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Broadcasting Board of Governors: 'Regular Bottom Feeder Going Backward' Under New CEO
'Regular Bottom Feeder Going Backward' Under New CEO
Broadcasting Board of Governors Information War: Long Lost The Great Disappearing Act of the 21st Century
By The Federalist
In a memo titled "Year in Review & Looking Forward (September 14, 2016), John Lansing, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), makes a number of self-serving claims. By Mr. Lansing's own admission in his memo, he is "impressed by the dedicated group of people who work here in the Cohen Building." Presumably, these BBG employees can't be too naive or incapable of making sound judgments about their new leader. Many of them are in fact excellent journalists trained to see through puffery and disinformation.
As reported by Washington Post columnist Joe Davidson, in the latest Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) conducted by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) between April and June of 2016, these employees appear to have a particularly dim view of Mr. Lansing's leadership abilities.
Perhaps Mr. Lansing did not know about the government-wide survey results when he wrote his memo on September 14. Joe Davidson's column is dated September 20.
Either Mr. Lansing is terribly mistaken, or the employees that have impressed him so much during his one year tenure at the agency are completely wrong about him, his experience and his leadership skills in a U.S. government setting.
Joe Davidson wrote in his Washington Post column: "The Broadcasting Board of Governors, another regular bottom-feeder that oversees the Voice of America and other government broadcasters, also scored 56 [in Employee Engagement]. But unlike DHS, BBG is going backward. It scored two points better last year [in Engagement Index Trends]."
Engagement Index Trends – Leaders Lead – 2016 FEVS
DHS and many other agencies at the bottom of the FEVS ratings at least made some made progress in 2016. BBG went backward in both employee engagement and top leadership assessments.
"Bottom-feeder" and "going backward," that about sums it up.
After watching John Lansing for several months, BBG employees gave the agency another record-low rating in "Engagement Index Trends – Leaders Lead" category, a decrease of one point from the time before his arrival at the agency.
From the low of 43 in 2015 to 42 in 2016.
BBG employees were not impressed or persuaded by Mr. Lansing's statements, speeches, promises, or even his Employee Morale Commitment Letter, which even BBG Watch reposted in full with a positive commentary prior to the time when most of the employee filled out their satisfaction surveys. It appears that these BBG employees had a chance to observe Mr. Lansing more closely than some of the prematurely optimistic BBG Watch commentators who had not yet met him in person.
"Bottom-feeder" and "going backward," that about says it all after one year on the job.
As an acquaintance quipped about Mr. Lansing's September 14 memo, "It sounds like Lansing is getting a head start on working up his resume."
In the memo, Mr. Lansing notes that he has been on the job for a year. He makes the claim that the agency has achieved "strong audience growth" and a "push for industry-leading ways to achieve impact in our programming…"
The claims are bold, but reality doesn't support Lansing's ebullient optimism.
Lansing's first claim of progress is the formation of an "U.S. international media Coordinating Committee (ICC) for "strategic coordination." This reminds us of a remark by a current BBG board member about the agency's so-called "strategic plan," as being "neither strategic nor a plan." This appears to track in the same vein, the agency's penchant for the formation of committees to study the agency to death. We call it "paralysis by analysis."
But also insinuated into these committees is a cover. That cover is to preserve the status quo. When people sitting on these committees are representative of the failed and corrupted management structure, you know the agency is going nowhere.
The question will always be: has anything changed? The answer: just about nothing. The agency continues to be its own monument to:
"Dysfunctional" (Heritage Foundation scholar Helle C. Dale)
"Practically Defunct" (Hillary Clinton)
"Broken" (US statesmen, diplomats, media experts and journalists interviewed by former BBG member S. Enders Wimbush and former Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty executive Elizabeth M. Portale)
"Truly Rudderless" or Leaderless (Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ed Royce)
The end result still is:
"This Broken Agency is Losing the Info War to ISIS & Putin," House Committee on Foreign Affairs Blog, February 23, 2016.
These are the cornerstones of how this agency operates.
Lansing's memo talks about "Putting Our Audiences First – On Their Terms."
That may have been the right strategy shaping programming to some of America-friendly audiences during the Cold War, but it is not a particularly wise or particularly sophisticated strategy for the Muslim World, Russia, and China in the post-Cold War digital propaganda age when America's adversaries are easily outmaneuvering the "practically defunct" U.S. agency and brainwashing countless individuals and groups.
Among other things, Lansing cites the Middle East Broadcasting Network's (MBN) "Raise Your Voice" initiative in the Middle East and the launch of the joint Voice of America and Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty "Global Town Hall" in Somalia and Minnesota as a counter to ISIS recruitment.
Perhaps individual BBG entities if they were freed from the central BBG bureaucracy could be effective in their own regions if allowed to customize their programs under the right kind of experienced and sophisticated leadership. But we must ask where is Mr. Lansing's prior experience in overseeing reporting on ethnic and religious groups in the United States or abroad?
Where is his prior experience in any kind of U.S. government operations?
Where is his substantive experience in intercultural communications, or any prior professional contact with U.S. foreign policy or public diplomacy?
Being a successful manager of the U.S. Food Network does not necessarily make Mr. Lansing another Edward R. Murrow or John Chancellor — two vastly experienced international and domestic journalists who were in charge of the United States Information Agency (USIA) and the Voice of America respectively during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
According to Mr. Lansing official BBG bio:
"As President of Scripps Networks, Lansing was responsible for strategic and operational oversight of the $2.5 billion division of Scripps Networks Interactive, including the company's portfolio of six cable networks – Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, DIY, Cooking Channel and Great American Country [Emphasis added.] – and the $100 million Scripps Networks Digital division."
If Mr. Lansing or Voice of America director Amanda Bennett had extensive experience in intercultural communications, foreign policy, managing large multi-ethnic political news organizations, or working in key managerial and/or broadcasting positions at major U.S. news networks, at least one of them would have certainly noticed something very strange in how VOA chose to report on the horrific recent terrorist stabbing attacks in Minnesota.
Take a look at one of the first VOA headlines, "Somali-Americans Anxious After Minnesota Mall Stabbing," and the intro to VOA's Facebook post. Think of what conclusions foreign and ethnic ethnic audiences in the U.S. could draw from such VOA reporting.
Denial?
How about shifting of blame and claims of victimhood? Could they confuse audiences abroad with exaggerated but unchallenged statements and encourage more resentment against the United States?
VOA Report: "Suspect was young Somali-American man who acquaintances say was 'level-headed' and 'reliable.'" [Emphasis added.]
VOA reported, again quoting an acquaintance of the terrorist and his family, that the Somali community in Minnesota "fears some kind of retaliation." [Emphasis added.]
VOA Report: "I'm a Somali, I'm a refugee, I'm black, and I am Muslim. All the Somali community here are the same. We don't know what will happen," he said. "They are afraid, they are shocked, and they don't know what will happen. There is a lot of worry and fear."
This is what Mr. Lansing's and Ms. Bennett's "Putting Our Audiences First – On Their Terms" strategy, as opposed to following the VOA Charter, has produced.
It has also produced one-sided VOA and RFE/RL reports about Soviet history while failing to cover an important foreign policy speech by Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Latvia, a VOA posting of a one-sided AP report on Mao's legacy in China, and a series of Pravda-style RFE/RL reports on the late Uzbek dictator Islam Karimov.
In the case of Minnesota terror attacks, VOA audiences abroad and in the United States have learned that a terrorist was "level-headed" and "reliable" and that the Somali-American community in Minnesota is primarily afraid, not of terrorists and potential new terrorist attacks, but of "some kind of retaliation" from Americans. We doubt that these views are in any way representative of what most Americans think or do, but that is what VOA is reporting without any challenge or point of reference for foreign audiences.
That's the thing about this agency: whether in the United States or abroad, it has no hesitation in demonstrating how it is out of touch with some, if not most, of America's and world's realities.
At the present time abroad, to openly identify with US government media in the Arab and Muslim world is to put oneself on the fast track for abbreviated life expectancy, especially if you are visibly opposed to some of the most notorious terrorist groups throughout the region. ISIS recruiting and a generally negative view of the United States are hardly influenced by a program that has no tangible connection to everyday life across broad reaches of the Arab and Muslim world. An unarmed civilian standing up to ISIS could ensure that person could end their days in an ISIS execution video.
Across broad stretches of the Arab and Muslim world, "Raise Your Voice" is synonymous with someone's last act of defiance. Individuals are not empowered to engage in open defiance. The Broadcasting Board of Governors appear to be perpetually intoxicated with the false notion of the "Arab Spring" and is pushing MBN and VOA in the same direction.
The same may be true about the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB). Mr. Lansing claims in his memo that OCB is making an "aggressive push to open Cuba to Internet freedom." Here again is another extreme exaggeration by Mr. Lansing and the spin minions in the Cohen Building.
Let's get real:
The Castro regime is no fan of OCB. The regime wants it gone and has been very public in its objective in this regard. The first priority of this regime is to maintain its power. The very last thing this regime wants is to have its power undermined by OCB, the Internet or the US government. The Cuban government is likely to play it smart, perhaps following a model long-established by the Chinese government where it goes just so far and no further, placing limitations on Internet content that is accessible by or available to the general Cuban population. American commercial interests are falling all over themselves to gain markets in Cuba. The last thing those interests want is for OCB to upset the accessibility to Cuba and increased business and profits. The Cuban government would be smart to play the OCB card in dealing with US business interests: which would almost certainly march its lobbyists up to Capitol Hill to ask what this agency was doing to interfere with its trade opportunities with Cuba.
Recently Mr. Lansing and other BBG executives accompanied BBG Chairman Jeff Shell on what appeared to be Mr. Shell's private business trip to Vladimir Putin's Russia. BBG executives apparently thought that Mr. Shell would be able to meet Russian government officials whom they reportedly had invited to a reception in Moscow. Instead, the Russians barred Mr. Shell from entering the country — a move that could have been easily predicted and avoided if Mr. Lansing and BBG officials knew what is and what is not appropriate to do in dealing with the ex-KGB mafia in Russia.
How clueless can you be about America's image and the realities of Russian politics and U.S. foreign policy when you allow BBG Chairman to travel to Russia run by the Kremlin's security services on a private business trip using a regular passport instead of a diplomatic one and a diplomatic visa? What well-informed BBG member or experienced high-level BBG official would even contemplate going to Russia on a private business trip at this time in U.S.-Russia relations?
How appropriate and compatible is doing private company business in Russia or China with being BBG Chairman or BBG member?
Will other Broadcasting Board of Governors members also want to do private business in Russia and China, perhaps with some assistance from BBG's government employees, or to do private business in Cuba?
All of this presents a frightening prospect for media freedom in any country to which the agency directs its programs. It shows the BBG in a state of complete chaos.
Another Lansing claim is an "aggressive push into digital / mobile / social."
The credibility of all Lansing's claims is suspect, but perhaps the shakiest and most risky is here.
Consider one example:
VOA You Tube Video Screen Shot 2016-09-23 at 1:24 AM ET
Direct Link.
This is a promotional video for the Voice of America's coverage of the US political conventions this summer.
When last we checked, the number of "Comments" is abysmally low. This is consistent with a pattern of low numbers of actual audience engagement, rather than just "Likes" or views, which are also low, for the vast majority of agency's posts to YouTube and Facebook.
Take a look at audience engagement and social media impact of Facebook posts originated by the much touted Voice of America Extremism Watch Desk. You will see that social media audience engagement for these VOA Facebook posts is usually ZERO.
Even though the VOA Extremism Watch Desk was reposting to Facebook VOA News reports on the latest terrorist attacks in the U.S., while getting no audience engagement of any kind for these posts, the actual VOA Extremism Watch Desk website was not being updated even on Monday.
However, a Voice of America editor declared this to be one of VOA's best recent headlines: "Hip Hippo Hooray! Pygmy Hippo Born at British Zoo" | VOA.
Perhaps Mr. Lansing is right after all. A few more Facebook "Likes" for the VOA hippo video, a few more "Shares" and a few more views for such videos show VOA's audience growth and impact, assuming that these views are even abroad and not in the United States. How many comments do any of VOA reports or social media posts get? Not very many.
U.S. taxpayers' money well spent? Or Not?
The agency does regular breakdowns of its social media efforts. The numbers found in these reports show a similarly dismal result in its digital media efforts, even with VOA's known practice of paying for Facebook ads to boost certain posts.
Mr. Lansing claims, "…there is so much more being done across our networks, and at the IBB (International Broadcasting Bureau), that I simply do not have the space to list them all here."
This is utter nonsense.
Mr. Lansing and the rest of the bureaucratic structure know that the push is on in Congress to redefine and perhaps also to reorganize the agency. Some scenarios put the agency out of existence altogether. Others would transfer its functions to other parts of the Federal government. In short, Lansing and company are desperately trying to hang on, in part through broad, sweeping generalities that don't add up when examined in detail.
The long and the short of it is that these claims and lackluster results hardly justify the cost to US taxpayers to maintaining this $777 million (FY 2017) agency as it currently exists.
Mr. Lansing notes, "…while this has been a remarkable year and we made many strides, there is still more we need to do to continue to transform our global operations to succeed in today's rapidly evolving media environment."
This statement denies the reality that the agency has lost its competitive edge for the attention of global publics. It has no significant or substantial resonance with global publics and it is not going to change in a timeframe that is reasonable or justifiable to the expense. President Obama does not even bother to mention the BBG when commenting on countering ISIL's extremist ideology and Putin's propaganda and disinformation.
Many if not most agency employees have a better grip on this reality than whatever motivates Mr. Lansing to indulge in seemingly wishful – if not misleading – prose.
New book release:
CYBER SPIES
The Secret History of Surveillance, Hacking, and Digital Espionage
By Gordon Corera
431 pp. $29.95
Reviewed in The Washington Post on Sunday, September 11, 2016.
Mr. Corera is a BBC journalist. (Why are we not surprised?)
Mindful of the oversized boast by one of BBG executives close to Mr. Lansing about kicking the Chinese out of the agency's IT infrastructure, we offer the following quote:
"China's programmers are said to employ well-known tools; Russians are more likely to write their own code. China's hacking is often sloppier and easier to spot (hence all the attention), while Russia's hackers are more expert and operate below the radar."
The Chinese may be sloppier but they are nonetheless effective by the sheer volume of their cyber warfare efforts.
With the Russians, IF you find them, it's way beyond too late.
Mr. Lansing and Mr. Shell found out about it at the Moscow airport. That's what you get when you don't have the right kind of experience and have to rely on BBG's failed bureaucrats.
FEVS
Politico, Wash. Examiner pick up on WP description of BBG leadership as 'regular bottom-feeder' on employee morale
Are Voice of America and Radio Liberty obeying Russian court ruling on Nazi-Soviet anniversaries?


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I'll Allow It, Maybe Just This Once by Jeff Chon
On August 21, 2020 March 11, 2021 By okaydonkey7In flash fiction
Brett Lamonica had long feathered hair like Bon Jovi. He was three years older than me and his black denim jacket smelled like baby powder and Lucky Strikes. I used to see him smoking with the other metal kids off school grounds, spitting brown tobacco flakes off his tongue.
He wasn't the first person to call me a Chink and far from the last, but he was definitely the only one who'd made it matter. It might have been the way he smiled, like he wanted me to think he was joking, even though he wasn't. He'd put his arm around me when he said it, pulling me into a headlock, or he'd slap me on the back like it was supposed to be good-natured. But he wasn't fooling anyone—not even himself. I'd once asked him to stop, and then he asked me what I was going to do about it, and that was the last time I asked him to stop.
I used to see him after school, bent over the boy's room sink, making sure all the eyeliner was gone before he went home. He'd clench his eyes shut and scrub pink powdered soap into his eyelids. It looked so painful, the way he'd squint at the mirror, his bangs sticking to his cheeks.
He once came over with his dad so he could apologize for squeezing a ketchup bottle down my shirt. He said he was sorry and then went home, and his dad and my dad smoked on the porch. I don't know what they talked about, but I do remember getting hassled for making another boy's father feel sorry for me. A couple days later, I was enrolled in Taekwondo, where a stocky, middle-aged man yelled at me in Korean and told my dad how sensitive I was. Other than that, nothing much changed. Brett kept hooking his arm around my shoulder, and the little fourth-graders never tired of snickering at my pathetic front kicks.
Brett was the lead singer of Vendetta, a hair metal band he'd formed with these guys who were always telling him to lay off of me. I'd once heard them perform "When the Children Cry" in his garage. It was one of two times I'd ever thought about fighting back, about rising from the bicycle seat and pumping the pedals harder and harder as I barreled toward his bewildered bandmates, about leaping off the bike, crashing into him as my ten-speed crashed into one of the amps. But instead, we locked eyes as he held the mic against his lips and sang about a world healed by tears, and I rode away.
Looking back, Vendetta was a pretty good name for a band.
The only other time I thought about fighting back was when he crimped his hair. The only reason I didn't was because he'd changed it back to normal the next day—at least that's what I told myself. He also had a fat lip, which at the time looked really funny. I remember laughing at how dumb he looked, his eyes bloodshot from the pink soap, the water sliding off his overhanging bottom lip like some kind of drooling idiot.
Sometimes, you realize your hands aren't clean and you tell yourself it makes you sick, but that thing you're feeling isn't anything like sickness. It's something else you can't name, even though not naming it means you're either stupid or cruel. And then you shrug and tell yourself there's nothing else to really say about it, but you know that's a lie.
Brett graduated and I didn't see him again until my senior year, a couple months after he'd been kicked out of the Navy. He asked if my parents were home, and I told him they weren't. Then he told me he was here to fix the sink, and I told him I knew that.
So you're working for your dad now? I asked. He didn't say anything.
We walked into the kitchen so I could show him what needed work. You look different, he said. I told him I'd been working out, and he gave me a weird look because how else do you respond to that? He crawled under the kitchen sink and I went back to the living room to unpause Road Rash 2.
He finished up and I gave him the money my mom had left. I stood on the porch and watched him walk to the van.
Remember when you crimped your hair? I said.
He stopped, and chuckled, asked why the hell I'd bring that up, so I told him he looked like a fag. He took a breath and shook his head.
Yeah man, he smiled. My dad said the same thing.
He slammed the door and turned the ignition. Guns N' Roses was in the tape deck. We locked eyes as he backed out of the driveway, and I wanted him to call me a Chink again, just one last time, like maybe he'd be the only person I'd make an exception for.
Jeff Chon's most recent work has appeared in Juked, The North American Review, and The Portland Review. His novel, Hashtag Good Guy with a Gun, is forthcoming from Sagging Meniscus Press in May 2021.
fictionflash fictionshort story
Hush by Nicholas Holt
dreambody by Casey Smith

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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The Metro Detroit Charter School with a Restaurant and Bakery
All Things Considered, Crossing the Lines, Education, Morning Edition, Youth
Sascha Raiyn
A school and a workplace, this Center Line charter school puts intellectually impaired adults to work.
Rising Stars Academy in Center Line is both a school and a workplace. It trains adults with intellectual impairments for a variety of jobs, many out in the community, and many in its own businesses.
The academy is home to a restaurant, a bakery and a food processing operation. It has orchards and gardens for growing ingredients, hens for laying eggs and a hydroponics facility for winter gardening.
Crossing the Lines
101.9 WDET's Crossing the Lines series explores what unites the Metro Detroit region and what divides it.
Why Center Line? The city is a community with a deep history as well as a significant shift in diversity over the past 20 years. See more coverage
There is an emphasis on creating self-sustaining processes at the school — and on training students to understand those processes.
Rising Stars has a fiber program that goes "from sheep to shawl." Instructor Jonna Hudson says they get their wool straight from the farm right after shearing. Students clean it, dye it using food scraps from the various onsite food operations, then spin it into yarn, The yarn is then used in knitting, crocheting and or weaving.
The Rising Stars Cafe serves lunch to the public Wednesday through Friday. It also serves students. The bakery and food processing facility supply restaurants and other businesses throughout the region.
The academy's star is rising. Thanks to community support, it may soon offer new skilled trades training. Baked goods and other items may soon be offered at an onsite shop. And the leaders at Rising Stars have lots of ideas about how to continue to expand its training, production and community presence.
WDET's Sascha Raiyn took a tour of the Rising Stars Academy, its restaurant and other professional spaces. She spoke with the academy's superintendent Debbie Prentiss, director Mark Prentiss and fiber instructor Jonna Hudson.
Click on the player above to hear about Rising Stars Academy.


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Sunday is National Boone Day
Meals Available to Any Davie County Resident Aged 60 or Older
The Station Opens in Mocksville
Published by Jeanna Baxter White at June 5, 2020
Happy National Boone Day! Established by the Kentucky Historical Society, it is observed each year on June 7 to commemorate the day that frontiersman Daniel Boone first began exploring the valleys and forests of present-day Kentucky in 1769.
The Davie County Connection
While the name Daniel Boone is most often associated with Kentucky and the West, residents of Davie County know that Daniel acquired much of his fortitude, courage, endurance, resourcefulness, and marksmanship during his early adulthood living along the Forks of the Yadkin.
A legend in his lifetime, Daniel remains an iconic figure in American history. Davie County celebrates his life and accomplishments during the Daniel Boone Family Festival held each year on the first Saturday in May.
At festival time, you can retrace the steps of Daniel Boone, visit local sites from the Revolutionary War, and view historic homes during tours throughout the county. These tours include stops at historic Joppa Cemetery, where Daniel's parents Squire and Sarah Boone and his brother Israel are buried (Israel's grave is the oldest in the cemetery); the Boone Tract at Bear Creek, a 640-acre parcel of land granted to Squire Boone in 1753 and later sold to his son Daniel; and the Daniel Boone Marker in Farmington.
The annual festival also features local artisans, food, contests, live music, and a free children's area with fun activities. There's something for everyone at the all-day event. View the event details HERE every year.
Daniel Boone's Life in Davie County
Daniel was born on November 2, 1734, in Berks County, Pennsylvania, the sixth child of eleven born to prosperous immigrant Quaker parents, Squire and Sarah Boone.
Squire Boone sold his 158-acre farm in Pennsylvania and purchased a 640-acre tract of land in Davie County along Elisha Creek on April 13, 1753.
On August 14, 1756, at the age of 22, Daniel Boone and Rebecca Bryan, age 17, were married by his father, Squire Boone, who was a Justice of the Peace. Tradition tells that Daniel and Rebecca first lived in a cabin in Squire Boone's yard. They then lived for about 10 years near the fork of Sugartree (or Sugar) Creek, approximately two miles east of Farmington. Four of his ten children are believed to have been born there.
During their time living on Sugartree Creek, Daniel farmed, explored, and worked as a wagoner. He supported his family by hunting and trapping and often disappeared for months at a time during the fall and winter and returned in the spring to sell his pelts to traders.
According to the records, he received bounties for killing wolves, wildcats, and panthers.
Daniel and Rebecca purchased the Bear Creek site from his father in October 1759 but left the dangerous and troubled Yadkin River area until the Indian danger and other disturbances were over. They returned to Davie County in 1762 but moved from their home in Davie County to Holman's Ford on the Yadkin River about 8 miles north of the present Wilkesboro in the summer or fall of 1766.
Between 1767 and 1775, Boone helped blaze the Wilderness Road across the Appalachian Mountains via the Cumberland Gap and lead three expeditions into Kentucky, opening the west for settlement. In 1775, he founded the village of Boonesborough, Kentucky, and moved his family there, along with some North Carolina friends and neighbors. By the end of the 18th century, more than 200,000 European people had migrated to Kentucky/Virginia following the route marked by Daniel.
Daniel and Rebecca finally settled in Missouri about 1800. Rebecca Boone died in 1813, and Daniel died seven years later in 1820.
Daniel's father, Squire Boone, died January 2, 1765, and his mother, Sarah, died in 1777. Both are buried in the Joppa Cemetery, one-half mile west of Mocksville on Highway 601.
Stand Where He Stood
Are you a Boone buff? Looking for an historic day trip? Walk in the footsteps of America's pioneer hero. Experience the landscape where he lived, hunted, married, and reared his young children during his 21 years in North Carolina.
The North Carolina Daniel Boone Heritage Trail will help you experience history by taking you to the markers, monuments, museums, statues, outdoor dramas, and more that celebrate his life and times.
Reference: HISTORY OF DAVIE COUNTY by James W. Wall, 1997.
Jeanna Baxter White is a writer and the editor of the Davie County Blog. Relentlessly curious, she loves hearing and retelling the stories of Davie County. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends or curling up with a good book.
Honoring Martin Luther King, Junior
(L to R) Chief Frank Carter, Captain Cameron Cheppell, Lieutenant C.J. Dwiggins, Firefighter Joshua Collins, and Firefighter Chris Shoffner were instrumental in helping the Mocksville Fire Department achieve its heavy rescue certification. The hydraulic cutter & spreader, AJAX pneumatic breaker, metal saws and rope gear bags on the table represent a portion of the $50,000 worth of equipment the certification required.
Heavy Rescue Certified: Mocksville Fire Department Goes Above and Beyond for Our Community
A Dazzling Night in Davie: Celebrate the New Year Together!
Wonderful Winter Events: Christmastime in Davie County
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Welcome to the Davie County Blog! It is our mission to connect and engage with the people, businesses, and non-profits of our beautiful and growing community.
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On Sunday night, December 18th, Fifth Harmony posted the following message on their Facebook page.
As a fan of Fifth Harmony, I don't feel blindsided by the news in the way that I did when Zayn announced his split from One Direction. Rumors circulating the group disbanding and Camila leaving have been circulating for what seems like years. After failing to make it as solo artists on the second season of The X Factor USA in 2012, the five girls were put together as a group. They real in the same fashion as One Direction and Little Mix.
What was clear on the show continued to be clear throughout Fifth Harmony's career, the five girls never seemed to mesh well on stage. Their style of music was clearly different, but yet they worked together week after week trying to achieve the harmony in Fifth Harmony. The girls showed great potential with their cover of Ellie Goulding's "Anything Could Happen." This performance cemented them as a girl group and landed them a spot in the X Factor finale. They placed third in the show, which ultimately didn't matter as they went on to sign a joint deal with Syco Music and Epic Records.
I've been following Fifth Harmony ever since their beautiful performance of "Anything Could Happen." I loved that America was finally getting a new girl group. When they released their debut EP, Better Together, I devoured every song. And when they released the Spanish version, Juntos, I was overjoyed. Here was a multi-ethnic pop girl group that was going places!
I got the chance to see Fifth Harmony open for Demi Lovato during her Neon Lights tour and they did not disappoint. Except for their outfits, which were and are still terrible. Can someone please get them a new stylist!!
What I noted from the X Factor days was that Camila was the star of Fifth Harmony. Even Demi Lovato pointed it out during the show. She stood out to me in the group, and she has always been my favorite because personally, she has the "it" factor.
I know a lot of Harmonizers have disliked Camila for being "the center of attention," but I don't understand why she was and is negatively looked down upon. Why was Camila the target of hateful comments for pursuing solo projects? I think if every member had the opportunity that she had, they would've jumped at the chance to do their own thing. Lauren has also released a new song with Marian Hill, but she hasn't gotten hate from fans for the project.
I do feel that Camila should've stayed with Fifth Harmony until they reached a point where they wanted to take a hiatus/quit (like One Direction). Camila is talented, there's no doubt about that, with her two hit solo singles. But I don't think she has reached the same level of fame as someone like Zayn. It would've made sense to stick it out until Fifth Harmony cemented themselves as a dominant girl group. But who knows what has been going on behind the scenes.
As a third-party observer, I never felt that Fifth Harmony had the same chemistry and relationships of those of One Direction or Little Mix members. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing because, at the end of the day, they're your co-workers. I acknowledge that what artists choose to show us on-screen does not reflect how they truly behave off-screen. But after watching many segments and interviews on YouTube, I had to stick to only watching their music videos.
The group couldn't ever fully convince me that they genuinely got along. I cringed when they spoke over each other, and disliked their facial expressions when others would speak. They never meshed well on-screen, so it's not hard to believe that they don't get along off-screen.
There must have been a lot of built up resentment among the members that led to Camila leaving. That's why many groups disband. It's impossible for every member to achieve the same amount of love and recognition from their fans. And it must be harder to receive a lot of hate from your so-called fans. I don't recall Beyoncé or Justin Timberlake getting bashed on. But then again, times were different, unlike now in the age of social media. I also got the impression that many Harmonizers didn't ever like Camila. Which baffles me since people are always going on about how you're not a "true fan" if you don't like every member.
More importantly, will Fifth Harmony change their name to Fourth Harmony?


Climbing into the lifeguard chair for the summer? Decorating your cubicle at your new internship? In a recent survey by SH101, two out of three students who responded said they expected to have at least one job or internship this summer. Whatever you're doing, for whatever reason, it's worth strategizing about ways you can use the experience to develop leadership skills.
Why leadership? Two reasons: First, employers love leadership. Four out of five employers look for leadership skills on new college graduates' résumés, according to the Job Outlook 2016 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Second, "leadership" is broad enough that you can potentially find ways to demonstrate relevant characteristics and skills in any situation, including working as a lifeguard or camp counselor. For more comprehensive resources, and to make your summer work on your résumé, see Get help or find out more.
Leadership takes many different forms, and not all of them are readily apparent.
Leadership spans many skill sets and personality types.
Anyone can learn to lead, even in unconventional situations.
What skills are relevant to leadership?
Does everything have to be about your résumé?
As much as we're talking here about career potential, other goals are valuable too: earning money, developing yourself personally, keeping busy, and having fun. It's OK if your summer isn't directly about building your résumé. It's worth thinking about it through that lens, however, because you might find that your role has some career relevance that you hadn't spotted initially. For example, working retail or in the food industry can build customer service and communication skills.
Hiring managers want to know the numbers. Use statistics and precise information. How many events did you help staff? Your organization or club's social media followers grew by what percentage? How much money did you help raise? How many like-minded organizations did you reach out to about a potential collaboration? When you took over tracking inventory, how much of your boss's time did you free up for them to work on growing the business? Track your activities and tasks on a spreadsheet for easy access in a job search.
When you're getting started in your job or internship, talk to your supervisor about realistic, measurable goals. For example, your goals may include writing a certain number of blog posts, signing up a certain number of customers for a rewards program, or developing enough knowledge that you can take on some managerial duties before the end of the summer. Look for some element of challenge and an opportunity to show your skills and effort, but not setting the goals so high that you can't meet them. Your supervisor can help you figure out what's attainable.
Keep a simple spreadsheet outlining what you did in the job or internship. This can help your current supervisor write future letters of recommendation, help you flesh out your résumé and LinkedIn profile, and help you prepare for interviews. You might be amazed at what you accomplish in one summer.
Future interviewers will want to hear your stories about specific projects, ideas, or accomplishments. Here's what that could look like.
Managers love when employees or interns propose new projects to expand their programs or increase revenue. These types of projects show innovation, creativity, and commitment, all valuable leadership traits. It's especially valuable if your initiative will be sustainable when you're no longer around to do it. Just make sure you have enough time to complete the tasks you were initially assigned and are in a position to take on any extra work.
If you're interning at a small nonprofit, you might volunteer to create a spreadsheet and tracking system for prospective donors.
If you're working retail at a local business, you might volunteer to redesign the store's website or brochures to attract new customers from the local college.
If you're a sleepaway camp counselor, you might design and lead a new activity to keep campers engaged.
If you're at the mom-and-pop ice cream stand, you may want to highlight your readiness to work a double shift to cover for coworkers who bailed, or your willingness to design T-shirts or signs.
Future employers want to know that you can apply those same skills to their own organizations and challenges. When preparing for job interviews, plan how you'll tell your stories of overcoming challenges, developing your own projects, and helping your employer accomplish their goals. The creativity, persistence, and dedication that you put into that new sign, updated database, or increased Facebook "likes" could translate into real, usable assets at your future company (depending on their strategic goals).
Almost any work placement can provide opportunities to develop leadership skills. Here, students identify what they learned from short-term roles in four different fields. Jeff Onore, a career coach based in Massachusetts, discusses how they can present that experience to employers—in person or on paper. These strategies are relevant to a wide range of career interests, skills, and experiences.
Four major productions: South Pacific, The King & I, Romeo and Juliet, The Bachelor Goes Live.
Organized camp-wide Olympics, securing buy-in from the head counselors and students.
The workplace brings frustrations and constraints, as well as opportunities. Here, students describe five barriers that may make it harder for them to transfer certain skills and experiences into jobs after graduation. Jeff Onore, a career coach based in Massachusetts, looks at ways to approach it. These strategies are relevant to a wide range of career interests, skills, and experiences.
Jodie Collins, supervisor, Multicultural and Student Programs, Olympic College, Washington.
Student Health 101 survey, February 2017.


Very happy. I have had so much bad luck with garages in mk and have finally found one that doesn't want to rip me off. Just had my mot done and my car was even picked up and dropped off. So happy right now as was dreading a huge bill and millions of advisorys!
Great price, fantastic and friendly service. We have been a customer of MK Diagnostics for over 4 years now . Not only do we receive a friendly, reliable and honest service but we are impressed that there is not one problem they would consider not worth their time and always come up with a great solution! We live in London but are happy to make the trip to MK each time as the service and value for money is one of a kind ! 5 star service!!
Awesome. Andy and his guys have looked after our cars for a few years now and I'd never consider taking them elsewhere. Amazing straight up service, at a fair price everytime.
MK Diagnostics is the best for MOTs, servicing and repairs. I have used MK Diagnostics for the last four years for my MOTs, servicing and repairs. Andy and his team know their stuff. I can guarantee that if you use him he will only do the work that is required and will charge you a fair price. Highly recommended. Won't go anywhere else.
In this company I trust COMPLETELY, outstanding quality and service. It is a major worry to me if anything goes wrong with my car as its important that as a female I am safe especially driving at night. MK Diagnoistics are quick, effective, trust worthy and dedicated to their customers. They will go out of their way to work round you and get you back on the road as quickly as possible and at a really good price. They have gone out of their way to do all they can for me on numerous occasions and I personally won't go anywhere else. Always friendly, experienced and a professional service. MK Diagnostics are loyal to their customers and in return their customers are loyal to them. 5 star without a doubt.


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Reading: iPads as Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities
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iPads as Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities
Adam Smith ,
Anne Cunha,
Justin Graves
Disabilities can be viewed in one of two ways: either as insurmountable misfortunes or as mere challenges to be overcome. Justin Graves, a senior majoring in sociology , has allowed the latter view to guide him in his research on assistive technologies for disabled students: "Even though some people in life—like me, for example—are inherently dealt challenges, those things really aren't in your control … I don't think they should hold you back." Graves's research aims to overcome the social stigma sometimes attached to assistive technologies—aiming to introduce new opportunities for disabled students to use popular devices such as the iPhone and iPad to overcome the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. Even something as simple as the iPad's "iBooks" app, Graves points out, can be helpful to a student who might have difficulty carrying a heavy load of textbooks and would prefer to download them electronically in a single lightweight device. The potential of these gadgets for addressing the needs of disabled students, however, extends far beyond e-books. To date, Justin has reviewed more than 80 assistive technology applications designed for the Apple operating system, incorporating peer information from colleagues as well as Internet searches to locate useful applications, then speaking with disabled students and faculty members to determine how they were using them to overcome their disabilities. Graves groups these programs into different sections by the type of aid provided—titled See, Look, Hear, Think, or Speak—then reviews them for their intended functions.
How to Cite: Smith, A., Cunha, A. and Graves, J., 2012. iPads as Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities. Philologia, 4(1). DOI: http://doi.org/10.21061/ph.v4i1.104
Diagram of a comprehensive assisted speech solution app
The final product of his research will take the form of an online manual published at the end of the spring 2012 semester for disabled college students—incorporating application descriptions, reviews, and further instructions on recommended implementation as assistive technologies. In the course of his project, Graves admits to using not only his own personal experiences with disability and various technologies, but also the perspectives of young children in programs such as College Bound—a program designed to help transition students with disabilities into higher education—and the YMCA.
A Virginia Tech Undergraduate Diversity Research Grant funds Graves's project, which has garnered attention from Assistive Technology systems throughout Virginia and led to numerous requests to speak at future webinars as well as professional and classroom demonstrations. Graves has also presented his research at a "Transition Practitioner's Council" consisting of special educators, transition specialists, and vocational rehabilitation counselors from 34 counties and cities in Southwest Virginia. During his presentations, Graves demonstrates the ways in which popular applications, as well as some of the basic features of the iPad, can be repurposed to aid students with disabilities. Graves points to the "Verbally" app as an example: This program features a virtual keyboard as well as common words and phrases that, when activated via a "Speak" button, can be used to build sentences spoken out loud by the device. "A student with a speech impediment who may be unable to speak at all—or may have limitations speaking in a group—would be able to relay information to a teacher or professor," Graves says. "Students with disabilities are constantly trying … to find tools that put them on a more level playing field with their peers." Although Graves admits it can be difficult for people to accept help from assistive technology due to the social stigma sometimes attached to such aids, he advocates his model as a chance for offices of disabilities at universities around the nation to improve of the way they serve disabled students.
After the completion of his research, Graves has decided to attend graduate school to continue his education in assistive technologies, eventually aiming to work in a office of disabilities at a university. "Taking to researching and documenting these apps, and knowing that it will eventually—if it hasn't already—make a difference in someone's life is incredibly empowering," Graves says.He serves as a tribute to the way undergraduates can be both impacted by and impactful through research.
Smith, A., Cunha, A. and Graves, J., 2012. iPads as Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities. Philologia, 4(1). DOI: http://doi.org/10.21061/ph.v4i1.104
Smith A, Cunha A, Graves J. iPads as Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities. Philologia. 2012;4(1). DOI: http://doi.org/10.21061/ph.v4i1.104
Smith, A., Cunha, A., & Graves, J. (2012). iPads as Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities. Philologia, 4(1). DOI: http://doi.org/10.21061/ph.v4i1.104
Smith A, Cunha A and Graves J, 'Ipads as Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities' (2012) 4 Philologia DOI: http://doi.org/10.21061/ph.v4i1.104
Smith, Adam, Anne Cunha, and Justin Graves. 2012. "Ipads as Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities". Philologia 4 (1). DOI: http://doi.org/10.21061/ph.v4i1.104
Smith, Adam, Anne Cunha, and Justin Graves. "Ipads as Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities". Philologia 4, no. 1 (2012). DOI: http://doi.org/10.21061/ph.v4i1.104
Smith, A., et al.. "Ipads as Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities". Philologia, vol. 4, no. 1, 2012. DOI: http://doi.org/10.21061/ph.v4i1.104


Donald Trump Has Your Full Attention. Can Anyone Else Be Heard?
When Obama was president, Iranian censors struggled to suppress all of his peaceful overtures and public addresses to Iran. Now, whenever Trump or even Sean Spicer is about to give a press conference, Iran state television goes live to Washington.


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5 Scary Real-Life Cyber-Attacks You Probably Never Heard About
By Jon Rabinowitz 7 min
It's often said there's a statistic to support any story you want to tell, a fact that's borne out by the worrying increase in fake news, but some are repeated so often they're worth listening to:
There's a cyber-attack every 39 seconds.
Only 38% of global organizations claim they're prepared to handle a sophisticated cyber-attack.
95% of cybersecurity breaches trace back to human error.
Over 14 billion data records have been lost or stolen since 2013 and the number increases every day.
What's even more compelling is real-life events that demonstrate the tangible impact on organizations from cyber-attacks, so to help illustrate just how important cybersecurity is, we've pulled together a list of five particularly scary attacks.
Any organization that's hit by a hacker can reasonably describe the experience that way, but we think the differentiator is the scale and breadth of impact. Large-scale, cross-border attacks that are carefully engineered to maximize disruption are the ones that get us all worried:
Utilities, healthcare providers, or mass-transportation systems: successful attacks could cause fatalities.
Financial institutions: anybody can wake up to learn his/her hard-earned money was affected.
Government operations: attacks undermine the citizen's confidence in government to keep them safe.
Applying those criteria, here are 5 scary as heck real-life cyber-attacks you probably never heard of:
1. US Electricity Grid
The US electricity grid was attacked in late 2017, an event described by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security as "a multi-stage intrusion campaign by cyber actors who…..conducted spear phishing, and gained remote access into energy sector networks. After obtaining access, they conducted network reconnaissance, moved laterally, and collected information pertaining to Industrial Control Systems."
The threat wasn't completely unexpected — DHS had been warning utility providers about the potential threat since 2014 — but highlighted the possibility of the lights going out across the country. "They got to the point where they could have thrown switches and disrupted power flows" said Jonathan Homer, a department analyst.
Large-scale disruption isn't far-fetched: in December 2015 a power cut in Western Ukraine affected 250,000 residents and was attributed to Russian hackers — in a move that many considered a dry-run of a possible attack on the US.
2. Federal Aviation Administration
No one wants to read the headline "Cyber-Attack Causes Plane to Fall from the Sky", and thankfully we haven't yet had to. But an attack on the FAA in 2015 was a reminder of how vulnerable air space is. The FAA handles 43,000 flights carrying 2.6 million airline passengers across 29 million square miles of airspace every day and relies on over 100 different technology systems to do so; a breach to any of them being potentially fatal.
Although the 2015 event targeted administrative systems and was quickly contained, it raised the specter of hackers shutting down radar or sending false information to aircraft systems — concerns that were echoed in a report following the incident.
3. SWIFT
If you've ever moved money between banks (and that's pretty much all of us) you've almost certainly used SWIFT, a secure messaging service that enables financial transactions between 11,000 financial institutions in over 200 countries, and handles 32 million messages, amounting to several trillion dollars, every day.
While breaching individual financial service providers requires a lot of effort, finding a way in through a connected network like SWIFT offers a lot more bang for your buck.
Trust and integrity are central to SWIFT's business model, but in 2015 those values were overturned with a series of real-life cyber-attacks that resulted in sizable losses. The main attack centered on the Bangladesh Central Bank (BCB), with criminals attempting an eye-watering theft of $1 billion.
The bad actors used the SWIFT network to fool the US Federal Reserve into transferring them BCB funds. (It's not uncommon for the US Fed to hold international banking assets.) As a basic security check, SWIFT sends details of any transfer to the printers of the financial institution behind the request.
Under normal circumstances, with that added layer of review in place, when a BCB official sees a request of that size he or she would stay the transfer until confirmation can be had. (Especially if — as was the case here — the funds are being sent to an unknown account) In order to get the attack out of the gate successfully, therefore, the attackers cleverly used malware to disable the bank's printers.
In the end, the full attack was thwarted, but $81 million still went missing!
4. United States Central Command
Back in 2008, US Central Command (CENTCOM) was the military center for the United States military's Middle East operations. A USB drive, found in a parking lot and containing the agent.btz worm, was inserted into a laptop connected to the CENTCOM network. From there it spread undetected to other systems, both classified and unclassified.
Opinion is divided as to what information the worm found, and what it was able to do with it. While it could open backdoors on infected computers, the classified computer network wasn't connected to the internet – meaning that it got the chance to spread too fast and too far to be contained.
Nevertheless, the event was a wakeup call and was described by the Pentagon as "the most significant breach of U.S. military computers ever". They banned the use of portable drives immediately and spent fourteen months removing all traces of the worm.
Since the incident occurred over 10 years ago, it's tempting to think it won't be repeated, but that idea, comforting as it may be, is a fantasy. A recent report on national cybersecurity found that 74% of 95 federal agencies reviewed were either "At Risk" or "At High Risk" of attack, the latter designation meaning that immediate intervention is required.
5. US Healthcare Network
Healthcare providers must be particularly vigilant about protecting themselves since the sector attracts more than its fair share of attacks. Most attacks stem from lone wolves or small-scale criminal affiliates, but the SamSam ransomware attacks challenge that norm – suggesting hostile state involvement.
The ransomware attacks took place over three years, extorting $6 million in payments and resulting in $30 million in damages. All told, only seven of the US' 50 states escaped totally unscathed. That said, there's still a high probably that there are other victims out there who have not disclosed their attacks or may not even be aware of them yet.
SamSam has been around since 2016, with security company Sophos reporting that attacks have occurred daily since the malware first arrived on the scene. It's estimated healthcare accounts for about a quarter of all attacks.
Some of the prominent victims included Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, (which had to turn patients away before capitulating and paying the ransom), LabCorp (the nation's largest diagnostic blood testing company), and Kansas Heart Hospital (which paid the initial ransom and were then hit by another demand).
Although there were no recorded fatalities attributable to the attacks, it's only a matter of time before a series of coordinated attacks like this one, results in such an outcome.
In November 18, US Federal prosecutors indicted two Iranian hackers. "The allegations in the indictment… outline an Iran-based international computer hacking and extortion scheme that engaged in a 21st-Century digital blackmail," said US assistant attorney general Brian Benczkowski.
There are two particularly worrying aspects of this attack:
The likely involvement of a hostile government that has ample resources to mount similar attacks again and again.
The extended time period — over three years! — during which attacks took place, without drawing any suspicion of a connection.
In reviewing these attacks, aside from inducing fear, a few important takeaways emerge. First, most of these real-life cyber-attacks were helped along by human error, which underlines the importance of regularly training staff in basic cybersecurity awareness. All it takes is one click on a phishing email link to open the entire network to attack.
Second, all of these attacks were attributed to organized groups. Considerable powers are being brought to bear in support of the cyber baddies. You need to plan accordingly. And while many of these attacks originate from countries with a history of state-sponsored cyber malfeasance, it would be a mistake to hang your hopes on the government coming to your rescue. Although governments will continue to apply collective pressure to the responsible parties where possible, it must be understood that the onus lies firstly and ultimately with the breached organizations: it's your data, your customers, your stakeholders, and your business that will suffer from a successful attack. Investing in multi-layered cybersecurity protection is therefore critical.
Finally, each of these examples are worrying in their own way, but the scariest real-life attacks probably aren't even reported. When it comes to attacks on national security or large-scale infrastructure, can we be sure that the relevant administrators are fully aware of their cyber goings on? Even if they are, can we be expect that we would be informed whenever something goes awry?
Does the prospect of a real-life cyber attack have you worried? Educating yourself is a prerequisite to protecting yourself >>
The SolarWinds Cyber Attack - An Evolving Threat
"Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool…"
By: Motti Sorani
3 Ryuk Ransomware Defenses You Can Implement Now
CISA, the FBI, and HSS have recently published alert AA20-302A. The advisory outlines the threat of malicious cyber actors targeting the healthcare sector with TrickBot, BazarLoader and Conti malware. These attacks often drop the Ryuk ransomware with the intent of stealing patient data and deriving financial gain from hospitals in the United States.


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Using language to reflect character traits
by Carol Despeaux Fawcett on December 21, 2011
In Chinese philosophy the yin-yang symbol represents dynamic opposites that make up a whole—unity in duality. The yin represents the feminine aspect: passive, dark, negative, downward-seeking, consuming and corresponding to the night. The yang represents the masculine aspect: active, light, positive, upward-seeking, producing and corresponding to the daytime. The circles that lie within and encompass the yin-yang symbol represent the whole that the two sides make.
In Patricia Hampl's memoir, The Florist's Daughter, she writes about the life and death of her mother and father. Her mother, a librarian and the family archivist, is piercing, cold, sharp-tongued, and looks for the negative in people. Her father, a florist dedicated to the art of beauty, is giving, positive, and always looking to lift others up.
Though we learn much about Hampl's family history, their location in the "middle" of the country and in life, her story is really about finding who she is in the midst of these two strong aspects of herself: feminine and masculine, mother and father.
Hampl's prose perfectly reflects this duality: at times beautiful and lyrical, at times cold, sharp, and biting.
From the beginning, Hampl wishes to identify herself more with her father (thus the title of the memoir). And, she writes of her mother:
"Cross her path and the poisoned dart springs from the quiver of her heart. The look. Narrowed eyes, pinched disdainful mouth, brilliant mime of venomous dislike."
Notice the hard sounds, the short two-word fragment, the longer fragment. The way the prose is shaped reflects the character of her mother, (and an aspect of the writer). Later, she writes of her mother: "She learned to level the world with a strangely knowing mistrust, an ice chip of irony on her slouched shoulder." Again, notice the harshness of the "i's": mistrust, ice, chip, irony, followed by the slouched shoulder "s's".
Her father's world is one of flowers, light, beauty, truth—the yang—and Hampl's prose, when she writes of her father, reflects these qualities:
"We could smile at the sighing charity ladies: after all, he was ours. That we never doubted. Only the flowers themselves might have a stronger claim on him, the petals panting in the moist glass houses on Banfil Street below the hill. The harem of fragile dependents my handsome father tended…"
Hampl uses romantic, lyrical language to describe her father: sighing charity ladies, petals panting, moist glass houses, harem, handsome.
Later, she writes about her father:
"He was by nature a quiet man…happier outside of language—in a November duck blind, summers in a fishing boat, or on Lake Milles Lacs ice fishing…in the greenhouse design room on a Sunday afternoon. He brought this silence, an aura of quiet, to the flowers he arranged.
But he didn't arrange them. It was himself he arranged, standing at the ready, sharp knife moving over his materials lightly, surely, like a Japanese ink brush."
Again, Hampl uses lyrical language, expansive settings, and the image of the soft, flowing strokes of a Japanese ink brush to describe the inner qualities of her father—the qualities she wants to hold within herself.
In the end, Hampl discovers she is just as much, if not more, her mother's daughter, than her father's. The two aspects of herself—mother and father, yin and yang—fuse into a whole and are, again, reflected in her prose—short and long, sharp and lyrical: "And in the end, not unhappy about it. Wasting my life. Just gliding in the slipstream of that voice, the tatters of what was left of her spun-silk descriptions."
Before you write, as you write, and during your rewrites, think about how Hampl uses language to deepen the sense of her characters. Can you find a way to make your words reflect your characters?
Tags: building characters, character development, characterization, syntax
From: Craft
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Poland's EU entry tests relations between Moscow and Warsaw
The relationship between the EU and it's biggest neighbour has not always been trouble-free and right now it's re-assessing that relationship as it prepares to spread eastwards. Russia is also watching the EU's enlargement with some concern...But what are relations like between Moscow and the soon-to-be EU members - formerly soviet bloc states? Michal Kubicki takes a look at how Moscow and Warsaw are getting along.
There have been many ups and downs in Polish Russian relations since Warsaw left the Soviet orbit 15 years ago. A Significant progress has been made in healing painful historic wounds but full reconciliation between the two countries has not yet been achieved: Political Relations turned particularly frosty after Poland joined NATO military alliance five years ago - the idea of NATO's expansion eastwards remains highly unpopular in Russia and for many Russians is a potent reminder of the Cold War.
And on the economic front, Warsaw's main worry is a huge trade deficit, which started after Poland's food exporters and construction firms were shut out of the Soviet market.
According to Polish analysts, Russia has not yet developed a new formula of its relations with the former Soviet bloc countries. Grzegorz Kostrzewa Zorbas...
"Russia is mentally unable, so far, to treat Poland and other countries like Poland or smaller ones, like Lithuania, for example, on equal terms. Russia expects and demands special treatment, concessions, and guarantees of influence. This is old thinking. This is not modern thinking and this doesn't show Russia as a fully transformed Western-like country."
As a member of the European Union, Poland will provide Moscow with vital transport and other links with the bloc. It is expected that Warsaw may also contribute to future EU eastern policy. Mikolaj Dowgielewicz, a Polish expert in Brussels:
"The European Commission is preparing a new paper which is supposed to deal with the key elements of the so-called wider Europe. This is certainly one of the most important discussions that are taking place now in Brussels about the neighbourhood relations with the countries that will be left outside when Poland and the others join in May. And in this debate Poland has a key role to play."
One of the key questions posed here is - could Poland's entry into the EU be a source of fresh tensions in relations with Russia, at a time of great political instability there. Former defence and foreign minister Janusz Onyszkiewicz.
"Well, that could be. It looks like Russians simply don't realize what European Union membership means. They probably thought it's really something like free trade area, which is quite amazing, because after all they should have known what European Union is about and how integrated this structure is. It looks like, especially in view of other developments, like turning off the taps on the gas pipeline... You know that indicates that Russia only now begins to realize what European Union is about and maybe is having second thoughts as far as the acceptance of European Union enlargement is concerned."
Grzegorz Kostrzewa Zorbas holds a more optimistic view.
"I expect a more pragmatic, more business-like policy of Russia after May 1st. It will no longer be possible to offend Poland or Lithuania, for example, without serious consequences for Russia itself, because those new members will have a say in Poland's case, a major say in the shaping of EU policy towards Russia and for Russia the European Union is a principal economic partner."
After a history of foreign domination, Poland hopes to get both political and economic leverage from its location at the heart of a stable Europe. It appears the shape of relations with Russia will be of great importance in making these hopes a reality.
Author: Michal Kubicki


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Richmond, VA: Dining and Dashing Around the 2016 Jazz Festival
August 18, 2016 By: superuser
The seventh annual Richmond Jazz Festival ran from August 11th to the 14th, in venues around town and culminated at the lush 100-acre Maymont Park with a two-day outdoor fest. Musicians like Herbie Hancock, Stephanie Mills, The Roots and Diane Schuur thrilled music fans. And when festival goers weren't lapping up the music they toured Richmond, taking in sites, restaurants and sports activities. You can go where they went and do what they did.
(Click here to read article on HuffingtonPost.com.)
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (200 N Boulevard) Thursday night folks flock to the VMFA's weekly Dominion Jazz Café, which is sponsored by the Richmond Jazz Society. Local jazz bands play in the large open lobby, as music fans sit enraptured. Between sets people wander around one of the top ten U.S. art museums and view dazzling art exhibits like Gordon Parks: Back to Fort Scott and Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic or they dine in the Amuse Restaurant.
Mama J's Kitchen (415 N. 1st Street) If you visit Virginia you have to try the local soul food. Mama J's doesn't take reservations, so get there before six or be prepared to wait for the Fried Shrimp appetizer and the tasty Fried Chicken with a side of Potato Salad and Collard Greens. Don't feel guilty when you end the meal with a piece of Layer Cake and Ice Cream. The people watching is almost as engaging as the food.
Edgar Allen Poe Museum (1914 E Main St.) The world-renowned poet who wrote "The Raven" grew up, married, and gained a national reputation as a writer in Richmond in the 1800s. This diminutive museum, founded in 1922, consists of a string of small buildings that house the artifacts, writings and memorabilia of a writer credited with inventing the modern detective story.
Early Bird Biscuit Co. (119 N Robinson St.) There are lots of good reasons to get up in the morning in Richmond, although this unique breakfast and lunch eatery may provide the strongest motivation. Flaky Buttermilk Warm Biscuits filled with jam, chicken salad or Applewood Smoked Bacon. Coconut Almond Macaroons, Espresso Dark Chocolate Cakele and Chorizo Quiche further entice the Bohemian crowd that hovers.
Science Museum of Virginia (2500 W Broad St) If you've got the kids in tow, head to this family-friendly introduction to science. Set in the former Broad Street Station, (circa 1919) and opening in 1970, the museum is out to make science engaging and accessible to all. Check out the most technologically advanced digital dome theater in the world. Visit the Boost! Exhibit, which features a series of interactive challenges.
Alamo BBQ (2202 Jefferson Ave) Walking up to the small Alamo BBQ cafe is like taking a trip to Austin. You can tell tasty food is being served from the smell of the authentic Texas style BBQ that drifts through the air. Located in the heart of historic Church Hill, the popular millennial hangout serves award-winning Beef Brisket. The Smoke Link Sausage and Pulled Pork Sandwiches could tempt a hardcore vegan, though they could munch on the BBQ Portobello.
Westwood Club (6200 West Club Lane) This tennis club has provided a place to play tennis since 1927. 7 indoor Har-Tru Clay courts, 2 indoor DecoTurf cushioned courts, 2 outdoor DecoTurf cushioned courts and 9 outdoor Har-Tru Clay courts give tennis players plenty of room to play. Hook up with the affable tennis coach Romain Ambert. He'll give you expert instruction, some competitive play and he'll smile when he lobs you.
Vagabond (700 E Broad St) The fine, eclectic cuisine at this chic restaurant includes the most delectable Oyster Po Boy Sandwich. If you're lucky, the Market Fish of the day will be seared Rock Fish, which you can have served on top of a bed of lettuce. The Braised Pork Cheek Tacos are high on the list of must eats too. And it's hard to walk out the door without pleasing your sweet tooth with their Peach Cobbler.
The Country Club of Virginia (709 South Gaskins Road) You get your choice of two 18-hole courses, James River or Tuckahoe Creek, when you tee off at CCV. The club has attracted golf legends like Jack Nicklaus and will be the host site of the Dominion Charity Classic PGA Champions Tour Playoff event this year. If your strokes aren't all they should be, look up Eric Layton, Director of Golf Instruction.
The National (708 East Broad Street) This vintage theater, vaguely reminiscent of the Fillmore East and West, dates back to 1924, was renovated and turned into a 1500-seat music venue in 2008. It hosts around 25 shows a year, featuring different styles, genres and artists like Willie Nelson and The Roots. The most celebrated concert was a Foo Fighters' show that was funded by a crowd-sourcing campaign. Performers get to lounge in a backstage dressing room with a hot tub and sauna.
The Richmond Jazz Festival makes a great calling card for a cool southern town that digs its jazz as much as its restaurants and tourist sites. For more information, go to: https://www.visitrichmondva.com
Visit NNPA Syndication Film Critic/Travel Writer Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com and BlackPressUSA.com.


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The Ahwahnee
Location: Yosemite National Park, CA | Client: National Park Service / Delaware North Companies
Since 1997, Architectural Resources Group has been instrumental in the preservation and ongoing renovation of the Ahwahnee and its site in Yosemite National Park. Designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood, The Ahwahnee is one of the most unique and spectacular of the nation's historic National Park lodges and is a National Historic Landmark. Projects include in-depth research and planning reports, complex new fire and life safety systems, accessibility upgrades, documentation and conservation of original finishes and furnishings, and selective renovation of the lodge's 24 cottages. The phased project is ongoing, but upgrades thus far have been carefully orchestrated so that the hotel was closed for only three weeks in 2011.
What You May Not Know
The hotel was sited to capture views of the Park's iconic sights, including Half Dome, Glacier Point, and Yosemite Falls.
During World War II, the Ahwahnee was pressed into service as a naval hospital.
The massive structure is constructed of steel and concrete; what appears to be rough-cut siding is actually concrete, formed and stained to mimic redwood, to mitigate the lodge's vulnerability to fire, a constant threat in the remote Yosemite Valley.
Photos courtesy of Architectural Resources Group.


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Coco Olakunle for OneWorld
Ama in OneWorld: Climate justice asks for non-Western stories
Ama and her big black rain boots were interviewed by OneWorld Magazine. She shared her vision on climate justice and the Church of Climate Change. The interview is in Dutch (find the link here), but we've also translated a part to English.
"Ama has taken a seat behind her laptop to tell us about Dr. Monk and her vision on climate change. But that vision is so elaborate, that she soon is talking about the cocoa industry, the history of transatlantic slave trade, the disappearance of traditional language, her thoughts on the inclusiveness of the Black Lives Matter- movement (is this also about Africa?), and how all of this is has also shaped her own identity.
Dr. Monk does research for NGOs, companies and political organizations. They work on interventions that can help make society more inclusive and sustainable. Take the Solar Soaker, a sustainable washing device that needs only a bit of water and sunlight, and that can liberate women who have their hands full doing household chores but cannot afford a washing machine.
Since 2018, Dr. Monk's has an initiative called the Church of Climate Change, a new climate movement. Van Dantzig: "With the Church of Climate Change we are searching for new stories and perspectives on climate change that resonate in non-Western countries, to facilitate collective action."
Van Dantzig continues: "I personally do not think that the biggest change will come from consuming differently. It's more about a redistribution of wealth worldwide: the climate problem starts with the extraction of natural resources, the exploitation of laborers and farmers, the dumping of waste, largely on the African continent."
"Any approach to climate change needs an eye for inequality," according to Van Dantzig. The countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions feel the least effects of the climate crisis: climate justice is what we need. "That's a popular term now, but it wasn't when we started in 2011. That's what Dr. Monk is about: whether we are working on sustainable innovations or female leadership, we're obsessed with tackling inequality."
Van Dantzig chooses her words carefully and speaks with a friendly, soft voice - except for the moments when she switches to English. "I hope you don't mind, when I get excited I switch to English." She becomes espeially fired up when she speaks about core concepts like justice, colonialism, and the effects of it in the present. "There is no Europe without Africa, you know? There is no prpgress without Africa, that is something we need to see on the continent - how powerful we actually are."
Image by: Coco Olakunle
Dec 8, 2020 - Category: In the media
Ama on BNR Newsradio
Wet wonder: Makoko floating school in Nigeria