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Anticipating Future LDS Leadership Diversity
Writing posts about my life that will appeal to anyone is kind of freaking hard, because I have three main different audiences to keep in mind.
*My Utah friends who know me, are mostly conservative, and are mostly LDS or former LDS or are at least very familiar with the LDS Church
*My New York friends who know me, are mostly liberal, and are mostly not LDS and don't know the difference between LDS and LSD
*Strangers from who knows what religious and political backgrounds who stumble on me through Twitter or Google and don't know me at all
Each post is like another page in a narrative that started years ago and will continue until death or injury prevents me from writing more, but it may be the only post that a given person sees. If they happen to catch me criticizing liberals, they'll assume I'm a conservative. If they happen to catch me criticizing conservatives, they'll assume I'm a liberal. Because the way politics work in this country is that you're supposed to choose one of two crappy options and then pretend it's perfect while criticizing the other one. I shouldn't have to put in a disclaimer or counterexample every time I criticize one or the other. And how do I write about Mormon topics that roughly half of my audience is familiar with and roughly the other half is clueless about, without patronizing the one or making no sense to the other? Especially when I enjoy diving into apologetics and scholarship and cultural weirdness that goes way beyond the missionary discussions? I think I've failed spectacularly at that. I don't even know when to say "Mormon" and one to say "LDS". They're interchangeable in my mind but not in everyone else's.
So here's yet another bit that Mormons already know and others don't care about. A couple weeks ago Russell M. Nelson became the seventeenth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with Dallin H. Oaks and Henry B. Eyring as counselors. And in the press conference, Peggy Fletcher Stack of the Salt Lake Tribune asked, "So, under President Monson we saw some real advances towards gender equity the loering of the missionary age especially for sisters and also adding women to some of the executive committees but the Church leadership is still white, male, American. What will you do in your Presidency to bring women, people of color, and international members into decison making for the Church?"
President Nelson responded in part, "We are white, and we are American. But look at our Quorums of the Seventy and look at our leaders locally. Wherever we go, the leadership of the Church is from the local communities and those are the real leaders. The Twelve and the Seventy are not a representative assembly of any kind. That means we don't have representatives - how would you govern the church with a representative from all of the 188 countries? So somebody's gonna be left out, but it doesn't matter because the Lord's in charge and we'll live to see the day when there will be other flavors in the mix. But we respond because we've been called by the Lord. Not one of us asked to be here."
The leadership structure of the LDS Church is technically a hierarchy in that people have varying levels of responsibility and authority, but should not be viewed through the same lens as a traditional human hierarchy. Every role is supposed to be seen as equally important. The President of the entire Church is not entitled to any eternal blessing that isn't available to each and every member. Elder Uchtdorf's move from the First Presidency back into the Twelve and President Eyring's move from First to Second Counselor are not "demotions". We are not supposed to aspire to leadership positions, which is fine with me because I don't want any ever. So I fall in the category of those who love and sustain the leadership as presently constituted and also really, really would like to see them more reflect the makeup of modern global membership (even though they aren't a representative body).
And, as President Nelson promises here, that will happen soon. (Perhaps very, very soon - did he choose the word "we" carefully despite being 93 years old?) Because diversity has been trickling up through the General Authority ranks for many years and will continue to do so until it runs all the way through. To demonstrate this, I decided to occupy what little time I have outside of school and work to put together an overview of LDS leadership diversity that will probably be of interest to hardly anybody else in or out of the Church. I have chosen to focus on their states/provinces and countries of origin instead of skin color, which I don't think is the most useful lens to view the world through. There may be a few errors or ommissions with regard to where people were born versus where they grew up that I didn't have time to look into, but it should be accurate enough for most intents and purposes. If you find this terribly dull, go read the Book of Mormon instead and come back next week for hopefully something you'll like more. You think I'm joking but I'm not.
First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve
Russel M. Nelson - Utah, Dallin H. Oaks - Utah, Henry B. Eyring - New Jersey, M. Russell Ballard - Utah, Jeffrey R. Holland - Utah, Dieter F. Uchtdorf - Germany (born in Czechoslovakia), David A. Bednar - California, Quentin L. Cook - Utah, D. Todd Christofferson - Utah, Neil L. Andersen - Utah, Ronald A. Rasband - Utah, Gary E. Stevenson - Utah, Dale G. Renlund - Utah (but first language is Swedish)
Recently deceased: Thomas S. Monson - Utah, Robert D. Hales - New York
Over the first few decades these bodies had members from Canada, England, Denmark, and several US states, but after they and the vast majority Mormons emigrated to Utah the diversity of their ranks took a de facto step backward. Diversity takes the longest to reach these upper echelons because the men here have been called after many years of church service and then stay here until they die. I completely understand why some people were angered by the calling of three more white men from Utah in 2015 and would be lying if I said I didn't feel disappointed at first too. But it's only a matter of time. I can't find it now, but I know I once saw a quote from President Spencer W. Kimball that has some relevance, in 1975 I believe, in which he told a gathering of Mormons in Japan that some of them would live to see a Japanese man in the Quorum of the Twelve. I thought it was in "From the East: A History The History of the Latter-day Saints in Asia, 1851-196" by R. Lanier Britsch, but then I couldn't find it in there. If anyone is familiar with this quote please let me know.
Presidency of the Seventy
L. Whitney Clayton - Utah, Craig C. Christensen - Utah, Ulisses Soares - Brazil, Lynn G. Robbins - Utah, Gerrit W. Gong - California, Juan A. Uceda - Peru, Patrick Kearon - England
I once saw an internet commenter complain that ethnically Asian Gerrit W. Gong doesn't count because he's from California and that L. Whitney Clayton sounds like the name of a KKK Grand Dragonmaster. Here's some life advice: if you're that desperate to find similarities between Mormons and the KKK, you're an idiot.
General Authority Seventies (First and Second Quorums)
Marcos A. Aidukaitis - Brazil, Jose L. Alonso - Mexico, Wilford W. Andersen - Arizona, Ian S. Ardern - New Zealand, Mervyn B. Arnold - Utah, W. Mark Bassett - California, David S. Baxter - Scotland, Randall K. Bennett - Alberta, Shayne M. Bowen - Idaho, Mark A. Bragg - California, Craig A. Cardon - Arizona, Yoon Hwan Choi - South Korea, Kim B. Clark - Utah, Weatherford T. Clayton - California, Carl B. Cook - Utah, Lawrence E. Corbridge - Idaho, Valeri V. Cordón - Guatemala, J. Devn Cornish - Utah, Claudio R. M. Costa - Brazil, Joaquin E. Costa - Argentina, LeGrand R. Curtis Jr. - Utah, Massimo de Feo - Italy, Benjamin de Hoyos - Mexico, Edward Dube - Zimbabwe, Kevin R. Duncan - Utah, Timothy J. Dyches - Utah, Larry J. Echo Hawk - Wyoming, Stanley G. Ellis - Idaho, David F. Evans - Utah, Enrique R. Falabella - Guatemala, Bradley D. Foster - Idaho, Randy D. Funk - Utah, Eduardo Gavarret - Uruguay, Robert C. Gay - California, Carlos A. Godoy - Brazil, Taylor C. Godoy - Peru, Christoffel Golden - South Africa, Walter F. González - Uruguay, C. Scott Grow - Idaho, O. Vincent Haleck - American Samoa, Donald L. Hallstrom - Hawaii, Kevin S. Hamilton - Washington, Allen D. Haynie - California (born in Utah), Paul V. Johnson - Florida, Larry S. Kacher - Minnesota, Jörg Klebingat - Germany, Joni L. Koch - Brazil, Erich W. Kopischke - Germany, Larry R. Lawrence - Maryland, Hugo E. Martinez - Puerto Rico, James B. Martino - Texas, Richard J. Maynes - California, Peter F. Meurs - Australia, Hugo Montoya - Mexico (born in California, Marcus B. Nash - Washington, K. Brett Nattress - Idaho, S. Gifford Nielsen - Utah, Brent H. Nielson - Idaho, Adrián Ochoa - California, Allan F. Packer - Utah, S. Mark Palmer - Texas (born in New Zealand), Adilson de Paula Parrella - Brazil, Kevin W. Pearson - Utah, Anthony D. Perkins - Colorado, Paul B. Pieper - Idaho, John C. Pingree Jr. - Utah, Rafael E. Pino - Venezuela, Michael T. Ringwood - Utah, Gary B. Sabin - California (born in Utah), Evan A. Schmutz - Utah, Gregory A. Schwitzer - Utah, Joseph W. Sitati - Kenya, Steven E. Snow - Utah, Vern P. Stanfill - Montana, Brian K. Taylor - Utah, Michael John U. Teh - Philippines, José A. Teixeira - Portugal, Arnulfo Valenzuela - Mexico, Terence M. Vinson - Australia, Taniela B. Wakolo - Fiji, Scott D. Whiting - Utah, Larry Y. Wilson - Utah, Chi Hong (Sam) Wong - Hong Kong, Kazuhiko Yamashita - Japan (duh), Jorge F. Zeballos - Chile, Claudio D. Zivic - Argentina, W. Craig Zwick - Utah
Recently deceased: Von G. Keetch - Utah
Here we see that diversity can actually fluctuate within such a small group. There is only one Japanese General Authority, but not long ago there were three. Koichi Aoyagi and Yoshihiko Kikuchi aged out and now have emeritus status. In the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve, which typically only have a combined fifteen slots (there have been more First Presidency counselors at times in the past, but this is unlikely to ever happen again because of changes in the distribution of responsibility since then), diversity in future years will certainly fluctuate even more.
General Officers
Gérald Caussé - France, Dean M. Davies - Utah, W. Christopher Waddell - California, Jean B. Bingham - Utah, Sharon Eubank - California, Reyna I. Aburto - Nicaragua, Bonnie L. Oscarson - Utah, Carol F. McConkie - Washington, Neill F. Marriot - Louisiana, Joy D. Jones - Oregon, Bonnie H. Cordon - Idaho, Cristina B. Franco - Argentina, Tad R. Callister - California, Devin G. Durrant - Utah, Brian K. Ashton - Utah, Stephen W. Owen - Utah, Douglas D. Holmes - Utah, M. Joseph Brough - Utah
Again, diversity fluctuates. Some have assumed that Reyna I. Aburto was the first woman of color in the Relief Society Presidency, but from 1990-97 it had a Japanese-Hawaiian named Chieko Okazaki. The late Sister Okazaki is still remembered and loved for her intimate description of the Atonement and her outreach to those of us who don't fit the cookie cutter of Utah Mormon culture. And I'm almost certain I saw her ghost in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building one time. Anyway...
Area Seventies
These are not included in the chart because they are not global leaders. Unlike the General Authority Seventies in the First and Second Quorums, they keep their normal jobs and keep living in the same spot, presiding only over a local area. However, they are relevant to the discussion because General Authoritie Seventies are often pulled from their ranks. If diversity is trickling up in the LDS Church then we should see it beginning here, along with mission presidents and stake presidents that are obviously too numerous to get into. The quorum numbers are just for convenience and don't refer to actual rank. They are arranged somewhat geographically but then sometimes people are moved between them while staying in the same country/state so I don't know how that works.
Third Quorum of the Seventy
Detlef H. Adler - Germany, Frederick O. Akinbo - Nigeria, Vladimir N. Astashov - Russia, Matthieu Bennasar - France, Hans T. Boom - The Netherlands, Christopher Charles - England, Walter Chatora - South Africa (born in Zimbabwe), M. T. Ben Davis - Ghana, Z. Dominique Dekaye - Cote d'Ivoire, Alessandro Dini Ciacci - Italy, Aleksandr A. Drachyov - Russia, Robert A. Dryden - England, I. Raymond Egbo - Ghana, Torben Engbjerg - Denmark, Mervyn C. Giddey - South Africa, Marcel Guei - Cote d'Ivoire, Yuriy A. Gushchin - Russia, Daniel P. Hall - South Africa, Clifford T. Herbertson - England, Tom-Atle Herland - Norway, Karl D. Hirst - England, David P. Homer - Utah (currently in Ontario), J. K. Chukwuemeka Igwe - Nigeria, Aniefiok Udo Inyon - Nigeria, Anthony M. Kaku - Ghana, Christophe Kawaya - Democratic Republic of Congo, John A. Koranteng - Ghana, Axel H. Leimer - Germany, W. Jean-Pierre Lono - Democratic Republic of Congo, L. Jean Claude Mabaya - Democratic Republic of Congo, Declan O. Madu - Nigeria, Tasara Makasi - South Africa, Khumbulani Mdletshe - South Africa, Artur J. Miranda - South Africa, Elie K. Monga - Republic of the Congo, Joaquim J. Moreira - Portugal, Adonay S. Obando - Mexico, Adeyinka A. Ojediran - Nigeria, Alan T. Phillips - England, Wolfgang Pilz - Germany, Gennady N. Podvodov - Ukraine, Gary S. Price - Utah? (currently in Saudi Arabia), Anthony Quaisie - Ghana, Francisco J. Ruiz de Mendoza - Spain, Alexey V. Samaykin - Russia, K. Roy Tunnicliffe - England, Jacques A. Van Reenen - South Africa, Daniel Yirenya-Tawiah - Ghana
I find it interesting that only one of these men is from Norway and therefore of value while several of the others, according to the President of the United States, are from "----hole countries" and therefore worthless. But that's none of my business.
Fourth Quorum of the Seventy
Julio C. Acosta - Dominican Republic, Quilmer A. Agüero - Peru, Angel H. Alarcon - Peru, Omar A. Alvarez - Venezuela, Luis R. Arbizú - El Salvador, Nelson Ardila - Colombia, Carlos F. Arredondo - Guatemala, Winsor Balderrama - Bolivia, David A. Benalcázar - Ecuador, Hubermann Bien-Aimé - Haiti, Fernando E. Calderón - Ecuador, Wilson B. Calderón - Peru, Hernando Camargo - Colombia, Luis J. Camey - Guatemala, Armando Carreón - Mexico, Nicolás Castañeda - Mexico, Luis C. Chaverri - Costa Rica, Pablo H. Chavez - Honduras, Ulises Chávez - Mexico, Marion B. De Antuñano - Mexico, Fernando P. Del Carpio - Peru, Ángel A. Duarte - El Salvador, E. Xavier Espinoza - Ecuador, José A. Fernández - Mexico, Candido Fortuna - Dominican Republic, Sam M. Galvez - Guatemala, Claude R. Gamiette - Guadelupe, Jorge A. García - Mexico, Guillermo I. Guardia - Venezuela, Mathias Held - Colombia, José Hernández - Honduras, Bhanu K. Hiranandani - Venezuela, Jose L. Isaguirre - Mexico, Pedro X. Larreal - Mexico, Carlo M. Lezano - Peru, Alejandro Lopez - Guatemala, José E. Maravilla - Guatemala, Felix A. Martinez - Mexico, Joel Martinez - Mexico, Alexander T. Mestre - Venezuela, Alfredo Miron - Mexico, Helamán Montejo - Mexico, A. Fabio Moscoso - Peru, Jared R. Ocampo - Honduras, Jesús A. Ortiz - Mexico, A. Moroni Pérez - Guatemala, José C. Pineda - Mexico, Juan C. Pozo - Bolivia, Abraham E. Quero - Venezuela, Miguel A. Reyes - Mexico, Sandino Roman - Mexico, Rene Romay - Mexico, Johnny F. Ruiz - Panama, Luis G. Ruiz - Mexico, Jorge L. Saldívar - Mexico, C. Walter Treviño - Mexico, Ricardo Valladares - Honduras, Jesús Velez - Mexico, Moisés Villanueva - Mexico, Cesar E. Villar - Peru
Fifth Quorum of the Seventy
Ruben Acosta - California, Blake R. Alder - Idaho, Aley K. Auna Jr. - Hawaii, Steven R. Bangerter - Utah, Alan C. Batt - Idaho, Jorge T. Becerra - Utah, Lawrence P. Blunck - Oregon, Michael H. Bourne - Utah, Bradford C. Bowen - Idaho, Berne S. Broadbent - Utah, L. Todd Budge - Utah, Robert M. Call - Washington, Gene R. Chidester - Utah, Brent J. Christensen - Utah, Raymond A. Cutler - Utah, Douglas L. Dance - Utah, Marc C. Davis - California, Ralph L. Dewsnup - Utah, J. Scott Dorius - California, M. Dirk Driscoll - Idaho, Mark P. Durham - Utah, J. Kevin Ence - Utah, Jeffrey D. Erekson - Idaho, Gary F. Gessel - Washington, Bruce E. Ghent - California, Richard K. Hansen - Oregon, Todd B. Hansen - Arizona, Michael R. Jensen - Utah, Steven O. Laing - Utah, Bryan R. Larsen - Utah, John A. McCune - Utah, Kyle S. McKay - Utah, Kevin K. Miskin - California, Dale H. Munk - Utah, Michael R. Murray - Washington, Norman R. Nemrow - Utah, Mark L. Pace - Utah, Steven Merrill Petersen - Utah, Jay D. Pimentel - California, Steven K. Randall - Utah, James R. Rasband - Utah, Blake M. Roney - Utah, R. Scott Runia - Utah, Netzahualcoyotl Salinas - Mexico, Eric J. Schmutz - Utah, Edwin A. Sexton - Idaho, Alin Spannaus - Argentina, David L. Stapleton - Washington, David T. Warner - Utah, Paul H. Watkins - California, Gary K. Wilde - California, William B. Woahn - Utah, Kevin J. Worthen
Sixth Quorum of the Seventy
René R. Alba - Georgia, Alain L. Allard - Quebec, Michael V. Beheshti - Arkansas, Grant C. Bennett - Massachusetts, R. Randall Bluth - Louisiana, David L. Buckner - New York, Kevin E. Calderwood - Virginia, Matthew L. Carpenter - Colorado, Douglas B. Carter - Florida, S. Marc Clay Jr. - New York, Michael M. Dudley - Virginia, Daniel F. Dunnigan - Michigan, James E. Evanson - Alberta, K. Mark Frost - Arizona, Michael A. Gillenwater - Indiana, Leonard D. Greer - Arizona, Raymond S. Heyman - Arizona, Paul F. Hintze - Missouri, Ren S. Johnson - Nevada, Daniel W. Jones - Texas, Jay B. Jones - Texas, Milan F. Kunz - Pennsylvania, Todd S. Larkin - Nevada, J Vaun McArthur - South Carolina, Fred A. Parker - Georgia, Thomas T. Priday - Colorado, Brian L. Rawson - Kansas, Robert C. Rhien - New Mexico, Ciro Schmeil - Brazil, K. David Scott - Illinois, Paul H. Sinclair - Indiana, Gordon H. Smith - Oregon (currently in Maryland), Michael L. Southward - Oklahoma, G. Lawrence Spackman - Alberta, Rulon F. Stacey - Minnesota, William H. Stoddard - Nevada, Stephen E. Thompson - Florida, Karl M. Tilleman - Arizona, William R. Titera - Ohio, Maxsimo C. Torres - New Mexico, Carlos Villarreal - Texas, C. Dale Willis Jr. - Arizona
Fred A. Parker is black. I know I'm not supposed to be focusing on skin color but I thought some people would like to know that.
Seventh Quorum of the Seventy
P. David Agazzani - Argentina, B. Sergio Antunes - Brazil, José M. Batalla - Argentina, Rómulo V. Cabrera - Uruguay, José C. F. Campos - Brazil, Sergio Luis Carboni - Brazil, H. Marcelo Cardus - Argentina, Luciano Cascardi - Brazil, Aroldo B. Cavalcante - Brazil, José L. Del Guerso - Brazil, Osvaldo Rietra Dias - Brazil, Antonio F. Faúndez - Chile, Matías D. Fernández - Argentina, Paschoal F. Fortunato - Brazil, Carlos R. Fusco Jr. - Brazil, Patricio M. Giuffra - Chile, Maurício G. Gonzaga - Brazil, João Roberto Grahl - Brazil, Francisco D. N. Granja - Brazil, Sergio L. Krasnoselsky - Argentina, Luiz M. Leal - Brazil, Juan J. Levrino - Argentina, Geraldo Lima - Brazil, Eduardo A. Norambuena - Chile, Carlos E. Perrotti - Brazil, Raimundo Pacheco De Pinho - Brazil, Edvaldo B. Pinto Jr. - Brazil, Marco A. Rais - Brazil, Martin C. Rios - Argentina, Jorge Luis Romeu - Argentina, Alfredo L. Salas - Argentina, Pedro A. Sanhueza - Chile, Raúl H. Spitale - Argentina, Heber D. Texeira - Paraguay, Carlos R. Toledo - Brazil, Moroni B. Torgan - Brazil, Juan A. Urra - Chile, Juan Pablo Villar - Chile, Luis G. Zapata - Chile
Eighth Quorum of the Seventy
Pedro U. Adduru - Philippines, Taiichi Aoba - Japan, Victorina A. Babida - Philippines, Richard Baquiran - Philippines, Dong Chol Beh - South Korea, Ting Tsung Chang - Taiwan, Zeno Chow - Hong Kong, Paul R. Coward - New Zealand, Robert J. Dudfield - Australia, Meliula M. Fata - Samoa, Daniel G. Hamilton - Australia, Toru Hayashi - Japan, Adolf J. Johansson - New Zealand, Tae Gul Jung - South Korea, Wisit Khanakham - Thailand, Seung Hoon Koo - South Korea, Ming-Shun Kuan - Taiwan, Paul N. Lekias - Australia, Johnny L. Leota - Australia, Tomas S. Merdegia Jr. - Philippines, Alvin F. Meredith III - Tennessee, Yutaka Onda - Japan, Andrew M. O'Riordan - Australia, Katsuyuki Oahara - Japan, Ryan V. Pagaduan - Philippines, Abenir V. Pajaro - Philippines, Ferdinand P. Pangan - Philippines, Jairus C. Perez - Philippines, Mark P. Peteru - Australia, Siu Hong Pon - Hong Kong, Carlos G. Revillo Jr. - Philippines, Maximo A. Saavedra Jr. - Philippines, Benjamin T. Sinjoux - French Polynesia, Benjamin Ming Zhe Tai - Hong Kong, David J. Thomson - New Zealand, George J. Tobias - Philippines, Seiji Tokuzawa - Japan, Steven L. Toronto - Utah (currently in China), 'Aisake K. Tukuafu - Tonga, Raul Edgardo A. Vicencio - Philippines, Raul S. Villanueva - Philippines, Keith P. Walker - Australia, Robert K. William - India, Hoi Seng Leonard Woo - Singapore
I first assumed from the name "Robert K. William" that he was a white man from Utah living in India, but nope, he's native and brown and I'm a little bit racist.
Since this took a long time to put together I don't feel like writing much more. So I will close by completely changing the subject with some of President Eyring's words from the broadcast preceding the press conference. "The growth in the number of members and their spread across nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples are visible miracles, but the greater miracle - and the one which will accelerate - is the growth in faith in Jesus Christ. This is a great time in the history of the Church. And yes, the best is still to come."
How exciting!
Back in School Again, Christopher Plays the Fool Again
If you don't accept that humans are a product of evolution and still subject to natural selection, then I don't know how you make sense of the fact that teenagers are daring each other to eat laundry detergent. If I'd ever had a shred of faith in humanity, I might be surprised that I'm putting those words in a sentance in that order, but I hadn't and I'm not. Some people see this as a problem. I don't. But in an effort to be more compassionate, I've tried to think of how I would feel if my own teenager died from eating laundry detergent.
Me: *sobs uncontrollably*
Bystander: I know, it's always hard to lose a loved one...
Me: No, I'm crying because my genetic material created something that stupid.
Actually, this is implausible because, like I said. my teenager would most likely be adopted. Anyway, on to the main portion of our program. How good it feels to be returning to school nearly three years after I was supposed to graduate. How good it feels to still see some familiar faces from a year and a half ago or more. The man whom I may have to kill if he turns out to be a better writer than me. The woman who always looks like she's wincing from a terrible pun. The man whom I never spoke with in the previous class we were in together but who now wants to be best friends. The woman who - wait, is that her, or is it a sister or something? She looks slightly different... I can't tell... The man with long, silky, flawless, sexuality-confusing hair. And so on and so forth. Here is an edge-of-your-seat-thrilling rundown of the classes I'm taking this semester. I'm already far busier than any semester before and it looks like homework is going to be my primary hobby six days a week for the next four months. I attracted a few stares in the bookstore as I shuffled to the register with my literally twenty books.
Bookstore Worker: Do you need help finding anything?
Me (out loud): No thank you.
Me (not out loud): I know how the alphabet works, thanks.
And also, every class requires participation as part of the grade.
So I've been proactive in each class at contributing something as soon as I can so I can relax, and most of my comments end up being kind of banal and useless and everyone probably thinks I'm a simpleton.
Me: It reminds me of "Shrek" because he said ogres are like onions and they have layers...
Professor: Ha, so you're saying [intellectual articulate stuff].
Me: Yeah.
That's it, the class is just called "Shakespeare". It's a 4000 level class and about five minutes into it I was thinking, Uh, you do realize I have other classes, right? I had four days to read "The Taming of the Shrew", but I misunderstood and read it in two days, which was fine because I had no shortage of other homework. I'm not sure what to think of it. It's so misogynistic it makes Donald Drumpf look like Gloria Steinem, but it's also a thousand times more intelligently written than his Tweets. Obviously our female professor feels that it has some redeeming value somehow. We discussed at length the various mental gymnastics that can be employed to make Petruchio seem like less of a monster. I don't understand his methodology anyway. Being deprived of sleep doesn't make me more compliant, it makes me more homicidal. That's hyperbole. Mostly. I can't wait to read other, less repugnant Shakespeare plays because I actually quite enjoy him and wish people were still that smart.
Unveiling the Anthropocene
Just another English student in the music building for a science class, that's me. I started out in the sciences. I majored in Wildlife Science for a few years and that's how I took a bunch of biology classes, came out of the closet as an evolutionist and gained the expertise to refute every creationist I've ever argued with on the internet. Even though I ultimately decided that I don't love science and would rather just stare at its butt as it walks by, I have no regrets about spending that time in that area. And I certainly never imagined that I would come back to it so near the end. This class meets some requirement or other. It's not entirely a science class, but wants to equip us to make science accessible to normal people through art, so obviously that's where the connection comes in. I definitely want to use art to convince people to agree with me on science, religion, politics, and which Star Wars movie is the best (but actually we all know what that is already).
We watched an hour and a half National Geographic documentary called "The Story of Earth". I was riveted. I knew many of these facts, of course, and had read a ton about dinosaurs, but to see the whole thing animated from start to finish was a new and enrapturing experience. The British narrator's pronunciations were occasionally a bit jarring, though. In his mouth algea was "AL-gee" and methane was "MEE-thane". I have to wonder, in a class like this, how many students are Mormons and how many of those Mormons are resisting what they're hearing because they don't believe in evolution. And I wonder how many are conservatives and how many of those conservatives are resisting what they're hearing because they don't believe in climate change. I didn't believe in either of those things when I took my first college biology class but I put aside my biases and listened to the material anyway and here I am now.
Survey of American Culture
American culture is obviously difficult to define because, contrary to what the current admistration obviously believes, it's a melting pot that incorporates every other culture in the world. Yet at the same time, it's distinctive enough to be recognized as it in turn forces itself onto every other culture in the world. I've given some thought in the past to how I would define uniquely American culture: spirit of free enterprise, gun fetish, fast food, pornography, rap music, country music, cowboys, getting offended, lawsuits, Hollywood, leg-humping obsession with skin color, polarized mud-slinging politics, creationism, separation of church and state. Looks like I get to find out how close to the mark I was. I'm the least concerned about this class because it's only a 2000 level and the professor's name is Christopher so he's already biased in my favor. One day he showed us three songs and asked us to brainstorm what they say about American culture.
John Mellencamp - Our Country
We seemed to reach a consensus that John Mellencamp had a bit of a White Savior complex and played into stereotypes a little too much, but his heart was in the right place, and this was back in the unenlightened days of 2007 before we'd ever had a black president and so on.
I actually love this song for both the melody and the nostalgia of hanging out with Cece, but I never paid much attention to the lyrics. Even now if you put a gun to my head all I could recite with total confidence is "You've got a fast car". So it turns out the lyrics tell a depressing story about being unable to achieve the American dream.
Kendrick Lamar - FEEL.
(NSFW Language)
Kendrick Lamar speaks to my tortured soul. He seems to have some similar gripes to Tracy Chapman, but goes about expressing them in an altogether different way, focusing on raw emotion over storyline, arguably making his version more easily identified with by a broader range of people.
The professor asked us each to suggest a song we like that says something or other about American culture, to be sprinkled in throughout the rest of the semester. And that was a no-brainer if I ever heard one.
Unsurprisingly, we've already talked about race issues every day. I want to apologize again for previously being ignorant of the depth of racism that still exists in this country, and again add the disclaimer that if a certain side of the political spectrum hadn't constantly exaggerated it and tried to weaponize it to shut down legitimate discourse I would have taken it seriously much sooner. The professor believes in free speech and thinks people should be able to air their views, no matter how repugnant, as long as everyone else then has the right to tell them their views are crap. I agree. We should give even the Nazis and white supremacists a platform, as long as it comes with a rope and a long drop.
Literature of the Early Americas
I thought this would be like nineteenth century stuff, but we're going way, way back farther than that. We're reading contemporary writings about the Spanish conquistadors, and we're reading about the horrible abuses and genocide they dished out to the Native Americans, and it's disturbing and disgusting and depressing and gives me an idea for a novel. The best part, really the only part I liked, was when some Native Americans captured some Spaniards and held them down and poured melted gold down their throats and were like "You want gold? Here's your gold, Christians! Enjoy!" They weren't really Christians, of course, not by a long shot. Oh, and also my former co-worker Smile Girl is in this class. I call her that inside my head because she smiles at nothing and everything. I couldn't help wondering, for example, whether the muscles in her face were stuck or she just really got a thrill out of the soap dispenser. She must have missed the memo that she doesn't owe anyone a smile.
Advanced Fiction Writing
On the first day the professor was like, "I don't know what's in the stories I'm making you read and I'm not going to censor what you write. There might be rape scenes, convenience store robberies, '----' every other word... Consider that your trigger warning for the whole semester." But that was essentially the same trigger warning I got in Fiction Writing and Poetry Writing and Creative Non-Fiction Writing, each of which failed to deliver anything more scandalous than the average high school lunch period, so I wasn't too fazed. And it actually occurs to me just now that I became art of the reason those warnings were given. It actually occurs to me just now that my story about a lady who goes around cutting off people's hands and wearing them on her head could have been unsettling for some readers. My other stories and poems weren't all sunshine and lemondrops either. I guess I've been desensitized to a lot of things. I don't know how else to not be thoroughly miserable every waking moment on this planet.
Student: This part where the funny sidekick animal says 'He just needs an axe to the face' is kind of dark.
Me: Oh, I hadn't thought of it that way.
We talk about all kinds of literary techniques - the aforementioned onion thing, for example, and stuff like facades and icebergs where people don't say what they mean or prove themselves to be unreliable narrators when you read between the lines. Putting this into practice may prove challenging for an Aspie. The closest I've come to understanding real people in this regard is to just assume they're lying most of the time. One student gave Drumpf's tweets as an example of facade. When he calls himself a "stable genius", you kind of get the opposite impression. "I'm not making a political statement, I just find it fascinating," he said. No, I get it. Drumpf's lack of character, morals or intelligence is hardly a political issue. Plot twist: Drumpf really is the greatest genius the world has ever known and the rest of us just aren't smart enough to see it. Getting back on topic...
This is of course the most exciting class because it relates most directly to what I want to do with my life. And, uncoincidentally, it's also the class that most makes me suddenly feel like not such a great writer after all. So it looks like it's going to be awesome and hellish at the same time. Which will probably also describe the whole semester.
Sunday School, Books, Drumpf, and Me
"We'll start the year off," the Sunday School teacher announced, "by talking about eternal marriage..."
"...and families."
Mormons believe in eternal marriage and families. Hindus don't. Once a Hindu friend said to me in regard to his fiancee, "Naw, man, I'm just lucky. If you'd've gotten here first, she would've been all yours. But there's multiple lives, man. You can have her in the next one." So I'm kind of hoping that my religion is wrong and his is right. Even though I'll probably be reincarnated as a cockroach or something.
Because the topic was broader than just marriage, and because the bishop's wife was by the door, I decided not to get up and leave after all. At least this lesson, perhaps understanding the difficult situation some of us were in, reduced the discomfort by focusing more on the broader family thing. Marriage and associated stuff just came up now and again and I kept my rude comments to myself because I didn't want to drive the Spirit away and because the bishop's wife was by the door. "What's some of your biggest fears about marriage?" the teacher asked the class. My biggest fear about marriage was not appropriate to mention in that venue. "You've got to be all about that dating life; it's great," he said. I might have fallen for that lie if I had amnesia. "It might be worth it to drop a letter grade if you find your eternal companion," he said. It might indeed, but gambling is against my religion.
I like families. I like having a family. I devised a comic strip about a family. If hell freezes over and I do get married, I'd like to adopt teenagers that nobody else wants. If he had asked what's my biggest fear about raising a family, I would have said watching my kids suffer from the unfairness of life and/or their own poor choices. I've suffered more than a little from both and the thought of a loved one going through the same crap makes is unbearable. If you think about it, this is why God suffers more than anyone - because He chooses to love all of us, He makes Himself the most vulnerable being in the universe. He makes that sacrifice for our sake. You know who I really want to see again in heaven? My dead dog, Milo. He was the best friend I ever had, he died in 2016 and recently I've dreamed about him a couple times. I'd even like to see my previous dog, Trillian. My dad shot her because she was aggressive and violent, but that will be fixed after the Resurrection and we'll all get along great.
The young ladies next to me proved to be a bit of a distraction with their constant chatter. At one point, the one who reminds me of an aerobics instructor from 1989 (which, to be clear, is a compliment) started loudly messing around with some kind of pills or candies in her purse. I hoped they were candies and that she would give me some, so I stared at her until she noticed me. "I spilled my Ibuprofen," she explained. A likely story. Why would she need to carry around so much Ibuprofen? Oh wait, she's a schoolteacher. Point withdrawn.
At some point the teacher jarred me into paying attention again when he said, "Family understands you like no one else."
Let's see, one of my sisters understands me because she's the same way, another shares my love of Star Wars and Tintin, and the rest of my family is from a different planet. I love my parents, but they aren't even in the top fifty people I would be comfortable sharing personal things with. I guess you could say I can't relate to my relations. Oh well.
On an average day at work, if I'm not doing other things, between one and three thousand books pass through my hands. Many of them are interesting, but few of them are memorable. So when people ask about interesting books I've seen I don't have much to say. But here are a couple I made sure to remember just for you! First, a children's picture book called "The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew it Was None of His Business", translated from German. I skimmed it while I was supposed to be working because I'm just that fast. In this story, the little mole pops his head out of his hole and immediately gets pooped on by some other animal, but because he's shortsighted he doesn't see which. So he goes around to each of the animals and asks if it was them, and they each say no and obligingly demonstrate that their poop looks nothing like what's on his head. I won't give away the ending because I know you're dying to read it and look at the illustrations for yourself.
Next, another children's picture book called "Tricking Tracy". A less confusing title would have been "Tracy's Tricks" or "Tracy the Trickster" or "Lyin' Tracy Meets the Lion". Tracy is a little girl who pranks people by pretending to be stuck or hurt and yelling "Help! Help!" And I am going to give away the ending of this one because it shocked me. Tracy is with her classmates at the zoo and decides to prank them by pretending her head is stuck between the bars of the lion's cage (this was in 1983 when you could do that). She yells "Help! Help!" and her classmates are like, "Just ignore her. She's only fooling." On the next and final page, the narrator concludes "...but this time, she wasn't!" Terror is plainly visible on Tracy's young face as she realizes her head is stuck for real and makes eye contact with the lion, about three feet away, who's giving her what I can only describe as a lecherous grin. Carnivore by birth, sadist by choice. The end.
Like, holy crap. That's the darkest children's book I can remember ever reading. And it's for young children, too. It's fifteen pages long with one or two sentences per page. Okay, so let's assume for the sake of argument that Tracy's implied fate is thoroughly deserved for her childish pranks. That still disregards her nearby classmates, shown on the previous pages, who are going to be scarred for life in a couple minutes at most. Or her family members, shown earlier in the book, who presumably love her. I can't deal with this. I have to write my own alternate ending for my own piece of mind. "Fortunately for our anti-heroine, a zookeeper who was unfamiliar with her trickery heard the shouts and came running. He was able to shoot the lion before it harmed her. Having learned a valuable lesson from this experience, Tracy vowed never to trick people again. Her relief was short-lived, however, as the lion's death went viral and she was soon receiving thousands of hate letters and threats a day, making her wish it had torn her head off after all." Crap, I made it worse! What is wrong with me??
Speaking of poop and dangerous animals that should be in cages, Donald Drumpf is back to showing his hideous true colors after an uncharacteristically classy and intelligent statement about Thomas S. Monson's death which, now that I think of it, was probably written by someone else. He escaped much scrutiny for saying that Haitians "all have AIDS" in late December, but couldn't just appreciate his good luck and instead decided to go farther, saying in reference to Haiti and Africa: "Why are we having all these people from ----hole countries come here?" He lamented that we aren't getting more from places like Norway instead. And, proving yet again that faith in humanity is a mental disorder, he has no shortage of worshipers defending this indefensible remark. I guess once you've defended "Grab them by the -----" it's a bit late to pretend you have principles.
The United States of America was founded by impoverished, uneducated immigrants and, in many cases, refugees fleeing to a land that was already inhabited. And now several white and orange descendants of those impoverished, uneducated immigrants and refugees have decided that this is exclusively their country and modern immigrants and refugees can go screw themselves. This attitude is about as un-American as you can get. To say nothing of un-Christian, though virtually all of these people claim somewhat implausibly to follow Christ. I don't purport to judge their hearts, but I wish to be on record now and forever as denouncing their ideology and their words for the festering goat vomit that they are. Oh, and it turns out that most Norwegians are well off enough to not have to move to a country run by a clueless xenophobic jackass. (That's you, Mr. President.) But hey, at least he speaks his small, disgusting, abominable mind.
Of course I'm still looking at ways to get more attention. Get a load of this.
Of course the pages being accessed here are "It Ain't Ogre Till It's Ogre", "Review of the Mata Nui Online Game", "Why Are Mormons So Hot?" and various parts of "LDS Racial History". The first is a story I wrote that says a little too much about how I see the world. The second refers to a game that defines my childhood and oozes nostalgia. It's true, my ward is full of hot Mormons, and I'm not just talking about the females and I'm not just talking about the young people. I daresay we have more heat per capita than the Sahara desert at noon. And my website has more information about Mary Frances Sturlaugson Eyer, the first black LDS sister missionary ever, than any other internet source. Not in a creepy way. It's all taken from her autobiographies that I borrowed from my grandparents a little over two years ago and should probably return now.
I do what I can with SEO and Facebook shares and stuff, but I think my most effective tool has been unsolicited word-of-mouth. Claire Warburton, Amelia Whitlock, and Allie Haas seem to have been my most enthusiastic proselytizers. Claire was the one who sparked it off. I mentioned the blog to her for some reason that I don't even remember now, thinking nothing more of it, and certainly not expecting her to binge-read it and share it with her roommates and sister and whoever came to her house. I think that, for better or worse, the blog appeals more to people who know me than strangers who stumble across it. And I want all the people who know me to read it so they'll know I'm smarter than I come across in person (especially this one girl at church who's very kind but keeps speaking to me like I'm a child). Granted, then they'll also realize that I'm not as nice or innocent as they think, but the tradeoff is worth it. I wouldn't mind a bit more unsolicited word-of-mouth. Hint, hint.
I went back to school at Utah State University, home of the true-blooded Aggies from Utah who love the spot where the sagebrush grows, this week. It took about five minutes of my first class to realize why my adviser warned me about taking fifteen credits this time. More on that in the next installment of my thrilling life.
Goals + RIP President Thomas S. Monson
Mormon millennial neo-apologist Jaxon Washburn writes, and graciously allows me to cut down on the work put into this post by sharing:
"One of my New Year's Resolutions (I have several others) is to be more kind, respectful, and charitable in my online interactions.
Social media represents a manner and stage of communication that society has yet to fix particular values of etiquette towards that are well understood by the majority. Contrary to face-to-face engagement, indicators of tone, facial expression, and body language are all but absent when messaging from behind a screen. Many experience a feeling of safety and isolation that can cause them to speak in a way that they would never imagine if in front of the person they are conversing with.
We've all seen it, and perhaps even participated in it. Interactions that are less-than-polite, are scathing, are snarky, and are condescending are all too common on social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and others.
Seeing as I tend to focus on religious, spiritual, philosophical, political, or social topics for the majority of my posts, these kinds of interactions by both myself and others have certainly taken place at times.
So for 2018 I'm repenting and pledging the following:
I will not return snark for snark online.
I will ignore negative individuals, and if I must respond I will not do so out of anger.
I won't feed the trolls or be a troll.
I will extend the benefit of the doubt, assume good intent, and be charitable.
I'll be quicker to agree to disagree.
I'll remember that I am speaking to an actual person with actual feelings and experiences.
I won't write a comment at another's expense.
I will treat others how I wish to be treated.
For this night and all the nights to come, this is my resolution for 2018.
Who else wants to join me? We can make the internet a more compassionate and positive place! 😊"
Jaxon is a friend of mine even though I'm jealous of him for being 19 and much smarter than me. And he is nothing if not kind, respectful, and charitable in his online interactions. Me? Not so much. I know that I have often been a jerk here and elsewhere and undoubtedly will continue to be, though in my defense I've been through a lot of crap and it's very difficult to be polite to people who are less intelligent than the dirt under my toenails. Not naming any names. I do think I've gotten a little better each year and I'll have to be satisfied with that rate of progress for now because surprisingly enough I have even more glaring defects to work on first. So while I would like to join Jaxon in this resolution, I have to start with smaller, more manageable ones, like flapping my arms and flying to the moon. I am grateful to all the friends who have tolerated my immaturity for so long.
We talked about resolutions/goals in Sunday school, and marriage in the temple was brought up as an example. Despite the stereotypes we don't actually talk about marriage very often and that's fine with me. I didn't say anything, since I don't want to be a jerk and derail lessons - actually, I do, but I let my better nature prevail - but I don't think marriage is a good goal, simply because I don't think one should make goals that are largely dependent on other people's choices over which one has little or no control. It's the same principle as missionaries not setting goals for a certain number of baptisms. So I think marriage is a fine aspiration, a fine thing to work toward and prepare for, but not a goal as such. As I mentioned, a missionary in Nigeria is, on his own initiative, praying for God to bless me with a nice wife to help me with exaltation. I'm immensely touched that someone wants that for me more than I want it for myself. I have never prayed for a wife. I think he's wasting his breath and should pray for something more reasonable, like world peace, but I'm keeping an eye out for spaceships just in case.
Thomas S. Monson
It seems only right to say something about the death of Thomas S. Monson, prophet, seer, revelator, and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But I don't know what to say. I must admit I never connected to him emotionally like I did to his predecessor, Gordon B. Hinckley, and his declining health for the last few years of his life was far more obvious. When President Hinckley died I was shocked and took several days to process it. This time it was just like, yeah, he was old and he died and that's that. Because I know that death is merely a gateway to the next phase of existence, I am not at all worried or sad for him. He's very happy right now. The LDS Church, which has been said to change at a pace that makes glaciers look speedy, changed an incredible amount during President Monson's tenure of nearly a decade, and mostly for the better. Most significant, in my opinion, were the increase in convert retention and reactivation and the increase in transparency about doctrine and history, which are both very exciting and crucial to Mormonism's continued viability in the years to come.
Since he disdained the notion that "all you need is love", I'm not sure how he'd feel about this, but his legacy in my mind and probably in millions of other minds will be summed up as "loving". The great love radiating from him whenever he spoke was obvious even to one so emotionally stunted as I. It was obvious even when I questioned the truth of the things he was saying. I couldn't doubt his sincerity for a moment. He loved all people the way I love people who don't piss me off. And he showed it, most importantly, not just with his words but with his actions of ministering and uplifting individuals throughout his life even as he became busier and busier and older and older. He treated all people the way I treat people who don't piss me off. You can tell he was a great man because the New York Times made his obituary a hit piece, with none of the admiration they reserve for pimps and murdering dictators.
In case you haven't noticed, I am not a fan of the current U.S. President. However, I want to give him credit where it's due for being brave enough to say something classy for a change even though it annoyed several of the evangelicals who voted for him. If he started behaving like this all the time, I would forgive the past and revise my opinion of him considerably.
And here's another tribute I liked from probably the LDS Church's greatest allies in the world.
President Monson loved telling stories to illustrate points, even more so than the average General Authority, which is of course also a major component of how Jesus taught and how most scriptures are set up. There was a brief period of time when I questioned whether it really entailed any divine inspiration for him to tell stories instead of something "deeper", or at least longer and more detailed sermons like all of his colleagues. But I know now that their power lay in their brevity and simplicity all along, so that anyone aged 5 to 105 from any walk of life can learn from them. When the Mormon people have applied the lessons he taught we can move on to something else. For me this is the most memorable story that I immediately associate with him, perhaps because one way or another I've stood alone my entire life.
In the last couple years of his life President Monson put an increased focus on reading the Book of Mormon and pleaded with members to do so. It may seem a simple thing, but I know it was very important to him and he wasn't saying it just to hear his own voice. So one of my goals for this year is to do that in the morning and spend significant time on it instead of hastily squeezing it in before bed, and that's been a challenge because I must admit there are things I'd rather be doing. The Book of Mormon is the most correct book on Earth but not the most exciting. Still, when I push myself and get into it and focus I find nuggets of wisdom and spiritual promptings to help me with my current trials and weaknesses. Every day that I start with it, I find temptation far less appealing. I'm sure that if I stick with it enough it will become easier and then a lifelong habit.
And of course the other main thing Thomas S. Monson will be remembered for is this:


Member Sled Builds A forum for building a project or mod sled.... Not just your common "Mods", but full on sled build projects.
800 class engines- dimensions and weights? Please!
A Russian custom snowmobile with an iron American "heart"
Timdersled no longer makes the mountain tamer rear suspension?
New to me 11 Pro rebuild..
anyone done a m1000 proclimb?
Project cat-poo: because, why not?


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Home Appeals & Appellate Wisconsin Wisconsin Dells
Wisconsin Dells Appeals & Appellate Lawyers
David Kowalski
Baraboo, WI Appeals & Appellate Attorney with 16 years of experience
Baraboo, WI 53913
Free ConsultationAppeals, Divorce, Domestic Violence and Family
I am the founding shareholder of Kowalski, Wilson & Vang, LLC. Throughout my career, I have represented clients of diverse financial, ethnic, social, and cultural backgrounds. Experience gained through participation in hundreds of court hearings allows me to serve my clients across the entire spectrum of family issues.. I routinely lecture on family and child-related topics at seminars sponsored by the State Bar of Wisconsin and other legal organizations. For example, in 2010, I was Wisconsin's representative to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Community Property Symposium in Seattle. From 2015 onward, I was named by my peers as a Rising Star and designated Superlawyer by SuperLawyers magazine, a lawyer review publication....
Cole Ruby
Baraboo, WI Appeals & Appellate Lawyer with 16 years of experience
(608) 355-2000 620 8th Avenue
Free ConsultationAppeals and Criminal Defense
Attorney Cole D. Ruby is universally recognized as one of the leading appellate attorneys in the State of Wisconsin. He focuses his practice on litigating appeals following convictions at jury trials. He has successfully litigated post-conviction issues in cases involving, for example, drug trafficking, sexual assault, possession of child pornography, arson, and homicide. On several occasions, Attorney Ruby has been able to have convictions overturned and charges dismissed completely, even after a client was convicted at jury trial while represented by other attorneys. Attorney Ruby is also an accomplished trial lawyer. Together with Andrew Martinez, he's a two-time recipient of...
Jeremiah Meyer-O'Day
(608) 355-2000 620 8th Ave.
Attorney Jeremiah Meyer-O'Day has dedicated his career to the service of others and the protection of the "little guy." His legal career began at a non-profit law firm in Madison, Wisconsin, where he helped people in both criminal and civil proceedings, including evictions, collections, and family-law issues. Attorney Meyer-O'Day then joined the Office of the State Public Defender, working in the Lancaster, Wisconsin office. There, he defended people accused of crimes at all levels of severity. He has extensive trial experience, and a record of successfully litigating issues involving the violation of clients' constitutional rights. He's convinced judges to throw...
Tracey A Wood
Middleton, WI Appeals & Appellate Lawyer with 30 years of experience
(608) 490-5779 6605 University Avenue Suite #101
Free ConsultationAppeals, Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI and Traffic Tickets
A true Wisconsin native, Attorney Wood earned her undergraduate degree from Marquette University and her law degree from the University of Wisconsin. From the beginning of her legal career, Attorney Wood dedicated herself to defending OWI cases—allowing her to gain valuable experience and insights that are used to help her clients. Attorney Wood is the first Wisconsin attorney to serve on the Board of Regents for the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD) held at Harvard Law School, an organization devoted to furthering education for attorneys in this field of law. She is also a frequent speaker at...
Teuta Jonuzi
Middleton, WI Appeals & Appellate Attorney with 5 years of experience
Free ConsultationAppeals, Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI and White Collar Crime
As an young and energetic attorney at Tracey Wood & Associates, Teuta Jonuzi fights hard for the rights or her clients.
Sarah Schmeiser
Madison, WI Appeals & Appellate Attorney with 18 years of experience
(608) 661-1054 33 E Main Street
Appeals, Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI and Domestic Violence
Sarah concentrates on two areas of practice: criminal and traffic defense and immigration law. In the area of criminal and traffic defense, Sarah has defended clients at all levels - from local municipal courts through the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Sarah handles many circuit court trials every year, successfully protecting client interests. Sarah handles all levels of appeal in criminal and traffic cases and has argued several cases in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Sarah frequently handles charges of drunk driving, sexual assault, substantial battery, theft from employer, delivery of a controlled substance, and all types of criminal and...
(608) 255-8891 Two East Mifflin Street, Suite 600
Free ConsultationAppeals, Business, Construction and Real Estate
Steven House
(608) 443-7522 139 W. Wilson Street
Free ConsultationAppeals, Cannabis Law, Criminal Defense and DUI & DWI
Morgan K. Stippel
Madison, WI Appeals & Appellate Lawyer
(608) 257-5661 2 E. Mifflin Street
Appeals and Insurance Defense
Attorney Morgan Stippel is an associate attorney and member of the Litigation Practice Group at Axley. Ms. Stippel focuses her practice on condemnation and eminent domain, commercial litigation, and insurance defense.
Ms. Stippel regularly represents clients in state and federal civil litigation matters, including condemnation reviews, business disputes, collection actions, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 litigation, and defective home cases. She has experience helping clients navigate all aspects of litigation, including motion practice, discovery, mediation, arbitration, and trial.
While in college, Ms. Stippel interned for her hometown's Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. House of Representatives, and Minnesota's largest provider of domestic violence services,...
Christopher T Van Wagner
(608) 284-1200 110 East Main Street
An accomplished defense attorney with a background in prosecution.
Kristen Elizabeth Lehker
Madison, WI Appeals & Appellate Attorney
(608) 256-1480 1321 E Mifflin St
Free ConsultationAppeals, Arbitration & Mediation, Bankruptcy and Family
Korey C. Lundin
Madison, WI Appeals & Appellate Lawyer with 22 years of experience
(800) 362-3904 744 Williamson Street, Suite 200
Appeals, Divorce, Domestic Violence and Family
I provide innovative representation to low-income clients, primarily in the areas of family and housing law. Licensed to practice in the state of Wisconsin and admitted to practice in the Eastern & Western U.S. District Courts of Wisconsin.
Gregory J. Fumelle
Free ConsultationAppeals, Bankruptcy, Collections and Family
Michael P Richman
(866) 381-4391 122 W Washington
Appeals, Arbitration & Mediation, Bankruptcy and Business
Bankruptcy lawyer and courtroom advocate with over 40 years of experience in national and international bankruptcy cases and out-of-court restructurings in more than 20 states (and Puerto Rico) ranging from corporate and farm debtors, creditors' committees, trustees, individual creditors and interestholders, bondholders, and other parties in interest. Bankruptcy litigation and trial experience spans fraudulent conveyance, preference and all manner of contested matters in chapter 11 cases. Former President of the American Bankruptcy Institute, co-vice chair of ABI's National Ethics Task Force and co-chair of Section 363 Committee of the ABI's Chapter 11 Reform Commission. Also certified and experienced as mediator,...
Kathryn Harrell McKnight
(608) 282-6200 10 East Doty Street, Suite 400
Free ConsultationAppeals, Employment, Insurance Claims and Medical Malpractice
I am a litigation attorney who represents individuals and businesses in a wide variety of matters, including personal injury, medical malpractice, employment law, construction law, legal malpractice, and worker's compensation. I am also the Municipal Prosecutor for the Village of Waunakee.
Steven Roy
Sun Prairie, WI Appeals & Appellate Lawyer
(608) 571-4132 1310 O'Keeffe Avenue
Sun Prairie, WI 53590
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
Tamara B. Packard
(608) 251-0101 122 W Washington Ave
Appeals, Civil Rights and Employment
Tamara B. Packard is a Partner in the Madison, Wisconsin law firm Cullen Weston Pines & Bach LLP. Ms. Packard has been practicing law since 1994, primarily in the areas of litigation and appeals, emphasizing employment, labor and civil rights law. She was named a Wisconsin Rising Star in Employment and Labor Law for 2006 and 2007, as announced in Milwaukee Magazine. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Ms. Packard frequently represents people with gender, disability and sexual orientation discrimination claims, as well as claims under the wage and hours laws, the...
Jonas Ben Bednarek
(866) 262-4599 10 E Doty St, Suite 617
Appeals, Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI and White Collar Crime
Kelsi L. Cottle
Appleton, WI Appeals & Appellate Lawyer with 14 years of experience
(920) 383-1343 101 West Edison Avenue
Appeals, Immigration, International and Personal Injury
Florida Coastal School of Law
Attorney Kelsi Cottle grew up learning first-hand about the struggles of migrating your family and business to a new Country. Ms. Cottle was born in New Zealand, to parents who were each citizens of different Countries, and spent her childhood living in Canada, New Zealand and the USA. Because of these experiences, Ms. Cottle has a unique, and personal, perspective on the implications that migration can have on a family and a business. Ms. Cottle received her undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Computer Science from Lakeland University in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Upon deciding to pursue a career in...
Amy Risseeuw
(920) 831-0300 200 East College Avenue
Appleton, WI 54911-5713
Appeals, Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury
Amy joined Peterson, Berk & Cross, S.C., as an attorney in 2005. A graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School, Amy practices in the personal injury section. Amy has tried many cases to verdict in multiple areas of personal injury law, including automobile accidents, dog attacks, premises liability and medical malpractice. Amy has also handled numerous appellate matters, appearing in the Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Amy has been selected for inclusion as a Rising Star in the Super Lawyer publication of Milwaukee Magazine.
Walter A. Piel
Milwaukee, WI Appeals & Appellate Attorney with 28 years of experience
(877) 384-1384 11414 W Park Place
Since 1994, I have aggressively defended OWI and criminal cases throughout Wisconsin. My practice is statewide, focusing solely on drunk driving, criminal and traffic defense. I have successfully defended hundreds of OWI cases. I have been the lead attorney on more than 1000 OWI jury trials. My years of experience practicing in Wisconsin and my former law clerk experience have given me a unique perspective from both sides of the aisle. I fully understand the necessity of having the representation of a qualified attorney in an OWI case. Prior to working in Wisconsin, I was a law clerk for...
Sarah Kaas
Brookfield, WI Appeals & Appellate Lawyer with 26 years of experience
(855) 570-2676 595 N. Barker Rd.
Free ConsultationAppeals, Personal Injury and Products Liability
An experienced personal injury attorney, with the extensive professional credentials: Wisconsin Association for Justice (Board of Directors since 2005) Judicial Clerk to Chief Judge Eich, Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Madison, WI (August 1996-1997) Co-Author, Chapter 9: "Special Damages" Wisconsin Law of Damages (2005-2008) Note, "AIDS Behind Bars: Judicial Barriers to Prisoners' Constitutional Claims" 45 Drake L. Rev. 527 (1997) Cannon & Dunphy, S.C. has won more $10 million and higher awards than any other personal injury law firm in Wisconsin. While we are large enough to successfully handle your problems, Cannon & Dunphy is small enough to hear your concerns...
Timothy Alan Provis
Port Washington, WI Appeals & Appellate Attorney with 40 years of experience
(414) 339-4458 123 E Beutel Rd
Port Washington, WI 53074-1103
Free ConsultationAppeals, Civil Rights and Criminal Defense
For 30 years, I have been providing the highest quality representation on appeal in State and Federal Courts, in both civil and criminal cases.
Katie E Babe
Pewaukee, WI Appeals & Appellate Attorney
(262) 347-2000 N27 W23957 Paul Road
Free ConsultationAppeals, Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI and Estate Planning
Garet Galster
Hartland, WI Appeals & Appellate Attorney with 16 years of experience
(262) 563-1438 1130 James Dr.
Hartland, WI 53029
Appeals, Business, IP and Patents
Using as a foundation engineering and legal services provided to Fortune 500 companies, individuals, venture capitalists, start-up companies, and family businesses alike, Garet works with clients towards efficient and strategic IP management, assertion and defense; from concept through all levels of appeal. He enjoys meeting with clients to establish long-term, candid relationships that help to achieve client objectives through a team approach.
Britteny Koenig
Oshkosh, WI Appeals & Appellate Lawyer with 7 years of experience
(920) 739-9909 2001 Bowen St.
Oshkosh, WI 54901
Patricia L Grove
Pewaukee, WI Appeals & Appellate Lawyer with 40 years of experience
N19W24400 Riverwood Drive
Free ConsultationAppeals, Divorce and Family
PATRICIA L. GROVE was admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin in 1981 after graduating from Tulsa University Law School where she was an editor of the Tulsa Law Journal, a member of the International Moot Court Team, and the recipient of the 1981 Rogers Inn Graduate of the Year Award. Pat has a B.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an M.S.W. from Washington University.
Pat served from 1981 to 1982 as law clerk to Justice William Callow of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She is the author of numerous articles and is the co-author of Appellate Practice and Procedure...
Craig Kuhary
Waukesha, WI Appeals & Appellate Lawyer with 36 years of experience
(262) 518-9818 707 W Moreland Blvd
Free ConsultationAppeals, Criminal Defense and DUI & DWI
I practice as a criminal defense lawyer because I believe that the rights of all depend on the rights of one. As a result, each person's rights must be vigilantly safeguarded against the powers of the state. An unfettered state results in the very tyranny our Founding Fathers sought to protect us against with the Constitution.
Lane Fitzgerald
Beloit, WI Appeals & Appellate Lawyer
(608) 318-3489 2031 Riverside Drive
Beloit, WI 53511
Jerome Buting
(262) 821-0999 400 N Executive Dr
Appeals and Criminal Defense
Jerome Buting was featured as one of Steven Avery's defense lawyers in the Netflix docuseries "Making a Murderer." He has handled many high profile cases and spoken worldwide about America's criminal justice system. His first book is "Illusion of Justice: Inside Making a Murderer and America's Broken System" (Harper 2017). His current and past speaking engagements are found at http://jbuting.com/speaking-engagements/
Mr. Buting is a shareholder in the Milwaukee area law firm of BUTING, WILLIAMS & STILLING, S.C., where he practices exclusively in the field of criminal law, handling both trials and appeals. He received his B.A. in Forensic Studies from Indiana...
Roberta Heckes
Adell, WI Appeals & Appellate Attorney with 23 years of experience
Adell, WI 53001
Appeals, Collections, Criminal Defense and Traffic Tickets
Nicholas M. McLeod
New Berlin, WI Appeals & Appellate Attorney with 14 years of experience
(262) 785-9606 2880 South Moorland Road
Free ConsultationAppeals and Employment
I devote my practice to representing employees in benefit disputes, contract claims, unemployment insurance appeals, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation suits, and other employment cases. I listen to my clients and carefully develop goal-oriented plans starting with the first consultation. Communication is essential, and I counsel clients on all options throughout the litigation process. I have successfully litigated appeals to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Wisconsin Supreme Court, and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. I draw from my decade of experience in state, federal, and administrative venues, as well as my knowledge of the Family and Medical Leave Act, Title...
Gregory A. Petit
Oshkosh, WI Appeals & Appellate Lawyer with 29 years of experience
(920) 739-9900 2001 Bowen street
Brad C. Schweiger Esq.
Beloit, WI Appeals & Appellate Lawyer with 14 years of experience
(224) 725-3489 2031 Riverside Drive, Suite A
Free ConsultationAppeals, Arbitration & Mediation, Criminal Defense and Divorce
The John Marshall Law School
Andrew Walter
Elkhorn, WI Appeals & Appellate Attorney with 17 years of experience
(262) 743-1290 108 West Court Street
Free ConsultationAppeals, Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI and Domestic Violence
Andrew R. Walter is a criminal defense attorney in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Andrew has represented hundreds of Walworth County criminal defense and DUI cases. Andrew's wins and favorable plea agreements have been featured in The Milwaukee Journal, The Janesville Gazette, and Wisconsin Law Journal. Andrew also handles criminal appeals throughout Wisconsin and has been selected as lead attorney in several prominent Wisconsin appeals that have resulted in wins for his clients. Call Andrew for a free consultation about your case.
Ralph Ehlinger
Germantown, WI Appeals & Appellate Lawyer with 54 years of experience
(262) 255-5060 W175N11117 Stonewood Dr. #212
Appeals, Business and Real Estate
Georgetown University Law Center
Ralph Ehlinger is a lawyers' lawyer who brings knowledge and creativity to transactional matters and enjoys the challenge of an uphill battle in court. With a depth of experience in creating and acquiring businesses, drafting shareholder agreements and non-competes, and negotiating and closing business and real estate transactions, he represents individuals, businesses and non-profit organizations not only when things are going well but in times of trouble. He is a skilled litigator at both the trial and appellate levels, with particular emphasis on libel and slander, shareholder disputes and non-competes, open meeting and public records challenges,...
David Bischmann
Appleton, WI Appeals & Appellate Attorney
(800) 227-6699 4650 West Spencer St
Free ConsultationAppeals, Animal, Personal Injury and Products Liability
Attorney David J. Bischmann is a life-long Wisconsin resident, earned an undergraduate degree, with distinction, in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1991. From 1993 to 1995, he served as law clerk to Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Harry S. Snyder, and in 1995, he went on to serve as law clerk to Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley during her first term on the Court. David brought his extensive expertise in legal research, writing and appellate practice to his current position with Hausmann-McNally, S.C. in the fall...
Edward Everett Robinson
Brookfield, WI Appeals & Appellate Lawyer
(855) 570-2676 595 N Barker Rd.
Appeals, Environmental, Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury
Michael F Brown
(920) 757-2488 4321 W. College Ave., Ste 200
Free ConsultationAppeals, Administrative, Business and Employment
DVG Law Partner LLC helps clients (in Wisconsin and across the U.S.) who are in disputes with large organizations. We enforce Employee Rights, Shareholder Rights, Contract Rights, Fraud Victim Rights, and Class Actions. Michael Brown is the founding attorney of DVG Law Partner. He has been recognized as a Rising Star in the Super Lawyers publication, has a "Superb" rating from Avvo, and has had several legal cases with prominent media coverage. DVG has value-based fees, partners effectively with clients, and leverages technology to reduce costs. If a matter requires the sharing of legal work and/or financial risk,...
Kent Tess-Mattner
Brookfield, WI Appeals & Appellate Attorney with 42 years of experience
(262) 814-0080 3400 Intertech Drive
Brookfield, WI 53045-5164
Appeals, Divorce, Family and Personal Injury
Kent A. Tess-Mattner is a shareholder with the Brookfield law firm of Schmidt, Rupke, Tess-Mattner & Fox, S.C. He received his B.A. (cum laude) from Carroll University and his J.D. from Marquette University. Before entering private practice, he was law clerk to Chief Judge John A. Decker of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. He has co-chaired the Civil Litigation Section of the Milwaukee Bar Association and is past president of both the Society of Family Lawyers and the Leander J. Foley Matrimonial Inns of Court. He is a member of the American Bar Association, State Bar...
Appeals & Appellate Attorneys in Nearby Cities
Appeals & Appellate Attorneys in Nearby Counties
The Oyez Lawyer Directory contains lawyers who have claimed their profiles and are actively seeking clients. Find more Wisconsin Dells Appeals & Appellate Lawyers in the Justia Legal Services and Lawyers Directory which includes profiles of more than one million lawyers licensed to practice in the United States, in addition to profiles of legal aid, pro bono and legal service organizations.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The average lifespan of African Dormice is between 4 and 6 years in captivity.
African dormice are commonly kept as an exotic pet in the U.
Because African Dormice are becoming so popular lately, they tend to be bred domestically and are good family pets.
com/group/dormice/message/768 Hi, the African Dormice are not covered by the endangered species acts - their Re: location query?


Gallberry Honey is sourced from a small evergreen holly bush also known as inkberry. This bush, which grows abundantly in South Georgia, creates a honey with a rich, and elegant taste, making it a perfect honey for special meals as well as everyday table use.
This thick and aromatic honey is full of pollen and enzymes meaning it is slow to crystallize. This uniquely Southern honey is time-honored and highly sought after across the Southeast as well as the world. Every spoonful contains the flavors and accents of the Old South blended perfectly with the New. As soon as you try it you will instantly understand why it is one of the world's best varietal honeys.


text:
Shout At The Mirror
We live in a strange world…and it's getting stranger by the minute. Baseball players spit on umpires. Basketball players try to kill their coaches. Everyone seems intent on blaming their problems on someone else.
In the history of society, never have so many bitched about so much. Passing the buck has become the national pastime.
It's difficult to find an individual who will admit to a mistake. When is the last time you heard someone say: "I'm sorry. I screwed up."
No. It's never our fault. It's the mail. It's our assistant. It's the other guy. It's never us.
This concept of blaming someone else has always been part and parcel of the radio and record business. There are too many easy targets. The GM can always blame the PD. The PD can blame Arbitron or the Sales Manager. The record company A&R department can blame the promotion department. Promotion can blame A&R. When all else fails, record companies can blame radio.
But it's a fact that somebody is responsible. Identifying that person (or group of people) and getting the person to take responsibility is another story.
The entertainment industry, be it motion pictures, professional sports, records or radio, is filled with those who are quick to blame others for their own inadequacies. Accepting responsibility and affecting change to make ourselves better isn't something that's done often. Failure is something that's always someone else's fault. These feeling of inadequacy usually take the form of loud griping. Sometimes, lawsuits are threatened or instigated. In a few instances, someone steps way over the line.
Which brings me to the subject of this Editorial.
Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, Vince Neil and Mick Mars, the four mediocre musicians who comprise the group, Motley Crue, have never been hesitant to cross the line. As a matter of fact, this group of posers has gone so far over the line that they've almost become an invisible blur across some distant horizon.
Recently, they've set a new record for jumping over the line…and this time, it could be impossible for them to jump back.
Motley Crue was big for about a minute. It's too bad the group couldn't just fade away like one of their mid-chart records. But no, they must go kicking and screaming into their good night continuing to be "as bad as they want to be." The difference is, Dennis Rodman can still rebound. Motley Crue can't even bounce.
In a recent tirade, Nikki Sick blamed all of the band's problems on Elektra Records Chairperson Sylvia Rhone. When describing Sylvia, he also used the "C" word.
Nikki, boy, get a grip.
The Crues latest album, which Nikki predicted would sell around three million, is stuck at the 250,000 mark…a feat considered remarkable by most in the record industry, given the lackluster songs that litter the CD. The majority of those sales came in the first week, stimulated by thousands of dollars in marketing money spent by Elektra. Diehard fans wanted to see if Motley Crue could make a comeback with Vince Neil's return as the lead singer.
It seems no one was impressed.
Nikki pretended to be the Pied Piper (who had a better voice) and led a recent audience in a half-full concert venue in the singing of "Fuck Elektra."
Nikki has never been approached to become a member of MENSA.
Nikki Sixx has lost his mind. Blaming the record company for lack of sales is past ridiculous. Record companies are in the business to make money. I've never heard a label head say, "We're investing hundreds of thousands of dollars on this CD an we're really hoping it doesn't sell a copy. We want it to stiff."
Nikki wants to blame someone for the lack of sales of Motley Crue's latest album. So he calls the president of his label a derogatory term and asks his fans to "Fuck Elektra." I'm sure it made everyone at the concert want to rush out and purchase the CD. Trouble is, Nikki's fans spent all their money on booze, drugs and bail money. So they fuck Elektra (and Nikki) by not buying the album.
Through it all, Elektra Chairperson Sylvia Rhone has reacted in her typically classy fashion. As usual, she has remained above the fray. However, let me give Mr. Sixx a warning: I know Sylvia a lot better than you do. Keep using the "C" word and the "N" word and one day you'll find you've made a huge mistake.
Hey, Nikki. Here's a news flash: Sylvia Rhone and Elektra Records aren't your problem. Instead of blaming her, why don't you look in the mirror and at the others in your group and ask why you don't write better lyrics and play better songs? No record company in the world can prevent a hit from happening (why would they want to?)…anymore than it can make a stiff sell…as illustrated by the latest Motley Crue record.
Please give all this ranting at the moon a rest. You're boring. Go back into the studio and cut a hit record. Instead of putting Sylvia Rhone down, seek her input. She knows what she's doing. And despite what you've said, she would love for you to have a smash.
You've got two choices: Update your tired act and become a part of the future…or be buried with your mediocre past.
Author gerryPosted on February 6, 1998 April 9, 2009 Categories CommentariesTags music, music industry
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text:
Sail Training Trip: Cruise the North Shore, Grand Marais to Knife River
Instructor: Mark Gordon
Minnesota's north shore is a 100-mile stretch of open water renowned for its scenic cliffs, water depth and clarity, and exposure. Excellent protection for mariners exists, but only sporadically along the shore, rending access difficult for daysailors or beginners. However, with a seaworthy sailboat and a seasoned captain, the north shore becomes a spectacular destination and an opportunity for extended open water sailing. Join us for an adventurous sail training expedition from Grand Marais to Knife River, a 90-mile stretch along Minnesota's north shore, with a probable stop along the south shore of Wisconsin near the end.
As a participant you will have the total sailing experience, as much or as little as you choose: sail handling, coastal and celestial navigation, anchoring, steering, liveaboard skills, and engine maintenance. Rigorous sailing on open water, interspersed with light-air sailing or calms, is to be expected. Weather will almost certainly play a role in the schedule, as thunderstorms and strong adverse winds are common. Nights are spent at all-weather anchorages and marinas which dot the shoreline. Other activities include hiking, kayaking, rowing, and swimming. We will arrange transportation for those who leave their cars at one end or the other, though you are welcome to make independent plans for pick-up. Youth ages 13-17 are welcome with an accompanying adult. Due to the nature of this course, the intergenerational discount does not apply.
Your instructor will contact you with a complete packing list.
Feel free to bring your favorite tools and whatever materials you might feel appropriate for this course.
Lead instructor for this course is Mark Gordon, Captain. Mark with his wife Katya are co-owners of Amicus Adventure Sailing, a family-owned charter sailing business that operates out of Knife River, Minnesota. Mark has more than 30 years' experience leading wilderness trips for people of all ages and over 25 years as a licensed Captain and EMT. He has sailed thousands of miles on Lake Superior and beyond. Learn Mark and Katya's story, credentials, and details about their sailboat at their website www.AmicusAdventureSailing.com.
While no sailing experience is required for this course, participants should understand the rustic nature of the accommodations aboard Amicus II and the potential for challenging weather conditions. There is no shower onboard. While Amicus II is a spacious 40 footer, participants will have limited "personal space." Berths are enclosed by privacy curtains and double as living space during the day. Temperatures can range from the 70s right down to the 30s out on the Lake this early in the season. Proper clothing is a must. There will be 5-7 people aboard altogether. Tuition and materials fees include all food, lodging, and marina fees throughout the trip.
A small discount is available to couples, or friends willing to share a double berth ($50 per person, available by phone only). Due to the length of this sailing trip and the difficulty in finding replacement passengers on short notice, participants cancelling more than four months in advance of the trip will receive a 50% refund. Participants cancelling fewer than four months in advance will not receive a refund.
Sat, Jun 25th, 2022 – Tue, Jun 28th, 2022
Hours: Day 1: 1pm start; Day 4: ends at 3pm
Mark Gordon
Two Harbors, MN


The company for the production of modern bathroom vanities named Socimobel was founded in Spain twenty years ago. Over the years, the company Socimobel has become one of the largest producers of bathroom furniture. Moreover, thanks to the active cooperation with leading designers, the company Socimobel became a trendsetter among manufacturers of bathroom furniture. Individuality and style – that's what distinguishes Socimobel bathroom vanities furniture from any other.
More than 14,000 large customers and more than 150,000 bathrooms per year are equipped with furniture from Socimobel.
Socimobel uses its own developments for the production and worldwide sales. The Socimobel team consists of more than 250 people (with 40% of them outside of Spain).
Among the available collections of bathroom furniture are Elixir, Samara, Yane, Krom, London, Box, Paris, Cosmos, Clovis, Aton, Aurora. You can choose whichever suits your needs.
The main mission of the company Socimobel bathroom vanities lies in creating a feeling of well-being and comfort using furniture in the bathroom and stylish accessories that perfectly complete the interior. The company's activity is based on an ongoing study of the field of the furniture industry and the introduction of the production process of new improvements and additions. Innovations aimed at the product and marketing policies confidently lead the company far ahead of the competition and make it the undoubted leader in the production of bathroom furniture.
All these years of effort and strict adherence to the development strategy of the business were not in vain, and today a wide network of its client base covers many countries worldwide. It is constantly evolving, especially in the USA in New York.


text:
Q: How to use different versions of a gem at the same time Can I use two versions of a gem in one application?
I'm trying to use two Rails plugins to work together:

*

*Pengwynn's LinkedIn for LinkedIn API calls, has an dependency on OAuth (~> 0.3.5)

*OmniAuth for user login via multiple well-known websites, has an dependency on OAuth 0.4.0

When I try something in Rails I get this error message:
$ rails server
c:/Ruby187/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/bundler-1.0.7/lib/bundler/resolver.rb:129:in `resolve': Bundler could not find compatible versions for gem "oauth": (Bundler::VersionConflict)
  In snapshot (Gemfile.lock):
    oauth (0.4.4)

  In Gemfile:
    linkedin depends on
      oauth (~> 0.3.5)

Running `bundle update` will rebuild your snapshot from scratch, using only
the gems in your Gemfile, which may resolve the conflict.

Trying bundle update freezes my terminal.
Is it possible to use both plugins at the same time?

A: Unfortunatelly, in Ruby the only way is to fix (sic!) those gems, so they use compatible dependencies.
In general, when building complex software in Ruby and having such a situation we - Ruby developers - can't do much. And this is really bad, as development in Ruby has to focus on this issue as well.
Instead of providing your customer new features or change requests, one has to live with Ruby so called: "gem hell".
Another major characteristic of "gem hell" is that not always the latest gem release is the good one.

*

*Often, a gem does not follow semantic versioning policy, and can introduce major API modifications.

*Often, a new gem release may introduce new bugs to features previously working.

Other programming languages have an option of handling these types of problems. Just search for "java multiple versions of same class" and you'll find lots of resources.
What I can suggest for smaller kind of applications is to:

*

*be up-to-date with all latest gems' releases

What I can suggest for larger kind of applications, when above is not an option:

*

*split your application into several smaller applications, services.
This will separate them making risks of having "gem hell" smaller. If it happens, chances are it happens not to all of them.
Also, different apps can use different gem versions.

*switch to JRuby where those issues can be - in theory - solved via Java capabilities.

A: Using two versions of a single gem usually means: use two versions of the same class.
It's not possible without making modifications to these gems. You may try to place created classes in some module, resolve conflicts in methods imported into other classes, and so on. In general, it is not easy task, and usually the effect is not worth it.
What you should do in such cases is to ask the gem maintainers to update the dependencies, or try to do it yourself.
Maybe you can downgrade (use older version of) one of these gems, to the version in which the dependencies were the same.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


All our Visual Arts courses are available for adults aged 19 on 31 August 2018 and over only. WMC – The Camden College in London can only accept learners aged 18 and over on the UAL Foundation Diploma in Art & Design.
Visual Arts at WMC-The Camden College is a vibrant department that offers courses in a broad range of subjects from traditional drawing and painting to experimental courses where you will learn to explore and express ideas, to fashion where you can learn to design and cut a pattern, to all kinds of jewellery making, to sculpture and wood carving and ceramics and glass! Why not visit our fantastic printmaking department in Kentish Town and attend some of the only printmaking courses left in London!
Our courses are taught by professionals and we welcome all levels of learning, all ages and all interests! We have big studios and great equipment for you to practice your new found skills on.
Have a look through our part time courses specifically tailored for adult education and give it a try. Click on the subject area below to discover what great courses are available for you.


WELCOME | Nobody thought it would be this hard.
But in the end it didn't matter because North Davidson is heading back to Raleigh for the 4-A softball final four.
Danielle Glosson's two-out, two-run bloop single in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted North to an unexpectedly thrilling 5-4 victory over Hopewell in the fourth round of the 4-A state playoffs Friday night.
"I don't know what to say," Glosson said. "I'm just speechless. We needed to get one run and I had to get a hit."
But she drove in two and triggered a state of delirium.
"Holy smoke, holy smoke, holy smoke!" said North coach Mike Lambros.
North, which went all the way to the finals last year, will begin play in the double-elimination final four championship round Friday at the Walnut Creek complex in Raleigh.
The Black Knights, 29-1, found themselves trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh and facing the prospect of ending their season in crushing fashion.
But pinch hitter Katie Vick, a freshman, worked a walk off Hopewell pitcher Christina Melton. Vanessa Manuel then sacrificed pinch runner Rachel Gentle to second. Tisha Mahon followed by dropping a bunt down the third base line which Melton mishandled for an error. That put runners on the corners with one out and things started to look more hopeful.
Mahon stole second without a throw but things briefly took a turn for the worse when Elisha Elliott grounded out to second and the runners had to hold. Keeli Michael walked to load the bases, bringing up Glosson. On a 1-1 pitch, Glosson hit a soft fly ball that fell in as Gentle and Mahon took off. When Mahon crossed the plate, she was mobbed by her teammates as defeat turned into victory.
"We never felt like we were out of it," Michael said. "Nobody on this team quits. We knew we had to get some runners on and we did."
And they left their veteran coach in smiles.
"These girls have so much heart," Lambros said. "They don't ever quit. That's a great team over there, and they fought hard to come back against us."
Very early in the game, circumstances seemed to dictate a certain North win after the Knights took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Glosson has been close to invincible on the mound this year, and three runs is typically more than enough.
"We like to think so," Lambros said. "But you've got to give that team credit. They have some great players."
Nothing was really typical about this night for North, though. The Hopewell team arrived late and that had Lambros fuming. Despite the late arrival, the umpires still allowed Hopewell, 22-4, to take 20 minutes of infield, and the game didn't start until 7:30 p.m.
"We had some games played on us tonight," Lambros said. "I know that when we have to be at somebody else's place for a 7 o'clock game, we're there on time. They said something about race traffic. But, hey, that race is held every year. Then somebody said they were at the McDonald's in Welcome."
When the game did finally start, the Knights looked good quickly as Glosson rapped a run-scoring single and Amy Muessen followed with a two-run single.
But while she wasn't striking out a bunch of hitters, Melton got in a groove and retired 13 in a row.
Meanwhile, the Titans began clawing back, cutting it to 3-1 in the third on Kristy Giragosian's RBI single.
In the fourth, Kelly Braman led off with a single. Melton then stunned the North crowd by jacking a 1-1 pitch over the left field fence for a two-run homer to tie the game at 3-3.
"I had the spacing wrong on that one," Glosson said. "I didn't throw that pitch where I needed to."
The stunned feeling for North turned to one of disbelief in the top of the sixth. Kristi Woodall led off with a single. Glosson fanned the next two batters, but then Alyssa Jarvis blasted a double to the gap in right center, sending Woodall home and giving the Titans a 4-3 lead.
North loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth, but Melton struck out Brittany Malloy and got Brittany Koontz to ground into a fielder's choice.
Glosson, 28-1, struck out 13 and walked one while giving up six hits. The Southern Illinois-bound senior was 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs.
Melton allowed five hits while striking out four and walking one.


text:
During his long and illustrious years in polo, Charles Robertson Skene played almost everywhere around the world and competed in a great number of national and international tournaments and special events. He was the first Australian to be classed as a 'ten goal' polo player, the highest rating that can be attained in the sport.
Skene was born in the tea plantations of Assam, India, his Australian father was a tea planter and distinguished polo player, rising to a rating of 'eight goals' on a trip to the United States in 1929. He was sent to school in England only to rejoin his parents at their new home in Australia.
Fearful of horses as a child, Skene began his illustrious polo career playing country club polo with his father and friends in Australia, commencing his playing career in 1931 when the Australian Polo Club was formed at Cobbity, New South Wales. In 1932 at age 18, his handicap was established as 'two goals', advancing to 'seven goals' in 1937. His first great opportunity came in 1937 when he accompanied the Ashton brothers with their Australian Goulburn (NSW) team when they went to play in London's polo season, winning the English Champions Cup at Hurlingham. He performed so well that he was invited to try out for the English team, which was to challenge for the Westchester Cup at Long Island, New York in 1939. He is the only Australian to play for England against the United States in the coveted event.
1939 was a banner year in Skene's polo career. After the British team's trial matches in California, he was chosen to play the 'number one position' and put on an outstanding performance in these matches at the Meadow Brook Club, as well as in the special exhibition match against the American '40 goal' team. He later won the National 20 Goal Tournament with the 'League of Nations' team at Bostwick Field and that Autumn played on the 'Greentree' team that were finalists in the National Open Championships and won the Monty Waterbury Cup. His fine play earned him a 'nine goal' rating and he was identified by the American press for his rapid and accurate style of play, earning the nickname 'Hurricane Bob'.
Skene was still in the United States after the Westchester Cup when the Second World War began. He started to assist the war effort in Europe by raising funds in the United States through the 'Bundles for Britain' campaign. Soon, however, he found this was not enough and he joined the Indian Army and went into Officer's training school near Bombay, India. When asked to join the fearless Gurkhas as an officer, Skene jumped at the chance as they were the only polo playing regiment in the Indian Army.
In February 1942, Skene was posted to the Allied War campaign in Malaya and was taken prisoner of war by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore. For three and a half years he was incarcerated in Singapore's Changi Prison.
Returning to India with his troops, at the end of 1946 Skene was discharged from the Gurkhas and took up a position as a steward with the Straits Racing Association in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya. It was from here that, without the aid of 'photo finish' electronics, Skene called and judged the races in Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Penang.
Polo recovered slowly after the War, and it was not until 1949 that Skene was invited by Lord Chowdray to play for England against Argentina and Chile. He was given a 'six goal' rating, but within 30 days was put back to 'nine goals'. Due to the War, for 10 years from age 25 to 35, Skene played no polo. However, those that had seem him play before and after Changi said that his game had hardly suffered.
In 1950, Skene went to live in the United States. He settled first in Los Angeles where he played and managed the Beverly Hill Polo Club. At the end of the 1950 polo season in New York, he was raised to ten goals.
Though he had been raised to 'ten' in New York in 1950, he knew he could never accept that he was worth ten until he proved it in the 'mecca' of polo, Argentina. In 1954, he became the first foreigner to be invited to play as a member of an Argentine team, "El Trebol" in the Argentine Open championship, an honour he always considered one of his greatest achievements. Twice, in 1954 and 1956, he was invited to play, twice he was on the winning team. He played in eight United States Open championships and was on the winning side in 1952, 1958, and 1962. Some of his other memorable victories include the Pacific Coast Open at least four times in the 1950s and 1960s, and the Monty Waterbury Cup again in 1950.
In 1960, he and his family moved to Santa Barbara where he took up managing the Santa Barbara Polo Club. He maintained the highest rating possible of 'ten goals' for 17 years until the age of 53, in 1967.
He proved himself to be a tremendous asset and role model to the game of polo as a player, teacher, and coach. He was always known as a superb horseman, for great anticipation and ball control. After retiring from the international field, Skene dedicated himself to the promotion of polo throughout the United States, teaching at schools and clubs throughout the country. As a living tribute to Skene, the United States Polo Association sanctioned the 'Robert Skene Trophy' in 1994, to be played during the 'high goal' season at the Santa Barbara Polo Club.
In 1990 he was one of the inaugural inductees into the United States Polo Hall of Fame.