Learn more about Historic Columbia's research initiatives at the monthly Research Roundtable programs.
August's Research Roundtable will take attendees back 140 years into Reconstruction-era Columbia as captured through the camera lens of William Augustus Reckling. Thanks to a thoughtful donor, recently acquired Reckling stereoscope slides have allowed Historic Columbia to better interpret the capital city's post-bellum character! Participants are welcome to bring their lunch to this program.
Tickets are free for members and $5 for non-members.


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SOLAS and Clare County Library launch Equal Skills at the Library computer courses
SOLAS, in partnership with Clare County Library, is launching Equal Skills at the Library, basic computer courses in branch libraries in Ennis, Shannon, Scariff, Ennistymon, Kilrush and Kilkee. It is a FREE opportunity for beginners to learn about computers in participating libraries with the help of a tutor, who is there to guide you through the learning experience.
The course assists with setting up an e-mail account, navigating the Internet, desktop, windows and file management. It serves as a useful preparation for progressing to a European Computer Driving Licence qualification (ECDL).
At the end of this 10 week course each successful learner will be awarded an Irish Computer Society (ICS) Equal Skills Certificate.
• Equal Skills at the Library commences on 14th April 2014.
• Learners must be available to attend for one class per week, lasting approximately two hours for a period of 10 weeks.
• There is no charge for the programme and no allowances are paid to participants.
• Equal Skills at the Library is free and open to all adults.
• Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis, however, preference will be given to those learners who are in receipt of Social Welfare entitlements or signing for credits.
• Use of library facilities and PCs is provided.
• Participating libraries are Ennis, Shannon, Scariff, Ennistymon, Kilrush and Kilkee. All class sessions shall take place in the morning from 10.00 am – 12.00 pm with the exception of Kilkee Library. Class room sessions at Kilkee Library shall be in the afternoon from 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm.
• Closing date for applications is the 9th April 2014.
If interested, please collect an application form at the library desk in one of the branch libraries listed above, or download a form by clicking here. Please return completed forms to one of the libraries listed above.
Please note that Clare County Library is not involved in the selection process and candidates will be selected in line with SOLAS selection criteria.
Chris Droney - Gradam Saoil 2014, TG4
Chris Droney of Bellharbour, North Clare - TG4 Gradam Saoil, Lifetime Achievement Award Winner 2014. Posted on Youtube on the 18th of March 2014 by TG4.
"Sa mbliain 1924 a rugadh Chris Droney i mBéal an Chlogga i dtuaisceart an Chláir, ar chósta theas Chuan na Gaillimhe. Fuair sé ceol an chonsairtín le hoidhreacht óna athair, James agus a sheanathair Michael (1829-1927). Ní raibh Chris ach ocht mbliana d'aois nuair a bhí an bosca beag ina lámha féin, rud atá ó shin. Deir sé gurbh iad The Wearing of the Green agus Clare's Dragoons an dá fhonn is túisce a d'fhoghlaim sé, de réir a chuimhne féin." Posted on Youtube on the 21st of March 2014 by TG4.
The Sounds Of The Wild Atlantic Way
"Two musicians drove the west coast of Ireland in a mobile studio, soaking up and recording the sounds, the sights, the people and the places along this stunning coastline. Their aim was to create a sound track inspired by and featuring the sounds encountered along this beautiful road known as The Wild Atlantic Way." The video features Doolin Cave and the Cliffs Of Moher, and music from Christy Barry. Posted on Youtube on the 18th of March 2014 by discoverireland.
Paragliding in Fanore, June 2012
Paragliding in Fanore, North Clare, in June 2012. Posted on Youtube on the 1st of June 2012 by biezunscy.
Pictiúr - a Laureate na nÓg exhibition presented by Glór
For more than thirty years Ireland has developed a reputation in children's literature. Writers such as Eoin Colfer, Darren Shan, Derek Landy, Siobhán Parkinson and Roddy Doyle have all created significant profile for children's literature both in Ireland and internationally.
While we continue to excel in the written word for young readers, more recently the reputation of Ireland's illustrators has grown. Within the past decade we have seen a major development in Irish illustration with more and more illustrators receiving international recognition and many new names joining our existing talents.
As a way of highlighting Ireland during its EU Presidency in 2013, Children's Books Ireland, under the auspices of Laureate na nÓg, brought the work of twenty-one Irish children's books illustrators to international audiences in Austria, Italy and Belgium. After a short tour of Ireland, the Glór gallery is delighted to present this wonderfully exciting and colourful of exhibition of outstanding art. There is also a library of children's books, so that visitors to the exhibition can see the books from which the illustrations were chosen.
Children's illustration offers a unique opportunity for literature and visual art to intersect. Showcasing twenty-one artists, Pictiúr demonstrates the range, scope and skill of Irish illustrators. The exhibition comprises 42 art pieces by 21 of Ireland's leading children's book illustrators, and includes illustrations from books written in English and Irish. The exhibition is curated by Ireland's current Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey and illustrators featured include PJ Lynch, Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick, Chris Haughton, Kevin Waldron, Oliver Jeffers, Chris Judge, Steve Simpson, Andrew Whitson, Mary Murphy, Michael Emberley and Olivia Golden.
Friday 21 March to Wednesday 30 April, 10am - 5pm daily, Free of charge. Glór, Ennis, Co. Clare. Glór box office 065-6843103 or www.glor.ie. For further information, please contact Sinéad Cahill at 065 6845 370 or scahill@glor.ie. Glór acknowledges the financial support given by Clare County Council, Ennis Town Council and the Arts Council of Ireland in making this programming possible.
Flying Boat 'Clare' at Foynes, 1940
The Clare, BOAC'S Short S.30 Empire Flying Boat, moored at Foynes with Mexshell refueling boat beside it. The flying boat refuelled at Foynes on the 3rd August, 1940, under the command of Captain J.C. Kelly Rogers. This was the first passenger and mail flight from Foynes by BOAC. One of its three passengers was Colonel 'Wild' Bill Donovan, advisor to President Roosevelt. On 'Clare's' return journey through Foynes on 10th August, 1940, four of the six passengers were the first American civilian pilots to be recruited for the ferrying of military aircraft to Britain. 'Clare' crashed off Bathurst in September 1942. This and other photographs of Foynes Airport - and some of Shannon Airport - are now online in Foto, Clare County Library's online photograph collection.
The photographs were collected and donated by Valerie Sweeney and Dúchas na Sionna. The complete story of Foynes Airport can be found online at Foynes Flying Boat and Maritime Museum.
Science Book Awards
A book about the hunt for the elusive Higgs Boson was winner of the 2013 Royal Society Winton Prize. This prestigious prize celebrates outstanding popular science books from around the world and is open to authors of science books written for a non-specialist audience. Sean Carroll's The Particle at the End of the Universe was described by judges as an 'important, enduring piece of literature'.
The books shortlisted for the 2013 award were:
Bird Sense: What it's Like to be a Bird by Tim Birkhead
The Particle at the End of the Universe by Sean Carroll
Cells to Civilizations: Principles of Change that Shape Life by Enrico Coen
Pieces of Light: the New Science of Memory by Charles Fernyhough
The Book of Barely Imagined Beings: a 21st Century Bestiary by Caspar Henderson
Ocean of Life: How our Seas are Changing by Callum Roberts
Previous winners of this prize have included Stephen Hawking and Bill Bryson.
Political Book Awards
Margaret Thatcher: the Authorized Biography by Charles Moore has been named the Political Book of the Year at the Paddy Power Political Book Awards. Judge Mary Beard said of the winning book: 'This is an elegant and sometimes witty book; it is the kind of authoritative study that people will be referring to for decades – or even longer.'
Simon Sebag Montefiore's novel One Night in Winter - a mix of love story, thriller and historical fiction set in Stalin's Russia won Political Fiction Book of the Year. The award for Political Biography of the Year was won by The Pike: Gabriele d'Annunzio: Poet, Seducer & Preacher of War by Lucy Hughes-Hallett which charts the controversial life of Italian poet and fascist D'Annunzio.
Damian Barr's book Maggie & Me, a touching and darkly witty memoir about surviving Thatcher's Britain, won the Political Humour and Satire Book of the Year. The award for International Affairs Book of the Year was presented to Margaret MacMillan for her book The War That Ended Peace: How Europe abandoned Peace for the First World War. Iain Dale, founder of the awards, said, 'These awards celebrate the fantastic breadth of political writing in the UK today, and I hope that they will encourage more people to both read and write political literature.'
Novel Destinations
This book promotion, currently in Seán Lemass Public Library, Shannon, features a selection of novels set in holiday destinations popular with Irish holidaymakers. Fiction can often create a sense of place more powerfully than any travel guide. Reading a novel set in a country that you're visiting can enhance your appreciation and understanding of the place, while being surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of the country can enrich the story that you are reading. These atmospheric books will transport readers to their next potential holiday destination or allow them to relive a previous visit. They enrich the experience of travel by capturing the spirit of a place and remain with the reader long after the visit is over. For those who can only dream of escaping abroad, these novels will transport you from the wild landscapes of Western Australia via the Piazza of Venice and the rural French village of Lansquenet to the streets of New York. The majority of the novels have been published since 2000 although some earlier novels that capture the spirit of a place particularly well have been included. Some of the novels are translations from the original language. So whether you are planning your next holiday, reliving a previous one or are content to 'travel' from the comfort of your armchair, we hope that these recommended novels will take you there.
See also our promotion Around the World in 22 Days – a selection of the best in non-fiction travel writing, and our Book Promotions for Adults at http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/library/services/book-promos/promos.htm .
An Taisce's National Spring Clean - "Clean-Up Day" for Ennis, Saturday, 5th April
In conjunction with An Taisce's National Spring Clean, a "Clean-Up Day" for Ennis has been organised for Saturday, 5th April 2014 between 10.00 a.m. and 2.00 p.m. meeting at Ennis Town Council Waterpark House. The event will be run by the Town Council, Tidy Towns Committee and other voluntary organisations. This event is specifically organised to clean up all the approach roads to Ennis, along with the green areas, footpaths, roads and streets in both residential areas and housing estates.
Groups wishing to participate in National Spring Clean are required to register their event and receive a free clean-up kit from An Taisce on line at www.nationalspringclean.org, by phone at 01-4002219 or by completing the registration available from Mairead Griffin, Environment Section, Clare County Council, New Road, Ennis (tel 065-6846386). Photo above shows some of the 2013 Volunteers who helped out in the national spring clean.
Kilrush Community College teenagers enjoy Teen Week at the Library
26 second year students attended a workshop at Kilrush Public Library by Tony Maude entitled 'Hitting the Road with Shakespeare…Stevenson…and Others…'. Tony's performance helped to bring alive the magic of great literature written by William Blake, R.L. Stevenson and Shakespeare. During this hour long performance, Tony also sang and recited some of his original songs and poetry.
Also as part of Teen Week celebrations, students from Kilrush Community College attended a highly interactive workshop with John Lillis at Kilrush Public Library on Tuesday 18th March. John's vast experience of working with young people in musical environments was highly evident as he engaged with the students and helped them to create their own rap lyrics and beats.
Seamus Begley, Oisin MacDiarmada and Padraic O'Reilly - "The Banks Of The Ban" at The Corofin Traditional Festival 2014
Seamus Begley from County Kerry with County Clare's Oisin MacDiarmada and Padraic O'Reilly sing and play "The Banks Of The Ban" at The Corofin Traditional Festival, 2014. Posted on Youtube on the 16th of March 2014 by Niamhaines.
Saint Patrick's Day Parade in Ennis, 2014
"The theme this year was Brian Ború. That explains the medieval element! Most shots taken from just before the Club Bridge, then a few bits in O'Connell Street." Posted on Youtube on the 17th of March 2014 by Jen Pacific.
Miltown Malbay St Patricks Day Parade 2014
Posted on Youtube on the 18th of March 2014 by Neil Hynes.
Irish Dancers at Saint Patrick's Day Parade 2014 in Shannon
Posted on Youtube on the 17th of March 2014 by rabii hamdaoui.
Deireadh le Seachtain na Gaeilge 2014
Seachtain na Gaeilge has drawn to a close for another year and was widely celebrated in the Clare library branch network over the past two weeks. Staff members Seamus Ryan and Teresa Carmody O'Shea visited several branches to deliver fun interactive storytimes to children from 1st and 2nd classes in primary schools. Using our library books and story sack resources from An Mála Mór they regaled their young audiences with stories of Teidi and his daily exploits as gaeilge. The children were thrilled to help choose Teidi's clothes and set out his breakfast things, all to be found in these wonderful resources from the storysacks of An Mála Mór which are based on the Primary School Curriculum. The sacks cover three topics, Mé Féin, Éadaí agus Bia. The main character 'Teidi', is a cuddly teddy bear with a variety of clothes specifically designed and made for him. The packs have been written and designed by primary school teachers and the books address verbs, prepositions and actions. They also include toy furniture and food for Teidi to make the packs more interactive for the children.
Ceardlanna Léiriúcháin le Aidan Courtney
Aidan Courtney, local illustrator and founder of the children's comic RíRá, ran two workshops through Irish for eager young artists in Lisdoonvarna Library and deValera Library, Ennis, during Seachtain na Gaeilge. Children from Doolin National School and from the Holy Family Senior School in Ennis had a hugely entertaining session with Aidan as he sketched the kids' suggestions and chatted to them as gaeilge for an hour in each library. The children were busy throughout, sketching cartoons and contributing to the workshop using the Irish language as they wished, in light hearted, no pressure sessions. Aidan's presentation and easy manner entertained them from start to finish, promoting the Irish language in the very best of ways for children.
Tugann Rang a hAon Cuairt ar an Leabharlann
First Class from St Enda's National School, Lisdoonvarna, visited Lisdoonvarna Public Library on the 11th of March and were treated to a reading of Cinnín Óir agus na Trí Bhéar by librarian Caitriona Lucas. Caitriona chose the story to celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge and was expertly assisted in bringing the story to life by the young actors and puppeteers in her audience.
Author Maria Burke visits Killaloe and Scariff libraries
The Ark of Dun Ruah books by Maria Burke were brought to life for the children of Scariff and Killaloe National Schools when they visited their local libraries on World Book Day. Maria is a writer, radio presenter and artist and having also worked as a primary school teacher, was well equipped to entertain her young audience bringing her love of storytelling to them through her two fantasy novels published to date. She spoke to the children about how she writes and how they in turn could work towards becoming writers themselves. She also spoke about the importance of reading and formulated 10 good reasons to read with the help of the children present. She brought along her sketchbook and spoke of how the cover art for the book came about and this part of the session was particularly appealing to the audience who later listened attentively to extracts from her book. Most of the children present had read some of Maria's book and they had lots of questions for the author and well thought out comments. Their teachers were very grateful to the library for organizing the event and commented how proactive Clare County Library was in encouraging reading amongst children. Maria's two books, The Ark of Dun Ruah and The Ark of Dun Ruah: Protectors of the Flame are available for borrowing from Clare County Library branches.
Ag Ceiliúradh Seachtain na Gaeilge i Leabharlanna Phoiblí na Scairbhe agus na Tulaí
"An inspiring presence, always a hit in the library, teachers and students found the 90 minute session flew", are just some of the comments from staff in Scariff and Tulla public libraries on the Seachtain na Gaeilge visits to their branches by author Ré O Laighléis. Ré is a regular visitor to the libraries in Clare and his sessions are always appreciated and enjoyed by staff, teachers and students. Getting to know his audiences in a short time is one of his specialities and his sessions go far beyond readings, to become performances full of energy and enthusiasm that inspire an interest in books, libraries and reading among his teenage audiences. In both Scariff and Tulla libraries Ré had his listeners hooked from the beginning and pitched his talk at just the right level using gaeilge agus béarla to ensure everyone got maximum benefit from the sessions. Míle buíochas do na múinteóirí agus na daltaí ó scoileanna na Tulaí agus na Scairbhe as ucht tacú le clár Sheachtain na Gaeilge na bliana seo.
In Memoriam: Barrie Cooke (1931 – 2014)
Born in Cheshire in the UK in 1931, artist Barrie Cooke's love for nature and fishing brought him to County Clare in the early 1950s, where he became inspired by the Sheela-na-gig at Killinaboy Church, not far from where he lived. The Sheela-na-gig became an important theme in his early works and was the subject of a recent thesis by Sonya Ocampo-Gooding. Cooke's early art was nurtured by the Burren's barrenness and richness, and he later developed a close connection to writers such as Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes. Cooke honoured his neighbours' friendship in his work "Map of Kilnaboy in 1954" (1984) and is remembered by P.J. Curtis as "a good friend, a great artist and a gentleman". The photo above shows Sonya Ocampo-Gooding, Barrie Cooke and Seamus Heaney at the opening of the 2011 exhibit at the Irish Museum of Modern Art celebrating Cooke's 80th birthday. The paintings in the background were inspired by the Killinaboy Sheela-na-gig. Photo courtesy of Sonya Ocampo-Gooding.
Seán Mac Mathúna 1876-1949: Diarist and Dedicated Recorder of Clare Tradition - a talk by Pádraig Ó Héalaí
The North Clare Historical Society concludes its current lecture series on Monday 24th March with a talk entitled "Seán Mac Mathúna 1876-1949: Diarist and Dedicated Recorder of Clare Tradition" by Pádraig Ó Héalaí.
Seán Mac Mathúna was born 1876 and grew up in Ennistymon where his parents had a pub. The business did not prosper, and when Seán was eight years old, the family moved to their farm at Lúch, Dúlainn. He later moved to his sister's house where he spent most of his life working on the farm with her husband, Peter Barrett. Séamas Ó Duilearga, Director of the Irish Folklore Commission, visiting the Doolin area in 1929, met Seán, and was so impressed by his interest in folklore that he immediately asked him to set about doing some collecting work.
Seán occupies a very special position among those who collected folklore in County Clare by reason of his own intimate acquaintance with the material, and also because of the extensive range and volume of his collection. His entire work is now held in some 50 volumes in the archives of the Delargy Centre for Irish Folklore at UCD, commonly referred to as the Irish Folklore Collection. These comprise some 11,000 pages written in his own hand, of which a little under 4,000 are diary entries, covering the period from June 1937 to February 1942. This talk will focus to a large extent on the diary entries which offer some fascinating insights into life in North Clare in that period and also reveal interesting aspects of his own personality.
Pádraig Ó Héalaí is retired for some years now from his position as Senior Lecturer in the Department of Irish at NUIG where he specialised in the area of Irish folklore. He has numerous publications on a range of topics in this field especially relating to legends of the supernatural, religious tradition, and rites of passage. The venue is the Courthouse Gallery, Ennistymon, at 8pm. Admission is €5. The Society would like to hear from any relatives of Seán Mac Mathúna, (Seán Mártin or Johnny McMahon as he was known locally). Contact O86 8493089.
Scenes from Life in County Clare by James Skerrit
Showreel 2013 from James Skerritt james.lahinch@gmail.com. Music by nubus.bandcamp.com/. Posted on Vimeo May 2013 by James Skerritt.
Irish Whitewater Race League, Ennistymon Falls
"Event no.2 of the Irish Whitewater Race League took place at Ennistymon Falls in Clare. A super stretch of river with a great crowd and some class weather made it into a savage day." Posted on Youtube on the 10th of March 2014 by Mawd Vidjo Productions.
Horses In The Mist, On The Burren
"Horses In The Mist, On The Burren. This was out on a Galway Mountain Skills 1 Course a couple of weeks ago. Very impressive! More details on our Mountain Skills Courses are here..." Posted on Youtube on the 7th of March 2014 by Outdoors Ireland.
A Minute's Wait from The Rising of the Moon by John Ford, Kilkee, 1956
Kilkee Extras from the Murphy Hynes Kilkee Collection in Foto, Clare County Library.
Some of the extras from Kilkee who featured in 'A Minute's Wait', one of three parts that made up John Ford's film 'The Rising of the Moon'. Based on a one-act play by Martin J McHugh, 'A Minute's Wait' was partly filmed in Kilkee in 1956 and featured Jimmy O'Dea, Maureen Potter and the West Clare Railway. Some of the film can be viewed here in two parts (con subtítulos en Español):
Teen Week 2014 in Shannon and Kilrush
Teen Week 2014 will be celebrated by Clare County Library from the 18th to the 21st of March in Shannon and Kilrush branch libraries. This is the fourth year that the library service has programmed a series of artistic and cultural events exclusively for teenagers. The week serves a dual purpose raising awareness of reading, art and culture among young adults in County Clare and it gives library staff an opportunity to promote its bookstock and electronic resources for this age group.
The programme is supported by teachers and pupils from local second level schools who appreciate the scheduling of a free, week-long festival for second level students at their local library. The same events are scheduled for both branches on alternate days and the response through bookings to date has been very encouraging.
This year's events include video production workshops, a novel exploration of great literature and hands-on experience of making music through digital technology. More information...
Two debut novelists on Folio Prize shortlist
The winner of the newly established literary prize The Folio Prize will be announced on March 10th. Set up to rival the long-established Man Booker Prize amid claims that the Booker Prize's focus on 'readability' was leading to a 'dumbing down' of standards, the founders of the award said that their mission was to "establish a clear and uncompromising standard of excellence" for books. The £40,000 award is the first major books award to consider English language writing from all over the world. It is open to any English language fictional book published in the UK during a given year, regardless of form, genre or the author's country of origin.
The list is dominated by writers from North America, with five US and one Canadian, Anne Carson, making up the contenders. Jane Gardam is the only English author on the shortlist. The final author is Eimear McBride who was born in Liverpool but grew up in the West of Ireland. Her book A Girl is a Half-formed Thing tells of a young woman's relationship with a brother still afflicted by a childhood brain tumour. Considered too experimental, it took McBride nine years to find a publisher. The other debut novelist on the shortlist is Sergio De La Pava whose book first appeared as a self-published work in 2008.
The eight books in contention for this year's prize are:
Red Doc by Anne Carson
Schroder by Amity Gaige
Last Friends by Jane Gardam
Benediction by Kent Haruf
The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner
A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride
A Naked Singularity by Sergio De La Pava
Tenth of December by George Saunders
The winner of the £40,000 prize will be announced on 10 March.
World Book Day Art Workshop with Alan Shoosmith in Shannon Library
Local artist Alan Shoosmith entertained 29 children from 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes from Gaelscoil Donncha Rua with his World Book Day Art Workshop in Seán Lemass Public Library, Shannon, on Thursday 6th March. The pupils from the Gaelscoil are weekly visitors to the library with their teacher and are particularly keen on the 'Big Nate' series of books by Lincoln Pierce. Alan was delighted to show them all how to draw Big Nate and his pals. There was hushed silence from the children while Alan demonstrated how to draw the characters and then there followed a lively discussion amongst the students about drawing and about the Big Nate books. When the workshop was over, one of the students thanked Alan on behalf of the class. They took some of Alan's drawings back to the school with them and they plan to hang them up in their classroom as a reminder of the fun they had in the library.
Free Computer Classes at Scariff Library
Scariff Public Library's latest computer class just finished its six week course. Participants are pictured with library assistant Samantha Morrissey who runs the classes. They now have their own email and can send and receive messages and also can search for things on the Internet on their own. Classes are ongoing. Ring 061 922893 for more details.
Brian Boru Puppet Show at Kilrush and Scariff Libraries
Over 110 children were entertained at Kilrush Public Library on Friday 7th March with a new interactive production of Brian Boru by Honest Arts Production Company. This 35 minute show brings to life the times of Brian Boru with an entertaining story using artists and puppets. It ties in very well with the commemoration of the 1000th anniversary of the death of Brian Boru.
Scariff Library marked World Book Day with a lively puppet show celebrating the life of Clare's hero, Brian Boru. Honest Arts Production company presented a wonderful half hour interactive show at Scariff Library. Almost 100 children aged between 9-12 years from Scariff National School, Tuamgraney National School and Whitegate National School attended the event. The show was highly energised and informative, bringing to life the life-story of Brian Boru. Children and teachers alike enjoyed the production
Open The Book art and craft session in Kilkee Library
Krystyna Pomeroy hosted an art and craft session, entitled 'Open the Book', in Sweeney Memorial Public Library, Kilkee, recently, in which the children of third and fourth class in Scoil Réalt na Mara, Kilkee, created their own 3D books.
Fun Science Show in Scariff Library
Scariff Public Library hosted a hugely enjoyable "Fun Science Show" on Saturday 1st of March. The event was presented by Dipankar Biswas as part of an initiative run through Clare VEC. Twenty seven children and their parents took part in various experiments including assessing lung capacity using a bottle of water and a straw, along with testing ways to stop a balloon bursting over a flame and also creating a circuit. The show proved an excellent introduction for children to the exciting world of science and discovery.
The Blackie O'Connell Band at Corofin Trad Fest 2014
"The Blackie O'Connell Band Friday night at the Corofin Traditional Festival. From your left - Cyril O'Donoghue (my apologies to Cyril - when they added another row of seating in front of me, he became the invisible man - heard but not seen), Siobhan Peoples, Blackie O'Connell, and Damien O'Reilly." Posted on Youtube on the 2nd of March 2014 by Niamhaines. This one's especially for Donna O'Shaughnessy, Illinois, USA.
De Dannan at Corofin Trad Fest 2014
De Dannan performing at the 13th annual Corofin Traditional Festival February 27th, 2014. Posted on Youtube on the 4th of March 2014 by Niamhaines.
Kilfenora Céilí Band rehearses before live audience in Corofin
"The Kilfenora Céilí Band prepares for National Concert Hall and Cork Opera House at the Teach Ceoil, Corofin, County Clare. Tunes: Nora Marshall's Scottische & Kitty's Reels." Posted on Youtube on the 2nd of March 2011 by TheKilfenora.
Winter on Lough Derg
"A short film of Lough Derg and its colours as it prepares for winter. The Jewel of the Shannon is a beautiful and special place and I think you'll agree after watching this." Posted on Youtube on the 4th of December 2013 by clare virtually.
Limerick Sub Aqua Club visits Cameron Creek, Kilkee
Limerick Sub Aqua Club visits "Cameron Creek" in Kilkee. "Summer of 2013 we got out midweek after work. The sea was like a sheet of glass so we hauled it up north past the usual spots and settled next to the blue pool at Cameron Creek. Unforgettable." Posted on Youtube on the 18th of February 2014 by Mike Orth.
Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way
"Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way launches in April 2014, at 2,500 miles it's the world's longest defined coastal touring route. When are you coming to explore?" Posted on Youtube on the 25th of February 2014 by discoverireland.
Great drives: Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland:
"The Wild Atlantic Way is a 1,500-mile route along Ireland's rugged coast. Nick Rufford, editor of Driving, took a 2013 Range Rover Sport across the Irish Sea to try it out and find out what sort of delights can be found along the way." Posted on Youtube on the 24th of October 2013 by Sunday Times Driving.
World Book Day Quick Reads promotion at selected branches of Clare County Library
Image shows the Quick Reads promotion in Kilrush Library.
Each year the Quick Reads organisation commissions big name authors to write short books that are specifically designed to be easy to read. They are the same as mainstream books in every respect but are simply shorter and easier to tackle for adults who are less confident in their reading skills. The books are then sold through major retailers and online booksellers and are loaned from libraries. Clare County Library will have the new 2014 Quick Reads titles available to borrow from branches in Ennis, Ennistymon, Kilrush, Scariff and Shannon to coincide with World Book Day 2014. Anyone who borrows a Quick Reads title from one of these branches on Thursday 6th March, either a new title or one from previous years, will receive a delicious complementary bar of Galaxy chocolate from Galaxy, the sponsors of Quick Reads.
World Book Day Celebration in Kilrush Library
On Wednesday 5th March, Kilrush Public Library hosted an interactive art and craft session for a class of 17 fourth and fifth class primary school children. Artist Krystyna Pomeroy, who specialises in paper sculpture, instructed the children on various papier mache techniques and together they created wonderful 3D designs called 'Open a Book'. These beautiful creations are currently on display at Kilrush Public Library.
The Changing Face of Memorials in Western Ireland
O'Curry Monument, Doonaha from the Schorman Collection, Foto, Clare County Library.
As their Building of the Month for March, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage is examining the Changing Face of Memorials in Western Ireland. A study of these public memorials by Eduard Krakhmalnikov looks at how we collectively remember, how the forms of memorials have evolved since the nineteenth century and what that evolution tells us about the place of public memory within the contemporary condition. The O'Connell Monument in Ennis and the O'Curry Monument in Doonaha are two of the memorials included in the article. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage collection of photographs covering County Clare can be viewed in Foto here.
World Book Day celebrations in Clare's libraries
World Book Day is a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and (most importantly) it's a celebration of reading. In fact, it's the biggest celebration of its kind, designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and marked in over 100 countries all over the world.
This is the 17th year there's been a World Book Day, and on 6th March 2014 children of all ages will come together to appreciate reading. The main aim of World Book Day in the UK and Ireland is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading. To celebrate the day Clare County Library has added a number of events to its outreach programme for children.
Clare artists Alan Shoosmith and Krystyna Pomeroy will host workshops on book-based themes in Kilrush, Kilkee, Shannon and Ennis libraries.
Author Maria Burke is from Cork. She is a writer, radio presenter and artist. She worked as a primary school teacher for some years and her love of story telling started there. Her fantasy novel for young readers, The Ark of Dun Ruah, was published by Currach Press in November 2012 and was followed to her readers' delight by the second book in the series, Protectors of the Flame in October 2013. Maria will share her stories and bring her love of reading and now writing for children to schoolchildren in Killaloe and Scariff Libraries on the 7th of March.
Shane Casey is bio-diversity officer with Clare County Council and is also the author of Nature's Secret Adventures, a beautiful new publication for children, telling of the most amazing adventures that happen to the most ordinary creatures that live all around us. On World Book Day Shane will give two talks about his book and the animals whose adventures inspire his stories to primary school children in Miltown Malbay and Ennistymon. Clare County Library invites children from nearby schools to come along and find out all you need to know about the lives of the creatures with whom you share your garden, school grounds and local parks.
Family Reading Programme at Scariff Library
The Family Reading Programme aims to bring the tradition of reading into local crèches/playschools. It is hoped that by getting young children interested in books early in their development, reading will become a fundamental part of their lives. Scariff Public Library staff member Aileen McDonagh visits crèches/playschools in the local area once a week for a number of weeks for a story time session, and each crèche class visits the library on the final week for a fun story time party. The children are introduced to a variety of different children's picture books in a fun and colourful way and parents are welcome to attend the party at the library for the final session. The programme is free of charge.
National Tree Week 2nd - 8th March 2014
National Tree Week runs from March 2nd to 8th 2014. To find out about the trees most suited to growing in County Clare, see
Buds of the Banner: a guide to growing native trees and shrubs in Clare by Clare County Council and Rural Resource Development Ltd.
Other books about Irish trees include:
Trees of Ireland: native and naturalized by E.Charles Nelson and Wendy F. Walsh;
Meetings with remarkable trees by Thomas Pakenham;
Flora Hibernica: the wild flowers, plants and trees of Ireland by Jonathan Pilcher and Valerie Hall;
Native trees & forests of Ireland by David Hickie;
Irish trees: myths, legends & folklore by Niall Mac Coitir.
Oscar win for 12 Years a Slave
The film 12 Years a Slave has won the Best Picture Oscar, the Best Supporting Actress Award and the Best Adapted Screenplay Award at the 86th Academy Awards. Based on the 1853 memoir of the same name by Solomon Northup, the book, Twelve Years a Slave, presents a shocking first-hand account of one man's remarkable fight for freedom after 12 years of slavery. Born a free man, Northup was kidnapped and sold into slavery in pre-civil war Louisiana. This narrative reveals how Northup survived the harsh conditions of slavery, including smallpox, lashings, and an attempted hanging. His account describes the daily life of slaves in Louisiana, their diet and living conditions and the relationship between master and slave. A bestseller upon its release, the book then fell into obscurity before being rediscovered by a Louisiana historian.
SOLAS and Clare County Library launch Equal Skills...
Pictiúr - a Laureate na nÓg exhibition presented b...
An Taisce's National Spring Clean - "Clean-Up Day"...
Kilrush Community College teenagers enjoy Teen Wee...
Seamus Begley, Oisin MacDiarmada and Padraic O'Re...
Irish Dancers at Saint Patrick's Day Parade 2014 i...
Author Maria Burke visits Killaloe and Scariff lib...
Ag Ceiliúradh Seachtain na Gaeilge i Leabharlanna ...
Seán Mac Mathúna 1876-1949: Diarist and Dedicated ...
A Minute's Wait from The Rising of the Moon by Joh...
World Book Day Art Workshop with Alan Shoosmith in...
Brian Boru Puppet Show at Kilrush and Scariff Libr...
Kilfenora Céilí Band rehearses before live audienc...
World Book Day Quick Reads promotion at selected b...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


If you buy a major fall release such as Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4 or Call of Duty Ghosts for the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 with the intention of upgrading to a next-gen version, buyer beware: you won't be able to take some of your in-game progress with you.
While Sony, Microsoft, various game publishers and even some retailers have been trumpeting various upgrade deals—some of which can fetch you the next-gen version of a game for just $10 more—anyone thinking of doing this should be aware that their save files won't be shifting over, not in their entirety.
Want to turn your PS3 games into PS4 games? It's not hard. You just have to follow these steps.
Players of the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 versions of Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty Ghosts, which launch on October 29 and November 5, will be able to upgrade to next-gen versions at the launch of the PlayStation 4 (November 15) and Xbox One (November 22). And they'll see their multiplayer progress carry over. But reps for the game's publishers at EA and Activision have confirmed to Kotaku that progress in the games' single-player campaigns will not carry over. Anyone who goes for an upgrade will be starting those campaigns—admittedly not the main draw of these fall first-person-shooters—from scratch.
The single-player campaign of Assassin's Creed games is more of a draw, but save progress for the single-player of October 29's Assassin's Creed IV won't carry over either, a Ubisoft rep confirmed to Kotaku. That rep did not yet respond to a follow-up about whether multiplayer progress will carry over. If/when they do we'll let you know.
A rep for Ubisoft's Watch Dogs, which has also been featured by Sony's upgrade promotions, was not able to ascertain by the writing of this post whether the save progress in that game would carry over. Given that the PS4 version of that game will launch alongside the PS4 on November 15 and will be out for current-gen, PC and Wii U systems on November 19, it's less likely that day-one purchasers would be faced with a choice of buying a current-gen version and then pondering an upgrade. For those not getting a next-gen console at launch, however, any lack of save-transfer could be an issue. If we get word one way or the other, we'll let you know.
There is little or no precedent for cross-generational save file transfers, so the inability to move one's progress from, say, the PS3 version of ACIV to a PS4 one may seem obvious. Nevertheless, there will certainly also be those who've plunged 10 hours into the current-gen version of the game who will stand in front of a PS4 on a store shelf, size up the machine's launch-day lack of backwards compatibility, and sigh at the prospect of having to start the game all over again or keep their PS3 handy to play more of it. Can't the PS4 version be told how far in you are? It seems that it's not that simple.


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We are pleased to have received a "Customer Experience Award" in 2018 from Pinnacle Quality Insights demonstrating our center's commitment to the "Four Pillars" of our mission statement: Kindness, Compassion, Service and Excellence.
Our center has been recognized by U.S. News World Report as one of the "Best Nursing Homes" in the United States and has received the highest possible overall rating of five stars. The Best Nursing Homes 2017-2018 ratings highlight the top nursing homes out of nearly 16,000 facilities nationwide. We have achieved this honor through assessments in health inspections, level of nurse staffing and quality of care. Rankings are also based upon a rating from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services(CMS).


Julie Harris, sales consultant at the Lakes knows the place like the back of her hand. Growing up in the nearby beautiful Cotswold town of Cirencester she began with the Lakes by Yoo at its beginnings and has seen the site grow. She took some time to give us some pearls of wisdom about the Lakes and surrounding areas.
Julie: Back in 2007 when I joined The Lakes we only had a couple of show homes and a small estates office where we would all sit around a table. Over the years the lakes has grown into the most amazing private estate and has kept its natural beauty throughout. I have seen houses go up, lovely families move in and a community develop with lovely clients. The team has grown and we have fortunately kept some cool team members over the years so we have all seen the changes together. When the spa came on board I feel this was the biggest change as we were all so excited – this was the icing on the cake. Every day something new happens and we look forward to new facilities. I am looking forward to having a little shop and a nice restaurant and many more exciting new things to come!
James: What is your favourite season at the Lakes and why?
Julie: I am a winter person at heart and love nothing more than on a cold winters day to go home and snuggle up by the fire. The Lakes in the winter is stunning. A few years back we had lots of snow and the lakes froze. It was a scene out of Narnia! The woodland barn has a beautiful big fire so it was great last winter to be able to make the house cosy. When we put the Christmas tree up it looked so festive. I am slightly torn now though with Spring as it's been so pretty seeing all the trees come to life ready for a new season. All the animal's babies are pretty cute to see too.
James: You have been a part of sales from the very first house, do you have a favourite?
Julie: I think it is fair to say that there are an awful lot of properties where I have MASSIVE house envy. Each house is differently designed with such unique features. If only I could purchase one haha! All the new designs with swimming pools are rather cool. I could imagine having a lovely BBQ with a few glasses of wine surrounded by family and friends – bliss.
James: What do you think is the secret recipe that makes the Lakes such a special place.
James: You also live in the Cotswolds, what is your favourite place to visit?
James: A little birdie tells me you're quite the dancer at the Lakes Xmas party, what is your favourite song to dance to?
Julie: OK so I probably do indulge with a little backward dancing once a year. After a few sneaky glasses my legs like to try and dance as to songs…… I don't know, normally the boss takes over the sound system and some weird tunes get belted out…..personally I would rather a bit of cheesy tunes to dance too but either way we all end up on the dance floor having fun!


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (June 21, 2013)
As I've said, I don't like Sofia Coppola movies. And I think I liked "The Virgin Suicides" not because of her but in spite of her. Perhaps because the films feels nothing like the rest of her work it's my pick for the "F.I.L.M. of the Week."
I'm certainly glad I held out on watching the film until I completed Jeffrey Eugenides' novel, the source text for the film. "The Virgin Suicides" is a richly observed tale of five sisters who each take their own lives over the course of a single year. But it's not from their point of view; it's told from the perspective of their neighbors, observing their lives from a cool distance. Specifically, it's from the point of view of some young boys in the neighborhood who do not just watch – they peer, gaze, and spy.
Suicide becomes an excellent metaphor for the breakdown of community in modern America, a disease that grows when we place each other under a microscope. It's what happens when we treat the people in our lives as objects of fascination, not people. Coppola bottles up this frustration with the suburban social dynamic and regurgitates it on screen with Eugenides' vision totally intact.
She ultimately cannot compete with all the layers and detail of a novel, but film has never been a medium easily able to indulge in tangents and side stories. Coppola aims to get at the feeling and mood of "The Virgin Suicides," and she succeeds at communicating that eerie melancholy. While we get to know the tragedy of the Lisbon sisters, we never really know anybody. To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, we are both within and without of the story.
It turns out Sofia Coppola is actually a great narrative filmmaker, provided that narrative originally belonged to someone else. Though "The Bling Ring" is adapted from a magazine article, so we will see if the streak continues. But even if it doesn't, "The Virgin Suicides" captures the improbable lightning of a novel in a succinct and memorable bottle of a film.
« REVIEW: Somewhere REVIEW: What Maisie Knew »
Tags: F.I.L.M. of the Week, James Woods, Josh Hartnett, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Sofia Coppola, The Virgin Suicides
ninvoid99 (22:39:03) :
I think this film remains her most accessible work to date as it's got that air of intrigue as well as the fact that it explores the lives of boys and girls yearning to connect. Still, I think it was more of a precursor of what's to come though from a more esoteric approach.
CMrok93 (00:04:53) :
This one still haunts me a bit, even to this day. I didn't love it, but I still think about now and then, and some details and ideas play out in my mind. If I were to watch it now, I'd probably give it around a 9 of some sorts. Nice choice!
vinnieh (06:49:05) :
Great post, that soundtrack is so haunting.


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text:
Slain journalist honored with Tully Award for Free Speech
Daphne Caruana Galizia spent her career exposing government corruption and organized crime in Malta.
Story by Jishnu Nair
Published: April 5, 2018 | Updated: April 7th, 2018 at 12:25 pm
Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated by a car bomb as she left for work on October 16, 2017.
In the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium on Tuesday night, her husband, Peter, and sons, Matthew and Paul, accepted the Tully Award for Free Speech in front of the Syracuse University community. The award commemorates a journalist who displays courage in the face of a free speech threat. Previous winners have hailed from outlets such as the Washington Post and The Guardian.
Galizia, however, did not have the experience of working for a famous news outlet. When she started writing, Malta only had two print newspapers. Additionally, the country still does not have a recognized school of journalism. Galizia received most of her training in anthropology and archaeology, which she translated into her field of data journalism.
"The sad thing is the best protection she could have gotten is if her work was followed up on"
Paul Caruana Galizia
None of those disadvantages stopped Caruana Galizia. She wrote for The Sunday Times of Malta and The Malta Independent. In addition, she maintained an online blog, named Running Commentary
When Roy Gutterman, director of the Tully Center for Free Speech and associate professor at Newhouse, asked her family to describe her, the answer was short.
"She was a force of nature," said Peter Caruana Galizia, a lawyer in Malta's capital, Valetta. "When she wrote her first column for her newspaper, the guy she interviewed was very taken aback because she was very direct, which wasn't done back then. And when the column came out he was not very happy. But she didn't hide."
There was a lot to hide from. Throughout her career, Caruana Galizia faced threats against herself and her family. She was harassed in the streets and her image was attacked by members of the Maltese government, who used parliamentary privilege to slander her.
According to Peter, his wife faced over 60 libel suits during her career, including one notable case where she received a suit for every offending sentence she wrote in one piece. The threats affected her three sons as they grew up, as all three believed such harassment was normal.
"We came home one day and one of our dogs was dead on the porch with its throat slit," said Matthew Caruana Galizia, a data journalist with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. "The side of our house was burned as well. One time, a mayor from the governing party saw her and my father walking in the street and raised a mob to chase them. They had to hide in a building to be safe."
None of that held Caruana Galizia back, though. She continued to write about and investigate multiple instances of corruption in government. This culminated in her work based on the Panama Papers, which was picked up by outlets around the world.
The brothers rejected the claim that cameras or security measures would have helped save their mother. The family would not have wanted nor could have afforded the type of security measures that could have physically protected her.
"The sad thing is the best protection she could have gotten is if her work was followed up on," said Paul Caruana Galizia, who is currently an economist in London. "Instead, the police force and government members she investigated walked free for a long time. It frustrated her."
Photo by Jerald Raymond Pierce
"To do what needed to be done, you need a special combination of courage and tenacity that only a few people have. My wife was one of them."
– Peter Caruana Galizia
Frustration was a common theme in Caruana Galizia's reporting career. Before she broke into the scene, it was common practice for reporters to hide their names. Caruana Galizia had to become a pioneer in a country that didn't want her innovations, and that burden took its toll.
"She was often frustrated that she was the only one asking these questions and finding answers," Matthew remembered. "It was at a point where she was almost the only opposition voice to the corruption that was happening in the government and she was worried. She tried helping and training journalists, working with them on their stories, but she was still the only one making a real impact."
"To do what needed to be done, you need a special combination of courage and tenacity that only a few people have. My wife was one of them," Peter said. "Her death set democracy in Malta back by many decades."
Nevertheless, there was some improvement amongst Malta's journalists. Following Caruana Galizia's reporting, many reporters started using their own names in print, and women entered the previously male-dominated industry. Malta also began establishing more media outlets, with four newspapers in English and in Maltese being set up since the 1980s. Most significantly, an online investigative platform, The Shift News, was founded in 2017 following Caruana Galizia's death.
The assassination itself, however, sent a message of fear to Maltese citizens, who saw Caruana Galizia as their voice against injustice. The suddenness of the event even shocked her own family, who thought that after surviving more than 30 years of persecution, they might be safe.
"We thought, you know, in 2017, that we might be past all this," Paul said.
Matthew was in the family house during the bombing and still vividly remembers the events of that day.
"She walked out the door to the car, and the next thing I remembered there was the sound of a huge explosion in the street," Matthew said. "I knew immediately that it was a car bomb and I ran outside and down the road. At first, I was confused because there was fire everywhere. The grass and the road itself were on fire. Then I saw a huge fireball, and I realized that was the car."
Reactions to Caruana Galizia's death from around the world were of shock and condemnation. President Antonio Tajani of the European Parliament called the assassination "a tragic example of a journalist who sacrificed her life to seek out the truth," while other international bodies such as the European Commission also vocally condemned the perpetrators.
In Malta, vigils were held in Caruana Galizia's hometown of Sliema and in Valletta, and trees were planted in her name, as well as the San Anton School where the Caruana Galizia siblings, including Andrew, studied. Caruana Galizia's daily and weekly columns were published as blanks to honor her.
Reactions from the Maltese government, however, were not as universally well-received. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and opposition party leader Adrian Delia, both figures who were investigated by Caruana Galizia, released their own vocal condemnations. An investigation into the incident by the Maltese Police Force, aided by the FBI, the Dutch police, and Europol, resulted in three men being charged for the assassination.
The family, however, believes the results of the investigation are a sham to cover for the actions of a different actor.
"Our mother never investigated or wrote about the men who were arrested," Matthew said. "And it takes more than three men to plan a car bombing, especially of a high-profile figure. With these arrests, the Maltese government is trying to close the case and move on, so that she can be forgotten."
The government has also taken an active role in keeping the Caruana Galizia family in the dark about Daphne's murder. Caruana Galizia was an outspoken critic of the Maltese Police Force during her career and distrust of the police means little evidence will reach the authorities.
"Our mother was arrested multiple times by the police, she had little reason to trust them," Paul said.
International journalists can do their part in aiding the investigation, according to Matthew.
"Look into the networks between countries that allow actors like this to move money and materials," Matthew said. "Finding the networks will help find the people behind our mother's murder."
After speaking to Gutterman, the family took questions from the audience. One student asked what kept the family motivated to keep working, and what made a good journalist.
"Outrage keeps me motivated," Matthew said. "You must never become cynical, you need that outrage to keep fighting for what is right."
Jishnu Nair
http://jishnews.wordpress.com


text:
Q: Localization Not Working in Xamarin Android I had recently added localization to my Android app which is working properly when the package format is apk. However, after changing the package format to aab and releasing to Google Play store, the localization stops working. Directly deploying to a phone with release configuration and aab package format also results in localization not working after trying to change language.
The app behaves as if there are not resource folders with multi-language translations. To be clear I don't think the fault is in my code since it is working when package format is apk. I have followed the steps in https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/xamarin/android/app-fundamentals/localization
Visual Studio Version 16.11.3

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Former Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah and a group of more than a dozen people from Naples will be in Tampa Thursday, to join a more than 200-person protest of changes they fear could weaken standards for keeping Florida's water clean.
Former Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah and a group of more than a dozen people from Naples will be in Tampa Thursday, to join a more than 200-person protest of changes they fear could weaken standards for keeping Florida's water clean.
This is a battle over who sets the standards meant to keep pollutants like sewage and fertilizers out of our waterways.
Our local protestors argue water quality is already low enough: red tide outbreaks, worsened by pollution, bring thousands of dead fish to our beaches, shut down commercial shellfishing (clamming) on Pine Island, and forced the cancellation of a kid's fishing tournament on Sanibel Island last year.
Red tide occurs naturally, it is not caused by pollution, but some scientists and environmentalists say fertilizers and other pollutants make the harmful algae worse.
Protestors plan to argue the state (Florida DEP) is not willing to do the job right-- their standards are lower than the US EPA. Therefore, more than five environmental groups are gathering today to say to the EPA--please don't hand over more control of water quality standards to our state.


Early morning started Head high with bigger sets, super clean but then offshore winds blew it down to about chest to shoulder high. The shape wasn't affected and the surf continued to fire for that size. It looks like the swell will hold a chest high size into tomorrow and then we might see yet another increase. Thanks for checking us out and be sure to check our facebook fan page to see even more photos from our North End photographer Matt Vaughan.


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Beyond the Love of Strength: Former USA Olympic Team Chiropractor, Dr. Steven Horwitz's athletic journey and remarkable recovery story
By Adrienne Harvey, SrPCC, RKC-II, CK-FMS
Dragon Door: How did you originally become interested in fitness, strength training, and bodybuilding?
Dr. Steven Horwitz: My original interest in fitness came from watching ABC's Wide World of Sports back in the day. Ron Lyle was a boxer who did hundreds and hundreds of push ups and sit ups, unfortunately while in prison. I was just about to start junior high school when I saw the show, but wondered how many I could do. I was a lean active kid and found that I could knock out about 30 push ups. I decided that day that I wanted to get to 100, I may still have the sheet of paper where I kept track, and tried to add one a day. Through the course of several months I got to 100. Then I started doing sit ups and put up one of those old fashioned pull up bars that screws into the door jamb. That was my start!
Dragon Door: Did this early interest influence your decision to become a Doctor of Chiropractic?
Dr. Steven Horwitz: When I was in college I was still into fitness, but did the "guy weightlifting thing." Those were the days of no leg training, so I didn't learn to squat or deadlift—it was more upper body strength training, "pretty boy strength training" I'll call it. At Chiropractic school I discovered real weightlifting and made a lot of friends who were hardcore lifters. Tom Deters, who ended up running Muscle and Fitness magazine for a decade and a half, Victor Poletajev, a champion powerlifter who ripped his pec trying to bench 600lbs right before beginning Chiropractic school, and Neil Fried, a New Jersey state champion powerlifter who was my roommate. So, I learned how to really lift which was a great experience.
I also did some bodybuilding and won my height class in the 1986 AAU Collegiate Mr. America. The pictures are actually in Muscular Development magazine in 1986. It was a blast. I went from body building to powerlifting, met some great people, and got some great advice. When I graduated from Chiropractic school later in 1986, I realized that knowing how to train someone really helped when treating an injury, so I got my Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist certification from the NCSA in 1988. This was cutting edge back at that time, but I thought it made sense to know about squatting, benching, and sprinting—the things that athletes do—if I was going treat injuries. People were either doctors or strength coaches, no one was both. Now it happens at higher levels as a standard of care for a select few, but it didn't exist back then.
Dragon Door: Did this approach lead to working with the USA Olympic Team in 1996?
Dr. Steven Horwitz: I had a very fortunate start. I moved to Maryland, started a practice, and really wanted to become the sports guy in my area. I ended up working with George Mason University. At the time, they had one of the best track and field programs in the country. The head athletic trainer was very open to chiropractic and welcomed me—he's still one of my best friends. The coach was also behind what we were doing because George Mason had worked with chiropractors at different track meets but hadn't found one who meshed with the program. At the time, the team physician, an orthopedic surgeon, wasn't a very open guy, but the coach really saw the benefits of chiropractic. I love telling this story… After I'd worked for part of a season, the coach said that we needed to meet with the orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Petrone. Coach Cook said, "During this 15-20 minute meeting, Dr. Petrone will tell you all the things you cannot do. Just bite your tongue and when he is finished just say 'yes, Dr. Petrone.'" After the meeting, Coach Cook said, "Now we can do whatever the 'blank-blank' we want." Sure enough that's exactly how it happened.
We ended up having a great relationship, and the orthopedic surgeon started referring patients to me, because I kept standard notes—he didn't know that a chiropractor was capable of that! Yes, we are doctors and take notes like we're supposed to! And it worked out wonderfully. Even now, 30 years later, it's very rare to have that kind of experience when everybody's on the same page—either with fitness clients, athletic groups or teams.
That's what led me to go to the Olympic Games. The trainer at George Mason, Frank Novakoski, sent in his application to the US Olympic Committee. They have a volunteer sports medicine program and he had been accepted. He was then invited to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. If they like what you do at the training center, then you'll be invited back. He came back from his experience at the Olympic Training Center in 1992 and asked me if I wanted an application. I filled out the application thinking I would never hear a word from them. But, two years later I got a call at my office from the United States Olympic Committee. They called to verify that they had my correct demographic information and sure enough, several weeks later I got the letter inviting me to the Olympic Training Center for 15 days in 1994.
God was looking over my shoulder, because the very first athlete I worked on was someone I'd worked on at the Mobil 1 Track and Field Invitational. So, on the first day, when all of the invitee volunteers hadn't gotten to know each other yet, the first athlete walks in saying, "I remember you!" This was great because at the time athletic trainers were skeptical about Chiropractic. It felt like it was meant to be for me. Everything went really well that week, the sports medicine team had a great relationship, and my lifting and running experience was a huge help when treating the athletes.
Then I got the big letter inviting me to be on the staff for the 1996 US Olympic Team. When I called Frank to tell him I got "the letter" he had just received his too! So, we both went to the Olympic Games together and it was unbelievable!
Dragon Door: That must have been an amazing experience! Did you notice any patterns in what the athletes needed from you?
Dr. Steven Horwitz: I was fortunate to be one of the busiest guys there because the athletes all wanted hands-on care. It showed me that the best athletes, in any discipline, all have bodywork needs. We had about 40 people on the medical staff—a dozen MDs then me, and about 30 athletic trainers, a few of whom were also physical therapists. Some of the MDs came over to learn some of the hands-on techniques because they were just standing around doing nothing! The best thing I can share from the experience is to throw away the silly initials after your name, because it's all about the athlete. It doesn't matter if you're a DC, an ATC, MD, DO, PT, ABCDEFG—it only matters that you can help the athlete. The Olympic Medical Team is made up of many really smart, motivated people collaborating in the interest of the athlete. It was the coolest month of my professional life.
This is also related to why I love the book Strong Medicine. It considers the complete picture along with all of the facets. It's not just about one thing—kettlebells, lifting technique, workout programming, nutrition, supplementation—it's about how everything is put together. That's what really interests me.
Dragon Door: When did you first attend an RKC Workshop?
Dr. Steven Horwitz: When I was practicing in Maryland, my office was very close to the United States Secret Service James J. Rowley Training Center. I am very proud to say that my wife is a former United States Secret Service Agent, and so I treated many of the instructors from the center. One day in 2003, they brought over this "cannonball thing with a handle." I had only read about kettlebells but was excited about it, so they brought a 16kg one to my office. Around that same time, Pavel (who had come to the academy many times) was scheduled to come again and they invited me to spend the day. I was in my early 40s, so was pretty intimidating to train with Pavel, Steve Maxwell, and a bunch of young Secret Service Agents! It was just an awesome day and I fell in love with kettlebells.
I went to the RKC for the first time in 2007, and I did not succeed in passing. We had just adopted a little boy and I never should have gone out. I also had some physical challenges at the time. For my weight back then, I had to do 64 snatches with only one hand switch. And on the very first day, on that 61st snatch, the kettlebell flew out of my hand. I had no energy left and went home after that first day. Even though my ego was very badly damaged, I knew I needed to go home and plan for another day. But that day turned into years—just last year I finally got my RKC! It took me seven years, but I got it!
Dragon Door: Where did you do your RKC last year?
Dr. Steven Horwitz: Right here in Rockwall, Texas. We moved here from Maryland in 2013. I was very fortunate to meet Paul Britt, who is an awesome guy and RKC team leader. We were fast friends, so I took the RKC out here.
Dragon Door: Before our interview, you sent me a number of links about a very major surgery you had and how you recovered from it in record time. Can you tell us more about what happened?
Dr. Steven Horwitz: I have achalasia, which is a rare auto immune disease of the esophagus—the muscular tube that propels food towards the stomach. There are three muscular waves of motion that move the food down, and at the end of the esophagus there's a sphincter muscle that stays shut so that the gastric acids from the stomach don't come up, but it automatically opens to allow food down. The swallowing process is very neurologically and hormonally complicated, and achalasia basically causes a destruction of that process. The esophagus loses the ability to propel the food down, and the sphincter muscle stays shut, so food backs up. It's very painful, uncomfortable, and in the end stages the food just sits there causing the esophagus to enlarge while the old food ferments. It's a little gross like a blocked up drain. Since the esophagus is close to the heart, the enlarged esophagus can push on the heart and cause recurrent bouts of atrial fibrillation which I unfortunately experienced.
I ended up needing an esophagectomy, a surgery where they literally cut the esophagus out, pull it from between the ribs, and then pull the top of the stomach up to fashion a new tube. It's a very technically demanding surgery. When I talk to any surgeon and tell them that I've had an esophagectomy, they get very pale and their pupils dilate. Most people never really recover from it, and that's why I'm so passionate about all of this. At the time of the surgery, my son was three and I was a pretty decent lifter. Before the surgery, I trained myself up like you wouldn't believe. I was able to do everything from the 100 rep in 5 minutes snatch test to rowing hard for 70 minutes on an ergometer before the surgery. I was in great shape but was told that I would never do it again after the surgery. That answer didn't work for me.
So, I contacted people like Stewart McGill and asked about the valsalva maneuver and weightlifting during recovery. Usually, the only advice with regard to physical activity after surgery is not to lift more than 5lb for x number of weeks. Giving the same advice to an 80-year-old woman and a competitive weightlifter didn't seem realistic to me. Dr. McGill was kind enough to speak with me, along with Mauro Di Pasquale, M.D., a physician in Canada who was also a world champion weightlifter, and many other very smart people.
I also arranged to have intravenous vitamin C in the hospital. My wife and I flew all around the country meeting surgeons. Esophagectomies are already rare, and most are performed for esophageal cancer, not for achalasia. Unfortunately, all the experts who we consulted agreed that I needed one. Things became even more complicated because each expert recommended a different surgical approach! Thankfully I had enough knowledge to research, then decide how I wanted to do it. I chose the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and surgeon Dr. Luketich who was the head of cardiothoracic surgery. I politely but firmly told him that I wanted to have intravenous vitamin C and that it was not negotiable. He said that it wouldn't bother his surgery, so he'd do it. I was shocked because I've been telling patients about IV vitamin C for 15 years and only one of my patients who needed orthopedic surgery found a surgeon who agreed to do it. I'd had a previous esophageal surgery and had had intravenous vitamin C. I didn't need any pain medication after it and my recovery was just unbelievably fast. I also arranged to have acupuncture in the hospital.
While some hospitals also have integrative medical centers with MDs, acupuncturists, maybe chiropractors, massage therapists, and nutrition, you must ask if the integrative medical center is actually integrated into the hospital system. In 2010, the integrative medical center was integrated into itself, but not yet with the hospital system. When the acupuncturist came to my hospital bed, he had never before done acupuncture on a hospitalized patient!
So the nurses thought I was insane, since all they saw on a chart was a 50-year-old man getting an esophagectomy. I was supposed to be in the hospital for a minimum of 10 days and I told them that I would be out of there in 5 days. I'd lost a lot of blood because it's a big surgery and they discovered that the surgeon who operated on me in 2006 left plastic clips in my esophagus! This slowed the removal of my esophagus during the esophagectomy and caused additional blood loss.
I was up and walking after being in the ICU for about 24 hours even though I had every tube on the planet sticking out of me. I told the nurses that human beings are supposed to walk and the only way I was getting out of there was walking—and I was out of there in 5 days!
Dragon Door: What are the benefits of intravenous vitamin C?
Dr. Steven Horwitz: It's amazing, safe, and it's so restorative. One of the biggest issues in any surgery is the risk of pneumonia—if you want to take down pneumonia risk, then use IV vitamin C! The medical community thinks that's crazy. Even though my surgeon was the head of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, he still had to go to battle with the pharmacy at his own hospital to get me IV vitamin C. Even though every other drug they were giving me could kill me, they were so concerned about vitamin C that I had to sign another release. But, I couldn't afford to be bashful about it—it's my life and I have a beautiful wife and young kid and I'm coming back. If I was the czar of surgery, whether you were having a wisdom tooth removed, an esophagectomy or anything in-between, you'd get intravenous vitamin C. It costs next to nothing, it can't hurt you, and it's like a miracle.
Now you can start to understand why I am so excited to be part of the Strong Medicine community. People can be so empowered by the training we offer and the nutritional advice—it's lifestyle, and it's so powerful.
Dragon Door: What else did you do after your surgery to recover?
Dr. Steven Horwitz: I've also gone Paleo/Paleo-autoimmune. I did a ton of research before the surgery because I wanted to do everything in my power to recover. I also used PubMed.gov to get abstracts of medical studies and specific research on esophagectomies, and achalasia. Since PubMed.gov includes the email addresses of the study authors, I emailed about a dozen researchers and received nine responses—which was amazing. I wrote to them like a doctor would, including a concise review of my history. They responded because I was a rare case.
I've even written a book on achalasia called Living With Achalasia with this functional medicine approach. All of this is really important because it's not about just one magic food, supplement, or exercise. It's not just one great night of sleep or one stress reduction technique; it's all of these things together. Thirty years ago, if I knew what I know now, I believe there would be zero chance that I would have needed the esophagectomy, I think I could have totally controlled this.
Strong Medicine should really be called Strong Health, Strong Lifestyle! I believe that Dr. Hardy used the term "medicine" not to reference its current definition (the science or practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease), but its original definition of service and healing. We shouldn't just think about disease care, we want to make changes before something becomes a disease. For example, diabetes is defined by a fasting blood glucose of about 126 and hemoglobin A1C above 6.5. And now there is "pre-diabetes" with numbers of 100-124 and 5.7-6.4. But what if someone's blood glucose is running 97 all the time with A1C at 5.5? Instead of calling it pre-diabetes, we should be calling it a process gone awry and help the patient make changes. It's like how new cars have tire pressure sensors which indicate when the pressure is a little low so you can top it off. In medicine we wait until there's a "flat tire" and over the time it takes to become flat you've not only lost the tire, but you've probably ruined an axle. In functional medicine we notice that the tire pressure has dropped a point or two and simply top it off! What a different thought process!
In Chiropractic school we called it "dis-ease" and try to identify the process before it gets bad enough to be called a disease. It's similar to what we do in the kettlebell world with Functional Movement Screens—we make sure to try and clean up the movement patterns before having someone do 100 reps with a blown shoulder, hip, etc. No one does an exercise perfectly the first time, but we let the person do it a little bit and we give them a little more correction. Over time we just keep perfecting that technique.
At the Purposefully Primitive Strength Seminar with Marty Gallagher and Kirk Karwoski, it was powerful to hear Kirk, a world champion, say "I gotta work on my squatting technique."
You can't stop learning—and there are so many resources. Over the past decade the communities—rehab, medical, lifting—have really meshed and now there are even MDs, DOs, and DCs who have gone to RKC and PCC workshops. Hopefully books like Strong Medicine will continue to bring all these communities together. Whether I learned it from the kettlebell community, the Kavadlo brothers or the powerlifting community, it's all really cool. All the things we learned and broke down this past weekend at the PCC are also awesome for rehab.
Dragon Door: What brought you to the PCC?
Dr. Steven Horwitz: Fun. And how cool is it that at almost 55, they taught me how to do a clutch flag? Now I can go to the park with my son and do a clutch flag! First of all, I'm a 55 year old with an 8 year old, and I want to be able to play with my kid!
Dragon Door: Earlier you'd mentioned rehab possibilities with the progressions taught at the PCC, which moves did you feel were especially effective or useful?
Dr. Steven Horwitz: For injury care and sports injury prevention, we have to go to the basics. Just yesterday I worked with two college kids—both D1 football players with a shot at the NFL. But these two tip-top players couldn't squat! After I put one player through the FMS, he put a 45lb bar on his back but couldn't squat while keeping his feet flat on the ground—even with his toes out like a duck. He said he squats this way with 600lbs, and I told him that his squat is hurting him and it's no wonder he's had hip pain since high school. It's very important to learn the basic movement patterns. Whether you're an FMS fan or not, you've got to have some kind of movement plan. But for crying out loud, you better be able to squat down!
In Western Civilization, we put shoes on kids, and don't have to squat to go to the bathroom, so our movement patterns are terrible. Children in 1st grade don't even know how to run because they're wearing thick shoes, haven't learned how to use their feet, and their shoulder mobility stinks because they've been sitting too much. They can't even hang on a bar for 10 seconds!
The basics are so important. My son is eight and we don't "train", but he can deadlift a kettlebell, jump off of a few steps and land in a good squat. At the first day of soccer practice, my son was the only kid on the team who could skip! And while I never played soccer, and am no expert with soccer skills, I can teach how to sprint, to stop, start, land, jump and move laterally. While some of the other kids can kick the soccer ball well, they won't have the chance to, because my kids will beat them to the ball every time. We need to teach kids how to run, they have a hard time coordinating their opposite arms and legs—it's neurological development. They need to crawl and roll on the ground. They need to learn that when the left knee comes up, the right arm comes forward. They need to learn that crisscross pattern and gain the brain development that comes with it. The function of the brain is really to guide movement.
Dragon Door: What goals are you working towards right now?
Dr. Steven Horwitz: I want to bring the complete picture to as many people as I can. I want to bring it to the achalasia community, as they need a lot of help, especially in nutrition. I am also really excited to work with our local children's soccer league. I'm now on the board and have mentioned the importance of movement patterns. The new league president brought the idea to our town's other sports leagues, and they're all really jazzed about it.
As of August, I have had the privilege of volunteering at the Adaptive Training Foundation here in Dallas. It was started by Clint Bruce, a former Navy SEAL and run by David Vobora, former NFL linebacker. Their mission, "To restore hope through movement to those with physical impairments." Bringing my skillset to this group of amazing men and women is so rewarding!
There are so many great and knowledgeable people in our community. We need to bring kettlebells, calisthenics, nutrition, and lifestyle to more and more people. The Health and Strength Conference created a beautiful foundation where all these great ideas from smart minds came together. I want to keep learning and stay physically active. I don't practice Chiropractic full time anymore, but I don't want to stop practicing, especially when I see two young guys like the D1 athletes who came in yesterday. It's so frustrating because as good as they are, they could be so much better. Hopefully that's what I can bring to them. We need to bring good movement patterns into play and sports practices for boys and girls. I love working with the college and pro athletes, but the smile on a kid's face is priceless.
Dr. Steven Horwitz, DC, CCSP, CSCS, CKTP, RKC, PCC practices at DallasSportsAcademy.com. He can be contacted by email drstevenhorwitz@gmail.com or follow him on Facebook facebook.com/steven.horwitzdc and Twitter: twitter.com/DrHorwitz
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Commentary on Psalm 32
Jerome Creach | 0 Comments
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Psalm 32 is one of the six psalms the church traditionally identified for the rite of penance and to help model prayers of confession (the others are Psalms 6; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143).
Therefore, the psalm is quite appropriate for use on the first Sunday of Lent.1
As with many of the so-called penitential psalms, however, Psalm 32 does not offer confession of sin though confession and penance are primary themes. The psalm does not so much make confession as it teaches why confession is crucial, how to make it, and the nature and extent of its benefits. It teaches these lessons by means of a prayer of thanksgiving for healing (verses 3-5).
The psalm begins with a double beatitude that declares "happy" those who know God's forgiveness (verses. 1-2). This contributes to a major theme in the Psalms and particularly in Book I of the Psalter in which the word "happy" (Hebrew ?ashrê) frames the section (see Psalms 1:1; 2:12; 40:1).2 The translation "happy" may be misleading given the modern understanding of this word. Happiness here refers to the joy and contentment of depending on God. Thus, some translations prefer the more traditional "blessed." The word "happy," however, gives the preacher opportunity to redefine this word for the congregation. For those who seek God's forgiveness, the experience of divine pardon and being reconciled with God are the primary marks of "happiness."
Verses 1-2 include four poetic lines. The first three emphasize the lord as forgiving agent, with the third making a direct statement: "Happy are those to whom the lord imputes no iniquity" (verse 2a). The fourth line, however, identifies the person's stance before God as a source of happiness: "in whose spirit there is no deceit" (verse 2b). Thus, the focus on confession of sin fits with the Psalter's central concern for dependence on God in that confession is part of the humility necessary to live rightly before God.
In verses 3-5 the psalmist recalls sickness and the prayer offered to God for relief. The prayer the psalm reports implies that God caused the bodily ailment because of the psalmist's sinfulness ("your hand was heavy upon me," verse 4a). Healing came after confession (verse 5a) as the result of forgiveness (verse 5b). The remainder of the psalm uses this experience to instruct others in how to stand before God: "let all who are faithful offer prayer" (verse 6); "do not be like a horse or a mule" (verse 9); "be glad in the lord and rejoice, O righteous" (verse 11).
It is tempting to read verses 3-5 as an expression of a narrow retribution theology. According to this theology, God strikes sinners with bodily ailments because of their misdeeds. A close reading of the entire psalm, however, requires a more nuanced understanding of sin, sickness, and confession.
Prayer is characteristic of the faithful and is a primary sign of their dependence on God; by calling on God, they find in God a "hiding place" in time of trouble (verses 6-7). This is the nature of those the psalm calls "righteous" and "upright" (verse 11). In other psalms the psalmist complains that the wicked, who do not call out to God, are sound of flesh (Psalm 73:4, "their bodies are sound and sleek"). To be sure, the psalmist insists this will not always be the case (Psalm 73:17-20). But at present the wicked seem unaffected by God's judgment because they simply give it no weight.
Therefore, Psalm 32 suggests that physical infirmity is not so much God's punishment of sin as it is the natural result of a sick spirit, and only those aware of that inner imbalance feel the accompanying physical malady. So ironically it is the righteous who suffer from sin because they are aware of God's judgment, while the wicked simply ignore it. The righteous also confess their sins precisely because they feel the authority of God on their lives and thus find healing and wholeness.
Verses 6-7 continue to address to God by drawing the psalmist's experience of confession together with that of all the faithful. NRSV interprets the verb in verse 6 as a jussive that expresses a wish for all people of faith to offer prayer (verse 6). Equally plausible is that the verb simply states the typical practice of the pious.
The word for "faithful" (hasidîm) in the Psalter has the connotation of "pious ones" or "saints" (Psalms 30:5; 31:24; 37:28; 85:9; 149:1, 5). Whether a wish or a statement of the current state of affairs, the psalm makes clear that the faithful are those who pray and confess their sins. As Calvin says, they "betake themselves to prayer, which is the true sacrifice of faith."3 The psalmist reinforces this connection with assurance that God is a "hiding place" (see similar references to God as "refuge" as in Psalm 2:12). God preserves the psalmist from trouble and surrounds him with joy (verse 7).
In the final portion of the psalm (verses 8-11) the psalmist instructs the audience directly in the benefits of prayer and confession: "do not be like a horse or a mule" (verse 9); "be glad in the lord," "rejoice," "shout for joy" (verse 11). Verse 10 gives the primary motivation: "Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the lord."
It may not be coincidence that the word meaning "I will instruct" (?askil) in verse 8 comes from the same root as the label for the psalm, "a maskil." What is certain is the psalm as a whole has this purpose. The primary lesson is that repentance and a contrite heart are crucial for the life of faith and are characteristic of the righteous (see also. Psalm 51:17 [19]).
1 See Clare Costley King'oo, Miserere Mei: The Penitential Psalms in Late Medieval and Early Modern England (Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 2012)
2 J. Clinton McCann, Jr., "The Shape of Book I of the Psalter and the Shape of Human Happiness," in The Book of Psalms: Composition and Reception (eds. Peter W. Flint and Patrick D. Miller, Jr.; Leiden: Brill, 2005), pp. 340-48.
3 John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms, vol. 2 (trans. James Anderson; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1963), p. 532.
First Sunday in Lent
Jerome Creach
Robert C. Holland Professor of Old Testament
Pittsburgh, Penn.
1 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. ...
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Discussion on Revised Common Lectionary texts for First Sunday in Lent (Mar. 5, 2017): (Gospel) Matthew 4:1-11, 16-21; (1st Reading) Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Psalm 32; (2nd Reading) Romans 5:12-19. Recorded at Luther Seminary, Saint Paul, Minn., for WorkingPreacher.org.
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Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
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