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Weekly Literary Supplement: Summer Fiction Sampler
Michelle Huneven, Peter Gadol and Charlie Haas June 17, 2009
Wet Metal: An Excerpt From Blame
By Michelle Huneven
Patsy MacLemoore came to on a concrete shelf in a cell in the basement of the Altadena Sheriff's department. Her hair had woken her up. It stank.
She had said she would rather die than come back here. She'd said that both times she'd been here before.
The little jail had no windows. Fluorescent tubes quivered night and day. A fan clattered, off-kilter. Each of the three connected cells contained a seatless stainless-steel toilet and a tiny, one-faucet sink.
Lurching to the undersized sink, she drank from it sideways, cheek anchored against the greasy spout. The dribble was tepid and tasted of mold. In the next cell over, June's haughty face loomed. Did she fuckin live here? Every time Patsy'd been in, she was, too. June's top lip was like two paisleys touching. What'd you do this time, Professor? said the lips.
Don't know, Patsy said. D'n'D. De-dicking some cretin. No idea.
Not what I heard, June said. And lookit your face.
Patsy's fingers went to a ridge of scab crystallizing along her cheekbone. No wonder her head hurt.
Returning to the shelf, she noted the itchy rasp of the prison gown. Lead-blue, unrippable, it was made of 45 percent stainless-steel, according to the label. She was naked beneath, not even panties.
I hear you're in deep shit, Professor. June's bangs were set in a pink foam curler. How do you get curlers in jail? June had a real mirror, too, not the stainless-steel square provided before you face the judge. And a hair dryer. A zippered sack of makeup spilled open on her sleeping shelf. Like she lived here.
Hey, Professor, wanna borrow my brush? A turquoise paddle with mashed black plastic bristles slid through the bars, but Patsy knew better than to reach for it lest the brush be retracted again and again, as many times as she'd fall for the ruse, only to be offered at a price, as if she kept a twenty rolled up in her privates for such expenditures. Naw, Juney. Patsy gathered her long sour hair — the mats large and thick as trout — and wound it into a loose knot. But this proved too much tug on her scalp and she shook it free.
She couldn't be in too deep shit, she thought, if she was still in this small-town dump. When'd I come in, Juney?
You were here when I come. Snoring in your own mess. We made 'em spray you down. What'd you do to make 'em so mad?
Who knows? said Patsy. Maybe I used too many big words, or lectured 'em on the progressive era. Hell, Juney, I have no idea. Oh, but we'll find out.
O'Mallon was at the cage door. Hiya Bitsy, Patsy said, using the jailhouse joke about a supposedly small part of him.
He opened the door, beckoned with a curt tilt of his head.
Standing, she realized she was still quite drunk. Well, they needn't know that. She straightened her spine, and set off at a stately pace. O'Malley, blocking her, produced cuffs.
Uh-oh. Daddy's mad.
He drew her hands behind her back, clasped them in chrome, shoved. Goddamn, Bitsy. See ya, Juney, over her shoulder.
O'Mallon steered her by the upper arm down the floor-waxed hall to what Patsy thought of as the conversation room, another drab and battered place with a stoic oak table, and windows with chicken wire in the mottled glass. Benny, the lawyer who had represented her in other drunk-driving episodes, sat inside the door. Did I call you? Patsy asked, for she had summoned him on more than one previous occasion with no memory of doing so. She grazed his shoulder with her hip. We have to stop meeting like this, she said.
Benny ignored her — her own counsel!
Lieutenant Peterson sat across the table. Also, Ricky Barrett, who had just last year been a continuing-education student in her 20th century cultural-history course. Those continuing-ed credits had paid off; he was Detective Barrett now, as she'd learned during her last incarceration.
Everyone's mouth was a down-turned crescent. To what do I owe such a … summit? she said. Such a meeting of the County's best and brightest?
Shut up, Patsy. That was the world-weary Peterson. White-haired and monotoned. Just shut the fuck up.
But then nobody else said anything.
Really, you guys. What's up? Why the faces? I can't remember a thing.
Try, suggested Peterson.
Patsy pulled out a chair, sat and tried. Monday morning survey, America 1865 to the present. Office hours. Personnel committee dinner at Anne Davis' house, blankness setting in around the soup course, not her fault, the wine so cheap and bad. What day is it, anyway?
Shit. When'd I come in?
Last night.
I lost Tuesday, she said.
Across from her, Ricky Barrett snapped the elastic band on an accordion file, a battered and cloudy-brown thing, the corners worn to white. Patsy couldn't help but read the word felt-tipped on its side: Homicide.
The taste of wet metal filled her mouth.
Michelle Huneven is the author of two previous novels, Round Rock and Jamesland. A contributor to L.A. Weekly, she lives in Altadena. Blame will be published by Sarah Crichton Books/FSG in September.
The Calm: An Excerpt From Silver Lake
By Peter Gadol
And then it was autumn again, and Saturdays they would wake early, when the first clean light came up over the oak and fir at the top of the ridge and eased its way down across their glass house and overgrown slope, down to the pitched yards and shingled cottages along the street below their street, down across timber and brush and fallen limbs, across the boulevard all the way to the patient lake, where it would linger on the water, an ancient and forgiving light by noon.
These were cold mornings suddenly and so they dressed quickly in fraying clothes. One made coffee, the other swiped jam across toast. They traded sections of the paper. One started in on the crossword, the other scanned the financial pages. Then they headed out to the garage and pulled on work gloves and selected rakes and clippers, and there was little conversation except to agree the movie they had watched the night before was not sitting well with them. A simple story snapped when stretched into an epic. Actually one man fell asleep before the film ended, and the other man had to wake him only to guide him to the bedroom and back to sleep again.
Rain all week had left the air crisp but also made the ground behind their house muddy and not entirely suitable for the chore at hand, yet each man took a flank of hill as if it were his side of the bed and began pulling out the dead sage and trimming back the excess tea bush and clearing out the persistent sumac. There was nothing to be done about the thicket of rosemary, they'd long since given up. There was enough of a drop-off down to the backyard of the property below theirs so that even at the ledge of their land, they enjoyed an unobstructed vista of the Silver Lake Reservoir.
"It's so blue today," Robbie said.
"Too blue," Carlo said.
"How can it be too blue?"
"It's like something chemical has been added."
Robbie slid down a patch of mud so he was standing next to Carlo. This was the year they would turn 40. They had been together 20 years, not counting some early semesters of undedicated collegiate messing around. Robbie pulled off his glove and inserted his forefinger through one of Carlo's belt loops, tugging him closer, rubbing his nose against Carlo's neck — Carlo hummed.
It was autumn again and they always looked forward to the season, to the fires they would tend in a stone hearth and the friends at a long table, to what they would roast and what they would decant. They looked forward to the colder nights and the added blanket, the conversations past midnight about new books. The truth was that even before they knew each other (if one could speak of a time before they knew each other), each man was always eager for the decline of summer and the refuge, the rescue of school — and autumn was when they met, and another autumn when they moved to Los Angeles. It was certainly for all these reasons that every fall they felt renewed, but then also because some other heat always abated, because an annual anxiety always burned off and vanished, it seemed, for good. Anxiety related to work and income and debt. Restlessness about lives not lived, the shadow histories that now and then might haunt them, haunt any two people who found each other so early in life. An alien illogical loneliness — it was a kind of ghost grief almost, although to be clear, a grief neither as strange nor ruinous as the one about to wash over them.
"You're a silly man," Robbie said. "A lake can never be too blue. Who's a silly man?"
"I am," Carlo said.
"A silly man."
Back up by the patio off the kitchen, they collected the figs about to fall from a neighbor's vine that coiled over a high wooden fence.
"Can we remember to pick up some smelly cheese?" Carlo asked.
"Si, signor," Robbie said.
Also in the neighbor's yard, there was a regal liquidambar with broad, long-suffering branches, several of which reached across their terrace, and the men liked the tree because it gave them a graceful canopy and screen, and then they could enjoy the seasonal task (a joyfully nostalgic task since they both grew up back East) of raking leaves. Leaves which this year had turned early, had begun to fall early, and so there was already need to sweep off the table and chairs and the twin cedar chaises. They took turns combing a patch of lawn with their better rake, scrapping away the ochre matting to reveal grass that was surprisingly cold to the touch in the morning sun, the ground smelling like sap now, like rich, dark potting soil now, like lust itself.
In the house, in their bedroom, they stripped and threw back the blankets and knelt on the bed, facing each other. Carlo fell back against his heels. Robbie held onto Carlo's hips, pale hands against dark skin, until he let go and fell back, too. Then they remained like this a while, facing each other without touching, grinning. It was as if they were waking a second time today. Two men together, two against the world. Astonishing.
Peter Gadol is the author of five previous novels, including The Long Rain and Light at Dusk. He teaches in the Graduate Writing Program at Otis College of Art and Design. Silver Lake will be published in August by Bleak House Books.
Henry Bay's America: An Excerpt From The Enthusiast
By Charlie Haas
Henry Bay sees an America no one else does — a series of small, intense worlds formed by odd hobbies and extreme sports. He works for a long series of enthusiast magazines, from Row! ("The Coxswain That Comes in Your Mailbox") to Cozy, the Magazine of Tea. "Wherever I worked, I was the civilian," he says. "At Ice Climbing I was the only staff member who still had all ten toes, and at Metal Detector Treasures I was the only one without twenty rings on his fingers." But when Henry gets married, he has to leave the road and get a stable job. He finds one at Clean Page, the dreaded media conglomerate that's swallowed up even more magazines than Henry has worked for.
Clean Page had been buying magazines for five years. People at my jobs called it what people always call these things: the Death Star, the Evil Empire, the Brain Police. A Clean Page executive named Walter Denise had called me twice, making jokes and trying to hire me. I'd said no both times, but now I called him. He mentioned a salary a third higher than I was making at Wakeboarding and set a meeting for me and Tom Patrick, the founder and CEO. We agreed to meet beforehand at a Starbucks near their office.
Walter was waiting when I got there, a stocky bald guy in his thirties with an orange beard, drinking cappuccino and shaking his head over a copy of Decoupage!, which they'd just bought. We shook hands and I held out my résumé. "Jesus," he said when he saw how long it was. "So do you know how to do all these things?"
"No, I tend to retain the wrong parts," I said. "Like the slang."
"No, the slang is the good part. What do you think we do for fun all day? 'Look out, you're going to sam.' 'No, I've got slab hicks on my downtown plate. Don't be such a Clive of India.' "
He handed the résumé back to me. "Here's the deal with Tom. Eight years ago he was going around in a Hyundai delivering PennySavers to liquor stores. He lived on Nabs. That's the guy you don't want to fuck with. The guy that had to wait. People call me up and go, 'Why does he yell and scream all the time?' That's why he yells and screams."
"That sounds a little scary," I said.
"That he yells and screams all the time."
"It's not scary if you're here." He finished his coffee. "It's scary if you're sitting out there working for Wakeboarding."
On the outside the Clean Page building reflected light like five stories of cop sunglasses. On the inside it had the kind of fluorescent lighting that puts a vampire in your motel mirror. Ten feet into the lobby the fresh air gave way to synthetic-fiber molecules defecting from the carpet. Walter and I took the elevator to the top floor and started past the receptionist, but she held up a finger and talked into her headset: "Walter plus one to see Tom."
"Henry Bay," Walter said.
"Do you have a visitor badge?"
"He can't have anything on his nipples," Walter said.
"Nobody likes you," she said. Walter nodded and led me down the hall past framed covers of Spearfish, Skysurf, and Quick Raffia.
Tom Patrick was in his thirties, tall and trim, with short curly brown hair and ice-blue eyes. He wore a blue shirt, red tie, gray suit pants, and black socks, his wingtips parked in a corner.
"People hate us."
"I don't think —"
"Hate us. Because we came along and said 'What if this was a business?' We go to buy someone, the first thing they say is, 'Gee, do we have to leave North Dakota?' I say, 'No, because we want to preserve that unique character.' They say, 'Oh, that's great, because my brother Zeke is here, and my dog.' I don't want them near here. A square foot in North Dakota is free. But the product needs to meet minimal standards. So that's you. Anything you need, Walter is here."
I started to say something, but Walter clapped his hands on his knees, said, "And we're off," and stood up. In the hall he said, "That was good. So Monday," his hands wafting me onto the elevator.
There was a vending alcove off the parking garage. I wasn't a candy bar enthusiast but I started feeding dollars into a machine and didn't stop till I'd bought a Payday, a Hundred Grand, a Butterfingers, a Snickers, a NutRageous, and a Dark Milky Way. I finally have a job with dental, I thought. I should use it. I ate the Snickers before I started the car but I couldn't touch the other ones. When I got to Santa Cruz I left them on top of a newspaper machine, figuring that with all the kids and homeless guys walking around, someone would end up eating them. No one said it had to be me.
Excerpted from The Enthusiast by Charlie Haas. Copyright (c) 2009 by Charlie Haas. Reprinted by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers.
Charlie Haas wrote the movies Over the Edge, Gremlins 2 and Matinee. He reads from his first novel, The Enthusiast, on Thursday, June 18 at 7:30 p.m.; Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz.
Further reading from the Weekly Literary Supplement:
"How Fiction Works: King James and the Battle for the Novel," by Nathan Ihara
"Geoff in London, Interview in Absentia," by Tom Christie
"Henry Bay's America: An Excerpt From The Enthusiast," by Charlie Haas
"Wet Metal: An Excerpt From Blame," by Michelle Huneven
"The Calm: An Excerpt From Silver Lake," by Peter Gadol
"Old World Meets New Age in Thriller Nowhere-Land," by Judith Freeman
"Publishing Your Novel Online," by Alan Rifkin


Make sure that recent linkedin posts are positive.
Be genuine, cheerful, focused, self-assured, forthright and concise.
"Getting a good job can be hard work. Craft an approach and stick to it. Don't take a couple of hours per day and stop. No workplace would operate if it opened for a few hours each day."
What was gratifying about your previous role?
Explain to me why you want to come and work for us.


Kong, X., Gong, Z., Zhang, L., Sun, X., Ou, Z., Xu, B., Huang, J., Long, D., He, X., Lin, X., et al. (2019). JAK2/STAT3 signaling mediates IL-6-inhibited neurogenesis of neural stem cells through DNA demethylation/methylation.Brain Behav Immun.


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Communicating during COVID-19: How Georgia-Pacific quickly developed a response strategy when bath tissue started flying off the shelves
On Monday, March 9, Georgia-Pacific Senior Communications Manager Rebecca Glassman saw a handful of messages and mentions come through around their Quilted Northern and Angel Soft bath tissue brands from consumers who were having difficulty finding the brands at stores. The next morning, March 10, there were about a hundred messages.
Then, it started to snowball. Over the next month, the team saw 11,000 messages flood all six of their key consumer brands, with 8,500 of those on Quilted Northern and Angel Soft. "There was this escalation very quickly from a hundred overnight to an average of 360 messages per day for a month straight," said Rebecca.
On the corporate side, Rebecca's social media team co-lead, Senior Communications Manager Brooke Lujano, saw almost 2,800 mentions. That left the six-person social team to manage 13,786 mentions in 30 days.
Consumers were wanting to know how to find toilet paper, because it was no longer on shelves — and Brooke and Rebecca had to hatch a strategy to effectively communicate with them.
"There was a lot of concern around product availability, and even questions on topics like where our products are made," said Rebecca. "The first goal on the consumer side was to provide empathetic and reassuring updates on supply, as well as to provide answers to those other questions."
"We had a whole different set of challenges on our corporate channels," said Brooke. "The main goal on the corporate side was to transparently communicate with employees, their families and the communities we operate in, as well as with consumers, customers, and the media."
They got to work immediately to efficiently launch some initial messaging.
Two days after they saw the initial surge of mentions, the toilet paper brands paused all their paid social campaigns. Then, by the afternoon of the 12th, Brooke and Rebecca had connected with stakeholders in legal and on the brand teams to recommend official statements around the issues, which went live on social and other touchpoints by the afternoon of the 13th.
"That was more than 72 hours before any of our major competitors," Rebecca said.
As they worked to develop and deploy their response strategy, Brooke and Rebecca partnered with their legal, brand, and communications teams.
Rebecca said they'd put a lot of effort into building a close relationship with their legal team — and that partnership was a big asset for their COVID-19 response.
"We're in constant dialogue with them," she said. "Our legal team has done a good job informing and educating themselves on how quick the expectation is from consumers to be able to respond to escalating situations. They do everything in their power to get back to us quickly."
On the communications side, Brooke said it was a priority for them to have consistent messaging across both corporate and the brand platforms — and that ended up carrying over to other external media as well.
"Everything we're saying externally on social, we're putting onto our response page on our website," said Brooke. "So, everything had to be communicated and worked through together."
The social media team itself is part of corporate communications, so they had an advantage because everything could be coordinated easily between corporate and between brands, Brooke said.
From the brand side, Rebecca said one of their top priorities was communicating consistently across their brand accounts.
For example, she said Georgia-Pacific's paper towel brands weren't initially experiencing the same demand as their bath tissue brands were — but they were getting questions about whether people could replace bath tissue with paper towels.
"We would not advise that, as paper towels aren't designed to be flushable," said Rebecca. "So, we had coordinated statements that went out from all the brands, but we would adjust based on what the consumers were asking in that space. Each brand has its own purpose and its own voice. We want to take all that into account as well."
On the corporate side, Brooke worked hand in hand with internal teams and the brand talking points to position an overarching corporate message.
"The consistency of messaging across both the corporate platforms and the brand platforms was a critical component of how we were measuring what success should look like," Brooke said.
Now that they've got a consistent strategy across their channels, Rebecca said everything they're doing is with the current pandemic in mind.
"Content should be relevant given the current situation and sensitive to it," she said. "We're not doing anything that's 'business as usual' on the brand side."
Alongside this content change, Rebecca said the ways consumers are finding and engaging with their channels has changed.
"Normally our paid strategy is paramount in our day-to-day social media strategy, and organic isn't as central. In normal circumstances, not many people organically seek out what a toilet paper brand is posting on Instagram, but now consumers are actively seeking out information from us and coming to our channels and looking for it," she said.
According to Brooke and Rebecca, much of the content they're currently putting out is designed to educate and reassure consumers.
According to Rebecca, that educational and inspirational content takes different forms depending on the brand. For example, Brawny has a new campaign they were planning pre-COVID-19 called "Giants Take Action" about people making a difference or showing strength and resilience in their communities.
"Brawny was able to pivot a lot of those plans to naturally fit into our COVID-19 strategy," said Rebecca. "Now, one thing they are doing is spotlighting and supporting Giants who are taking action in their communities to help others in light of COVID-19."
Brooke said they're prioritizing helpful and educational content from the corporate side, as well.
"We're using LinkedIn to speak directly to our employees and share some of the executive visibility posts we've been working on with our CEO," she said. "Facebook and Twitter are being used to educate consumers and highlight our partners on what we're doing to support COVID-19 relief efforts — in addition to answering questions in real time."
Throughout this process, Rebecca and Brooke said the biggest challenges were adapting to the situation and tackling their increased volume.
"This situation, especially early on, truly changed every day," said Rebecca. "We had to be adaptable and flexible with our plans every step of the way."
Brooke added that having to work around the clock, especially at the beginning of the crisis, was a big challenge.
"Everyone has done a great job, but we're all exhausted," she said. "But, it was definitely a lot harder 25 days ago than it is today. The team feels good about what we've accomplished so far."
Rebecca said they've been fortunate to see a largely positive response to their efforts.
"We got a lot of praise early on from our consumers for being the first brands to acknowledge what was happening and to empathize and acknowledge their frustrations," she said. "We tend to see a lot of positive conversations and encouragement — especially for our employees."
On the corporate side, Brooke said they're seeing more employees and families of employees coming to them with concerns around safety for essential workers.
"Giving them a thoughtful, empathetic answer makes them feel heard," she said. "You can quickly turn a situation positive by just acknowledging them and giving them more information."
According to Rebecca, their quick action, internal support, and authentic messaging helped make their response successful.
"Transparency and authenticity are always paramount, but getting ahead of the curve with that messaging was a major win for us," she said. "But, we're not done. The messaging is going to be updated as the situation with COVID-19 continues to evolve. And, internally, everybody's got to be on the same page about that."
Brooke added that they've been fortunate to have the full support of their leadership team backing them up. "Georgia-Pacific is a principles-based organization," she said. "So, people at all levels of the company are open to thinking about things and trying to put themselves in the consumer's shoes, and it helps us make decisions faster."
For anyone formulating a response like this, they said getting out good, helpful information fast is more important than having every piece of content be perfect.
"Aim for 85% perfection, because if you try to make sure everything you say is absolutely perfect, you won't have time to get things out as quickly as you need to," said Rebecca. "Had we aimed for absolute perfection, we never would have been as fast. There's always room to iterate and get better as a situation progresses."
She also said it's crucial to think about the entire consumer journey across every touch point, not just social media.
"At the same time we were launching coordinated messages on social, those messages were launching on our website and in email messaging," said Rebecca. "You want to be the same brand to your consumer, no matter where they meet you."
Rebecca Glassman and Brooke Lujano have been members of SocialMedia.org since 2015. You can connect with Rebecca and Brooke on LinkedIn.
How DJ Hamm and Katie Langer at Securian launched a UGC campaign from scratch to engage audiences impacted by COVID-19
Lessons in listening: How Beverley Forrester tackled Novartis' social listening program to make a big impact across the company

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I've always had a bit of an obsession with aerial views. I'm the grown adult who always selects a window seat on a plane and I could spend hours looking at places I know on Google Earth. So the first time I visit a new destination, one of the first things I like to do is visit the highest point to get the best possible view. When in Paris, to the top of the Eiffel Tower. When in Greece, to the Acropolis. So of course, on my first ever visit to Cape Town, top of my list was to take the cable car up Table Mountain.
There's no dispute that Table Mountain offers amazing views over the City Bowl, Robben Island and the West Coast. With just a few steps from the cable car station you also get an incredible birds-eye view of Camps Bay. But the rest of Cape Town, the part where the vast majority of people live, is hidden from view, unless you take the walk eastwards across the table to Maclear's Beacon, the highest point of the mountain.
There are a number of other contenders competing for the accolade of providing the best view of Cape Town. Lion's Head gives amazing 360 degree views, but Table Mountain still blocks your view of much of the city. More southerly points on the Cape Peninsula Mountain chain, for example near the radio mast at the top of the Constantiaberg, give stunning views. But these places require quite a hike to get there and the iconic city bowl is blocked from view.
So now that I've been a resident of The Mother City for a number of years, I'd like to present my choice of the location from which to get the best views of Cape Town – the Tygerberg Nature Reserve. You certainly won't find it listed in many tourist guides!
The Tygerberg Hills are located just to the north of the N1 highway, between the suburbs of Plattekloof and Welgedacht. The hills are clearly visible from most parts of Cape Town, and will be especially familiar to those who drive out of town on the N1 towards Paarl. To get to the Nature Reserve, take the Jip de Jager exit from the N1 and head north, then simply follow the clearly visible brown "Nature Reserve" signs.
The first of these signs instructs you to turn left onto Kommissaris Street, then from there you take a number of clearly indicated turns through a residential area until you reach the car park of the Nature Reserve.
Once you've parked, there is a small entrance fee to get into the Nature Reserve, currently R15 for adults. You are very unlikely to have to queue to get in. So in terms of logistics and cost, this location already has two major advantages over Table Mountain!
To get to the main viewpoint at the top of the hill, where the radio transmitters are, is a fairly short walk of around 800m. It is however a consistently steep incline, so take plenty of breaks when needed. This walk is on a tarred road the whole way, so is suitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs -although bear in mind that the person pushing will need to be fit. Unfortunately there is no cable car or funicular alternative here!
A number of walks and trails lead across the sides of the hills in various different directions. One of these, with great views south over False Bay, has matting which makes it pushchair and wheelchair friendly. There is also a small wooded area with picnic tables as well as toilet facilities.
It will strike you how few other people are around – very different to Table Mountain next to the Upper Cable Car station! In terms of sounds, all you will generally hear is the distant hum of traffic from the NI highway, overlaid by regular birdsong. The only occasional noisy interruption is likely to be a plane swooping low over the hill on its final approach to land at Cape Town Airport.
But let's return to the main point of this article – the views of Cape Town. From the top of the hill you can get a full 360 degree view just by walking along the small circular path around the radio transmitters. To the south is the spectacular view over the Cape Flats and False Bay, will full sight of the mountain chains on each side of the bay (including all the way to Cape Point on a clear day).
As you turn clockwise, the view changes to the southern suburbs in front of the Constantiaberg mountains, all the way to Table Mountain, the City Bowl and Green Point. This is the only section of the panorama where a few suburbs are hidden from view– specifically Hout Bay, Llandudno, Camps Bay and Sea Point.
As you continue to turn around the circular path, Robben Island and Blouberg come into view, followed by the suburb of Oude Westhoff to the north. Then you see the Bottelary Hills (hiding the town of Stellenbosch from view) in front of the imposing mountains of the Winelands area. Completing the circular path, a great view of Bellville appears, before the majesty of False Bay returns and the 360 degree view is complete.
So if you haven't yet visited the Tygerberg Nature Reserve, I strongly suggest that you check it out. Even if you're not an aerial view obsessive like me, I expect that you'll be mightily impressed by what you see.
Mark Rouse is originally from England, but has now lived in Cape Town for six years with his South African wife and three young children. In his limited spare time (when away from his full time job working in IT for a bank) he runs the South African Holiday website. This is intended as a complete guide for those planning to visit South Africa on holiday. There is also an associated South African Holiday Facebook Page.


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Copa Del Ray: Barcelona with one foot in quarterfinals
Football Latest Stories Sports
By Editor January 7, 2016 January 7, 2016
Barcleona virtually put one foot in the quarterfinals of the Copa Del Ray with a 4-1 victory over Espanyol in the first leg of the round of 16 played at Camp Nou.
Espanyol took the lead in the 9th minute through Caicedo but then it was then Barcleona all the way as Messi (12,44), Pique (49) and Neymar (88) scored to make the final score line 4-1 in favour of the reigning Copa Del Ray champions. The second leg will be played on 14 January.
In the other Round of 16 Match, Rayo Vallencio played out a 1-1 home draw with Atletico Madrid in the first leg.
Cape Town Test ends in a draw as England survive scare: Hashim Amla steps down as South Africa test captain
Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir dies at 79
Ethiopia grants amnesty to high-profile political detainees
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Editor August 25, 2018
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I wish there was an online sales venue just for potters. Like Etsy but without the collectibles and vintage stuff and bows stuck to flower pots. The ones I see now are so full of other stuff that it's hard to find the handmade pottery. The same for Art Fire and Shop Handmade.com.
Maybe Potters Council could set one up and help promote it. That would be a great benefit to get potters to join the potters council. They could charge a sales percentage like Etsy does, and a listing fee or whatever.
I thought I saw a site like that once a long time ago, but can't find it again. It had really nice photos from really professional potters.
We US potters need something like that.
What I've learned from all the years of building both a graphic design business and a pottery business, people that succeed are the ones who are not waiting for "somebody" to create their avenues for success.
I also don't think it would be appropriate for Potters Council or ACerS to launch a commercial venture.
If there is a New Year's resolution for anyone who wants to improve their business, how about "it's up to me."
Thanks, SShirley, for the link. It would indeed be great to have such a site on this side of the Atlantic. What makes it great is that it is highly juried. Any thing less than that and it would be like Etsy where you search for "ceramic mug" and the first 30 results are stuff that should embarrass a kindergartener.
Have you visitied Artfulhome.com ? This type of thing already exists. It's pretty tough to get past their jurying, and it isn't cheap either. If you want to benefit from their marketing know-how, you have to pay for it.
Sorry to be such a downer about this idea, it just sounds like some of you think there is supposed to be an easy way. I live in a busy metropolitan area with a good economy, and there are plenty of potters around here who are waiting for "someone" to make it easy. It drives me nuts. And before anyone conludes that I don't want to help other potters, I have a class of 10 advanced potters who I am working very hard to teach about the business side of pottery. I am certainly not telling them there are any easy answers. I'm also not teaching them that good venues don't exist.
What you have described already exists in one form--online galleries (like schaller, akar, charlie cummings, and others) have a variety of high quality ceramic ware... They are juried or invitational, and this is how they maintain a high standard of quality. When you open up a marketplace like Etsy and simply take small fees per listing you are depending on a quantity of listings for revenue and as a direct result your signal to noise ratio goes all to hell... If you are waiting for someone to open something like this for you, don't hold your breath. What you are describing is a full time job, if it is to be successful. If you are interested in starting something like this yourself, talk to someone who works as a developer with the application "Magento", it is a robust and flexible platform and could be configured to do the things you are asking... Also expect to spend thousands of dollars on development as well as design. The web gives the impression of ease, however developing sites, especially sites that would require as much interaction between the site and its users is costly and time consuming... This is reality, it shouldn't be a downer if you are committed to the concept, its just a basic idea of what you are up against. If you choose to peruse this, let me know, I can probably point you in some more specific directions and answer some general questions.
If you are simply looking for a decent, non-cluttered online venue, you might try big cartel coupled with your own site... Its reasonably cheap and easy to use. The deal with any online store is that you have to figure out how to drive traffic to it--thats work. Ask Ayumi Horie about it, check her site out--she has been amazingly successful marketing herself and her brand online, but only through a ton of hours put in making it so... Big Cartel is a good off the shelf solution to those not technically inclined and interested in getting a relatively small amount of work online, but its still mostly up to the artist to figure out how to drive traffic to their site.
I spent ten years selling online through a group site so I can honestly tell you it is not easy.
Ton of competition and your work gets buried and the pressure drives prices down.
Lotsa newbies who don't know how to price drive the price points down.
You have to have fabulous images or you won't even get a glance from a buyer.
The arguments over jurying, defining 'handmade' and 'original' are furious.
People sneak in imports and this does not help you sell hand made work for a fair price.
but I can almost guarantee you have a better shot using your imagination and skill.
Jim, are you volunteering to create the website, including the jurying of all the pottery, then keep it running on a technical level, plus managing all the artists? Or are you also hoping "someone" will do it?
Have you visitied Artfulhome.com ? This type of thing already exists.
Sorry to be such a downer about this idea, it just sounds like some of you think there is supposed to be an easy way. I live in a busy metropolitan area with a good economy, and there are plenty of potters around here who are waiting for "someone" to make it easy. It drives me nuts, especially when they think "someone" is me. And before anyone conludes that I am ungenerous about sharing my knowledge, I have a class of 10 advanced potters who I am working very hard to teach about the business side of pottery. I am certainly not telling them there are any easy answers. I'm also not teaching them that good venues don't exist.
Mea, you're way out of line here! You're creating a straw man to argue with. First of all, you're not the only person here who understands business and the economy, etc. I've run several very successful businesses and the last one was an internet business that was based on a complicated business website that kept 2 tech people employed almost full time. Second, it is stupid of you to suggest that some of us are looking for people like you to set something up for us. I'm personally offended by that. All I said was that I appreciated the link SShirly posted and thought it would be nice if such a thing existed over here and suggested that it would have the be heavily juried to be as good as the English site. I appreciated the link because it is one I wasn't familiar with and at first glance seems to be far better than that kitsch palace called artfulhome.
So to answer your impertinent question, No, I'm not interested in creating the site or jurying the pots any more than I would be interested in reproducing this forum if it was taken down, but I am glad this forum is here, just as I'd be glad that a website like the English one SShirly posted existed if it existed over here. And, I can't for the life of me understand why you'd ask such an insultingly stupid question.
Well, at least you went back an edited the first paragraph.
I edited out the first paragraph before your heated response. Not because I didn't think it was a good point, but because I realized who I was talking to and figured you would get angry. I didn't want to start a fight.
As for your opinion about Artful Home, there's another reason why this idea needs to be picked apart ... because standards are so subjective. I don't like everything on Artful Home, but they do have some awesome pottery.
It would have been so nice if you had simply suggested checking out Artful Home or Big Cartel and not come across as a condescending, preachy you-know-what. I have to admit that your initial response hurt my feelings, as I was not asking for you (or anyone else) to build my business for me. I was not asking for an easy way, and I don't understand why you would assume that I was. I had just seen that British site and wished we could have something like that here. That's all. I think you blew it way out of proportion, and especially after what you said to Jim. Nobody was suggesting that you personally jump right in and build a site. I do hope you were just having a bad day (we all have them) and that this is not typical of your personality.
Is there a way to delete this whole thread?
I think it would be a mistake to delete this thread--there are interesting questions and some useful answers here, despite extraneous content... It looks as though early on it was assumed that you'd come here to make a request rather than to simply air a musing... Unfortunate as this is, I'm guessing you're not the only one with that thought. For the sake of others interested, I'd hate to see this thread go away.
You did ask for the Potters Council to build the site for you.
My goal was to add some realism to an idea that didn't sound very realistic. I apologize that I did so in a way that sounded condescending.
Bringing this back on topic.
I do not show and am not affiliated with any of these galleries, so I don't know what their commission structure is, or how they handle jurying. What I do know (as a potter and consumer of pots) is that they typically have REALLY nice pots for sale, and very little that I don't at least find technically impressive even if stylistically it isn't my cup of tea.
I most certainly did NOT ask the Potters Council to do it. I just suggested MAYBE and that it would be a good benefit for the membership.
Do you read these things before you fly off?
Now THIS is a great post. Good information, presented nicely. Thanks!
Despite the reputation that Etsy seems to have in this forum (I know a lot of people here turn up their noses at it!), I've had a very good experience with it. I'm a novice, and use the site as a kind of testing ground for work I am doing in my home studio -- and am always pretty shocked that people find me, and buy my work.
It's a lot of work to keep up at Etsy site, and I'm not exactly making a living from it -- but I am most definitely making a profit, and more than supporting my "habit".
I'm just happy that I have people buying my work, all over North America, and even in Europe -- all unimaginable only a few years ago. To date I've sold 189 pieces of work.
It's served as an encouragement to me -- as a result of my limited success on Etsy, I decided to participate in a few craft shows this season, and did very well.
I put almost everything I make on Etsy -- sometimes even things I consider disappointments. I am often surprised when those disappointments sell quickly!
I guess it all depends on your attitude. But I encourage people to give it a try -- although if you try it -- be prepared to really take the time learn about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and keep up with Etsy changes. Just listing and leaving will not produce much joy.
It's also advisable to work at directing target market traffic to the site -- counting on traffic just from within Etsy does work -- but bringing in your target audience is also very helpful.
Like anything, if you want it, you have to work for it.
I have tons of fun with it, though, and really appreciate that Etsy exists. I've only been making pottery a couple years -- but I don't think I would still be doing it, without Etsy.
I think success on Etsy is very difficult, so congratulations!
With "X" number of items being posted every minute it is very hard to stand out and it can keep you online rather than in your studio ... but to be fair, any kind of marketing keeps you out of the studio as does bill paying, shipping, shopping etc.
Yes, many people do look down on it because it has a reputation for affordable handmade work and for showcasing a lot of "Buy/Sell" imports. The people I know who shop there are definitely looking for low prices and deals. Who knows ... in a couple years they might morph into something else and be the in place for capital A Art.
If success there is giving you the confidence to try out tougher venues ... Bravo for you.
You are right, Chris, that a lot of people who shop on Etsy are looking for bargains -- and the number of resellers of factory-made items from the far east seems only to be increasing (sometimes it feels more like Ebay).
However, there are a number of quality pottery shops on Etsy too -- and lots of original work. And the customer base is diverse. There are young people, setting up homes, buying wedding gifts for friends etc. who may not be able to afford very high end pottery, or don't live near a center where there are good galleries, or who just like to shop in their pjs! They are thrilled to find genuinely handmade original work for sale there. Of course you have to slog through a lot of not so great stuff. But for many, it's all about the thrill of the hunt.
Thanks for posting these links ... it will make it so much easier to find good work ... I am leading another business discussion at NCECA in Houston and I love to share the latest info on how to work these sites to ensure success ... this linkage will be one area I have to look into before March so I can talk about it.
Those are really nice links. Thanks, Clayshapes! I have searched for pottery on Etsy MANY times, and have never seen them. But I get frustrated after the first 20 pages or so, and give up. My concern is that if a potter can't find them, what chance does a non-potter have? That's why I think a site dedicated to just pottery would be so good. There are pottery collectors out there looking for pots to buy, and it would be easier if they didn't have to wade through all the other stuff. And I think we need to have a place for the middle tier of potters - not beginners but not the "fine" artists either. Just good well-made functional stuff with professional images.
Here is another more "high end" ceramic artist I know from Japan that is trying to utilize Etsy. Kanzaki Shiho-san. Quite famous.


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Very unique stained glass window depicting the baptism of Christ with various saints surrounding as witnesses. Extremely detailed, high-craftsmanship painting on stained glass -- Romanesque wooden frame is included.
**Note the full picture was photographed in poor lighting. Please refer to the second picture that was taken with natural sunlight behind it for the true-color.


The word 'mint' brings many sensory feelings to mind—the cool taste, the herb-y smell, the fresh green look. Mint is complex yet simple, which might be why it is the basis of a website analytics brand as well as the CSS website that represents it.
The color, of course, is a cool mint green against a white background. The style, of course, is straightforward, simple, and uncluttered. In fact, one of the main benefits of this name and this brand is that they make a lot of the difficult branding decisions for you.
Instead of using a navigation bar, the company divides its pages into four categories. Each is explained in brief on the landing page and then in detail on its own page. These category pages include links that take you deeper into the site and explain finer points. A few of these links are present on the landing page, but not all of them. In other words, the website is designed to be layered; you peel off one layer at a time until you find what you want.
This makes it easy to find what you are seeking, but it takes multiple steps to do so. A simpler design with a navigation bar at the top of every webpage would expedite the process for customers who know exactly what they seeking.
The site is designed with function and customer support in mind. The sales page is easy to locate, as are the FAQs and the forums (both of which function as support). In addition, there is a contact page for frustrated customers. We were unable to find any social networking pages, however.
Live demos and a compatibility suite make it very easy to identify exactly what you are buying before you sell out any money. A variety of information is offered about the product in a variety of formats. The CSS design makes this website flow well despite an astounding amount of detailed information.
Creativity: 4 stars. Simplicity is expected of a website with this name, but this site may be a little too simple. A few details and a logo design would add interest.
Ease of use: 4 stars. Having to make at least two clicks to find almost anything can be a pain in the backside. However, the site is designed so you will indeed find what you are seeking. In addition, they make their call to action early and attempt to close the sale quickly, which is always a smart move in ecommerce.
Functionality: 4 stars. No social networking pages? No blog? Say it's not so! This brand could benefit from a better rounded web presence. Further, according to one forum poster they are testing a new program, but no mention is made anywhere on the site.
Content: 5 stars. There is a lot of content but it flows well and is informative.
Appropriateness: 5 stars. The design and the brand are both minty fresh.


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Pujya Niruma's 8th Punyatithi was celebrated on a grand scale on 19 March. All of Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan's followers whether physically or virtually (joined through the online webcast) celebrated the occasion. The entire city radiated with the singing of bhakti pado(devotional songs) in the Prabhat Pheri during the early morning hours.
Then all the followers visited Pujya Niruma at Her memorial and recited prayers in complete harmony in Her subtle presence.
Pujya Deepakbhai then gave everyone a special message for Pujya Niruma's Punyatithi. He said that Pujya Dadashri has said that Gnanis (Self–realized Ones) never die. From one body to the next, they continue their work to ensure the salvation of the world.
Pujya Deepakbhai then put a garland on Pujya Dadashri and Pujya Niruma's photo which resides at Her memorial. This was followed by arati of Lord Simandhir Swami and Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan. After prasad, there was a whole hour of Swaroop Kirtan Bhakti (devotional singing of the real Self) followed by a special CD of Pujya Niruma.
In the afternoon the Akram-Diksha Ceremony of Sadhaks (spiritual aspirants) going to Aptasinchan started with the launch of Audio books of Param Pujya Dadashri's vani (speech).
Then the main event of the Samarpan Vidhi (Akram-Diksha Ceremony) started. 12 celibate boys and 15 celibate girls surrendered themselves to Param Pujya Dadashri's cause of Jagat Kalyan (Salvation of the world) whole heartedly and a life of celibacy. The Sadhaks are joining Aptasinchan with the blessings of their parents, relatives, friends and all of Pujya Dada's followers. Next, Pujya Deepakbhai announced the progression for the already dedicated Aptasankul members, as they take a step forward in their spiritual path.
At night, there was a very heart touching bhakti session with a very nice composition of pads of Pujya Niruma, which made all the followers feel Pujya Niruma's live presence.


Attention: Bubb, other gold longs, I think we just got a green light in the PM sector today. Big bottoming hammer candle punctuating the end of a demoralizing slide. All the guys I follow who I value their insights Clive Maund, Barbara, Hoye, Savage, plus other friends flashed alerts today. I think the risk/reward ratio just swapped ends today. This looks bullish, at least for a while. I plunged today, 10,000 of NGD, and others across the board, big positions (for me at least) I though this thing was going lower, but it just looks like it fullfilled bottoming requirements both technically and psychologically.
Here is an example of what I am waiting for to eventually happen in VGQ. I wanted to get into Mart (Junior Oil producer in Nigeria) I made a bet that the price action would fill its gap before it could make a permanent run higher. So I staked out the cash and waited a few months once the pullback started. It worked. Not all gaps have to be filled (orphan gaps), however it is my understanding that 98%+ do get filled. For it not to get filled the stock must be undergoing a fundemental shift in perception. And I think runaway gaps are more prone to filling than most.
Would like to solicit some advice. As I mentioned my bet idea is Virginia mines since it combines all the elements that I am looking for. Top quality exploration team that has done it all before, cash on the balance sheet, tight share structure and the only exploration company that has derisked itself by having the best royalty imbedded in the core of the company. One that will start paying out in 3 years from now. Question: any opinions on the chances of the price action filling this open gap of over one year ago? My bet is yes. What would it take? who knows maybe a general sell off in the PM sector due to a crash, or maybe we are in a cyclical bear in the gold price that topped in September. Or a delay by Gold corp in production of the elonore royalty....who knows Any insights on the likelyhood of this gap filling?


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Pathways into philanthropy: Philanthropy NW's Momentum Fellowship
"Philanthropy is so white."
These are words you'll hear every time members of the sector gather. I heard that sentiment recently at Philanthropy Northwest's annual conference in Vancouver, Wash., and again this week at the Cambridge Associates Impact Investing Forum in Denver, Colo. Our communications director, Kimberly A.C. Wilson, recently heard newcomers utter the phrase at ComNet17, a conference for communications folks working in the independent sector. An article that ran last year in Nonprofit Quarterly reflects the state of philanthropy today, with members of racial and ethnic minorities making up only 16 percent of foundation CEOs and 24 percent of full-time grantmaker employees.
Homogeneity is a perennial nugget in philanthropy, still true after much discussion and effort to diversify.
But it should not be the case.
A few years ago, I joined CEOs from a handful of foundations and Philanthropy Northwest to create a fellowship program to bring greater diversity into philanthropy by opening the doors of philanthropy to members of communities long underrepresented in its staff and leadership, particularly communities of color, for successful careers in the philanthropic sector. The Momentum Fellowship program was our strategy to create meaningful professional experiences and pathways for people from historically marginalized populations to enter into the field.
In late 2015, the first cohort of two-year Philanthropy Northwest Momentum Fellows dispersed to six foundations in the Northwest: Marguerite Casey Foundation and Pride Foundation of Washington; The Oregon Community Foundation, Northwest Health Foundation and Meyer in Oregon, and Rasmuson Foundation in Alaska.
That inaugural class of nine mostly focused on the grantmaking side of philanthropy but also included an investment fellow. Each received professional development and networking opportunities, including peer-learning retreats, networking, professional coaching and trainings offered through Philanthropy Northwest and their host foundations. In return, host foundations got the chance to learn from and alongside thoughtful emerging leaders, dedicated to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in philanthropy.
Meyer's initial three Momentum Fellows, Sharon Wade-Ellis, Marcelo Bonta and Katherine Porras, each shared fresh perspective, thoughtful approaches to their focus areas and an extensive range of personal and professional experiences. Their contributions — and questions — have been invaluable to our efforts to become a more just and equitable organization and employer working to eliminate barriers to populations that have experienced the greatest disparities.
The first class of Momentum Fellows recently wrapped up their work here and across the Northwest. Five are working full-time in philanthropy. Most of the others are pursuing other opportunities to remain in the sector. Even as their fellowships ended, their fellow-ship — as peers and colleagues — continues.
The second class of fellows, 11 in all, arrived last month at seven Northwest foundations: Rasmuson Foundation in Anchorage; Whatcom Community Foundation in Bellingham; Meyer, The Collins Foundation and the Women's Foundation of Oregon in Portland; Marguerite Casey Foundation in Seattle; and Empire Health Foundation in Spokane.
This time around, the fellows have been placed organization-wide: from grant and grantmaking operations and research and evaluation, to communications and community engagement.
The idea, in the beginning as now, is to expose newcomers to philanthropy, and those looking for growth in the field, to opportunities inside the sector that over time will lead to greater representation of racial and ethnic minorities in foundations and more broadly within the independent sector.
So please, join me in welcoming Meyer's new fellows: Mijounga Chang, Lauren Waudé and Denise Luk to Meyer. We are lucky to have them!
— Doug
Doug Stamm
Former CEO
Articles by Doug
What We've Learned from Listening to Communities of Color
By Helen Wong
Nearly two decades of working in nonprofits have acclimated me to restrictive, donor-directed funding. I can count the number of times on one hand that a...
An Ode to Black Joy
By Allister Byrd
Justice Oregon for Black Lives was born from the depths of overwhelming heartbreak — a response to the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor...
After Eight Years, Moving On
By Rukaiyah Adams
After eight years at the helm of investments at Meyer Memorial Trust, I am stepping down as chief investment officer and departing Meyer. I am incredibly...
Housing Advocates Connect for Justice
By Michael Parkhurst
Meyer hosted its first, in-person gathering since COVID to promote movement building alongside housing advocates
Listening, Learning and Lizzo: Aligning Our Strategy in Service to Justice
By Kaberi Banerjee Murthy
A conversation with Chera Reid, co-executive director of the Center for Evaluation Innovation, about new ways of approaching evaluation in our grantmaking
It's Not About Choice, It's About Justice
By Phoebe O'Leary
A statement from Interim CEO Phoebe O'Leary, on behalf of the trustees and staff of Meyer, on the decision to overturn Roe V. Wade.
The Black-led and Black-serving Organizations Shaping Oregon's Future
"If we want a beloved community," the late bell hooks once wrote, "we must stand for justice." In 2020, amid a once-in-a-century pandemic and the largest...
Lessons learned from a decade on Oregon's Big River
By Cristina Watson
Reflections on the impact of the Willamette River Initiative and what it means for our future river movement
Foundations for a Better Oregon is disrupting the root causes of inequity in education
By Darion Jones
Foundations for a Better Oregon—formally Chalkboard project—has a new vision for Oregon's education systems


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Archive for the 'Overview' Category
2011 Man Booker Prize longlist
The 2011 Man Booker longlist was announced today — and to say there are surprises in the 13-book list is an understatement. There are four debut authors (Stephen Kelman, A.D. Miller, Yvette Edwards and Patrick McGuinness) and three Canadians (Alison Pick, Esi Edugyan and Patrick deWitt) — I think that is Canada's best showing ever, even if none of the three are household names here (yet). Just as surprising are the books that are not on the list — e.g. Alan Hollinghurst is the only previous winner, although five or six were eligible. (And KfC is delighted to see that the heavily-promoted The Afterparty is not on the list.)
I've reviewed the entire longlist in each of the past two years and will try to do the same this year, although that statement of intention comes with a minor caveat. I'm not a great fan of dystopian fiction or novels about the collapse of communist states, so if time is pressing I may let those pass — I may look for reviews elsewhere from bloggers who are more inclined give them a fairer shot than I.
Three of the longlist have already been reviewed here, one is awaiting review and another is on hand. I ordered the rest this morning, so do come along for this year's Booker journey. Here's a thumbnail summary of each of the 13.
Novels already reviewed here
Far To Go, by Alison Pick. For me, the most pleasant surprise of this year's longlist — I didn't even know this Canadian novel was eligible. Pick's book was one of my choices for last year's Giller and I was disappointed when it missed that longlist, so this belated recognition of a very good book is welcome. Her story is a version of the Kindertransport saga, the 10,000 Jewish children (including the author's ancestors) who were "rescued" and placed with families in England or North America. The novel is delivered with both passion and compassion and Pick does not hesitate to bring its implications into the present day — the effects of Kindertransport are still present in her family as they are in others, so that is relevant. An entirely worthwhile choice.
The Stranger's Child, by Alan Hollinghurst. In a longlist dominated by surprises, this novel (together with Sebastian Barry) was the only "obvious" choice that made it. Hollinghurst also is the only one of the five or six previous Booker winners to make the longlist (Ondaatje, Enright and Swift are among those who did not). Having said that, I did not like the book — Hollinghurst's prose for me was tedious and over-bearing turning its 550+ pages into a chore. It is only fair to note that those who like the book (and I am definitely in the minority) find the writing to be its major asset — I tried to include enough quotes in my review to at least allow visitors to make an assessment.
Pigeon English, by Stephen Kelman. Quite frankly, the presence of this novel on the longlist causes me to question this year's jury's definiton of "literary" fiction. A debut novel, it is lightweight and entertaining, in its way, but hardly the kind of fiction that is going to be attracting attention even a few years down the road. It is the story of a killing on an English council estate, told from the point of view of a pre-adolescent Ghanaian boy who is "investigating" it. Then again, my review compared it to last year's Room and that novel certainly appealed to prize juries in a number of competitions.
The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes. (EDIT: Review is now up here) Literally the only book on my personal 2011 Booker longlist (since I didn't know Alison Pick was eligible) that the jurors chose. It is a slim volume — 150 pages — told in the first person as an aging male character looks back on some not-so-pleasant youthful memories. Not an uncommon literary conceit, but Barnes delivers on it very well, although the fact that I fit his character's demographic probably influenced me positively.
The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick deWitt. House of Anansi sent me a review copy of this a while back and I have been saving it for pre-Giller reading — so now I'll have to move it forward to Booker longlist reading, a tribute to deWitt. The opening description of the book: "Oregon, 1851. Eli and Charlie Sisters, notorious professional killers, are on their way to California to kill a man named Hermann Kermit Warm. On the way, the brothers have a series of unsettling and violent experiences in the Darwinian landscape of Gold Rush America." From that short description, you can probably understand why I didn't think it would be a Booker contender.
Longlist titles to be reviewed later
On Canaan's Side, by Sebastian Barry. Along with the Hollinghurst, the only "cert" that did prove to be a cert. Barry was shortlisted (and expected to win) with The Secret Scripture a few years back. The description of this one (it will be released in a couple of weeks) promises familiar territory — opening in First World War Dublin, the central character, Lilly, emigrates to America in "a novel of memory, war, family ties and love". We've all read Irish novels with that description before, but those who have read Advance Copies of this one say it is very good — definitely a favorite for the shortlist.
Jamrach's Menagerie, by Carol Birch. Booker judge Susan Hill left a comment on the forum a few months back about an excellent book that had a dreadful cover — speculation is that this is the book. The book opens in London in the mid-1800s and its central character is rescued by a circus owner; the description says it then moves on to a ship headed to the Indian Ocean. I should say that a number of readers whom I respect were very enthusiastic about this novel.
Half Blood Blues, by Esi Edugyan. By far the biggest surprise for me on the longlist — I do track Canadian books and I have not heard a boo about this one since its release in February (and I had to order a copy from the UK today because none were available in Canada). Set in pre-war Berlin and wartime Paris, but viewed from some decades on, the description promises jazz and the jazz culture as the unifying theme. Territory that has been tread in novels before, for sure, but perhaps worth visiting again.
A Cupboard Full of Coats, by Yvette Edwards. From the publisher's description: "Fourteen years ago, Jinx's mother was brutally murdered in their East London home. Overwhelmed by the part she played, Jinx's whole life has been poisoned by guilt." Crime (and post-crime) is not my genre but I did read and like two crime novels in my pre-longlist reading this year — Elizabeth Haynes' Into The Darkest Corner and Jane Harris' Gillespie and I (review to come in a couple days). If A Cupboard Full of Coats is better than those two, it has to be pretty good.
The Last Hundred Days, by Patrick McGuinness. This one probably ranks with Half Blood Blues as the "least heard of" book on the list — and I can't say the publisher's description enhances its appeal for me. The title refers to the collapse of the Ceaucescu regime in Romania and I am afraid that I prefer non-fiction accounts of brutal communism to fictional versions written by Westerners. As far as I can tell, a novel that almost nobody had heard of before today.
Snowdrops, by A.D. Miller. A "psychological thriller" set in the "new Russia", this debut novel did attract positive comment on the Man Booker discussion forum when it was released earlier this year (Gorky Park is the frequent comparison). I'll admit that I figured then that I didn't need to read another thriller set in wintery Moscow, but I will do my best to approach it with an open mind.
The Testament of Jessie Lamb, by Jane Rogers. I have seen no reviews on this and will admit that I may well not read it. Dystopian novels based on biological terrorism are just not my cup of tea (I can't even stand Atwood's most recent works because of that and I used to like her writing). I will keep my eye open for a review from someone more likely to give the book a fair chance.
Derby Day, by D. J. Taylor. Of the nine I haven't read, this is the one that I am most looking forward to, but that is a highly selfish response — I've admitted before that I have a taste for horse-racing books. I've heard good things about it but am surprised to see it on the longlist since it seemed to be more popular than literary. We shall see when I get to it.
Posted in 2011 Booker Prize, Overview | 24 Comments »


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Western Europe's attractiveness for foreign investors declined significantly in 2007.
The seven new global powers will comprise the so-called BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China), with the addition of Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey by 2050, a recent report titled the "European Attractiveness Survey" by global consultancy company Ernst and Young claimed yesterday.
By that time, these seven countries will overtake the economies of the current G7 countries in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), the survey said. Western Europe's attractiveness for foreign investors declined significantly in 2007.
Both European areas lost 13 points in the report's ranking between 2006 and 2007. However Europe maintains its lead as the most attractive global investment region, placing five countries in the global top 10. At the same time, the European focus is shifting eastwards, with France and Spain dropping out of the top 10.
The attractiveness of the traditional top ranked regions of Europe and North America is giving way to a rise in popularity of India and China. The differences between the key global business regions are blurring in terms of their perceived attractiveness. The global business world has become increasingly multi-polar.
Asia showed a significant gain in investor confidence, closing the gap with Europe. China now lies in second place among the list of preferred regions, with only seven points separating it from Western Europe's lead. India also gained significant ground, up by eight points, and is placed fifth by global investors. At a country level, the rise of China has resulted in a decline in popularity for the US with an 8 point fall, giving it an attractiveness rating of 33 percent in 2007.
Despite the gain in popularity of more dynamic foreign direct investment (FDI) destinations, business leaders express confidence in Europe's future, with 56 percent believing its attractiveness will improve over the next three years. In order to improve Europe's attractiveness, investors cite, above all, the need for reforms providing greater flexibility (47 percent), simpler administrative procedures (44 percent) and more support for innovation (35 percent). Over half (56 percent) of respondents believe that the adoption of new environmental regulations by European countries would provide a means of increasing its attractiveness. They are divided as to whether the European Union gives sufficient support to environmental issues.
In terms of number of projects, Europe attracted 3,531 foreign investments in 2006, compared with 3,065 in 2005, representing a 15 percent increase. A total of 71 percent of these were "greenfield projects" -- industries and business built on previously undeveloped land -- a further sign of investment intensity. The top two destinations for FDI were the United Kingdom and France, with 19 percent and 16 percent of the total projects, respectively. The UK's lead became more pronounced in 2006. Investment in other European countries fell well behind these two market leaders.
The traditional strongholds have been forced to accept a reduced level of business interest, as China rises through the ranks. After maintaining a consistent second place in previous surveys, central and eastern Europe has ceded its second position to China in the ranks of regional attractiveness. The central and eastern European locations still appear to be having difficulty in convincing investors of its merits as an "all-round" business location. It fails to score first for any of the location factors for which it was surveyed. It comes second on potential productivity increases, corporate taxation level and financial incentives. The region shows little sign of consolidating its image. The increased level of interest identified by the survey in 2005 as a result of favourable labour costs has not been maintained. While 27 percent of respondents ranked Central and Eastern Europe top for this strategic location factor in 2005, it has fallen to 20 percent in 2007.


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HomeFilm Review: LEANING INTO THE WIND (UK/Germany 2016) ***
Film Review: LEANING INTO THE WIND (UK/Germany 2016) ***
May 4, 2018 May 4, 2018 festreviews 2018 movies, movie, Movie Review, UncategorizedAndy Goldsworthy, film reviews, gilbert seah, Holly Goldsworthy, LEANING INTO THE WIND, Thomas Riedelsheimer
Submit your Screenplay to the Festival TODAY
Leaning into the Wind follows artist Andy Goldsworthy on his exploration of the world and himself through ephemeral and permanent workings on the landscape, cities and with his own body.
Andy Goldsworthy, Holly Goldsworthy
Note: The Film Review reveals the film's last scene, which could be considered a spoiler even though the film is a documentary. Skip the last paragraph (in bold italics) of the review if you do not wish to read it.
Leaning into the Wind follows artist Andy Goldsworthy on his exploration of the layers of his world and the impact of the years on himself and his art. This is director Riedelsheimer's second film on Goldsworthy, his first called RIVERS AND TDES, made 16 years prior. As Goldsworthy introduces his own body into the work it, becomes at the same time even more fragile and personal and also sterner and tougher, incorporating massive machinery and crews on his bigger projects.
Before watching this doc or reading the review, a few things need be known about the artist Andy Goldsworthy. Information following in this paragraph is taken from Wikipedia. Goldsworthy is a British sculptor, photographer and environmentalist producing site-specific sculpture and land art situated in natural and urban settings. He lives and works in Scotland.
Goldsworthy produced a commissioned work for the entry courtyard of San Francisco's De Young Museum called "Drawn Stone", which echoes San Francisco's frequent earthquakes and their effects. His installation included a giant crack in the pavement that broke off into smaller cracks, and broken limestone, which could be used for benches. The smaller cracks were made with a hammer adding unpredictability to the work as he created it. Goldsworthy is represented by Galerie Lelong, New York and Paris. The materials used in Andy Goldsworthy's art often include brightly coloured flowers, icicles, leaves, mud, pinecones, snow, stone, twigs, and thorns. Goldsworthy is generally considered the founder of modern rock balancing. For his ephemeral works, Goldsworthy often uses only his bare hands, teeth, and found tools to prepare and arrange the materials; however, for his permanent sculptures he has also employed the use of machine tools.
One assumes Riedelsheimer has introduced his subject in his first doc and that audiences might be familiar with as there is not much in this doc that goes into the background and history of Godsworthy the man. His influences on being a farmer is never mentioned, neither on how his art is financed or how his art came to be famous. But his fascination with working in the fields and rocks are acknowledged in the sculptor's own words. The film also takes the audience through different countries like the U.S, Scotland and Franc to show him his work. It is fortunate that a doc is made when the artist is still alive as in this film, as much more insight can be obtained from the artist himself interviewed, that Riedelsheimner utilities a great deal than from words from the relatives and friends.
The doc also shows Goldsworthy as an eccentric. Any artist that fills his mouth with coloured petals only to spew them out and photograph it art would be described as a little different.
The film shows in some detail the creation of one of his works entitled "Roof", working.with his assistant and five British dry-stone wallers, who were used to make sure the structure could withstand time and nature.
The film ends appropriately in the climax where Goldsworthy lets himself lean into the wind as he lets the wind support him on a mountain slope. It is a comical image with him trying not to fall. To him, that is the perfect emotion – LEANING INTO THE WIND and suspended in a beautiful moment.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/194334804
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I don't know if anyone else is feeling like I am, as the end of the year is approaching?.
I feel like I am running out of steam. This must be the reason The Portrait Time Machine has produced an update of a portrait of James Watt by Carl Frederik von Breda. James Watt was not the inventor of the Steam Engine, but the man who made it all run smoothly.
How ironic that in almost all of his portraits; he actually looks like HE'S run out of steam.
When I read about his personality traits I felt I had an affinity with him.
Excerpt from Wikipedia -He was a rather poor businessman, and especially hated bargaining and negotiating terms with those who sought to use the steam engine. In a letter to William Small in 1772, Watt confessed that "he would rather face a loaded cannon than settle an account or make a bargain."Until he retired, he was always much concerned about his financial affairs, and was something of a worrier. His health was often poor. He was subject to frequent nervous headaches and depression.
It must be a creative thing?
I think this time of year is definately a time to re-charge the batteries in preparation for the coming season, where we will hopefully spring up again like the perpetual daffodils around York City walls.
James Watt developed the concept of horsepower, the SI unit of power, and the watt, was named after him. All of these are units of energy; yet he appears in his portraits, to have none himself.
I think I will have to admit that I am a bit of a Space Gypsy. Sometimes I head off in one direction; then end up floating off in another completely random direction, meanwhile forgetting all the things I've only just left behind. The lure of new; unexplored areas, has always drawn me in.
(I would be THAT fly, that flew into the blue light).
He's changed quite a bit since his original 1523 portrait by the fabulous Hans Holbein.
If you were using physiognomy to analyse Erasmus; the first thing you would notice are the lines around his mouth that tell you this man can talk to anybody about anything, he was a great orator. His nose would be described as a great palace of wealth; so you could assume he was very wealthy too. Then his heavy eyelids would suggest that this person is a doer; who acts immmediately on new ideas. He's not someone who writes lists; as soon as he's thought of an idea, he has to act on it.
His cheekbones would state that here's a man of feelings.
I think if he were alive today he would be very concerned with the state of the planet; so that's how the machine has portrayed him.
His anagram sweatshirt says it all.
Today I'm travelling by train to Shropshire to stay with my mum for a few days, so I won't be blogging again until early next week. I've designed this year's Christmas card; and today of all day's, seems to be the most appropriate day to post it. It's called Peace on Earth, (Just don't look outside). The monster outside the window this year is the Brexit Monster!...... Season's Greeting's to you all!
Game, set and match. (Well, necklace set and match).
I'm not going to blog tonight; (even though I'm actually now blogging).
That's because I've noticed; of all the night's that I post, a Saturday has the least amount of readers. This is something I'm glad about; I like the idea that my readers are party people, out having fun.
Another painting has sailed out of The Portrait Time Machine.
Today marks 201 years since the death of William Bligh; and the machine has updated his portrait by Alexander Huey, painted in 1814.
There are lots of theories on why there was a Mutiny on the Bounty; the ship that Vice-Admiral William Bligh captained. We'll probably never know the true reason why his Master's Mate Fletcher Christian led a mutiny on board the ship.
As I've said before; there's no scientific evidence to support even one jot of Physiognomy, I just find it interesting, and I can tell you what Bligh's face tells us using this very ancient chinese technique.
He absolutely has the classic definition of a determined chin. With his very wide jaw line and jutting chin, you can see that this man is driven. My God, those men who were cast away with him in that launch could have just stick his chin in the water and that would have got them all the way to Timor!. His face also tells of a man who's quick to temper (his eyebrows), and his mouth shows someone with a rich fantasy life, who's quite mean and is good at keeping secrets. His eyes tell of a cautious man, who is a do-it-now type of character.
If you used Physiognomy to analyse Bligh the summing up would suggest here was a determined, cautious but sometimes ruthless man, who was quick to temper. I feel more inclined after 'Face Reading' Bligh; to fall into the- "the men were corrupted by the freedom, idleness and sexual licence of their five months in Tahiti, finding themselves unwilling to return to the "Jack Tar's" life of an ordinary seaman, under the strict authority of their Captain.
His drive and strict determination were the qualities that saved the lives of the crew who were set adrift by Christian. So those qualities came in very useful .
I've been sewing again today, I made up a Ginger 'Ed Sheeran Christmas Stocking.
I was thinking of sending it to Ed, if I can find a mailing address for him?.
In between sewing; I was checking out Social Media (as you do), and I was a little shocked by some tweets that I read.
On Twitter I follow The National Gallery @NationalGallery; and there was a tweet at 3.10am today, that mentioned a new loan to the Gallery: "Jean-Etienne Liotard's 'The Lavergne Family Breakfast' is now up in Room 33". "At their breakfast table, an elegantly dressed woman watches her daughter dunk a biscuit into a cup of milky coffee": https://bit.ly/2SuksZq .
Surely any art is 'Art' if there's a flow and a reason; and sometimes there's no flow and no reason, and it's still art.
Ever since Duchamp's Urinal; I thought it was pretty much agreed, anything goes?
Following on from Duchamp's work; I feel like I'm really pushing the boundaries of Art with my depiction of 'A Portrait of Ginger 'Ed Sheeran in the form of a biscuit, on fabric'. (See above pic).
It's part of the body of work I call 'The Ginger Br'Ed Sheeran Cookie Series'.
This includes the renowned work, 'Ginger Br'Ed Sheeran Christmas Stocking' - Cut out and Sew- Mark 1. (Also available in printed yardage in a pioneering form of portraiture).
I know it's controversial drawing him in the form of Gingerbread; when it's blatantly obvious, he's a Gingernut. The thing is; I'm like dough, and that's just how I roll.
So if a urinal is definately art; and the famous bricks called Equivalent VIII are definitely art.
Then 'A Portrait of Ginger Br'Ed Sheeran in the form of a biscuit, on fabric' is probably...almost definitely, the next biggest thing in the Art World!
Run; Run as fast as you can!
You'd better catch him he's The Ginger 'Ed Man!!
(Yes;..... I do know, his wife is called Cherry; but I used a Cherry to cover his modesty because I felt an orange would be really taking the pith).
Yesterday there was a blip in the matrix; but today the machine is back up and running!
Did you know 230 years ago today the poet, Christina Georgina Rossetti was born?.
One of her most famous poems is 'In the Bleak Midwinter'; which was later turned into a hymn by Gustav Holst, then by Harold Darke. She had a lot of mental wrangles during her life, but I think she must have been a very caring person. Christina was opposed to slavery (in the American South), cruelty to animals (in the prevalent practice of animal experimentation), and the exploitation of girls in under-age prostitution.
The above portrait of her, is by her famous brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
She was born into a comfortable family; so when she came out of The Portrait Time Machine, she is wearing Gucci earrings and running her own Publishing Company.
Physiognomy would say that this woman has lots of drive, and the machine has given her bright red lipstick to give her a stronger voice. It must have been quite difficult for her to be heard when she was surrounded by The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. I don't think there were any female members of that exclusive club.? Another of her famous poems is called The Goblin Market, she wrote many fairy stories for children. People have tried to analyse this poem and read into it their own interpretations. I read on her Wikipedia page that Christina Rossetti was a volunteer worker from 1859 to 1870 at the St. Mary Magdalene "house of charity" in Highgate; a refuge for former prostitutes, and it was suggested Goblin Market may have been inspired by the "fallen women" she came to know. I must say, that's certainly IS another term for a Goblin Market?.... blimey!
Ok; so on the 4th, I went out Out.
As today marks the anniversary of the death of the Artist Claude Joseph Vernet; I thought I'd put a portrait of him by the under-sung female portrait artist, Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun (1755-1842) into The Portrait Time Machine. Elisabeth painted over 660 portraits and 200 landscapes, fair play!
I'm always a bit more excited when one artist captures another. It reminds me of the time I briefly met the Portrait Artist Peter Edwards, (who is from my home town of Oswestry) and we sketched each other.(See pics below). I think his portrait of me is much more relaxed than my manic portrait of him; you can see I was quite nervous about meeting him, (it was 1998).
I would love to go to one of those 'Drink and Draw' evenings that are very fashionable around London at the moment. Sadly I haven't found any of these fun events closer to home; in deepest, darkest Somerset. What fun it would be though; especially if it escalated to a 'dance off' style sketching evening?, a 'sketch off'. Chest bumping other artists in a 'come on then' style. Hilarious. Actually; thinking about it, I have been to a different type of drink and draw evening in the past, but those usually involved a bottle of Vodka and a spliff.
Back to today's portrait. Now; as the subject of the painting is an artist himself, I had to think how I would imagine him as an artist in this day and age.
The first present day artist who sprung to mind was Grayson Perry; and what a co-incidence that, when I put Joseph in The Portrait Time Machine, the resemblance was uncanny? I wonder how Joseph Vernet would feel about his Widow Twanky style make over, if he were alive nowadays? I would imagine he would find the skill of Grayson's pottery most admirable; but, he would probably find his alter ego Claire, a bit of a Cracked-Pot?
Following on from the 'flouncy' style portrait of yesterday; I've chosen another romantised painting to put in The Time Machine today.
On this day in 1804, Napoleon was crowned Emperor of France. So, I thought I'd put a portrait of his adversary Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson into the time machine.
So; that is how Nelson is portrayed, once he has returned from The Portrait Time Machine.
All I can say is "Kiss me Hardy?"..... Horati-Oh Yeah!..........You try and stop me!
So today marks a year since I started full time blogging. Sometimes it's hard to force yourself to write, edit, photograph, edit etc when you just want to get on with other arty things.
I don't think I'm particularly suited to self-promotion either. My mother always instilled dignity at all times; yet in my experience generally it's the people that are screaming "Look at me, Look at me!"; that inevitably, do get all the attention (whether it's deserved or not). I'm just not desperate enough; (I know I will always somehow survive, being of no fixed abode for about 10 years in the past). Now; is that a good thing or a bad thing these days?
It's hard to believe I was painfully shy as a small child. I've always felt that if I'm pushed out infront; my natural state, is to shrink back into the undergrowth. I felt quite overwhelmed when I read the comments on The UK Blog Awards twitter page about planning content, getting a logo designed, employing writers even? (As I was reading those words I was just naturally shrinking back; because for me, it's JUST me, and I just DO it, no planning etc).
I definately feel like I'm at a crossroads in my life and need to be more pro-active in getting people to look at my art and my blog etc. Or; of course, the other option is to treat my blog as an exclusive club. Yes that's the answer;......... Welcome to my exclusive club you regular readers!
Which reminds me did you know that 99 years ago today; Nancy Astor was the first female Member of Parliament, to take her seat in The House of Commons?
That's why I decided to feature her today in The Portrait Time Machine with the above portrait which was painted by John Singer Sargent in 1909.
I love Singer Sargent; and when I saw his portrait of Madame X in the flesh, it actually moved me to tears. He has managed to capture an iridescence in the skin which is sublime.
Having said that; I do find his painting of Nancy Astor far too flouncy; and definately not, how a modern politician would wish to appear. Physiognomy would say that Nancy was a very driven woman, and maybe not a very good wife either? The modern Nancy would wear a power suit and carry a briefcase (which funnily enough, the style is called Astor). I couldn't help but tinker with her rosette , and it now features a sinking ship in the centre.
No shrinking away into the bushes for this lady, she'll be sticking her chin right out!
Your December was full of observation, and I couldn't be happier to have read this. That's one common thing I have noticed from the artists that have met. It seems like they can remember all things that are happening within their lives. That's a trait that all people should have. I am pretty sure that there will be hundreds of observation you will be making on January, and I am excited for that! By the way, I heard that The UK Blog Awards was a huge success, I am sure the next year is going to be awesome!