Cologne Royale ~ "Cologne Royale is an exceptional Cologne, inspired by the Royal Courts of the 18th century, of which Mr. Dior was so fond. "An exercise for a Perfumer, wherein the quality of a fragrance entirely depends on the quality of its ingredients, and its citrus fruits, in particular." says [perfumer] François Demachy." With notes of bergamot, lemon, neroli, mint and sandalwood.
Leather Oud ~ "Highly powerful, vibrant and deep, Oud Wood is rare and particularly recognizable by the leather scents that it diffuses when burned. Using this unique wood, François Demachy created an intensely masculine fragrance, with strong character in which Leather notes intertwine with those of Gaiac Wood, Cedar and Sandalwood." Additional notes for the woody leather fragrance include cardamom and clove.
Granville ~ "The House where Christian Dior spent his childhood is located in Granville, in the Normandy region. Built overlooking the cliffs, it is surrounded by pine trees and has a view of the sea. Inspired by this site that is so dear to the Creator, François Demachy chose to create a fresh, invigorating and aromatic fragrance. "I not only wanted an aromatic fragrance, as the estate has an abundance of pine trees, but also one that is exceptionally invigorating and extremely fresh..." The notes for the spicy aromatic include pine, thyme, rosemary, lemon, black pepper and sandalwood.
New Look 1947 ~ "February 12, 1947: A major event was held at 30, avenue Montaigne in Paris, where Christian Dior presented his first fashion show. With his flower women and bright colors, the Designer launched a fresh fashion trend. "It's a New Look!" exclaimed Carmel Snow, Editor-in-Chief at Harper's Bazaar, thus christening the Designer's inimitable style. Today, the New Look has become an explosive, generous, ultra-feminine and floral fragrance." The notes for the spicy floral include tuberose, benzoin, ylang ylang, rose, jasmine, vanilla and iris.
Mitzah ~ "Christian Dior loved and thus surrounded himself with women. When he arrived in Paris, he met the woman who would later become both his muse and advisor: Mitzah Bricard, an extremely sensual woman, with a divinely chic allure and captivating presence. François Demachy has paid tribute to this lady, by creating a fragrance that bears her name: a mysterious, captivating spicy oriental perfume." The notes for the oriental include rose, patchouli, coriander, cinnamon and frankincense.
Milly-la-Forêt ~ "After his fashion shows, Christian Dior loved to get away from high society Parisian life in order to recharge his batteries at his home in Milly-la-Forêt. "Hidden away from the world and surrounded only by my flowers, my canals and my small pond, I can listen to the sound of the Milly bells in peace." he writes. Wandering through the surrounding woods, François Demachy imagined this fragrance as the embodiment of a romantic walk in the forest, with a fresh, tender and cottony scent. The notes for the musky citrus include orange blossom, jasmine, iris, mandarin, neroli, white musk and sandalwood.
Vétiver ~ "Mr. Dior had a particular sense of elegance and sophistication. Inspired by this and his timelessly chic style, François Demachy has created a powerful, intense and raw Vetiver fragrance. A masculine raw material par excellence, Vetiver makes up more than one third of the fragrance and is combined with Coffee, a round, slightly bitter, roasted note, creating an unusual aromatic blend." The woody aromatic features notes of grapefruit, coffee and vetiver.
Octavian at 1000fragrances has done many wonderful reviews of these. Someone of them sound wonderful! Are they available in the US?
Yes, you can buy them at the website and would assume they're also in Dior boutiques.
Yes, they are great reviews. I think, from memory, he discussed Miss Dior in one of them, presumably the review of New Look. Really interesting.
Seven new fragrances??? I can't say that any of these screams "Buy me" but it will be interesting to see how they hold up against other collections.
They're a little late to the game. I don't know the distribution…that is, whether or not they'll be at Dior counters or only at Dior boutiques. If the latter, would guess they're going to get less play in the US only because there aren't that many Dior boutiques here.
Same for Germany – I wouldn't know where to find a Dior boutique (probably Berlin) whereas I have the Hermes store just around the corner.
R.I.P. cologne blanche, you have served me many summers.
it's a bit odd that main line dior infiltrated what was the men's boutique fragrance series….
More likely they decided to give some exposure to that series by pulling it into the main Dior fragrance line — really, even many perfumistas were not familiar with those Dior Homme colognes.
I find the whole thing more than a bit odd! As you point out, many were not familiar with the Dior Homme colognes, because Dior gave them such poor distribution and promotion. In my opinion, the original three were probably the best exclusive trio launch in a very long time… and maybe ever! After 3-4 years of letting them languish and become harder to find, they add the very disappointing (to me, anyway), woody-amber-dominated Ambre Nuit, while seemingly discontinuing the three good ones. Now they include the two I'd drop (Bois D'Argent and Ambre Nuit) in the new collection and leave out the beautiful and different Cologne Blanche! (Because of heliotropin restrictions?!) At least my beloved Eau Noire made the cut – although it's the only scent to get left out of the promotional picture! At least I quite like a few of Demachy's scents, so I'm trying to hold on to some hope….
It was odd what they did w/ the Cologne Collection, truly. I first smelled them in the New York Dior Homme boutique, where they had them hanging around by the cash register as an afterthought. Perhaps they were given more attention elsewhere: we all forget that North America is no longer the cash prize for most perfume brands.
I can testify Milly-la-Forêt was a lovely place: as a child, I used to spend most of my holidays around Fontainebleau and I was taken to Milly several times. I expect it's all built up now. That part of France was idyllic.
This scent appealed to me instantly as well, in a way the others (from thei rlist of notes) did not. I'd love to try it!
you have the voice of an angel!
I didn't even know about it! Just added it to my bookmarks. Very cool, Bela.
I wouldnt mind trying a few of these, but the Dior Homme colognes were never in the boutiques that i saw, so i dont expect these to be either.
Mitzah sounds a bit intriguing, however it's not really I foresee myself purchasing.
Samples are definitely in order, but none of them really grabbed me, either. Maybe the vetiver, but even that's more of a 'maybe' than anything else. I'm sure they're well made and lovely, but not on the top of my must try list.
The only one of these that appeals… and I have to admit that it does REALLY appeal to my girly taste… is New Look 1947. It's still probably out of my price range, unless I manage to locate a split.
I hope the bottles are pleasant to hold, because they are certainly very utilitarian-looking.
contact Monica—she may still have some available.
Mals, that one appealed to my girly-girl, too.
I've tried Granville —not impressed. Tends toward masculine and reminds me floor cleaner. I had especially high hopes for Milly-la-Foret…..synthetic floral and a bit of chewing gum. disappointed sighing ensued.
However, I am still hopeful for Mitzah and the leather which I'll hopefully have my mitts on soon.
I think you will be happy with Mitzah and Leather Oud.. although Vetiver and New Look were definitely a few of my favorites from this collection. Now if I can just hurry the plane that is carrying my 450ml bottle of Mitzah….
Daisy, any decants in the offing for Mitzah and/or Leather Oud?
Good to know, thanks, given that I'll probably never get to try them.
OK, now I'm depressed. Oh well. However, since I am an optimist, I'll STILL try Milly and hope for the best, but I'll do it with a restrained sniff.
I should probably say that for the most part—Dior is not my favorite house…only a couple of their offerings have appealled to me, so this new line was sort of a long shot anyhow. But don't be depressed!! There are so many lovely, perk-you-up florals that you haven't smelled yet! I sure we can find something that will snap you out of this blue mood! Whatcha like??
A collection like this cries out for a discovery set or sample pack… any sign of that?
My small decant of New Look 1947 turned up today. It is extremely lovely and seems very well put together, although not my style to wear. Whilst I am looking forward to decants of Leather Oudh and Mitzah I admit to some unease relating to the slightly derivative style of this collection.
Please let us know how the Leather Oud and Mitzah turns out. As a whole, with the exception of Poison, I think Dior produces some well done fragrances. I like J'adore and I am not a particular fan of friuty florals.
My decant came too and I'm infatuated, it's a lil' dear!
I could wear this happily and I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked it. I am looking forward to LO and Mitzah now and especially because of Octavian's raving reviews of them.
He also loved New Look so I'm thrilled he didn't steer me wrong.
I put on vtg. Miss Dior last night just to remind myself and yes!
It is a classic and my favorite for so many reasons.
Have also been seriously lemming these ever since Octavian's reviews. Hoping one – and only one! – will turn out to be my type. Hard to imagine they will tip Miss Dior, though!
NozKoz NOTHING could ever replace or even stand beside Miss Dior.
Get Behind the lady , all of you! I love her.
But I think New look was lovely and was just as Octavian described, floral, creamy, powdery .
I hope one of them suits you and I want to know which one (if any?) catch your fancy!
Wow. If I were Chanel I'd be flattered and a bit tweaked. I know lots of people have done their own version of the Exclusifs, but Dior seems to have borrowed from the bottles, the kind of scents available, and even the copy!
Still interested in sniffing though!
But the bottle is nearly the same as the Dior Homme cologne collection bottle, which pre-dated the Exclusifs bottle, although of course Chanel was using that square bottle w/ the labels on some of their scents already. I think if you went back far enough though, somebody else was probably doing something similar…really doubt Chanel "owns" the look.
That's true about the bottle, R. Guess I was also thinking of the way they've included a vetiver (like Sycomore), a cologne (OK, everyone does this, and the perfumes based on the locations/houses (like La Pausa, and Rue Chambon) though I suppose everyone does that, too!
Oh, that's true too! Yes, these collections all look alike at this point, it's true…and add the new Van Cleef Arpels set in there too. They all seem out to "cover all the bases".
I am always interested in sniffing.
If I am not on tomorrow due to last minute shopping, everyone have a nice Thanksgiving!
Maybe it's just the PMS talking, or the combination of pharmaceuticals I just ingested, but I'd rather have Dior focus their money on un-reformulating their classics. Or maybe I just have new release fatigue.
Just got some Granville today and think it's pretty wonderful — would agree with tending toward masculine, as Daisy said, but definitely not Pine-Sol-esque on me, thankfully It's essentially what I hoped it would be from the description and Octavian's review at 1000fragrances (aromatic and bracing), so I'm pleased and already thinking I perhaps didn't get enough of it. Will be trying the Leather Oud as well. Dior is not my favorite house, but I'm glad to have given Granville a go.
Personally, I'd Love Dior to Relaunch Diorling or Diorama to a wider audience… now those Sound like EXCEPTIONAL Fragrances….
BTW… does this kind of a little smack of "Les Exclusifs" by Chanel or is it just me?
I hope this means better distribution. The way I'm skimping on my eau Noire decant I'm going to need a full bottle sooner or later. Wish they did a slightly more reasonable size than 125 ml, though.
I want them all just to have on my bathroom counter.
This collection is now named La Collection Privée Christian Dior (as per Dior's official Facebook page). Oh, and the concept visuals are also on the page – they are really clean and beautiful.


Creavit TP325 Wall Hung Mounted Toilet Pan wc soft seat. To ensure that you can fully customise the implementation of this piece into your bathroom. Creavit care about long-term use, durability, functionality, aesthetics and.
Environmental sensitivity of every product they create. Please take a look at the picture for the dimentions.
Soft close seat & cover included. FREE POST FOR ENGLAND & WALES. All IV postcodes, KW1 to 14, kA27 & 28, KW15 to 17, PA20, PA41 to 49, PA60 to 78, PH42 to 44, PA21 to 38.
PH4 to 41, PH49 to 50, ZE & Northern Ireland, Southern Ireland, Ireland & Channel Islands & Isle Of Man & Scottish Highlands & Scottish Isles. ONCE CHECKED PLEASE SIGN AS OK OR DAMAGED. 2' item and' 1' is damage please dont return the items, accept it and inform us we'll send you the replacement. Customer feedback are really important to us so let us know about your perches by leaving feedback. It help us to served good quality of customer service. Thank you for your Attention to this matter. The item "Creavit Red Wall Hung Mounted Toilet Pan wc soft seat Made in Turkey" is in sale since Wednesday, November 29, 2017. This item is in the category "Home, Furniture & DIY\Bath\Toilets & Bidets\Toilets". The seller is "trade_mart2" and is located in LONDON, Middlesex. This item can be shipped to United Kingdom, North, South, or Latin America, all countries in continental Asia, Ireland, Australia, France, Greece, Italy, Spain.


text:
// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
// Licensed under the MIT license. See LICENSE file in the project root for full license information.

using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Linq.Expressions;
using Xunit;

namespace Tests.ExpressionCompiler.Unary
{
    public static class UnaryDecrementNullableTests
    {
        #region Test methods

        [Fact]
        public static void CheckUnaryDecrementNullableShortTest()
        {
            short?[] values = new short?[] { null, 0, 1, -1, short.MinValue, short.MaxValue };
            for (int i = 0; i < values.Length; i++)
            {
                VerifyDecrementNullableShort(values[i]);
            }
        }

        [Fact]
        public static void CheckUnaryDecrementNullableUShortTest()
        {
            ushort?[] values = new ushort?[] { null, 0, 1, ushort.MaxValue };
            for (int i = 0; i < values.Length; i++)
            {
                VerifyDecrementNullableUShort(values[i]);
            }
        }

        [Fact]
        public static void CheckUnaryDecrementNullableIntTest()
        {
            int?[] values = new int?[] { null, 0, 1, -1, int.MinValue, int.MaxValue };
            for (int i = 0; i < values.Length; i++)
            {
                VerifyDecrementNullableInt(values[i]);
            }
        }

        [Fact]
        public static void CheckUnaryDecrementNullableUIntTest()
        {
            uint?[] values = new uint?[] { null, 0, 1, uint.MaxValue };
            for (int i = 0; i < values.Length; i++)
            {
                VerifyDecrementNullableUInt(values[i]);
            }
        }

        [Fact]
        public static void CheckUnaryDecrementNullableLongTest()
        {
            long?[] values = new long?[] { null, 0, 1, -1, long.MinValue, long.MaxValue };
            for (int i = 0; i < values.Length; i++)
            {
                VerifyDecrementNullableLong(values[i]);
            }
        }

        [Fact]
        public static void CheckUnaryDecrementNullableULongTest()
        {
            ulong?[] values = new ulong?[] { null, 0, 1, ulong.MaxValue };
            for (int i = 0; i < values.Length; i++)
            {
                VerifyDecrementNullableULong(values[i]);
            }
        }

        [Fact]
        public static void CheckDecrementFloatTest()
        {
            float?[] values = new float?[] { null, 0, 1, -1, float.MinValue, float.MaxValue, float.Epsilon, float.NegativeInfinity, float.PositiveInfinity, float.NaN };
            for (int i = 0; i < values.Length; i++)
            {
                VerifyDecrementNullableFloat(values[i]);
            }
        }

        [Fact]
        public static void CheckDecrementDoubleTest()
        {
            double?[] values = new double?[] { null, 0, 1, -1, double.MinValue, double.MaxValue, double.Epsilon, double.NegativeInfinity, double.PositiveInfinity, double.NaN };
            for (int i = 0; i < values.Length; i++)
            {
                VerifyDecrementNullableDouble(values[i]);
            }
        }

        #endregion

        #region Test verifiers

        private static void VerifyDecrementNullableShort(short? value)
        {
            Expression<Func<short?>> e =
                Expression.Lambda<Func<short?>>(
                    Expression.Decrement(Expression.Constant(value, typeof(short?))),
                    Enumerable.Empty<ParameterExpression>());
            Func<short?> f = e.Compile();
            Assert.Equal((short?)(--value), f());
        }

        private static void VerifyDecrementNullableUShort(ushort? value)
        {
            Expression<Func<ushort?>> e =
                Expression.Lambda<Func<ushort?>>(
                    Expression.Decrement(Expression.Constant(value, typeof(ushort?))),
                    Enumerable.Empty<ParameterExpression>());
            Func<ushort?> f = e.Compile();
            Assert.Equal((ushort?)(--value), f());
        }

        private static void VerifyDecrementNullableInt(int? value)
        {
            Expression<Func<int?>> e =
                Expression.Lambda<Func<int?>>(
                    Expression.Decrement(Expression.Constant(value, typeof(int?))),
                    Enumerable.Empty<ParameterExpression>());
            Func<int?> f = e.Compile();
            Assert.Equal((int?)(--value), f());
        }

        private static void VerifyDecrementNullableUInt(uint? value)
        {
            Expression<Func<uint?>> e =
                Expression.Lambda<Func<uint?>>(
                    Expression.Decrement(Expression.Constant(value, typeof(uint?))),
                    Enumerable.Empty<ParameterExpression>());
            Func<uint?> f = e.Compile();
            Assert.Equal((uint?)(--value), f());
        }

        private static void VerifyDecrementNullableLong(long? value)
        {
            Expression<Func<long?>> e =
                Expression.Lambda<Func<long?>>(
                    Expression.Decrement(Expression.Constant(value, typeof(long?))),
                    Enumerable.Empty<ParameterExpression>());
            Func<long?> f = e.Compile();
            Assert.Equal((long?)(--value), f());
        }

        private static void VerifyDecrementNullableULong(ulong? value)
        {
            Expression<Func<ulong?>> e =
                Expression.Lambda<Func<ulong?>>(
                    Expression.Decrement(Expression.Constant(value, typeof(ulong?))),
                    Enumerable.Empty<ParameterExpression>());
            Func<ulong?> f = e.Compile();
            Assert.Equal((ulong?)(--value), f());
        }

        private static void VerifyDecrementNullableFloat(float? value)
        {
            Expression<Func<float?>> e =
                Expression.Lambda<Func<float?>>(
                    Expression.Decrement(Expression.Constant(value, typeof(float?))),
                    Enumerable.Empty<ParameterExpression>());
            Func<float?> f = e.Compile();
            Assert.Equal((float?)(--value), f());
        }

        private static void VerifyDecrementNullableDouble(double? value)
        {
            Expression<Func<double?>> e =
                Expression.Lambda<Func<double?>>(
                    Expression.Decrement(Expression.Constant(value, typeof(double?))),
                    Enumerable.Empty<ParameterExpression>());
            Func<double?> f = e.Compile();
            Assert.Equal((double?)(--value), f());
        }

        #endregion
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Cottonwood, Salt Lake County, Utah
Cottonwood: City in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
Cottonwood is a city located in the county of Salt Lake in the U.S. state of Utah.
Quick Facts about Cottonwood
State : Utah (United States)
County : Salt Lake County
Phone Area Codes : 801, 385
Water as percent of area : 0%
Land as percent of area : 100%
Named for : Populus sect. Aigeiros
Altitude : 4,823 feet / 1470 meters
Establishment : January 01, 2005 (18 years ago)
Time Zone : Mountain Time Zone
Location of Cottonwood on Utah map.
Cottonwood Paper Mill 3
Cottonwood Paper Mill 3 image
Cottonwood is located at 40°39'30"N 111°50'3"W (40.6582800, -111.8341000).
Cottonwood map
Official website of Cottonwood
People born in Cottonwood (1)
Bruce R. Cutler was born in Cottonwood
Schools in Cottonwood
College & universities near Cottonwood, UT
Paul Mitchell the School-Salt Lake City Holladay (UT) 84117
Amtrak & bus stations near Cottonwood, UT
Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub 340 South 600 West RAIL
Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub 300 South 600 West BUS
Provo 300 West 600 South RAIL
Ogden, Utah 2393 Wall Avenue BUS
Post offices near Cottonwood
Holladay Post Office Salt Lake City (UT) 84117
Other places with the same name (9)
Cottonwood , Arizona city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States with a population of 12,762 people.
Cottonwood , California ghost town in Yolo County, California with a population of 3,850 people.
Cottonwood , Alabama town in Houston County, Alabama, United States with a population of 1,247 people.
Cottonwood , Minnesota city in Lyon County, Minnesota, United States with a population of 1,223 people.
Cottonwood , Idaho town in Idaho County, Idaho, United States with a population of 940 people.
Cottonwood , Illinois unincorporated community in Illinois with a population of 503 people.
Cottonwood , Texas City in Brazos County, Texas, United States with a population of 209 people.
Cottonwood , South Dakota town in Jackson County, South Dakota, United States with a population of 10 people.
Other cities in Salt Lake County
Cities, Towns, Neighborhoods & Other Populated Places in Salt Lake County , UT. (more)
Salt Lake City 200,567 City in and county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, United States and the capital of Utah
West Valley City 135,248 City in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
West Jordan 116,530 City in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
Sandy 94,871 City in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
Sandy Hills 89,575 City in United States of America
South Jordan 78,503 City in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
Millcreek 60,507 City in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
Taylorsville 59,402 City in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
Herriman 55,756 City in southwestern Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
Draper 48,963 City in Salt Lake and Utah counties in Utah, United States
Murray 48,355 City in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
Riverton 44,369 City in Freemont County, Wyoming
South Jordan Heights 37,141 City in United States of America
Kearns 35,731 Census-designated place in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
Midvale 34,434 City in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
Cottonwood Heights 33,327 City in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Finding parents in a tree hierarchy for a given child LINQ (lambda expression) I have data with parent child relationships, finding all children for a given parent is straight forward using Linq, however I have problem other way around, finding all of parents when child is provided.
  List<FlatData> elements = new List<FlatData>
          {
   new FlatData {Id = 1, ParentId = NULL ,Text = "Apple"},
   new FlatData {Id = 2, ParentId = 1, Text = "Cat"},
   new FlatData {Id = 3, ParentId = 2, Text = "Dog"},
   new FlatData {Id = 4, ParentId = 3, Text = "Elephant"}
       };

When Id 4 is given I need to able to reverse traverse and find all parents using LINQ (lambda expression).

A: This works:
var parents = elements.ToDictionary(x => x.Id, x => x.ParentId);

Func<int, IEnumerable<int?>> getParents = null;
getParents = i =>
    parents.ContainsKey(i)
        ? new [] { parents[i] }.Concat(parents[i].HasValue
            ? getParents(parents[i].Value)
            : Enumerable.Empty<int?>())
        : Enumerable.Empty<int?>();

If I ask for getParents(4) then I get this result:

A slightly simplified version that removes the null parent is this:
var parents =
    elements
        .Where(x => x.ParentId != null)
        .ToDictionary(x => x.Id, x => x.ParentId.Value);

Func<int, IEnumerable<int>> getParents = null;
getParents = i =>
    parents.ContainsKey(i)
        ? new [] { parents[i] }.Concat(getParents(parents[i]))
        : Enumerable.Empty<int>();

A: You can use recursion to do something like this:
private IEnumerable<FlatData> FindAllParents(List<FlatData> all_data, FlatData child)
{
    var parent = all_data.FirstOrDefault(x => x.Id == child.ParentId);

    if (parent == null)
        return Enumerable.Empty<FlatData>();

    return new[] {parent}.Concat(FindAllParents(all_data, parent));
}

And use it like this:
int id = 4;

var child = elements.First(x => x.Id == id);

var parents = FindAllParents(elements, child).ToList();

This solution works, but if you have a large data set, then you should consider using a Dictionary<int,FlatData> to make it it faster to fetch a FlatData object given it's Id.
Here is how the method would look like in this case:
private IEnumerable<FlatData> FindAllParents(Dictionary<int,FlatData> all_data, FlatData child)
{
    if(!all_data.ContainsKey(child.ParentId))
        return Enumerable.Empty<FlatData>();

    var parent = all_data[child.ParentId];

    return new[] {parent}.Concat(FindAllParents(all_data, parent));
}

And here is how you would use it:
var dictionary = elements.ToDictionary(x => x.Id); //You need to do this only once to convert the list into a Dictionary

int id = 4;

var child = elements.First(x => x.Id == id);

var parents = FindAllParents(dictionary, child).ToList();

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Justin Wells Films
Documentary Filmmaker and Author
Books: How To Film Truth
Books by Friends
Rogue Spirituality Podcast
Contact Justin
Notes from 1978: How The Discovery of my Grandfather's European Travel Diary Brought Him Back To Life
One Christmas, while rooting around in my Father's basement, I discovered a typed manuscript in a red folder. My Grandfather had passed several years prior (in his 90's), and I was looking for his unpublished novel. What I found was better than his novel, a travel diary detailing my grandmother and his adventures in Europe while on Sabbatical in the summer of 1978.
I'm co-writing this book with my brother, Aaron, and we see this as an exercise in intergenerational conversation: reflections on that which makes life meaningful in culture, art, philosophy of life and travel, and how to fully appreciate the gift of existence. This is both an ode to my grandparents, who taught my brother and I so much about how to live, and an example (we hope) of generative action, a way of contributing to culture that is positive, affirming, celebratory and uplifting, something we feel is greatly needed in our public discourse today, which can all to often be combative, vitriolic, denigrating and frustrating.
We invite you to listen in on our intergenerational conversation over a bottle of wine with some cheese.
Making Documentaries Deep: Nonfiction Film and the Journey Towards Healing
As a follow up to my first book, How to Film Truth, Making Documentaries Deep will be an expansion of the themes I explore in How to Film Truth. I have come to believe that documentary film often derives it's power and meaning for us by tapping in to deeply human rituals and historical practices. Christopher Vogler, in The Writer's Journey, argues that a healthy understanding of mythology will help writers tap into deep and powerful human themes and processes when writing screenplays for movies. Drawing on the work of Joseph Campbell and The Hero's Journey, Vogler allows screenwriters and filmmakers to place their work in conversation with the great stories of the past, and put us in touch with something that is spiritual, emotionally impactful, and cathartic. My project is similar, in that I want filmmakers to be aware of the great historical and religious traditions within which these films can operate, the difference being that we will look at religious ritual and practice as framework for understanding nonfiction film as therapeutic and spiritual art.
We might think of these ritualistic practices in terms of documentary genres: confessional films, testimonial films, celebratory films, lament films and poetic films. We will first explore the history of these practices (confession, testimony, celebration, lament and the poetic voice) and then look at representative films within each genre. My hope is that readers will come away with a greater appreciation for the spiritual and therapeutic potential of healing documentary films, and that provide a framework for documentary filmmakers who want to tap into these deeply human needs.


Guide to Bullitt County, Kentucky ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
The County was named for Alexander Scott Bullitt. The County is located in the central area of the state.
Many years between 1852 and 1911 are missing.
1796--Bullitt County was created 13 December 1796 from Jefferson and Nelson Counties.
The following web sites have additional information on Bullitt county cemeteries.
For tips on accessing Bullitt County, Kentucky Genealogy census records online, see: Kentucky Census.
Local histories are available for Bullitt County, Kentucky Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories see the wiki page section Kentucky Local Histories.
- 6th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Companies B and D.
Do a Bullitt County, Kentucky Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
Probate records are held by the Bullitt County, Kentucky Genealogy Clerk of Court and are housed at the Bullitt County, Kentucky Genealogy Courthouse. Microfilmed records can be found online at Kentucky, Probate Records, 1792-1977 for Caldwell, Henry, Hickman, Russell and Trimble counties. See the wiki page Kentucky Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.
1796-1935 Will Books A to K (1796-1935) have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
1803-1824 Will Book A: 1803-1824 - Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Bullitt County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
1823-1838 Will Book B: 1823-1838 - Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Bullitt County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
1800 - 1800 Tax List of Bullitt County, Kentucky Genealogy is included in Clift's Second Census of Kentucky 1800, digitized by Ancestry ($).
Original marriage records are held at the office of the Bullitt County Clerk, with divorce records 1849-1958 located with the Bullitt County Circuit Court. For more information see How to Find Kentucky Marriage Records. For Kentucky divorce records see the wiki page Kentucky Vital Records.
1852-1861 - Bullitt County Birth Index 1852-1861. Batch C517141 at FamilySearch - free.
1874 - Bullitt County Birth Index 1874. Batch C517142 at FamilySearch - free.
1852-1862 - Bullitt County Marriage Index 1852-1862. Batch M517141 at FamilySearch - free.
1878 - Bullitt County Marriage Index 1878. Batch M517143 at FamilySearch - free.
↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Bullitt County, Kentucky" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullitt_County,_Kentucky."
↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Bullitt County, Kentucky page 269, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Bullitt County, Kentucky. Page 268-276 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 251-254.
↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Bullitt County, Kentucky," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullitt_County,_Kentucky, accessed 5 August 2018.


text:
Lax practices make e-voting insecure, study finds
Simple measures, like regular, automatic audits of accuracy would go far, study of government, academic, business experts finds.
Written by ZDNet UK, Contributor on June 28, 2006
Electronic voting machines' flaws could easily be fixed, but as the situation stands now the systems are insecure, a task force comprised of government, university, manufacturers and nonprofits concluded, Associated Press reports.
Electronic voting machines without paper backup are seen as an important correction to all-digital machines, but even paper records are useless if audits aren't routinely and automatically performed, researchers for the Task Force on Voting System Security said. Half of the 26 states requiring paper records also require regular audits.
Researchers acknowledged that audits won't uncover attacks that change both the electronic and paper records, something possible because many voters don't bother to check the paper trail before leaving the voting booth. Voters, researchers say, should be encouraged to check the paper.
Other recommendations: banning wireless components, which can create openings for attack; and testing randomly selected machines on Election Day. "We're not talking about dramatic restructuring of the architecture," task force chairman Larry Norden said."We're talking about straightforward things, most of which could be in place for the 2006 elections."
It's expected that four out of five voters will use e-voting machines this year, according to Election Data Services, a political consulting firm that tracks election equipment.
Doug Chapin of Electionline.org, a nonpartisan research group that tracks efforts to revamp election systems, said states and counties typically have been focusing on trying to assure Americans that their vote was being recorded. Chapin, who was not involved with the Brennan study, said he expects more election officials to begin considering systematically how they can use the records more broadly, such as through audits.
Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., has introduced legislation requiring paper records and random audits for federal elections in at least 2 percent of precincts in each state.


text:
Postcards/Cards[remove]50
Collections[remove]50
Manuscripts[remove]50
Letters/Correspondence40
Documents33
Ephemera30
Prints29
University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries Special Collections and University Archives14
Boston Public Library5
Amherst College Archives & Special Collections3
Granville Public Library2
Jones Library, Amherst2
USS Constitution Museum2
more Institution »
You searched for: Format Postcards/Cards Remove constraint Format: Postcards/Cards Format Manuscripts Remove constraint Format: Manuscripts Format Collections Remove constraint Format: Collections
1. Admission Office. Annual Reports to Secondary Schools
Amherst College Archives & Special Collections
This collection consists of items from the Admission Office. Annual Reports to Secondary Schools collection hosted by Amherst College Archives & Special Collections. Information about the items has been provided by the holding institution so that they may be included in Digital Commonwealth.
2. Anti-Slavery (Collection of Distinction)
In the late 1890s, the family of William Lloyd Garrison, along with others closely involved in the anti-slavery movement, presented Boston Public Library with a major gathering of correspondence, documents, and other original material relating to the abolitionist cause from 1832 until after the... more
3. Benjamin Smith Lyman Papers, 1831-1921 (Bulk: 1851-1915)
University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries Special Collections and University Archives
The papers of Benjamin Smith Lyman (1835-1920), a native of Northampton, Massachusetts, and a geologist/mining engineer who worked in Japan at the request of the Meiji government to introduce modern geological surveying and mining techniques, illuminate aspects of late nineteenth... more
4. Blanchard-Means Family Papers
This collection consists of items from the Blanchard-Means Family Papers collection hosted by University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries Special Collections and University Archives. Information about the items has been provided by the holding institution so that they may be included in... more
5. Blind in Art Collection
Perkins School for the Blind
This collection presents a fascinating glimpse of ways in which people who are blind or visually impaired have been portrayed in works of art through the ages. It consists of reproduction prints, posters, photographs, clippings, and a few original art objects relating to the depiction in works... more
6. Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital Collection
Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital
This collection contains photographs, documents, and monographs from the early history (late 19th century to mid-20th century) of Faulkner Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Contents include the founding Faulkner family, the Faulkner Hospital Training School for Nurses (later known as the... more
7. Caleb Foote Papers, 1851-1995 (bulk 1939-1995)
A legal scholar and pacifist, Caleb Foote was born in Cambridge, Mass., on March 26, 1917, the son of a Unitarian minister and Quaker mother. Earning degrees in history from Harvard (AB 1939) and economics from Columbia (MA 1941), Foote was hired by the Fellowship of Reconciliation to organize... more
8. Countryside and Scenes
Granville Public Library
Located in the Berkshire foothills of Western Massachusetts, Granville is known for its scenic countryside, quaint village settings, and rolling farmland. This collection includes photos taken by local photographers, summer visitors, and Granville families. George Aldrich, a local amateur... more
9. Digital Amherst Collection
Jones Library, Amherst
This collection consists of items from the Digital Amherst collection hosted by Jones Library, Amherst. Information about the items has been provided by the holding institution so that they may be included in Digital Commonwealth.
10. Digitized Museum Collections
Historic New England
This collection consists of items from the Digitized Museum Collections collection hosted by Historic New England. Information about the items has been provided by the holding institution so that they may be included in Digital Commonwealth.
11. Edward and Orra White Hitchcock Papers
This collection consists of items from the Edward and Orra White Hitchcock Papers collection hosted by Amherst College Archives & Special Collections. Information about the items has been provided by the holding institution so that they may be included in Digital Commonwealth.
12. Ephemera collection (EP001)
This collection consists of items from the Ephemera collection (EP001) collection hosted by Historic New England. Information about the items has been provided by the holding institution so that they may be included in Digital Commonwealth.
13. Florence Porter Lyman Papers, 1894-1931
Florence Porter Lyman (1870-1960) was born into the Chapin Moodey family in the late 19th century. She married Charles Wendell Porter, a Northampton lawyer who spent his summers in Northern Maine, in 1894. After her first husband's death in 1899 she continued to spend her summers in Maine. She... more
14. Frank N. Fowler Postcard Collection
Holyoke Community College
The Frank N. Fowler Postcard Collection is a rich compilation of historical information about various towns and cities in Massachusetts. Frank traveled around collecting postcards and then visiting the sights depicted in scenes on the cards. He met with and talked to local town people who told... more
15. Harvey Wasserman Papers, 1965-2017
A journalist, writer, and historian, Harvey Wasserman has been an activist for radical democracy and alternative energy for over five decades. Influenced by civil rights activism as a child, Wasserman became seriously involved in journalism while on the staff of the Michigan Daily at the... more
16. Henry Whittemore Library Collection
Framingham State University, Henry Whittemore Library
The Special Collections and Archives at Framingham State University were established in the early 1970s in order to collect, preserve and provide access to materials that reflect the history and development of the university. Such materials include non-current university records, publications,... more
17. Houses and Other Structures
Granville has a remarkable number of significant historical homes and structures, many of which are on record with the Massachusetts Historical Commission MACRIS database. Several areas of town are also listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Historical Room has collected images... more
18. Hugo Münsterberg Collection, 1890-1916
Hugo Münsterberg (June 1, 1863-December 16, 1916) was born in Danzing, Germany. He received his Ph.D. in psychology in 1885 and his medical degree in 1887. Münsterberg met William James in 1891 and, in 1892, James invited him to a three-year term in the psychological laboratory at Harvard.... more
19. Isaac Hull Papers, 1791-1862
USS Constitution Museum
Isaac Hull (1773-1843) served as lieutenant on USS Constitution throughout the Quasi-War with France and commanded USS Argus during the Barbary Wars. He assumed command of USS Constitution in June 1810 and won the first American frigate victory of the War of 1812 when he defeated HMS Guerriere... more
20. James Aronson - W.E.B. Du Bois Collection, 1946-1983
Materials written by or pertaining to W.E.B. Du Bois, collected by James Aronson, who was executive editor of the "National Guardian" from 1948 to 1967. Includes correspondence, speeches by Du Bois in published form, articles by Du Bois, biographical sketches and tribute articles about Du... more
21. Jewett family papers (MS014)
This collection consists of items from the Jewett family papers (MS014) collection hosted by Historic New England. Information about the items has been provided by the holding institution so that they may be included in Digital Commonwealth.
22. Joseph Langland Papers, 1939-2007
The poet Joseph Langland was raised on the family farm in northeastern Iowa, and earned both a BA (1940) and MA (1941) from the famed writing program at the University of Iowa, before being inducted into the military service during the Second World War. While still in Germany serving with... more
23. Jubb Brothers Civil War Letters
J. V. Fletcher Library
Represented here are the correspondence of John and William Jubb of Westford, Massachusetts to family members and friends. Also included are reminiscences of William Jubb (1862-1934), as well as postcard images of him.
24. Lawrence History Center Photograph Collection
Lawrence History Center
The Lawrence History Center Photograph Collection contains photographs from 1850 to present, which chronicle the history of the people and places of Lawrence, Massachusetts.
25. Leominster, MA, Municipal Building (City Hall) Time Capsule, 1915
Leominster Public Library
Presented here are items included in the time capsule sealed within the cornerstone of Leominster's then-new municipal building during the town's 175th-anniversary celebration on July 4-5, 1915. Later the same year, Leominster became a city. The capsule was remembered, located, and successfully... more
26. Letters and Miscellaneous Papers of the Winsor Family 1820-1915
Duxbury Free Library
The Winsors were one of the most successful merchant families in Duxbury shortly after the Revolutionary War. In the 1780s and 90s, they launched more vessels than any other builders in town. Samuel Winsor, born perhaps in Boston in 1725, is the first of the family seen in Duxbury. He settled on... more
27. Lillian Hyman Katzman Papers, 1952-1989
When Lillian Hyman Katzman volunteered to work with the Democratic Party in New York City in 1948, she was sent over to the office of W.E.B. Du Bois to assist him with some secretarial work. From that beginning, she was hired as a secretary, remaining in Du Bois's employ for several... more
28. Lloyd E. Walsh Papers, 1917-1936
In June 1917, Lloyd Walsh volunteered for duty in the American Field Service, and for three months he served as an ambulance driver for Service Section 68 (S.S.U. 68), a unit that included a number of Amherst College students. When the United States entered the war later in the year,... more
29. Lyman Family Papers, 1839-1942
The descendants of Joseph Lyman (1767-1847) flourished in nineteenth century Northampton, Mass., achieving social prominence, financial success, and a degree of intellectual acclaim. Having settled in Northampton before 1654, just a generation removed from emigration, the Lymans featured... more
30. Margaret Fuller Papers, 1837-1884
This collection contains approximately 154 letters, poems, fragments, and journal extracts written by Margaret Fuller (1810-1850) from 1837 to 1850, including letters to William Henry Channing, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Lewis Cass. This material provides insights into Fuller's thoughts about... more
31. Mark H. McCormack Papers, ca. 1920-2008 (bulk: 1957-2003)
Once hailed by Sports Illustrated as "the most powerful man in sport," Mark Hume McCormack directly engineered the growth of money and media in modern professional sport. After graduating from the College of William and Mary with a B.A. in French and receiving a law degree from Yale,... more
32. Marrett family papers (MS018)
This collection consists of items from the Marrett family papers (MS018) collection hosted by Historic New England. Information about the items has been provided by the holding institution so that they may be included in Digital Commonwealth.
33. Nash-Scott Family Papers, 1781-1987
Long-time residents of Hadley, Massachusetts, the Nash and Scott families were united in 1881 when John Nash, a farmer, married Lizzie Scott. Of their seven children, Herman B. Nash, graduated from the Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1917, and immediately enlisted in the army,... more
34. Nina Heald Webber Cape Cod Canal collection (MS028)
This collection consists of items from the Nina Heald Webber Cape Cod Canal collection (MS028) collection hosted by Historic New England. Information about the items has been provided by the holding institution so that they may be included in Digital Commonwealth.
35. Photographic Collection of the Jacob Edwards Library
Jacob Edwards Library
36. Richard J. S. Gutman and Kellie O. Gutman Summer Camp collection, 1886-2010 (MS056)
This collection consists of items from the Richard J. S. Gutman and Kellie O. Gutman Summer Camp collection, 1886-2010 (MS056) collection hosted by Historic New England. Information about the items has been provided by the holding institution so that they may be included in Digital Commonwealth.
37. The Robert E. Brooker III Collection of American Legal and Land Use Documents, 1713-1945
This collection consists of items from the Robert E. Brooker III Collection of American Legal and Land Use Documents, 1713-1945 collection hosted by Boston College. Information about the items has been provided by the holding institution so that they may be included in Digital Commonwealth.
38. Robert Francis Collection
Robert Churchill Francis (1901-1987) moved to Amherst, Massachusetts in 1926 to teach high school English. The teaching job lasted a single year; writing became his life's work. Francis was the recipient of numerous awards and honors throughout his writing career including the Golden Rose of the... more
39. Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee (Collection of Distinction)
Spanning the years 1914–1967, the Aldino Felicani Collection: Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee Records documents the efforts and activities of the Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee to free Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti from prison for the murders of Frederick Parmenter and Alessandro... more
40. Sarah (Sallie) Moore Field, Abbot Academy Class of 1904, Student Materials and Ephemera
Phillips Academy Andover
Sarah "Sallie" Moore Field graduated from Abbot Academy in 1904 and lived until 1985 (age 103). This collection documents primarily Sarah Field's time at Abbot Academy (mostly 1900 to 1904) and suggests that she was a dutiful student. The majority of the collection comprises notebooks from her... more
41. Selected items from the collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society
Digitized presentations of selections from the Massachusetts Historical Society, an independent research library.
42. Thomas Wentworth Higginson Correspondence, 1848-1909
Thomas Wentworth Higginson, 1823-1911, was an abolitionist, author, Civil War colonel of the 1st South Carolina Volunteers, and Unitarian minister from Cambridge, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard College in 1841, and went on to study theology at Harvard Divinity School. Higginson became... more
43. Tucker family papers (MS033)
This collection consists of items from the Tucker family papers (MS033) collection hosted by Historic New England. Information about the items has been provided by the holding institution so that they may be included in Digital Commonwealth.
44. University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries Collection
This collection consists of items from the University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries collection hosted by University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries Special Collections and University Archives. Information about the items has been provided by the holding institution so that they may be... more
45. W. E. B. Du Bois Papers, 1803-1999 (bulk 1877-1963)
Scholar, writer, editor of The Crisis and other journals, co-founder of the Niagara Movement, the NAACP, and the Pan African Congresses, international spokesperson for peace and for the rights of oppressed minorities, W.E.B. Du Bois was a son of Massachusetts who articulated the... more
46. Waban Historical Collection
The City of Newton owns a wealth of historic materials that speak to the community's social, cultural, and governmental past. These materials reflect the civic life of, and provide insight into, Newton from the 19th through the early 20th century, a time when Newton was transforming from... more
47. Walt Whitman Collection
This collection consists of items from the Walt Whitman collection hosted by Amherst College Archives & Special Collections. Information about the items has been provided by the holding institution so that they may be included in Digital Commonwealth.
48. War of 1812
The USS Constitution Museum's War of 1812 collection includes printed pamphlets, rare books, certificates, broadsides, and manuscript correspondence, logs, and journals. Together the works document USS Constitution's role in the War of 1812, as well as other political and military aspects of the... more
49. Westborough High School History Archives
Westborough High School
Materials in the Westborough High School History Archives explore the history of Westborough High School from the late 1800s to the end of the 20th century. The collection incliudes such items as class photographs, sports keepsakes, letters and other school-related documentation, school... more
50. "Westborough: Your Town - Your History" Scanning Day, 2017
On February 4, 2017, the Westborough Public Library asked Westborough residents to bring in historical and cultural items relating to our town for the library to scan and digitize at its "Westborough: Your Town - Your History" Scanning Day. People brought in photographs, documents, uniforms,... more


text:
Naissus () ist ein Titularbistum der römisch-katholischen Kirche.

Der antike Bischofssitz lag in der Römischen Provinz und befand sich auf dem Gebiet der heutigen Stadt Niš (Serbien).

Siehe auch
 Liste der römisch-katholischen Titularbistümer

Weblinks

Naissus

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


in a journey to nowhere.
June July August and now September.
how to see the monotony of vigour?
So many of us make it a task to not fail, but at all wrong places and for all wrong reasons, reasons that we may not even recognise, reasons that are so deeply rooted that we have no idea what we are doing thinking it is love or the person we want is the only one for us. STOP. PAUSE. Love again if you want but STOP with that person. It is almost an obsession which doesn't bring any output. This poem captures the essence of that feeling when your love is not being recognised or respected.
doesn't have to endure it all..
Old with time for youth..
This poem stemmed from a thought while just walking on the street. I saw group of old people and myself and just was trying to think what an old person would worry about and what they would be thinking about the choices they may make about people or things they may have wanted in there life. The process of growing up is happening so subtly but so directly that we think it's pain or yearning or achievement or failures, while so much is happening we still think that we are left behind and are in such hurry to live that we don't recognise that living is not in age or achievements but it is always a direct result of our own thoughts and the actions we take to satisfy those thoughts..just that..
How to gift a rose without cutting its stem?
I will have to live a little more.
and I count it to thee.
then I say four three two one..
surrendering to monotony of mutual rights.
our eyes to our shattered core.


text:
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About Ray Gleason
"A Grunt Speaks"
"The Violent Season"
"The Gabinian Affair"
"The Helvetian Affair"
"The Swabian Affair"
Ray Gleason
An Interview with Ray Gleason
In his writing, Ray Gleason refuses to espouse any specific social or political ideology. "Once you do that," he observed, "You stop thinking about yourself and how meaning is derived from your experience." So life, for this soldier, writer, parent, teacher and scholar is a constant dialogue… a continuous interaction between the intellect and the phenomena with which it interacts. His social introspection, academic training, and military experience invite attention through his writing.
Born in 1948, Ray Gleason is as New York City as can be. He was born in New York City, New York County, New York State, in Gotham Hospital on the upper East Side of Manhattan… seriously… Gotham Hospital! He was raised in Woodside, a working-class neighborhood in Queens along the #7 subway line, where Gaelic, Polish, Italian, Yiddish, Sicilian dialect – and even little English now and then – were spoken in the shops and along the sidewalks, while and the clergy from the local parish, St. Sebastian's, did a better job than the police, patrolling the streets on the lookout for young miscreants and delinquents.
"It was a Good Friday," he reminisces. "I was in the eighth grade and the nuns let us out of school at noon so we could go to church. Since we were teenaged boys and it was Spring, we certainly didn't rush over to the parish church to do the Stations. Instead we chose up a baseball game in a vacant lot about two blocks from the school. We didn't even finish the second inning before the nuns rounded us up, trooped us back to the school and called our parents to take us home. How dare we play a game while Jesus was dying on the cross, Mother Superior scolded us! My telling her I thought Jesus was a baseball fan didn't help the situation much."
The one of the two most formative experiences on Ray Gleason's early development was attending a Roman Catholic seminary in the mountains of eastern Pennsylvania coal country just north of Scranton. The other was serving as an infantryman in the Viet Nam conflict.
The former made him a socially conscious, spiritually oriented scholar. "In high school, I joined any movement that fought for social justice, like helping to build houses for the poor, collecting for food banks, and marching for equal housing with the NAACP," he explains. "I simply could not accept poverty and prejudice as a part of my America. And still, there's a part of me-I call it my 'inner nerd'-that rhapsodizes over Virgil's description of Aeneas' encounter with the shade of Dido in the Underworld or over Catullus' despair over his lost Lesbia, but only in the original Latin!"
Vietnam showed him the ultimate limits of humanity… how far a human being can be stretched and still maintain some tenuous grasp on human compassion. "Many of us went to fight in Vietnam because we thought it was the 'right thing,' protecting the human rights of the South Vietnamese people," he explains one of the themes of his new book, The Violent Season. "While there, I had never experienced so great an attachment between people, as I did with the young infantrymen with whom I served. It was a love really… in an environment of violence, horror, death and hopelessness."
He retired from the Army in the early nineties and, having received an undergraduate degree from Hunter College in New York, he attended the Doctoral program in English literature at Northwestern University. "I had an opportunity to go to New York University," he quips, "But I felt that I had to do my graduate work in the Midwest. I wanted to teach literature in college, but how could I have any credibility with my students if I referred to authors as 'CHAW-sah' or 'Shakes-Bee-yah' while I sipped some CAW fee?"
Instead of immediately entering academia, he took advantage of the leadership and technical skills he had acquired in the Army and entered the business world. "I was getting ready to take my comps," he remembers, "When a buddy of mine called. He said he was in New Jersey and had run into an executive from AT&T, who complained that she couldn't find anyone in the Chicago area to build and run a data center. My buddy said he hoped I didn't mind but he gave her my name. As much as I wanted to go off to some ivory tower and worship the muses, I had four kids to feed and to put through college. That had priority. The muses had to wait."
He finished his Doctorate and began teaching Medieval Lit part-time at Northwestern, but stayed in the business world for about ten years. "I finally wrote my last tuition check, did a happy dance, and realized that now I could 'work for myself' and do what I wanted to do," he explains. A private high school gave him the opportunity to teach ethics in their excellent leadership program, so he sold the condo in Evanston, packed his books and cats and moved down behind the Corn-Silk Curtain into northern Indiana.
While teaching in Indiana, he met his wife, Jan Peyser, who was then an English teacher, but has since retired from teaching to become an award-winning silversmith, jeweler, and the founder, owner, designer and creator of Jan Peyser Jewelry, LLC. Also, he began writing. "At first, I wrote academic articles on Old French literature and on leadership. Then, I wrote A Grunt Speaks based on my experiences the Vietnam war. I wrote it as a way of dealing with some of my own bêtes noires… you know… the dark fears that you have to drag out into the light and render absurd, so they have no power over you… but I was surprised at readers' interest and acceptance. I'm especially gratified when someone tells me, 'I gave a copy of your book to my dad. He was in Nam and he never talks about it, but he really enjoyed your book.'"
If Grunt was written for his fellow vets of the Vietnam war and for those who are curious about the Vietnam infantry-culture, his new book, The Violent Season, reaches out to a more general audience to explain the role that this war played in the development of his generation.
"Vietnam vets not only have to deal with the trauma of combat, but also the trauma of America's seeming rejection of their sacrifice, the pop-culture's consistent portrayal of the Vietnam vet as a criminal and addict," he states with some passion. "I tell a story in the forward of A Grunt Speaks,
"One time, in graduate school, I was in the student center having a beer with the professor and some students after class. I went to grad school while still in the Army, so I was a bit older than the other students (and at least half the faculty) and my hair was a bit too short to be stylish. I know it was October, 1986, because we were watching the Mets and the Astros play in the National League Championship Series. The prof and I were both New York ex-pats and Met fans despite the university being a hotbed of Cub-ism and other futilities. One of the students, a young woman who looked to me to be about twelve, but was obviously old enough to buy a beer, asked me if I had been in Vietnam. I guess the haircut and the twitching gave me away. I froze! Which in itself was amazing! I was a combat experienced infantry officer and Ranger. Shoot at me, I don't freeze! Drop artillery on me, I don't freeze! A twenty-something on a college campus asks me if I had been in 'Nam—I freeze up like a can of beer left in the freezer too long (apologies for the metaphor…too much Raymond Chandler at an impressionable age). What the hell, I thought, Vietnam was ancient history to these kids. So I told her I had been there. When I said this, she reached across the table and laid her hand on my arm and said, 'I don't think anyone really appreciates what you guys did over there. Thanks!' I plotzed! I had been out of 'Nam over fifteen years and this was the first time anyone had shown any gratitude or even tried to make me feel okay about what I and my buddies had gone through over there."
One of my purposes for writing Season is to reach out to my fellow countrymen and inspire them to become more like that young woman at Northwestern who welcomed me home after almost twenty years of wandering in the shadows of trauma, doubt and rejection.
Although writing The Violent Season is a climatic event in Ray Gleason's writing career, he has no intention of stopping there. "Now that I have Season behind me, I'd like to write some 'fun stuff'," he promises. "I'm an avid reader of Phillip Kerr's Bernie Gunther novels. He writes a noir moderne that I'd like to explore. Then there's the Sister Fidelma mysteries of Peter Tremayne that one of my characters in Season, Lori McShea, admires. Writing in that genre would give me an opportunity to put my knowledge of medieval culture to use other than teaching an occasional course on Chaucer."
Ray Gleason has been awarded various commendations and decorations including the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB), Bronze Star for Valor, State of New York Humanitarian Service Medal, State of Ohio Commendation Medal and Viet Nam Cross of Gallantry with Gold Palm.
He and Jan live in Indiana. Together, they have two sons, four daughters, two grandsons, three granddaughters, five cats, and a varied assortment of furry critters living under the porch because it's a grunts' paradise, the chow is good and there's always a safe, warm, dry place to sleep.
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