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Amahl and the Night Visitors
Amahl and the Night Visitors, Gian Carlo Menotti's stirring opera about a crippled shepherd boy and three kings, was TV's first Christmas tradition, creating a sensation with its debut on Christmas Eve 1951. Broadcast yearly into the mid 60s, Amahl - as is the case with so many programs from the early years of television - has disappeared into the fogs of the past, unseen on network television since the late 1970s.
Mitchell Hadley, who chronicled Amahl's origins for TV Party (here's the link to the story: http://www.tvparty.com/xmas-amahl.html), now brings us up to date with a review of the only commercially-available DVD from the opera's classic early years.
1955 DVD release
The Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors occupies a rich spot in television history: its live broadcast on December 24, 1951 was the first broadcast of the Hallmark Hall of Fame, the first opera ever written specifically for television, the first program to be broadcast in color (in 1953). It became an instant sensation after that initial showing, and due to public demand was again done live the following Easter. It was the first Christmas tradition for the young medium of television, broadcast every year from 1951 to 1966, (often on or near Christmas day itself), and only ended its run when Gian Carlo Menotti , the prickly composer, withdrew his permission due to a dispute with NBC.
The brief opera, which runs less than an hour, tells the simple but charming story of a crippled shepherd boy and his widowed mother, living in poverty, who are visited one night by three kings following a star. It's become a mainstay of amateur and regional opera companies, and is generally considered the most frequently performed opera in history. And yet despite all this, Amahl had, through the years, fallen into something of a memory hole. It was, in short, a terrific subject for an article, and so I set out to write one, which became the TVParty story "Three Kings in 50 Minutes." But, as I started my research, I ran into a bit of a challenge.
Bill McIver as the crippled boy Amahl--from the 1955 production
You see, I'd been too little to appreciate it when it was originally on television (I was only six when it ended its long initial run), which meant that I was dependent on the archival video material available. Which wasn't much. Sure, there had been a 1978 revival broadcast with a top notch cast that included famed singer Teresa Stratas that had come out on VHS, but even though the production had been done with the approval of Menotti, it bore virtually no resemblance to the original broadcasts. It had the look and feel of a filmed movie (which it was, with many scenes shot on location in the Holy Land), and unlike the original live versions the singers lip-synched to recorded music. As a movie it might have been fine, but it lacked the immediacy and drama of the studio versions that had been the hallmark* of the 50s and 60s broadcasts. Which, surprisingly, had never been released commercially. *No pun intended.
The initial 1951 broadcast did exist; it was a fairly constant presence on the bootleg market, and it could be viewed on streaming sites such as that of the Museum of Broadcasting in Chicago, or in person at the Paley Center in New York, so it wasn't too hard for me to get a copy to watch (for research purposes only, of course). It had never had a legitimate release, however, and while I had come up with plenty of written information to put out a good story, it felt like there was still something missing.
Mother and Amahl (Rosemary Kuhlmann and Bill McIver)
Imagine my surprise, then, when just two weeks before the deadline for the article, VAI came out with a DVD release of the live 1955 NBC broadcast of Amahl. As soon as I read about it I dropped whatever I had been doing at the time and bought it, and today I cannot imagine having finished that article without it. True, it's not the cherished world premiere, and while the original broadcast was in color, only the black-and-white kinescope of the 1955 survives. Nonetheless, in every significant way this 1955 version can be considered the definitive televised version of Amahl available today.
For one thing, the production itself – the blocking, sets, costumes and choreography – are the same as those used in 1951. So is the cast, with the sole exception being the title role of Amahl, where Chet Allen, the boy soprano who originated the role, had given way to Bill McIver, making his fourth and final appearance. McIver, along with Rosemary Kuhlmann as Amahl's Mother, Andrew McKinley, David Aiken and Leon Lishner as the Three Kings, and Francis Monachino as their Page, are by now fully in command of the story, and their familiarity with both the roles and each other show in their polished performance.
Also returning are the other principals from the premiere broadcast – Thomas Schippers, in the process of becoming the most celebrated American opera conductor of the time, remains at the podium, the NBC Opera Theatre Orchestra (now called the NBC Symphony of the Air) provides the music, and Kirk Browning directs the broadcast, which retains the costumes and set designs of Eugene Berman and John Butler's choreography. *
*In fact, up until the controversial 1963 version, the production and cast (with the exception of the boy soprano playing Amahl) remained consistent for every broadcast.
The pivotal moment when the Mother, seeing the riches the Kings plan to bring the Child, thinks of the good that they could do her. (Aria: "All That Gold"). She is caught, but when the Kings tell her she can keep the gold, she declines, telling them that if this Child truly is the King they say He is, then He is the King she has been looking for as well.
In addition, [on the DVD release] there's a wonderful interview with graceful Rosemary Kuhlmann in which she shares anecdotes about her experiences on Amahl (for example, scenes she'd originally had to perform on her knees when McIver first started playing Amahl were by 1955 no longer a program since McIver was now as tall as she was), and the disc comes with a terrific little booklet that gave me all kinds of small details on the behind-the-scenes drama of the broadcast. Because of the opera's short length – less than 50 minutes – and the fact that it was presented without commercial interruption, the remainder of the hour time slot was traditionally filled by the Columbus Boychoir* performing Christmas carols, and this part of the broadcast is included as well. Optional subtitles are also available, and I'd recommend using them – when it comes to opera, English can be a notoriously difficult language to understand, and though Menotti's music never overwhelms the singers, subtitles do provide viewers with the clarity to appreciate the beauty of Menotti's libretto.
*The Boychoir, now known as the American Boychoir, was one of the most famous of its kind; Chet Allen and Bill McIver were both members.
So the 1955 broadcast is a terrific version of Amahl, one that should be part of anyone's Christmas collection. Don't let the fact that it's an opera scare you off – you don't have to be an aficionado of opera, or even a particularly pious person, to appreciate it. Menotti wrote it for children, after all. All you have to be is a fan of good television, and a sucker for a good Christmas story. I still think it would be a good idea for Hallmark to release the original 1951 version*, if they're able to maneuver through the legal mindfield of copyright and publication issues that have prevented any recent broadcasts of Amahl (including at early 2000s version by the BBC that was shelved for that very reason and remains unaired to this day) – it would certainly beat the dreck they put out today.
*The 1951 broadcast includes an introduction by Gian Carlo Menotti himself, who discusses briefly the origins of the story and introduces Schippers, Browning and Berman on camera, and features a charming performance by Chet Allen, who fully justifies Menotti's decision to cast a boy soprano in the lead role rather than a more experienced adult female, as is done in many operas with young boys as characters – Hansel and Gretel, for example.
It may be hard to appreciate today, when both religious and cultural programs have more or less disappeared from mainstream broadcasting, but in an era when opera was an accepted as part of middlebrow American culture, the unabashedly religious Amahl, moving without becoming awash in Hallmark-style sentimentality, became a cherished Christmas tradition for many viewers. The loss of programs like this is to the detriment not only of television, but all of us. Thanks to companies like VAI, however, we can still keep the memories alive, and pass the traditions – and the understanding of Christmas – along to future generations.
Mitchell Hadley, who makes it a point to watch Amahl every Christmas Eve and thinks you should too, blogs about classic television at ItsAboutTV.com.
Linda December 11, 2013 at 12:57 PM
I remember AMAHL from my childhood; it was required watching! What was so controversial about the 1963 version? Did I miss it?
Mitchell Hadley December 11, 2013 at 2:46 PM
Hi Linda,
What was controversial was kind of inside-baseball, really. NBC had chosen to do a new production with an all-new cast, set and costumes. They also decided to videotape it for annual showings, rather than do a new broadcast each year. (It hadn't been televised live for several years, but it was still taped "live" and was always a new broadcast.)
NBC scheduled the taping at a time when Gian Carlo Menotti was to be in Europe. Menotti was very much hands-on with Amahl, and if there was going to be a new production he wanted to be there to supervise it. NBC refused to reschedule, with the result that the new production went on without his participation.
Menotti was irate, demanding that NBC scrap the tape and redo it with his involvement. NBC countered that they'd invested too much in the production, and that the ratings had actually improved over the previous year's telecast.
There was nothing Menotti could do about it at the time - since NBC had commissioned the opera from him originally, they still had control over the broadcast. But when those rights reverted to him in 1966, he announced that he was withdrawing permission for NBC to broadcast the program. He relented in time for the '66 showing, but that was it - Menotti severed his relationship with NBC (he'd been a regular contributor to NBC Opera Theatre), and refused to allow further broadcasts. He was involved in the 1978 production, but that was not studio-based and, I think, lacked the charm of the earlier broadcasts.
As far as I can tell, although Menotti referred to the 1963 version as "terrible" and a "bad" production, there was nothing particularly avant-garde or unconventional about it. Menotti may not have wanted to see his original production scrapped and cast replaced, or he may simply have wanted to continue to oversee it. Either way, the controversy created quite a sensation at the time, and that was the reason for Amahl's disappearance from TV.
SunshineMLS December 11, 2013 at 1:44 PM
i remember it from my childhood also....but during the 1960s. i would love to see this back on television again. some cable channels have been doing a lot of more religious themed mini-series these days....i wonder if any of them would be willing to take this on live or do some rebroadcasts of the originals?
Hi Maryam,
I agree - it would be wonderful to see again. Back in 2001, the BBC ran into an issue when they filmed a lavish version of Amahl but then were unable to broadcast it because they'd neglected to get the rights from the rights holder, which I think is G. Schirmer, the publisher of the score. The BBC had to shelve the production; it was apparently broadcast the next year, but there's never been a DVD release of it.
It could be, therefore, that the cost of acquiring the rights is prohibitive for a non-broadcast network. I doubt that any of the over-the-air networks would have any interest in doing it (it's probably considered too religious, for one thing), but I share your curiosity as to whether or not a small cable network might be able to work out a deal with VAI to air the 1955 version.
It goes into my to-do list to see if I can find out more information!
Tim Lones December 12, 2013 at 11:18 AM
Sad, when a Opera commissioned especially for Christmas becomes "too religious" for Broadcast Television..
tim, i so agree! we are missing out on some wonderful christmas programming that many of us grew up with and would love to be able to share with our own children.
Indeed - I was writing up a December 1961 TV Guide for Saturday's entry on my blog, and it's striking how much more inclusive of religion TV was then. Both Perry Como and Bell Telephone Hour had readings of the Nativity according to St. Luke, and NBC's Project 20 did a half hour on art depicting "The Coming of Christ." Outside of the religious networks, it is difficult to imagine mainstream programming like this today.
RigbyMel December 16, 2013 at 2:25 PM
"Amahl and the Night Visitors" may not be a fixture on tv so much anymore, but it gets performed in Richmond, VA every year thanks to the folks in the city's parks and recreation dept! The performance this year was on December 8th. http://richmondvirginiaparks.blogspot.com/2013/12/city-to-host-annual-holiday-opera.html
I'm always glad to hear about that. "Amahl" has frequently been referred to as the world's most performed opera, and it's terrific that the tradition is being kept alive there!
Andrea Stoeckel December 9, 2016 at 11:53 AM
It would never fly in this era. I keep trying to find a copy but the family kept the rights so as of 2015 it still wasn't available....fingers crossed
Oaky's pal December 20, 2017 at 7:43 PM
A fascinating account, and a welcome explanation about why this work isn't on TV. Thanks, Mitchell Hadley.
18 Cinema Lane July 25, 2019 at 6:31 PM
Great article! I've heard of this film, but have yet to see it. It seems like a lot of Hallmark Hall of Fame's earlier projects are hard to find nowadays. Even the movies that have been put on video are not always easy to access. Fortunately, there's people like you who truly care about the longevity of this specific branch from Hallmark. By the way, I've nominated you for the Blogger Recognition Award! Here's the link to my award post:
https://18cinemalane.wordpress.com/2019/07/09/i-received-my-first-blogger-recognition-award/
Mikey February 1, 2020 at 1:52 PM
The "controversial" 1966 telecast is available for viewing on YouTube (I am the one who posted it). You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPAjNu4WW0I
I also have the BBC version that never aired. I posted it on Youtube, but they took it down. The BBC also did several live telecasts of Amahl back in the 50s and 60s. I wonder why none of these have ever seen the light of day? It was also broadcast in Australia in 1957 and then rebroadcast as a kinescope recording. Also on Youtube is this Italian telecast : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNQkrf0c14M&list=PLw72jkyrCiZmjc8y-ww9UgtxqjxYgguzB&index=10&fbclid=IwAR2mkfDjjwiJLjoWpocLU0FzqlfalPpp9hbEvZ7oMBdRKjFCgYo0HxrJL3k
I think that PBS would be a great channel to do a new "Amahl" for TV. Tony Award winner Audra McDonald has said she would love to play the part of Amahl's Mother. I am not sure why the rights of this opera are so tricky. I know when I directed a production for our local theater group the rights were incredibly expensive. And we only did three performances. It's too bad as it really seems as if someone is either WAY too protective of this property or is mismanaging it. Apparently, the BBC version was blocked because the owners of the right were planning their own movie version. But that was some 18 years ago. Still no film version! You would think MORE Amahl would be there goal, not less.
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Do you think a very "jock" young lady could beat up a guy? How Do I discovery way to Beat Up a Guy up for state showing emotion Rude towards me?
Frustrated by feeling left out, author thinks nothing of it once she criticizes the seniors by transmittal a banknote about them on a cultural network site. But when she comes to one of the senior's aid one afternoon, they pitch up an unexpected relationship and Haley shortly becomes shrink-wrapped up in state section of their crowd, effort her relationship with her parents Melissa and Ray when she begins to come home late, talk back and decline their rules. Ultimately, the girls sight Haley's online comments about them.
Dozens of kids and at least two adults watched as quadruplet teenage girls brutalized a pint-sized 15-year-old girlfriend in a Brooklyn Mc Donald's — but not one successful a movement to stop it, a lurid video that's been shared crossed the globe shows. fast-food joint — some of whom were cheering during the after-school onslaught— dialed 911, though Mc Donald's workers did call, patrol said. One callous looker even joked as the young lady lay on the floor, "Yo, she's dead. " UPDATE: savage IN feral MCDONALD'S lacing ARRESTED VICTIM OF borough MCDONALD'S ATTACK BRAGS ABOUT FAME ONLINE And even although every punch, aspiration and cheer was captured on video, the girls who carried out the hard beatdown may ne'er be negatively charged since witnesses refuse to speak up. The pummeled 15-year-old, a scholar at Erasmus Hall High School, was hospitalized overnight Monday but collapsed wed at location and was hurried to SUNY Downstate examination Center, her ruined grandma said.


The main causes for accidents are, distractions while driving in a group with other teenagers, use of cellular phones, driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages and speeding.
DORAL, FL – Parents of teenagers know that in any moment they will have to share the keys of the car with their son or daughter, but before doing this, it is essential that they know that the main reason for deaths among teenagers between 16 and 19 years of age are traffic accidents. For this reason, it is vital to teach them to be responsible while driving.
According to the most recent statistics from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), more than 2,500 teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 die every year in traffic accidents in the United States, and almost 300,000 are treated in Emergency Rooms due to injuries suffered while in traffic accidents.
In economic terms, teenagers between 16 and 19 years represent 6.9% of the population of the United States, but the traffic accidents in which they are involved cost more than 13 thousand million dollars per year, the equivalent to 8.4% of the total costs due to injuries caused by traffic accidents.
The risk of traffic accidents among teenagers is higher than that for any other age group. In fact, if we compare driven miles, drivers between 16 and 19 years have three times more probabilities to be involved in a deadly accident that drivers 20 years of age and older, and for this reason, insurance policies for this age group are more expensive.
If we bring the national statistics to a more local scope, we are concerned because the total number of traffic accidents in Doral rose 16% in 2018 compared to 2017 as stated by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Even when we do not have figures that indicate how many teenagers were involved in these accidents, it is essential to take into consideration the large number of young people that we see driving in our city.
We need to remember that in previous editions, we had referenced the increase in people speeding while driving in Doral. Unfortunately, while speeding tends to be related to the youth in the drivers, 40% of the people who race and are involved in fatal accidents are teenagers or are younger than 24 years of age.
CDC numbers also show that when teenage drivers are traveling with other passengers, their risk of suffering a traffic accident is multiplied. Use of a cellular phone can also increase the probability of an accident and can reduce the reaction time of a young driver compared with that of a 70 years old person.
Drinking alcoholic beverages also has an impact on teenage traffic accidents. In fact, almost 25% of fatal accidents among young people involve minors drinking and driving with alcohol levels that are far beyond the legal allowed limits. 70% of young drivers that die in traffic accidents due to alcohol consumption do not use a seat belt.
The number of traffic accidents increases for male drivers and for those that have recently received their driver's license. The majority of crashes in which young people are involved, 53%, take place between Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Another critical factor is that teenagers tend to speed and leave a small space between their car and the one in front of them, compared to older drivers. An additional risk factor is that when compared with other age groups, teenagers only use the seatbelt 59% of the time.
Even when traffic accidents are the primary cause of death among teenagers in the United States, these accidents are preventable, and there are effective strategies that have proven to improve the safety of young drivers in the streets.
It is possible that teenagers underestimate or cannot recognize dangerous situations when compared with older drivers, and it is probable that they make mistakes that end in serious crashes. For this reason, it is crucial for us as parents to instill in them the sense of responsibility while driving.
The most basic prevention strategy while driving a vehicle is to wear the seat belt. Studies show that wearing your seatbelt reduces severe injuries and deaths that are related to car accidents by almost 50%.
It is a fact that teenagers are usually accompanied by their friends, even when this increases the risk of accidents. It is therefore imperative to talk to them about the importance of not getting distracted while driving. Explain to them what the statistics mean and show them videos that catch their attention on this subject.
It is also essential to make the teenager aware of the use of cellular phones and have them reflect on this. It is not only dangerous to text while driving; it has also been shown that teenagers get more distracted while talking on the phone and driving than adults.
Alcohol and driving do not mix. If your son or daughter already has a driving license, then they know the law regarding the minimum age to consume alcohol and the "zero" tolerance about liquor in the blood for drivers younger than 21 years. Regarding speeding, it is important to make them understand that this is something that we see in movies. In movies, there is a controlled environment.
It is also recommended that your child starts driving with a learner's permit. Driving is a complex skill that has to be practiced in order for it to learn properly; for this reason, it is important that they start driving within certain limits. These learner's permits provide limited schedules where driving is authorized and they require the company of an adult, this allows for more parental involvement in the learning process.
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Qatar race added to calendar instead of Australia
by Cory Weinberg October 12, 2021 Top News
Formula 1 found a replacement for the canceled Australian Grand Prix.
F1 announced on Thursday that it will compete at the Losel International Circuit in Qatar on 21 November. The race will be the 20th of 22 scheduled and will follow the Australian Grand Prix being canceled for the second consecutive season due to COVID-19.
Qatar's involvement in the race means any idea of a pair at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas is off the table. A possible doubleheader in Austin was mentioned after races were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic in Australia and Japan. Instead, there will only be one race in the United States in 2021, before two races in 2022, with a spring race in Miami.
The original F1 calendar had 23 races before the changes were made due to the pandemic. The revised schedule delayed Turkey to 10 October and two races in Austria.
The deal, due in Qatar in 2021, also includes a 10-year contract starting in 2023.
"There was a strong desire from Qatar to help F1 and during that process, the vision of a longer partnership was discussed and agreed upon for 10 years," Formula 1 said in a statement.
"The move from helping F1 in 2021 to a longer-term strategy was short and simple, and F1 Qatar's performance after the 2022 FIFA World Cup was the driving force behind this agreement. Long-term. As part of the long-term agreement As of now, discussions will continue regarding the location of the Grand Prix starting in 2023 and more details will be provided later."
See also Britons will need a photo ID to vote. The poor and ethnic minorities will be harmed, critics warned - Ob ...
7 races left in 2021
Formula 1 will now compete in the last three races of the 2021 season in the Middle East. After Turkey on 10 October, the series enters the Circuit of the Americas on 24 October. A race in Mexico goes to Brazil two weeks after Austin and a week after F1 Mexico.
Traveling after the race in Brazil will be difficult as there is no free weekend between Brazil and Qatar. Then there is another free weekend before the race in Saudi Arabia and the season finale in Abu Dhabi on 12 December. France 24. according to a report from, Saudi Arabia's new circuit is in a race against completion times on the race's scheduled date.
Lewis Hamilton is currently two points ahead of Max Verstappen in the drivers' standings. Hamilton won the 100th race of his career at the Russian Grand Prix, although rain at the Sochi circuit caused Verstappen to drive from behind to finish second in the wild final laps.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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This is what a job in the U.S.'s new manufacturing industry looks like
The truck line. (courtesy of Nissan)
By Lydia DePillis
SMYRNA, TENN. — Chris Young's pain is in his wrists. It started about a year ago — at first a numbness, and then sharp pains, all the way up to his elbow. He'd injured the left wrist in a long-ago motorcycle accident, but it didn't act up again until he spent months moving heavy pieces of metal, again and again, at Nissan's manufacturing plant in Smyrna, Tenn. Managers transferred him off that part of the line. Still, there's no way to make it stop completely.
The month of February had been particularly painful for Young. Nissan was scrambling to fill orders before the end of the fiscal year on March 1, ordering 10-hour shifts on Saturdays and Sundays — that meant getting up at 3 in the morning to drive the 45 miles from his home to the plant, for weeks on end with scarcely a break. A couple years ago, Young had gotten into a car crash, after dozing off at the wheel during a similarly intense run.
"No one's really worried about the fact that you're so exhausted from working seven days a week, you're dependent on some drug to stay awake, or dependent on some drug to go asleep, or for pain," he says, relaxing after shift on an L-shaped leather couch at the home he rents in Columbia. His 37-year-old body is powerful, built like a football player's, but no longer impervious. "That's the most common thing people are addicted to. And everybody I work with has some type of pain, whether it's hands, fingers, back, feet, something."
Young doesn't actually work for Nissan — he works for Yates Services, an in-house contractor that's hired thousands of people over the past few years to ramp up production as people started buying vehicles again. It's a big difference.
Yates is like a company within a company, with separate bulletin boards and rules and procedures. The bona fide Nissan employees are easily recognizable through their logoed shirts, which Yates workers don't receive. And the disparity isn't just symbolic. Yates pays between $10 and $18 an hour, which is about half what Nissan employees make. Plus, the gap in benefits is wide. Back at home, Young pulls out a crumpled sheet of paper from the company that lays out the differences and pokes at the two columns with his finger.
"I build the same Infiniti SUV that Bob does," says Young, referring to a hypothetical Nissan worker. "Bob is able to lease a vehicle, I cannot. Long term disability? Bob gets that, I do not. I can provide this much for my family when I die. Bob can double his base. But Bob and I are on the same line, busting our butts."
More than anything, working for Yates means that Young can't live an adult life: Can't get a mortgage, can't say no to overtime, can't save for retirement, can't take a sick day, can't be confident he'll have a job next week or next month.
And Nissan, the first of many foreign automakers to set up shop in Tennessee, is leading a trend. Companies from Amazon to Asurion to Dell have outsourced their warehouses and call centers to the hundreds of staffing agencies that have cropped up in the region. Tennessee went from having 51,867 temporary workers in 2009 to 80,990 in 2012, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — while median wages have stayed flat. That accounts for nearly all of Tennessee's job growth since the recession, and makes up 3.1 percent of all jobs in the state, one of the highest in the nation.*
As a result of Nissan's hiring blitz over the past few years, Rutherford County has an unemployment rate that's the envy of the South. Tennessee's political leadership holds it up as a shining example of success in the global economy — the return of American manufacturing after decades of decline, and the future of work for those left jobless by globalization and technological change.
But in order to stay competitive with Nissan's plants all over the world, that work has come at a deep discount. And the communities it creates will be far from the picket fence idyll of decades past. Young's fiancee has to take care of almost everything for the four children they share from previous relationships, while Young builds cars.
"I don't see how they can make you work seven days a week," says Young's fiancee, quietly, eyes wide, before taking the kids out to pick up fast food for dinner. (She requested anonymity to protect the identity of the children.)
"If you don't want to do it, you clean out your locker and go somewhere else," Young tells her. "It's 'you make it work, so and so did it, so you can do it.' And that's the end of the story."
To understand what Nissan means to Smyrna, you need to realize that Nissan built Smyrna. It was Tennessee's first major investment by a foreign automaker, and has since attracted a constellation of suppliers that support thousands more jobs. Since the plant opened in 1983, the town has grown from an 8,000-person whistlestop to a sprawling patchwork of parkways and subdivisions and strip malls, population 41,000. And in the plant's first two decades, getting a Nissan job was like winning the lottery.
"Most of the time, if I have a Nissan shirt on, people think I have a new Nissan parked outside," Young says. "They think you're making good money." (In reality, he drives a 2001 Cavalier with 200,000 miles on it, and lives in a neighborhood of largely subsidized rentals on the other side of a trailer park from the highway.)
Then came Nissan's brush with bankruptcy in 2001 and a turnaround plan that involved new models and much lower production costs. It started introducing temps into front-office functions, and in 2007 and 2008 did two buyouts in quick succession, reducing its permanent workforce by about a third. As demand returned, it started to backfill production jobs with contractors, too — first on the "pick line," where workers run parts up to assembly, and then throughout the plant. The company won't say what proportion of its 7,000-person workforce is supplied by staffing agencies, but multiple reports from current and former employees indicate it's easily a majority.
It's hard to tease out the effect of the new temp employment base from that of the recession generally. But given the low unemployment rate, residents should have more disposable income. Instead, title-loan and check-cashing places have proliferated. It's not hard to see why: On his $32,000 a year salary, Young has to pay for rent, gas, food, and all the things school-age kids need to feel normal — soccer uniforms, dance classes and musical instruments. His fiancee used to help out, but stopped working because daycare cost more than what she was making as a bartender.
Young knows he could earn more doing maintenance at the plant, but that would mean working crazy hours, and never seeing his family — it took him three years to work up to a job on first shift, which starts early and gets out in the afternoon. "First shift, it gives you the opportunity to have a life," Young says. "You get to come home and sleep, you get to come home and put your kids to bed, you get to come home and eat with your family."
"It's like sacrificing watching your children grow up for the extra money just doesn't seem worth it," his fiancee adds.
Young has one hope of a better life at Nissan: The company says it only used the contractors to staff up quickly after the recession and wants to transition more of them into full-fledged Nissan positions once they prove themselves worthy (executives recoil at the word "temp," insisting that even the contract jobs are long term). But the process can seem painfully slow and elusive, requiring near-perfect attendance, a squeaky clean record, and a decent helping of luck. Young figures he may already have ruined his chance, having missed a few days to show up for court dates to fight for custody of his son. When his review came up for a Nissan job, his supervisor warned him the absences wouldn't look good.
"I'm like, 'what am I supposed to do? That's my son,'" Young says. "If he's got to let me go, he's got to let me go. All I got to do is miss that, and it looks like, what type of father am I?"
Besides, even for the few hundred a year that are elevated from Yates to Nissan, it's not the plum job their parents might have known — the benefits are less generous, the top-out pay not as high. That's the automotive standard now, pressured downward by wages in Mexico and even matched by the Detroit car companies whose unions have conceded to a two-tiered wage system, with newcomers starting out at a lower rate.
Perhaps to compensate, Nissan has done more in recent years to sprinkle assistance through Smyrna in other ways, helping to fund things like a stage for a summer concert that draws thousands of people.
Susan Gulley, a former Nissan temp herself who left to start an arts venue and cafe in the two-block-long historic downtown — which gets help from Nissan too — likens the strategy to a family that's cut back on big expenses in favor of smaller, feel-good indulgences.
"Sometimes when you're limited in your budget because of recent changes, you do more family oriented things," she says. "You go on picnics, you spend less money but you spend more quality time together. It's not that expensive to get involved, and they know a little bit of help could go a long way."
Despite Smyrna's frustration with outsourcing, Nissan workers have twice rejected one thing that might have been able to slow its rise: a labor union.
The United Auto Workers, weakened by the flow of auto jobs to the unorganized South, held elections at the plant in 1989 and 2001. The last one failed by a 2-1 margin, after an intense company campaign against the union, including a personal video message from CEO Carlos Ghosn that beamed out to all workers warning them that the company might invest elsewhere in the future if the plant were to organize.
Ten years later, the UAW started trying again, figuring that the worsening conditions might provide an opening. Unlike with Nissan's plant in Canton, Miss. — where a community group led by local ministers has organized under the slogan "Lead us not into Temp-nation" — the campaign has gained little traction.
To learn why, talk to Republican state representative Mike Sparks. He grew up in town, worked in the Whirlpool and Coca Cola plants nearby, and was thrilled to land a job on the Nissan assembly line, where he stayed for eight years before starting his own used car sales business. He identifies with the working man — "I don't feel a calling to speak up for the person with the country club membership," he likes to say, in a stream of banter studded with biblical references — and thinks using temp labor is a betrayal of Nissan's Kaizen management philosophy of "continuous improvement."
"If you've got somebody and they're not part of the family, part of the team, how do you get things equally yoked?" Sparks asks, after pulling out a book on Kaizen, which Nissan drilled into employees while he worked there. "If you've got two oxen pulling in one direction, you know what's gonna happen, there's a old term my dad used to use, it's called cattywompus. Cattywompus is like crooked, which will adversely affect quality."
What's more, Sparks thinks depressed wages are taking their toll on the local economy. "If we continue on the path we're on, we're going to going to see more apartments, more free and reduced lunch, more title loan businesses," Sparks says.
But a union? Gracious no — Sparks is convinced Nissan would pick up stakes and leave Smyrna altogether, to say nothing of other automakers that might be interested in Tennessee, which is why he also opposed the union's recent failed campaign at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga. "If UAW gets a foothold, they'll go to Alabama, they'll go to Georgia, they'll go to Mississippi," he says.
Instead, Sparks wants to make future monetary assistance depend on better behavior — the state built the roads to the plant for Nissan back in the 1980s, and has given the company more than half a billion dollars since 2000 in subsidies and tax incentives, according to the watchdog non-profit Good Jobs First. So, perhaps no more training grants or new state-subsidized infrastructure.
But that's probably a non-starter in a Republican-controlled legislature that just last month threatened to withhold tax incentives from Volkswagen if its plant in Chattanooga went union — the likelihood of any legal curbs on Nissan's outsourcing looks slim. Now, it's just the norm, says Bill Canak, a professor of sociology at Middle Tennessee State University, just down the road in Murfreesboro.
"It sets a standard in the labor market, if employers can say well Nissan's only paying that, and they're a world-class organization."
There is small corps of union supporters within the plant. Like many in the pro-UAW camp, Chris Young is there because unions are a known quantity. His mother worked for General Motors her whole life, and raised him in upstate New York comfortably on her single salary. Once, he asked in his annual luncheon — one of the few opportunities employees have to ask questions of upper management — why the company's plants are unionized everywhere other than the U.S. "It works there," the answer came. "It's different."
"To myself I'm like, 'we make Nissan vehicles,'" Young remembers. "People make them. It's not different."
Young knows that speaking up about the union is probably the other thing that's already nixed his chance at a Nissan job — but also that the company wouldn't want to make him a martyr by firing him. Still, his fiancee tries to hide his UAW shirt sometimes before he goes to work. "I admire the fact that you won't let them bully you, but at the same time, we depend on that," she says.
And she knows how most Yates workers feel about the idea. While she was bartending in town, where lots of Yates workers have settled for the low cost of living, she would ask workers what they thought of the idea of the union. "They were like, you can't even speak union, they'll walk you to the door," she says.
Sometimes, Young thinks about going to work at the General Motors plant just down the road in Spring Hill, which is unionized. But even there, he'd be starting with no seniority, and probably have to take a shift that would give him even less time with his family. So instead, he'll stay at Yates, for as long as his body holds up, while the 20-somethings around him flush in and out.
That's what so much of the modern manufacturing economy looks like: Good enough money to live on, but without the other comforts that used to come with a middle-class job, and no reason for an employer to offer them up.
* Corrected to remove an inaccurately interpreted statistic regarding the percentage of temp workers in manufacturing.
More from Sunday Business:
The market maker: Reggie Brown of Cantor Fitzgerald and the $2.4 trillion ETF boom
Singletary: Millennials' money misfortune


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The Zero Theorem film review
Terry Gilliam's star-studded sci-fi The Zero Theorem is enjoyable but too familiar
By Jonathan Hatfull	 18-10-13 7,452
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Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Thierry, Lucas Hedges, David Thewlis, Matt Damon
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Terry Gilliam's masterpiece is a lyrical and bitter piece of dystopian fantasy.
Terry Gilliam's films always feel like a labour of love. This might be because the production of them is typically so arduous that it becomes the stuff of film history (as seen in the documentary Lost In La Mancha). It's easy to see the struggle of his characters, often raging against an unfair and incomprehensible authority, as his own.
Although the central conflict at the heart of The Zero Theorem is similar to many of his films, it generally feels a lot more mellow and that isn't necessarily a good thing. There's something missing here. It feels as though Gilliam is going over old ground without ever really digging under the surface.
Christoph Waltz plays Qohen Leth, a brilliant but neurotic computer programmer who longs to be allowed to work from home so he can wait for a mysterious phone call that will give his life meaning. Management (Matt Damon) agrees and assigns him to work on the Zero Theorem, which is intended to prove that everything in the universe is ultimately meaningless. As Qohen struggles with this impossible task, seductive neighbour Bainsley (Mélanie Thierry) and precocious young genius Bob (Lucas Hedges) arrive to either help or hinder him.
There are certainly things to like about The Zero Theorem, especially in the first half hour. Waltz is always a compelling presence and his performance is mannered without losing sight of the human being underneath the quirks. He gets a hell of an entrance, too: staring into a black hole while sitting nude at his desk in the abandoned church he calls home. It's a striking bit of symbolism, but the film's script lacks the complexity to go with such impressive imagery.
Once we've established Qohen's issues (refers to himself in the plural, doesn't like to be touched, can't remember what joy feels like) the script never really tries to go any deeper or to more complex places. Gilliam decorates the film with plenty of fascinating baubles to keep our attention, but as the film progress there's a disappointing sense of hollowness to the proceedings. The Zero Theorem's message is admirable, but it's one that has been made many times before, and with more energy by several other directors, including Gilliam himself.
Still, there are plenty of the usual quirks and visual treats that you'd expect from the director. Damon's entrance is hilarious, the costumes are outrageous (Waltz' virtual reality suit is something quite special), the near-future London is brimming with very funny little details, and the ensemble cast is hugely impressive. Waltz and Damon (who only appears briefly) aside, there are cameos from Ben Whishaw, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Peter Stormare as fueding company doctors, David Thewlis has fun with his mateless jobsworth Joby and Tilda Swinton is hysterical as a rabbit-toothed Scottish psychiatric program.
When the film moves into its second half, the focus narrows to Qohen and his relationships with Bob and Bainsley, both of whom show him what he's been missing by shutting himself away from life. Thierry and Hedges both put in good performances but their characters, particularly Thierry's are too firmly rooted in archetype to be particularly interesting. There's a bittersweetness which works well but Gilliam seems to be content to let the film coast along until it stops.
The Zero Theorem makes for an enjoyable watch and there are some interesting ideas fizzing around. The performances are strong, it's occasionally funny and occasionally moving. Finally, however, it's all too familiar.
Tags: Terry Gilliam, The Zero Theorem
SCIFINOW ISSUE 136
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GTO London has emerged from its sister business GTO Engineering where classic Ferraris are restored, reconditioned and rebuilt. The family-run business has evolved through a long and passionate interest in classic motorcars and is what drives the thinking behind the GTO London brand. Working alongside the renowned GTO Engineering business, GTO London has unrestricted access to some of the world's most rare and beautiful classic cars.
The range consists of cufflinks, tie-pins, money-clips, and leather goods all of which are inspired by the heritage designs of classic Ferrari models and their interior detailing. A limited, exclusive cufflink range, the Real Ferrari Metal range, is created by melting classic Ferrari parts which will allow one to own a part of the brand's illustrious history. Each item is checked by GTO's engineers to check for absolute precision and accuracy.


Yep, the OUSD teacher strike, was a huge disruption for anyone connected to the Oakland schools. But for a team of Youth Beat's students, it also provided a fantastic opportunity to practice their journalism skills in a real-life setting.
The team went out with video and still cameras to record the event, and they came back with some great material -- including pictures that were picked up by the PBS NewsHour to illustrate an article on their website. You can check our their photos HERE.
The student team also conducted man-on-the-street interviews, and compiled a TV News Magazine style piece that was broadcast on KDOL-TV. You can check out the video HERE.
Perhaps most important, the students came back walking tall and feeling proud of themselves.
"I'm someone who would rather be behind the camera, and I was really worried about messing up," recounted Sophia Hawkins, our live, on-camera reporter for the day. But with support and coaching from her Youth Beat peers and teachers, she became increasingly comfortable in this new role. By the end of the day, she said, she was feeling so great she didn't want to quit!
"I just felt really empowered and realized it's ok if I do something awkward when I'm doing an interview," explained Sophia.
So, no, we wouldn't say we were "happy" about the OUSD teacher strike. But wow were we happy our students had this opportunity, and so very proud they were prepared to take on the challenge.


Amnesty International deplores today's expulsion by the Moroccan authorities of a delegation of Action by Christians against Torture (Action des chrétiens pour l'abolition de la torture, ACAT) as another setback against human rights defenders working on Western Sahara. The organization was in the country to investigate the human rights situation in Western Sahara. The explusion coincides with the recent arrest, alleged torture and ongoing trial of Ennaâma Asfari, a Sahrawi human rights defender. Amnesty International is calling on the Moroccan authorities to immediately open a thorough, independent and impartial investigation into his allegations of torture and to ensure that his right to a fair trial is respected.
Four French nationals, including the ACAT delegate and the spouse of Ennaâma Asfari, present in Morocco since 20 April, were arrested by police yesterday in the city of Tan-Tan, interrogated about the purpose of their visit and their contacts and finally driven during the night to the Agadir airport. They were told before boarding a plane to France that the Governor of the province had ordered them to be turned back because they risked undermining public order.
The delegation observed Ennaâma Asfari's last court hearing in Marrakesh on 21 April 2008. Ennaâma Asfari is accused of violence against a person, possessing a knife and driving while intoxicated, accusations which he denies. He is currently detained in the Boulemarhez prison in Marrakesh and his next trial hearing is on Monday 28 April 2008. Amnesty International fears that the charges against him may be politically motivated and that his arrest may be meant to prevent him from continuing his activities as a human rights defender and his advocacy of the right to self-determination for the people of Western Sahara.
According to the information received by Amnesty International, Ennaâma Asfari, upon arrest by agents of the security forces in the evening of 13 April, was blindfolded, driven to an unknown place, handcuffed and tied to a tree and then repeatedly beaten, while interrogated about his relations with Sahrawi students in Marrakesh. He would have been taken to hospital and then to the police station on 14 April. Neither his wife in France nor his family in Morocco were notified of his arrest and detention, in violation of Moroccan law which requires that the family of the suspect must be notified as soon as it is decided to place the latter in the custody of the security forces.
On 15 April, he complained about his treatment after his arrest and showed traces of beatings when presented to the crown prosecutor and subsequently to a judge. At that point, he did not benefit from legal assistance and his claims that he was tortured were not investigated, in breach of Moroccan law and the Convention against Torture, to which Morocco is a party.
At the 21 April court hearing, Ennaâma Asfari opened his shirt in court and also showed his feet, where he says he was beaten. His defence lawyers requested a medical examination. Ennaâma Asfari also said that he was forced to sign his interrogation report which was presented at last Monday's hearing. However, the court did not order an investigation into his claims of torture and other ill-treatment, in violation of Morocco's obligations under international human rights law.
As of 22 April, when his relatives visited him in prison for the first time, he had not been examined by a doctor. After the visit, his relatives told Amnesty International that he had bruises under his eyes, marks on his writs, traces of cigarette burns on his arms, grazed elbows, bruises inside his thighs, and bruised and swollen feet.
Amnesty International is concerned that allegations of torture and other ill-treatment of suspects arrested by the Moroccan security forces appear not to be promptly, thoroughly and independently investigated. Amnesty International is calling on the Moroccan authorities to ensure that all such claims are investigated, in accordance with their international obligations.
Amnesty International also urges the Moroccan authorities to ensure that everyone is able to peacefully collect and disseminate information and views on human rights issues, including on Western Sahara. Morocco recently reiterated its commitment to human rights at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva under its process of Universal Periodic Review (UPR). States which led Morocco's review, including France, must also hold the Moroccan authorities to their human rights obligations.
Ennaâma Asfari, Co-President of the Committee for the Respect of Freedoms and Human Rights in Western Sahara, based in France, where he resides, was subjected to harassment during previous visits to Western Sahara. His latest arrest occurs against a backdrop of judicial harassment against Sahrawi human rights activists, over a dozen of whom have been convicted of violent conduct in the past three years, often after unfair trials. Amnesty International fears that this may be meant to discredit the work of Sahrawi human rights groups, who play a crucial role in monitoring arrests, treatment in detention and trials of persons advocating against Moroccan rule in the Western Sahara territory.


We are currently offering 1 and 3 year streaming subscriptions for our collection through Film Platform. Similar to other streaming providers, we use your IP Address, proxy server, etc to create a custom streaming page for your university. From there you can embed the streaming page into your library system (we provide MARC records), course webpages, etc.
You can purchase these licenses directly through each title's page. Upon receipt of the order, we will then follow up to obtain the necessary information (IP Address, etc) to get your streaming page up and running!
And if you are interested in one of our enhanced licensing options (full collection, PDA), please contact us.
Still have questions? Find out more about STREAMING here.


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Analysis: No 'Magic App' For Journalism As Omidyar's $250m First Look Venture Takes A Second Look
Former Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi will launch a satirical online magazine for First Look Media.
Pierre Omidyar, the co-founder of eBay, has delayed the roll-out of his $250m First Look Media venture.
In a blog post, Omidyar wrote:
We have definitely rethought some of our original ideas and plans... rather than building one big flagship website, we've concluded that we will have greater positive impact if we test more ideas and grow them based on what we learn. We are unwavering in our desire to reach a mass audience, but the best way to do that may be through multiple experiments with existing digital communities rather than trying to draw a large audience to yet another omnibus site.
And rather than immediately launching a large collection of digital "magazines" based on strong, expert journalists with their own followings, as we imagined earlier, we'll begin by building out the two we've started and then explore adding new ones as we learn.
...I believe deeply in the importance of the work of independent journalists — people like Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, Jeremy Scahill and Matt Taibbi. Whatever direction our experiments lead us, we will continue to invest in our journalists and support their commitment to fearless, fact-based reporting...
I expect we'll be in this planning, startup and experimental mode for at least the next few years as we explore how to become integrated into people's lives in meaningful ways.
Nine Months in, First Look is Still Very Much a Startup - First Look Media
Foremski's Take: It's been clear for some time that Pierre Omidyar has been struggling to find the right strategy for creating a viable mass-market media business. Nine months into the venture there is no baby to announce, just a long, vague post about having a strong commitment to journalism, the greater good for society, and the marvelous opportunities that technology can bring. But there's nothing new, nothing concrete to announce.
Omidyar says that he's interested in launching small media experiments, which will inform his future launch strategy but will last "for at least the next few years." This is a blow to many in the journalism community who expected Omidyar (and Amazon's Jeff Bezos) to come up with a solution to reverse the fortunes of the media sector because of their familiarity with technology.
There will be no magic app to save journalism.
Searching for strategy...
The venture looked troubled by a lack of strategy from its early days. Omidyar's heart and his money are in the right place when he talks about the importance of journalism to the health of society, but his problem has been in figuring out a viable business that can carry the burden of his ambitious mission.
Earlier this year, Omidyar invited a small group of veteran editors and journalists to offer advice on his venture plans. But that meeting failed to crystalize a launch strategy.
First Look Media must quickly become commercially viable or it will be seen as a billionaire's vanity project and its reporters will struggle for credibility and relevance.
Omidyar wants to build a type of media experiments laboratory in San Francisco and double his editorial team to 50 people by the end of this year. However, the delay of its mass-market media business could mean the loss of current journalists, who joined the venture expecting a fast launch instead of years of media experiments.
And it will be hard to recruit new editorial and technical talent if there is little opportunity to reach a mass audience over the next few years. It's a loss of momentum that needs to be reversed otherwise there will more delays.
Media shift still shifting...
Omidyar's challenge is that the media business model continues to shift in the wrong direction. The media industry is still being disrupted and these days, it is by the shift to mobile, where media companies are making one-tenth of the revenue from desktop.
It is a similar difference in revenues seen in the transition from paper to online ads — except that this time, it is at a much faster pace. It's not possible to build a new type of media business when revenues are shifting so quickly, and falling so fast.
What's needed is innovation in the media business model. Solve that and everyone gains.
Please see:
The Media's 2nd Apocalypse: The Nightmare Rise Of Mobile Tech -SVW
Here's How To Put Billions Back Into The Media Industry Overnight -SVW
Omidyar's First Look Media Searches For Strategy -SVW


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A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America
Book – Non-fiction. By Ronald Takaki. 2008. 560 pages.
A multicultural history of America, in the voices of Native Americans, African Americans, Jews, Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and others.
Time Periods: All US History
Themes: African American, Asian American, Immigration, Labor, Latinx, Native American, Pacific Islander, Social Class
Winner of an American Book Award, A Different Mirror recounts U.S. history in the voices of Native Americans, African Americans, Jews, Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and others.
Ronald Takaki turns the Anglocentric historical viewpoint inside out and examines the ultimate question of what it means to be an American.
The book is an excellent companion to A People's History of the United States.
"Takaki traces the economic and political history of Indians, African Americans, Mexicans, Japanese, Chinese, Irish, and Jewish people in America, with considerable attention given to instances and consequences of racism. The narrative is laced with short quotations, cameos of personal experiences, and excerpts from folk music and literature. Well-known occurrences, such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, the Trail of Tears, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Japanese internment are included. Students may be surprised by some of the revelations, but will recognize a constant thread of rampant racism. The author concludes with a summary of today's changing economic climate and offers Rodney King's challenge to all of us to try to get along. Students will find this overview to be an accessible, cogent jumping-off place for American history and political science assignments, plus a guide to the myriad other sources identified in the notes." —Barbara Hawkins, Oakton High School, Fairfax, VA for the School Library Journal
"Ronald Takaki begins A Different Mirror with the assertion that "[r]ace…has been a social construction that has historically set apart racial minorities from European immigrant groups" (10). He goes on to argue that this construction does not accurately reflect the "rich and complex mosaic" of American diversity. The project of his book, then, is to reflect more authentically the multicultural, multiracial, and multiethnic American character. An exhaustively detailed history, A Different Mirror is an essential primer for anyone interested in American history and its profoundly multicultural nature.
"Takaki begins with the "discovery" of America and proceeds through World War II, devoting chapters of each section to the different experiences of Native Americans, African Americans, Chicanos, Jews, Chinese, and Japanese. Each section reflects carefully on the intertextuality of the separate narratives, and each chapter points out general divergences as well as overlap, coalition, and shared experiences of different groups. For example, he points out that after the Civil War many Southern plantation owners attempted to replace African American laborers with Chinese, whom they believed could teach Black workers to be more industrious. Similarly, he points out that Mexican and Japanese laborers struck together in California in 1903, complicating common perceptions of interracial competition. In fact, the overriding motive of Takaki's project seems to be to confound stereotypes and historical accounts which stress violence and tension, rather than coalition and exchange. Takaki does not ignore the more conflictive aspects of multiculturalism, but he shows that they are only part of the story of America. Takaki's work should be required reading for anyone teaching in a field of American Studies." —Manuel N. Gómez, Vice Chancellor, Student Services, University of California at Irvine for Yale.edu
ISBN: 9780316022361 | Published by Hachette Book Group.
A People's History of the United States: 1492 – Present
Books – Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2005, with a new introduction by Anthony Arnove in 2015. 784 pages.
Howard Zinn's groundbreaking work on U.S. history. This book details lives and facts rarely included in textbooks—an indispensable teacher and student resource.


There are a wide range of tooth, gum and bone conditions which may require oral surgery. In some cases there are other alternatives and we will discuss these at your consultation.
No, you will be under local anaesthetic so you won't feel any pain.
How should I care for my teeth after surgery?
If you've had a tooth extraction, a blood clot will form which is essential to the healing process. To prevent disturbing the blood clot, avoid sucking through a straw, sneezing or blowing your nose, or touching the area.
This should be avoided until your mouth has healed.
Can I brush my teeth?
Yes, you should still brush your other teeth as normal, being careful to avoid the area of extraction until it has healed.


I sauteed all the veggies together in olive oil adding each one in order of what takes the longest to cook…(onions, squash, garlic, slaw, mushrooms.) Once the noodles were cooked I tossed them in with the veggies and continued to cook for a few more minutes, adding the ginger and soy sauce. SO easy! And way healthier than anything you could get from take-out!
I usually serve this meal with a veggie egg roll. "Chungs" brand is the best frozen egg roll ever!! It makes for a good scooper when you get to the bottom of the bowl.
My little guys are pretty adventurous eaters but don't always eat their vegetables like I'd like them to, so this is an easy way to sneak a ton of veggies into what looks like a bowl of spaghetti!
February is always a quick month, but it feels like it's really flying by this time around. Although I never like to wish time away, I'm certainly ready for Spring to hurry up and get here! There have been a ton of snow days this winter and it's really made me (and my fellow Northerner mom friends) get creative with how we entertain our little ones. I must say, I totally underestimated how brutal winter can be up North. As Floridians we have a tendency to think we get it because we have our occasional cold day here and there, even getting frost on our windows every once in a while…but it's a totally different thing when you have 4-5 months in a row where you must wear a jacket everywhere you go, have to put hats on little ones, and drag wet slushy snow into your house every single day. Even though I lived in Ohio until I was 9, the "up North" lifestyle is a whole different ball game as an adult, especially an adult with two kids!
The world's cutest little men!!!
Anywaaaaaays, we've embraced our chilly life this month and have had some really fun times! Despite the fact we've missed several days of pre-school because of the snow storms, we have managed to get out and have some fun play dates with our friends. A few days before Valentine's Day we hosted a play group for our kiddos to exchange Valentine's cards. Unfortunately cold and flu season kept some of the little ones from being able to come, but the other kids still had a good time eating snacks, playing with balloons, and chasing each other around the house.
Brady's Mickey themed Valentine's for his friends.
Some of our Valentine's playdate treats- notice the little pretzel snatcher!
We got a bunch of snow the day before Valentine's Day, so thankfully my smart hubby thought ahead and brought me a little Valentines snack (and flowers) earlier in the week…just in case we were snowed in and he couldn't give me anything on the actual day. I know Valentine's day is supposedly a made up Hallmark holiday, but I still love it! Flowers, candy, candles, cards…I'm a fan of all that stuff!
Pink Champagne and Raspberry Truffle. OMG.
In an effort to get a change of scenery, we tagged along with Chris for a 4 day trip to Buffalo, NY. He had to work, so me and the boys did a little sight-seeing on our own and just had some fun trying new restaurants and playing in the hotel pool. We were determined to see Niagara Falls and it did not disappoint! It was every bit as magnificent as I would have imagined even covered in snow and ice, but dang, was it cold! Side note…we told Brady we were taking him to a big waterfall. He was all excited until we got there and realized it was not what he had expected. Apparently he remembered the small waterfall in the bass tank at Bass Pro Shop and was super annoyed that Niagara wasn't as cool. You just never know what a toddler is thinking!
Just love that Chris was rocking my super girly backpack in these pics!
You know you're desperate for a break from your normal day to day life when you're willing to do a 6 hour road trip with two kids to Buffalo…in February! Buuuut, it was really fun and we came back feeling happy to be home and grateful for safe travels. I'll leave you with a short video taken on our way back. The kids were surprisingly good (they slept a lot on the trip home) but when things got a little crazy I busted out the bubbles for entertainment (the Gymboree brand are the best!) I just love Nolan's little giggles in this clip!
I loved how B and N were playing with fake produce as we waited for our Veggie Breakfast pizzas to bake!
Ta-da! It's sloppy, colorful, and totally imperfect- it's toddler food art!
It was hot, gooey, and tasty! We used Brady's favorite veggies (tomatoes and green and red peppers) so he loved it and it was soft enough for Nolan to gobble up as well. Feel free to use any veggies you like if you give this recipe a try- onions and mushrooms would be yummy!
I just wanted to do a quick post about the importance of giving our little ones some one on one time. It's hard to carve out a whole day dedicated to spending time with your little one when you have more than one kiddo, have errands to run, house projects to work on, are stuck inside for endless snow days…you get the point. Obviously we try every day to give our kids some special attention, but it's rare to give one of our boys an entire day of undivided attention, but that's what Chris did on Saturday! Nolan and I stayed back and ran errands and played at the house while Chris and Brady had a daddy/big boy date. Chris said it was a blast to hang out with just B-Man and was shocked at how much Brady had to talk about when they went out to eat and went to Bass Pro Shop to look at "big boy toys" and watch the fish. They also stopped for ice cream and went to see a live "Dinosaur Train" show at Hershey Theater. Brady had so much fun!!! (So much that he completely passed out on the way home with his toy dinosaurs in hand.) I can't wait for my turn for a mommy/Brady date, but I have to admit, it was pretty sweet to have a whole day of snuggles with just me and Nolan.
Kids Cook Monday- Chili Night!
Today was a super cold, snowy day. The kind of day that you stay in your jammies and throw your dinner in the crock pot…so that's exactly what we did. And lucky for me, toddlers are super good at dumping ingredients and stirring, so my little helper (B-Man) and I made a batch of chili. Mind you, it was a Vegetarian chili and had to be kid friendly (not too spicy.) So, here's our recipe!
And not pictured is sugar- a tablespoon helps offset any acidity from canned tomatoes and gives it a little sweetness that's so yummy!
I opened all the cans and drained the beans, corn, and tomatoes and Brady did the dumping. We added the sugar, half a purple onion, about a tablespoon of chili powder (put more in if you like it spicy!), a half a teaspoon of pepper, and a teaspoon of Cumin. Brady did some stirring and then we set the crockpot on low for about 5-6 hours.
To go along with our Chili and make it more fun for Brady, we made some cheesy cornbread dippers. Basically, you make up your cornbread mix and add a cup of shredded cheddar to the batter. Bake it in an 8×8 pan and let it cool. After it's cooled completely, cut the bread into thin (about half inch) strips and put on a baking pan. Bake the strips at 350* for about 8 minutes on each side. OR, you can also put the strips on a grill pan with a little butter to give them a little char. Either method makes the cornbread have a nice dippable (is that a word?!) crust that's perfect for dunking in chili. I actually tried both "crisping" methods and prefer the little bit of char on the ones we made on the grill pan.
Here's our chili bowls with our favorite toppings- cheese, plain greek yogurt (or sour cream), and green onions. I shredded some pepper jack cheese on mine and Chris's chili to give it a little extra spice since the chili was a little on the mild side.
Brady ate his chili like it was a dip. He used his cornbread, taco chips and even celery to scoop it up. I wasn't sure what Nolan would think about it. It wasn't overly spicy, but there was definitely a little warmth going on. But seriously, he TORE it up. Like, finished his little bowl before any of us did. I love that kid!
Hope everyone in my neck of the woods stayed warm and ate well today!


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Ocean climate (2)
Array for Real-time Geostrophic Oceanography (Argo Canada) (Opens in a new Window)
Array for Real-time Geostrophic Oceanography (ARGO) is a worldwide climate monitoring system providing data on ocean temperature and salinity. 400 free floating drifts were deployed worldwide from Fisheries and Oceans Canada since 2001, of which 88 are still operating. Data are available in tabular, graphical, and mapped formats.
Government of Canada: Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Marine Environmental Data Service
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Canadian Blended Precipitation Datasets contain blended precipitation measurements from gauges (in situ) and satellite (remote) data. Historic precipitation rates are provided as mean monthly precipitation in mm/day across Canada between January 1979 and December 2007. Gridded data are provided at a resolution of half degree.
Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis (CCCma) Climate Model Datasets (Opens in a new Window)
Climate model data from a number of climate models developed by the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis (CCCma) are available for download. Climate model output is available for the Fourth Generation Global Climate Model (CanESM2 / CGCM4 ), the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CanRCM4), and the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (CMAM). Gridded historical simulations and future projections from these climate models are available for downloading.
Government of Canada: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium
Canadian ensemble of CMIP5 ocean wave heights simulations mean and extremes (Opens in a new Window)
Canadian ensemble of CMIP5 ocean wave heights simulations mean and extremes contains monthly, seasonal and annual statistics (mean and maximum) of significant wave height that were produced using a statistical modelling approach and 6-hourly sea level pressure. Sea level pressure was simulated by 20 global climate models included in the Coupled Climate Model Comparison Phase 5 (CMIP5) project. The gridded global dataset contains projected data. Data are available for the historical period 1950-2005 and two different future emission scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5).
Canadian Tides and Water Levels Data Archive (Opens in a new Window)
The Canadian Tides and Water Levels Data Archive contains historical observations of tides and water levels from Canadian and global monitoring stations. Data include Canadian tide and water level data, Canadian Hydrographic Service station benchmarks, and international sea level data. Data are available for download in tabular format or can be visualized using an interactive map.
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Climate Indices includes time series, seasonal, and annual data for a number of variables including sea & air temperature, salinity, runoff, flow, ice coverage, iceberg count, and North Atlantic Oscillation Index. Data are observed or observation-based, and are available in a variety of temporal resolutions and historical periods, depending on the variable of interest. Data are available in tabular and graphical formats.


Demand is at its seasonal peak as the weather warms in China and construction work begins in earnest, pushing up steel futures by more than 3% in early April.
Crude steel output grew 9.2% to 149.6 million tons in the first two months of the year, 3.3% faster than the same period last year.
According to Reuters, spot 62% grade iron ore for delivery to China recently rose 1.6% to $93 per metric ton and the most-traded May 2019 iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange soared as much as 4.1% to 710.5 yuan ($106) per ton - the highest for the Asian benchmark since 2013.
According to the state-run news agency Xinhua, steel mill profits nearly halved in the first two months of 2019 from a year earlier, as the sector reported profits of 29.6 billion yuan (around U.S. $4.4 billion) in the January-February period. That total marks a decline of 49.5% year on year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner.
According to Reuters, iron ore shipments from Australia's Port Hedland terminal, the world's biggest iron ore port, fell more than 8% in March from a month earlier as a result of disruption from Tropical Cyclone Veronica in Western Australia.
Fears were stoked further by an announcement by Brazil's Vale of expected reduced sales volumes this year due to dam disasters leading to unplanned closure of mines.


text:
Pages with broken file links, Exercise physiology, Symptoms
Name of Symptom/Sign:
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ICD-O:
ICD-9
eMedicine
Fatigue (also called exhaustion, lethargy, languidness, languor, lassitude, listlessness or tiredness) is a state of awareness describing a range of afflictions, usually associated with physical and/or mental weakness, though varying from a general state of lethargy to a specific work-induced burning sensation within one's muscles. Physical fatigue is the inability to continue functioning at the normal levels of physical activity.[1][2][3] It is ubiquitous in everyday life, but usually becomes particularly noticeable during heavy exercise. Mental fatigue, on the other hand, rather manifests in somnolence (sleepiness).
Fatigue has two known forms; one manifests as a local, muscle-specific incapacity to do work, and the other manifests as an overall, bodily or systemic, sense of energy deprivation. Due to these two divergent facets of fatigue symptoms, it has been proposed to look at the causes fatigue from "central" and "peripheral" perspectives (Gandevia, 1992; Kent-Braun, 1999).
Fatigue can be dangerous when performing tasks that require constant concentration, such as driving a vehicle. When one is sufficiently fatigued, one may experience microsleeps that can cause them to lose concentration; however, objective cognitive testing should be done to differentiate the neurocognitive deficits of brain disease from those attributable to tiredness.
1.1 Mental fatigue
1.2 Physical fatigue
2 Differential diagnosis
3 Causes
Types[edit | edit source]
Mental fatigue[edit | edit source]
See also: Somnolence
In addition to physical, fatigue also includes mental fatigue, not necessarily including any muscle fatigue. Such a mental fatigue, in turn, can manifest itself both as somnolence (decreased wakefulness) or just as a general decrease of attention, not necessarily including sleepiness. In any case, this can be dangerous when performing tasks that require constant concentration, such as driving a vehicle. For instance, a person who is sufficiently somnolent may experience microsleeps. However, objective cognitive testing should be done to differentiate the neurocognitive deficits of brain disease from those attributable to tiredness.
Physical fatigue[edit | edit source]
Main article: Muscle weakness
Physical fatigue or muscle weakness (or "lack of strength") is a direct term for the inability to exert force with ones muscles to the degree that would be expected given the individual's general physical fitness. A test of strength is often used during a diagnosis of a muscular disorder before the etiology can be identified. Such etiology depends on the type of muscle weakness, which can be true or perceived as well as central or peripheral. True weakness is substantial, while perceived rather is a sensation of having to put more effort to do the same task. On the other hand, central muscle weakness is an overall exhaustion of the whole body, while peripheral weakness is an exhaustion of individual muscles.
There are seen to be two main types of physical fatigue; Central and Peripheral.
Central Fatigue The central component to fatigue is generally described in terms of a reduction in the neural drive or nerve-based motor command to working muscles that results in a decline in the force output (Gandevia, 2001; Kay et al., 2001; Kent-Braun, 1999; Vandewalle et al., 1991). It has been suggested that the reduced neural drive during exercise may be a protective mechanism to prevent organ failure if the work was continued at the same intensity (Bigland-Ritchie & Woods, 1984; Noakes, 2000). The exact mechanisms of central fatigue are unknown although there has been a great deal of interest in the role of serotonergic pathways (Davis, 1995; Newsholme et al., 1987; Newsholme et al., 1995).
Peripheral Fatigue Fatigue during physical work is considered an ability for the body to supply sufficient energy to the contracting muscles to meet the increased energy demand. This is the most common case of physical fatigue-effecting a national average of 72% of adults in the work force in 2002. This causes contractile dysfunction that is manifested in the eventual reduction or lack of ability of a single muscle or local group of muscles to do work. The insufficiency of energy, i.e. sub-optimal aerobic metabolism, generally results in the accumulation of lactic acid and other acidic anaerobic metabolic by-products in the muscle, causing the stereotypical burning sensation of local muscle fatigue.
The fundamental difference between the peripheral and central theories of fatigue is that the peripheral model of fatigue assumes failure at one or more sites in the chain that initiates muscle contraction. Peripheral regulation is therefore dependent on the localised metabolic chemical conditions of the local muscle affected, whereas the central model of fatigue is an intregrated mechanism that works to preserve the integrity of the system by initiating fatigue through muscle derecruitment, based on collective feedback from the periphery, before cellular or organ failure occurs. Therefore the feedback that is read by this central regulator could include chemical and mechanical as well as cognitive cues. The significance of each of these factors will depend on the nature of the fatigue-inducing work that is being performed.
Differential diagnosis[edit | edit source]
The majority of people who have fatigue do not have an underlying cause discovered after a year with the condition. In those who do have a possible diagnosis musculoskeletal (19.4%) and psychological problems (16.5%) are the most common. Definitive physical conditions were only found in 8.2%.[4]
File:Dark circles (cropped).png
Minor dark circles, in addition to a hint of eye bags, a combination mainly suggestive of minor sleep deprivation.
Fatigue is typically the result of working, mental stress, overstimulation and understimulation, jet lag or active recreation, depression, and also boredom, disease and lack of sleep. It may also have chemical causes, such as poisoning or mineral or vitamin deficiencies. Massive blood loss frequently results in fatigue. Fatigue is different from drowsiness, where a patient feels that sleep is required. Fatigue is a normal response to physical exertion or stress, but can also be a sign of a physical disorder.
The sense of fatigue is believed to originate in the reticular activating system of the lower brain. Musculoskeletal structures may have co-evolved with appropriate brain structures so that the complete unit functions together in a constructive and adaptive fashion.[5] The entire systems of muscles, joints, and proprioceptive and kinesthetic functions plus parts of the brain evolve and function together in a unitary way.[6]
Temporary fatigue is likely to be a minor illness like the common cold as one part of the sickness behavior response that happens when the immune system fights an infection. Chronic fatigue, on the other hand, meaning of six months or more duration, is a symptom of a large number of different diseases or conditions. Some major categories of diseases that feature fatigue include:
Causes[edit | edit source]
Fatigue is typically the result of working, mental stress, or active recreation, depression, and also boredom, disease and lack of sleep. It may also have chemical causes, such as poisoning or mineral or vitamin deficiencies.
Particular cause include:
Lack of sleep(Sleep deprivation perhaps due to sleep disorder)
Autoimmune diseases such as celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, and spondyloarthropathy
Blood disorders such as anemia and hemochromatosis
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)*Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)
Drug use or Chemical dependency
Depression and other mental disorders that feature depressed mood
Driving fatigue
Eating disorders, which can produce fatigue due to inadequate nutrition
Ejaculatory release
Endocrine disease like diabetes mellitus and hypothyroidism
Hepatic failure
Infectious diseases such as infectious mononucleosis and influenza
Leukemia or lymphoma
Medications, e.g. lithium salts, ciprofloxacin
Mitral valve prolapse/Mitral regurgitation
Neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease and post-concussion syndrome
Physical trauma and other pain-causing conditions, such as arthritis
Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC)
Sleep deprivation, Sleeplessness or sleep disorders
Debility
Combat stress reaction (Battle fatigue)
Fatigue and sleep loss during spaceflight
Kopophobia - fear of being fatigued or exhausted
Neurological fatigue
Sports overtraining
Vigour an antonym
Bigland-Ritchie, B & Woods, JJ. 1984, 'Changes in muscle contractile properties and neural control during human muscular fatigue'. Muscle Nerve, vol. 7, pp. 691-699.
Cafarelli, E. 1988, 'Force sensation in fresh and fatigued human skeletal muscle'. Exercise and Sport Science Review, vol. 16, pp. 139-168.
Davis, JM. 1995, 'Carbohydrates, branched-chain amino acids, and endurance: the central fatigue hypothesis'. International Journal of Sport Nutrition, vol. 5 Suppl, pp. S29-S38.
Edelman, GM 1989, The remembered present : a biological theory of consciousness. Basic Books, New York.
Enoka, RM & Stuart, DG. 1992, 'Neurobiology of muscle fatigue'. Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 72, pp. 1631-1648.
Gandevia, SC. 1992, 'Some central and peripheral factors affecting human motoneuronal output in neuromuscular fatigue'. Sports Medicine, vol. 13, pp. 93-98.
Gandevia, SC. 2001, 'Spinal and supraspinal factors in human muscle fatigue'. Physiological Review, vol. 81, pp. 1725-1789.
Gandevia, S. C., Enoka, R. M., McComas, A. J., Stuart, D. G., & Thomas, C. K. 1995, 'Neurobiology of muscle fatigue - Advances and issues'. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol. 384. pp. 515-25.
Garner, SH, Sutton, JR, Burse, RL, McComas, AJ, Cymerman, A, & Houston, CS. 1990, 'Operation Everest II: neuromuscular performance under conditions of extreme simulated altitude'. Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 68, pp. 1167-1172.
Hagberg, M. 1981, 'Muscular endurance and surface electromyogram in isometric and dynamic exercise'. Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 51, pp. 1-7.
Hawley, JA & Reilly, T. 1997, 'Fatigue revisited'. Journal of Sport Science, vol. 15, pp. 245-246.
Jones, LA & Hunter, IW. 1983, 'Effect of fatigue on force sensation'. Experimental Neurology, vol. 81, pp. 640-650.
Kay, D, Marino, FE, Cannon, J, St Clair Gibson, A, Lambert, MI, & Noakes, TD. 2001, 'Evidence for neuromuscular fatigue during high-intensity cycling in warm, humid conditions'. European Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 84, pp. 115-121.
Kelso, JAS 1995, Dynamic patterns : the self-organization of brain and behavior. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Kent-Braun, JA. 1999, 'Central and peripheral contributions to muscle fatigue in humans during sustained maximal effort'. European Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 80, pp. 57-63.
Matthews, PB. 1982, 'Where does Sherrington's "muscular sense" originate? Muscles, joints, corollary discharges?'. Annu.Rev.Neurosci, vol. 5, pp. 189-218.
Newsholme, E. A., Acworth, I. N., & Blomstrand, E. 1987, 'Amino acids, brain neurotransmitters and a functional link between muscle and brain that is important in sustained exercise', in G Benzi (ed.), Advances in Myochemistry, Libbey Eurotext, London, pp. 127-133.
Newsholme, E. A. & Blomstrand, E. 1995, 'Tryptophan, 5-hydroxytryptamine and a possible explanation for central fatigue', in SC Gandevia (ed.), Fatigue, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 315-320.
Noakes, TD. 2000, 'Physiological models to understand exercise fatigue and the adaptations that predict or enhance athletic performance'. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, vol. 10, pp. 123-145.
St Clair Gibson, A, Lambert, MI, & Noakes, TD. 2001, 'Neural control of force output during maximal and submaximal exercise'. Sports Medicine, vol. 31, pp. 637-650.
Vandewalle, H, Maton, B, Le Bozec, S, & Guerenbourg, G. 1991, 'An electromyographic study of an all-out exercise on a cycle ergometer'. Arch.Int.Physiol.Biochem.Biophys, vol. 99, pp. 89-93.
NIH/Medline
Don't Fall Asleep at the Wheel!
↑ Gandevia SC (1992). Some central and peripheral factors affecting human motoneuronal output in neuromuscular fatigue. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) 13 (2): 93–8.
↑ Hagberg M (1981). Muscular endurance and surface electromyogram in isometric and dynamic exercise. Journal of applied physiology: respiratory, environmental and exercise physiology 51 (1): 1–7.
↑ Hawley JA, Reilly T (1997). Fatigue revisited. Journal of sports sciences 15 (3): 245–6.
↑ Nijrolder I, van der Windt D, de Vries H, van der Horst H (November 2009). Diagnoses during follow-up of patients presenting with fatigue in primary care. CMAJ 181 (10): 683–7.
↑ Edelman, Gerald Maurice (1989). The remembered present: a biological theory of consciousness, New York: Basic Books.
↑ Kelso, J. A. Scott (1995). Dynamic patterns: the self-organization of brain and behavior, Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Retrieved from "https://psychology.wikia.org/wiki/Fatigue?oldid=176569"


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4.3, 889 Ratings
The international bestselling romantic comedy "bursting with warmth, emotional depth, and…humor," (Entertainment Weekly) featuring the oddly charming, socially challenged genetics professor, Don, as he seeks true love.
The art of love is never a science: Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics, who's decided it's time he found a wife. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.
Rosie Jarman possesses all these qualities. Don easily disqualifies her as a candidate for The Wife Project (even if she is "quite intelligent for a barmaid"). But Don is intrigued by Rosie's own quest to identify her biological father. When an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate on The Father Project, Don is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie―and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don't find love, it finds you.
Arrestingly endearing and entirely unconventional, Graeme Simsion's distinctive debut "navigates the choppy waters of adult relationships, both romantic and platonic, with a fresh take (USA TODAY). "Filled with humor and plenty of heart, The Rosie Project is a delightful reminder that all of us, no matter how we're wired, just want to fit in" (Chicago Tribune).
This irresistible love story revolves around Don Tillman, an Australian genetics professor whose rigid daily schedule, painful fashion choices, and inability to make small talk or sugarcoat the truth explain his lack of a romantic partner. But Don's a brilliant scientist, and he devises a questionnaire designed to find his ideal partner: a nonsmoking, punctual, and fit women who never makes a big deal about selecting the right ice cream flavor and likes to drink in moderation. Unlike his unapologetically strange protagonist, author Graeme Simsion—a former IT consultant—exhibits a great deal of emotional intelligence. The Rosie Project is an exceptionally fun read, full of complicated, delightfully lovable characters, sparkling dialogue, and touching scenes that capture the awkwardness of courtship and the free-fall thrill of finding love where you least expect it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY JUL 1, 2013
Read-out-loud laughter begins by page two in Simsion s debut novel about a 39-year-old genetics professor with Asperger s but utterly unaware of it looking to solve his Wife Problem. Don Tillman cannot find love; episodes like the Apricot Ice Cream Disaster prevent so much as a second date with a woman. His devised solution is the Wife Project: dating only those who match his idiosyncratic standards as determined by an exacting questionnaire. His plans take a backseat when he meets Rosie, a bartender who wants him to help her determine her birth father s identity. His rigidity and myopic worldview prevents him from seeing her as a possible love interest, but he nonetheless agrees to help, even though it involves subterfuge and might jeopardize his position at the university. What follows are his utterly clueless, but more often thoroughly charming exploits in exploring his capacity for romance. Helping Tillman are his only two friends, an older, shamelessly philandering professor, and the professor s long-suffering wife, who may soon draw the line in the sand. With Asperger s growing visibility in pop culture in recent years, as on CBS s The Big Bang Theory, this novel is perfectly timed.
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A great fun read
I really enjoyed this book. The story is well developed and you are taken from one interesting and funny situation to the next. It's very easy to read and hard to put down as you drawn more and more into the story.
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A charming romantic comedy about a genetics professor with Asperger's and an inconvenient woman on a quest to identify her biological father. The feel good novel of the year!
The Kerry Patch , 10/05/2013
Excellent read !!!
The most fun I have had reading a book in my recent memory. Loved every unpredictable page.
More Books by Graeme Simsion
The Rosie Effect
The Rosie Result
The Best of Adam Sharp
Two Steps Forward
El proyecto esposa
L'amore è un enigma straordinario


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