text:
← Saturday morning market.
Baby let's cruise. →
A millstone I call home.
Monday, August 23rd, 2010
Last week the roof project finally concluded with a little mop-up: A guy came out to rehang the back-side gutters and install a couple more downspouts. Now our brand-new roof will shed water efficiently. I pause to stick my finger in my cheek for a weak pop, and then I wave it in the air and say woo. Big effin' deal.
This is new for me. In the past, I had pride of ownership in almost every repair we made, to this house and to our last house. There's something about caring well for one's house that's always resonated with me, but not so much anymore. It's true that a new roof doesn't satisfy like a new kitchen, but it still felt virtuous, because you were adding to your home's resale value and maintaining the property, which reflected on the neighborhood and made everyone rest a little easier at night.
But our real estate market can be explained in a headline which I swear I've read 400 times in the last five years in the local weekly: Has the market hit bottom? The answer is always the same: Maybe. The answer is always wrong, because the correct answer is: No. So putting a roof on my house, which used to feel like forgoing a new dress to put the money in the bank, now feels more like tearing up hundred-dollar bills and throwing them into a flushing toilet. And as long as we're reading the Obvious News, it seems I have lots of company.
When this recession is over — if it ever is — and the historians start to sort it out, I don't think anything will be as important, in the long run, as what it did to real estate. It's still my main disappointment with Barack Obama, that he didn't launch a big show trial on Jan. 21, 2009 that would have marched the Wall Street shitheads who wrecked the housing market before a tribunal of foreclosed and washed-out homeowners and a judge that was a combination of, ohhhh, Al Sharpton and Judge Judy, say. His gavel would be oversized, and he'd be welcome to use it on both his bench and the defendants' heads. A guillotine would be right outside the courtroom, and we'd use it until the rope broke and the blade dulled.
That, at least, would show we take the damage these people did seriously. People who don't own houses or apartments get a little impatient with this, and I guess I don't blame them, but trust me: This crash hurts everyone, owner or not. For those of us who don't live in the places where the middle class are shut out of owning real estate — which is to say, most of the country outside of New York City, San Francisco and much (but not all) of Los Angeles — our houses are the most expensive thing we own, and are far more than a place to lay our weary heads and store our record collections. The sale of my parents' house provided half their retirement stake. They were of the generation that saved up for a down payment, shopped carefully, bought and stayed put. No flipping or trading up for them. Three bedrooms, 1.5 baths, bought in 1962 and sold in 1995, paid off and worth seven times what they paid for it.
My generation was different, but not Alan and me, so much. This is our second house, in our second city. I pay extra principal on our house every month, although God knows why. Optimistically, it's worth half what we paid for it. Recovery of our purchase price might be 20 years off. The Detroit Metro has special problems, to be sure, but the whole country is sweeping up this wreckage, and I will never forget who caused it. (Hint: It wasn't Barney Frank.)
For years, for practically ever, real estate was the safest investment you could make. My mom started bugging me to buy a condo as soon as I had a full-time job. You couldn't lose. Everybody pays something for housing, after all, and you might as well pay yourself, plus the mortgage interest is tax-deductible. And housing always went up. It didn't rise at the redonkulous rates of recent years, but a steady 1 to 3 percent was a given.
And while I may be overstating the virtues of ownership, I still firmly believe that a neighborhood of owners is, in the broadest terms, better than one of renters. When you have a financial stake in something, you pay more attention to it. You care if the local schools are good, even if you don't have children in them. You don't like it when your neighbors let their lawn go to prairie (unless everyone else's is prairie, too). You keep the walks swept. It's the broken-window theory on a less dramatic scale, and for generations, it worked.
But that's only part of it. Local governments rely on property-tax revenues to provide services. When property values slide, so do tax receipts. We're only beginning to see these problems, cities letting streets go or not replacing lighting or laying off firefighters. And how long did I say it might be before recovery?
When you think about it, pretty much everything in our economy is predicated on the idea that we'll always be growing. (Certainly our health-care costs have done that.) A few flat years we can handle. But a full-on retreat, a crash? This is new for me. Last week our boring old city council got a little testy over some penny-ante travel for the city clerk, nothing big, but one of the members grumped that they were looking at another enormous shortfall the following year, and nickels and dimes add up. I can't imagine what they'll be fighting over in three years. Probably which one gets to quit first.
My house, my millstone. But with a nice new roof.
So, a little bloggage? Sure. Scott Rosenberg at Salon looks at a phenomenon I've been seeing in my news searching for a while now: The content farms have gamed Google. Don't be evil!
"I think his dad's bought them off, sometimes. He's practically selling dope out of the trunk of his car. I have to give him one thing, though. Watching his personality disintegrate made me give up pot for good. Well, that and the fact the shit makes you so fucking retarded these days. The last time I smoked was spring last year. I was so paranoid I walked out of the house and hid in that big wall of shrubs by the sorority house. And the girls started that goddamn singing. 'Together forever. Together forever.' Do you have any idea how much that sounds like you're eavesdropping on some kind of blood sacrifice?" — why I added Coozledad's blog to my RSS feed. I was missing too many of these, or discovering them days later.
Another great Tom-and-Lorenzo Mad Style entry, this one on Francine Hanson, played by the sublime Anne Dudek.
I've taken a casual interest in Stephanie Seymour ever since Alan and I discovered the "November Rain" video on MTV. One of us would always say to the other, "She dies in the end." Today, the NYT did a silly-season Sunday Styles front on the disintegration of her marriage to Peter Brant, described as "a taller, more dashing version of Buddy Hackett." Her "November Rain" role was described thusly: "she portrayed a bride who dies." Everyone remembers her!
So have a great Monday, all. Mine will, as usual, be busy.
Posted at 1:11 am in Current events, Popculch, Same ol' same ol' |
52 responses to "A millstone I call home."
beb said on August 23, 2010 at 8:02 am
I'm with you, Nancy on the need for criminal prosecutions of the banksters who drove this country into the ground. Of course the reason it didn't happen was because the people at the head of the line would be Obama's economic team — Geithner, Summers, et al., because before joining his adminstration they were the ones either in charge of the hen house, as it were, or had been cheerleading the run off the cliff.
coozledad said on August 23, 2010 at 8:58 am
I've never seen that November Rain video. I love the "Nashville Pussy live at Carnegie Hall" wedding couture.
nancy said on August 23, 2010 at 9:05 am
Isn't it a cultural treasure? I think it's the acting of the wedding preacher I like best. It's hard to sell a line like "you may kiss the bride" silently. And that kiss! Tongue-wrestling at the altar! No wonder God killed her.
Sue said on August 23, 2010 at 9:22 am
Have you noticed over the last year or two that there have been a few trial balloons sent up (by Dems too) about taking away the "entitlement" that is the mortgage interest tax credit? I predict that if our fine legislators do manage to take this away from us, within a year or two it will just make good business sense to give tax breaks to the businesses and corporations who bought up the homes that the last few people finally could no longer afford.
Simplistic, I know. But a year ago I never thought that "reforming" social security and medicare would be seriously discussed, especially after President Bush took such a hit on it. Now we've got a roadmap being discussed which doesn't balance the budget for 50 years and pits one generation against another, and everyone shrugs and says, oh well, we've got to look at everything.
It's Monday and I'm pessimistic, I guess.
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20100822/APC03/8220497/Housing-tax-breaks-get-second-look-amid-debt
Peter said on August 23, 2010 at 9:23 am
Amen sister.
I'd just go off on a rant if I said my peace about the housing fiasco, and there wouldn't be anything new in it. So, on another subject, Peter Brant is a taller, more dashing version of Buddy Hackett? Isn't that Jerry Lewis?
Julie Robinson said on August 23, 2010 at 9:39 am
Maybe it's just too early for brain function, but why do you make extra principal payments if you don't think you'll be able to get it back when you sell the house? Wouldn't it make more sense to save that money elsewhere?
Note that I am not a financial advisor nor do I play one on TV.
There's been a bit of a flap locally over the size of contracts before city council approval is required. Currently it's 100K, and coincidentally this mayor and his predecessor have entered into many contracts for 90 or 95K. Council is deliberating reducing the amount.
del said on August 23, 2010 at 9:47 am
The upside of the housing downturn may be preservation of neighborhoods over flight to the furthest reaches of suburban sprawl.
I watched the November Rain video exactly once. Never again.
mark said on August 23, 2010 at 10:09 am
Several years ago Congress gave huge tax subsidies (credits) for large vehicle purchases by businesses. It was intended to boost the economy by allowing small businesses to replace business inventory like delivery trucks, tractors, fork lifts, etc,. But the gross vehicle weight to qualify for the ridiculously large tax credits was set just a little too low, and it encompassed a handful of the very largest SUVs- Hummer, GM Suburban, Toyota Armada.
It took the accounts about 60 seconds to see the implications and about 10 minutes longer to contact every lawyer, doctor and other professional with business income (rather than w-2 wages) to advise them that the government would help them purchase a new, tricked out behemoth for a net amount less than their secretaries pay for a bare bones Honda Accord. So who do you behead- the accountants that read the law, the wealthy who took advantage of it or the politicians who screwed up in their efforts to manipulate the economy?
there was a huge amount of criminal activity in the mortgage lending debacle, at many levels. But why in a global recession was the housing bubble limited almost exclusively to areas governed by US lending laws? Our laws incentivized stupid lending and then removed private sector risk by having FMA, FMC, FHA and every other government or quasi-government lender buy or guaranty the liar loans and "no-look" mortgages.
Bob (Not Greene) said on August 23, 2010 at 10:38 am
Mark, you're right, there was greed all around. The things is anyone could see this was happening. I'm no economist, but I could see what was happening in my own neighborhood (which is now paying a steep price in foreclosures and plummeting home values). Mortgage brokers looking to make a quick buck, banks looking to bundle and sell worthless mortgages like they were actual assets, people who were either willfully stupid or complete chumps or cynical bastards or all three ($300,000 loan? sure. no money down? of course. never make a mortgage payment and walk away because you've got no actual investment in the damn home? you got that.)
It was so obvious. We thought there was no way we could lose on our home. Now I wonder if we could break even. Never in my parents' lifetime has real estate in our area lost value. (They paid $27,000 in 1967 for the house they still live in). It's just a travesty what's happened. But you know who gets screwed. It ain't the ones who actually controlled the purse strings.
Randy said on August 23, 2010 at 10:51 am
Curiously, the house next door is a rental unit. The owner passed away suddenly last summer, and her children (who lives hundreds of miles away) decided the house should stay in the family, for reasons only they can comprehend, sine they were never raised in the house, and really have no attachment to it. They hired a management company. The house was on the rental market for eight months. They got a renter who would only take it month-to-month. That renter is leaving on August 31. The rentersare nice and all, but things change when a person has no stake in a home.
On the upside, my wife plans to steal all the hosta plants when the renters move out.
youwreckedit said on August 23, 2010 at 10:53 am
"the Wall Street shitheads who wrecked the housing market"
Typo there, Nancy–I think you meant "Main Street."
I read a lot of history books and am always struck by the element of luck in critical events. It's the same with our own lives.
When we bought our house on the North Side in 1993, we thought we were overpaying slightly. My wife had read a book about buying your first home by Sylvia Porter, which included a formula for how most sellers priced their houses at about 15% more than they needed. We paid exactly $1,000 more than how the equation worked out when applied to the asking price.
Now, of course, we see how very lucky we were. It sure as hell wasn't skill or diligence or insight. It was dumb luck. Friends who took the plunge on a condo three years ago were not so lucky. This was no sprawling, multi-level condo with a lake view, just a simple, two-bedroom, two-bath in a modest middle-class neighborhood, but it's now worth about half what they paid and with both owners out of work, they are likely to lose everything. Were they bad people or stupid? Nope. They were unlucky.
I don't feel much sympathy for the chowderheads who loaded up on debt to buy McMansions. It's people like our friends. They played by the rules. They bought a sensible place. Now, they are getting royally screwed.
Linda said on August 23, 2010 at 11:03 am
Mark–Nope, the housing bubble was not relegated to the U.S.. Indeed, many other places have had them, too. Somehow, when rich people screw up–or screw us–it's never their fault, it's always the bad laws that tempted them into evil. No, sometimes they are just crap, like everybody else, but with more resources to do wrong.
I remember the 90s, when people laughed at me for not buying a wee McMansion on my salary. I bought on a 15 year fixed rate when rates were low, and in 2 years will own it free and clear.
Smart move, Linda.
The mortgage brokers we spoke with were constantly egging us on to "get more house." We didn't want or need a big house. Our major requirements were, in order, two full baths, within a half-mile of an el station or express bus stop and off-street parking. We were debt free when we sought the mortgage and both of us had decent jobs so they really pushed us hard. I have always been thankful we spurned their advice. We've refinanced twice and plowed the money back into our home, not a Mercedes or a month in Europe. We used the vast majority of my father's modest estate to pay down the mortgage. Now, we are two years away from paying it off completely.
You did the smart thing.
judybusy said on August 23, 2010 at 12:18 pm
I agree with Jeff B.–it's got a lot to do with luck. I bought my house for $80 K in 1995. I re-fied for 15 years at a much lower rate some years back and now have 7 years to go–I am 46 now. So, some luck but also some smarts–like you and Linda. Even though you were pushed, you made a financially sound decision. Many people didn't, and used refinancing inappropriately, and now they're in trouble. The problem is, how do we help people who were truly victims to stop the flow of foreclosures?
Judybusy,
I wish I knew the answer. It may be that the change in our economy will work against home ownership, if we're all going to be displaced from our jobs every few years. It's a helluva lot easier to leave an apartment behind than a house that needs selling.
Or maybe we will get to a place where so many of us are out of work, underemployed, uninsured, that we start sharing houses as we did back in college days. I wonder what will happen to our friends when they lose their condo. They'll still need a place to live and they are broke enough that even finding an apartment is going to be a challenge. If they teamed up with others in similar circumstances, everyone's share of the bill would be lower. Instead of "Animal House," it would "Underwater House."
We are grateful to have a place to live in our dotage where we can reasonably extrapolate out our annual costs and not worry about rising rents, etc., just the inexorable rise in taxes. But we were just lucky.
Holly said on August 23, 2010 at 12:34 pm
My husbands job has not been secure since December. We have gone month by month wondering when he would be let go. He is looking in Wisconsin for a job because we would like to be closer to family. I have been looking on the Internet to see what homes cost in Wisconsin. I found an old farm house. Needs some work. It is on 5 acres. The house is 2500 square feet. Has a barn and 5 outbuildings. Not bad. Then when I saw the price I figured it was an error. $139.000.00. Listed as must sell. Everyone is taking a major hit on their homes when they have to sell. If we move to Wisconsin I know we will have to list low to sell.
Moe99 said on August 23, 2010 at 12:59 pm
Love the title of this post, Nance.
OT but did anyone see the near mob violence yesterday at Ground Zero when the mob mistakenly thought they had a Muslim in its clutches?
Yeah, Moe, I've seen the video. Just your average crowd of asshole bigots. The shitheads behind the ginning up of this controversy won't be happy until someone gets killed. These people are beneath contempt. They're not protesting the Sufi community center. They're protesting Islam.
To these boneheads, a black guy in a skull cap has to be Muslim, of course, even if the medallion around his neck is the Puerto Rican flag. Turns out he is a union carpenter at the Ground Zero site.
Anyone up for moving to Belize? I hear you can live in this peaceful, tranquil nation of 350,000 English-speaking people for less than $1,500 per day. As the pace of our national devolution quickens, it's an attractive daydream.
I wonder if we will ever own a house – this year we were finally in a place where we could afford one, and the potential for employment lasting more than a year or two… and then it didn't happen. In some ways this is a good thing, because it means we're not saddled with the burden of dealing with an unwanted house in a depressed real-estate market, but on the other it means more moves in our future.
I don't mind renting – it means that someone else handles the lawn and the 2am leaking furnace and the window full of wasp nests – but boy howdy do I hate having to move every few years!
(I think I've said it before on this topic, but it's not renting or renters that make for an unstable neighborhood. It's the reasons why people are renters instead of owners. If you have situations where renters were encouraged to stay in one place for a long time at steady employment, you'd see a lot more investment in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, home ownership did nothing to save all those neighborhoods in places like Temecula, where the crash hit particularly bad and even when everyone was solvent, they were all spending their days commuting to L.A. A few more renters in those neighborhoods would have made them much more stable.)
Speaking of houses and mortgages and such, check this out: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/wells-fargos-odd-mortgage-essay-question/?hp
Bob (Not Greene) said on August 23, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Jeff, we got that same line about how much they would have lent us — hell, they would have lent us double what we needed. My wife and I at the time just looked at each other and said, "Are these people crazy?" Little did we know that it would all become painfully clear what was happening. These brokers were telling people to take out max ARM loans because real estate never falls in value. These people were up to their eyeballs in debt. In many cases, these were people who didn't speak English, and they just got snookered. And they got greedy. Still, the people handing out the loans could have restrained themselves. But they had dollar signs in their eyes, too. Big dollar signs. Whatever happened to the community they were saddling with these crappy loans, they couldn't have cared less.
Bob N.G.,
I'm as swayed by flattery as the next guy and it was lovely to hear people describing our "wonderful" financial situation, but at base, this was about us finding a reasonable house for two adults. The brokers wanted us in a bigger place, of course, because their commissions would be that much larger. We were averse to living large –Christ, our 11-year-old car was the first new vehicle I'd bought in 19 years (it was 25 years for my wife)– and also didn't want the hassle of maintaining a large home and yard. I pretty much loved being a renter for all the reasons Rana cites, but at some point, owning seemed logical.
We're blessed, too, because we intend to remain in Chicago after retirement. Large cities actually are pretty ideal for older citizens because of the transportation infrastructure, all the arts and museums, and, of course, plenty of high-quality health care institutions. I hope we'll be able to get out of town once in awhile during the winter months, but we have no plans to go Sun Belting, so we won't need to worry much about how to unload the house.
Dorothy, I love the alternative letter that woman wrote. How could Wells Fargo not know that inquiring about family planning on a loan app wasn't illegal?
Jeff, B.
When we bought our Chicago-style bungalow in 1998, we bought it for a couple of reason. It's near my parents, and we thought we'd live there for the rest of our days.
The real estate crash has screwed with everything. Home values have fallen precipitously. We live in a city where foreclosures are rampant due to all the predatory lending. And the economic fallout is hitting everywhere, including the schools we send our kids to. That's the killer. The high school has actually cut back on the number of classes kids can take, planning to warehouse them one hour a day in mass study halls instead of letting them take an additional class (we will be fighting this battle later this week). They've laid off teachers and slashed programs. The school was adequate; now it's not. And with the market the way it is, I feel like we're kind of trapped. Even if we wanted to sell, what could we get? And could we even get a loan? I have no idea.
I liked the alternate letter too, Mary. I don't know if I could have been that light-hearted if it was me writing the letter after their insistence that they complete the required documents! Wells Fargo is our mortgage holder but we never had to write any such letter. However our son is currently trying to buy a house and I'm pretty sure WF is going to be his lender as well. I've shared that article with him as well.
I can't generally get a word in until mid-afternoon Monday, but I want to single out Linda for a gold star for this incisive comment earlier:
Somehow, when rich people screw up–or screw us–it's never their fault, it's always the bad laws that tempted them into evil. No, sometimes they are just crap, like everybody else, but with more resources to do wrong.
This is why I cannot ABIDE thumb-suckers from people like Rod Dreher, et al, about the lost "morality" of Americans who walk away from bad mortgages. While not approving of it outright, I can certainly see why many people choose to do so, the same way I can understand why a hungry person might steal food. I guess my question is, why is it always middle-class schmoes who have to be moral, while rich people do whatever the fuck they want and then pull the old scorpion defense?
Holly said on August 23, 2010 at 3:27 pm
I live in a Chicago suburb. We refinanced 3 years ago. We wanted a lower rate. My house value has gone down over $100.000.00 in that time frame. My payments have gone up because of taxes and insurance cost. My property tax went up 10%.
Wasn't the bride in "November Rain" the girl "Sweet Child O' Mine" was written about? At least, that was the rumor when I was a teen.
From late 1972 until the Fall recession of 1974, then again from the boom year of 1976 until the economy levelled off under Reagan, I had a hard time keeping track of some of my friends who were deep into the house-flipping game. One buddy would only live in a place long enough to put it up for sale, always sell it, always making ten to twenty grand profit, and repeat the process.
This went on all during this time period.
Once he bought a lot, contracted for a stick built mini-mansion, moved in when it was only partially done, and sold it before the thing was finished.
When the house-flipping era ended, he took his cash and bought an ancient farm house way out in the country, where he has lived now for twenty years.
He always had encouraged me house-flip, too; my mistake was in thinking I would have gotten burned.
another take on the scorpion defense:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_ZBqpEUbik
On a more uplifting note. . .
Levi Keith Johnston, impregnator of Bristol Palin Virgin and one-time wannabe son-in-law of Mama Malaprop has filed the papers to run for Mayor of Wasilla. TMZ has copies of the document.
and today, here in Ohio, another season of school buses and kids fighting on the way home from school begins, and you better watch out because those 20 mph flashing lights really do mean 20 mph.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHG5-GxI_Es&feature=related
I was standing in line at the store several days ago. A lady in front of me spent $127.00 on school supplies(no clothing). I asked how many kids she had in school. She said 1. I thought she was nuts. My son graduated 4 years ago. He was my last. Has school supplies gone up that much or am I correct in thinking this lady was nuts?
Holly, I have read stories this year about schools asking parents to pick up more of the bill for basic supplies, including stuff like t.p. and cleaning supplies. Budget cuts, etc. It's the world that's nuts, not us.
Some how, when rich peo ple screw up–or screw us–it's never their fault, it's always the bad laws that tempted them into evil. No, some times they are just crap, like every body else, but with more resources to do wrong.
More and more, I share this view. I mean think of BP, Toyota, all the ethically impaired people in financial services, the people responsible for distributing contaminated eggs (and peanut butter and spinach and more). Seems like whether it;s doing the right thing or doing things right, nobody gives a damn.
Tom M said on August 23, 2010 at 7:25 pm
The good news, if there is any in the housing market, is that Texas did not see the troubles visited on places in Florida, Arizona and most especially, Las Vegas.
Texas real estate, speaking of cosmic fate, had been horribly burned in the late 80s and early 90s and had consumer laws that prohibited the kind of crazy mortgages so popular elsewhere like the NINJA loans. So, Roy has that going for him anyway.
Couple of things worth noting: Spike Lee's two-part Katrina follow-up begins tonight on HBO. Comments from our favorite TV critic here.
Jane Mayer, who did such fine work on torture, has a new article in The New Yorker on who is funding the Tea Party.
Also, how about those Chilean miners? Can you imagine knowing that you must survive there until Christmas?
beb said on August 23, 2010 at 7:53 pm
There was an interesting note about walking away from mortgages on the internet recently. It pointed out that a mortgage was a secured loan. The bank holds your house as collateral. When one walks away from a bad investment the bank gets to keep all the payments you did make plus they have the house to sell. They haven't exactly lost anything — unless the house was originally sold for such an inflated amount that there no way it could ever be sold for a profit. But even then, that's the bank's problem for agreeing to the loan in the first place. Businesses walk away from bad investments all the time, why should it be any more immoral for a person to walk away from their bad investment?
Apparenttly, I don't follow local news enough, because I heard today that the police chief appointed to replace the one had just quit because he was porking a subordinate, had to quit because he was porking the same subordinate. So exactly how did Dave Bing's years as a businessman make him a judge of character?
Jean S said on August 23, 2010 at 7:59 pm
Exactly, Jolene. I just heard that report on NPR and nearly drove off of the road. Below deck until Christmas? Oy.
What do the Teabaggers and cynical neocons do now that Rand Paul's ripped them a new one.
And is Beck a secret Muslim sympathizer?
And am I delusional or did Republicans write the sundown aspects into the Bush Tax Cuts in 2002 that they bullied through a-gasp-lame duck Congress? If they were concerned why'd they wait until election season to produce massive misrepresentations of the situation in relation to their manufactured deficit hysteria. Oh yeah, Dickless said "deficits don't matter". I bet that's not exactly what the asshole said.
I heard they are all safe , all 33, but not until tonight's news did I see they are trapped in a fragile environment , where their biggest threat to survival is mass psychoses, said an expert on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.
I can understand why someone might say "I'd rather be dead" because I know I would lose it in a stuck elevator after a half hour. These guy are best-option four months stuck down there. This is unknown territory; no one has ever been put to this test. This is Rod Serling land.
Of course the big news morning to dusk was the LA school that , funded by a bond issue which passed, cost the good peeps of California $578 million. It is one beautiful learning environment, and also, take a good look, because its era is already long past…we'll never ever see a high school like this one again.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/22/robert-f-kennedy-communit_n_690497.html
Linda said on August 23, 2010 at 9:38 pm
Prospero:
That sunset portion of the tax cut was important to Repubs during the W presidency: it meant that CBO projections of the deficit were smaller than they would really be, because they assumed the tax cut would go away, when we can now see the Republicans had no intention of them going away.
Holly:
Have you challenged your valuations? Gather evidence–the number of foreclosed houses around you, the sales prices of similar homes in the same neighborhood–and take it to whatever political bodies does your tax assessments.
It was downright frightening how people I considered fairly smart – book and street – were utterly romanced by the banks when their modest homes were fetching assessments near $1 million. They did the refi, borrowing on the bank's insanely inflated value of the home, and plowed every cent of their future into crazy business ventures. Now they are all gurgling underwater and coming up for air to curse Obama. I sound so conservative when I say this – and I am not – but man, what happened to personal responsibility? Sure, the banks and mortgage brokers screwed a lot of ignorant, hopeful people. But a lot of people looking to cash in on being lucky were all too happy to believe what The Man was telling them. What happened to skepticism? I think that's a healthy trait.
Bob NG I am so not talking about you – what the lenders did to your city is criminal – but you remember my first house. Who would pay almost $400K for that 100-year-old, 2BR 1BA with an $8,000/year tax bill? Somebody did. (And no, the windfall didn't go to me; my husband and I just worked our asses off to tee it up for the next owner.)
I feel for all of you out there who are caught in this.
I believe Ron Paul is a very, very strange man, but Lord, that is one solid piece of commentary. He's showing more balls than Obama and the Democrats. So did Michael Bloomberg, who by now should have erased the very essence of Ghouliani from NYC with his rafter-shaking speech a week or two ago.
Man, when you cannot build a Sufi mosque –and, as I understand it, these are your basic hippie liberal Muslims– in a dynamic and diverse city like New York without this kind of chaos and demagoguery and ugliness, things have really reached a breaking point. How this crap got ginned up is worthy of a lengthy story. . .if any news organizations can tear their correspondents away from Dina Lohan's house, of course.
Paul is right. Our nation crumbles while we debate the mosque in Manhattan, Michelle Obama's trip to Spain, gay marriage and everything BUT the vital business of the country. The cowardice of the political class –aided and greatly abetted by a media more interested in trivia than truth– is absolutely a cancer. These people are flat-out toxic. And while I reserve my greatest scorn for the heartless faux populists of the conservative Republican Party and their ongoing fellatio of the wealthiest American people and companies, the Blue Dog Democrats match them flea for flea, tick for tick, lick for lick.
Jen said on August 24, 2010 at 1:18 am
This was a great blog entry for today, because my husband and I have been working hard to get our house cleaned and organized and we've started thinking about things we want to do to improve our house. We bought it just under two years ago (it will be two years on Labor Day weekend) for what I think was a pretty good price. I'm not sure what housing prices will do in the future, but we're not planning to move for a long time (because I hate moving!), so we've got that going for us.
Even two years ago, after the housing bubble burst and everything, the bank pre-approved us for an amount that was over $20,000 more than we spent on our house, and we were making a LOT less than we are now. And, the bank told us that they probably could have lent us about $20,000 more than the pre-approved amount if we wanted it. Insane. We would be fine now that my husband has a full time job and I got a promotion, but at the time the amount we're paying now was our limit. Any more than that and we would have been eating Ramen every night. We were lucky that both sets of parents understood the realities of buying a house and helped us not buy more than we could afford and make sure that we weren't getting a bad loan, but I can see how easy it would be to be seduced into buying a nicer, more expensive house. We were lucky that our real estate agent never showed us a more expensive house, either.
The only thing I really miss about renting is having someone else do maintenance. It was so much nicer when something would break and I could just have the landlady get somebody to fix it and pay for it. But I do like having a house – it's good motivation to do work around the house, if nothing else!!
Linda it looks like your gravatar and my gravatar feature the same cat!! It's amazing how much your kitty looks like mine – the markings look nearly identical.
Bob (Not Greene) said on August 24, 2010 at 9:20 am
A nice, tidy bookend to this discussion.
Dorothy:
My gravitar is Shorty, my tuxedo kitty who looks like he is trying to suck your brains out through teh internets. I love tuxies, and have had at least one for the last 20 years. Who's yours?
Mike said on August 27, 2010 at 11:06 pm
No ways you're using inflation-adjusted numbers for housing prices — a very common mistake. Without knowing where that house of your parent's was located (local housing markets vary a lot), but there has been 500% inflation from 1962 to 1995. Which means that your parents only doubled their money, which was almost certainly wiped out by interest payments on the mortgage alone (a 30 year mortgage would generally cost 3.2x or so the actual price of the house).
The evidence shows pretty conclusively real estate is a terrible, terrible investment. Most people lose vast amounts of money on it when you calculate interest, taxes and upkeep especially. The only reason people perceive it as a good investment is that it's like a forced savings plan.
beb • coozledad • nancy • Sue • Peter • Julie Robinson • del • mark • Bob (Not Greene) • Randy • youwreckedit • Jeff Borden • Linda • Jeff Borden • judybusy • Jeff Borden • Holly • Moe99 • Jeff Borden • Rana • Dorothy • Bob (Not Greene) • Jeff Borden • LAMary • Bob (Not Greene) • Dorothy • nancy • Holly • Little Bird • Dexter • Dexter • Jeff Borden • Dexter • Holly • nancy • Jolene • Tom M • Jolene • Jolene • beb • Jean S • prospero • Dexter • Linda • Kim • Jeff Borden • Jen • Dorothy • Bob (Not Greene) • Linda • Mike • and YOU.


It's been almost a month since my last fragrance review. And I have a backlog of fragrances to report back on here at Fragroom HQ. So this week and the next I will be reviewing seven newbies on my sniff list. This week we have Carolina Herrera 212 Men Aqua, Jimmy Choo Man Ice, Issey Miyake Nuit d'Issey Bleu Astral and Scuderia Ferrari Forte.
FEELING BLUE: Is Issey Miyake Nuit d'Issey Bleu Astral a hit or a miss?
If, like me, you have never really explored Ferrari fragrances (surely too much testosterone), give this one a go. It's not nearly as macho as it sounds. Scuderia Ferrarai Forte EDP is created by the esteemed Maurice Roucel (the nose behind Amouage Reflection Woman, Bond No 9 New Haarlem, Estée Lauder Pleasures Intense For Men, Gucci Envy For Women, Lancôme Hypnôse Homme, Rochas Man). The listed notes of this oriental fragrance include apple, lemon, plum, cinnamon, vanilla and patchouli notes. I mostly get a sweet and spicy pineapple vibe from this EDP. While not in the haloed company of the previously mentioned fragrances, it's a good excuse to check out the world of Ferrari fragrances. Scuderia Ferrari Forte EDP, R895 for 125ml.
Jimmy Phew! That's Really Sweet. That was my initial reaction to the third addition to the Jimmy Choo Man fragrance franchise, which features mandarin, bergamot, cedrat essence, vetiver, patchouli essence, cedarwood, apple, musk, moss and ambroxan notes. I have revisited this fragrance several times since then to give it a fair chance, because sometimes an initial reaction can be influenced by factors such as mood. However, I still get major sweetness, rather than icy freshness, from Jimmy Choo Man Ice EDT. Perhaps I am being too literal? So while this one ain't for me, I see it working very well for trendy, active 20-something gents. Jimmy Choo Man Ice EDT, R695 for 30ml, R895 for 50ml and R1095 for 100ml.
Hard to believe that CH 212 has been on the market for almost 20 years. You know you are getting older when you can measure your life in fragrance launch cycles. Anyway, enough about me. The latest CH 212 Men incarnation, created by master perfumer Alberto Morillas (who-co-created the original), features notes of grapefruit, bergamot, marine, cardamom, gardenia, ambrox, cypriola, vetiver, sandalwood, patchouli, rose and musk. CH 212 Men Aqua Limited Edition is not going to score points for originality, but it's super-fresh, high-performance stuff. CH 212 Men Aqua Limited Edition EDT, R1 200 for 100ml.
I really like Issey Miyake Nuit d'Issey Parfum, with its grapefruit, leather and tonka bean characteristics. For their latest creation in the series, Dominique Ropion and Loc Dong up the contrasts ante. So Issey Miyake Nuit d'Issey Bleu Astral opens with a fresh burst of lime and Russian coriander. Then there's a sensuous aspect with leather, ambery woods and vetiver notes. It's very minimalist in a Japanese way and very effective. A case of less is more, and I want a lot more of it. Issey Miyake Nuit d'Issey Bleu Astral EDT, R965 for 75ml and R1 175 for 125ml.
While there are many airy-fairy concepts when it comes to grooming and self-maintenance, beauty sleep is not one of them. There's plenty of research which shows how the skin goes into regeneration mode when we sleep. And beauty sleep becomes even more important as we get older.
CALM DOWN: Lavender to relax.
There are many things we can do to improve the quality of our beauty sleep. Most of these centre on reducing the hyper-stimulation of modern life. (Note to self: Do not post on Instagram before bedtime. You know you will not be able to help yourself replying to comments. Ditto copious amounts of tea and coffee. Self-lecture over.). If you are looking for a good read on the dire consequences of sleep deprivation, I would recommend The Sleep Revolution by Arianna Huffington (WH Allen).
Lavender and camomile tea are well-known for their calming properties. So I am making a conscious effort to include these in my bed-time routine.
CUPPA SLEEP: More camomile, less caffeine.
A good night's rest will show on your face. But it's also a good idea to incorporate the right products into your bedtime routine to maximise your beauty sleep. I have been using all of the products below for over a month. And while they are not all strictly bedtime products, they have all worked for me.
TIRED AND TESTED: The beauty sleep quartet.
It's only recently that I have started using Elizabeth Arden products. This beauty sleep product for all skin types does exactly what it says. Its active ingredients include cabernet seed extract, a botanical complex of alpha and beta hydroxy acids, glycolic acid, salicylic acid and natural sugar extract. I have been applying Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference Peel and Reveal Revitalizing Mask once a week at night. I get a major kick from peeling it off after 20 minutes.
This superb beauty sleep product from the French pharmacy brand Gatineau comes with wrinkle-busting collagen, the company's exclusive Melatogenine molecule and hyaluronic acid. If you are in a rush, it can be applied for 10 minutes. Even better, apply a thin layer and leave overnight for a more intensive anti-ageing treatment. It can be used on the face and around the eye area. Beauty sleep bonus!
Prevage is Elizabeth Arden's premium anti-ageing range, with super-slick packaging to match (yes, these things are important to me). Dehydrated skin? Slack skin? Wrinkles? Sun damaged skin? Prevage Anti-Aging Overnight Cream combats all of these with a tongue-twisting mix of Idebenone Ester (a powerful antioxidant), hydroxypinacolone-retinoate (a vitamin A derivative), lemon peel extract, vitamin A acetate, glycerine, shea and cocoa butter and an advanced moisture complex. It ain't cheap, but it's a top beauty sleep investment. Plus you will only need to use a little at a time.
The area around the eye is super-delicate and is often the first to show signs of ageing. Fine lines, wrinkles, puffiness, dark circles and dryness… you know the look. Dermalogica Age Reversal Eye Complex contains a potent mix of ingredients to improve cell turnover, collagen production and firmness. These ingredients include retinol, vitamin B3, hyaluronic acid, algae extract and provitamin B5. Due to its high concentration of retinol, I used this on alternate nights for two weeks and then made it part of my bedtime routine.
It's not often that you will see "Made in South Africa" on the bottle of a luxury fragrance. But then Cape Town-based Agata Karolina can lay claim to being one of South Africa's few perfumers. Her niche fragrance company, House of Gozdawa, produces very limited quantities of extraits de parfums. All of these are made with high-quality natural ingredients.
For Agata, working with the cycles of nature is of utmost importance. This philosophy is carried through from the selection of her ingredients to the distillation process.
WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY: Agata Karolina of House of Gozdawa.
Although I have not met Agata (yet), her deep and highly personal connection to her art of perfume is unmistakable. When she sent me samples of House of Gozdawa's Confessions Collection, these came with a hand-written letter. "As with all things in nature, these scents take their time to reveal their full story. I hope you enjoy experiencing that which they have to tell," she wrote to me.
MR DELIVERY: House of Gozdawa personal touch.
There are six fragrances in the House of Gozdawa Confessions Collection: Marta, Andrea, Albert, Simo, Hel and Aga. What I like most about these scents is their unpretentious character. To my mind and nose, these fragrances could only come from Africa.
I asked Karolina Agata about her preference for natural materials, her artisanal approach and her Confessions Collection.
IT'S PERSONAL: Agata Karolina's hand-written letter.
How did you get into perfumery?
Perfumery found me far in advance of me finding it. As a child I was always hypersensitive to spaces, smells and sounds and how they worked together. I enjoyed it as a personal pleasure. But for a very long time never considered it as a career. I was brought into the world of distilling, tinctures and natural oils through my mother and grandmother. These two women taught me everything I know and inspired a life deeply connected to nature.
After working as a curator and project initiator in Europe, Asia and Africa, I finally decided to return to South Africa and pursue my passion for scent. I launched House of Gozdawa in 2015.
BOXES, LITTLE BOXES: Samples from the House of Gozdawa Confessions Collection.
Are all your perfumes 100% natural? Why are natural perfumes so appealing to you?
All House of Gozdawa scents use only 100% natural ingredients. No matter how many synthetics I have smelt, they have never been able to present me the depth a natural material carries. Essentially these ingredients are alive. They age and shift as they would in nature, continuously morphing into another phase of their existence. In connection with the skin these materials take on an even deeper depth.
HOUSE OF GOZDAWA HEL: With notes of grapefruit, tuberose and cajeput.
How do you ensure that your perfume-making process is also eco responsible?
The farms and suppliers I work with in Southern Africa and across the African continent all follow eco responsible and sustainable practices. All materials are ordered directly and for the batches we create, I personally blend and bottle all of them to ensure no wastage occurs. Respect for your materials is as essential to creating a globally responsible product as much as any certification.
HOUSE OF GOZDAWA MARTA: With notes of geranium, lemon, black pepper, carnation and wood.
As a South Africa-based perfumer, where do you source most of your materials from?
Most of my materials are sourced from the African continent. I do work with many materials from abroad, mostly those that are not yet available locally, or simply do not grow in our environments. Many of the ingredients we use are from wild harvest, which I do myself. These will be even more present in our new collections after the full extraction and ageing process is complete. One has to have a lot of patience when waiting a year or two for one ingredient to be ready.
HOUSE OF GOZDAWA SIMO TRAVEL VIAL: With notes of crushed lemon rind, orange blossom, cedar wood, atlas and vetiver.
For those who are more used to the conventions of mass market fragrances and who at first might not "get" your fragrances, what would you say to them?
I often compare niche or luxury scents to taste kitchens pushing the boundaries of taste or of highest quality wine-makers perfecting the art of flavour from a single grape varietal. If you are an individual of passion in these areas, then why not afford yourself the quality of such an experience in the olfactive?
ARTISANAL APPROACH: Agata Karolina transforms raw materials into intimate experiences.
Chefs, winemakers and perfumers are some of our last genuine artisans. We take raw materials and manipulate them into deep and unexpected orchestrations for people to experience intimately.
If this is not conviction enough, I encourage anyone to do a little experiment for themselves. Take a fresh juicy lemon and sprig of lavender. Scratch the surface of the lemon's skin until the oil starts running out and spread it across the back of your hand. Crush the lavender between your fingers until the sticky oil finds its way onto your skin. Breathe these scents in deeply, smelling the oil on the surface of the lemon's skin and then on your hand, paying attention to how the heat of your skin makes the scent react. Now take a deep smell of any conventional hand cream, bathroom spray or dish-washing liquid with the same ingredients. Which has more depth and quality?
LAVENDER CRUSH: Are you a natural or synthetic kind of person?
My favourite from your Confessions Collection is Aga. Tell us more about that extrait de parfum.
I wanted to create a collection which I felt expressed something real and honest, rather than creating stories that had no context to the wearer. I decided to tell my own confession as the perfumer behind the brand. I chose six people in my life that over the years had influenced the person I had become, together creating the whole.
HOUSE OF GOZDAWA AGA: With notes of jasmine, rosemary, fynbos and dark fruits.
Aga, The Romantic, is the persona of the collection that was created to reference a part of myself at the time. Aga is my nickname. I often exist in the arena of the heart and at the time I was questioning a lot about what I valued, wanted in my life and my connections with others. This scent reflects my choice and definition of that part of myself. It was an unnerving process to open myself so deeply and honestly to strangers. But the reward, as you have experienced yourself, was worth letting go of the fear to be fully open.
The scent reflects spaces and moments which have moved this part of me the most in life. The ingredients – fynbos, jasmine, passionfruit, ravintsara – all capture the aspects and characteristics which I felt closest to. The fynbos is wild harvested and the tinctures are developed and distilled in house.
For more information and to order any House of Gozdawa fragrances, https://houseofgozdawa.com.
I have been mulling this post for some time. Why do so many of us buy into the notion that fragrances are specifically "male" and "female", "him" and "her", "homme" and "femme"?
For a long time, I was also guilty of such self-limiting behaviour. In my defence (and this is admittedly a rather weak defence), I associated "women's fragrances" with all things sickly sweet. Blame it on the joys of badly ventilated, open-plan offices where everything is to be shared.
Of course, there's so much more to female fragrances than candy overload. Just as there's so much more to male fragrances than aquatic notes. A lot of women already know this fundamental truth. They buy men's fragrances not only for their fathers, partners and sons. They buy men's fragrances for themselves, because they realised they were missing out on a good thing.
Your masculinity will not be questioned. Au contraire. It takes a very self-assured man to be brave enough to explore a whole new world of possibilities.
It increases your options. If buying a new fragrance, gets you going, just think about all the choices you will now have at your disposal.
Fact: Floral notes work very well on men, especially roses.
Next time you are out and about buying a fragrance for yourself, make a detour via the female counters or shelves. If you are not quite ready to say you are looking for a female fragrance for yourself, a little lie will be acceptable. "I am looking for a great rose fragrance for my girlfriend" will do.
Allow yourself some initial olfactory confusion, and even revulsion, at first. You are just retraining your brain and sense of smell to respond to new stimuli.
As with any fragrance, experiment until you find what works for you. And always try the fragrance on your skin.
With its marine opening and minimalist character, Issey Miyake L'Eau d'Issey Pure EDT is a gentle intro to the world of female fragrances. Then you will be hooked by its jasmine, lily-of-the-valley and orange blossoms. Methinks the water-drop bottle design has a tool-like appearance.
Yes, your mama will probably have several Elizabeth Arden fragrances and she knows best. Like its namesake, Elizabeth Arden White Tea is a relaxing and comfortable scent, with notes of fern, the sea, clary sage, white tea, tonka and musks capturing this mood so well.
You should already know Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb. While Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb EDP Extreme provides some floral fireworks in the form of jasmine, orchid, osmanthus and freesia notes, the major helping of vanilla gives it serious sensuality.
There are only five listed notes in Alaia EDP Blanche: powder, solar, vanilla, musk and white flowers. It's very elegantly on the right side of sweet. If simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, Alaia EDP Blanche scores big time.
A big fragrance for big boys and girls. Rose takes the leading role in Elie Saab Nuit Noor EDP. Ylang-ylang, wood, incense, patchouli and black pepper add to the sense of drama. Master perfumer Francis Kurkdijan created this one, so top quality assured.
Don't judge a perfume by its lurid pink bottle. I did not like Narciso Rodriguez Fleur Musc For Her EDP at all when I first tried it almost six months ago. What was I thinking! Rose, peonies, pink peppercorns, patchouli, musk and amber make this a superb, stand-out fragrance.
South Africa might be known for many things, including Nelson Mandela, its natural beauty, progressive constitution and multi-culturalism. But it's not regarded as a big player in the global beauty industry. However, ambitious South African beauty entrepreneurs such as Marisa Dimitriadis are slowly changing that reality. Dimitriadis is the brains behind thriving beauty brands. These include The Spa Consultants (a spa development consultancy), Spalicious (a range of manicure, pedicure and body products) and Six Sensational Skincare (a comprehensive skincare range).
Most recently, in 2016, Dimitriadis launched the Six Man skincare range. Currently, she exports to Mauritius, Angola, Mozambique and Namibia. Sri Lanka is next on the expansion agenda.
BEAUTY ENTREPRENEUR: Marisa Dimitriadis, the brains behind The Spa Consultants, Spalicious, Six Sensational Skincare and Six Man.
Dimitriadis has put her extensive experience in the beauty industry to good use over the last decade by launching her own beauty businesses. Each of these brands is guided by her philosophy. "Prevention is better, easier and less costly than cure. I believe in using every single product available to treat my skin and body for the specific needs it has at that specific time," she says.
MADE IN (SUNNY) SOUTH AFRICA: Six Sensational Skincare and Six Man products.
Here are my five top reasons for checking out this beauty entrepreneur's various brands.
Dimitriadis used to rely on third parties for advice on product development. But like any good entrepreneur, she realised certain things needed to remain under her control.
"Now that I am in control of product development, I am so much more in tune with trends in skincare and ingredients. I watch all brands' activity, especially the multinational retail brands. I try everything that looks or sounds interesting," she says.
Launched in 2010, the Six Sensational Skincare range encompasses a wide variety of products. From cleansers and moisturisers to masks, serums and exfoliators, you will find it here.
Six Sensational Skincare products target a wide variety of conditions, including oily skin, pigmentation, ageing and dehydration. All the products are made with a high percentage of active ingredients.
Fragroom product recommendation: Six Sensational Skincare Glycolic Acid 8% Foaming Face Wash.
A few months ago I gave this product the thumbs up. It delivers on its promise of breaking down skin surface build-up, without stripping my skin.
Although their pretty packaging might say otherwise, Six Sensational Skincare and Spalicious are perfectly good for men to use. But Dimitriadis spotted the need for a skincare range that targets the specific grooming needs of men. Six Man includes three high-performance, no-nonsense products. These include the Men's Shaving Face Wash, Men's Moisturising Cream and Men's Beard Oil.
Fragroom product recommendation: Six Man Men's Shaving Face Wash.
This cleanser and shaving preparation in one is made with aloe leaf extract and nettle. All the Six Man products score double-duty points.
DOUBLE DUTY: Six Man Men's Shaving Face Wash, Six Man Men's Moisturising Cream and Six Man Men's Beard Oil.
Dimitriadis knows that men are suckers for pampering (although they often don't want to admit it). So she launched four male-specific treatments, including the Six Man on the Move and Six Man Energizing Facial.
Fragroom treatment recommendation: Six Man High Performance AHA Skin Peel.
With lactic and glycolic acids, it combats spots, fine lines and dehydration. The 30-minute treatment left me feeling and looking not-so-47.
LIMITED EDITION (TRULY): Spalicious Gluhwein Butter.
I am usually highly sceptical of limited editions. Often they just reek of a marketing cash-in. But Dimitriadis assured this journalist that her limited editions are indeed the real deal. Made in limited quantities, they are available only for three months from launch.
I received the limited-edition Spalicious Gluhwein Gift Pack, containing Gluhwein Butter, Gluhwein Soak and Gluhwein Scrub. The nourishing Gluhwein Butter stood out for me. Although methinks its shimmer is probably best suited to a night out for the girls.
For more information, go to www.thespaconsultants.co.za, spalicious.co.za and sixskincare.com.


Don't forget: Check out IHBC events from across the UK in the Branches panel scroll on our new web homepage!
The IHBC's new website and home page now boasts a dedicated search facility to explore the CPD and events our Branches are offering to all our members – CPD, talks, networking and much more.
Posted in IHBC NewsBlog	| Comments Off on Don't forget: Check out IHBC events from across the UK in the Branches panel scroll on our new web homepage!
Housing developers building new homes near music venues should be responsible for addressing noise issues according to the Ministers for Housing, Communities & Local Government, and for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.
Leasehold, trust law, smart contracts and chancel repair liability are among the 14 projects that the Law Commission will look at over the next three years.
The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has published new practice advice to help planners undertake Strategic Environmental Assessment / Sustainability Appraisal (SEA/SA) more effectively and efficiently.
A footbridge linking Whitby's East Pier to an extension is to be replaced 17 years after it was first removed as Scarborough Council has given consent for a new bridge between the extension and the Grade II-listed pier.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Baki jezik (ISO 639-3: bki; burumba, paki), austronezijski jezik uže skupine epi, kojim govorri oko 350 ljudi (Lynch and Crowley 2001) na zapadu otoka Epi u Vanuatuu. Zajedno s jezikom bierebo [bnk] čini podskupinu Baki-Bierebo.

Mnogi Bierebo-govornici govore ga kao drugi jezik.

Izvori

Vanjske poveznice
Ethnologue (14th)
Ethnologue (15th)

Epi jezici
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


You know how some places have a few encounters that will keep you coming back again and again? Well, it just so happens that we have more than a few.
Dive deep in the comfort of the Atlantis submarine.
Explore one of the Cayman Islands' most unique attractions.
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For information about Formulator, visit the Formulator Information Page.
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See a wide range of houses and flats for sale in Lancashire on a map and get. Price No min. Thumbnail 3 bed end terrace house for sale in Ord Avenue, Blackpool. This property has so much potential to extend and improve. one bedroom first floor flat – communal hallway – lounge – dining kitchen – double bedroom.
Aug 10, 2015. A kitchen extension is a popular home improvement. the space, time and budget to extend, you can end up with the kitchen of your dreams.
Jul 14, 2017. Kitchen extension cost, two storey extension cost, single storey extension. All in all, a single storey extension could cost £39,000 at the lower end. specific needs, plug your numbers into a house extension cost calculator. Few little quirks like replacing and building over shared sewer and full width.
Apr 22, 2015. A simple guide to estimate your house extension cost in 2015. So, for your 4 x 5m extension, the build cost at the lowest end of these estimates would. + Add £ 10,000 for a kitchen (again, completely depends on your specification, I'm looking to use as little steel as necessary for my extension. thanks.
20 Things You Need to Know Before Extending Your Home – Jun 19, 2016. Calculate your extension cost with our free extension cost tool. people end up closing their conservatory off for the winter months to help keep their home. It is functional but will add little if anything to the property's value as bathrooms away. Home extensions such as for a kitchen, bedroom, lounge, etc.
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Due to the extension the house has a 22' long Lounge and an. Three bedroom end terrace property with a cottage. a kitchen/breakfast room, four double.


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Tinchy Stryder
Written By RD Admin - April 23 2015
Ghanaian-born English businessman, investor and rapper, Kwasi Danquah, otherwise known as Tinchy Stryder, has released three solo albums as well as undertaking business ventures such as the clothing line Star in the Hood and the Cloud 9 x Goji headphone and audio equipment range in collaboration with the Goji brand.
Seen here wearing Reality Dreams sunglasses, Tinchy achieved a B.A. (Hons) in Digital Arts, Moving Image and Animation. He started making music as early as 11 years old and started in business aged 20. His music career has seen him work with the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Craig David and N-Dubz. He has performed at the O2 Arena, opened at the Glastonbury Festival, helped launched the career of Example and was the first rapper, contemporary artist and singer in history to perform at a UEFA Champions League final back in 2011.
His business ventures include Star in the Hood clothing brand, Takeover/Cloud 9 publishing company and joint venture with EMI Music Publishing as well as releasing a line of consumer electronic through Goji Electronics, which donates money to charity. Despite wanting to be a footballer when he was younger, even enrolling in the academy at Wimbledon F.C., Tinchy has quite literally made a name for himself in the world of music and business!
Wearing: RD Sunglasses Gloss Black
A big fan of Reality Dreams we're told, as it represents his take on life, Aml is an English born actor best known for his roles in Kidulthood, The Bill, Harry's Law and more recently in smash hit movie The Maze Runner. A born star, Aml learned his acting craft at a young age, appearing in shows such as Oliver! At the age of 11 he even performed on stage at the Brits with Michael Jackson in a performance famously invaded by Pulp's singer Jarvis Cocker.
His career has taken him to Hollywood, the place of dreams, after being named in the Times newspaper's 'Ones to watch' for 2006. He also won the 'Best Actor in a TV performance' award in 2007 Screen Nation Awards.
Plus, he also presented the 2006 MOBO Awards. Reality Dreams is a big fan of Aml and we hope to see him continuing to rep RD as his career goes from strength to strength!
Wearing: RD Signature Grey Sweater
Ian Wright, MBE
Written By RD Admin - March 31 2015
English born former professional footballer, Ian Wright, is now television and radio personality.
Ian had a tough start in life. his father left at 18 months old and his mother and step father were not the best to him. However, with his mothers words 'many are called, few are chosen' ringing in his ears and the support of his school teacher, he dedicated himself to football, turning professional relative late on. Playing for Crystal Palace, Arsenal and West Ham during his club career, Ian was selected for England in 1991 and played on numerous occasions until the end of 1998. Ian excelled as a goal scorer both at club and international level. He became Director of Football Strategy of Isthmian League team, Ashford Town in 2007. He became a coach in 2013.
He has appeared on television and on radio and in 2000, was awarded the MBE for his services to football. To top it all both his sons, Bradley and Shaun, are themselves professional footballers. Ian Wright, RD salutes you!
Wearing - RD Sunglasses Gloss Black

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Q: Intel Rapid Storage HDD+msata I have have a laptop with two hard disk's, one is HDD of 320 GB and a msata drive of 32 GB. Now I have Windows 10 installed directly in msata, and I want to swap for windows 8.1.
The situation is that I need to use this msata as cache, with intel rapid storage technology, but I don't know well what type of sata device I need to use.
Here some image from the bios

How can I install the Operation System in HDD drive and use the msata with intel rapid storage as cache?

A: First of all: Intel Rapid Start is not same as Intel Rapid Storage. From screenshot looks like you don't have this option available (in SATA mode options there needs to be IDE, AHCI and Intel Smart Response Technology or something similar; you're missing last one).
You should go to the manufacturer's site (you don't say that, but I see you're on LG U460) and check if it has ISRT in addition to IRST.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Home > Farah Palmer Cup > Dr Farah Palmer Elected to Board of New Zealand Rugby
Dr Farah Palmer Elected to Board of New Zealand Rugby
Farah Palmer Cup
by admin_hland - December 15, 2016 December 15, 2016 1418
Three-times World Cup winning captain and World Rugby Hall of Fame inductee, Dr Farah Palmer (ONZM) has been elected to the Board of New Zealand Rugby (NZR) following the recent retirement of Maori Representative Wayne Peters.
The former Black Fern and current member of the New Zealand Maori Rugby Board (NZMRB) was nominated by Manawatu Rugby Football Union and seconded by Hawke's Bay Rugby Football Union before being unanimously elected by NZR's voting members (26 Provincial Rugby Unions plus the NZMRB) prior to yesterday's scheduled meeting of the NZR Board.
NZR Chairman, Brent Impey congratulated Dr Palmer on her election as the Maori Representative on the Board, saying her experience on and off the field would be an asset to rugby's future success.
"I am confident that Farah's understanding of the issues facing rugby gained through roles with the Maori Rugby Board, NZR's Rugby Committee and work for World Rugby, as well as from an exceptional playing career, will be invaluable to the game's future and particularly that of Maori rugby.
"As well as congratulating Farah on her election, I also want to acknowledge the Provincial Unions for nominating and ultimately electing Farah as their Maori Representative to the Board. While Dr Palmer becomes the first woman elected to NZR's Board in its almost 125 history, she clearly represented the best person for the role and the interests of Maori rugby."
Dr Palmer, a senior lecturer in Massey University's School of Management and Director in the university's Maori business and leadership centre said she would build on the work of outgoing Board member, Wayne Peters, in advocating for Maori rugby.
"It's a great honour and privilege to be elected to an organisation that means so much to so many and plays such a fundamental role in New Zealand society.
"There are more Maori playing rugby than ever before and an unprecedented number pulling on a black jersey, whether that's with the All Blacks, Black Ferns, Sevens teams or Maori All Blacks.
"I am grateful to the Provincial Unions for electing me to the position and look forward to building on Wayne's enormous contribution to the game."
As the Maori Representative on NZR's Board, Dr Palmer assumes the Chair of the New Zealand Maori Rugby Board (NZMRB). The NZMRB, originally established in 1910, is an affiliated body of NZR.
Acting Chairman of the NZMRB, Peter Goldsmith said the appointment of Dr Palmer as Chair of the Maori Rugby Board would ensure a seamless transition of leadership.
"As a committed member of the Maori Rugby Board over several years, Farah's election to the full NZR Board is great for Maori rugby. She has already worked closely with former Chairman, Wayne Peters and NZR's management team to ensure Maori has a strong voice in the game.
"On behalf of the Maori Rugby Board, we congratulate Farah and look forward to her leadership in the years ahead."
Dr Palmer was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in the 2007 New Year's Honours for services to women's rugby and sport.
Earlier this year, the women's provincial championship was renamed the Farah Palmer Cup in recognition of the former Black Fern's contribution to women's rugby.
"While it's not without its challenges, rugby is in good heart in New Zealand with our national teams excelling on the world stage, record numbers of women playing and increased pathways for Maori to play at the highest level, said Dr Palmer.
"I'm looking forward to offering a different perspective on the NZR Board and contributing to robust discussion and effective decision-making; ensuring NZR continues to meet the high expectations of not just Maori, but all New Zealanders."
Farah Rangikoepa Palmer was born to Bruce Palmer and Judith Palmer (nee King; Waikato [Ngati Mahuta] – descendant of Turanga King from Tahaaroa and Ngati Maniapoto [Ngati Waiora] – Huia Whanau from Piopio).
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Our goal is to thoroughly immerse the student in the Word of God for nine months. This is done through a systematic study of each of the sixty-six books of the Bible. The end product is a Christian with a fairly in depth overview of the whole Bible. This would be a valuable course for any ministry that seeks to fulfill the Great Commission of discipling the nations.
Most Christians desire to study the Bible but they don't have a clue as to how to go about the task. The School of Biblical Studies teaches the Inductive Approach to Bible study, which gives the student the tools to continue a lifetime of Bible study.
We study all sixty-six books of the Bible during the nine-month school. This gives the student a panoramic view of the entire Bible in context. This helps to give the student a balanced view of the Scriptures as a whole and it exposes the student to the entire richness of the Word: its various authors, continuity, its various styles of literature, its historical background and time periods, and the relationship between the two testaments.
Our emphasis is on the English text (or the text in the native tongue of the nation where the school is held). The student is required to read the text and not books about the Bible. We want the student to know the text. Our textbook is the Bible.
The student lays aside any preconceived ideas and lets the scripture speak for itself. The students' conclusions evolve out of what they have observed, interpreted and applied.
• Read the entire book through, aloud in one sitting (first reading).
• Read the entire book through asking specific questions (second reading).
• Read through the entire book giving a paragraph title for each paragraph (third reading).
• Using the paragraph titles, draw up a rough Horizontal Chart of the book. A Horizontal Chart is an overview of the entire book (this may require another reading).
• Make Vertical Charts for each small segment in the Horizontal Chart. This is the where the student looks in detail at the passages (this is either the fourth or fifth reading).
• Polishing of the rough Horizontal Chart (the student may do the fifth reading here).
The three basic steps of Bible Study are stressed.
1. Observation: What does the text say? Observation is stressed in the first two readings of the book, in doing paragraph titles and in the Horizontal and Vertical Charts.
2. Interpretation: (Exegesis) – What does the text mean? What did it mean to the original hearers/readers? This requires a study of historical background.
3. Application: (Hermeneutics) – How does the truth of this passage or book apply to my life in the 21st Century? A written application is required for each book.
Ten Methods of Bible Study are taught in the School of Biblical Studies.
Nine of the methods or combinations of these methods are employed in the study of each book.
Levels of structure are taught and applied in doing the charts.
Ruskin's Laws of Composition are taught and used in the study of each book.
• How to use maps, the concordance, Bible Dictionary, interlinear, etc.
• How to find answers for themselves.
• They force the students to be systematic in their study.
• They teach the students to observe first, then interpret and then move into application.
• They teach the students to organize their research.
• They provide a suitable method for the storage of information, which can be used for reference, review, teaching and further study.
• Charts are more visual and thus easier to remember.
• Charts require the students to see an overview of the book as well as a detailed look at passages.
• Charts give the students the satisfaction of doing their own work. They leave with concrete evidence of their labor.
The main emphasis is on the students' independent study of the Scriptures. This means six to eight hours of study each working day. This system of study enables each student to progress and develop at whatever academic level they desire. The students are free to explore different views, however, the staff guide them so that they are within the range of historic Orthodox belief.
The staff give oversight of the students' progress in each book. Each book is graded and there are several tests each quarter with an oral test on the whole New Testament and a comprehensive test at the end of the year.
There are nine hours of class time each week. This class time can take the form of lectures, workshops, or discussions. The staff or guest speaker prepares the class time. Outlines or handouts are often given as a supplement to the classroom presentation. Aside from the classroom situation the staff are always available for assistance in answering questions or giving whatever assistance is needed.
• The school teaches students time management and personal discipline. Each book has a due date but it is up to the students to manage their time and plot out their schedule.
• The school teaches endurance. It requires nine months to finish the course.
• A constant diet of the Word renews the mind and major changes occur in the students' lives as they increase in their understanding of God.
• The school develops reading and communication skills.
In 1977, hearing Dr. Earl Morey teach the book of Revelation at a charismatic conference in Pittsburgh, Loren Cunningham asked him to begin the School of Biblical Studies (SBS) in Youth with A Mission (YWAM). Earl received his Ph.D from Princeton University and pastored a Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia. However, Earl told Loren that he did not feel he was to leave his church in Richmond.
I had met Earl while at Gordon-Conwell Seminary in Massachusetts in the early part of 1975 and Judy was a family friend. In the fall of 1980, Judy and I attended a Discipleship Training School (DTS) at YWAM in Kona, Hawaii. During this time, Earl called Loren and mentioned that he thought Ron Smith should launch the School of Biblical Studies for YWAM. In February 1981, Loren called me during my DTS outreach, and invited me to start the SBS in Kona that September.
On the day Loren called, I just happened to be fasting and seeking the Lord for one week and it was from that call, that the School of Biblical Studies was birthed. September 1981 we began the SBS in Kona, Hawaii with eight students meeting in a small house up the hill from McDonald's.
From that beginning, SBS worldwide has now conducted about 500 schools in the last twenty-five years and have trained somewhere between 7,000 and 10,000 students.
Through the years, Earl has continued his relationship with YWAM SBS, lecturing in various schools and leading one school in Washington D.C. during the late 1980's.
To give you more of an understanding of our history, let me begin by outlining the history of Inductive Bible Study in the body of Christ.
Yale Professor, Dr. William Rainey Harper surveyed 1,000 pastors in the late 1800's. These ministers stated that their greatest weakness in seminary training was studying the English Bible. Harper's chief assistant, Dr. Wilbert White developed the method known as the "Method of the Biblical Seminary" in New York. From the Biblical Seminary came the current sweep of Inductive Bible Study throughout the world. Seven basic streams flowed from this start.
2. Howard Hendricks [Dallas Seminary], Multnomah, Bruce Wilkinson etc.
Based on the various streams flowing from Wilbert White, the SBS flowed originally through Howard Kuist [stream 3] and Earl Morey as Kuist's student at Princeton; plus Robert Traina [stream 4] who was also a student of Kuist with Ron Smith writing his Th.D. thesis on Traina's work. [The Basics of Bible Study handout is a boiled down espresso outline of Ron's thesis].
So, what we are doing in the SBS is not original but right in the middle of a large movement started at the end of the 19th century. The original thing we have done in the SBS is to study the whole Bible, every book, using the Inductive Method.
Early in that first year we began to use the RSV translation. We were going to use the NASV but found the sentence structure and the flimsiness of the actual construction of the Bibles a problem considering the amount of usage they received in the school.
Several different nations were represented among those first eight students in September 1981. Seven students finished out the first year and the location of the school moved from Kona, north to Makapala. The second year, we had nine students, the third year we had thirteen. All during this time we had no other schools outside of YWAM, Hawaii.
By 1984, we had a large class of twenty-five students including regional, national and international leaders in YWAM. Shortly after that time the school began to multiply. The first three schools were South Africa, Korea and England, in that order. At the end of 1987, we had several schools with locations on virtually all the continents.
During this early growth we received encouragement from Loren Cunningham to increase and multiply growth in every direction; to set our sights on a thousand locations.
For a period of about 2 years, I took this on as the vision for SBS. In late 1989, I sent Loren a fax concerning two items.
We would be notifying all base leaders that the SBS on their base is primarily accountable to their base leadership, reasoning that this would maintain a sense of simplicity and unity in those locations. This has proved to be a wise move. We said to Loren that we were going to be external encouragers to the local school leaders.
The second thing I felt was that a good goal for us would be 65 schools and I still feel this is a good number [we have about 40 schools at this writing].
I want people to know the content of the Bible in their native language.
From this, provide them with a Bible foundation for their lives and for their ministries.
We are truly grateful to God for what he has done so far in the SBS. It is wonderful to know that God's word is accessible to everyone. As well, the fellowship we have enjoyed among the staff and leadership through the years has been fulfilling. Pastors, teachers and all kinds of saints in various walks and calls in life have come through the ministry.
We feel that God wants to continue SBS' influence. We have desired to keep the course simple. It is not our goal to impress people with our scholarship. Our desire has always been to feed sheep.


Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI), Govt. of India has sanctioned Rs. 245.30 lakhs for establishment of Food Quality Testing Laboratory in the college. The necessary formalities are ongoing and space has been allocated for this purpose in one of the existing laboratories of PFE department.


Our Lady of Mercy Academy is home to scholarship-winning athletes and offers 13 sports. Our fall sports include cheerleading, soccer, tennis, volleyball and cross country. New this year is OLMA Field Hockey.
As part of the CAL, OLMA athletes are consistently named First Team All-Stars. For more information on fall sports, call (856) 697-2008, or email our Athletic Director at: coach.leng@olmanj.org.


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Doris Lessing, The Art of Fiction No. 102
Interviewed by Thomas Frick
Issue 106, Spring 1988
Photograph by Chris Saunders
Doris Lessing was interviewed at the home of Robert Gottlieb, in Manhattan's east forties. Her editor for many years at Knopf, Mr. Gottlieb was then the editor of The New Yorker. Ms. Lessing was briefly in town to attend some casting sessions for the opera Philip Glass has based on her novel The Making of the Representative for Planet 8, for which she had written the libretto. Plans for the opera had been in more or less constant flux, and it was only after a minor flurry of postcards—Ms. Lessing communicates most information on postcards, usually ones from the British Museum—that the appointment was finally arranged.
While the tape recorder was being prepared, she said, "This is a noisy place here, when you think we're in a garden behind a row of houses." She points across the way at the townhouse where Katharine Hepburn lives; the talk is about cities for a while. She has lived in London for almost forty years, and still finds that "everything all the time in a city is extraordinary!" More speculatively, as she has remarked elsewhere, "I would not be at all surprised to find out . . . that the dimensions of buildings affect us in ways we don't guess." She spoke about spending six months in England before the age of five, saying, "I think kids ought to travel. I think it's very good to carry kids around. It's good for them. Of course it's tough on the parents."
The interview was conducted on the garden patio. Silvery-streaked dark hair parted in the middle and pulled back in a bun, a shortish skirt, stockings, blouse, and jacket, she looked much like her book-jacket photos. If she seemed tired, it was hardly surprising considering the extent of her recent travels. She has a strong, melodious voice, which can be both amused and acerbic, solicitous and sarcastic.
You were born in Persia, now Iran. How did your parents come to be there?
My father was in the First World War. He couldn't stick England afterwards. He found it extremely narrow. The soldiers had these vast experiences in the trenches and found they couldn't tolerate it at home. So he asked his bank to send him somewhere else. And they sent him to Persia, where we were given a very big house, large rooms and space, and horses to ride on. Very outdoors, very beautiful. I've just been told this town is now rubble. It's a sign of the times, because it was a very ancient market town with beautiful buildings. No one's noticed. So much is destroyed, we can't be bothered. And then they sent him to Tehran, which is a very ugly city, where my mother was very happy, because she became a part of what was called the "legation set." My mother adored every second of that. There were dinner parties every night. My father hated it. He was back again with convention. Then in 1924, we came back to England where something called the Empire Exhibition (which turns up from time to time in literature) was going on and which must have had an enormous influence. The southern Rhodesian stand had enormous maize-cobs, corncobs, slogans saying "Make your fortune in five years" and that sort of nonsense. So my father, typically for his romantic temperament, packed up everything. He had this pension because of his leg, his war wounds—minuscule, about five thousand pounds—and he set off into unknown country to be a farmer. His childhood had been spent near Colchester, which was then a rather small town, and he had actually lived the life of a farmer's child and had a country childhood. And that's how he found himself in the veld of Rhodesia. His story is not unusual for that time. It took me some time, but it struck me quite forcibly when I was writing Shikasta how many wounded ex-servicemen there were out there, both English and German. All of them had been wounded, all of them were extremely lucky not to be dead, as their mates were.
Perhaps a minor version of the same thing would be our Vietnam veterans coming back here and being unable to adjust, completely out of society.
I don't see how people can go through that kind of experience and fit in at once. It's asking too much.
You recently published a memoir in the magazine Granta which, according to its title, was about your mother. In some ways it really seemed to be more about your father.
Well, how can one write about them separately? Her life was, as they used to say, devoted to his life.
It's astonishing to read about his gold-divining, his grand plans, his adventures . . .
Well, he was a remarkable bloke, my father. He was a totally impractical man. Partly because of the war, all that. He just drifted off, he couldn't cope. My mother was the organizer, and kept everything together.
I get the feeling that he thought of this gold-divining in a very progressive and scientific way.
His idea was—and there's probably something true about it somewhere—that you could divine gold and other metal if you only knew how to do it. So he was always experimenting. I wrote about him actually, in a manner of speaking, in a story I called "Eldorado." We were living in gold country. Gold mines, little ones, were all around.
So it wasn't out of place.
No! Farmers would always keep a hammer or a pan in the car, just in case. They'd always be coming back with bits of gold-bearing rock.
Were you around a lot of storytelling as a child?
No . . . the Africans told stories, but we weren't allowed to mix with them. It was the worst part about being there. I mean I could have had the most marvelously rich experiences as a child. But it would have been inconceivable for a white child. Now I belong to something called a "Storytellers' College" in England. About three years ago a group of people tried to revive storytelling as an art. It's doing rather well. The hurdles were—I'm just a patron, I've been to some meetings—first that people turn up thinking that storytelling is telling jokes. So they have to be discouraged! Then others think that storytelling is like an encounter group. There's always somebody who wants to tell about their personal experience, you know. But enormous numbers of real storytellers have been attracted. Some from Africa—from all over the place—people who are still traditional hereditary storytellers or people who are trying to revive it. And so, it's going on. It's alive and well. When you have storytelling sessions in London or anywhere, you get a pretty good audience. Which is quite astonishing when you think of what they could be doing instead—watching Dallas or something.
What was it like coming back to England? I remember J. G. Ballard, coming there for the first time from Shanghai, felt very constrained; he felt that everything was very small and backward.
Oh yes! I felt terribly constricted, very pale and damp; everything was shut in, and too domestic. I still find it so. I find it very pretty, but too organized. I don't imagine that there's an inch of the English landscape that hasn't been dealt with in some way or another. I don't think there is any wild grass anywhere.
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More from Issue 106, Spring 1988
Buy this issue!
Thomas Glynn
Apondé, the Magnificent Times Two
Ernst Havemann
The Prophet Elijah
from Shine Hawk
Little Expressionless Animals
The Art of Fiction No. 102
S. Ben-Tov
The Foucault Pendulum at Hanover
Joao Cabral de Melo Neto
The Word Silk
Tom Disch
The Dirt and the Willow
Florence Elon
Place Not Taken
Daniel Mark Epstein
The Rivals
Irving Feldman
Words for Some Ash
Ten Poems
William Logan
Haddocks' Eyes
Christopher Logue
from The Iliad
Alice Mattison
Lynne McMahon
Cynthia Nadelman
Donald Revell
Why History Imitates God
Betsy Rosenberg
Hugh Seidman
Terese Svoboda
The Root of Mother is Moth
Hand Over Heart
Klimt and Schiele Confront the Cunt
Marjorie Welish
Jeffery Donaldson
An Exchange
George Kane
Two Contemporary East German Poets: Ulrich Berkes and Steffen Mensching
Correspondence with His Publisher
George Plimpton
Mike Starn
M.F.A. vs Donleavy
Current Issue No. 231
Get this issue now!
Episode 13: "Before the Light"
, October 2019
Legendary novelist and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison explains why beauty is absolutely necessary in an interview from the magazine's archives; Molly Ringwald channels adolescent grief in her reading of "Guests," a story by Mary Terrier; and poet Alex Dimitrov reads his poem "Impermanence."
Staff Picks: Dionysus and Drowning
This week, the staff of 'The Paris Review' lauds the hundred-page novel, obsesses over Donna Tartt, and reads the extraordinary Ágota Kristóf
This Week's Reading
Rae Armantrout, The Art of Poetry No. 106
By Rae Armantrout
Photo courtesy of Rae Armantrout
Independent, skeptical, laconic, and always lyrical, Rae Armantrout is a poet of wit and precision. Her poems are typically built of brief sections and short lines in which every word and syllable has been carefully weighed and placed. She also values alacrity and surprise. Arcs of argument can end midflight or spring abruptly in unforeseen directions. The tone shifts, and shifts again. The rewards of her quicksilver verse are many: she helps, as William Blake once put it, to cleanse the doors of perception. You look anew at everyday things and delight in language's myriad marvels and traps. You also laugh out loud.
Her poems often bring together contraries. She shuttles from topics as ambitious as cosmology and theology to things as ordinary as weeds glimpsed out a window or remarks overheard in a coffeehouse. She has written about intimately personal and private matters, such as motherhood and her treatment for a rare, painful cancer, and she has tackled urgent public matters such as immigration, climate change, and economic inequality.
Armantrout is a West Coaster through and through. She grew up in San Diego during the post–World War II boom years, attended Berkeley at the height of the Vietnam War, and for many years taught creative writing at the University of California, San Diego. She recently moved to Everett, Washington, a town north of Seattle, to be near her son's family.
Critics often associate Armantrout with the avant-garde Language poetry movement. During the seventies, she helped found its San Francisco branch. Her first books, Extremities (1978) and The Invention of Hunger (1979), like the early works of her colleagues Lyn Hejinian, Bob Perelman, and Ron Silliman, experiment with narrative discontinuity, syntactic disruption, and found text. She has never, though, been content to travel in a pack. From the beginning, her work has been more autobiographical and songlike than that of her Language poetry peers. While she has continued to correspond and collaborate with them, she has pursued her own singular path. She has written more than fifteen books, including Necromance (1991), Veil (2001), and Versed (2009), which won the Pulitzer Prize. Her most recent, Wobble (2018), was a finalist for the National Book Award. A new collection, Conjure, is forthcoming in 2020.
From the Archive, Issue 231
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11x state champions, 7x Iowa coach of the year and 2003 National coach of the year.Effectively defend various types of attacks with proper body position.
Tom Keating covers all aspects of defense starting with the first line of defense – blocking. Blocking is more than just stuffing the ball for points. Keating introduces proper blocking form by explaining effective hand, arm and hip positioning. This is followed by a progressive series of stretching exercises that will help to reinforce blocking technique. Learn four footwork patterns that will help your blockers efficiently span the net.
Keating closes the blocking segment by explaining how to gain effective position versus the attacker, and when to jump in order to maximize block potential. A series of block jump drills provides quality repetitions to train necessary footwork techniques while conditioning your athletes. Keating also includes one- and two-hand blocking drills to emphasize hand positioning in order to control the ball.
The next segment of the video focuses on defensive philosophy and technique. Coach Keating discusses the importance of team communication and how to read the opposing team in order to better defend them. He then breaks down defensive posture and passing technique. He further explains how to make adjustments in the digging posture based on the speed and trajectory of the attack.
The video ends with five defensive drills that emphasize communication, movement, ball control, and aggressiveness. The series starts with pepper drills that focus on the mechanics of defensive digging. He finishes the session with team oriented drills that put the digging mechanics and philosophies into action.
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