. 1681.
Additional Information
Electronic Resources
Philip, Dietrich. Enchirdion: oder Handbüchlein von der Christlichen lehre und religion zum dienst von allen liebhabern der Wahreit (durch die Gnade Gottes) aus der Heiligen Schrift gemacht, mit einem schönen und fasslichen register. Lancaster, PA: Gedruckt bey Joseph Ehrenfried, 1811. Full Text.
|Nanne van der Zijpp
|Date Published
Cite This Article
MLA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne. "Dirk Philips (1504-1568)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 10 Jul 2020. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Dirk_Philips_(1504-1568)&oldid=101065.
APA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne. (1956). Dirk Philips (1504-1568). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 10 July 2020, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Dirk_Philips_(1504-1568)&oldid=101065.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp. 65-66; vol. 5, p. 234. All rights reserved.
©1996-2020 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Magenta Jewel is a rich deep pink, leaning purple
Pressed Glitter, Available in Pan ONLY for use in magnetic palettes or add a Black Flip Top Compact (similar to our eyeshadow compacts).
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text:
bán chung cư no-08 giang biên , cập nhật tin tức chung cư no-08 giang biên , nhận thông tin dự án chung cư no-08 giang biên
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Thank you for the compliment! :)
Yeah, I been in it several weeks now. It is a very enjoyable group to me.
Yesh! :)
Hence why I joined a therapy group that revolves around motivation! :)
Thanks! Though my problem is that I say things, but I then don't do them T.T....
Working on that somewhat o:
Woohoo! :)
I'm self-teaching myself programming XD
With this book I borrowed from the library ^^
I want to make my own video game too! As it be one job I can do that goes with my limits of my agoraphobia, social phobia, and PTSD. I am working on it, but I won't recover for a long time; and I'm impatient with myself >.<
Oh, cool! You are getting close! Nice! :)
Oh, okay. That's cool! :)
How many years do you have left before you finish your degree? -curious-
Could you go more into detail on what that is? o:
Ah, cool! o:
What are you studying in school? o:
Send an Instant Message to Nitwit Using...
Am I Pudding?
Lump of Dirt


text:
Sonesta ES Ann Arbor
The Residence Inn Ann Arbor is conveniently located near numerous local attractions, including the University of Michigan, and affords families all of the comforts of home with the extra space you need, and amenities that make traveling easier. Our spacious Ann Arbor suites are 50% larger than most hotel rooms, with full kitchens, daily housekeeping, and separate sleeping, working, and living areas. Stay balanced with hotel amenities at Residence Inn Ann Arbor, including a 24-hour fitness center, SportCourt, grilling area, outdoor pool and whirlpool (open summer only) and guest laundry. Stay productive with complimentary wireless high-speed Internet access, business center with printer and fax, and daily newspapers. Maintain peak performance with our complimentary breakfast buffet and evening socials (Mon-Thurs) including All-American favorites. Our Residence Inn Ann Arbor is your perfect suite hotel in Ann Arbor and truly understands what you want out of your extended stay experience.


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Premiere February 5, 2011
Opera. Agneta Eichenholz, Katarina Karnéus, Ida Falk Winland and Ann-Kristin Jones. Handel's magical baroque opera is a unique celebration of song.
Opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel.
"An enchanting opera event" Göteborgsposten Anders Andersson
"An amazing performance of Handel's Alcina." Göteborgsposten
"An unparalleled celebration of song." Dagens Nyheter
"An incredibly well-selected ensemble. " Dagens Nyheter
"A magnificent operatic performance." Sveriges Radio Cultural News
"Fantastic stage design and an excellent orchestra." Sveriges Radio Cultural News
"The ensemble shows off the best of Sweden". Göteborgs-tidningen/Expressen
"Dynamic, precise and very much alive." Göteborgs-tidningen/Expressen
When The Göteborg Opera produced its first baroque opera, Handel's Julius Caesar, it was such a success that engaging the conductor and baroque expert Laurence Cummings for another production was a natural next step. Alcina is generally seen to be Handel's most mature and perfect opera, in addition to being a spectacular celebration of song. The opera is centred on the beautiful sorceress Alcina, who seduces all men she sees and then transforms them into stones and trees when she tires of them. When Ruggiero ends up on her island he too falls madly in love with Alcina. His fiancée Bradamante manages to find him and uses all her deviousness to save him from the grips of the beautiful seductress.
Watch a movie from the perfromance.
To follow the modern production trends within baroque opera, we have chosen Yannis Houvardas as director. He last performed at The Göteborg Opera with Parsifal and The Woman Without a Shadow. With a production team consisting of Lars-Åke Thessman, Karin Erskine and Torkel Blomkvist he has chosen to produce Alcina as an intimate chamber drama.
Agneta Eichenholz, in her first opera performance at The Göteborg Opera, sings the title role. She is already well-known on the international arena after her debut as Lulu at Covent Garden in London. As her lover Ruggiero we see Katarina Karnéus, who is also famous abroad and who is loved by the Gothenburg audience since her performance as Octavian in The Knight of the Rose. Ida Falk Winland achieved Swedish fame with her performance as Cleopatra in The Göteborg Opera production of Julius Caesar and Ann-Kristin Jones was nominated for the Opera magazine's award for her performance as Sextus in the same production. Both play a role in this production.
Watch pictures from the performance.
The love triangles in Alcina.
( In Swedish.)


text:
The ScanSnap iX500 provides PC and Mac users an effective way to greatly reduce paper clutter, storage space, and security risk associated with unmanaged paperwork at home or office. For even greater accessibility and usefulness, users can now scan wirelessly to a PC or Mac as well as iOS or Android mobile devices.
Technical Information
Physical Characteristics


text:
Agency salutes 'the best and the brightest' of Class of 2013-2014,
including 25 Logan County students
ISAC announces Illinois State Scholars
Send a link to a friend
[December 07, 2012]
CHICAGO -- The Illinois Student
Assistance Commission announced its recognition of nearly 19,000
Illinois high school students as "Illinois State Scholars" for 2013.
The students hail from high schools in every corner of Illinois.
prestigious award, given annually by the Illinois Student Assistance
Commission, recognized 18,863 high school students from across the
state this year. Since 1979, over 582,000 Illinois students have
been honored as State Scholars.
Illinois State Scholar winners rank in the top 10 percent of high
school seniors from 749 high schools across the state. Selection is
based on SAT, ACT or Prairie State Achievement Exam scores, or class
rank at the end of the junior year. High school guidance counselors
work in conjunction with ISAC to determine the winners.
While the prestigious recognition does not include a monetary
award, recipients are encouraged to cite the honor on applications
for college admission and scholarships, in addition to completing
the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the FAFSA, after Jan.
1 to determine eligibility for federal and state aid, including
Illinois' $371 million need-based Monetary Award Program, or MAP.
"With competition for college admission and financial aid getting
tougher, these Illinois State Scholars have shown that they take
their education seriously and can succeed," Zarnikow said.
Among the many recipients are 25 local students from three Logan
County high schools. They are:
From Hartsburg-Emden High School:
Nathan Flatley
Danielle Moats
From Lincoln Community High
Daniel Bacon
Marissa Booth
Meredith Carroll
Maggie Cusey
Leah Devore
Elizabeth Dye
Emily Everson
Chelsey George
Marissa Greer
Thomas Harris
Kyle Klockenga
Allison Mayernick
Michelle Miller
Kaitlyn Nelson
Jessica Nguyen
Sara Shane
Grace Sheley
[to top of second column]
From Mount Pulaski High School:
Rachel Allen
Tanner Clementz
Sylvia Klumpp
Elyse McCormick
Alexa Meister
Trenton Trump
A complete list of Illinois State Scholars, sortable by county
and high school, is located at the ISAC website,
Originally formed as the Illinois State Scholarship Commission in
1957, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission provides students
of all ages and backgrounds with the resources and support to help
obtain financial aid for higher education. ISAC has paved the path
to postsecondary education with innovative programs for over 50
years. The commission continued its mission to make college
accessible and affordable for Illinois students by administering
over 182,000 grants and scholarships totaling over $417 million in
fiscal 2011 alone.
The commission provides educational funding via numerous
programs, such as the Monetary Award Program, the Illinois Veteran
Grant and the College Illinois! Prepaid Tuition Program. Students
and families have free access to a wealth of financial aid and
college planning information at ISAC's family of websites available
at www.isac.org,
www.collegechangeseverything.org and
[Text from
Illinois Student Assistance
file received from the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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text:
New at Roy Rogers: The Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Would you like fries (or onion rings or chicken tenders) with that?
Ever been to a Roy Rogers? Chances are, if you don't live in the Northeast, you haven't. Once a thriving Northeastern chain, most Roy Rogers locations are now found in highway rest areas. The Western-themed restaurant has always served fried chicken, charbroiled burgers, fries, and chicken fingers, and I don't think I've seen a new menu item from them since I started eating the Gold Rush Chicken Sandwich.
But last week, I took to the highway to find their new Spicy Chicken Sandwich. They advertise it as a marinated, fried, all-white-meat chicken breast with Monterey Jack cheese and spicy "boom boom" sauce, all on a Kaiser roll (the daring can add bacon). I had loved their Gold Rush Chicken sandwich as a kid riding along the Pennsylvania Turnpike with my parents and was eager to see how this would stack up.
The chicken wasn't unlike the spicy chicken fillet at Wendy's, except with less meat and a lot more salt; they both have a similar crisp, and a similar heat. The Monterey Jack was melted but flavorless, and the bacon didn't stand out in any way; the "fresh Kaiser roll" ranks somewhere between a McDonald's bun and a Martin's Potato Roll, tasty enough if unmemorable. As for the "boom boom" sauce, it had a moderate spice, but the odd orange color was somewhat unnerving. It had the texture of a thick, spicy, Thousand-island dressing.
Really, it seems as if they're trying to emulate the Wendy's Spicy Chicken sandwich. It comes close, but it's still too salty, not as hot, and not as flavorful. Call it the minor league version of the Wendy's sandwich. It didn't displace the Gold Rush Chicken sandwich as my favorite—but it's the sort of nostalgia that reminded me of when I was too short to reach the Dr. Pepper on the self-serve drink fountain. Run out and get it right now? No. Safe to eat if you happen by? Yup.


text:
Thought Bamboo Sock Box Skiing, Men 7-11
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Economy delivery service is Royal Mail 2nd Class
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Includes Northern Ireland but excludes the Channel Islands
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- Should your product arrive damaged/broken please report it and confirm by photographic evidence within 48 hours of receipt. Please keep the parcel and packaging until your claim is settled. You will most likely be asked to return the faulty item to us.


text:
(CNN) – Nearly six months after losing a Senate race and becoming a political punch line, former Rep. Todd Akin weighed in again on his controversial remarks about rape and pregnancy, saying in a recent interview he has "relived" the episode "too many times."
In an interview with CNN affiliate KSDK in St. Louis, the former Missouri congressman also hit back at Karl Rove, founder of the independent group American Crossroads, for his new group designed to recruit GOP candidates that won't make the same mistake as Akin.
Follow @politicalticker Follow @KilloughCNN
Facing one of the most vulnerable incumbent Democrats, Claire McCaskill, in last year's Senate race, Akin was expected to win the contest. Shortly after becoming his party's nominee, however, he made a comment that soon made him a target of Democrats and many Republicans.
Talking about his anti-abortion stance, the unapologetic social conservative said in an August interview that if a woman experiences "legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."
Democrats quickly tore into him over the statement, which lacked scientific basis. And in the next few days, top GOP leaders seeking to distance the party from his comments called on Akin to step out of the race. Then-presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney even issued a statement asking the Missouri Republican to drop out.
"Republican leadership was strong that you have to step down," Akin said. "But there was a very strong grassroots element saying don't you give in to those party bosses. You stay in there and you keep fighting."
Though he apologized for his remark, he remained in the race and lost to McCaskill, 39%-55%. Romney, on the other hand, won Missouri with 54% of the vote.
Asked if he could take back his comment, Akin said, "Oh, of course I would! I've relived them too many times. But that is not reality."
"All of us are fallible," he said, elaborating further. "We make mistakes, and we say things the wrong way."
Since the November elections, Republicans have pointed to Akin and Senate candidate Richard Mourdock of Indiana, who also lost an election after making controversial statements about rape, as candidates that tainted the party as a whole. Earlier this year, Rove announced the start of the Conservative Victory Fund, a new group aimed to help Republican candidates sail through GOP primaries.
"Some people think the best we can do is Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock – they're wrong. We need to do better if we hope to take over the United States Senate," Rove, the former top political adviser to President George W. Bush, said on Fox in February.
Akin, though, cast doubt at Rove's credibility. Ten of the 12 GOP Senate candidates his groups supported last year ended up losing.
"Karl Rove has made himself an expert," Akin said. "I think I lost one race. He managed to lose about 12 of them in one night."
This isn't the first point of tension between the two. Rove apologized to Akin in late August for blasting the embattled candidate at a private event.
"We should sink Todd Akin. If he's found mysteriously murdered, don't look for my whereabouts," Rove said at a private fundraiser, according to a Businessweek reporter who was not supposed to be there.
While Akin said in the recent interview he's enjoying life outside of the political sphere-"I had chance to change oil in cars, fix things around the house, see my grandchildren"–he didn't rule out a potential re-entry into politics.
"It's one of those things that depends on the circumstances really. I don't rule anything out," he said. "I consider it a bright new future and I'm interested to see what the possibilities are."
"But there was a very strong grassroots element saying don't you give in to those party bosses. You stay in there and you keep fighting."
That "grassroots element" is the extreme right, and they're not really any stronger or any more grassrootsy than the extreme left. Sometimes extremists get on the ballot, but America has ways of shutting that down. Like not voting for extremists and ignorant fools.
This is the face of the Tea Party and Social Conservative movements. This is what they believe. Rape is something "loose women" bring on themselves. If they get raped, they deserve it. You see them on CNN comment pages all the time. They openly call for gays to be exterminated. They make fried chicken comments when African-Americans are mentioned. They despise Hispanics as invaders. They all really believe this, he was just dumb enough to say it. Tyranny and oppression. This is what they believe and what they want to impose on us all. A vote for ANY Republican is a vote for these kind of values.
CNN: his statement wasn't just lacking in scientific basis, it was an attempt to cast doubt on a large number of rape accusers. After all, if you were "legitimately" raped, why did you get pregnant?
MAN, had I not said what I beleive, I could continue to control how people live their personal lives without judging my actions. MAN WHAT A FOOL I AM for saying this out loud.
Mark Said "This is the face of the Tea Party and Social Conservative movements. This is what they believe"
Thanks so much for telling me what I believe in Mark! I was so confused and now I am not, all because of you.
I now know for a fact that all Democrats LIE and turn people's minds into sheep. Just like their hero, Odumbo!
Thanks for clearing that up for me Mark, you are brilliant my man! You really showed your rear end with that statement.
He did not say something "the wrong way" or just make a "mistake." He was wrong, period. His remark revealed a truly disturbing lack of education, coupled with misogyny.
"We make mistakes, and we say things the wrong way."
Um, Mr. Akin...what "thing" exactly were you trying to say?!? Do tell us the right way you should have said this "thing" you were trying to say. There was nothing "right" about anything you said. What, pray tell, would have been the "right" thing said "the right way" here?
Honestly, I can discern not even a single tiny nugget of a thing in what you said that was "legitimate" except your overwhelming ignorance and stupidity about rape, about women, and about science.
Clueless imbecile. He needs to stick to changing the oil in his car.
>also hit back at Karl Rove, founder of the independent group American Crossroads, for his new group designed to recruit GOP candidates that won't make the same mistake as Akin.
Wow whoever wrote sentence calls themselves a professional writer? If you have somebody as bad in English as me complaining you really failed. There is correctness and then there is composing sentences that are understandable.
As if this comment was all that lost Akin the race. Missouri pronounced Missourie not Missourah (and unfortunately I live here) is full of half-witted good ole boys who care about nothing but spreading their message of ignorance & intolerance. People like Akin go over well in the rural parts of the state but thankfully our cities: Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbia are solidly Blue. The bad news those rural rabbits breed their little hoosiers at an alarming pace and give those of us in the cities a bad name.
Too late, ignorant twit.
Nobody cares what Akins thinks.
What matters is what the VOTERS think, and they sent him and the rest of the social conservatives a CLEAR MESSAGE last November!
I don't live in Missouri anymore, I generally vote conservative, but I never vote a straight party ticket. Would definitely NOT vote for Akin. I daresay the only reason he received 39% of the vote is due to people hitting that straight party ticket button! I don't care what part of Missouri you're from, rural or city, as a woman you know you can get knocked up if you are raped and there is no protection involved. And that isn't the only thing that could happen if you're raped. You could get a disease that may kill you or destroy your body. Can't stop that either if you're "legitimately" raped. He's a moron.
Can we let him go back into obscurity now?
Oh Brother !! This guy again !! LOL – he needs to hook up with that guy in Minnesota congressman – who got caught in the airport bathroom, and maybe Anthony weiner can give them some advice.
Only a matter of time before he puts his foot in it again. They can't help themselves.
The new GOP strategy will be to not say what you really think or you'll wind up looking stupid.
@ Linda Operle – ""As if this comment was all that lost Akin the race. Missouri pronounced Missourie not Missourah (and unfortunately I live here) is full of half-witted good ole boys who care about nothing but spreading their message of ignorance & intolerance. People like Akin go over well in the rural parts of the state but thankfully our cities: Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbia are solidly Blue. The bad news those rural rabbits breed their little hoosiers at an alarming pace and give those of us in the cities a bad name""
Your story sort of sounds like Texas – The only Blue areas are Houston / San Antonio / Austin, as for the rest of the state, it's mostly rural, other than a few cities the population does not compare to the 3 I just mentioned.
I always thought the second amendment was intended to allow honestUS citizens to remove the treasonous puppets of "international" mega corporation that don't pay their fair share of US taxes, but get corporate welfare and massive military back-up for their pillaging of the less developed countries.
Remorse, he's just stating something he believes; why begrudge this ignorant fool for stating the truth- at least as he sees the truth. I can seee him doing a comedy gig in Branson-to a largely empty theater.
That one comment will probably follow him around long enough to prevent advancing in his political career.
Mr. Akin made the unfortunate remarks that derailed his candidacy. He needed to apologize quickly but he chose not to do so. He is just one more man who believes that he can tell a woman what she can or cannot do with her own body. His remarks were demeaning yet I really believe he meant what he said. Somewhere along the line he never learned about the human anatomy.
Karl Rove should be taken out of the political equation after he failed to get Republicans elected. He is no longer relevant and the GOP really needs to move forward. They need to have some new leaders who can get the people to support their ideas. Right now many of the ideas are so far from center that people cannot join tlheir team.
To bad it could not have happened to that looser earlier in the election. Just another poor example of the Republican party. Down the hill we go never to regain anything in America again. The new motto for the Repubs. Lets see how far right we can go and never get elected again.


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The municipality is largely forest and swamps with some fells in the west. The most important location is the area around Yllästunturi (Ylläs fell).
Get in[edit]
By plane[edit]
Kittilä airport is about 50km west from Ylläs. There you may take a bus or airport taxi. Another possibility is to fly in Sweden from Stockholm to Luleå and from there to Pajala airport [5]. There you may take an airport taxi for the 30km trip to Finland.
By train[edit]
Kolari is the northernmost train station in Finland. During the winter season there is a direct train connection daily from Helsinki via Tampere; at 995 kilometers, this is the longest single train route in Finland. An overnight trip takes 13 hours and is most comfortable in a sleeping cabin. Sometimes the train contains a special club car serving as a nightclub during the trip.
By bus[edit]
Onnibus [6] offers direct low-fares long distance coach line, which departs from Turku, and goes via Rauma, Pori, Seinäjoki, Kokkola and Oulu to Ylläs.
By car[edit]
Drive by E75 from Helsinki to the north. Switch to E8 after Kemi. Drive to Kolari and follow signs to either Äkäslompolo or Ylläsjärvi.
Get around[edit]
By bus or taxi. In villages everything is within walking distance.
Most Finns are fluent in English, and Ylläs is no exception. Russian is also spoken by some people here, due to large numbers of Russian tourists.
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Do[edit][add listing]
Ylläs is Finland's largest downhill ski resort in terms of total drop (465 m), single slope length (3000 m) and number of slopes (60 slopes in total).
The most important locations are Äkäslompolo and Ylläsjärvi villages [8] located on different sides of Yllästunturi. Around the fells there is the largest network of ski tracks (330 kilometers) in Finland.
Currently, several T-lifts and one chairlift line are available. The chairlift line only operates at good weather. There is also one gondola lift line operating at Ylläsjarvi and it was opened on February 9, 2008 at 12 o'clock noon [9].
Both resorts maintain snow parks for freestyle snowboarding. These parks contain various sizes of jumps (kickers) for beginners and pros. There are also a good selection of jibbing rails (especially on the south side). However, half-pipes are usually absent.
Ylläs travel agencies offer practice of traditional Lappish activities like husky or reindeer sleigh trips, visits to reindeer farms and traditional Sami yarangas, as well as snowmobile safaris. In Äkäslompolo village all the safari providers are located near the Supermarket on Sivulantie. Go and check out the different companies before booking your tours! Some providers might offer special trip and/or good discounts if booking more than just 1 Activity!
The Ylläs area hosts two major music festivals: Ylläs Jazz Blues [10] in February and Ylläs Soikoon [11] in July. There are also always different concerts in the larger Restaurants and Nightclubs in both villages.
Buy[edit][add listing]
Eat[edit][add listing]
Drink[edit][add listing]
Sleep[edit][add listing]
The Ylläs area is one of the largest winter sport resorts in Finland and it has a great variety of accommodation opportunities.
Get out[edit]


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Ultra Lightweight Snood (AT23's)
Atifa� Snoods are the most comfortable and stylish Snoods in the world. This Atifa Snood will enhance your natural beautiful features and will bring out your true colors. The Atifa Snood has gained popularity primarily because many woman don't have the time to spend fixing their hair or their wig before running out and being seen in these stylish Atifa Snoods is something its wearer takes true pride in.


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This week's Newsweek poses the interesting question: Is your booty in your beauty? That is to say, do pretty people make more money (short answer: yes), and if so, should women, to quote Ru Paul, work it at work?
An interesting debate, to be sure. Not least given feminism's real–and imagined–history of trashing (and burning–that'd be the imagined part) their high heels, girdles, and bras in the name of freedom from a sexist culture. In one of the articles, "She Stoops to Conquer," Jessica Bennett wonders if "real feminists use their looks to get ahead," and launches the piece with a reference to the so-called "Bo-Tax"–an addition to the health care bill which would have (if passed, which it wasn't) levied a tax on "injectables" and other elective cosmetic procedures, and the counterintuitive resistance to the Bo-Tax from no less than Terry O'Neill, the president of NOW, who, by way of explanation for her position, said:
"[Women] have to find work… and the fact is, we live in a society that punishes women for getting older."
You might expect the National Organization for Women to have better things to do. You might expect them to look down upon things like injecting one's face with a known toxin. But no. And you know, she has a point. Here's a bit from Bennett:
Women may have surpassed men as the majority of American workers, but they're no less slaves to the beauty standards of the day than they were during the Mad Men era. So while feminists of the past may have blasted plastic surgery as shallow, today even Gloria Steinem has admitted to an eye lift. Of course, buying into the belief that we must keep up with the Joneses brings with it a double bind: at work, women can be too attractive, and whether it's by natural or artificial means, studies show they are faced with resentment, envy, often viewed as less intelligent or vain. In a corporate hierarchy still largely dominated by men, this is all the more exaggerated: women who reject the idea that they must plump and pull to get ahead resent the women who accept it; those women then resent those who don't need surgical enhancement. And many women who indeed benefit from looking good face their own cycle of self-doubt: Did I really deserve that raise/promotion/recognition, or did he just like the way my legs look in that skirt? Is that what the rest of the office assumes? It's insecurity at its worst, but it's surely not for nothing: as one male Newsweek reader told my female colleagues and me, after reading our story on sexism: "No matter how much I respect my female co-workers, I eventually think about putting my hands on their chest."
It's hard to eradicate sexism; but in the face of it, maybe there really is a case to be made for using what we've got. That's not to say we should tear off our tops in the name of "empowerment," or bat our eyelashes at every middle-aged male manager who hovers over our cubicle… But making an effort to look good, because we know it helps us out professionally, and, well, maintaining that look, shouldn't necessarily be shunned, nor should we be plagued by personal guilt. This is a conscious decision–and in an age where looks matter more than ever, it can be an economic one. Look at it this way: if you're doing your job, who cares if your boss wants to promote you because he thinks you're pretty? So what if you invest in a round of Botox because you believe–like 13 percent of women, and 10 percent of men–that it will help you in the long run?
Well, sure, so what? If you got it, flaunt it (and if you don't anymore, umm, fill it?)–we are, after all, still paid only 77 cents to the man's dollar, and there's fewer of us at the tops of the ranks, so we might as well. By any means necessary, right? After all, a pretty woman earns a reported 4% more–and gets more attention from her boss–than her Ugly Betty counterpart. And then, there's this: I think it's safe to say that many of us prefer to look well-rested and perky than like we've been run over by a truck, so while the numbers show that pretty people do get ahead, getting ahead is likely not our only motivation. If we're honest, I'm sure we'd all confess that a certain measure of our desire to look our best has to do as much with turning heads–not least the one who's looking back at us from the mirror. And hey, what's the matter with a little vanity? More power to us! But the one thing I do wonder about is this: Do you think your male coworkers ever worry about this stuff?


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The Transparent City (signed edition)Photographs by Michael Wolf
Availability: Out of stock
Chicago has recently undergone a surge of new construction, grafting a new layer of architectural experimentation onto those of past eras. In early 2007, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, with the support of U.S. Equities Realty, invited Michael Wolf as an artist-in-residence. Bringing his unique perspective on changing urban environments to a city renowned for its architectural legacy, Wolf chose to photograph the central downtown area, focusing on issues of voyeurism and the contemporary urban landscape.
In The Transparent City, his details are fragments of life—digitally distorted and hyper-enlarged—snatched surreptitiously via telephoto lenses: Edward Hopper meets Blade Runner. The material resonates with all the formalism of the constructed, architectonic work for which Wolf is well-known, but also emphasizes the conceptual underpinnings of his ongoing engagement with the idea of how modern life unfolds within the framework of the ever-growing contemporary city.
The Transparent City was made possible, in part, by generous support from Kay and Matthew Bucksbaum.
Michael Wolf (born in Munich, 1954) grew up in the United States, and studied at UC Berkeley and with Otto Steinert at the University of Essen in Germany. Two previous books—Sitting in China (2002) and Hong Kong, Front Door/Back Door (2005)—feature his much acclaimed photographs of China. Wolf lives and works in Hong Kong and Paris.
You may also be interested in:
Michael Wolf$2,500.00
Michael Wolf$1,000.00


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Nuts About Dad Caramel Apples 2 pack
1800Baskets.com Exclusive! Give Dad two decadent caramel apple favorites in one delicious gift. Each begins with a tart Granny Smith apple dipped in creamy caramel. One is enrobed in fresh peanuts and drizzled with decadent chocolate. Inspired by the classic turtle, one is rolled in fresh pecans and covered with rich chocolate. They're an outstanding treat in every way.


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Table of contents
Deadly roads
With 19 traffic fatalities on Albemarle County roads this year, 2011 is the deadliest year for local drivers in recent memory, and the perilous holiday season is still to come. What caused these fatal wrecks, and what can you do to protect yourself and your family?
Unlikely victims
Sexual assault against men may be rarer than that against women, but at least five UVA men have been victimized by a home intruder in the last six weeks, and police have few leads.
Pho sure
Ten chef Pei Chang brings the British concept of Pop-up restaurants to Charlottesville, and the results will likely please your palate and your wallet.
Shake off (cedar) booty
One more vestige of the pre-gentrification Downtown Mall is about to be cast off. Like several other Brady Bunch-era relics, that giant swath of cedar shakes that has long covered the front of Snooky's pawn shop could be coming down.
Content omitted this week's slim 56-page issue:
- letters to the editor
- the back page essay
The image is entitled "Crash," for obvious reasons, and was shot in June in northeastern Spain.
–photo by Adria Jimenez


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According to Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, California's budget deficit now stands at $15.6 billion.
According to the Legislative Accounting Office, California's budget deficit now stands "north of $17 billion."
According to state Controller John Chiang, California's budget deficit now stands at $19.2 billion.
So, which of these assessments is correct? Therein lies insight into the nuances of understanding the state budget. The disagreement also provides fodder for those who say even the state's leaders can't agree on the extent of the budget deficit. Not wonder there's a credibility gap.
In these times of high technology, Why does this problem even exist?
There's no deceit or gamesmanship, rather determinations of the mess from three different perches in the budget process.
Jerry Brown looks at the budget as a moving target that has all kinds of assumptions. "if" the economy picks up, and "if" the state prevails in court cases challenging earlier legislation, and "if" the federal government makes certain concessions to the state, then the deficit should be about $15.6 billion.
The Legislative Analyst's Office looks at revenue and expenditure trends. All along, the LAO has cautioned that money has not been rolling in per the governor's expectations. Therefore, the deficit must be higher.
As for the Controller's outlook, his is probably the most accurate, if discouraging. Chiang is simply a numbers man here. Each month the state is taking in "X" and spending "Y." As a result, the deficit now stands at $19.2 billion. Chiang's reports remind us of the old Dragnet series years ago, where Sergeant Joe Friday asks the witness for "just the facts."
Meanwhile, the voters are struggling to understand just how bad things are. In fact, the state's leading money men would serve people well if they put their heads together and came up with one figure for the public to digest. Absent that, all we know is that the state is in a deep hole that seems to get deeper by the day.
Still the question remains, just how big of a shovel do we need?
Larry Gerston teaches political science at San Jose State University and is the political analyst at NBC Bay Area.
Send us your thoughts via Twitter @PropZero or add your comment to our Facebook page.


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After reading all of your responses to my "One Pattern - Three Shirts" series, it got me thinking. I often start out with an already made pattern, but I almost never make it exactly the way the instructions tell you to. I love to add simple extras here and there to get different effects. In this post I want to show you how you can make a few very simple changes to your patterns, and get completely different outcomes.
I have summarized the different methods I use to change patterns. For each method I have linked to a good tutorial, showing you how to do it (some of which are mine, but not all). Give them a try and you will be amazed at how far your patterns can stretch.


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At The Plate – Runs came early and often in this one as Iowa held a 6-5 lead after five innings, they added an insurance run, which they would need en route to a 7-6 victory of Oklahoma City. Solid offensive day for Iowa as eight of the nine guys in the starting lineup had at least one hit and the Cubs were 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Logan Watkins was solid out of the leadoff spot going 2-for-5 with a double, and two RBI's. Brad Nelson had a huge day going 2-for-4 with two home runs, two RBI's, and two runs scored. All Junior Lake has done since coming back from injury is hit, he was 1-for-5 with his fifth double of the season, and two runs scored. Ian Stewart has found some magic at the plate as of late, he was 1-for-3 in this one with a double, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored.
On The Mound – Yoanner Negrin is still getting stretched out as he makes his transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation; he made his third start of the season last night. Negrin worked five innings giving up five runs on ten hits while walking two and striking out eight, he earned his first win of the season. Casey Coleman continued his brilliance of the pen as he worked three scoreless innings giving up two hits while walking one and striking out two. Brian Schlitter worked a rocky ninth as he gave up one run on two hits while striking out one to earn his second save of the season.
At The Plate – Tough loss for Tennessee as they let a 3-0 lead get away in the sixth inning, and wound up losing 4-3 in walk off fashion in the ninth. Arismendy Alcantara continued his stellar 2013 as he went 2-for-4 with a run scored, he's now hitting .290 on the season. Christian Villanueva also was 2-for-4 with a run scored, unfortunately the Smokies could do nothing with runners in scoring position going 1-for-8. Rafael Lopez had a solid game going 2-for-4 with two doubles, that gives him fourteen on the season, he also had a run scored in the loss.
On The Mound – A.J. Morris got the start for the Smokies and was outstanding going 5.1 innings giving up one run on two hits while striking out four. Zach Rosscup is usually reliable, he was knocked around however as he worked one inning giving up two runs on two hits while walking one and striking out one. Trey McNutt is starting to turn things around, he was solid going 1.2 scoreless innings giving up one hit and striking out two. Kevin Rhoderick continued to struggle and got the loss, he worked two-thirds of an inning giving up one run on one hit while walking one and striking out one.
At The Plate – Javier Baez, that's all you need to know. These types of games don't come around too often, in fact what Baez did was only the second time that it has been done in the 94 year history of the Florida State League. Baez was 4-for-4 with FOUR home runs (FOUR!), seven RBI's (SEVEN), and four runs scored, have a day, kid. The huge night makes Baez's numbers for the season look that much better, he's hitting .291 with thirteen homers, and forty-four RBI's, in a pitchers league. Wow.
On The Mound – Rough go of it for Zach Cates, but he did give Daytona some innings, and picked up his sixth win of the season. Cates worked six innings giving up four runs, three earned, on seven hits while striking out six. Luis Liria was knocked around out of the pen as he worked one inning giving up two runs on two hits while walking three (Not Good), and striking out two. Larry Suarez was tremendous out of the pen going 1.1 scoreless innings giving up one hit while walking one. Frank Del Valle worked the final two-thirds of an inning to pick up his fourth save of the year, he walked one and struck out two in the process.
At The Plate – Nothing going right for Kane County lately, and last night was no exception as they fell to Cedar Rapids 6-2. The Cougars could only manage two runs on six hits, but did walk four times, unfortunately they were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Albert Almora was 1-for-4 in the loss with his seventh double of the season, he is now hitting .423 for the year. Rock Shoulders found some hits last night, he was 2-for-4 with his twelfth double of the season, and a run scored. Oliver Zapata was 2-for-3 with a run scored, he now has his average up to .270 on the season.
On The Mound – Pierce Johnson got the start and had one of his worst outings of 2013 as he suffered his fifth loss of the season. Johnson worked 4.2 innings giving up five runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out four. Lendy Castillo took over and did a solid job of keeping the Cougars in it, he worked 3.1 innings giving up one run on three hits while striking out four.


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Instructions on what to do if you meet an elephant: "If they are within 20 metres of the walkway and facing you, slowly turn around and go back to your room or the central camp area. If they are not facing you, then walk briskly past."
Instructions on what to do if you meet a lion: "You can stand still and hope the lion will walk away, which they often do. Or you can make yourself look as big as possible and shout as loud as you can. Even if they do charge, they usually stop just short of you and kick dust in your face - it's your lucky day, you didn't turn into a historical footnote."
Roger Carloni smiled as he went through the new guest initiation, but you could tell he wasn't joking.
Carloni is the manager of Vumbura's 45,000-hectare private concession in Botswana's Okavango Delta, one of southern Africa's richest wildlife areas. This is the Africa you come to see, where animals like elephants, lions, giraffes, hippos, warthogs, kudu and baboons roam free.
In fact, so free that when you are in your suite you are literally in the middle of all the bush action: Walk out on your deck and you will see elephants eating leaves off trees which you can almost reach out to touch. Look out on the other side and you have a ringside view of baboons fighting and scampering back and forth. At the same time, look down between the boards of your deck to see a family of warthogs running around and squealing.
Now do you believe you are in the middle of the African bush? The typical day starts with a wake-up knock at 6 a.m. Breakfast - buffet, cooked - runs 6:30 to 7 a.m. And then we are off for an adventure on our first game drive of the day.
In winter, with temperatures in the single digits, we hold a blanket tightly over several layers of clothing. And we are delighted to discover a lined poncho, warmed by a hot water bottle as we climb into our safari vehicle: a Land Rover with two or three rows of seats, each row higher than the one in front.
The sun has barely risen as we set off with our guide-driver. We soon spot our first elephants of the day - a solitary giant bull, then a herd of a dozen animals including babies.
The vehicle goes into low four-wheel drive as we slide through the soft sand on the bush track, or cross a flooded section so deep the headlights disappear below the water.
Ban, our guide, stops to examine animal tracks in the dirt.
"You can see here that lions have been here recently," he says. "Shall we follow the tracks and see if we can find them?" Unexpectedly, Ban swings the steering wheel and heads off through the low scrub. A few minutes later, he pulls up by a tree and there they are: eight lions lying in the grass, warming up in the rising sun after a night's hunting.
This pride has no dominant male, so two of the young males have stayed with their mother and the other females; normally, the dominant male would have driven them out.
"It's time for them to become independent," Ban said. "Otherwise, they start mating with their sisters and mother."
After half an hour of watching and photographing the lions, who occasionally get up to stretch then lie down again, Ban says: "Are we ready to go?" And we are off to search for more game.
We come across more than a dozen elephants and almost as many giraffes around a water hole. There's something special about seeing so many creatures together in perfect harmony - sharing the African foliage and water.
The elephants are noisily tearing leaves off the trees with their trunks. The giraffes, far more gracefully, are picking leaves off the high branches, then far less gracefully sprawling out their front legs so they could reach down to drink.
Another day, we are very lucky to spot a leopard, lying in the high grass almost invisibly blending in with pale hay colour.
Some days we choose a different activity: perhaps a walk to get up close and personal with the small creatures. We are accompanied by another guide carrying a 457 magnum rifle because "we are in a place where wild animals run free and you never know what might happen."
Or we hop in a boat to navigate the shallow waterways to fish for pike or bream, catching half a dozen, then later have a barbecue brunch on a dying island where salt has started to leach up into the surface.
But ultimately, the animals are the stars. After probably only ever seeing them behind bars in a zoo, suddenly the positions are reversed and we are in their world. We see them during the day, we hear them at night. "Knock, knock - wake up. It's six o'clock: There are lions and elephants everywhere!" A new day had dawned at Vumbura.


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Horst J. Richter
Professor of Engineering, Emeritus
Professor of Engineering, Emeritus1-603-646-2701
Horst Richter served as a member of Thayer School's regular faculty from 1975 to 2007. He has also taught and/or did research at the University of Aachen (Germany), at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, and at the Helmut Schmidt University (Hamburg). He was Thayer School's first director of undergraduate studies and later served for three years as the Chair of the Engineering Sciences Department. At Thayer School he has taught thermodynamics, systems, fluid mechanics, two-phase flow, heat and mass transfer, and a course on the technology of sailing.
Guided by the uniting principles of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and two-phase flow, Richter has done research in areas as diverse as emergency cooling for nuclear power plants, diesel engine fuel injection, fluid flow in orbiting satellites, and performance of thermal processes such as combustion and fuel cells and their use in power plants. He also worked with Professor Emeritus Paul Queneau in modeling of the Queneau-Schuhmann-Lurgi (QSL) reactor—a modern, environmentally-clean reactor for continuous direct metalmaking.
More recently, Richter is interested in computational fluid dynamics as a tool to analyze thermal spraying techniques or to study fluid flow around the sails of racing yachts.
Thermodynamics; two-phase flow; energy conversion; heat and mass transfer; computational fluid dynamics.
- Diploma, Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Karlsruhe (Germany) 1965
- Doctor of Engineering, University of Stuttgart (Germany) 1970
Active Research
Professional Activities
- Visiting professor, Helmut Schmidt University (Hamburg)
Remembering Sailboat Designer Olin Stephens
WCAX-TV Channel 3 (Vermont)
September 18, 2008
In Dartmouth Engineer Magazine
Spotlights: A Reporter's Notebook
Web Extra, March 2017
Just One Question: What Was Your Greatest Experience at Thayer?
Fall 2014
Just One Question: Have you been involved in the arts?
Winter 2013
Life After Teaching: Horst Richter
Web Extra, October 2012
The Engineering Pipeline
Summer 2012
Foreign Study: Germany Exchange is Wunderbar
Winter 2011
Q & A: Professor Richter on Retirement
Spring/Summer 2007
Just One Question: Your Favorite Classes
Fall 2006


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The digital revolution rages on, and actors are the latest soldiers on the frontlines.
Since "Jurassic Park" digitally created characters have become commonplace on the big screen, sometimes jaw-dropping in their reality – and sometimes not. "Tron: Legacy" just pushed the envelope that much further with – SPOILER ALERT – its high-tech layering of 30-year-old imagery of Jeff Bridges atop a fresh performance from the Oscar-winner to create an entirely distinct character.
The breakthrough suggests a myriad of possibilities for future use on film: imagine Harrison Ford playing Indiana Jones in a story set prior to "Raiders of the Lost Ark," or Humphrey Bogart resurrected for a "Casablanca" sequel by digitally lacquering his image over another actor, for example. The actors and director of "Tron: Legacy" shared their thoughts on what the innovation really means for performers as they consider what lies ahead now that their avatars at any age can reside indefinitely on a hard drive.
U.S. & World
"It's opening a whole new deal, man – they can combine actors!" says Jeff Bridges. "A little Bob Duvall and Lou Costello, and then they push a button and fuse those guys, and they have some other actor drive that image. It's really going back to becoming a writers' medium, because now anything's possible. There's no sets, no costumes, it's all done in post. Even the camera angles, where the camera is. It's crazy!"
"I don't think that I can escape that images of myself will be kept on a hard drive now," says Olivia Wilde. "There is permanence to everything that you do now, whether you like it or not, so it can be utilized in the future – hopefully for a good reason. But that is an interesting concept and we're still cresting that wave. There're only a few actors in this business who have gone through the process that Jeff went through. I think that only he and Brad Pitt can really discuss the challenges of working with a head rig for face replacement."
"It's something that's just completely inevitable," declares Garrett Hedlund. "They've been wanting to do it for years, to bring back actors holographicaly and things like that and to give them their own unique gestures. It's been tricky but they're getting closer and closer. Now we're scanned into the computer – me and Olivia and Jeff all had to do this full body scan and get scanned into the computer to help with the manufacturing of the suits, to get them precisely to every curve of your body. So now we're in there. There's no telling how technology will advance to expedite a production."
Not every actor completely embraces the inevitable results of the advancements. "There's obviously positive and negative about it, says Michael Sheen. "There are a lot of actors who are kind of freaked out by that idea, and there are a lot of people who have their hands on cash registers who are very excited about that idea, the idea of getting Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and George Clooney in the same movie. It becomes a possibility, and I'm sure that would do very well. But as an actor, it's another tool, isn't it? The idea that there's makeup, there's prosthetics and now there's that as well.
"For me as an actor, part of what I enjoy about acting, what I really love, is the idea of physically transforming myself," adds Sheen. "So for someone to come along and say, 'No, we can do all that for you…' 'No, that's what I enjoy doing! I don't want you to do that work for me. I want to do that work.' But on the other hand, I'm also incredibly excited that it is another incredibly sophisticated tool to use in order to create a performance. That's ultimately what we've got to be about. If it just becomes technology for it's own sake, then we're into a bit of a disturbing, dark area."
"It's the hardest thing you can do right now in terms of visual effects, so I don't think people are going to be doing it for the sake of doing it" says "Tron: Legacy" director Joseph Kosiniski, "The reason we did it on this movie is because it was driven by a story that required it. We knew we could tell the story of a man with two sons: a digital son and a biological son – one of those sons being a perfect digital copy of the man himself at 35. That's a story that couldn't be told until now."
"It's exceptionally difficult because it is a human being, and a human being that people know and know what he looked like at that age," says Kosinski. "And it's an actor that has so much personality and charisma that it couldn't simply look like him. It had to really feel like Jeff, so it was important to me that Jeff had to drive the performance of that character in the scenes. This wasn't something he could do three months later in a motion-capture facility, so we had to use all this technology that allowed us to capture the performance on set, in scene. I'm really happy with how Clu performs in the context of this movie, all the way through, and it really culminates at the end of the film when you get to see Jeff in this astounding performance play both sides of a scene simultaneously. It was a really incredible thing to witness Jeff dive in and do that."
"The technology—or what was required of me in just acting those two parts – really helped," adds Bridges. "You're in a leotard with all these dots on your face and this funny helmet with cameras. It's nice to imagine in your head what it must be like to live in a grid or something, and just being in that strange circumstance that helps that."
And at the least, says Hedlund, the notion can free actors from anxiety if they flub a scene. "Jeff and I would always joke, saying, 'Well, if this stunt goes wrong, at least they've got us in the computer.'"


text: search2 FLEXIBLE ASSEMBLY PRODUCT SYSTEM Taiwan Machinery E-catalog Directory - TAIWAN MACHINE TOOL & ACCESSORY BUILDERS' ASSOCIATION Click here to hide or display the "My Picks" bar. About Us | Bookmark | Contact | Home Catalog Video Bandwidth: Broadband Dial-Up News | Directory | Help Your search FLEXIBLE ASSEMBLY PRODUCT SYSTEM did not match any documents. Suggestions: Make sure all words are spelled correctly. Try different keywords. Try more general keywords. Try fewer keywords.


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Harper's Bazaar
The Washington Nationals are without a doubt one of the best stories of the year. And, of course, you can't talk about the Nationals without inevitably turning to the direct youth infusion that is Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper. Probably the most amazing thing about these two guys is how well they seem to be handling the pressure at their relatively young ages.
Ever since we first celebrated Stras-mas in 2010, we knew we were in for something special. Bryce-giving has been almost as good. Through half a season his numbers have him in a rarified group of baseball players and already have stat-heads drooling over his promise. However, that initial part of the sentence, "through half a season," should remind us that he's not yet Micky Mantle.
If there's one thing that really makes me believe that Bryce-giving could become the same annual holiday that Stras-mas appears possible to become, it's this:[youtube http://youtu.be/JzbhjzsyvGk]
That question had foot-in-mouth disease written all over it. But instead of pulling a Humberto Quintero:
…Harper gave just about the perfect answer. Well played, young man.


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Posted: Mar 22, 2013
The Central Connecticut baseball team opens Northeast Conference play this afternoon, hosting Fairleigh Dickinson in the first game of a four-game weekend series, beginning at 3 p.m.
Central and FDU will play this afternoon, a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m., and a single, nine-inning game at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The Blue Devils enter the weekend with a 5-6 overall record. The Knights are 3-9 overall.
Follow the weekend series with LIVE STATS.


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West Ham striker Carlton Cole has joined team-mates in Switzerland despite reports he is close to completing a deal with Stoke City.
The 27-year-old joined fellow England internationals Rob Green and Scott Parker as part of the Hammers' 26-man squad that travelled yesterday for a six-day training camp.
Despite joining Sam Allardyce's men at their base near Bern, reports emerged today suggesting Stoke manager Tony Pulis is set to make Cole his first summer signing in a £4.5million deal, which could eventually rise to £6million depending on whether several clauses are triggered.
The former Chelsea striker was reportedly subject of a £3million bid from the Potters last weekend and could now become the next high-profile departure from the relegated Hammers after fellow frontman Demba Ba joined Newcastle.
QPR were also thought to be monitoring Cole's availability but he could now be set for a move to the Britannia Stadium, which may end Pulis' pursuit of Birmingham forward Cameron Jerome.


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Lance Armstrong's Cat-And-Mouse Game
Lance Armstrong's Cat-And-Mouse Game
New files explain how the seven-time Tour de France winner doped for 12 years while avoiding testers.
How did Lance Armstrong escape drug use detection while winning a record-setting seven Tour de France titles?
He built a complex web of secret bank transactions, motorcycle-riding drug couriers, sophisticated scientific regimens and retaliation against teammates who challenged the code of silence, or "omerta," about doping, according to the case laid out by U.S. anti-doping officials on Wednesday.
Armstrong wasn't just a user of performance-enhancing drugs. He encouraged, solicited and pressured his teammates to follow suit, according to the U.S. Anti-Drug Agency's "reasoned decision" regarding Armstrong that totaled more than 1,000 pages of testimony and supporting documents.
PHOTOS: Lance Armstrong: Cycling Legend
The cancer survivor from Texas personally directed a doping program while riding for the U.S. Postal Service and Discovery Channel Cycling teams from 1998 to 2005 when he retired with seven Tour victories, and then again during his return to the sport from 2009-2010.
Despite his denials and statements that he never failed a drug test, 11 of Armstrong's former teammates provided shocking new testimony about what, when and how he managed to use a smorgasbord of drugs without ever failing a test.
"It's an avalanche of evidence," said Neal Rogers, editor of VeloNews, a Boulder-based cycling website and magazine that has been following the Armstrong case for several years. "We all suspected it was coming. But there's so much evidence it's overwhelming."
USADA chief Travis Tygart said Wednesday that Armstrong and his former manager Johann Bruyneel "ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen." The agency released more than 1,000 pages of supporting documents to support its case.
Armstrong's attorneys have called the USADA investigation a "witch hunt" and a waste of taxpayer dollars. Armstrong, who raced over the weekend in a triathlon near Baltimore, didn't comment on the revelations.
NEWS: Did Lance Try to Fly Under the Radar?
But it's the testimony of his 11 former teammates that strike the biggest blows against the retired cycling champion:
- The revelation by then 23-year-old cyclist David Zabriskie, whose father died from drug addiction, that Armstrong, Bruyneel and their Italian doctor Michele Ferrari told Zabriskie that he would have to start a doping program if he wished to be part of the U.S. Postal team in 2003. Zabriskie told investigators he was worried about the health effects of taking drugs, and was so upset at the choice he was given by Armstrong that he cried alone in his hotel room that night. He ended up taking the substances.
- New testimony by Armstrong's closest friend and teammate, George Hincapie, who admitted for the first time doping during his seven years with Armstrong. Hincapie retired from cycling last month.
NEWS: Are Tour Riders the Fittest Athletes?
- Details about a "motoman" who delivered drugs to Armstrong and his teammates on a motorcycle that passed through European border checkpoints at night.
- A roadmap of how to take banned substances erythropoietin (EPO or "Poe"), testosterone ("oil" because it was mixed with olive oil), or human growth hormone without tripping limits set by cycling authorities.
- More than $1 million in payments from Armstrong to a disgraced Italian doctor, Michele Ferrari, from 1996 to 2006, sometimes in cash. Ferrari was convicted in 2004 of illegally providing drugs to Italian racers, and was continuing to give Armstrong advice through 2010, despite Armstrong's previous denials.
- How Armstrong's ex-wife Kristin Armstrong handed out cortisone pills to Armstrong and other USPS cyclists during one race in 1998.
- How Hincapie helped Armstrong avoid anti-doping testers that were waiting for him outside a team hotel during a French race in 1999. Armstrong dropped out of the race rather than face them.
- How Armstrong, Ferrari and Bruyneel learned the details of each racer's blood chemistry, so they could "micro-dose" with small amounts of performance-enhancing drugs without failing a test, or take injections of saline to dilute their blood.
- How Armstrong's team was re-injected with their own blood after a stage of the 2004 Tour de France, an operation that occurred inside the team bus at a French highway rest stop.
- Armstrong teammate Tyler Hamilton told investigators: "We also had another time-honored strategy for beating the testing -- we hid."
The testimony includes laboratory results from 2009 and 2010, when Armstrong made his comeback to professional cycling after taking three years off. An Australian blood-doping expert examined Armstrong's samples from the Tours during those years and said there was a "one in a million" chance that Armstrong raced clean.
While Armstrong's legal troubles are over -- a federal investigation into alleged fraud and misuse of funds was closed in February 2012 -- his financial woes may get worse as a result of the USADA probe.
Armstrong won millions of dollars in prize money over the years, and international sporting rules may force him to return it. In addition, SCA, a Texas firm, paid Armstrong a $7.5 million settlement in 2007 in a legal dispute over whether he doped during his Tour de France wins. That case could be reopened now that details about Armstrong's doping ring have been made public.
The USADA's investigation has been turned over to the Lausanne-based International Cycling Union, which will determine whether or not to strip Armstrong of his victories during his career. If it does, cycling officials face a difficult task. Nearly all of the second- and third-place podium finishers from 1999 to 2005 Tours have been either convicted or linked to drug scandals.
"Now it's cleaning up the mess," said VeloNews' Rogers. "We'll be reading about it for months."


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When most people think of someone living in a van down by the river, either Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker or some dude whose biggest accomplishment was going to every Dead show between 1976 and 1994 are invariably the sort that come to mind first.
But I lived in a van cerca de un rio for two years, and I was young, reasonably attractive (to a special few, anyway), and gainfully employed. And let's face it, I owned my own home and didn't have to sign a lease. I was master of my own destiny and it was awesome!
What do you do when you live in a van? You have parties in it, on it, and around it, light things on fire outside of it, and brag/lie about how many chicks you've lured into it. It's the ultimate mobile headquarters for any young man's life.
So the van wasn't actually a van, but a Class C motorhome, and the river wasn't a real river, but a rotten egg-smelling slough. I'd have killed for a real river.
At least the Pacific Ocean was a lot closer than was the slough. It's sparkling blue water was just across the street, as a matter of fact. The RV was parked next to a run down house in Isla Vista, Calif. — a student ghetto attached to the University of California, Santa Barbara — where thousands of 18- to 25- year old women live. I don't have to tell you what that means.
Let's see, Southern California beach, girls everywhere, my own room connected to electricity, running water, and a house full of good friends... Now you can see why it kicked so much ass.
The idea to live in some kind of a camper van or trailer wasn't new to me. When I was a dredging company surveyor (we built beaches and dug holes in river bottoms — a different story for another time), one of the other guys on my crew always insisted on living in this really crappy 1979 Dodge van-based Tioga RV while we were out on jobs all over the East and Gulf Coasts. The rest of us accepted the luxury of rented beach houses while he pocketed several thousand dollars a year in per diem checks. His rolling home was small, but it had a good layout inside, and could have been a pretty cool place to live but for the fact that he didn't really keep it up. He also never seemed to find access to electricity and water, so his winters were, well, chilly. It wasn't for me.
But a few years later, during the summer of 2007, when I was the Santa Barbara County Parks Department's 20-something beach lifeguard supervisor, I remembered his idea and thought to myself, "Self, that'd be a great way to save money."
The idea was reinforced by the guards who worked for me up at Jalama Beach, a remote (and awesome) county park sandwiched between Point Conception, a handful of huge ranches, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Air Force's space and missile mecca. It's about an hour from Santa Barbara, so they would usually spend three or four days at a time up there, living in an old travel trailer donated by a veteran ranger who lived at the park. Every time I traveled up there to check in on them, I looked at the old trailer, the wheels in my mind spinning madly.
I had recently moved into a sublet with a bunch of guys I'd met on Craigslist, and the one whose room I was staying in (a room I shared with another cool, but very messy dude) was coming back to claim his space at the end of the summer. It just so happened that Dave, the trailer-donating veteran park ranger, was moving out of his park quarters after 13 years there and into a little cottage in a town a few miles away. That meant he had to get rid of all of his junk, including a weathered, but pretty decent 24-foot 1978 Holiday Rambler RV.
Although its sunbeaten exterior had seen better days — the metal parts were covered with light rust splotches that looked like leprosy and most of the plastic trim was warped or dry rotted — its interior was a 70s disco party waiting to happen. In more or less mint condition, it sported shag carpet on the floors and ceiling, wood paneling, ostentatiously embroidered upholstery, and a faux brick kitchen backsplash with plastic tarnished-brass-look outlet covers. Even though I never intended to drive it, the Ford van chassis upon which the aluminum body sat struck my gearhead chord. It had an unmuffled 460 cid V8 and a C6 transmission feeding a massive dual rear axle. But past its mechanical attributes, it had spirit, too. Maybe it was because there were always people in it doing things and carrying on and living life — it felt like a passive living thing.
The Rambler, as it came to be known amongst my friends, was fantastic, and I immediately let Dave know that I was interested in taking it off his hands. Dave is one of those old school guys who doesn't like to sell things unless they're in perfect working order, so I had to wait all summer while he fixed some fuel line issue and slapped on six new tires. But finally, September came and he was ready to let it go, just in the knick of time, for $1,200. After having paid $600 per month to share a small room in a run down house with another dude, having my own room — one that I could move somewhere else if I wanted to — was a dream come true.
And the best part? The roomies hadn't really factored an extra head into their already complex rent sharing scheme. There were already three guys living in the main house — a 1940s vintage hovel that had been moved from downtown, added to, and set up as one of Isla Vista's original beach cottages — two in a converted tool shed, two in a mildewy room behind the garage, and one in a tiny, uninsulated aluminum garden shed dubbed "le petit chateau." It was decided that I would pay the cleaning lady until they could cook up something better. She came once or twice per month, and charged $60 to do her best to scrape away caked on, stale beer-smelling grime and haul off piles of trash that inevitably returned two or three days later. I was A-OK with that arrangement. Did I mention that the Pacific Ocean was across the street and the place was swarming with coeds?
I decided right off the bat that driving the Rambler, ever, even for a little vacation to another beach somewhere, was a terrible idea. Not only had getting it smogged at a local repair shop been a traumatic experience (I lost my friggin' room for a day, plus it was huge and not that fun to drive), but I had set up my books, a record player and a stack of LPs, even a lava lamp and some other things you find perched on bookshelves and end tables, and didn't feel like moving them once they were positioned. Also, let's not forget that a 460-powered Class C doesn't exactly get the best fuel economy. It pretty much gets the worst. And what if I wrecked it? I'd lose my princely accommodations and have to sleep on a couch that a million people had shagged/vomited on until I could find something better. No thanks.
So it sat, more or less in the same place for two years. And what a time it was. Isla Vista is one of the craziest party towns in America, but the Rambler was an island of calm on an Isle of mayhem. During the time that I lived there, I definitely partook in some of the festivities, but there were times when I was feeling mellow and preferred to listen to music, read, or hang out with a few quiet friends. Often, when the main house hosted raging parties, there would always be a handful of people seeking refuge from the madness who would filter into the Rambler to chill out for a while.
By the end of my time there, the sounds of breaking glass, fights, urine splashing on the ground outside my window, and girls shrieking, "Shut. The fuck. UP, bitch!" did nothing to ruffle the serenity I felt reading a good book or just laying there, staring pensively at the shag on the ceiling.
One of my roommates agreed that it was the quietest place in town, and made a nest in there when he was studying for finals each semester. It was peaceful, but better than the campus library because the comforts of home were handy. I'd often arrive home from a long day of work at the Santa Barbara Independent (I'd been fired from my job with the county before I even got the thing in the driveway, but that, too, is another story) to find him perched on its wildly patterned couch alongside a stack of books and energy drinks.
For my part, it was a perfect living space. It had a queen-sized bed, a large couch and some swivel chairs, a place for my stereo, a kitchenette, a functional bathroom, a closet for my clothes, and enough room to sleep, work, exercise, stretch out, and host six or seven (or sometimes an absurdly higher number more) people. One thing was for certain, in such a small space, things had to be kept shipshape and in Bristol fashion, lest I end up like my slovenly colleague from the dredging company days.
Other than the time when heavy winter rains caused a short in the wiring that shocked the shit out of me when I tried to pull the door handle, the Rambler weathered this debaucherous storm without incident. One time some drunk chick clambered up onto the roof with a Costa Rican guy and inadvertently stepped through one of the skylights (I fixed it with duct tape, naturally), but I didn't have to do much to it other than reseal the roof seams and one of the windows, put in a new battery, and rebuild its craptastic Rochester carburetor. I didn't even bother with the last two items until it was time to sell it.
I was a few years older than most of my housemates, so there were friends in my age range who resisted coming out to I.V. to visit. But those who did never regretted it (or forgot why they were supposed to through the pounding hangover). Once, a friend of mine from college had the balls to fly out from the East Coast. When he arrived assumed the standard position: Standing around stiffly like white guys, talking about work and trying to ignore the fact that we were surrounded by college students. But eventually, the drinks began flowing, and the years receded until we were running around screaming like 15-year-olds on an illicit bender. I'm pretty sure an upholstered chair got set on fire that night. That dude works for the Department of Commerce now, so believe me when I tell you that neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney can do anything for the government. It's fucked.
Despite the fact that girls of all ages didn't seem to mind hanging out in the old RV that some people told me would be the antithesis of a pussy magnet (it must have been the Christmas lights I'd hung inside), the time eventually came when one of them became my girlfriend and let me know in no uncertain terms that she preferred if I didn't live in a motorhome in a raucous student district. So I moved in with her, but the RV came with me — much to her chagrin — beginning its third life as a guest bedroom, my home office, and a party lounge for Santa Barbarians of all ages. The records on the turntable gradually changed from Black Sabbath and the James Gang to Stan Kenton and Herbie Hancock. Wine and cocktails edged out Keystone tallboys as the crowd of boozy Rambler patrons increased in age by several years. But there were still good times had by many in there over the next year, although I rarely ever slept in it anymore.
All good things come to an end, and so it was for the Rambler. Having broken up with the largely RV-averse girlfriend (she really didn't like having it parked in front of her house) and having made the decision to move to New York City for a year, the time had come to part ways with the venerable party-on-wheels. It spent most of a summer sitting on my boss's ranch, so the only creatures living in it were some mice who made a nest out of the kitchen sink and some toilet paper they found in one of the cupboards.
Right before moving east, I cleaned up the mess the critters had made and sold the Rambler to a young hippie couple who said they wanted to live in it while they were attending Santa Barbara City College. I kept my fingers crossed that the old, undoubtedly dry belts and hoses would hold up until they got wherever they were headed. I'd told them that it was in "original condition," and what that meant, but you never know when someone as excited as they were to buy it is really listening. But I figured that the statute of limitations on my responsibility for its mechanical condition ended once I had cash in hand and they'd driven out of sight. That should have been the end of it, but the Rambler made a cameo appearance about six months later.
The RV-hating ex-girlfriend manned the front desk at an office located at the end of a cul-de-sac that was a popular spot for real van dwellers to post up. She hated the sight of the collection of dilapidated vans usually assembled there so much that she often called the city to have them towed away. Nevermind that they were somebody's home, they were unsightly in front of a respectable business wedged between greasy industrial outfits and low income housing.
Already settled into Manhattan life's maddening pace, I received an unexpected text from her. It said something to the effect of: "The Rambler is following me. It's been outside of my fucking office for a week." Not having found a driveway to park it in, the young hippies I'd sold it to took the Rambler to the most obvious place they could think of.
I don't know. Maybe the thing does have a soul, and came back to avenge her disrespect toward it and other defenseless beater RVs. Probably not. But it was a great platform for all of the different kinds of human drama that unfolded in it over the three years that I owned it. At the end of the day, you can't ask much more than that of an inanimate object.
Photo credit: Marissa Leigh Salem; Benjamin Preston; Liznasty; Claire Norman


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You're So Deer To Me
$7.99 + Free Postage Included
About This Card
Personalize and send our You're So Deer To Me card made with seed paper and watch it grow into a living herb, vegetable or flower. You choose the seeds!
You can set for next day mailing or schedule in advance to send at a later date.
Product Details
Sent with USPS First Class™
Measures 4.25" x 5.5"
Embedded with Plantable Seeds
Made with 100% Biodegradable Material
Common Questions
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Yes. They are made from recycled post-consumer material from schools and companies. We can assure that no trees are harmed in the making of Cute Root paper.
Yes! All Cute Root cards will have a small tagline at the bottom that let each recipient know what seeds are embedded in the card. They can then visit cuteroot.co/pages/grow to get specific instructions pertaining to their seeds.
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Great Pick Me up during this crazy time
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