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María Ángeles Rodríguez González más conocida como Ángela Rodicio –tomó el apellido Rodicio de su abuela materna– (San Cristóbal de Regodeigón, Ribadavia, Orense, 6 de marzo de 1963) es una periodista española.

Biografía
Es licenciada en Ciencias de la Información, rama de Periodismo, por la Facultad de Ciencias de la Información de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid y estudió cursos de especialización con la CNN y la BBC. Durante su época de estudiante hizo prácticas y publicó artículos en diversos periódicos: La Región, Faro de Vigo, La Voz de Galicia; y en las revistas Leer, El Europeo, Vanity Fair y la sección de crítica literaria de Marie Claire, entre otros. También escribió para medios extranjeros como Limes, revista de geoestrategia mundial en Italia; Yedioth Ahoronot, en Israel; Maire Claire Líbano o Vogue India. Además, también pasó por Radiocadena Española.

Tras finalizar sus estudios, trabajó para Diario 16 y el semanario El Independiente.

Lleva vinculada a RTVE desde 1988, primero como redactora y después como enviada especial, del área de Internacional de los Informativos de TVE. Desde 1990 ha informado acerca de acontecimientos de importancia mundial como la disolución de la Unión Soviética (1991-1992), las guerras de Irak con Irán, la invasión de Kuwait en 1991, las dos Intifadas de Palestina (1989-1992 y 2000-2003) y la Guerra de Bosnia desde Sarajevo (1992-1995). También ha cubierto diversos procesos electorales en Israel, Turquía e Irán, el Brexit en 2016 o la Guerra de Siria. A menudo ha recordado que uno de los personajes políticos que más la marcó fue Isaac Rabin a quien entrevistó en octubre de 1990, cuando entonces era diputado de la Knéset, el Parlamento de Israel en Jerusalén.

Tras cubrir para TVE la Guerra del Golfo desde Bagdad (1990-1991), se convirtió en corresponsal en el Centro y Este de Europa, con sede en Budapest (Hungría) en 1992, siendo la corresponsal más joven de la historia de TVE. En 1991 recibió el Premio Internacional de la RAI, en 1992 el Cirilo Rodríguez y en 1994 el Víctor de la Serna y el de Viguesa distinguida.

Desde que se desplazara en 1988 por primera vez a Irak, para escribir artículos para El Independiente, ha cubierto casi siempre la información sobre Oriente Medio, excepto el lapso de los Balcanes.

En enero de 1996 abrió la primera corresponsalía de TVE en Israel, después de que RTVE cerrase con anterioridad la que tenía en El Cairo. Desde allí volvió a seguir la actualidad en Oriente Medio. Entre sus entrevistados se encuentran los principales líderes israelíes y palestinos, así como otros en la zona. En 1997 fue testigo de la victoria y el vuelco político y social en Irán, con la victoria del reformista Mohammad Jatamí, el 23 de mayo.

Entre el 15 de agosto de 2000 y el 18 de diciembre de 2003 volvió a ser corresponsal en Jerusalén. Desde esta corresponsalía, informó desde Bagdad sobre la invasión de Irak de 2003.

Ha sido galardonada con diversos premios además de los anteriormente mencionados, como el Premio ¡Bravo! de prensa y televisión de la Conferencia Episcopal en 2001, el de la Asociación de Periodistas Extranjeros en España al Mejor Corresponsal 2002 y el Premio Galicia en Femenino 2002.

Tras pasar cerca de dos años fuera de RTVE –(26/12/03-19/10/05)– de forma no voluntaria, entre el 20 de octubre de 2005 y 2007 fue redactora del Telediario 3.ª edición de TVE.

Tras su paso por el TD3, desde 2007 forma parte del equipo de Informe semanal, el programa de actualidad nacional e internacional, decano de la televisión en España. Su primer reportaje para este programa –"Irak, un viaje por el infierno"– fue en 1991.

En 2011 recibió el premio Internacional Maria Grazia Cutuli del Corriere della Sera y en 2015 el de la Asociación de Corresponsales con base en las Naciones Unidas de Nueva York.

Ha escrito cinco libros: La guerra sin frentes. De Bagdad a Sarajevo: memorias de una enviada especial (1998), Acabar con el personaje (2005), El jardín del fin: viaje por el Irán de ayer y hoy (2011), Dulcinium: el amor perdido de Cervantes (2016) y Las novias de la yihad: ¿por qué una adolescente europea decide irse con el Estado Islámico? (2016), con el que fue premiada con el Premio Espasa de Ensayo 2016.

Trabajos como autora y coautora
 Reino Unido: esplendor cotidiano, con J. Crespo Schrodter, 1988, artículo para Tiempo de viajar.
 Irán: nuevos rumbos para la revolución, con Yves Gellie, 1999, Geo.
 Autoría y guion del documental En el nombre de Alá, un reportaje de una hora sobre Hezbolá, que fue presentado en el Festival de Montecarlo, donde recibió una nominación en 2000.
 La guerra sin frentes. De Bagdad a Sarajevo: memorias de una enviada especial, 4/1/1999, Temas de Hoy.
 Acabar con el personaje, 27/5/2005, Plaza & Janés-Random House-Mondadori. Trata sobre cómo fue expulsada de la corresponsalía de TVE en Israel en Navidades de 2003 y los motivos para apartarla de dicha responsabilidad.
 Palestina, Afganistán, coautora con Emilio Morenatti, 29/10/2007, La Fábrica.
 El jardín del fin: viaje por el Irán de ayer y hoy, 3/6/2011, Debate.
 Dulcinium: el amor perdido de Cervantes, 29/2/2016, Confluencias.
 L' amore perduto di Cervantes con la colaboración de Laura Celani, 11/4/2016, Centauria.
 Las novias de la Yihad: ¿por qué una adolescente europea decide irse con el Estado Islámico?, 25/10/2016, Espasa (Premio Espasa de Ensayo 2016).

Reconocimientos
 1991: Premio Internacional de la RAI.
 1992: Premio Cirilo Rodríguez (APS y FAPE) como mejor corresponsal española en el extranjero por su cobertura de la guerra de Bosnia.
 1994: Premio viguesa distinguida (Ayuntamiento de Vigo) y el Premio Víctor de la Serna (APM).
 2001: Premio ¡Bravo! de prensa y televisión (CEE).
 2002: Premio Galicia en Femenino (Junta de Galicia) y Premio de la Asociación de Periodistas Extranjeros en España a la Mejor Corresponsal.
 2011: Maria Grazia Cutuli del Corriere della Sera.
 2015: Premio de la Asociación de Corresponsales de la ONU.
 2016: Premio Espasa de Ensayo por Las novias de la yihad: ¿por qué una adolescente europea decide irse con el Estado Islámico?

Polémicas
Cuando cubrió desde 1992 a 1996 la guerra de Bosnia desde Sarajevo, como corresponsal de TVE del Centro y Este de Europa, empezaron a hacerse notorios errores suyos por desconocimiento como afirmar que los aviones de la OTAN volaban a gran altura para evitar "los infrarrojos de los radares" (sic) serbios.

En la novela de Arturo Pérez-Reverte Territorio comanche (1994) se hace referencia a ella y no sale muy bien parada:

Siendo corresponsal de TVE en Jerusalén en 2003, informó desde Bagdad sobre la invasión de Irak, con momentos poco halagüeños como realizar una crónica ante vehículos blindados BMP con el emblema de la Guardia Republicana Iraquí destruidos sobre los que bailaban iraquíes opositores al régimen de Sadam Huseín y afirmar que se trataba de restos de tanques americanos abandonados tras una derrota en batalla en la que habrían sufrido "grandes bajas", "derrota" que en realidad nunca había ocurrido.

En diciembre de 2003 fue despedida de RTVE, por (según la empresa), no justificar adecuadamente los gastos que hacía con la Visa que le había proporcionado RTVE para desarrollar su trabajo como corresponsal. Tras ganar la demanda que interpuso a la empresa en el Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid en junio de 2005 y declararse su despido como improcedente, regresó a TVE en octubre de 2005, quedando adscrita como redactora del Telediario 3.ª edición.

Referencias

Bibliografía
 Ayuntamiento de Vigo y Fundación Vigueses Distinguidos: Vigueses distinguidos. 1985-2011, 2012, Vigo: Ir Indo. p.184. ISBN 9788476806906.

Enlaces externos

Periodistas de televisión de España
Periodistas de la provincia de Orense
Vigueses distinguidos
Nacidos en Ribadavia


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5 Reasons To visit Kakadu and How to Plan your Trip
If you are thinking of visiting Kakadu National Park but not sure the best way to do it, we got you. It's a vast area, and it pays to know what you want to see and the best time to see it before you go. Today we share the top 5 things to do in Kakadu and the best time of year to do them.
Kakadu offers visitors breathtaking landscapes with rugged gorges, thundering waterfalls, and lush green wetlands.
This captivating park covers over 1 million hectares of land and is home to more than 2,000 species of plants and 500 animal species. It is also one of only three sites in the world that are recognised as both World Heritage Area and UNESCO sites.
A remote wilderness as big as Slovenia and half the size of Switzerland
If you don't have a four-wheel drive, then you might find a Kakadu tour is the best way to see all the park's highlights.
Things to see in Kakadu
Amazing Rock Art
Ubirr Rock Art Site
Burrunguy (Nourlangie Rock)
Nanguluwur
Spectacular Waterfalls
Maguk (Barramundi Gorge)
Motor Car Falls
Jim Jim Falls
Gunlom Falls
Wondrous Wetlands
Yellow Waters River
Mamukala Wetlands
Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve
Get up close to a crocodile
Jumping Crocodile Cruise
Cahills Crossing
Inspiring Indigenous Culture
Planning your visit to Kakadu
How to get to Kakadu National Park
When is the best time to visit Kakadu National Park?
Do you need a four-wheel drive to visit Kakadu?
Where to stay in Kakadu National Park
Learn more about Kakadu and Northern Australia
Explore more of the NT
Entrance to the Aboriginal lands of Kakadu National Park
Let's start with working out what your visit should include. By knowing the key sites and activities on offer in Kakadu, you will be in a better position to plan your itinerary or book your tour.
The Bininj People are the traditional owners in the park's north and the Mungguy People in the south.
Kakadu is the best place in Australia to see ancient aboriginal rock art. There are reportedly over 5000 rock art sites in the park. While we can find art across the park, there are three ancient rock art sites that are open to the public and regardless of when you visit, you should be able to access one of these sites.
The Ubirr Rock Art site is one highlight of any visit to Kakadu. Ubirr (pronounced oo-bir,) is in the East Alligator region of the park. On the walls here you will see x-ray style drawings of kangaroos, turtles, and the standout, the Rainbow Serpent Gallery. You may even be lucky enough to spot some of the area's unique wildlife.
Ubirr Rock art site in Kakadu
Access is quite easy, there is a 1km circular track (wheelchair accessible) that will take you past the main art sites, if you visit in the dry season, you can usually join one of the informative tours run by the local rangers
Nardab Lookout
While you are here, don't miss the chance to take in the view from Nardab Lookout. With 360 degree views out over the East Alligator River and in the distance, Arnhem Land.
Sunset at Nardab is worth the wait
It's a short (250m) walk that will take about 15 minutes, however it is steep, and the path is rocky, so may not be suited to those with mobility issues. Try to time your visit with late afternoon when the light across the floodplains is quite spectacular. Stay for sunset if you can!
Previously known as Nourlangie Rock, Burrunguy is home to the Anbangbang gallery and is only of the simplest art sites to access. It's an easy 1.5km walk that takes you past the main galleries and allows you to see to see the creation ancestor, Namarrkon, the Lightning Man.
Aboriginal Rock Paintings at Burrungkuy Nourlangie rock art site in Kakadu National Park
Burrunguy rock art site is open year round, and this is the best place for anyone with limited mobility to view ancient rock art. While you are here, take a walk around Anbangbang Billabong.
Access to these sites is possible by two wheel drive in the dry season. Regardless of the time of year you visit, check the road access report before you head off.
Gunwarrdehwarrde Lookout
The perfect spot to take in Nourlangie Rock and the Anbangbang Billabong. The walk to the lookout is only 300m, but it is steep.
The view of Burrungkuy (Nourlangie)
The last site Nanguluwur is close to Burrunguy, however it is rarely included in day tours, so you will be much more likely to see this on a multi-day Kakadu itinerary or a self-drive visit.
It's a 1.7- kilometre one way walk to the art site. It's a less developed site which only adds to its feeling of bing a very special place.
If you book a tour to Kakadu, make sure it allows you time to explore the incredible Aboriginal rock art in Kakadu National Park.
The next reason on the list of why you should visit Kakadu is the stunning waterfalls.
Experiencing Kakadu National Park waterfalls in their full glory takes a bit of planning. During the wet season, when they are at their most impressive, access becomes challenging. You can book a flight over the waterfalls, but for at least some of the year, during the wet seasons, road access is not possible.
There are five waterfalls in Kakadu National Park:
An easy 2km walk topped off with a swim in the natural pool at the base. There may be crocs here, however, National Park staff does their best to keep the remove any that are found.
The second biggest in the park, this waterfall is only accessible in winter, via a 4-wheel-drive road and then a shuttle boat to the base of the fall. You can also hike to the top of the falls.
A 7.5 kms return walk to this less visited but beautiful swimming spot. These cascading waterfalls are accessible year round.
At 200m high Jim Jim is Kakadu's biggest waterfall – in the wet season a flight over the falls is spectacular. In the dry season, you can walk to the base of Jim Jim.
Jim Jim Falls is best viewed from the air. Credit: Nigel Malone via Wikimedia Commons.
Jim Jim Falls is an amazing site but before you get your hopes up, seeing them with as much water as is pictured above is pretty difficult. They only look like this in the wet season and dry up pretty quickly when the rain stops. For an unforgettable experience, take a flight over the area.
Access to 85m tall Gunlom Falls has been closed until further notice. Check for updates here. There is still access to the plunge pool most of the time. We recommend a 4wd to access this area.
Whether you visit the Fogg Dam Conservation area or take an East Alligator River Cruise before you enter the park, or stick to Yellow Waters River or Mamukala Wetlands inside Kakadu, the bird life and lush green landscape of the northern territory wetlands will amaze you.
Yellow Water billabong is one of the healthiest wetland systems in the world. It is home to over 60 different species of birds, as well as crocodiles and buffalo.
Taking a Yellow Water cruise was one highlight of our wet season visit. We took to the water just on sunrise and the river was as busy as main street in a peak hour with crocodiles and more species of bird that we have ever seen in one place.
Yellow Water Billabong Credit: Tourism Australia
Yellow Waters was one of the locations used in the Crocodile Dundee films, so see if you can spot anything familiar.
A three kilometre return walk that runs alongside a permanent wetland that can be visited year round. Mamukala Wetlands is home to an incredible range of bird life. A bird hide provides shade while you watch the action. The egrets mesmerised me with their long, elegant necks.
Spoonbill and black-necked stork in Kakadu
If you visit in August or September, you will get to see magpie geese, who are great fun to watch as they dive below the surface to grab their dinner. The walk at Mamukala is flat and can be accessed by wheelchair users.
is 45 minutes' drive (70km) east of Darwin and can be accessed by 2WD. Early morning and late afternoon visits are best, as this is when the birds are most abundant. The reserve is open year round and was stunning during our wet season visit.
Try to take a sunrise or sunset cruise on one of the wetlands – if you are a photographer, you will find this provides 2 hours of heavenly photography opportunities.
Hopefully, like my crocodile encounter, yours will be a planned occasion!
When you think of local wildlife in Australia, you are probably imagining kangaroos and koalas. Well, up here in the rugged landscape of the top end, the local wildlife is more likely to be a reptile than something soft and cuddly..
I was not that interested in crocs before I visited Kakadu, but once I got there, they were certainly on my mind. While there are safe swimming spots in the park, I was too chicken to try them 😉
Saltwater Crocodile at Yellow Water Billabong
Australia is home to two species of crocodiles, the Freshwater and the Saltwater.
Freshwater crocs are found in rivers, creeks and plunge pools, including places like Maguk and Gunlom Falls. While this type of crocodile is less likely to attack you than a saltie, they can get aggressive if you disturb them.
Saltwater crocodiles can be found anywhere, we found one in a large puddle off to the side of the road.
Please take any crocodile warning signs seriously. Crocs have attacked and killed people in Kakadu.
I joined the Jumping Crocodile Cruise on East Alligator River where, along with the crocs, we saw a vast assortment of bird life and some beautiful wildflowers. This is the only Aboriginal owned cruise operator on the river. It is not inside Kakadu National park, but it is on the way from Darwin and easy to do as a day trip.
Cahills Crossing is just a few kms from Ubirr. Each day, visitors head to the footbridge here at high tide to watch the crocodiles who wait patiently as the tide brings in schools of Barramundi for their dinner.
Cahills Crossing – Credit: Dietmar Rabich CC BY-SA 4.0
To drive over the crossing and into Arnhem Land, you need a permit from the Northern Land Council (NLC). Please note the crossing is closed in the wet season. Read this detailed guide to Cahills Crossing.
If you want to get closer to the action, there are boat cruises on the East Alligator River.
The Bowali Visitor Centre at Jabiru should be your first stop when visiting Kakadu. It's the best place to get started on learning more about Aboriginal culture and the cultural heritage of the traditional owners.
Learn about Kakadu's six seasons at the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre
There are two visitors centres in Kakadu and we think you should visit both:
Bowali Visitor Centre is a must before heading in to explore the before heading to the art site. Understanding how the paintings were made, and the significance of the scenes they depict, will enhance your experience.
Warradjan Aboriginal Centre is the best place in the park to learn about the traditions of the local Bininj and Mungguy people and how they look after the land. The exhibit could use an update but the information presented is excellent – allow 30 minutes to visit.
So now you have discovered our favourite things to do in Kakadu, let's get some of the basic planning questions answered.
Kakadu is 240km, or approximately a three-hour drive from Darwin. Once inside the park, you will drive for about another hour to reach the most popular rock art sites or waterfalls.
There is no public transport to the park, so you will either need your own vehicle or rent one in Darwin. Alternatively, you could join one of the excellent multi day tours on offer.
We rate May-June as one of the best times to visit Kakadu, but making that decision is difficult. Each season at Kakadu, and each offers a unique set of experiences.
The local aboriginal people divide the year into 6 distinct seasons, which you can learn more about here. However, many travellers still just refer to the seasons and the wet and the dry. The dry is from May to October and the wet from October to April.
In order of our choice for when to visit:
June to August is the dry season – It's the most popular time for visitors, road access is best, and the temperatures are most comfortable. You can reach most of the waterfalls and temperatures are comfortable for hiking. Book early for tours and accommodation.
April to May – Our first visit was in April, when daily temperatures sit between 23°C – 34°C. The landscape was lush and waterfalls were still flowing. Flooded roads usually open up, although some, like the road to Jim Jim Falls, usually open later in the year so we missed visiting. We encountered more croc sightings than I would have liked, so that is something to consider if you visit during or at the end of the wet season.
October to December is humid with thunderstorms in the afternoons. It's a great time to fly over the waterfalls, but most people find the daily temperatures of up to 37°Ctoo hot for comfort.
December to March the rains are heavy and flooding is likely, along with daily thunderstorms and very humid conditions. This is the least busy time in the park.
I spent an incredible eight days exploring Northern Australia or what us Aussies refer to as "The Top End". The first three days in Darwin and five days on a small group camping trip in Kakadu. This felt like the perfect time for a first visit.
I did not do any extended hiking, but I got to see a good range of sites. I you don't have this much time, even a one-day trip from Darwin is worthwhile, but get an early night – it's a long day averaging 12-13 hours.
You can visit much of Kakadu National Park with a 2 wheel drive vehicle. The wetlands, art sites and some waterfalls can be reached in a standard vehicle.
Dirt track at Kakadu National Park
You need a 4WD to visit
West Alligator Head
Twin Falls, Jim Jim Falls and Maguk
Jarrangbarnmi (Koolpin Gorge)
If you plan to rent a 4 wheel drive to access, be sure to check the company has no restrictions on where you can take the car. It's also making sure you have the top level of insurance they offer. If you have never driven off-road before, make sure you know how to change a tire and read up on the basic skills before you head off.
There is a good range of accommodation inside the National Park, from campsites to a Mercure Hotel shaped like a crocodile. There is more choice than you think, but it books out quickly in the dry season. We have written about the options for staying overnight or longer in Kakadu here.
Read – Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia (1874)
Thanks to Project Gutenberg, you can read Ludwig Leichhardt's diary of his journey into Northern Australia in full and for free.
Listen – Bowali Visitors Centre 1-hour podcast on Kakadu is a must-listen for visitors
Watch Ten Canoes – This film, the first to be made entirely in Aboriginal Language, showcases the Arnhem Land region of Northern Australia and the landscape is spectacular. Ten Canoes won a Special Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard program at the Cannes International Film Festival.
Watch – Crocodile Dundee – this mid-1980s classic Aussie comedy may have aged but its a great watch before you visit.
Where to go next in the Northern Territory:
Nitmiluk National Park (Katherine Gorge)
Uluru and the Red Centre
Beautiful Waterholes and waterfalls in the Northern Territory
Best Darwin to Kakadu Tours 2023
Read this before you decide where to stay in Kakadu
5 Reasons to visit Kakadu National Park
About the Author: Paula first visited Kakadu after scoring a $1 flight from Brisbane to Darwin as part of a Virgin Airlines promotion. With nothing to lose, she packed her bag and explored the park on a 5 day camping tour. It was her first experience of the "Top End", and she was hooked!
Categories Northern Territory Tags Darwin, National Parks, Top End
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Why would you want more strings? Isn't the guitar full of strings already? 8 strings extend the range of notes in a satisfying way.
A real extravaGANZa seriously fun. This is right before it opened to the public.
Here is a new guitar for a good local customer. Old Brazilian. Euro spruce. Ganz/Romanillos design. Lined with cypress. I am honored and thankful for the trust and sponsorship of my work by my customers.


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© 2020 Backstage Nashville™
Songs written by Justin Wilson include:
"Drunk Me" - Mitchell Tenpenny
"We Went" - Randy Houser
"Kiss You in the Morning" - Michael Ray
"Happens Like That" - Granger Smith
"Later On" - Swon Brothers
"Tomorrow Tonight" - Craig Campbell
"Better in Boots" - Tyler Farr
"Straight Outta Cold Beer" - Blake Shelton
About Justin Wilson:
Hailing from Dacula, Georgia, Justin Wilson is one of the hottest songwriters in Nashville. He has scored over 20 cuts and singles such as "Drunk Me" (Mitchell Tenpenny), "Later On" (Swon Brothers), "Tomorrow Tonight" (Craig Campbell), "Kiss You In The Morning" (Michael Ray) and more. Other cuts by artists include Blake Shelton, Joe Nichols, Parmalee and more are proof that Justin is going to be a force in songwriting for years to come. Justin will be recording his first EP midsummer.


The stock market ended its first session of the week and the last session of February under selling pressure as the heavyweight health care (-1.6%) and financial (-1.1%) spaces weighed on the broader market. Today's trade saw a brief departure from equities trading in tandem with oil, along with investors eyeing weaker than expected economic data at home and overseas. Meanwhile, a safe haven bid in the last hour of trade highlighted concerns ahead of a data-heavy week. The S&P 500 (-0.8%) ended its day behind both the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.7%) and the Nasdaq Composite (-0.7%). For the month, the S&P 500 shed 0.4% while the Nasdaq lost 1.1% and the Dow gained 0.3%.
The influential health care sector (-1.6%) underperformed throughout today's session as weakness from large-cap constituents as well as biotechnology dropped the group to the bottom of the leaderboard. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 254.09, -7.40) ended its session lower by 2.8%. For the month of February, the sub-group plummeted 4.9% while the broader sector ended lower by 0.7% over the same period. Elsewhere in the space, Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX 65.80, -14.85) tumbled 18.4% after CNBC reported that the SEC is investigating the company. Additionally, the company postponed its earnings release and call.
The economically-sensitive financial group (-1.1%) recovered from some early weakness and managed to trade in-line with the broader market for part of the afternoon, but lost traction as money center banks and investment brokerages weighed. On that note, Wells Fargo (WFC 46.92, -1.15) tumbled 2.4%. Conversely, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B 134.17, +2.25) climbed 1.7% after reporting better than expected operating earnings in Q4. The financial sector ended February lower by 3.2%, bringing its year-to-date decline to 11.9%.
The broader market received an early boost from a rally in crude oil, but was unable to maintain that momentum once the commodity's pit session ended. Even the commodity-sensitive energy (-1.2%) and materials (-0.6%) were unable to finish in the green after being up by as much as 0.6% and 1.2%, respectively. For its part, WTI crude ended its day higher by 3.3% at $33.82/bbl, finishing the month little changed.
In the energy group (-1.2%), independent oil and gas names posted some of the largest declines of the day with EOG Resources (EOG 64.74, -2.76) falling 3.8%. Separately, the space was hurt by a 4.5% decline in natural gas, which ended at $1.71/mmbtu.
Countercyclical utilities (+0.2%) outperformed today and consumer staples (-0.4%) followed on the leaderboard.
The Treasury complex was bid higher as equities slipped to their worst levels of the day. For its part, the yield on 10-yr note ended its session lower by three basis points at 1.74%.
On the currency front, the U.S. Dollar Index (98.16, +0.01) surrendered most of its gain as the greenback weakened against the yen. The dollar/yen pair ended lower by 1.1% at 112.80.
Today's participation was within the recent average with more than 1.266 billion shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.
The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index registered a 47.6 reading for February. That was below the Briefing.com consensus estimate of 52.0 and well below the prior month's reading of 55.6. A number below 50 denotes contraction.
The last six readings for this index dating back to September have been 47.8, 52.6, 47.7, 42.9, 55.6, and 47.6, respectively, so what the February report reveals is that the strength in January was likely little more than a brief snapback in activity from a depressed base of readings in more recent months.
The downturn in February saw four of the five barometer components decline versus January: New Orders (from 58.8 to 51.7), Production (from 62.5 from 44.0), Employment (from 48.9 to 45.2) and Prices Paid (from 43.7 to 41.1).
The employment index, which saw its fifth straight monthly reading below 50.0, is at its lowest level since November 2009.
The Prices Paid Index, meanwhile, is at its lowest level since July 2009 with falling oil and commodity prices playing a part there.
Separately, New York Fed President and FOMC voting member William Dudley will speak at 23:30 ET.
Tomorrow's economic data will include Construction Spending for January (Briefing.com consensus +0.5%) and the ISM Index for February (Briefing.com consensus 49.0), which will both cross the wires at 10:00 ET.


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This game is from the ESL Games World website. It helps you to review the zero, first, second and third conditionals. You can play this game alone or if you have a family member or friend at home with you, you can play against each other.
This game is from the ESL Tower website and it helps you practice using the past simple and present perfect tenses.
To play, click on the "hit" button in the centre of the spinning wheel. The game then shows you a question and you have to answer this with the right answer by choosing from several options.
This game is from the ESL Games World website. It is a listening/vocabulary activity.
To play you click on the top row. The system will then show you a picture of a place. Click on the bottom row and you will hear a word. If the picture and the word match then you win the round bu if they don't both are hidden again.
Play2Learn #007 How much is it?
This game is from the British Council Learn English website. This is another fun game that is really great for children but also good for elementary language learners. I have played it with my elementary adult students and they found it quite addictive!
This game is from the website ABCya. It was designed for young children but it is also a good one for helping older beginner English learners to practice their numbers. Also, if you have young children it's a great activity to do with them at home so that you can learn together.


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Attorney General Rejects Calls for Resignation Over Plan to Purge Prosecutors
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales rejected growing calls for his resignation Tuesday as scores of newly released documents detailed a two-year campaign by the Justice Department and White House to purge federal prosecutors. Gonzales acknowledged his department mishandled the dismissals of eight U.S. Attorneys and misled Congress about how they were fired. He said he was ultimately to blame for those "mistakes" but stood by the firings. Democrats have suggested the dismissals were politically motivated.
By Lara Jakes Jordan | Updated on March 14, 2007
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales rejected growing calls for his resignation Tuesday as scores of newly released documents detailed a two-year campaign by the Justice Department and White House to purge federal prosecutors.
Gonzales acknowledged his department mishandled the dismissals of eight U.S. Attorneys and misled Congress about how they were fired. He said he was ultimately to blame for those "mistakes" but stood by the firings.


Recently our President spoke at a town hall meeting in New Mexico. He acted professorial and moralized to us about how we should live. He likes to tell us to live austerely while he and his cohorts continue life as it is. For instance, consider Congress. It exceeds its unlimited budget. What family can do that? Congress and the President are living in a waking psychosis. They have a sense of wild abandon with our money, all the while telling us they are taking care of us which is highly improbable and impossible because, you see, they are thinking. They should never have been given that responsibility. So, what did Obama say in New Mexico? He advised his audience of worshippers that we can not continue to borrow money from China. Really?!!!!!! When did he realize that? Before he signed his maniacal spending bill of trillions of dollars or after? If before, he is venal. If after, he is a cynic. In any case, he should have told Congress not New Mexico worshippers. He does wear his moral cloak of invincible purity well. In addition to the China warning he has also told the car companies that they must have new emission standards and mileage limits which he proclaims will reduce gas consumption saving us money. Only an economic innocent, which is what he is, would say that. It is pure nonsensical obscuratism. What makes up the price of gas? Well, one element is taxes. If less gas is consumed less revenue will go to the govie. Less revenue is not a user friendly term to the boys and girls of Congress. No sir and no maam. Less revenue means higher taxes somewhere or they have to cut the overhead. What is the overhead? Police, Fire, Sanitation, health, defense spending against terrorists(don't worry the terrorists will adjust their costs so we can be competitive in catching them). This President has never shown one whisper of understanding of economic science. Not one. Yet, here he is telling the American public what they need to do and what he and his merry brothers on the hill are planning. Here then is a question, if England is pursuing a course of self destruction, if other European governments are aspirating on their economic policies such as Spain, France, Ireland to name some then why in heavens name do rational thinking Americans proceed to the plank of socialized psychosis? Is there in man a magnet that draws idiots to lead and unhinges man or is man unhinged because he embraces the irrational which to him is exciting, promising, vital and in some perverse way normal?


Awkward laugher. The director looked confused as the SNCO tried to explain it was all a joke.
I was 19. He was in his mid-40s.
I was the only female in that division for several months. I turned down invitations to lunch with him, to run errands with him in the office van. My dorm chief gave me a heads up that this senior NCO used to randomly show up at the dorms under the guise of doing "room inspections" on his troops.
At the end of the year, the deputy pulled me into his office wanting to know if something happened between me and the SNCO. The SNCO said I couldn't be submitted for any awards because I didn't deserve any of them.
I blamed it on a personality difference. I got a sympathetic response, but was encouraged to be more mindful of rank and to maybe watch my tone when I interacted with him in the office so as not to appear insubordinate.
The next year, the SNCO retired and not surprisingly, a whole bunch of allegations from other females followed him out the door. Nevertheless, he kept showing up at the office until our new female lieutenant shut that nonsense DOWN and banned him from the facility, and ordered the rest of us to report to her if he showed up again.
And later that year, I swept the awards season, earning first place in every category they submitted my name.


Joining Armstrong on the World Cup management team are former Blues defenseman and current Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin, Los Angeles Kings assistant general manager Rob Blake, Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland and Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray.
Armstrong and Yzerman, Vice President and GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning, are the only NHL general managers who have been part of the management staff of teams that have won a Stanley Cup, Olympic gold medal and a World Championship gold medal.
Armstrong won a gold medal with the 1999 Dallas Stars as assistant GM.
Armstrong has been the Blues' general manager since 2010 after three seasons as the club's executive vice president of hockey operations and two seasons as vice president of player personnel.
During Armstrong's tenure in St. Louis, the Blues have won two Central Division titles and reached the playoffs four times. He also won the NHL's General Manager of the Year award in 2012.
The World Cup of Hockey format for 2016 will include teams from the United States, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic and two all-star teams. One team includes other European players and the others top North American players under age 23.


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The 10th and largest correctional centre in B.C. is set to start phasing in inmates in January 2017 and the public can take tours starting Oct. 21.
Prison an "economic boon" to the South Okanagan
The largest correctional centre in B.C. is set to phase in inmates in January and the public can take tours Oct. 21.
Dale Boyd
As the opening day for the Okanagan Correctional Centre approaches, Solicitor General Mike Morris addressed some concerns related to the multi-million dollar facility just north of Oliver.
(Related story: Public can tour correctional centre)
Morris, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, said the OCC would be a net gain for the community and an "economic boon" for the region with direct and indirect jobs being created. He also addressed the concern of the influx of workers pushing the population of Oliver over 5,000 — municipalities with a population under 5,000 are serviced through an RCMP contract with province, however the cost of policing could fall to the Oliver taxpayers should the town breach that threshold.
"Of course the OCC is going to be a significant employer in the area and people may come to the community and reside there, but I think it's going to draw from several communities around the area here. We'll have to wait and see. If the community itself is close to the 5,000 mark it definitely might put them over and the municipal government needs to start planning for that and I'm sure they have been working on that already."
(Related story: Oliver lobbying for more RCMP)
Morris drew from his 32-year career in the RCMP to dispel concerns the facility will be a drain on the Oliver detachment and staff.
"From my own experience (prisons) have had very little impact on policing resources, within the communities that they're established in," Morris said.
The correctional centre was completed "on time and on budget," Morris said, with ownership transferred to the province in September. There are 80 staff members currently working in the facility, 45 new staff joining on Oct. 3, with the hiring of the final group of correctional supervisors underway — an approximate total of 300 direct jobs will be provided by the facility.
"Of course that leads to all kinds of spin off jobs to the community and throughout the entire region," Morris said.
The correctional centre is the largest in the province, beating out Surrey Pre-trial with a total of 378 cells — nearly half of the almost 800 cells B.C. Corrections has added since the 2008 capital expansion plan. The OCC is set to house both male and female inmates as well as remanded and sentence-serving inmates coming from around the province.
"The additional capacity that we have will provide staff with more placement options for inmates," Morris said. "That of course helps increase our safety right across the system that we have in B.C."
Concerns have been raised in the Oliver community about the influx of criminals, but Morris said during his RCMP career he saw the impact of the correctional centre in Prince George.
Morris said the $200-million facility located on Osoyoos Indian Band land in the Senkulmen Business Park is a net gain for Oliver and the surrounding community. He believes the facility is also going to create efficiencies which will benefit operations at the Penticton Courthouse.
The complete list of programs offered at the facility, including the details of First Nations programs like horse therapy for inmates which Osoyoos Indian Band Chief Clarence Louie previously touted, it not known yet.
(Related story: Osoyoos chief says prison will bring opportunity)
"This is a great partnership with the Osoyoos Indian Band and they will be offering some First Nations direct programs within the facility that will hopefully help the healing process and the recovery process for a lot of the inmates," Morris said. "I don't know exactly what those programs look like yet, but I am looking forward to this partnership and the benefits we can reap from that."
Morris noted he has seen community work programs in Prince George with inmates working in the community similar to what the OCC will offer — something that residents should not be concerned about.
"These are folks that present a minimum risk and they are of course under strict supervision when they're doing that. Again, I don't see that as presenting any significant risk to the community," Morris said.
The facility is equipped with "state-of-the-art security features" including computer-controlled door locking mechanisms among other safety features.
"I've had a tour of it and it's quite an impressive building from a correctional perspective," Morris said.
The facility is going to feature a scanner to combat drugs and contraband coming into the facility, which Morris admitted is a problem in B.C. correctional centres.
"Hopefully it will go a long way towards reducing the amount of drugs that are smuggled into these facilities and used by the addicts," Morris said. "It is a problem, it's recognized as a problem and we're going to be doing everything we can to mitigate that as much as we can."
The province expects the public tours later this month to be busy, encouraging those interested to put their names down early.
"We do expect a lot of interest so we need folks to book ahead on that," Morris said.
Those wanting to take a one-hour guided tour must register by calling 250-485-8263 during business hours Monday to Friday.
Okanagan Fall Wine festival event Cropped returns
Okanagan Falls district could split up


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If you believe, everything is possible. Interview with Venrez
rockyourlyrics July 8, 2013 143 views
BandsRock Interviews143 views 010 min read
After the success of the album "Sell The Lie", the Los Angeles based rock band, Venrez, has come back with another masterpiece, "American Illusion", that will be officially released July30th , and is now available by pre-order through the band's website www.venreztheband.com
We had the opportunity to speak with Ven, the lead singer and lyricist for the band. He told us a few interesting stories about the new album, his passion for the music and the band's future projects.
V: Two years ago we recorded our album "Sell The Lie" live; Jason (Womack, guitar and backing vocals) produced the record. We recorded it working noon to midnight, twelve hour lock out sessions. It was truly an exhaustive process. The band recorded the music in 3 days and I sang all the vocals over the next 10 days. We had the fortune of obtaining our own recording gear, early last year, and were able to record the new album "American Illusion" at my house. We got that same live sound as we did with "Sell The Lie", but we recorded "American Illusion" over a few months and in a much more positive and relaxed atmosphere.
RYL: We do agree, your sound is so unique and you have a great energy, especially live, on stage….
V: Yes, you know, we do have a unique sound; even if they often compare it to that of Audioslave or Alice In Chains … some say that my lower tone vocal is similar to that of Chris Cornell, Layne Staley, and Jim Morrison.
I believe it's the two part harmonies, between Jason and I, which gets us the Alice In Chains comparison. But I don't think we sound like them musically. Our sound is different and the fans recognize that.
RYL: We saw it and it is great! This means a lot of more responsibility for you and the band…
V: One year ago, we had 12,000 likes on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/venrez), and today we have surpassed 335,000 and the numbers continue to grow!
Part of the success of this is due to the fact we have something to say, we remain ourselves without compromise of the music and lyrics.
We are here to tell our stories, experiences and deliver messages, as I did in the song "Sell The Lie" on the previous album, a clear shot at governments trading blood for oil profits. Although the song may pertain to many subjects of selling lies, I wrote the song about corporate greed and the senseless killing involved with it.
The pre-sales of the album are going quite well and we are extremely happy about it.
RYL: How difficult is today to be a rock band in USA? How difficult is to promote music?
V: It's extremely difficult; first of all, no new rock band in the last fifteen years is on USA radio. They will literally go to Starbucks and spend $6.00 on a cup of coffee but will not spend .99c on a download from I Tunes.
RYL: you are damn right! It is just crazy..
V: Yes, it is so difficult for a band to survive and to reach a large audience. I think youtube.com is the new radio as USA commercial radio only wants to play hits, not help make hits, and we must have extremely cool merchandise for the fans to buy when we are on tour and from our web site.
RYL: Like Europe for instance?
V: Let's say that Europe is not controlled like USA…. Right here the music industry works like a pipeline that makes a lot of money and for sure they are not going to disturb it, nor the limited play lists on the radio stations.
RYL: Let's talk about your new single, "Unforeseen"; we loved the verse "Won't play by your rules, got better things to do"…it's a true lifestyle!
V: It is the band's favorite song to play live from the new album. Lyrically, I think it lends itself to many interpretations; when I wrote it I was thinking a late teens or early twenties guy driving his car down the road with his Red Bull and vodka in his hand, looking for action for the night …"Unforeseen" is actually an anti-drug song, you know…. It's about having a good life or opportunity to have a good life and falling into the pitfalls that drugs and alcohol delivers. How it brings people to their knees.
RYL: Let's talk about your tour, when are your fans are going to see you this summer?
V: Well, the plan changed recently and it also had an impact on the release date of the album, which was to release July 2nd and now will release on July 30th.
We were supposed to be on tour all of July with Steven Adler (former drummer of Guns and Roses), but he had some personal problems and his tour was cancelled for the summer. Steven is an amazing person and we wish him the best!
Our fabulous manager Bob Chiappardi was able to arrange for us to open for Slash (one of the best guitarist to ever play rock music), and his band for the last 3 shows of his current tour.
A very important gig will be returning to St. Louis on July 21st at the Pageant, where we opened for Alice Cooper in June of last year. We made a lot of fans there and cannot wait to return and it is the first show of the run. We are also very excited about the last show in Las Vegas on July 25th at the House of Blues. We have done 3 USA tours, but never west of the Mississippi River. Also, I have always wanted to play in Las Vegas. It's a great town for entertainment with great fans.
RYL: Fantastic! Any surprise planned for that show?
V: We got a surprise planned for all the shows!! We're gonna be running a few effects tracks from the album, which will give our fans a very accurate live show of the new album. We are not the Rolling Stones and some of the other more successful bands who carry multiple players and backing vocalists on the road with them. So, we will be running some tracks for the first time on this tour. It's been sounding amazing in rehearsal and adds a clear new dimension to our live show.
RYL: Taking about the Rolling Stones, have you seen them live during their US tour?
V: I didn't see them during their recent tour here to Los Angeles where I live, but I have a story to tell you…. I was seventeen in 1972 and was sitting in the 12th row center at the Forum, and saw them live….which was the Exile on Main Street Tour!
It was fantastic, and the same tour they filmed for their DVD "Ladies and Gentleman: The Rolling Stones" which released few years ago.
Mick Taylor (amazing guitar sleek) was in the band back then and I believe I saw them when they were at the top of their game on all levels.
I want to keep those memories as that show inspired me to be a singer… On top of it, the prices of the tickets were so expensive; I wouldn't do that to my fans…. Fans should be given the opportunity to see their favorite bands live without paying an arm and a leg for tickets.
RYL: Mick Jagger being able to tour in his 70's is just unreal! And the same goes for Charlie Watts and Keith Richards.
V: I can really understand what that means, because I tour as well! …being able to deliver every night for more than two hours on stage shows me just how beyond amazing Mick Jagger truly is! And these guys have been doing it for 50 years!
These men must be from another planet!
RYL: Hahahah, true! And you? Do you see yourself touring at that age?
V: I am in great shape and take very good care of myself,so, yes…I do see myself touring into my 70's.. I love to play the songs live on stage, and as long as its fun and I remain healthy, then without question I will continue to do it!
RYL: Last question; tell us about our favorite song from "American Illusion": Sanctity.
V: "Sanctity" is the most commercial song on the album, we selected it to be the second single behind "Unforeseen", and the song will release mid August, along with the music video for the track.
It's about governments controlling people, and telling us how and what to think and feel. I believe that people should control their governments not the other way around.
The video was produced by Christopher Coppola, the older brother of Nicolas Cage, and is in editing right now. We expect the video to be complete by the end of the Slash tour.
RYL: We can't wait for its release, for the time being we wish you a great tour! See you soon!!
Previous ArticleThe Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star
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Interview with Vampire
Interview with Frankie Screamz – SCARE DON'T FEAR
rockyourlyrics July 7, 2014
6 Days – Interview with Mahmut Orhan
Dearest Everybody – interview with Inara George
Sound, Music and much more! Interview with Pretty Pink
rockyourlyrics February 8, 2018
HOLD.HEART interview with LOST ATLANTA


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New Insights into Titan
by Paul Gilster on June 19, 2015
It's hard to consider a place with surface temperatures of –180°C 'Earthlike,' but there are reasons why we see the term so often applied to Titan. The most striking of these is the presence of surface lakes and seas, a phenomenon found nowhere else in the Solar System. The temperatures are cold enough to make the circulating fluid liquid methane and ethane rather than water, but we see things in Cassini imagery that are strikingly familiar, including seas fed by river-like channels and large numbers of shallow lakes that appear in flatter areas.
The European Space Agency's Thomas Cornet has been leading a team investigating Titan's surface features in greater detail. In particular, the lakes of Titan do not appear to be fed by rivers, making it likely that they are filled either by rainfall or by liquids welling up from below. Empty depressions can be found where lakes may once have been, and it is believed that some of the lakes dry out during Titan's thirty-year cycle of seasons. Cornet and team wanted to learn how the depressions in which the lakes are found formed in the first place.
Image: A radar image of Titan's north polar regions (centre), with close ups of numerous lakes (left) and a large sea (right). The sea, Ligeia Mare, measures roughly 420 x 350 km and is the second largest known body of liquid hydrocarbons on Titan. Its shorelines extend for some 2000 km and many rivers can be seen draining into the sea. By contrast, the numerous lakes are typically less than 100 km across and have more rounded shapes with steep sides. The radar images were created using data collected by the international Cassini spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/USGS; left and right: NASA/ESA. Acknowledgement: T. Cornet, ESA.
Here again we find a terrestrial analog for Titan, the 'karstic' landforms seen on Earth when rocks like limestone and gypsum erode because of the effects of rainfall and groundwater. Erosion depends on many factors, temperature, rainfall and chemistry among them, but what develops over time are sinkholes and caves in areas where there is abundant moisture, and salt-pans where conditions are more arid. The ESA team studied how long it would take for areas on Titan to go through similar processes, adjusting for the differences in terrain.
Rather than water, Cornet and colleagues assumed liquid hydrocarbons as the primary dissolving agent, while modeling a surface replete with solid organic material. Given what we know about Titan's climate, the result was a period of 50 million years to create a 100-meter deep depression at Titan's rainy high polar latitudes, where we see so many lakes. The team believes this time scale is compatible with what appears to be a relatively youthful surface.
Cornet describes the work and its results:
"We compared the erosion rates of organics in liquid hydrocarbons on Titan with those of carbonate and evaporite minerals in liquid water on Earth. We found that the dissolution process occurs on Titan some 30 times slower than on Earth due to the longer length of Titan's year and the fact it only rains during Titan summer. Nevertheless, we believe that dissolution is a major cause of landscape evolution on Titan, and could be the origin of its lakes."
Image: Close-up radar image showing both empty and liquid-filled depressions (coloured blue) on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Credit: NASA/ESA. Acknowledgement: T. Cornet, ESA.
Those arid regions at lower latitudes, as you might expect, take much longer to develop the same kind of depressions, up to 375 million years according to the team's modeling. Here again the time scale is consistent with the observed scarcity of depressions in these regions of the moon. Thus the comparison with Earth remains surprisingly useful, although the processes at work continue under entirely different climate and chemical conditions.
A Polar Wind Like Earth's
An atmospheric phenomenon on Titan is likewise replicated in its own way on our own world. Seven years of data from the Cassini probe have helped a team at University College London reach conclusions about the so-called 'polar wind' on Titan that is driving gas from its atmosphere. Data from the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) show that about seven tons of hydrocarbons and nitriles are being lost into space every day.
The question the study answers is why this is happening. Titan's atmosphere is primarily nitrogen and methane. Nitriles are molecules with tight nitrogen/carbon bonds. Andrew Coats (UCL), who led the investigation of the polar wind, explains their interactions:
"Although Titan is ten times further from the Sun than Earth is, its upper atmosphere is still bathed in light. When the light hits molecules in Titan's ionosphere, it ejects negatively charged electrons out of the hydrocarbon and nitrile molecules, leaving a positively charged particle behind. These electrons, known as photoelectrons, have a very specific energy of 24.1 electron volts, which means they can be traced by the CAPS instrument, and easily distinguished from other electrons, as they propagate through the surrounding magnetic field."
A major difference between Titan and Earth is that the former has no magnetic field. It is, however, surrounded by Saturn's rotating magnetic field, which forms a comet-like tail around the moon. The CAPS instrument, in 23 flybys in which Cassini moved through Titan's ionosphere or its magnetic tail, detected photoelectrons up to 6.8 Titan radii out, showing how efficiently they move along magnetic field lines. What Coates and team have done is to show how the negatively charged photoelectrons create an electrical field that continues to pull hydrocarbon and nitrile particles out of the atmosphere wherever it is lit by the Sun.
Image: Schematic illustration of the magnetic connection between the sunlit ionosphere (left) and Cassini in the tail. Credit: UCL/Andrew Coates.
The same phenomenon occurs on Earth but only in the polar regions, where the magnetic field is open. Titan is not similarly constrained, which is why we see much more widespread effects. As the paper notes: "…we have presented new observations of the photoelectron spectra in Titan's sunlit ionosphere and in the tail. The results again confirm a magnetic connection between the sunlit ionosphere and tail, along the draped magnetic field lines."
In both cases, we generate a polar wind, and similar processes may exist on Mars and Venus, making Titan, if not 'Earthlike,' a world with intriguing similarities to terrestrial-class planets.
The Coates paper is "A New Upper Limit to the Field-Aligned Potential Near Titan," published in Geophysical Research Letters 18 June 2015 (abstract). The Cornet paper on Titan's surface is "Dissolution on Titan and on Earth: Towards the age of Titan's karstic landscapes," accepted for publication in Journal of Geophysical Research – Planets.
Alex Tolley June 19, 2015, 13:26
If Titan's atmosphere is slowly being lost, are the gases being replaced or is the atmosphere slowly thinning?
I do find it interesting that landforms similar to Earth's can be formed with very different materials and under very different conditions. May we get a surface craft to explore this world one day.
Michael June 19, 2015, 13:27
The atmospheric loss of Titan brings a point forward in that moons around gas giants that have powerful magnetic fields have their atmospheres subjected to a powerful erosion process. Once atoms and molecules are charged by the light from their sun's they can be pulled from the upper atmosphere quite quickly if there is no protective magnetic field around the moon in orbit.
Eniac June 19, 2015, 22:12
@Michael: Then again, it also brings forward the point that such erosion does not preclude a dense atmosphere from being present, even on a moon smaller than the Earth.
Tom Mazanec June 20, 2015, 9:36
The temperatures are cold enough to make the circulating fluid liquid methane and ethane rather than water
Do we know the proportions of the two constituents?
@Eniac June 19, 2015 at 22:12
Titan only holds that atmosphere because it is so cold, interestingly if we look at the nitrogen vapour curve going back 3 – 4 billion years when the sun was less bright the atmosphere could have collapsed quite a bit and there could have been liquid nitrogen on the surface.
http://encyclopedia.airliquide.com/images_encyclopedie/VaporPressureGraph/nitrogen_vapor_pressure.gif
The U.V was also substantially lower, 60% less 4 billion years ago so I would think less smog would have been about.
Solar evolution
http://www.andrewkaram.com/pdf/hpj%20solar%20evolution.pdf
J. Jason Wentworth June 20, 2015, 21:29
If ESA has a Thomas Comet, someone named Rocky Jones must work at NASA, somewhere… :-) In similarly-spaced planetary systems where the stars are type K dwarfs (and especially, M dwarfs), the atmospheres of moons similar to Titan should stay denser for longer periods, due to the far lower stellar UV intensity. Also:
The many geological and "hydrological" (of/in/by liquid hydrocarbons) features that Cassini captured in flyby radar images suggest that a dedicated Titan orbiter with synthetic aperture radar, plus one or more fixed or mobile landers (sort of a cross between Magellan and Viking, modified for outer solar system operations) would be a very worthwhile mission to send there.
ljk June 22, 2015, 8:51
So if Titan warms up, say a few billion years from now when Sol starts expanding into a red giant sun, will it lose most or all of its current atmosphere? Or just enough to become a tolerable place to live?
Michael June 23, 2015, 9:54
@ljk June 22, 2015 at 8:51
'So if Titan warms up, say a few billion years from now when Sol starts expanding into a red giant sun, will it lose most or all of its current atmosphere? Or just enough to become a tolerable place to live?'
If it warms up to an earth like temperature the atmosphere and ice mantle will leave in short order.
Rob Henry June 23, 2015, 20:57
Titan warming up should, of itself, cause very little extra atmospheric loss, until the rms of methane tips over 1/6th escape velocity. I calculate this won't happen until it reaches 125K.
Non thermal loss mechanisms are far more complex. The effect of a hotter Sun with a slower and more neutral but far stronger solar wind, could meaning anything – including a slower loss of hydrogen (even a net gain). I have seen no evidence otherwise, the problem being that we have far too much difficulty modeling what we already observe. I doubt these problems have been resolved recently, and this explains why there is so much handwaving and so little evidence cited in these speculative predictions.
Oh, I just realised that if we want it more Earth-like, we will want CH4 replaced by O2, making the tipping point that of nitrogen Jeans escape. This doesn't come until we get to 220K!
Still more to the above… at 220K humans can easily breath the air into unprotected lungs, and even the worst designed glasshouse would raise the temperature of the cities enough to jog its streets in shorts. Even the most primitive post-industrial human civilisation should be able to survive there IF non-thermal loss mechanisms do not prove too great.
ljk October 2, 2015, 17:13
Speculating on what kind of beings could live on Titan:
http://www.universetoday.com/122554/is-there-a-kraken-in-kraken-mare-what-kind-of-life-would-we-find-on-titan/
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In the additive RGB color model, color #2dfe54 (hexadecimal – hex triplet) has values of 45 (18% red), 254 (100% green) and 84 (33% blue). In the CMYK (subtractive color model), color #2dfe54 has values 82% cyan, 0% magenta, 67% yellow and 0% black. In the HSL model, it is represented by 131° hue, 99% saturation and 59% lightness. Win32 representation: DWORD COLORREF C=0x0045efd2. Decimal value is 3014228.
#2dfe54 is not web-safe (Netscape). Nearest web-safe color is #33ff66. #2dfe54 isn't X11 color, closest X11 color is LimeGreen (#32cd32), also this color can be known as: Bright Light Green.
Related colors (alternatives): Spearmint, Malachite, Weird Green, Minty Green, UFO Green, Tealish Green, SpringGreen2, Spring Green, Seaweed.
This table contains information about #2dfe54 color values in the most popular color spaces: RGB (additive color model), CMY, CMYK (subtractive color model), HSL, HSI, CIE XYZ. This data can be downloaded in JSON (2dfe54.json) and CSV (2dfe54.csv) formats.
Share your experience with #2dfe54!


THE Member of Parliament for Oxford East has demanded that parliament be recalled over the steel crisis currently threatening the UK.
Andrew Smith, who lives in Blackbird Leys, joined calls by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for an urgent debate to be held after Tata Steel's decision to sell its UK business, which directly employs 15,000 workers and supports thousands of others in plants such as Port Talbot, Rotherham, Corby and Shotton.
So far more than 110,000 people have signed an e-petition calling on David Cameron to take immediate action.
Mr Smith said: ""Steel faces real crisis and is a major strategic industry affecting many thousands of jobs.
"Parliament should definitely be recalled so the government can be held to account."
It has also been argued that part of the industry could be re-nationalised as part of a long-term solution, although the Prime Minister has said it was "not the solution".
Mr Smith has also backed the idea, however, saying: "The government should take a public stake in the industry if that's what it takes to enable it to survive.


The "Real Deal" came up in the Mecca of bodybuilding in California Gold's Gym during the most impressive era yet, the 90's. He built his physique through old-school hard work and really grind it out to become a top 3 finalists at the Mr. Olympia!
As noted earlier, Chris really does keep is basic and stick to what works for his body.
Without question, Chris is one of the strongest bodybuilders to ever have a pro card. Heavy, compound exercises is what sculpted his final physique and help him create his un-matched x-frame. Old fashioned hard work built the winning body!
He used basics such as deadlifts, bench, squats, rows, presses to build his body. Here is a classic shoulder program.


text:
Current (https://current.org/2017/12/letter-to-the-editor-keillors-punishment-is-out-of-proportion-to-what-he-did/)
Letter to the editor: Keillor's punishment is out of proportion to what he did
By Steve Robinson, President (New Media Productions) | December 6, 2017
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Ryan Somma/Wikimedia Commons
Keillor
The sexual predators who have been unmasked in recent months, from Harvey Weinstein to James Levine, deserve to have their careers come to crashing and humiliating ends. They also deserve to have as much evidence that their careers ever existed erased as completely as possible.
But does Garrison Keillor fall into this category? I don't think so.
Furthermore, when a woman reveals that a man has made unwanted sexual advances or committed perverse acts against her, it's often the case that other women come forward to lodge similar complaints. We've seen this happen with virtually every man who has been outed in the past few months.
But I haven't read about other women coming forward to complain about inappropriate conduct by Keillor.
If it had been proven beyond doubt that Keillor committed a terrible act with even one woman, the fact that he has done more for public radio than virtually any other single individual over the last nearly half-century would not absolve him from that behavior, any more than what Weinstein contributed to the film industry or Levine accomplished in the classical music world absolves them for the atrocious ways they have behaved.
But Keillor has been accused of putting his hand on a woman's back to console her. He apologized for doing that when the woman indicated discomfort, she accepted his apology, and their friendship continued. And for this, MPR tries to wipe him and his career off the face of the earth?
It seems to me that a more appropriate and rational response would have been to have admonished Keillor and, having done so, recognized that his action could not in any way be compared to the unspeakable acts against multitudes of women and men that so many others have committed, and stood by him.
To have canceled Keillor's contracts, including Writer's Almanac, erased everything with his name on it and changed the name of A Prairie Home Companion is a punishment that is wildly out of proportion to what he did.
If I'm right about the Keillor situation, I hope this serves as a cautionary tale to those who would rush to judgment before besmirching the reputation of a legendary and iconic artist who, at the very worst, committed a minor offense.
Steve Robinson
New Media Productions
Former GM, WFMT and the WFMT Radio Network
A Prairie Home Companion
'We needed to work to change the culture of media organizations'
Jill Geisler and Cathy Trost, co-creators of the Newseum's training program for media leaders, describe their approach for building a workplace culture of respect, trust and integrity.
21 thoughts on "Letter to the editor: Keillor's punishment is out of proportion to what he did"
frankguerin on December 6, 2017 at 12:38 pm said:
Thank you, Mr. Robinson, for addressing how this has been handled. As you said, Mr. Keillor's actions could have been dealt with at work — and, indeed, seemed to have been personally addressed between two adults. I am puzzled over why this woman decided to come forward publicly. In a long work history as management, what I have learned is how each case seeming similar on the surface, can be vastly different in fact. And, that there are various undercurrents in the workplace where men and women share space. Men bring their personal histories to work …. but so do women. For Mr. Keillor to be brought down by such an incident would be a travesty.
mary angela douglas on December 6, 2017 at 2:04 pm said:
I think she may have been drawn into the social media robotically created vortex of a psuedo movement to add her experience to the fray but it is ludicrously out of place there. And sad that she would have such vindictiveness when he already apologized.knowing he would most likely be lumped in unfairly with real offenders. For darn sure it's a travesty as you point out. Of just about every human value there is.
HocusLocus on December 6, 2017 at 1:17 pm said:
By their actions Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media have demonstrated that they are NOT the type of people you'd want as neighbors. Or agents. Or producers. Or distributors. Or news journalists. Or webmasters. Or underwriters. Or archivists. Or corporate role models. Or partners. Or friends. Did I forget anything? Is there anything left?
Just a soulless building full of empty excuses and a massive amount of talented artists looking in from outside who should be wondering right now… who will be next, why and how? And — if no heads roll — at what point will the organization begin to take preemptive measures based on rumor, pure paranoia and malice?
They do indeed seem soulless. What a cogent comment. Agree very much with the word malice. Think there is another agenda going on, something like, out with the old, in with the new despite the people's wishes. Which makes them like a totalitarian state when you come down to it.
frankguerin on December 6, 2017 at 7:11 pm said:
Yes, Mary, that's always the case with the media. Some people try to fight it, then are made to look like fools.
Totally agree with your beautifully lucid and reasonable article. The malice that was shown to Keillor is beyond the Beyond. It's awful especially considred what a light filled, hilarious, nostalgic, wildly imaginative world with camaraderie and sing a longs thrown into the mix in Prairie Home Companion and the very real support he gave budding poets and writers through Writer's Almanac. You can judge a man by his fruits the saying goes and the fruits of his creative work were manifoldly beautiful and humane. Plus he apologized and the apology was accepted so this is just plain vanilla tables turned unfairly. This is little ode to Lake Wobegon, my droplet in the sea of those who refuse to throw Garrison Keillor or his work overboard because we cherish both and who among us is perfect.
FOR LAKE WOBEGON, DISAPPEARING…
for Garrison Keillor
the land is going away they cried
let it be Green Ginger's then
not appearing on all the maps
by the wayside fruit stands
at the ESSO Stations where
they wiped the windshields clear
with thick pink paper towels for free
and dished out wintertime's
Goodyear Christmas Carols
oh don't disappear and yet,
goodbye to the land
rising in an apricot apotheosis, dear
its cornstalks like the fiery golden spears
sometimes appearing
in paintings of St. George and the Dragon.
we will miss you when we're walking on
the air that's left
when Beauty leaves the room
or on craters where the apple orchards stood
in white pink radiance cadences of the blessed
and it's not I that have a tear in my eye
or that myriad lakes have all dried up
from ruthless second guessing
for as yet the earth beneath them
mourns in a strange blue clay
remembering-
but that the sum of all things,
mermaids turning to stone
they murder in this world
that find their place again
down God's long
still fills up my Soul.
mary angela douglas 4 december 2017
Totally agree with your beautifully lucid and reasonable article. The malice that was shown to Keillor is beyond the Beyond. It's awful especially considering what a light filled, hilarious, nostalgic, wildly imaginative world with camaraderie and sing a longs thrown into the mix was Prairie Home Companion plus an extraordinary homage to Old Radio – and considering the very real support he gave budding poets and writers through Writer's Almanac. You can judge a man by his fruits the saying goes and the fruits of his creative work were manifoldly beautiful and humane. Plus he apologized and the apology was accepted so this is just plain vanilla tables turned unfairly. here is my little ode to Lake Wobegon, my droplet in the sea of those who refuse to throw Garrison Keillor or his life's work overboard because we cherish both and who among us is perfect. They would never have done that in Lake Wobegon. Another reason why we loved it so. Maybe a few people would have been grouchy but they would have talked it all out at the Chatterbox Cafe and then gone ice fishing.
Phil Runkel on December 6, 2017 at 4:53 pm said:
I share your sentiments. As a regular listener (for over three decades) and an archivist by profession, I'm very disturbed by MPR's hasty erasing of Garrison's broadcasts from the internet
and airwaves, based upon what we presently know of the allegations against him.
Wow. Lovely.
Nordonia Nate on December 6, 2017 at 6:00 pm said:
Reading the comments regarding protecting sexual predator is very disturbing.. But… I would guess the same people continue to defend Bill Clinton..
What's sad times we live in when a sexual predator is admired….
Nordonia…..A simplistic remark there. No one is defending Bill Clinton's continuous lasciviousness. However, let's also keep in mind that Ms. Lewinsky prior had a lengthy affair with her married professor, and stated to a friend
….that she is "bringing her kneepads" to Washington! She knew his weakness and zoomed right in. It's her character too on the line.
Dina on December 6, 2017 at 10:12 pm said:
I think you're overlooking some key facts.
The most important of which is: we dont know what he's been accused of. We only know what he's publicly saying. All I'm saying is consider the source and hold judgement until we know more. Mr. Keillor may be downplaying or just omitting the facts. His punishment does seem extreme if that's all he did, but an MPR spokesperson said "multiple allegations" were made by this woman. So what are the others?
Dr. John Smith on December 7, 2017 at 12:13 pm said:
Exactly. It's premature to declare that there has been a disproportionate response. The only description of Keillor's actions has been provided by Keillor himself. I'd argue that the severity of the response is itself an indication that his account may not be accurate or complete.
jonathan on December 7, 2017 at 3:19 am said:
Let's assume the worst about Keillor. Some woman shows up and probably takes up a bunch of his time complaining about her husband/lover. This sort of thing happens to nice guys a LOT. Not surprisingly some guys see this as an opening for sex—and why not—it sometimes works. It also has the side benefit of keeping these draining crabfests to a minimum. So let's assume that Keillor thought that after being such a good listener, he just might get laid.
And for that trivial "crime," MPR has decided to remove his name from easily the most important body of cultural work this state has had in the past 50 years. His shows were actually uplifting at times. And while we Lutes sometimes cringed at his portrayal of us as silly, neurotic, and trivial, I know of no one who did't absolutely love him. His distinction between Dark Lutherans and Church-of-the-brunch Lutherans once had me laughing so hard I actually pulled the car over to regain my composure.
For those of us who actually moved on from puberty, such a focus on the petty aspects of the mating games seems utterly infantile. But since this society cannot focus on anything remotely important, we gossip about sex. Throw into the mix the moral illiterates who seem to believe that so long as you can get crazy-prudish about sex, you have satisfied all requirements for being a ethical person. Um NO.
Keillor made MPR a LOT of money and they hired a bunch of nobodies who came to believe they were important because they signed big checks. And these drooling morons are the folks who believe Keillor should be culturally "disappeared." Well, my vote is Keillor and as for the nobodies, please just go away—forever.
Nordonia Nate on December 7, 2017 at 8:05 am said:
frankguerin …. I read your response to my post and … and .. and I am at a loss for words relative to your defense… YOUR accusation of Ms. Lewinsky's past life is more than enough justification to exonerate Bill Clinton's predation …
WHICH is EXACTLY the point I make with Garrison Keillor.. YOU people need a reality check and understand sexual predators are NOT acceptable..
There is no "defense" here nor "exoneration" nor "justification", if you read carefully. What I did was bring in another element, based on life experience. In the case of Lewinsky, there was a pattern in her life and blatant intent toward Clinton. Don't make excuses for her! There are surely instances of women being physically trapped by a man with no way out, or being surprised by an unexpected move from a trusted male. But, there are ALSO instances of women who could have removed themselves and did not. Matt Lauer's accuser states "I let him rape me….". One from Harvey Weinstein said he "raped (me) more than once". Here's one of Donald Trump's targets – "we're sitting next to each other on a plane, he kisses me, touches my breasts for a while….BUT then he went for my p#$%y and I tried to stop him…." Sounds like high school…."you can stay above the waist but that's all!" And, those protecting their jobs, remaining in abusive environments for years, while there is always another job to be had! I interviewed a woman for a very responsible position. She seemed to be qualified, called her in and she went off on why she was leaving – the former boss was "abusive". How long did this go on? "The whole time I worked there." How long was that? "Twenty-two years." ??? Give some more thought to this. Of course, no excuses for the brutes, pedophiles and repeat offenders.
frankguerin … Another response that is far more disturbing than the original … Seek help. PLEASE. It is the beginning of your recovery. I am not surprised they are not public.
Lauren Bertrand on January 4, 2022 at 12:27 pm said:
Women ARE routinely victimized by powerful men in a professional setting. But they are also fully capable of plying their sexuality to manipulate a situation to their favor. Frankguerin is completely correct. Given that the overwhelming majority of sexual encounters are mutually consensual, it is reasonable to assume that Monica Lewinsky was an adult and knew what she was doing. By her own testimony, she was not inexperienced. Each situation must be looked on its own merit, in terms of the details of the he-said/she-said anecdotes, because that is the way justice works…not to be meted out based on "historically marginalized" groups, which is nothing more than collectivized vengeance–a core component of the #MeToo Movement. Women are often in a weaker position in the professional world, but they have tools up their sleeves, and they are not blameless.
I never liked Keillor and don't much care what happened to him, but that's my own personal prejudices getting the best of me. A good looking alpha male, even one at Bill Clinton's caliber, could have done the same things and women would do his every beck and call.
scottrose on December 7, 2017 at 8:53 am said:
This sentence in this op-ed is moronic:
"They also deserve to have as much evidence that their careers ever existed erased as completely as possible."
We don't preserve and study significant cultural products for the people who produced them. We preserve and study significant cultural products because THEY ARE VERIFIABLY A PART OF HISTORY.
GeoffreyClark on December 7, 2017 at 9:10 pm said:
If we are in the midst of a cultural revolution regarding the treatment of women, surely we are the the Reign of Terror phase. Everyone accused is guilty and there is only one punishment: into the tumbrel and off to the guillotine! Even worse than the way that Garrison was treated (at least from the information in the public record), is the presumption that the public is not qualified to make a judgement on the quality and value of his body of work, which I believe is one of the greatest in the history of public broadcasting. Commenter scottrose is right. If for no other reason that the public PAID for it, we have a right to it! What Minnesota Public Radio has done smacks of Stalin's purges or Hitler's book burning.


text:
Pope tiptoes around Rohingya crisis in Myanmar address
Updated: Nov 29, 2017, 10:54 IST | Agencies
Pope Francis called for respect for rights and justice in a keenly watched address in Myanmar yesterday, but refrained from any mention of the Rohingya
Pope Francis called for respect for rights and justice in a keenly watched address in Myanmar yesterday, but refrained from any mention of the Rohingya, or allegations of ethnic cleansing that has driven huge numbers of the Muslim minority from the country. Sharing a stage with Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the capital Naypyidaw, he did not address the Rohingya crisis head-on, instead tip-toeing around the unfolding humanitarian emergency. Peace can only be achieved through "justice and a respect for human rights", he said in a broadly framed speech that also called for "respect for each ethnic group and its identity".
Pope Francis and Aung San Suu Kyi. Pic/AFP
The word "Rohingya", an incendiary term in a mainly Buddhist country where the Muslim minority are denied citizenship and branded illegal "Bengali" immigrants, was entirely absent from his speech. Francis has repeatedly defended the group. Suu Kyi only spoke of the challenges her country faces, but also did not reference the Rohingya. Her short speech only gave a nod to the global concern over the "situation in the Rakhine."
No Oxford honour
Aung San Suu Kyi has been stripped of the Freedom of Oxford award, after the Oxford City Council voted unanim-ously Monday night to remove the honour.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui on Sacred Games 2: Don't worry about role with Anurag around
Supreme Court moved against residential buildings around Mughal noble's tomb
Weekly Planner: 13 things to do around Mumbai from July 15 To July 20
Karnataka crisis: Ghulam Nabi Azad questions conduct of BJP government, Governors
Karnataka pol crisis rocks RS, house adjourns twice pre-lunch
Shibani Dandekar goofs around with paps; Farhan Akhtar can't stop laughing
US Defence Secretary nominee: Pakistan has taken initial, promising steps against anti-Indian groups
Shehbaz: Fabricated story was taken at behest of Pak PM
Hafiz, three aides get interim bail
Four teenagers take 1,000-km drive on stolen petrol, nabbed
If the US lifts sanctions, we are ready for talks, says Rouhani
Donald Trump takes credit for China's slow economic growth


Brodie and Blake Young have taken bike riding to a whole new level. The brothers are BMX bike racing enthusiasts. Brodie, the older, at 12, has been racing for three years, and 8-year-old Blake for two years. The boys live with their family in Wagarville, and regularly travel with parents Tony and Kelly to compete at racetracks in Milton, Chatham, Port Elgin, and some Quebec cities.
But the biggest competition for the Young brothers took place on July 26-29 at the UCI BMX 2007 World Championships in Victoria, British Columbia.
Over 2500 competitors traveled from 40 different countries to participate in the event, which was the last world-class BMX racing event before the sport makes its debut at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The results from Victoria will line up a list of world rankings in the sport.
"It was a huge experience for the boys," said mom Kelly. "There were over 60 12-year-olds and 50 eight-year-olds competing in their age divisions." Though the boys didn't win any of their races, they were proud to have had the chance to participate. Both Blake and Brodie are ranked number one in Ontario for their age groups, and have many big hopes and dreams for the future.
"I want to compete in the 2012 Olympics," says Brodie confidently.
The boys have had the full support and encouragement of their parents and grandparents, and Lloyd and Fern Lee all along. The sport can be dangerous, but Kelly Young doesn't let herself worry. "No broken bones yet, knock on wood," she says with a smile.
Though the boys take the sport very seriously ("When you're racing you have no friends," said Blake of the competitiveness), BMX bike racing is something that anyone who wishes to can pick it up. Local tracks provide a family-friendly environment for youngsters to start out before heading on to bigger, more competitive races.
Blake and Brodie eagerly await to hear their world rankings after participating in the World Championships, and will continue to race away the rest of the summer.
For more information on BMX racing, or to get involved, visit www.kingstonbmx.com.
The boys raced on Saturday and Brodie took 1st place and Blake took 7th place. They raced again on Sunday and Brodie took 1st place and Blake took 3rd place.


Due to several illnesses we are unfortunately a bit late with our current update for our tower defense game COLOR DEFENSE. The update was originally scheduled for Christmas and then January. Now, a few weeks ago, we decided to add even more new features to the game, making the update to the biggest update so far, including many new game levels and cool new features, such as a CREATOR mode, where players create their own levels and also share with other players. But that is not all … there will be many more new things to discover.
You can download Color Defense at www.ColorDefense.de. It is available for iOS and Android devices.
The big update will come in February 2019!


Erik and I felt remarkably fit after a summer of steady training, so despite our 70+lb packs, we still managed to make it to Applebee Dome in three hours. We plopped our packs down underneath the message board in the middle of camp at 12:00pm exactly.
The hike to Applebee Dome from the Bugaboo Provincial Park Parking lot is 5.5km with an elevation gain of 930m.
Erik preparing a hearty lunch with our tent nestled away between the boulders. In the background is Crescent Spire.
Since we were unsure when we would have to leave the park (Erik and I had a rideshare lined up but we hadn't spoken to her in over two weeks), we decided to make the most of our potentially short stint in the Bugs with a late-afternoon ascent of Pigeon Spire. Around 1:30pm we headed for the Bugaboo-Snowpatch (B-S) Col., and met Andrew and Jamie arriving at camp.
As we advanced toward the col, Erik voiced some apprehensions that I shared but had been suppressing. With possibly only three days in the Bugaboos, and an uncertain forecast later in the week, it looked like our only window for our main objective, The Beckey-Chouinard (B-C), would be the very next day. Could we really pull off back-to-back ascents of Pigeon Spire and South Howser Tower?
I reasoned that we needed to scout the descent into East Creek anyway before attempting to climb the B-C, so we should at least head to the toe of the West Ridge of Pigeon Spire to get a good look. With this more moderate objective in mind, we plodded up to col to reach the upper Vowell Glacier with renewed gusto.
By the time we scrambled to the toe of the West Ridge at 3:00pm, we knew climbing to the summit of Pigeon Spire would leave us too tired for the B-C. Instead we watched for a few minutes as a tempest grazed the summits of the Howser Towers, then headed back to camp to make supper and rest.
Erik's gourmet alpine supper. A delicious chossy mix of vegetables (both fresh and dehydrated), spices, cured sausage, lemon juice and rind, bulgar, and fresh flakes of parmesan.
Our chosen rack for the B-C. I would recommend an extra .75 and .5 as well; there were more finger cracks than we expected. We were happy to have everything else.
I opened my eyes at 4:15 am feeling inexplicably rested despite our previous day's exertions. I was further buoyed by Erik's optimistic self-assessment; he, too, felt miraculously good despite reporting exhaustion and a nagging muscle spasm in his lower back just the evening before.
Applebee Campground is usually a busy place in the early morning. Although there were only six or eight other parties awake, the quiet bustle imbued us with a sense of urgency. After a quick breakfast of reheated oatmeal and coffee, Erik and I pulled on our pre-racked harnesses and carefully packed bags, eager to get moving. By 5am, we were marching toward the col having exchanged no more than a few jittery words.
At the base of the col, we passed a quartet heading to the Kain route on Bugaboo Spire. Erik and I couldn't help but pass a few smug comments about how slowly they were moving as we efficiently climbed the snow slope. At the lip of the col, I took one last look down: no headlamps on the snow slope; they hadn't even begun the climb before we finished!
Unsurprisingly, our ego trip didn't last long. Ten minutes after reaching the top of the col I was sitting on a boulder looking out at the Howser Towers while Erik availed of the pit toilet. An unmistakable sound of tinkling aluminum caught my attention and I glanced left to see two climbers descending the short scree slope from the lip of the col onto the glacier. I was baffled by their sudden appearance; just 10 minutes prior, I had seen no one in the col. My amazement continued as they motored along the glacier at an incredible pace.
When Erik returned I was already geared up and pushing to get moving. "What's the rush?" he asked? I pointed to the now distant figures of these two climbers, and urged that we keep moving. If their speed was an indication of what's needed to do the B-C in a day, I worried that Erik and I were in for an epic if we didn't keep up.
I did my best to push our pace on the glacier. Much to my surprise, we caught the two climbers at Pigeon Howser Col. They were a friendly couple from Utah who reported being well accustomed to climbing above 3000 m. "You aren't doing too bad for a couple guys from sea level," the man remarked as we panted to catch our breath. His comment gave me hope. Maybe we weren't too green for the route after all.
The four of us ditched our crampons and ice axes (except Erik who kept his axe) at the intersection of the approach and descent routes for the B-C, and we headed down to East Creek together.
The soaring West buttress of South Howser Tower (a.k.a the B-C; left) seen from East Creek Campground.
Erik scrambling the approach slabs with the buttress rearing its full profile ahead of us.
The couple from Utah showed their prowess again as they outstripped us on the 300 m scramble at the beginning of the route. They lept over boulders like elk and scrambled up slabs like mountain goats while Erik and I stubbornly dragged our feet behind. Here we could really see the benefit of training at altitude.
When we finally caught the Utah party at the base of the pitched-climbing, they were already beginning a simul-climb. That was the last we saw of them. We later heard that they returned to Appleebee before 5 PM.
As the Utah party moved gracefully out of sight, Erik racked up for the first lead. He would simul-climb the first two pitches (5.7 and 5.8 OW) before turning over the sharp end to me for the first 5.10a pitch.
Above we could see four other parties on the route, some already finishing pitch 7. Suddenly feeling out-paced in a foot race, I was jolted into a frenetic speed. I took pitch 3/4 (linked) at a blistering pace and found myself needlessly run out as I pulled through the strenuous 5.10 moves at the bulge. With my heart pounding at the belay, I resolved that I would exercise patience from here on. Better to get off the mountain late than attempt to retreat with a broken ankle (or worse).
As I relaxed, I began to reflect on the joyful moves of the previous pitch. A quick glance up at the rest of the route and I was suddenly overcome by giddiness. So much high quality climbing to follow... It would be an incredible day. "On belay, Erik!" I shouted down.
Oh, was the climbing ever good! Pitch after pitch of phenomenal white granite fell away below our feet as we danced up the sun-baked rock. The splitter cracks were Yosemite quality and style, but the alpine setting and exposure instilled us with a sense of true adventure. I can't imagine a better day of climbing.
Erik and I swapped leads up to the crux pitch, where I continued on through a varied and challenging system of fist and offwidth cracks leading to a chilly belay in the shadow of a great dihedral.
The following pitch (13) tested Erik's tenacity through a tricky 5.9 squeeze chimney. I was prattling on with another climber at the belay when Erik suddenly began grunting. I looked up 30 m to see Erik's legs swinging wildly outside of a wide crack. Below, his pack dangled on a tether from his harness to facilitate his entry to the squeeze chimney. I tried to be helpful by calling up that his pack had likely become stuck below him... but to no avail.
Erik continued to wrestle for another exhausting 10 minutes before discovering that his #3 camalot had stubbornly hooked itself underneath a flake. Its release was like a cork from a champagne bottle as Erik's body suddenly shot all the way into the chimney, allowing his progress to continue unimpeded. He captured a great picture of me struggling through this move from above.
From here we climbed intricate corner systems where I had trouble route-finding, but eventually ended up at an anchor marking the tension traverse. I led the final pitch through an easy gully to the top of the buttress.
The next challenge was to find the scramble to the summit. As we rappelled through a small notch, a sharp gust of wind hit us and fatigue began to set in. We would still have to scramble three-quarters of the circumference of the summit tower before standing on top. Erik and I could really feel the effect of altitude at 3000 m. Our scramble was sluggish until the final 40 m when we saw the summit, and discovered reserve strength for a near-sprint to the top.
We stood on the summit of South Howser Tower at 5 PM. The pitched climbing took us nine hours, and the approach another four. A reward was in order, so we lounged on the summit for 15 leisurely minutes, eating succulent dried dates and apricots to replenish our energy for the descent.
A month later, I found myself lost for words when trying to caption the summit photo above for an Instagram post. The thesaurus yielded "empyrean:" belonging to or deriving from heaven. Nothing could have been closer to the truth.
Miraculously, I still had almost a liter of water - Erik had run out two hours before thanks in part to a leaky water bladder hose nozzle. We feasted like kings with our sweet fruits, rich nuts, and delicious water all the while safely protected from an onslaught of wind behind the crenelations of our magnificent tower.
These moments are fleeting in the mountains; not soon after our summit celebration we decided it was in our best interest to negotiate the 10 rappels ASAP. Following excellent descent beta posted on the message board at Applebee Campground, we had no trouble finding all the fixed anchors and crossing the final bergschrund.
Erik and two other climbers at the base of the rappels.
We ran out of water on the rappels, but shortly after starting the walk back, the snow field spurted up a tiny stream of teal water. Perfect.
It was somewhere on pitch 8 that I really began needing to use the washroom, but without a wag-bag I had to hold it. So on the snowfield, I sprinted ahead knowing there was a pit toilet at the base of Pigeon Spire. I ditched my pack, harness, and camera, grabbed my ice axe, and ran to the base of the West Ridge. I scrambled the bonus 200 m for the most phenomenally relieving experience of my life.
Erik found where I dumped my camera in Pigeon Howser Col and snapped this photo. If you look closely at the center of the photo, you can see me waving back from the can.
The final 1.5 hours back to Applebee were uneventful (as they should be). We even managed to descend the col with the last fading hue of daylight. My exhaustion was profound, but Erik found an inexplicable second-wind and sprinted back to camp 30 minutes ahead of me, bounding over rocks like some deranged animal. I wagered it had something to do with the three pairs of socks he packed for the climb. He merrily donned the third and final dry pair during the descent, while I plodded behind with socks thoroughly saturated.
Sunset on the upper Vowell glacier at 7:45 pm.
The final icing on the cake was returning to our tent, starving, and finding that Toba and Jamie had left us a serving of their couscous supper, lovingly stashed by our tent with a big rock on top to discourage small furry intruders. I filled my belly and I was fast asleep less than an hour after returning to camp.
In the morning we learned that our rideshare would be leaving that very afternoon, so Erik and I opted to spend the day resting at camp and get a ride back to Castlegar with Toba and Jamie the following day. Our trip could have ended then and I would have felt entirely fulfilled. But Erik didn't fly out for another five days, and settled on the thought that fate had more climbing in store for us.
Stay tuned for Erik's account of our Mt. Gimli ascent.
Great climbing and Great writing. Fabulous account of an epic journey. Thanks so much for sharing.