Though often at odds in the past, Greece and Turkey share a bond revealed not only in food or language but also in music celebrated on both sides of the Aegean Sea.
Turks and Greeks have preserved many similarities when it comes to music, from style to instruments and lyrics.
Cooperation between Turkish and Greek singers has been a stalwart and singers and musicians from both countries are known on both sides of the Aegean Sea.
Ömer Faruk Tekbilek, a Turkish multi-instrumentalist and composer who has worked with Greek musicians in the past, performed in Athens in June while a concert on the island of Lesbos showcased dervishes of the Mevlevi Order of Konya.
Asia Minor and Istanbul music – the kind played by motley bands featuring violins, lyres, and other stringed instruments such as baglamas, outis, saz, santouris, bouzoukis and clarinets – are especially prevalent in both countries.
"The songs found in both musical traditions mainly come from the region of Marmara and they are popular folk songs with lyrics in both languages, some of which were recorded in Greece from the late 1920s until the Second World War," according to Nikos Andrikos, from the musicology department of Ionian University and research associate at the Technological Educational Institute of Traditional Music in Arta.
I've spent several years trying to define and or describe Turkey and its people on this blog – and now I feel I'm ready to tackle one of the world's really big questions. What is this 'democracy' thing that people keep talking about?
William J Clinton to the contrary, it was the USA's 16th President Abraham Lincoln, in his Gettysburg Address of 1863, who asserted that 750,000 of his citizens would die in the Civil War 'that government of the people, by the people for the people shall not perish from the earth.' Well, he didn't know the exact figure at that stage, of course, but he must have known it would be a lot. He was, we assume, expressing his support for a democratic system of government, despite the fact that the vast bulk of the US population in those days was not eligible to cast a vote.
Lambs to the slaughter – so what's changed?
The word 'democracy' has a long history, yet as a concept, it has only relatively recently become widely accepted as a desirable goal, and among political leaders, tends to be more honoured in the breach than the observance. Encyclopedia entries and tourist brochures describing the modern nation of Greece often refer to that land as the cradle of democracy. In truth, however, the much vaunted Athenian system of Cleisthenes lasted a mere two hundred years, more than two and a half millennia ago – and at best allowed for the participation of perhaps twenty percent of the population.
Subsequently, there was not even self-government in that small corner of the Mediterranean until the 19th century when the Great Powers of Europe wrested it from the Ottoman Empire. Even then, self-government is a misleading term, given that said Great Powers installed, first a German, then a Danish Prince on the throne of the kingdom they had created. The foreign-imposed monarchy lasted, on and off, until 1967 when it was finally deposed by a military coup, whose generals ruled the country with an iron fist until 1974. So it seems democracy as a political system has an uncertain, questionable pedigree at best.
Still, it's a worthy aim, for all that. However, you can understand that some might view it with cynicism. Check any collection of quotationson the subject: 'The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.' (Winston Churchill); 'The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting.' (Charles Bukowski).
Apart from the cynics, much of the other wisdom has to do with the fragility of the concept when put into practice, and its vulnerability to abuse and manipulation: 'Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.' (Franklin D. Roosevelt); 'A healthy democracy requires a decent society; it requires that we are honorable, generous, tolerant and respectful.' (Charles W. Pickering). Education of the masses is seen as an indispensable component, as is constant vigilance, by which we may understand, an effective system of checks and balances – not to mention a need for honest folks in high places, and probably compulsory polygraph testing for lying and hypocrisy, especially in the case of high court judges.
The big problem is that in any country or institution, the ruling elite is always understandably reluctant to surrender its grasp on power. As they are forced to give up concessions to populist reformers – abolition of slavery, universal suffrage (especially for the non-wealthy, and for women), an open press, the secret ballot, objective supervision of vote-counting and so on – they are obliged to find more subtle ways of ensuring that votes cast do not unduly hamper their pursuit of riches and power.
One such method is the sophisticated, expensive and lucrative system of political lobbying. According to Wikipedia: 'Wall Street lobbyists and the financial industry spent upwards of $100 million in one year to "court regulators and lawmakers", particularly since they were "finalizing new regulations for lending, trading and debit card fees." . . . Big banks were "prolific spenders" on lobbying; JPMorgan Chase has an in-house team of lobbyists who spent $3.3 million in 2010; the American Bankers Associationspent $4.6 million on lobbying; an organization representing 100 of the nation's largest financial firms called the Financial Services Roundtable spent heavily as well. A trade group representing Hedge Funds spent more than $1 million in one quarter trying to influence the government about financial regulations, including an effort to try to change a rule that might demand greater disclosure requirements for funds.' Given this level of expenditure, what would you say are the chances of persuading Congress that Wall St needs a little more regulating?
Another method of circumventing the democratic process is the creation of 'flexible' labour markets – which essentially means the removal of manufacturing and service industries from countries with high labour costs (read 'a reasonable standard of living for all') to poor countries where workers can be exploited for wretchedly low wages and conditions. A useful side benefit of this 'flexibility' is a level of 'structural' unemployment in the original country such that those who do have jobs can be frightened into accepting lower pay and reduced conditions.
Parallel to this 'flexible labour market' runs the establishment of a senior management elite with the power to remunerate themselves beyond King Croesus's wildest dreams for their achievements in reducing costs and maximizing profits for their companies. Since most of their work force is either employed for slave-labour wages in distant third world lands, or too frightened and de-unionised to complain, and the unemployed, on the whole, don't have a voice, we don't hear a lot of criticism. There have, admittedly, been protests in France over the salary package of Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, though even the French government couldn't convince him it was excessive. Reutersreported recently that, 'Ghosn earned 2.79 million euros from Renault in 2011 and 9.92 million from Nissan in its corresponding financial year, making him one of the highest-paid CEOs in France or Japan.' In the same article, it was noted that, 'Renault is cutting 7,500 jobs over three years . . . and is demanding union concessions on pay, flexibility and working hours in return for guarantees to keep French plants open.' Interestingly, my Turkish dailyreported the other day that Mr Ghosn had agreed to a 30% cut in salary if workers in Turkey's Renault plant accepted the company's new contract. Nice to see the developing world fighting back! Still, it must be comforting to know that you can take a 30% cut and still make 9.6 million euros for a year's work, if work is what the gentleman in question actually does.
It seems, for the most part, that corporate CEOs can pretty much do what they like, especially those in the financial sector, who don't have to worry about uppity union representatives from the factory floor. Nevertheless, you can't be absolutely sure some bleeding heart President isn't going to get nervous about the effect all this is having on the morale of the nation as a whole, and start trying to change things. Lobbying alone may not be sufficient. Political campaign funding is a tried and tested means of buying the support of the people's elected representatives. A recent phenomenon, or at least one that has recently been brought to light, is known as "dark money". What we have here is wealthy individuals hiding behind seemingly public-spirited organizations donating large sums to politicians' election campaigns. Huffington Post gives some examples: 'The Karl Rove-founded Crossroads GPS, the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity, Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform, the shadowy American Future Fund, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have spent $295 million since the beginning of 2011, targeting candidates from President Barack Obama on down to the most contested House and Senate races, all without disclosing the names of their donors to the public.
'These groups are organized as either social welfare nonprofits under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code or, in the case of the Chamber of Commerce, as a trade association under section 501(c)(6). Since these groups qualify for tax-exempt status, they are also exempt from disclosing their donors, which political committees are required to do.
'Clear examples of deception fill websites, appear on nightly newscasts and run on the front pages of newspapers. But the truth squads have had only marginal success in changing the behavior of the campaigns and almost no impact on the outside groups that peddle unvarnished falsehoods with even less accountability. "We're not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers," explained Neil Newhouse, Romney's pollster, echoing his industry's conventional wisdom.' Clearly both political party machines are happy to play fast and loose with the truth, secure in the knowledge that the system is stacked against accountability.
In consequence, voter turnout in US Presidential elections seems to reflect a lack of belief in the electoral system. It is estimated that 57.5% of eligible voters turned out at the polls in 2012. Mitt Romney was ridiculed and lambasted for stating that 47% of voters would vote for Obama no matter what, so he didn't have to worry about them. In fact, 43% of US voters, approximately 93 million citizens, have been so effectively cut out of the democratic process that neither party needs to think about them.
Which brings me to my next point in the sorry tale of exemplary democracy. Does anyone really understand how representatives are sent to the US Congress and Senate, and how a President is elected? And if they do, can they explain to what extent the results actually reflect the wishes of US voters? The current system for electing a US President was designed by the founding fathers at the birth of the Republic, allegedly to guard against potential evils, one of which was the dominance of party politics. In fact, the same two parties have been taking turns to screw the country for the past 160 years, the 'Democrats' since 1832, and the Republicans since 1854. Interestingly, at the time of Abraham Lincoln's Civil War, the Democrats were actually the pro-slavery party – another bend sinister on the ancestral escutcheon of democracy.
Former First Lady Hillary Clinton is said to have told the European Parliament in 2009, 'I never understood multi-party democracy. It's hard enough with two parties.' If Madame Clinton actually did utter those words, and if they truly reflect her opinion, you'd have to wonder whether she has the mental equipment to cast a responsible vote, never mind carry out the duties of Secretary of State or, God forbid, President of the most powerful nation on Earth! For Mrs Clinton's information, the majority of the world's democratic states employ a proportional representation electoral system which allows for the presence in their legislative assemblies of several political parties – and most of those countries have a higher turnout at the polls than the USA. Not surprising when you remember that the media were telling us prior to the 2012 election that, if you didn't live in Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, Nevada or New Hampshire, you might as well stay home for all the difference your vote would make to the final result.
One of the things that have impressed me about Turkey in recent years is the capacity for change within the system. When I first came to this country in 1995, the AK Party currently in power did not exist. Now, none of the parties involved in government at that time can manage a single representative in parliament. Very likely, Mrs Clinton would struggle in such an environment. She wouldn't know which lobbyists to listen to, or which unaffiliated public interest group to accept campaign funds from – or even which party to join. The Turkish system may be tough on politicians, financiers and retired army generals, but it does keep Turkish voters interested. And I suspect a good number of those 93 million non-voting Americans would make more effort if there were a little more choice on their voting papers.
Undoubtedly there are social and economic problems in Turkey. The education system is desperately in need of serious expert attention, for instance, and the gulf between rich and poor is unacceptably high. On the other hand, the nation has so far avoided the worst effects of the world financial crisis that has battered its European neighbours Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and even the UK. The home of modern democracy seems to have silenced its discontented poor for the time being, but tens of thousands have been taking to the streets regularly in the PIIGS nations in recent months to protest their governments' imposed 'austerity' measures.
'Austerity', needless to say, is generally understood to mean reducing pensions and social welfare benefits for the retired and unemployed, cutting back the public sector workforce, and reducing spending on education and public health. Little in the way of belt-tightening is required from the banking and finance sectors – Irish banks, for example, have reportedlyreceived 64 billion euros in government handouts to keep them solvent. Furthermore, those government handouts are funded from tax paid by the diminishing pool of wage and salary earners, or more likely, given their indebtedness, by government borrowing from banks. In the mean time, the UK parliament has published a report announcing plans to try and collect billions of pounds in tax from US multinational corporations such as Starbucks, Google and Amazon, who use a technique referred to as 'profit-shifting' to pretty much avoid paying any tax at all. The New York Times reported the other day that, 'Starbucks said . . . that it was reviewing its British tax practices after the company disclosed recently that it had paid no corporate tax in Britain last year despite generating £398 million in sales.' Unfortunately, the article goes on to say, the British Government expects that their campaign to extract a little internal revenue from these sources will cost them at least £77 million.
Still, the British taxpayer has got it soft compared to his or her American counterpart. According to a recent article in Time, the Pentagon is splashing out $400 billion dollars to purchase 2,457 Lockheed F-35 fighters that are apparently starting to show many of the attributes of a white elephant. At approximately $160 million each, the single-seat warplane costs about the same as a 204-seater Boeing 767. I don't remember seeing that voters were offered the opportunity to say yay or nay to this project in last year's national presidential poll – but I suspect not. The same article quotes a Republican senator saying that US spending on 'defense' now accounts for 45% of the world's total.
Well, so much for the power of a democratically exercised vote, and the fair spread of the tax burden over those able to pay. What about equality before the law, another foundation stone of a democratic system? A recent study carried out in New Zealand by an academic at Victoria University found that white-collar fraudsters are far less likely to spend time in jail than denizens of society's lower echelons hauled into court for welfare benefit cheating – in spite of the fact that the sums of money involved are invariably much larger in the former group.
Like me, you may be following the case of Jesse Jackson Jr, former Chicago Democrat congressman 'once talked about as having the potential to become the first black president', who has admitted charges of channelling campaign funds to his personal use. Apparently Jesse Jr delegated the responsibility for the family tax forms to his wife Sandi, a Chicago City Councillor – who is also facing charges for filing false returns. Let's see what happens to them, bearing in mind that a blue-collar employee who steals from his or her employer is usually treated harshly by the justice system. And then there is Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former IMF chief with plans to run for President of France. His stellar career was derailed when a hotel maid accused him of sexual assault. Stauss-Kahn's lawyers were able to discredit the woman and avoid criminal prosecution, but she subsequently brought a civil case against him. The latest news is that the case has been settled out of court for an undisclosed, but presumably large sum. Well, you'd have to wonder why the guy would want to do that if he was, in fact, innocent. You can't help feeling that Big Abe's famous words could be modified these days to: Government of the people by a small and privileged elite largely for the benefit of that latter group. Monsieur Dominique, incidentally, would have been standing as a Socialist candidate!
Anyway, where does all that leave us? I'm sure you knew or suspected most of the foregoing, even if you may not have known all the fine details. I fondly remember the days when my own name was on the ballot paper in New Zealand, which made casting a vote in national elections so much easier. These days it seems I don't qualify to exercise democratic voting rights in New Zealand or Turkey, so for the most part, I just sit on the sidelines and offer helpful comments. Still, I do feel that the Western media should assist in getting their own national houses in order before criticising too harshly democracy in Turkey and elsewhere.
I come from a beer-drinking country. Well, we're not as mono-cultural as we once were, thank God. When I was a kid, New Zealand culture could be pretty much summed up by the three words: Rugby, Racing, and Beer. There was an institution known as 'The 6 O'clock Swill'. This phenomenon owed its existence to the fact that pubs in NZ used to close their doors at 6 pm, or shortly thereafter. Those who had built up a thirst during their working day (mostly men at that period of our history) had one hour to get to the nearest watering hole and quaff as much ale as they could before the law of the land decreed that they should get out and head home to their loving wives and/or families. As you may imagine, this was not conducive to the development of civilised drinking habits – and the effects are still felt, a generation or two on.
Of course, other alcoholic beverages were available. The more sophisticated or perhaps feminine might sip sherry, or something euphemistically labelled 'Pimms'. Continental tastes were provided for by immigrants from Eastern Europe, who produced something distantly akin to red wine, commonly referred to as 'Dally Plonk'. Unshaven gentlemen of no fixed abode were sometimes to be seen on park benches sampling this brew from bottles concealed in plain brown paper bags.
These days, teachers and civil servants nearing retirement age aspire to establishing a boutique winery in Hawkes Bay or Marlborough, or some other location where the micro-climate is conducive and the real estate prices more affordable. New Zealand wines have a well-earned reputation abroad, winning medals at international events, and wine exports are a nice little earner for our humble economy. New Zealanders of a certain class pride themselves, not only on knowing the difference between a Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc, but also on what vintages of which particular vineyards produced the best ones.
What I want to say here is, though, this didn't happen over night. An increasingly wealthy society and an expanding middle class availed themselves of greater opportunities to travel abroad and see for themselves the older oenophile cultures of Europe. Organisations of wine producers brought together like-minded entrepreneurs who exerted persuasive pressure on governments to create a favourable climate for growth, and on the media to help in educating the populace and building a potential market. Another factor has undoubtedly been a hard-line approach by authorities to drivers who drink, such that it is a brave soul who gets behind the steering wheel after even one beer or glass of wine.
Two generations, then, have seen radical changes in drinking patterns of New Zealanders (and our Australian cousins, though I have to confess, they were always a little ahead of us). These days, executives and other high-flyers watch rugby matches while sipping quality wines in corporate boxes with their spouses or paramours. Of course, remnants of the old ways live on in footie clubs and suburban beer barns – but as a nation, we have diversified in many fields, and alcohol consumption is one measure of this.
So, what about Turkey, you're asking. Weren't you going to say something about that? And so I am. The land occupied by the modern Republic of Turkey is one of the birthplaces of human civilisation. Asia Minor and the plains between the two rivers, whose waters rise in south-eastern Turkey, witnessed the first domestication of animals and the growing of crops for food, the moulding and firing of clay to make pots, and the early stages of metallurgy. Hand in hand with the march of civilisation went the production and consumption of alcoholic beverages. It seems likely that the first wild grapes were cultivated here, and the first hesitant steps taken on the road to producing an award-winning pinot noir. The classical civilisations of Greece and Rome enjoyed their wine. They even assigned responsibility for it to a junior member of their divine pantheon – the Romans, Bacchus, and the Greeks, Dionysus. After the Imperial authorities gave up massacring and otherwise persecuting Christians, and Romans and Greeks joined the ranks of the Saved, apparently they didn't let their new faith stand in the way of imbibing an amphora or two of Bacchus's nectar.
Grape cultivation and wine production in Asia Minor continued in good heart until the Muslim Ottomans took over. The Prophet Muhammed was, I understand, quite specific in his proscription of wine for true believers. Why didn't he mention beer, cider, Pimms and other spirituous liquors (if, in fact, he didn't. My Arabic is not up to checking the original text to see what his exact words were)? Well, one reason very likely is that, in the evolution of alcoholic beverages, distillation arrived relatively late on the scene. Scotch whisky may now be regarded as a traditional tipple North o' the Border, but most of the great whisky houses in fact date from the 19th century, as by the way, do most of the clan tartans. Anyway, the Prophet's lack of omniscience on this one left an alcoholic loophole for Turks to slip through. For some at least, obeying the letter of Koranic law and abstaining from wine is enough – and the considerably more powerful rakı, with an alcohol content of 45%, is readily accepted.
It also helped that the Ottomans adopted a tolerant approach to religious minorities within their borders. Jews, Orthodox Greeks and Armenians were not only permitted to observe their religious customs, speak their own languages and educate their children relatively unmolested, they were also allowed to grow their grapes, trample the vintage, ferment, bottle, sell and imbibe the fruit of the vine pretty much according to established practice. More than a few Sultans, most of whom anyway were born to Christian mothers, are reputed to have liked a drop from time to time – and no doubt some of their Muslim subjects saw little harm, occasionally, in joining their Brothers-of-the-Book in a glass or two for friendship's sake.
Nevertheless, it must be true that, for a considerable period, at a time when European civilization was making great strides towards modern alcoholic sophistication (and in other fields too for all I know), wine production within the Ottoman domains failed to keep pace with developments in France, Italy, Germany and so on. When the Ottoman Empire breathed its last and the Turkish Republic came into existence in 1923, its first president, among a host of better known reforms, freed up the production and consumption of spirituous and fermented liquors. While tobacco and spirits were under state monopoly, wine, probably in deference to the status quo, was left in the hands of private producers – though the state did also establish its own vineyards and wineries.
Tezcan Gürkan, owner of Ganoswineries in Mürefte, began his career with the state Tekel organisation. His vines produce a range of boutique wines, red and white, under the Krater, and the more up-market Ganos label. Tezcan Bey has mixed feelings about the current state of the wine industry in Turkey. He is passionate about its long history, and its potential to compete in world markets, owing to the country's congenial climate and fertile soils. In terms of human health, he points out, the benefits of moderate wine consumption, especially red wine, in reducing the risk of heart attack, diabetes and even some forms of cancer, have been well publicized. Tezcan Bey further notes that, in the past ten years, during the tenure of the present AK Party government, locally produced wines have improved markedly, both in variety and quality. He is enthusiastic about wines produced from local grape varieties such as boğazkere, öküzgözü and kalecik karası. While accepting that Turkey's climate is more conducive to the production of red wines, he also mentions the potential of narince and other white varieties in certain microclimates. On the other hand, he is less sanguine about the future, given the punitive level of taxation targeting alcohol in Turkey. I can attest to this from my own experience, having seen the cost of a mid-price red wine at the supermarket checkout almost double in the past five years.
Still, it's not government policy alone that is impeding the industry's growth. That same bottle of Angora or Villa Doluca, selling for 20 Turkish liras at Migros, will probably add sixty to eighty liras to your bill at a restaurant. The Ministry of Tourism would do well to take a look at the effects of such pricing on visitors to the country. It may be that Turks themselves, weighing up relative value for money, will go for a bottle of rakı with four times the alcohol content – but foreign visitors are more likely to drink one bottle of wine instead of two, and feel scalped into the bargain.
Nevertheless, the younger Gürkan generation seems more optimistic. Tezcan Bey's son, Doruk, recognizes the potential of a growing, and increasingly sophisticated middle class in Turkish cities. One measure of this is the regular appearance these days, of articles in Turkish newspapers and magazines discussing wine, local and imported, and the industry itself. As was the case in my own home country, the twin processes of increasing awareness, and growing demand feed off each other.
Still it is evident that the Turkish wine industry is nowhere near to achieving its potential as an export earner for the nation. A recent article in Hürriyet newspaper examined and compared the state of play in a number of comparable countries, in terms of grape vine acreage and wine production. According to their figures, Turkey has the fourth largest area of vines measured by hectares. Only Spain, France and Italy have more grapes under cultivation. In contrast, however, Turkey's comparative wine production is minuscule, at 75 million litres, ranking it way below even New Zealand, with a fraction of the vine acreage. NZ's wine exports, incidentally, generated 868 million dollars of income, and clearly Turkey has the potential to surpass that.
The big problem, as I see it, and Gürkan 'pere et fils' among others, apparently agree, is the lack of a large and knowledgeable local market. Whatever the sector, economies of scale determine whether an enterprise will succeed or fail. New Zealand has been able to develop its wine exports because locals drank enough of the stuff to get the business up and running. Turkey, with a population approaching eighty million, had a large enough local market to support the establishment of car manufacturing, electronics and whiteware factories, and a large textile industry – which have then been able to move out into more competitive global markets. New Zealand, unfortunately, with its four-and-a-half million people, lacks this major advantage. Clearly what Turkish wine producers need and seem to lack, is an umbrella organisation that will speak for them, arguing the case for government support of the industry, and engaging in general campaigns to raise public awareness.
As one who enjoys a glass of wine, and appreciates the local product, I'm following developments in the sector with interest.
I'm reading a book at the moment: 'Greece, The Hidden Centuries', by historian David Brewer. It's subtitled, 'Turkish Rule from the Fall of Constantinople to Greek Independence.' Brewer is a classics scholar with a particular interest in the history of Greece, and this book raises many issues that challenge received wisdom. Perhaps I'll review the book in another post – but for now I want to focus on the chapter entitled 'Travellers to Greece', which deals with visitors from Western Europe during the two hundred years from the late 16th to the late 18th century.
Brewer notes that, from the late 17th century, as interest grew in Greek antiquities, the removal to England and France of whatever could be moved became a kind of competition between the two nations. Even at that time there seems to have been some argument about whether collectors were saving the monuments from destruction, or simply looting, and wreaking their own destruction in the process. Possibly the most famous of these uplifted treasures is the collection of marble sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens, sometimes known as the Elgin Marbles, after the English Lord who arranged and financed their removal to London. Brewer ventures his opinion that the controversial statuary should be returned to Greece.
No doubt the UK Government, and the curators of the British Museum, where the Parthenon marbles are displayed, will be in no hurry to acquiesce in this matter. An entire new gallery was added to the iconic museum in 1937, solely for the purpose of displaying these priceless relics of ancient Greece. Whatever the rights and wrongs of it, I would like to take this opportunity to commend officials of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, who have decided to make an important gesture in the controversial field of relocating antiquities. It seems that the museum had acquired twenty-four pieces of ancient jewellery back in 1966, at a time when museums generally were rather less fussy about checking the provenance of purchases. Recent study of the items has suggested that they could originate from the city of Troy, now in northwest Turkey.
Apparently a deal has been worked out between the American museum and the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry, providing for the jewellery to be loaned indefinitely to Turkey. Archeologists from Pennsylvania University have been working on excavations at Troy, and Gordion, some seventy kilometres from the Turkish capital, Ankara, and the institution is planning an exhibition of artefacts from the latter site. The Turkish Government continues to support the archeological work, and will allow the loan of treasures from Gordion for the exhibition.
Gordion was the capital of ancient Phrygia, a kingdom at its height during the 9th and 8th centuries BCE. Its wealth became proverbial, and one of its kings, Midas, is remembered for his ill-considered wish to turn everything to gold with the touch of a finger. Excavations at the city have recently unearthed a tomb believed to be that of Midas's father, so the exhibition should generate considerable interest.
Not all attempts to repatriate archeological treasures, unfortunately, meet with such amicable resolution. It is reported that the Italian National Committee for Historical, Cultural and Environmental Heritage have petitioned the French Government for the return of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Da Vinci was, of course, Italian, and is believed to have painted his best-known work in Florence between 1503 and 1506, so you might think the NCHCEH have a case.
Sad to say, such matters are rarely so simple. Some years ago, while on a cycling holiday in France, I found myself in a Val de Loire town called Amboise, where I paid a visit to the main attraction, the Chateau de Clos Lucé. I was fascinated to learn that da Vinci had spent the last three years of his life here, at the invitation of the French King Francis I. International travel was not so easy in those days, and the great artist, at the age of 64, made the journey from Italy, over the Alps, on a donkey, with the Mona Lisa, and a couple of other prized paintings, in his saddle bags. Of course, a royal invitation is hard to turn down, more especially in the 16th century, but still, it's a big trip for an old guy, huh! One reason the offer seemed particularly attractive was that Leonardo just wasn't getting the commissions in his homeland that he once had. A couple of younger rivals, Michelangelo and Raphael had apparently sidelined him.
So, there it is, in France, the Mona Lisa – where it has been for nigh on five hundred years. It has moved around a bit from one royal palace to another, to safe places in time of war, on loan to the Uffizi Art Gallery in Florence, and even to a thief's apartment for a couple of years. These days you can see it hanging in the Louvre in Paris – and I have a strong suspicion that the Italians' chances of getting it back are on a par with the likelihood of the Brits' handing back the Parthenon marbles.


Zoey, an empath wedding planner is knee deep in the Hidden's world. She is surrounded by creatures that need her help. Her pool is occupied by a sea serpent, she has a live in closet monster, and don't get me started on the awesome skunk ape body guard that lives in the woods named Iris (I love Iris, now you know). Helping the Hidden is rapidly becoming the norm in Zoey's life. Yet when the leprechaun mafia rolls into town everything starts going down the drain. Zoey has to figure out how to fix things when everything could be on the line.
Pooka In My Pantry is a strong follow up to Monster In My Closet. The series definitely needs to be read in order so the reader knows what certain creatures are and why they are there. The main reason I adore this series is that the characters come to life. I can easily picture what is going on and get sucked into the book. RL Naquin manages to bring a fresh perspective into the Urban Fantasy genre and I cannot wait for the next book.
Rachel's head is packed with an outrageous amount of useless Disney trivia. She is terrified of thunder, but not of lightning, and tends to recite the Disneyland dedication speech during storms to keep herself calm. She finds it appalling that nobody from Disney has called yet with her castle move-in date.
Originally from Northern California, she has a tendency to move every few years, resulting in a total of seven different states and a six-year stint in England. Currently, she's planning her next grand adventure. Rachel has one heroic husband, two genius kids, several annoyed cats, and an imaginary dog named Waffles.
She doesn't have time for a real dog.
Great review, Mel. EEKK. I always liked the title for this one. o.O An empath wedding planner. That's...new. And interesting ^_^ I'd definitely need to read the first book though.
I know how much you love this series, I haven't read book 1 yet!
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Covid: GP accused of spreading misinformation of coronavirus challenges social media 'ban'
Dr Samuel White has brought his High Court challenge against the GMC in a bid to quash restrictions imposed on him which include barring him from sharing his views relating to the pandemic on social media
Danny Lawson
Dr Samuel White appeals against restrictions after allegedly spreading Covid 'misinformation' online
Francesca Battaglia digital producer
Published thursday 04 November 2021 - 17:10
A GP ordered not to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic on social media after he was accused of allegedly spreading "misinformation" online faces a "severe" restriction on his freedom of speech, the High Court has heard.
Dr Samuel White is appealing against interim conditions imposed on his registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) following complaints about a video he posted to Instagram and Twitter in June.
Covid: No jab? No job... Tens of thousands of care home staff look set to lose jobs
In a seven-minute clip, he discussed why he could no longer work in his previous roles because of the "lies" around the NHS and Government approach to the pandemic which were "so vast" he could no longer "stomach or tolerate" them, the court was told.
He also raised concerns about the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine, testing methods and claimed "masks do nothing".
Dr White, a partner at Denmead Practice in Hampshire until his resignation in February, has brought his High Court challenge against the GMC in a bid to quash restrictions imposed on him which include barring him from sharing his views relating to the pandemic on social media.
His barrister, Francis Hoar, told a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on Thursday: "This is a claim about freedom of expression of a doctor, in particular his freedom to engage in medical, scientific and political debate and discussion."
The court was told Dr White's video triggered complaints that it allegedly contained misinformation and the GMC referred him to its Interim Orders Tribunal to consider restrictions on his practice.
In August, the tribunal concluded Dr White's way of sharing his views "may have a real impact on patient safety", adding any doctor had a "responsibility" to provide "sufficient and balanced information about Covid-19 to allow any potential patients and other members of the public to assess the potential risks and benefits of any treatment or preventive measures under consideration and then make an informed choice".
It found Dr White allegedly shared information to a "wide and possibly uninformed audience" and did not give an opportunity for "a holistic consideration of Covid-19, its implications and possible treatments".
As a result, Dr White was made subject to the conditions that he must not share views on the Covid-19 pandemic and "its associated aspects" on social media and must remove existing posts on the subject.
In written arguments, Mr Hoar said Dr White, now a locum GP, had an "unblemished career", with beliefs informed by "libertarian principles".
He told the court the restrictions would last for a maximum of 18 months and were "effectively a ban" and a "severe imposition" on his freedom of expression.
"The conditions are imposed in vague and unparticularised terms and restrict his speech even over matters outside medicine science more generally, rendering him unable to take part in free and democratic discourse in forums in which an ordinary citizen is most able to contribute to it," Mr Hoar said.
Covid: First at-home pill to treat coronavirus approved in the UK
He argued Dr White's views were "supported by large bodies of scientific and medical opinion" and had been "statements of fact and opinions about pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions in response to the pandemic".
The tribunal, in its allegedly "flawed" decision, had "erred" in "failing to accord sufficient respect for Dr White's right to freedom of expression", Mr Hoar claimed.
He added the tribunal also "erred in asserting an ability to determine matters of scientific and medical debate" and failed to explain why Dr White's statements allegedly expressed "misinformation".
Alexis Hearnden, for the GMC, said in written arguments that there were "multiple" complaints about Dr White's video, including from "members of the medical profession".
She said Dr White's views "ran firmly against" a national public health programme that was pro-vaccine and encouraged mask wearing in certain settings.
She said the tribunal had not made findings of fact nor decided that Dr White's statements were "false", but had identified "a risk" that members of the public might be influenced by Dr White "to take steps which run contrary to the prevailing public health advice".
The tribunal had recognised "serious concerns" raised that he was "using some language that echoed conspiracy theories about the pandemic", she added.
Ms Hearnden said the conditions did not prevent Dr White practising medicine nor expressing his views privately and that they were "justified" by a "legitimate aim of pursuing public safety and for the protection of health".
The hearing before Mr Justice Dove in London concluded on Thursday, with the judge saying he would deliver his judgment at a later date.
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Sawata Shrine (in Shimogamo Shrine)
A World Heritage Site, Shimogamo Shrine is located in the Sakyo Ward of Japan's ancient capital, Kyoto. The buildings on the east and west of the shrine are both designated as national treasures. Records indicate that the fence around the shrine was repaired during the reign of Emperor Sujin (90 BC) implying the buildings themselves were constructed earlier. Sawata Shrine is located here with deep roots to rugby.
Sawata Shrine has been known as a place of worship for many involved in sports using balls. Long since deteriorated, it was refurbished in 2017. A stone wall is located next to Sawata Shrine and here the words "The First Kick" are written. Here is the spot where Japanese in western Japan first played rugby. Students from Keio University taught students from Kyoto's Daisan High School in 1910. Daisan High School was one of Japan's eight numbered schools and was considered an elite high school. The rugby team from this high school helped expand the sport throughout western Japan. Graduates from middle, and high schools in Kyoto and Osaka went onto Tokyo University and Waseda University and created rugby teams in schools in eastern Japan and this is what helped move rugby into the wider Japanese community. The sign, "The First Kick" was created in 1969 by alumni of Daisan High School. Sawata Shrine was refurbished in May 2017 as a part of the pool selection for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The morning of the drawing, Mr. Joe Schmidt, head coach of the Irish team came to Shimogame Shine along with others to participate in a tradition held at this shrine; kicking the ball into the air repeatedly without letting it touch the ground. The Web Ellis Cup, the trophy cup of the RWC has also made an appearance here. This shrine, and this space is sacred ground for many Japanese rugby players and those associated with the sport. Mr. Yoshihiro Sakata (age 76) is a former all-Japan player (wing) and is one of the most well known Japanese in the rugby world. In 1969 he went to New Zealand alone where he played for Caterbury University. He later was selected to play for the region of Canterbury. At this time, many All Blacks players were also playing for the region of Canterbury and many Kiwis were shocked to find a Japanese playing for their community.
His recognition came in 2012 when he was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame, the 51st overall, the first Japanese to be inducted. Currently he serves as the vice-chairman of the Japan Rugby Football Association and is also the chairman of the Kansai Rugby Football Association. Mr. Sakata lives in Kyoto near Shimogamo Shrine and played a role in the refurbishment of the Rugby Shrine (Sawata Shrine). The photo seen here is of him explaining the history of this shrine to rugby journalist, Kohichi Murakami. Mr. Sakata wanted to leave a legacy for the Rugby World Cup to be held in Japan for the first time in 2019. The refurbishment of the Sawata Shrine is one such legacy. In 2017 when the selection for the 2019 world cup pools were being selected, he took all of the head coaches from around the world who were visiting Kyoto to Shimogamo Shrine and had them participate in a kemari event (kicking the ball in the air and keeping it from touching the ground). Several hundred participated in this event including the head coaches and media. It was a day to remember. This event launched the presence of Sawata Shrine throughout Japan and now many rugby players from all over come to offer prayers asking for luck and favors. You will see requests written all over the premises: "I hope to become a better rugby player", "I want to play in the national championship".
Kohichi Murakami
Rugby Journalist
Born in Kyoto in 1965, Mr. Murakami graduated from Ouki High school where he went onto Osaka Sports University to play rugby (center and fullback).In 1987 he joined Baseball Magazine Inc. and became a part of the rugby magazine editorial section. From 1990 to 1997 he was the editor of this magazine. From 1989 he has worked as a rugby journalist and can often be seen on SPORTS commentating on rugby matches. From 1999 to 1915 over five World Rugby Cups he was present as a commentator as well as attending symposiums and live talk events. He has authored multiple books on Rugby.
New Years in Japan, January
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World Heritage Site: Munakata and Okinoshima, and Associated Sites
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The Slumber of the Beast
What then of the second episode of Torchwood? The first obvious question is: where's the humour gone? One episode (by one of the creator's admittedly) does not a vision make, but one would hope that there would be a consistence approach to the episodes by all writers.
Or was this left over from last season? Certainly, this story could fit into the first season, with its grim and gritty team, and the focus on one human going through emotional problems and identified with by Gwen. She (Gwen) is the easy link for the writers and has been set up as the "human element" among the more emotionless crew. When in doubt, go to Gwen pointing out that the human view is the good one.
(And let's be in no doubt that the alien view is the wrong one. Once again Encyclopaedia Jack knows exactly what's going on and that the alien menace is indeed an alien menace. No wonder that the old woman in episode was complaining about Torchwood, how did they ever manage to do anything properly without Jack explaining everything they had to know?)
Unfortunately, the main story itself isn't at all original. A sleeper agent that wakes up but the cover element dominates their thinking… (for some reason, I want to make a Total Recall reference here, but mentioning Arnie isn't a sufficient excuse). Frankly, you could eliminate the second half of the episode, and go straight from Beth finding out she was an evil alien to her dealing with it in the only sensible way. But we needs our action sequences, and so we get an entire Declassified episode dedicated to blowing up a Cardiff high-street in one shot.
There is a hint that this might speak to a bigger arc, but given the speed with which the cell moves in this episode, I would think the other cell members around the world would have taken over everything before anyone had time to react. Torchwood does follow up on past episodes, but usually from a character arc point of view, not a plot-element perspective. More likely the writer threw in "there are more cell members out there" to allow for future call-backs, but not with any definite plan in mind.
The focus of this episode is on Beth, with the Torchwood crew taking a background role to allow her story to be played out (and, frankly, her story could be told in nearly any series). Unless this story proves to be vitally important to the development of Torchwood, this episode ranks as unexciting filler material.
Posted in TORCHWOOD REVIEWS | 2 Comments »
Tip-toeing into the new year
It's 2008, and the series and fandom is swinging slowly toward Doctor Who's 45th anniversary. Russell T Davies has promised a great series cliffhanger ostensibly to mark the event, although some might note with concern that the word "fanwank" was used by him to describe it. Indeed, there seems to be a significant number of fans viewing the promised series finale with its confirmed returning companions, rumoured villains and speculated links with next year's TV specials with no small amount of circumspection. You can see also on the Doctor Who Forum the existential questions being formed along the lines of: what do the 'Not We' (non-fans) think of x?
It's nothing that new, but recently this divination of audience figures and reviews seems to be more cautiously oriented towards the opinions of the general public and major dailies rather than the usual SF media. Need it be said that at the end of the day and despite our enthusiasm for the series, we know full well that its fate is not ultimately in our hands. Perhaps an all-star finale for this year will be every bit as succesful if not moreso than the patchy ratings darling Voyage of the Damned, and maybe that's all that matters in the larger scheme of things? Beyond the immediate future lies the likelihood of a new production team, with Phil Collinson having already doffed his hat in farewell. The series has so far survived a change of lead and a change of companion; the inevitable challenge must now be a change of producer. When that occurs we may have an answer.
For now though, welcome back to the blog. There have been some changes for the new year. After co-editing Zeus Blog for 2007 and being the driving force behind Zeus Plug, Jono has announced his plans to leave New Zealand for the UK in April, and has stood down from blogging duties. Joking aside, I and the other regular contributors will miss his presence – although it's strange to be writing this in the knowledge that in the online world London really is no farther away than Auckland, or even the other side of town.
Despite one's best efforts though, blogs can sometimes be quite static things, and as one-sided as a lot of Web media, something we'd like to address in some new features. Zeus Blog will continue to review the new series as well as Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures; Fast Return will remain as well as the occasional editorial, but with Battle of the Seasons now finally complete it's time for a new head-to-head competition. This time the votes will be open to you the reader, and so the search for the ultimate winner can be something we'll all be able to participate in and enjoy together. The new competition starts in February, and it'll be Monstrous!
Posted in EDITORIALS | 6 Comments »
So – how did it end?
You'll laugh, really, but it appears that with 2007 being such an enormously busy year what with the blog starting, the blog's teething problems, commitments to other zines, broken arms and trips hither and yon, Battle of the Seasons, the possibly-awaited follow up to 2006′s controversial Companion vs Companion series (it was in the pubzine. Leela won), was never completed. Colour us stupid!
For the sake of anyone who was following at home, and in order to prevent any future discoveries of the thing in a Mormon Church basement in Hong Kong or something, here's how it was going to turn out:
Season 5 VS Season 13
So it comes to this – monsters. How clairvoyant! But which season has the best? Which offers the most originality between a year of stories that feature two returning monsters from the stable, and a new monster with built-in sequel to boot; and one based around the idea of pastiching other people's classics? They're both the Devil's sweetmeats! And it's the Devil's job deciding between the two.
It seems false to elect the season of which very little survives because the implication therein is that one is basing their choice on the reputation of fan mythology. On the other hand, choosing Season Thirteen surely smacks of populism and a lack of originality! Perhaps the choice is Solomon's: if we were to lose both seasons right this moment, which would we miss the most – that which we'd enjoyed or knew the less about? Which would we want back?
Feeling all a little Meryl Streep at this moment, if we HAD to choose, Season 13 could be surrended, letting go of one year of Tom Baker whilst knowing there are two, maybe three other years which are about as good. With Pat Troughton, S5 is the one to watch out for. Fans can be wrong about the things they revere – they've been wrong before and there are still some out there who think we were wrong to be so rose-tinted about 'Tomb of the Cybermen' once it was discovered.
But you know what? The reputation it once enjoyed was great not because it was misplaced, but because for those fans in the 80s who carried a flame for it, it had been to some a formitive experience – Season Five was the monster season built for kids to enjoy with a friendly Doctor, young companions and plenty of harmless scares, compared to which the sophisticated horrors of the Holmes-Hinchcliffe era Season Thirteen come across as something a little harder, a little less childlike, a little more bloody, a little more frightening, without the reassurance of an uncle-like Time Lord to steer the young viewer through. It's that formula of childlike wonder and frights that makes the new series the success it is today – not the more mature 'serious' adult horror of later years that older and slightly more complacent fans would embrace in its wilderness years.
So in the end, with our three intrepid voters unanimous in agreement, the Best. Season. Ever. crown goes to:
JP, PA & JE
Posted in BATTLE OF THE SEASONS | No Comments »
Comeback Jack
Monday, January 21st, 2008
Torchwood's back! And front! And left! And… well, has it ever been right? Clearly the producers have been giving it some consideration as the show has had some change over the intervening months. The Torchwood team has been forced to grow up without Jack around, so there's no surprise that they are back to the general squabbling as soon as he returns.
No, that's a lie. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is a show that concentrates on the team with the addition of Spike… I mean, James Masters as… well, I won't give spoilers away here, so let's call his character John for the purposes of this review. John's come to town, and now Jack and the team have to deal with him. Old secrets are raised, size jokes are made, and we get to see many of the characters show actual depth for a change.
Owen's clearly been swapped for someone who isn't as much of a prat, but I'm sure we'll get to see him return to form in Owen-centric episodes. Tosh has… slightly become more confident, and Ianto has become… a bit of a prissy boy, really. Unless the production are careful, he's going to become an extremely wet character and the first against the wall when the revolution comes (and, indeed, this is only a single entendre). But the focus of the episode is, of course, on Gwen and Jack. Gwen has moved on in her life with Rhys, and clearly doesn't pine for Jack in any way with her long stares with large puppy dog eyes in his direction. Jack remains as jubilent as ever, hiding a mask of anguish, and still hits on anything that moves (although because this is a "proper adult series for the 21st century", this means anything male). And I'm sure James Masters will be back as he got most of the best lines and has plot information that hints at an over-arcing (in a good, non-RTD, way).
Although we shouldn't judge from the first episode (not that that's going to stop us), the series has lightened up, with actual humourous moments given more weight and fit nicely into keeping the episode from being too angsty-dark, but we'll see if they keep that up. I have to say I liked that side of it, and hope they do develop that more (without, obviously, becoming a comedy sit-com… although considering the series is British, it would actually be funny, unlike certain products from other countries).
This episode is a good reintroduction to the team, and the trailer for up-coming shows promise a lot of action (but then again, they wouldn't show lots of the team filling out paperwork). I'm not saying the series is off rocky ground, but it looks like there's a team with planks of wood around the hull, trying to pry it back into the water.
Posted in TORCHWOOD REVIEWS | 1 Comment »
2007. It was a game of two halves. We began the last twelve months in Cardiff and walked the globe with Martha and journeyed to the end of all time or something like that with Jack and the Doctor's hand. Peter came back for char-i-dy, Kylie saved Her Madge and got a honour for her efforts, and Dalek Sec became a cover model for the Radio Times. TSV turned twenty, RTP! turned ten, and Outpost Gallifrey turned into Doctor Who News, apparently. But what for Fast Return were the most interesting things to take place in 2007?
Well, don't expect miracles. Instead, here's a selection of things that slipped through our net. It's all here, after the jump:
Posted in FAST RETURN | No Comments »
TSV 75
One might think with the somewhat subdued and narrowly-focussed response to TSV's 75th issue and its 20th year of existence that this issue's success is mainly down to the masterly artwork on its wraparound cover and little lese. This is an oversight – to be sure, Alistair Hughes' cover is a striking and vivid piece, reliably faithful to its sources and composed pleasingly on the eye, and easily the best cover in recent years; inside however, there's more going on than just the status quo.
TSV 75 is less a look back than some – ZeusBlog among them, may have predicted. Of course there's an article by current and former editor Paul Scoones on its creation, but there's also much of the new in the mix, and the recent – Amy Mebberson provides the highly appealing artwork accompanying the new series round-table reviews (one of the zine's main features) and Lorna Fleming and Jez Strickley provide their own articles, respectively on the DW canon and the symboloism of the series' traditional top-tier monsters that, while they would certainly benefit from a firmer editorial hand, are evidence of new blood. Elsewhere Chris Skerrow continues his very enjoyable voyage through the BBC Past Doctor adventures (with only one instalment remaining the series itself has been a mainstay for some issues), and Jon Preddle researches the original series' screenings in Singapore – reading the Straits Times so we don't have to. It's scholarly stuff, but this sort of thing needn't always feature in The Disused Yeti, and when it's put together as well as this, even no news of old footage being unearthed is worth publishing. Oh, and a special mention to the continued Drabble Who Challenge section, particularly the rather fun entry by Tim Beverstock. We didn't know you had it in you, lad!
So it's a decent mixture of old and new, with solid long-term contributors like Jon and Neil Lambess boosting the page count while newcomers are bedded in and Ms Mebberson's artwork gives the zine some well-needed breathing space from all those lines and lines and lines of text. There's even some extremely fannish fun to be had with the Vote Hi Fi article linking (and I use that term very loosely) The Chase with Series Three. As an anniversary issue there's nothing 'special' here (the dropped ball that is no Sylvester McCoy interview after his second visit to NZ in three years is puzzling and warrants explanation), but there's enough for a few sessions' read rather than a hurried cover to cover dash. And why not – after twenty years of Her Majesty's Fanzine and with the series back on air there's every opportunity for a leisurely leaf through the pages, right?
Posted in MEDIA CIRCUS | 7 Comments »
Newtons Sleep Book Launch
Come one o'clock today, several of us congregated at the Toi Pōneke Gallery in Wellington for the launch of the first of a new line of Faction Paradox books published by locals Random Static. Faction Paradox, for the unaware, originally spun off from the BBC Doctor Who novel range, but are now doing very well on their own, thank you. As usual, you can read about the series in any good encyclopaedia.
Once everyone was gathered, Kelly from Random Static began proceedings, and soon the ghostly image of author Daniel O'Mahony appeared on the wall to read us excepts from the novel.
Although the decidedly dodgy connection lost a word here or there we got the gist, and dispensing with the video for an audio only experience seemed to help. After some amusing voices from Mr O'Mahony, the book was officially unveiled. The author couldn't be there in person, but cover artist Emma Weakley was on hand to sign books.
Newtons Sleep can, of course, be ordered from Random Static's website.
Posted in BLOG EXCLUSIVES | 2 Comments »


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Book Review: The Twelve Dogs of Christmas (Pine Hollow #1) by Lizzie Shane
I am thrilled to share my first holiday book review of the season. The Twelve Dogs of Christmas was so entertaining and sweet, it immediately pulled me in. From the characters to the dogs to the town, there was nothing about this heartwarming romance I didn't love. It's not to be missed!
A delightful holiday romance about a small-town single dad and an animal rescue owner as they try to find forever homes for a dozen lovable pups before Christmas.
Pine Hollow has everything Ally Gilmore could wish for in a holiday break: gently falling snow in a charming small town and time with her family. Then she learns some Grinch has pulled the funding for her family's rescue shelter, and now she has only four weeks to find new homes for a dozen dogs! But when she confronts her Scroogey councilman nemesis, Ally finds he's far more reasonable -- and handsome -- than she ever expected.
As the guardian of his dog-obsessed ten-year-old niece, Ben West doesn't have time to build a cuddly reputation. But he does feel guilty about the shelter closing. So he proposes a truce with Ally, agreeing to help her adopt out the pups. As the two spend more time together, the town's gossip is spreading faster than Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. And soon Ben is hoping he can convince Ally that Pine Hollow is her home for the holidays. . . and the whole year through.
I feel like I waited all year for this story and I didn't even realize I was waiting for it. I loved this book so much! This story filled my heart and made me laugh and cry. I was immediately pulled in and loved how everything unfolded. There was an excellent build as Ally and Ben came together and I was caught up in the wonderful dialogue and amazing moments. And the dogs! Oh my, the dogs! They were the sweetest!
Ally and Ben were incredible. I loved learning about them and understanding where they were at in their lives. I loved them meeting, the tension, and how everything evolved. Ben was so sweet and determined to do everything right for his niece. I loved Ally and her big heart and how she was trying to find her place in life. I loved the friendship they developed and how their feelings grew. I really liked their internal struggles and the personal battles they were fighting. There was so much emotion happening but also these incredibly fun, charming scenes that had me smiling. It gave me such a feeling of hope and healing. I loved the personal growth they both experienced.
The writing was superb. It had such a great flow and I was hooked the entire time. It was entertaining, emotional, and heartfelt. I loved the layers and depth, and the amazing build. There were just so many touching things, I couldn't get enough. There was a fabulous slow burn happening that I really enjoyed as well. The dogs were fantastic and added so much to the story! There were so many great scenes with them that made me smile. There was a great cast of characters too. Ben's niece and friends, Ally's grandparents and the friends she made, and the gossipy yet well-meaning townspeople. They all made the story so inviting.
The Twelve Dogs of Christmas is the first in a series and I thought it was an excellent way to kick things off. I love the world the author created with the wonderful cast of characters and I am thrilled there will be more stories in Pine Hollow. This was an exceptional feel-good read that's not to be missed!
Complimentary copy received from Forever Romance for review.
Contemporary romance author Lizzie Shane was born in Alaska and still calls the frozen north home, though she can frequently be found indulging her travel addiction. Thankfully, her laptop travels with her and she has written her way through all fifty states and over fifty countries.
Lizzie has been honored to win the Golden Heart Award and HOLT Medallion, and has been named a finalist three times for Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA Award®, but her main claim to fame is that she lost on Jeopardy! For more about Lizzie and her books, please visit http://www.lizzieshane.com.
Thank you Forever Romance for a finished copy of The Twelve Dogs of Christmas.
Purchase your copy of The Twelve Dogs of Christmas
Kindle | Paperback | Publisher's Book Page
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Once Upon a Puppy (#2) - Amazon | Release Date: May 25, 21
Hit me up with your favorite holiday reads! Share as many as you like... the more the merrier!
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The federal Nationals – who are taking a little comfort from modest positive swings in some other areas - don't have to worry about the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers winning seats in May.
The Nationals have several lower house seats vulnerable in May. They'll need to differentiate themselves from the Liberals – as they did in 2016 - but how effectively McCormack can execute this is another matter.
Former leader Barnaby Joyce, a campaigning asset for the Nationals - and by extension the government – in 2016, now runs off the leash, often sounding quite wild. His aggressive performance on Seven was the talk of the election-night TV coverage.
In a clear signal to Joyce, Sinodinos said his campaigning ability should be "used to the greater good of the Coalition". NSW federal Liberal MP Trent Zimmerman put it more bluntly - Joyce should "spend more time in Tamworth and less time on TV". But the man who declared on Saturday night "we've got to stop taking our political advice from the ABC" is unlikely to be tuning into those who want him to turn his volume down.


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MW19 | Boston
Boston, Massachusetts, USA, April 2-6, 2019
MuseWeb
Show Your Badge Program
Visa and Invitation Letters
Guidelines for Proposals
Paper Guidelines
Exhibiting and Presenting
Opening Plenary Address
GLAMi Awards
GLAMi Finalists
MWX 2019
Building a Website With and For Audiences (4)
Thursday, April 04, 2019: 7:45pm - 8:45pm - Constitution: Demonstrations 2
Beth A. Twiss Houting, The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, USA
This June the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) will debut a new digital history exhibition created as a response to and in concert with constituents of the local Puerto Rican community. Beth Twiss Houting, project director, and John Houser, chief information officer, will describe the project, highlighting the challenges and successes of working with community members on identifying and creating content as well as the internal decisions made about platform and web features. The goal for this lightning session will be to encourage others to think about ways to work deeply with audience members to develop online content.
HSP wished to experiment with having an audience design its own programs as a model that could be adopted long-term by the organization as it tries to diversify its audience. It created an audience group composed of community members from HSP and Taller Puertorriqueño. Through a stepped program development model, the members researched subject matter and built the expertise needed to plan programs. They then defined program topics that were to result in two or three real-time programs for spring 2019.
The enthusiasm of members for the new content they had learned led them to identify more content and ways of presenting content than could be accomplished within the grant and which, if offered as a real-time programs, would have short shelf-lives. In response, the grant project team decided to merge the ideas into a digital history project, with an accompanying program that allows for community prototyping of the website.
The decision to move to an online program as a delivery method rather than real-time programs had consequences for HSP's technology infrastructure. For this project, the IT team conducted a survey of open source exhibit tools that might better fit the long-term needs of the institution. The decision to use Omeka and the successes and challenges of the decision also will be shared during this session.
Letting Go? Shared Historical Authority in a User-Generated World, edited by Bill Adair, Benjamin Filene, and Laura Koloski, The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, 2011.
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This is Matt Bailey, presenting Marketing Automation, an Automation Pathway.
And so ultimately what it comes down to is what is your plan? Not just for using marketing automation to get new customers, to nurture those leads or to send out emails to your customers, maybe incentive emails. Ultimately what's the plan, where do you want them to go? Do you want to make C level buyers A level buyers? Well then how do you get them there, and how do you make them a longterm customer for life? So if this is not just for B2B lead generation, but how do you take an average customer and make an above average customer? What's your plan for the end game?
Let's look at a couple examples of the pathway that someone would take. So for e-commerce, maybe they'd come in through a specific promotion that was emailed to them from a friend, or maybe they saw it on social media, or if you're doing some inbound marketing. Someone gets into the funnel there and we've captured their email. Maybe it was through a discount or something like that, that they treated their email for some level of information. With that point you can get them on a drip campaign which feeds them information about what they'll be able to find on your site. And so then based on how they engage with those drip emails that helps us understand what kind of content, what kind of products. What are they interested in. And so the nurturing campaign, or additionally maybe another drip campaign can use what you've learned about them and how they've engaged with the emails. What links did they click on? What products or what product types did they click on and what to learn more about? What do they browse? That type of information is now added into the mix and so they start to receive promotions about information, or about products that they've clicked on that they've shown interest in. That they've visited. Hopefully you get the conversion here. And once you get the conversion, then we can start sending them more specific promotions because now we know what they bought. Does what they bought match up with what they've been looking at? If so, let's continue to send these sales and products based on what they're doing here. Then the more we learn about this person, what type of segments can you identify? Are they regional segments? Are they demographic segments or are they purchased segments? Then you can start to develop rewards based on those segments or a specific promotions based on those segments and schedule them and automate them. One way that a lot of companies especially in the Ecommerce space will develop promotions and segments and rewards is through a simple equation called RFM. And what that's based on is Recency, Frequency, and Monetary. What that means is, when evaluating all of your buyers. How often do they come to your site and when was the last time they came to your site and how much did they spend? And so you can look at that a number of ways. How much did they spend in the last 30 days, 60 days, maybe the last year. How frequently do they buy? Is it once a year, twice a year, or more? And what's their level of spend. And so of course for e-commerce company that's going to be a little different based on what do you see your customers doing now and then how can you treat them differently based on this equation? Companies that focus a lot of time on their high RFM segments are able to grow them. Because obviously these are customers that love your products. Love what you do. They like hearing from you, and when you give them specific promotions. Even let know that they are your most valuable customers. [ They tend to react positively, and you can take your best segment and make it an even better segment. You can also use that same equation to identify your average level buyers or your low level buyers. And you can treat them differently. You can ask for more, maybe present yourself differently. If it's someone who buys the same product once a year, you can have the same message going out to them to remind them to do that. It's different based on different companies but that's the primary way that eCommerce companies develop an understanding of how they can promote to different segments of people.
In retail it might be a little different because we may be asking people that are buying to sign up for promotions or maybe sign up for a loyalty card. If we can get them on a loyalty card, then maybe we can also push them to install an app. If they can install an app, then we can push automated notifications right to their app. There is one store within a mall, it looks to see where their customers, that have a smart phone and have their app installed, if they go into a competitor's store, it automatically pushes a promotion to them for a discount. And the amount of the discount decreases the longer it takes them to get to the store. So if they get to the store very quickly they get a higher discount. And it pulls them away from their competitor's stores and into that store. And so in that way automation is now dependent upon where someone is with their smartphone and having that app installed. And so you can push notifications whether they're in the immediate location or in a certain radius or even push at notifications as they walk through the store. And again you can do location based promotions, you can do RFM based promotions, you can do rewards based promotions. All these things are developing scenarios, looking at the conversations that could take place in different areas and how you can drive people to the retail store or through the app. However you want to work with them, and you can co-create different messaging or goals for this type of automation.
In a subscription based model obviously the first thing you're doing is through your inbound marketing, getting that e-mail address. Whether it's for someone getting a white paper or registering for something and then they get into that drip campaign. Which shows them more information, provides more white papers, and opportunity for a webinar, or for more information that they might find interesting. Of course, you're also measuring the engagement that they show as they click on the links, or what types of white papers are they looking for. And once we get the conversion, they could get into a welcome series email. And then we can look at different rewards or reminders. We can upsell or cross-sell or upgrade based on whatever you want to do. And then also you can look at how you can maybe change your renewal offer based on the engagement, based on the type of subscriber that this person was.
Where marketing automation really has been excelling, and really, where it's been utilized most the past few years, is in business to business lead generation. With inbound marketing, with marketing automation, you're grabbing that email, you're getting the business information, and immediately, you can start providing them information that's very similar. And driving relevant emails to that user. You can measure the engagement and send them a nurturing campaign based on the engagement of what they have expressed as what's important to them. And then of course, you can get that conversion if, sometime they've received all the emails, they've received the information, and they finally decide, this is for me. And then you can get them in the welcome series. And then beyond that it's up to what type of B2B Business you are. But here's the critical thing, and especially, this is what I've noticed in B2B lead generation. I'm not going to call it the conversion. I'm going to call it the attempted conversion, because it really depends upon what you are doing in terms of automation, as well as, do you have a sales force that is working alongside your marketing automation system, and how are you implementing this? What's your end game? You see what happens, is a lot of times, people jump the gun. In fact, just the other day, I received a promotion, I clicked on it, and downloaded a white paper. And so I downloaded the white paper based on this, and within the next week I received three sales calls. Now I had to let them know, I'm not interested in your company, I'm not interested in your product, all I wanted was the white paper, because it had information that I thought was pretty relevant. And it quoted some statistics that I would like to use. Now at that point, we're now at a stalemate. I got what I wanted, they didn't get what they wanted. How do you react to that? Well, the problem was, they didn't use a nurturing campaign. They didn't use a drip campaign. All they did was have a white paper available and they sent it out and it got re-tweeted and it got posted around online. And someone like me found it to be interesting and wanted to see more information but I wasn't interested in the product. They may have been able to figure that out but what happened is they skipped all of the campaigns and went right to the phone call. And of course that's going to result in a stalemate because they didn't learn anything about me or any of their other customers. They didn't learn if we're interested in more or if we want more information like that. All they knew is it was a lead but they didn't have any scoring or any information with which to have a valid conversation. So then what happens when, if you try to jump right into an attempted conversion without learning, without seeing the behavior. You see, there has to be a strategic response to what your customer is doing, or what the lead is doing. And once you see what the lead is doing and you see the behavior the lead exhibits, then you have a strategic response. Jumping right into the phone call to close the deal, you're jumping a little too fast.
And this is why lead scoring has become such an important factor in terms of closing the deal and developing that end game strategy. Because at what point should you contact a lead? How much behavior should they exhibit? How much interaction and engagement should they show before you finally make that phone call? And so, for example, based on the explicit data that we've received, the name of the lead, the company they work for, the revenue, their decision making capabilities, what products they're looking for. And then, what do they view on the website? How many pages have they viewed? Are they pages in this category? Have they looked at the price comparison page? Have they looked at the case study pages? And so in lead scoring by identifying what's the value of what someone does, and what's the value of their engagement factors, and then we add them all up. What it comes down to is the question is, if you have to make that call to a lead, do you want to call someone who has only scored ten points in a least scoring matrix? Or do you want to call someone who has scored about 60 to 80 points? Which phone call would you rather make? You see, that's why the power of marketing automation, the measurement of people's responses, allows you to strategically decide at what point do we have enough information and has that lead shown enough reaction and enough engagement that we're safe calling them. And I use the word safe because that implies that the phone call won't be a surprise. In fact, they may even expect it. Sometimes I even receive an email that says, we'd like to set up a call. We see that you have been very engaged with our website and our content, and we'd like to answer any additional questions. And so, even before just picking up the phone, that email only goes out to high scoring leads.
And what happens when you use a lead scoring matrix looking at all the strategic reactions and the scoring of each lead? Immediately you have something in common. You can build rapport with a lead simply because you know you know the information upfront. You know what they're looking for, you know what's important to them. You don't have to waste time on the phone call making introductions to the company and what you do because it's already established. The questions that you ask on the phone call can be very pointed, very specific, not open ended. Forcing your lead to make things up or maybe not even have any questions at all because this was a total surprise to them. So you can be very specific because you've got a lot of data from the lead scoring. You can look at what segment they're in and ask them particular questions according to them and their situation in that segment. You can also ask for additional information that they are probably more willing to give, because they have received a lot of value out of the relationship already. This is the critical importance of marketing automation, of lead scoring, and of developing those strategic reactions so that you can plan the endgame. What does the endgame look like? And when you have all of this information and you're able to pull up a customer's record, interact with them and know that you have data that you can use to initiate the conversation, to guide the conversation. That's going to build trust because then as someone who's on the other end of the phone I already know this company. I've downloaded multiple things, I've been to the site multiple times, and I know that they know that. And so it builds trust that they are respecting my time, they are respecting the content that I've read and that I know specific information. And I can honestly say companies that follow this just from my own personal experience, it's a much better phone call. Why, because we know each other. They know me from the behavior and engagement that I've exhibited and I know them from all of the content that I've downloaded, read, engaged with, watched videos on. And so we can have a very honest adult conversation about where are we going to go and what's the end game going to be? This has been Marketing Automation and Automation Pathway with Matt Bailey.


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![Avni Logo](../../images/ecosystem-avni-software-defined-cloud-partner-template-logo.png)

### Partner Profile
Avni – pioneer of Software Defined Cloud which simplifies production deployment of applications and network services in virtual clouds.

For more information, visit [Avni](http://www.avni.io).

#### Contact AVNI
##### Avni Sales and Support:
* Email Support - [contact@avni.io](mailto:contact@avni.io)
* Telephone Support - (650) 224-2637
* Web Support - [http://www.avni.io](http://www.avni.io)
* Sales and Marketing - [contact@avni.io](mailto:contact@avni.io) or call (240) 375-9380

### Description
Avni offers the first Software Defined Cloud platform to automate the deployment of applications and network services to private, public or hybrid clouds. Avni easily orchestrates new or existing multi-tier applications, gathers metrics from application and network services, derives intelligent insights, and takes proactive actions to ensure availability, performance, and application/network SLA based on policy. Companies in retail, financial services and media industries rely on Avni's platform to bring new services to market quickly. Avni is headquartered in Silicon Valley in Milpitas, Calif. with additional development facilities in Bengaluru, India. Visit us at [http://www.avni.io](http://www.avni.io)

### Solution Overview
Applications have increasingly become the demand driver for bringing new products and services to market. To stay ahead of the competition and improve quality of experience, many companies are moving their apps to private, public or hybrid clouds. However, creating a production environment on clouds can be complex and vary for each app. In addition, because customers expect to be locked-in to whatever cloud they use, the process to select a cloud has become complex and time consuming. Existing solutions only solve part of the problem or force customers to abandon their favorite tools.

Avni solves those problems providing cloud virtualization, which abstracts away the choice of cloud, and a comprehensive deployment architecture, which simplifies the integration of application logic with data traffic and orchestration, and enables auto-SLA across a distributed production environment. The Avni SDC software accomplishes all that while working with customers' existing Dev, Virtualization, and DevOps tools and technologies.

The result is lower costs, faster to time to market, and the ability to make infrastructure or application changes in minutes.

Avni has certified their Software Defined Cloud to manage workloads on the CenturyLink Cloud platform.

### Offer
Avni has provided a Virtual Appliance - called a Partner Template - that can be deployed to your CenturyLink Cloud account via a Service Task. Although Service Tasks are ordinarily billed to the end user account, CenturyLink will provide a refund for the Service Task costs associated with deploying the Avni Partner Template. Please follow the process below to request credit. In order to purchase a license or entitlement, please contact Avni Sales using the contact information above.

For the first time in the cloud industry, Avni has made it possible to automate and simplify every aspect of infrastructure design, build-out, re-architect, and scale private, hybrid, and public clouds. With the Avni SDC software, you can now deploy apps in minutes – not in weeks or months – and see immediate, measurable and significant savings in OpEx and CapEx.

Customers can use Avni for Dev/Test, DevOps automation, existing business-critical multi-tier apps in production, scale-out micro-services based apps, etc. In all cases, existing

The Avni SDC software is the first solution to integrate all the critical technologies so that you can deploy your existing apps in minutes in any cloud. For more information on SDC, use the contact information above.

### Audience
- CenturyLink Cloud Users

### Impact
After reading this article, the user should feel comfortable deploying the Avni SDC technology on CenturyLink Cloud. Avni has provided a Virtual Appliance - what we call a Partner Template - that can be deployed to your CenturyLink Cloud account via a Service Task.

This deployment process for Partner Templates currently requires manual interaction via the Service Task process, but will be further automated in future releases of the CenturyLink Cloud Platform.

If you are interested in seeing this type of Partner Template deployment as an automated feature in the future, please share your input with us at [features@ctl.io](mailto:features@ctl.io).

### Prerequisite
* User requires access to the SDC Cloud platform as an authorized user.
* Access to the CenturyLink Cloud platform as an authorized user.
* Identify a Network VLAN you want the Avni SDC VM to reside on

### Postrequisite
* If you want to access your Avni SDC over the internet, please perform the following tasks once your Avni SDC has been deployed to your account.

* [Add a Public IP](../../Network/how-to-add-public-ip-to-virtual-machine.md) to your server through Control Portal

* If required, [allow incoming traffic for the admin port](../../Network/how-to-add-public-ip-to-virtual-machine.md) by clicking on the Servers Public IP in Control Portal. Warning: Please make sure your firewall rules are properly configured to only allow specific source traffic. If you do not configure source traffic rules you risk exposing your VM to the entire internet. Note: When accessing your VM for the first time or for any administration, we recommend you connect to your CenturyLink Cloud environment via Client VPN.

### Detailed Steps to Deploy Avni SDC
Avni SDC deploys in a virtual appliance model, as a CenturyLink Cloud *Partner Template*. Follow these step by step instructions to deploy a Avni SDC in to your CenturyLink Cloud account:

* Open a service task request ticket via email to ServiceTasks@ctl.io with the following details. **You will need to edit some of the information below**.

----
TO: ServiceTasks@ctl.io

EMAIL SUBJECT: Ecosystem Partner Template Import Request

CLC Support Team,

Please create a ticket to import the Ecosystem Partner Template image  referenced below to my CenturyLink Cloud Account:
* Import CenturyLink Ecosystem Partner Source Image: Avni SDC
* My CenturyLink Cloud Account Alias: ####
* My CenturyLink Cloud Account PIN:  ######
* Data Center to import image to: ###
* Server Name to import image as: ACAPP
* VLAN in the account to add the Server to: ########

Please let me know if you have any questions or issues. Kindly send me a reply once the work has been completed and let us know the IP address of the server where this technology has been deployed.

Thank you very much,

Your_Name_Here

-----

### Accessing and Configuring your Avni SDC partner template
Follow these steps to access and configure your Avni SDC partner template once you receive an email from Service Tasks confirming the partner template has been deployed to your account.

1. Contact Avni support team at contact@avni.io for trial license, SDC launch instruction manual and user guide
2. Follow the instructions to launch Avni SDC controller VM and note down the VM's public IP
3. Go to <Avni-SDC-Controller-Public-IP>:8090 and bootstrap the SDC controller using following information:
   *	Controller IP: <Avni-SDC-Controller-Public-IP>
   *	Username: <CenturyLink-Username>
   *	Password: <CenturyLink-Password>
   *	Server Group Name: <CenturyLink-Server-Group-Name> (for example, Default Group)
   *	Region: <Datacenter-Region-Code> (for example, it should be WA1 for Seattle datacenter)
   *	Image Name: <AVNI-SDC-Template-name>: For the template name please refer to the Avni SDC launch instruction manual and user guide.
   *	Avni VMs Network: <Network-For-SDC-VMs>

Refer to Avni SDC user guide for more information.

### Pricing
There are no Avni license costs included. The cost to deploy the Avni SDC Partner Template will be billed as a Service Task, but CenturyLink will provide a credit for those costs. In order to receive a credit, please follow the instructions below. More information about Service Tasks and fees is [available here](http://www.ctl.io/service-tasks).

#### Avni Pricing
1. Software Defined Cloud Controller (CTL SDC CNTRL): $25,000/Instance/Year
2. Software Defined Network Services (CTL SDN SVC): $100/Instance/Year
3. Application VM Management (CTL APP VMM): $100/Instance/Year

Please contact Avni directly to purchase a license by emailing [Avni](mailto:contact@avni.io).

#### Process to request credit for Service Task fee
Follow this process to request credit on your account to re-imburse any expense to deploy the Partner Template.

* Please copy and paste the email below and send it to [ecosystem@ctl.io](mailto:ecosystem@ctl.io)

----

TO: Ecosystem@CTL.io

EMAIL SUBJECT: Requesting Credit for Avni SDC Partner Template Deployment

CLC Ecosystem Team,

I am requesting a credit be placed on my account to cover the fees associated with deploying the Avni SDC Partner Template to my account under the Service Task deployed on MM/DD/YYYY. My CenturyLink Cloud username or account alias the credit needs to be placed on is ######

Thank you very much, your_name_here

----

### Frequently Asked Questions

#### Where do I obtain my Avni License?
Existing CenturyLink  Customers can contact their Account Representative for help obtaining a Avni license, or contact Avni directly:
* Web - [http://www.avni.io](http://www.avni.io)
* Sales and Marketing - Email [contact@avni.io](mailto:contact@avni.io) or Call (240) 375-9380

#### Who should I contact for support?
* For issues regarding the Avni SDC virtual appliance, please contact Avni:
  * Email Support - [contact@avni.io](mailto:contact@avni.io)
  * Telephone Support - (650-224-2637
  * Web Support - [http://www.avni.io](http://www.avni.io)

* For issues related to CenturyLink cloud infrastructure (VMs, storage, network, etc.), or if you experience a problem deploying the partner template, please open a CenturyLink Cloud Support ticket by emailing [noc@ctl.io](mailto:noc@ctl.io) or [through the support website](https://t3n.zendesk.com/tickets/new).

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