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May 7, 2014 Millennial
Ambassador Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on Elie Wiesel Award winner General Roméo Dallaire: "You, General, have stood between the killers and their prey. You have heard the piercing screams of victims, and the deafening silence of a world unable to muster the will to act. You have turned that deadly silence into a personal – and now global – crusade to help summon meaningful action to protect peoples endangered by crimes of unfathomable and unconscionable proportions. In 1994, you were doing your job, at a time when no one else was willing to do theirs. Your story is a call to action, your commitment is an inspiration, and your courage is unmatched."
Rwanda: Remembering the past, embracing the future
April 7, 2014 Sarah Christian
Check out the video below on Kwibuka20.
Here is some background information on it:
Kwibuka means 'remember' in Kinyarwanda, Rwanda's language. It describes the annual commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
More than one million Rwandans died in the hundred days of the genocide. It was one of human history's darkest times. Twenty years later we, Rwanda, ask the world to unite to remember the lives that were lost.
We ask the world to come together to support the survivors of the genocide, and to ensure that such an atrocity can never happen again – in Rwanda or elsewhere…
Kwibuka20 calls on the world to stand against genocide in three key ways:
– To remember: Honouring the memory of those who died. Offering support to those who survived.
– To unite: Rwanda shows that reconciliation through shared human values is possible. We ask the world to do the same.
– To renew: As we build Rwanda anew, we are humbled to share our experiences and learn from others. Let's create a better world together.
The Rwandan genocide: 20 years later
April 7, 2014 Robert Christian
Former Washington Post reporter Keith Richburg looks back on the Rwandan genocide, which started 20 years ago today, and at our willingness to put our heads in the sand:
Economic Inequality: Can Theology Say Something New? by Kate Ward: "In my view, a good deal of advocacy around inequality, including that of religious leaders, avoids one of the more important questions we should be asking: how does inequality affect our moral formation? For many of us, it's easy to find common cause with those who are like us and more difficult to feel empathy for others who we may perceive as more distant. This adds urgency to the question of whether it matters if, for example, a CEO earns 100 times or 100,000 times what her lowest-paid employees do, even supposing the employees earn a living wage. Do we really think vastly different living standards have no impact on our ability to form solidarity with one another?"
In Lebanon, Syrian refugee children find safety from war but new dangers on the streets by Loveday Morris: "The United Nations announced that Lebanon registered its millionth Syrian refugee on Thursday, making the tiny country — which had a population of just over 4 million before the Syrian war — home to the highest concentration of refugees in the world. Among the most visible representatives of that influx and the impact of the Syrian war on Lebanon's capital are children such as Mohammed, who fled the violence and ended up here, selling flowers, tissues, chewing gum or shoeshines on the streets of Beirut."
Finding 'Mercy' in daily life by Gail Finke: "Yes, it's funny ("In which I get locked out of the church while trying to help people into it") and sad and thought-provoking and inspirational. If you take even one thing away from this book, you'll be a better person and a better Catholic. But you'll take away a lot more than one."
On Coates v. Chait by Ross Douthat: "You don't have to regard morality as at the seat of all our troubles to recognize that it's intertwined with some of them; you don't have to write off public policy to concede that there are ills that policy alone can't solve; you don't have to ignore structural disadvantages to recognize the importance of asserting individual agency — saying "there are things under our control that we've got to attend to …," as the president has put it — in the face of collective difficulty."
Facts, Propaganda and Libertarianism by Michael Sean Winters: "Any thoughtful Catholic has sufficient difficulties with liberalism, all of which tend to wish it were less individualistic, less focused on human autonomy, less redolent of rights apart from correlative responsibilities. Libertarianism wants to pull liberalism in the opposite direction, removing even the few checks on unfettered license that liberalism supplies."
Shifting the Focus: Objectification, Porn and the Longing for Belonging by Leah Perrault: "Objectification and depersonalization are natural consequences of porn, but I don't think that the average porn user, at least at the beginning, is aiming for those consequences as a primary goal. The appeal of porn, and eventually the compulsion or addiction, isn't about the (often female) body, person or sexual appeal. It's about the longing, fear and/or compulsion in the viewer."
Opinion: Forget Ukraine, Syria is now the world's biggest threat by Simon Tisdal: "Al-Assad's continued survival as Syria's head of state is an egregious affront to the U.N. Security Council and its various related Syria resolutions, to the U.N. charter, to international law, and specifically to international war crimes legislation. Al-Assad stands accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, not least over the use by his forces of chemical weapons against civilian populations. But once again, nothing much is done, and the credibility of such institutions and laws suffers as a result. The moral example set by such dereliction is shocking."
To prevent another Rwanda, all it takes is a few well-trained troops by David Blair: "Gen Dallaire's searing memoir of those 100 blood-soaked days, Shake Hands with the Devil, contains a lesson of eternal relevance. This distinguished Canadian soldier offers his professional assessment that a mere 4,000 trained troops, entrusted with a mandate allowing the use of force to protect civilians, could have stopped the genocide in its tracks. For want of a handful of soldiers, 800,000 people died."
Crisis and Need in the Central African Republic by Allen Ottaro: "Father Mombe shared an overview of the history of the conflict in his country, efforts by churches and faith communities to end the violence and initiate reconciliation, and his personal experience of the conflict in the capital city, Bangui, in December 2013."
March 30, 2014 Millennial
A Nation of Takers? by Nicholas Kristof: "However imperfectly, subsidies for the poor do actually reduce hunger, ease suffering and create opportunity, while subsidies for the rich result in more private jets and yachts. Would we rather subsidize opportunity or yachts? Which kind of subsidies deserve more scrutiny?"
The pope's message to the president by EJ Dionne: "But the pope's main job is to pose a radical challenge to our complacency and social indifference. In doing so, he should stir an uneasiness that compels all of us — and that includes Obama — to examine our consciences."
There are many reasons why Assad is stronger than ever by Michael Young: "A closely-related strategy pursued by the Assad regime has been to allow religious or political extremism to proliferate, in such a way as to portray itself as a foe of the extremists. This it has done in the Syrian conflict, releasing jihadists from prison, putting much less military pressure on them than on the more moderate opposition, and allowing them to control oil-rich areas to finance themselves. The objective has, again, been two-fold: to create dissension within opposition ranks and provoke conflict between opposition groups; and to entice Western public opinion into believing the Al Assads are a barrier against extremism, therefore should not be overthrown."
Three refreshing gifts of Lent by Robert J. Wicks: "Don't miss this Lent. Greater inner freedom, a richer sense of compassion, and a deeper sense of our relationship with God are waiting."
Smuggled, Trafficked, Violated by Nicholas Sawicki: "Whether they're sold as child sex slaves, harvested for organs, or forced into farm labor, the denial of the basic human right to freedom for millions is a sad reality that our society has to deal with today."
Closed City by John Carr: "Washington is not corrupted by secret gifts, but by the legal purchase of access and influence that come with endless fundraising and politics as usual."
Burma's Muslims Are Facing Incredibly Harsh Curbs on Marriage, Childbirth and Religion by Time: "Proposed regulations will restrict religious conversions, make it illegal for Buddhist women to marry Muslim men, place limits on the number of children Muslims can have and outlaw polygamy, which is permitted in Islam. More than 1.3 million signatures have reportedly been gathered in support of this plan, which is spearheaded by a group of extremist Buddhist monks and their lay supporters."
Ukrainian Catholics flee Crimea to escape threats of arrest by CNS: "Members of the Ukrainian Catholic Church are fleeing Crimea to escape threats of arrest and property seizures, a priest told Catholic News Service just four days after Russia finalized the region's annexation."
Political skills for divine purposes by Michael Gerson: "Francis has a feel for powerful symbols of simplicity, humility and compassion, such as carrying his own suitcase, washing the feet of Muslim prisoners, inviting the homeless to his birthday party, touching the disfigured. In this case, old Coke is pretty old — the example of a wandering preacher who touched lepers and consorted with a variety of sinners and outcasts. As in that ancient example, Francis has combined traditional moral teachings with a scandalous belief that people are ultimately more important than rules."
Under a Barrel by Lama Fakih: "These unguided, high-explosive bombs — which are cheaply produced locally and filled with explosives, scrap metal, nails, or other material to enhance fragmentation — are pushed out of helicopters, dropped on densely populated areas by the Syrian army. Used in this way, the bombs are incapable of distinguishing between civilians and combatants, making the attacks unlawful under international humanitarian law."
The Very Real Prospect of Genocide in Burma by Romeo Dallaire: "The international community must take early preventive action now in order to reverse Burma's current trend towards catastrophe and possibly genocide."
Shadowed by Tragedy by Kerry Weber: "Rwanda is a country that longs to be known for something other than the genocide, and over the past 20 years, the nation's government has worked hard to replace that reputation with a more positive one. In many ways, it has succeeded. Rwanda has made dramatic advances and now ranks among the cleanest, safest and least corrupt countries in Africa. Yet its deepest wound is one that cannot be healed by superficial changes."
Quote(s) of the Day
Malala Yousafzai:
"We do not want to lose this generation (of Syrian children)."
"It's our responsibility to protect these children."


One of the principals that have changed my financial life is the concept of "First-Fruits" Giving. I've always tithed (given 10% of my income), but I realized in recent years that its not just what I give, but when I give.
We should give the first 10%. God shouldn't get our leftovers, but giving to Him should be the first transaction after we get paid. This is not a law, but an opportunity!
It takes faith to be a first-fruits, tither, but God will bless you for it! It's alway about the heart, and giving to God first shows that He has our heart.
As you worship God this weekend, put Him first by giving your tithe at the beginning of the month. If you doubt His provision and blessing, you may be tempted to give at the end, only when there is money leftover. God deserves better.
I'm praying this will be a great year for you financially as you faithfully give to the Kindgom of God!


St. Francis Area Schools buildings and fields are available for public use after school, on weekends and during the summer. All locations are scheduled centrally and require a permit.
For more information, refer to St. Francis Area Schools Facility Use Policy & Procedures.
Requests for the use of school facilities and grounds are made through the Facility Scheduling Office, located in St. Francis High School.
A facilities use request form must be completed and submitted 10 business days in advance.
If approved, the applicant will be notified by mail.
St. Francis Area Schools reserves the right to alter approval request.
When a change needs to be made to an existing permit, fill out and submit a facility use change form.
NOTE: Please use Adobe Acrobat Reader to fill out the facility use request form and facility use change form.
All rates are determined by the classification of the individual/group requesting facility use. See current rate information in the St. Francis Area Schools Facility Use Policy & Procedures.
Cancellation of a facility reservation must be made 48 hours in advance of the scheduled activity. Accumulated expenses will be billed to the applicant accordingly.
If school is canceled, for any reason, all building use will also be canceled. Visit the ISD 15 website home page for news regarding school closure.
Proof of liability insurance will be required. Click here for liability insurance information.
Click here for those that want/need to purchase liability insurance.
For more information, contact Nancy Messerschmidt, Facility Use & Scheduling, by email or call 763-213-1589.


A stay at NH Buenos Aires Crillón places you in the heart of Buenos Aires, walking distance from Edificio Kavanagh and Plaza San Martin. This 4-star hotel is close to Teatro Colon and Obelisco.
Make yourself at home in one of the 96 air-conditioned rooms featuring minibars and LCD televisions. Your room comes with a pillowtop bed. Complimentary wired and wireless Internet access keeps you connected, and cable programming provides entertainment. Private bathrooms with showers feature complimentary toiletries and bidets.
Featured amenities include complimentary wired Internet access, a 24-hour business center, and complimentary newspapers in the lobby. Event facilities at this hotel consist of a conference center and meeting rooms.


Risør Gjestehus "guesthouse" is situated in an idyllic and secluded area on the fjord to Boss Vika outside Risør. On offer are accommodation facilities in detached, comfortable and well appointed cabins. Wireless internet is available in public areas.
Visitors can also rent boats with up to 20 horse powered outboard motors and canoes. Guests can use small rowboats as pasrt of their stay.
There are scenic sea views from the guesthouses, a small private beach and bathing jetties. In the local surroundings, there are hiking opportunities with the fjord right outside the cabin door and trout fishing.
Seven kilometres along the fjord lays the Risør town center which is one of Europe's best preserved wooden cities, with a rich culture, restaurants, galleries and shops. There is regular bus service between guesthouse and Risør center.


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Greya enchrysa Davis and Pellmyr
Wing expanse 15.5-20 mm. Forewings in most areas uniformly pale ochreous, often with a golden luster; rarely pale straw-colored. In the eastern portion of the range, some populations with ochreous to dark ochreous color, a light subtornal patch and sometimes a slight costal patch near the apex. Hindwings darker, gray.
This yellow, uniformly colored species should be unmistakable. It often coexists with the yellow but spotted G. piperella and the uniformly colored, darker brownish G. politella.
Heuchera cylindrica and H. grossulariifolia (Saxifragaceae). Females oviposit into the floral ovary of the host, and several larvae per capsule complete the first one or two larval instars feeding on seeds. Subsequent biology is unknown.
Greya enchrysa ovipositing into the ovary of a H.cylindrica flower.
In the drier interior regions of southern British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, and in interior Washington and Oregon, Idaho and western Montana, USA.
In open, grassy pine forest or near rockfaces in open country where the host is found growing in crevices and ledges. Elevational range 250-1500 m. It often coexists with G. piperella and G. politella.
Characteristic habitat in Nez Perce Co., Idaho; Heuchera grows along lower edge of talus.
Greya enchrysa is an efficient passive pollinator during oviposition, transporting ample pollen of its host on the abdomen between flowers. Larvae consume relatively few seeds, and the species could thus be a mutualist relative to the host. An abundance of other pollinators, particularly bumblebees, mask the beneficial effects of the moth on seed production in studied populations (Pellmyr et al. 1996).
Further ecological aspects of G. enchrysa and the species that it interacts with are currently under study by and at Washington State University.
Holotype in USNM.
Asotin Co., Washington, USA
Wallowa Co., Oregon, USA
Page: Tree of Life Greya enchrysa Davis and Pellmyr. Authored by Olle Pellmyr. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.
Pellmyr, Olle. 1996. Greya enchrysa Davis and Pellmyr. Version 01 January 1996 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Greya_enchrysa/12312/1996.01.01 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a report that highlights the progress made on its national study to understand the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. This is not a conclusive study - the results are expected to be released in a draft for public and peer review in 2014.
For more information on the study, check the EPA Hydrofracking website.
Last Friday a Pennsylvania farmer was tossed in jail for telling pipeline workers to cease illegally dumping sulfur water on his fields.
When 73-year-old Joe Bezjak, of Nicolson Township in Fayette County, PA discovered contractors with Laurel Mountain Midstream pumping sulfur water onto his property, he did what any right-thinking farmer would do: he asked them to stop. And that landed him in the pokey over the weekend.
The irony: the gas pipeline employees were working on Bezjak's farm against the court's direction. They, however, got a "get out of jail free" card.
Bezjak and his neighbor discovered cut and broken fences, stray cattle and dead calves. They also discovered a Bentonite spill in a local creek, and reported the violation to the PA Department of Environmental Protection.
A county judge ordered Laurel Mountain to replace fencing. But because Bezjak and his neighbor had tried to run the pipeline folk off their fields, he ordered the landowners to remain at least 50 feet away from the company's right-of-way until the project is finished.
At the same time, PA state environmental inspectors halted the project indefinitely, due to the contamination from the bentonite spill.
So, when Bezjak saw pipeline workers – who weren't supposed to be on his land by DEP order – dumping pollution illegally, he did what any right-thinking person would do. He told them to stop. He told them to leave. And he was the one tossed in jail.
Read today's article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
There are a lot of side effects to Marcellus Shale drilling: compressor explosions, pipeline explosions, air pollution, spills, injection well earthquakes, fugitive greenhouse gas emissions… But perhaps the most serious side effect is that we get so involved in focusing on the impacts of industrialized gas drilling that we forget the problem isn't fracking.
The real problem is our addiction to fossil fuels. And the lack of vision of our elected officials and captains of industry.
I know; it's nigh to heresy mentioning this up on day 5 of the 30-day comment period New York's proposed high volume hydrofracking regulations. But maybe it's the focused attention on gas drilling that has me poking my pen through the paper windows to let in some light (gray day though it is).
For the last four years I have happily scribbled my name on the bottom of tuition checks so my son could study engineering. In return, he educated me on how engineers work. The most important lesson: how one frames the problem to be solved.
Right now energy companies are focusing their talent, money and resources to exploit gas and oil reserves. As those reserves become more difficult to reach, they develop increasingly invasive technologies for mineral extraction. Like fracking. Developing those technologies means lots of research, lots of grants, and billions of dollars in subsidies – not to mention rock-bottom lease prices on public lands.
Finding an answer to "how to move things" or "how to light an interior space" is very different from solving the problem of "how to get really tiny bits of hydrocarbon out of rocks". For example, putting sun tubes into buildings can bring natural light into the interior and decrease the need for electricity. So can changing the light bulbs to fluorescent or LED and even going to bed earlier in the winter.
People like to say that wind and solar energy "can't solve our country's energy needs." We don't need them to "solve" it all – just provide appropriate energy solutions. And we need to broaden our mind regarding how these resources are tapped.
Wind, for example: do we need huge turbines? There are vertical turbines, and smaller wind collectors that can fit on the sides of buildings or even under eaves. Scientists are even looking at how materials, blown out of shape by wind, create energy when they snap back to their original position – like aspen leaves fluttering in the breeze.
There are just as many ways to harness the sun's power – from passive building features that warm or cool homes to solar arrays that produce electricity. Why not use them?
Why not harvest the methane produced in landfills and dairy barns? Why not use marginal land to grow willows and other renewable biofuels? Why not harness the power of human movement? What if we generated electricity with treadmills in fitness centers?
What if (gasp!) we simply used our resources more efficiently? We could lower the speed limit to 55 (saves fuel), turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater, fix the leaks in gas pipelines, and maybe even give some of those energy subsidies to renewable energy projects. In 2011 DBL Investors, a San Francisco-based venture capital fund specializing in renewable energy, published a report showing how early subsidization of energy sources in the US helped secure their respective dominant places in the energy marketplace. Nuclear subsidies accounted for more than one percent of the federal budget in their first 15 years, oil and gas subsidies made up one-half of one percent of the total federal budget in their first 15 years.
But subsidies for renewables? They've constituted only about one-tenth of a percent. That's a frackin' big handicap to overcome, by any standard.
New York's proposed hydrofracking regulations mention NORM (naturally occurring radioactive material) in section 560.7 Waste Management and Reclamation. According to the new regs, flowback fluids "must be tested for naturally occurring radioactive material prior to removal from the site". Soils adjacent to tanks storing flowback and production brine must be measured as well.
But there is no requirement to track any radioactive waste fluids – nor is there anything requiring drilling companies to prevent the release of these radioactive substance into the environment in the first place – something Sandra Steingraber notes in today's entry at 30 Days of Fracking Regs. As she notes, radioactive waste could be stored as close as 500 feet to a home or school, possibly closer to playgrounds and soccer fields, and definitely much closer to barns, pastures and fields where our food is grown.
Four years ago the NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) submitted 13 brine samples from twelve actively-producing Marcellus wells. Test results (appendix 13) showed that some brines had levels of radium-226 as high as 250 times the allowable level for discharge into the environment and thousands of times higher than the maximum allowed in drinking water.
Radioactivity in Marcellus shale shows up as trace elements uranium-238, thorium-232, radium-222, radium-226, and radium-228. Over time these radioactive particles decay, with half-lives anywhere from 4 days to 1600 years. Exposure to some radionuclides – even at low levels – can cause bone cancer, stomach and lung cancers and other health problems. Radon gas, long known to be associated with Marcellus shale, has been shown to be the primary cause of lung cancer among people who have never smoked. So the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established guidelines for certain radionuclides: the maximum contaminant level of radium in drinking water as 5 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), for uranium is 30 pCi/L and for the total alpha emitters is 15 pCi/L. They've also established levels that can be put into the environment: the maximum level of radium-226 allowed to be discharged in wastewater is 60 pCi/L and the maximum levels in soil are 5 pCi/g on the surface and 15 pCi/g in subsurface soils.
But in some of the Marcellus brines, DEC found levels of radium-226 ranging up to 16,030 pCi/L - more than 3200 times higher than the allowable levels in groundwater and 267 times higher than what's allowed to be discharged into streams.
On December 30, 2009 Region 2 of the EPA sent 17 pages of formal comments to DEC regarding proposed rules in the SGEIS for drilling in Marcellus and shales. Included in those comments are concerns regarding the management of NORM. EPA noted that NORM concentrations in production brine of Marcellus wells have the potential to far exceed the Maximum Contamination Limits (MCLs) specified in the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). They also question the inconsistency of reporting concentration levels; levels of some radionuclides are reported in pico-Curies per gram (pCi/g) while others are reported in parts per million (ppm). Using ppm as an analytical tool could "significantly underestimate the uranium concentrations," says EPA.
There are eight days of Hanukkah, twelve days of Christmas, and 30 days for sending comments to NY Department of Environmental Conservation regarding the new fracking regulations (unless the world really does come to an end on the 21st, which NASA and the US government promise won't happen).
So Sandra Steingraber came up with a nifty idea: 30 comments in 30 days. And she has a website to go with it. It's kind of like an advent calendar, but without the candy. Each day you click on the date and open the door to see … a regulation, with some explanation about what it means. The deal is: she provides the info; we provide the comments.
Today's focus is Section 560 560.4 Setbacks. Sandra explains, in clear English, what the regulation states, and puts those setback distances into perspective. At the bottom of the page there's a button to click to email your comment, and one to get the snail-mail address.
Will it take time? Yes, but it's worth it to learn more about what these new regulations offer to oil and gas drillers. And it will take some time to write comments, too. But again, it's always worth sending your 2-cents to the folks who (you hope) will ensure that your water stays drinkable and your air breatheable.
Will it cost money? Most assuredly – at most $13.20 in postage ($9.60 if you send postcards; less than $4 if the world ends next Friday). But, seriously, $13 doesn't even qualify as Hanukkah gelt!
What happens if I miss a day? Unlike some medications, there are no serious side effects if you open two (or more) days at a time and write more than one comment in a letter. The important thing is that you let your state environmental agency know your concerns and/or approval of the regulations they have devised.


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QUICK QUOTES: Nene Leakes Addresses #SpitGate: 'I Didn't… But I Kinda Wish I Had' + Feels Kenya Moore Will Be The DEMISE of #RHOA… (VIDEO)
Nene Leakes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta has been booked and busy this week as she appeared on several talk shows.
The "OG" housewife started her promo tour on Entertainment Tonight before heading over to sit with the ladies of The Talk. During her interview on ET!, Leakes addressed the ongoing beef between she and RHOA co-star Kenya Moore and she did not hold back when asked about #SpitGate!
I don't even know what was going through my mind in that moment, but what I do know is, I didn't spit on her — but I sorta, kinda wish I had.
Details + video below…
Nene sat down with ET!'s Lauren Zima and she didn't hold back on her thoughts about Kenya Moore.
That girl is crazy," NeNe tells ET of her Real Housewives of Atlanta co-star. "Something is really wrong with her. No, seriously."
As for Kenya's comments that Nene had spat on her in an upcoming episode, Leakes denies the claims but states that she "wishes" she had!
NeNe says she did the "act of" spitting, but didn't actually spit at her co-star. Kenya, however, claims that NeNe did, in fact, spit on her.
"Of course she wanted to run with it, and that's fine by me," NeNe replies. "I don't care, girl. Run with it — I only wish I had spit on you, girl."
I'm just gonna be honest about that, because I just think some of the things Kenya says is really nasty and really dirty. And I just feel like, girl, you are just — you probably need to be spit on. You just probably need to be. And it may not sound great, but she probably needs to be spit on. And I have no sympathy for her. I just don't.
Nene also addressed Kenya's controversial appearance on "Watch What Happens LIVE! where host Andy Cohen confronted Moore about her claim that Leakes was being "phased out" of RHOA.
As previously reported, Cohen CHECKED Kenya on her inaccurate gossip after NeNe herself tweeted into the show, asking him to press Kenya on the allegation (CLICK HERE if you missed that).
When asked her thoughts about Moore's accusations, Leake's states:
How does she know? I mean, does she… is she in production?
I don't know. I don't know why she says the things that she says, but what I do know is, for whatever reason — I don't know how it sounds, I don't know if it's great to even say — but I think that she would love for me to be gone, so she could be, in her mind, the head of the show, or the queen of the show, or the one that everyone is talking about. With me there, it's very difficult for her to have that kind of thing.
Nene also says that she feels the show is doomed if she leaves and Kenya stays…
So, I also think that, if I leave the show and Kenya stays on the show, she will be the demise of the show.
What are your thoughts about Nene's interview?
#RHOA Nene Leakes Explains Why She Labeled 'The View' Hosts 'Mean Girls'… [VIDEO]
OPEN POST: Who is #RHOA Kenya Moore Accusing of "Backstabbing" ?? (VIDEO)
EXCLUSIVE!!! #RHOA Season 10 Reunion TEA: Nene Leakes Sends Kim Zolciak Home Crying, Porsha Williams Spills Marlo Tea & More…
#RHOA Season 10 Salaries Revealed: Who's The Highest/Lowest Paid 'Housewife'?
RUMOR CONTROL: #RHOA Kenya Moore Talks Pregnancy + Disputes Reports of Using Surrogate…
In Atlanta Gossip,Featured,News Kenya Moore, NeNe Leakes, Quick Quotes, Rumor Control, The Real Housewives of Atlanta


Observe. Which colour do you see? Is blueness in there? Which languages do you speak? Does experience tell us anything by itself? Would language make any sense without it? What is it to be grounded in experience? Does some of our reasoning depend upon it? What makes a concept legitimate? How does science try to make itself less subjective, & more observationally verifiable? Do experiments expand our experience? Do ordinary habits of languages sometimes perpetuate misconceptions? Is it important to distinguish between the reality, the appearance, and the 'tag'? Why is learning a new language difficult? What is the logical process by which naive concepts become sharper – & does experience play a role in this? When might eye witnesses at a crime scene see different things? Must we defy intuition? Does experience both constrain and free us: how are/were we able to say that simultaneity is not absolute? Is experience really undifferentiated? Will experience remain a logical problem in the future? Would we need to understand both the metaphysics of the Self and the physicality of phenomenology to this end? SynTalk thinks about these & more questions using concepts from psycholinguistics & coaching (Ravi Bhoothalingam, Manas Advisory, New Delhi), philosophy (Prof. Anil Gupta, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), & physics (Prof. Arvind Kumar, ex-HBCSE-TIFR, Mumbai).
SynTalk is pleased and privileged to have hosted the following SynTalkrs (in alphabetical order) on its #THOE show.
Ravi Bhoothalingam (psycholinguistics, leadership coaching) is Founder & Chairman of Manas Advisory (New Delhi), a consultancy practice focusing on psychology-based management coaching. His corporate career includes stints as President of The Oberoi Group of Hotels, Head of Personnel Worldwide with British American Tobacco p.l.c (London), Managing Director of VST Industries Ltd. (Hyderabad), and Director of ITC Ltd. (Kolkata). Ravi received his B.Sc. (Hons) in Physics from St. Stephen's College (University of Delhi), & then received his M.A. in Experimental Psychology from Cambridge University, UK, as also an AMP certification from Harvard University. He was trained by the well known scientist and Sinologist Joseph Needham in psycholinguistics and Chinese language & culture. Ravi's current work and interest in management and life coaching has stimulated him to undertake a quest that spans psychology and the creation of authentic communication and experience across individuals and cultures. The interaction between language, thinking, emotion, experience and the puzzle of behavior modification is a matrix that deeply fascinates him. As part of his research & consulting work, he travels extensively in High Asia including along the Silk Route, & within and across China, Myanmar, Mongolia, Japan and the Tibetan plateau. Ravi also serves on several corporate and NGO boards, is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (London), Treasurer and Honorary Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi and on the Editorial Boards of China Report and World Affairs. He is also a regular speaker and writer on China, Mongolia, and the psychology of language.
Prof. Anil Gupta (philosophy) is Alan Ross Anderson Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He received his B.Sc. (Honors) from University of London (1969) & then received his M.A. (1973) & Ph.D. (1977) from University of Pittsburgh. Before joining the University of Pittsburgh in 2001 as a professor of philosophy, he also taught at Indiana University (1989-2000), University of Illinois at Chicago (1982-1989), and McGill University (1975-82). Prof. Gupta's main research interests lie in logic, philosophy of language, metaphysics, and epistemology. Topics that are of special interest to him include definitions, truth, meaning, and perception. Prof. Gupta is the author of 'The Logic of Common Nouns' (Yale, 1980), 'Empiricism and Experience' (Oxford, 2006), and 'Truth, Meaning, Experience' (Oxford, 2011), and a co-author (with Nuel Belnap) of 'The Revision Theory of Truth' (MIT, 1993). Prof. Gupta has received several fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Council for Learned Societies, and he was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford (1998-99). He was the Nelson Philosopher-in-Residence at Michigan (in 2010), and is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Prof. Gupta gave the Simon Lectures at Toronto in 2007 and the Whitehead Lectures at Harvard in 2012. He serves on the editorial boards of leading journals such as Journal of Philosophical Logic, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews & is on the advisory board of journals such as Episteme. He is also on the advisory board for Center for Philosophy and Foundations of Science.
#THOE mentions: David Hume, Paul Feyerabend, & Noam Chomsky, among others.


text:
PERMITS/ LICENSES
How to Correctly Fill Out Work Experience for a General Contractor's License
By: Amelia Jenkins
Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
What Does Work History Mean on a Job Application?
A general contractor updates or improves existing homes and businesses. Working as a general contractor requires a knowledge of building materials and safety, as poorly done remodels can cause injury or property damage. Many states require that you have a license to work as a general contractor. To obtain this license, you must have experience in the contracting field. You must list this experience on your license application and have someone else, such as a former employer, verify your information to apply.
Contact the department of licenses and permits in your state to determine how many years of experience and what type of experience you must have to apply for a general contractors license. For example, California requires that you have at least four years of journeyman or higher level experience to apply.
Complete the individual information sections of the work verification form on the general contractor's license application. For example, the California application labels this section as "Qualifying Individual Information." Some states may use different labels. Enter your full name, employer's name and full business address, and your employer's license number in blue or black ink.
Ask a former employer, former co-worker or union representative to act as your certifier and complete the verification section for each contractor job you held. Ask the certifier to indicate if you worked full time or part time, your start and end date, and how many years and months you worked in the appropriate sections.
Ask the certifier to describe all of your work duties in the space provided. Make sure he accurately describes any job function you held relating to contractor work. Do not include office work or unrelated duties in this section.
Ask the certifier to write his full name and verify his relationship to you on the form in the appropriate boxes. He must also provide his full address and phone number. Have the certifier sign the certificate in blue or black ink. Use a separate form for every job you've held.
Mail the completed forms to the license department in your state using the address provided on the first page of the license application.
Double check all of the information for accuracy. Inaccurate information may cause a delay in your application.
Start a new form rather than crossing out inaccurate information. Crossed out information may result in an application denial.
California Contractors State License Board: Certification of Work Experince
Amelia Jenkins has more than eight years of professional writing experience, covering financial, environmental and travel topics. Her work has appeared on MSN and various other websites and her articles have topped the best-of list for sites like Bankrate and Kipplinger. Jenkins studied English at Tarrant County College.


Well the first competition for That's Fishing in 2013 is over. We hope you all enjoyed the season and we'll be getting in contact shortly with the winner.
Thanks to our sponsors at Techni Ice and thank you for watching That's Fishing.


text:
Metaphysics and Epistemology
Did Ayn Rand commit the fallacy of reification?
By thenelli01, March 4, 2014 in Metaphysics and Epistemology
New Buddha 99
Location:Oregon
The point is that - while I'm glad you are posting in the forum -- I've completely lost whatever point you are trying to make.
Can you just make a statement with out referencing what Dennet thought when Keynes interpreted Sraffa's position on Ramsay's quotation of Kant?
dream_weaver 508
Chat Nick:Greg
Real Name:Greg
Keynes
Sraffa
Kripke
What exactly is your point?
edit: forgot Machan
What's your point? These are all proper names...is Rand not worthy of mention?
It would seem, as the question appears to me anyhow, is - how are you trying to integrate these seeming disparate proper name droppings on your behalf, together: into a single unified concrete? In other words: Are you just positing here mere tripe, or have you actual grief to gripe?
Plasmatic 124
Buddha said:
Weaver said:
Yes, I find this whole passive aggressive poking incomprehensible. I mean, if you (Bill) want to debate Oist premises lets just have at it in a thread titled in a way that names your beef and a post stating what you think any of these thinkers have to say that Oist should know and consider.
I have long wanted to discourse with someone who knows Wittgenstein, Russell, Frege, Husserl and Rand. Bring it on, grind the damn axe and lets see if your stone is hard enough to erode Rand's premises.....But enough drive by sniping already.
Edited March 25, 2014 by Plasmatic
FeatherFall 81
Ideologue
Location:Green Bay, WI
Real Name:Jacob Zeise
To the extent that perceptions of objects are bundled, then converted into thoughts, words completely describe the object, just as Aristotle, then Rand, said. If, oth, our brain tells us to see 'fish' for whale' as in Jonah, the word/thing relationship takes on a critical dimension, as Russell and Wittgenstain said.
I don't think this accurately describes Rand's position. She believed that consciously holding a complete description of a concept is impossible. According to her, words are like an interface; they allow all of their referent properties, known and unknown, to be condensed into a usable form. The mental act of retrieving a word necessarily omits from the conscious mind almost everything that word could be used to represent.
aleph_1 49
Location:The Woodlands, TX
I don't think this accurately describes Rand's position.
BH has made an informal fallacy called the "straw man". It either illustrates that he doesn't understand Oism or is purposefully mirepresenting it.
tadmjones 40
bill eva andie and I suspect a few other names, is in the habit of this type of posting and is making the rounds of O'ist forums and generally getting banned
That may be true, but pseudonyms (and even lying about one's history) are not against our forum rules. So unless he's impersonating a real person or breaking a forum rule he will be allowed to post here.
Harrison Danneskjold 152
The High Lord Infallible
Location:Saint Paul
Real Name:William Harrison Jodeit
In other words, we're trained by our cultures as to what sensational inputting even gets recognized.
Trained how?
If sensations are directed by one's culture then what is a culture and how does one acquire it?
Half of Rand's epistemology concerns the relationship between words and things, while the other half is about the formation of concepts. Both halves require some sort of vindication within the realm of brain studies.
Just thought you should know that this is an outright confession of introspective blindness.
Besides, there is no such thing as experimental data that is not grasped via perception and perception is the only way to ground meaning and justification without infinite regress period.
I agree. Ignorance of this fact, whether voluntary or not, is the mistake I see Billy continuing to make over and over again.
The premise that perception is automatic and infallible is not a hypothesis, as such, and I do not accept the premise that philosophical topics are the type of subject matter requiring experiment-testing.
I do not agree with this.
Science informs philosophy, always has throughout history. A discovery doesn't reveal philosophical truths, but it isn't wrong to induce from a scientific discovery, then abstract details away to discover philosophical principles.
It deserves its own thread (and I'm tempted to give it one presently) but I'm with Louie on this one.
Harrison said:
Plasmatic, on 23 Mar 2014 - 01:12 AM, said:
Eiuol, on 22 Mar 2014 - 8:45 PM, said:
Thats fine, but you do realize you are rejecting the possibility of a non propositional base for justification in the self evident? If philosophy is not foundational then you are accepting an infinite regress.
If philosophy is not foundational then you are accepting an infinite regress.
Literacy, for example, is a skill which requires certain information; that information was derived from the self evident and infallible testimony of the senses originally- right? But the fact that it's derivative shouldn't stop you from applying that knowledge to your senses in order to read and write- right?
If so then in exactly the same way, scientific knowledge (which logically depends on philosophy) can be used to gain additional insights into philosophy.
So I suppose I could be accepting a circular sort of justification, except that nothing can contradict anything (since that would generate stolen concepts) and if there were to be a contradiction, philosophy should ultimately take priority over everything else- in the same way and for the same reason that the self evident takes priority over philosophy.
And that relation, in which derivative knowledge may enhance but not contradict its base, is also the relation I think sensations have with the inferences we draw from them (i.e. perception).
Edited March 26, 2014 by Harrison Danneskjold
bill harris 0
Real Name:bill harris
There are only several logical possibilities:
* Aristotle: Words adequately describe any object. In other words, there is no real epistemological issue in so far as our senses tell us the truth about what's out there. Therefore, the relationship word/thing is 'natural'.
* Kripke: words cause objects. Therefore words serve as causal referents because nothing exists without a name. Otherwise, we're dealing with what Aristotle called huile, or indistinguished matter.
* Russell: words describe everything that might be said about a thing. Indeed, these descriptors are not only infinitely regressive, but also contradictory.
* Wittgenstein: words only define things within a frame of reference (Bild). Words outside said frame are meaningless.
It's more or less assumed that Rand's position was Aristotelian (Machan). That's because, again, of her mind- theory of "perception >> thought". In other words, the mind produces a representation of what's really out there:
We absorb sensory data, we bundle, we process by thought, we produce concepts by abstracting sensory particulars...etc....
What isn't accounted for is error and the stark reality that other people (a) take the same sensory data, but derive other accounts of abstracted truths and ( the process of selective perception gives different individuals different data, therefore different truths.
Of course, this isn't new: Kant cited the above in Hume as to why he was shaken out of his dogmatic slumber. Rational skepticism, then, begins with the discovery that other people use reason, too, but derive different conclusions.
Therefore, what you seem to be offering of Rand is a hedge. Condensing ' all referent properties' means (a) all that the mind possess at the time of condensation and ( all properties understood by the mind to be 'true' referents, as opposed to those that aren't.
Lastly, again, the Randian assumption is that the mind works like an inductive machine by forming few generalizations (abstractions) from many sensations (perceptions). Then, concepts ...w
Well, only half true, as pre-existing thought guides what's perceived, after all.
Edited March 26, 2014 by bill harris
>>>scientific knowledge (which logically depends on philosophy) can be used to gain additional insights into philosophy.<<<
You can, I suppose rig up a daffy-nition of 'philosophy' which satisfies this statement. Perhaps, metaphysically, "Nature' is mind-independent." Wow.
Obviously, the problem is that said statement is not limited to doing science as such. Rather, it informs our daily lives every minute.
The second issue is that various scientists have held various metaphysical views of reality, yet have worked side-by side. perhaps the best example is Wigner, who actually believed that the grater part of QM was mind-dependent, D- matrix and all.
Lastly, we have the in-the-face-reality of Bacon's New Method', which explicitly rejects Aristotle for the sake of creating a new metaphysik consistent with his own method.
Harrison, I'm afraid I have no idea what you just said..??? Special knowledge can reaffirm the self evident but not justify it in any way. The special sciences can never reach back to that which it depends on to command it in any way. That would indeed be circular.
t's more or less assumed that Rand's position was Aristotelian (Machan). That's because, again, of her mind- theory of "perception >> thought". In other words, the mind produces a representation of what's really out there:
Um, this is not Rand's position at all. Oism is a presentational, not representational view of perception. Consciousness is identification not representation.
I hope you realize this is not an argument for such "rational skepticism" or "thought guides perception" premises.
What is at issue is precisely the premise that the differences in categorization is a difference in method of identification, where the identification is a volitional-conditional process of method.
Edit: Can you provide what you think justifies this "thought guides perception" premise. Is it simply that "people have different truths from same data" ?
No, abstraction is a synonym for concept in Oism. "Concepts are abstractions" ITOE. There is no separate process.
"What isn't accounted for is error and the stark reality that other people (a) take the same sensory data, but derive other accounts of abstracted truths and ( the process of selective perception gives different individuals different data, therefore different truths."
You really haven't read Rand, have you?
For it to be said that an INDIVIDUAL has obtained objective knowledge, what is required is that he has - to the best of his ability - reconciled and accounted for any known, contradictory information. Example, Newton's knowledge was objective., but Einstein later provided a better description of gravity. And you know what? Einstein's ideas have flaw's too.
Objectivism (and objectivity) is not about achieving omniscient, flawless, never-to-be-amended TRUTH about the Universe. All propositions are contextual, all definitions are contextual.
Actually read FeatherFall's post #104 and think about it.
Edited March 26, 2014 by New Buddha
Special knowledge can reaffirm the self evident but not justify it in any way. The special sciences can never reach back to that which it depends on to command it in any way.
I'm sorry. In retrospect, the ambiguity was on my part.
Science cannot justify philosophy; the justification (or the commanding) only goes one way. But I think the special sciences can elaborate.
With the analogy I provided, literacy does not justify nor dictate the images you see here. It does, how ever, elaborate images into letters, words and paragraphs.
That's the relation I was attempting to describe between science and philosophy.
I will respond to this once you elaborate on reality's dependence on the mind.
Taking the oft used example of color, similar shades of blue are viewed as different relative to one another, but introducing a foil of say yellow, or red - the differences are perceptually viewed as similar in contrast to the introduced foil. These color distinctions could easily go back to pre-writing time in my mind.
Supporting Miss Rand's measurement omission recognizing that the similarity of characteristic differs in quantity or magnitude, science confirms this for us without upsetting the fact that this is done perceptually. Since Newton's observations recorded in "The Opticks", the angular relationship he documented has been augmented by further investigations that have demonstrated much more of the light spectrum in quantifiable wavelength's. In this regard, science confirms this measurable aspect of this induction made philosophically.
Newton had to have a sound enough understanding of dealing with the evidence of the sense to undergird his approach to understanding the phenomenon he was investigating. In this sense, philosophy lays the foundations for the sciences to build upon.
On another token, Dr. Peikoff stated that Miss Rand did not think she could have come see reason as the means of survival without the industrial revolution - which could well have it's roots in the application of mathematics to physical phenomenon as laid out by Kepler, Galileo, Newton, and others.
This seems to suggest a symbiotic relationship between the sciences.
Even in Harriman's recent release - the progress in chemistry reached an impasse which physics picked up on, which in turn, enabled chemistry to move forward.
And I'll wrap by saying, consider how all this knowledge is interrelated, interrelates with the philosophic principle of how all knowledge interrelates.
JASKN, tadmjones and Harrison Danneskjold reacted to this
>>>You really haven't read Rand, have you?<<<
>>>For it to be said that an INDIVIDUAL has obtained objective knowledge, what is required is that he has - to the best of his ability - reconciled and accounted for any known, contradictory information.<<<
If this is all that Rand is saying, then She's said nothing at all that's remotely interesting: who would not agree with the above? In other words, although yes, I've read her Epistemology, one would not have to read it to have agreed with her on the above.
Perhaps my gloss, then, is either putting words in her mouth or making her appear far more profound than she was. After all, i'm trying my best to place her in the company of Aristotle, Russell, Kripke...while you're reducing her to a melange of Ken Wilbur, Dr Phil, and Sarah Palin.
At the very least, we can agree that you're using 'objective' in a rather louche sense. All it really means is 'subject independent'. So now you're offering up gravity as a 'subject-independent' idea? Wow! How insightful! My 12 year old niece can do better by citing Peyton List's 'gravy theory'.
BH,
I came back to my keyboard to find post #118 posted, and the "Reply to the topic" filled in with the contents of post #118. This may shed some insight to the rash of double and triple posting observed lately.
Elaborating on the contents of post #118, in one of my earlier replies to the OP, I asked when some of the data reference by Binswanger had been published relative to when Miss Rand had published. While she published after some of the research Binswanger references, the publications are still not widely known or even necessarily accepted.
Binswanger's contention with the terminology used by Miss Rand, is not identified occurring within such a consideration.
His distinction between critters experiencing sensation as a mode of experience and of those experiencing percept is compelling. Did the data Miss Rand was privy to in 1979 when she concretized perception as a group of sensations include the scope and depth that Binswanger has availed himself to in his course of the investigation of the data?
Binswanger's distinction between the critter's having access to sensations and those having access to perceptions is compelling. The studies from the early 60's of Helms, and partner, about active/passive perception and the development of relating the perceptual data to the movement feedback loop have much to add. But if Miss Rand was not privy to these studies at the time of penning ITOE, positing a disagreement on the grounds of 'new' discoveries, at best, fails to take this aspect of the timeline into consideration.
Binswanger still presents a thought provoking book, which is still challenging me to reconsider how I've come to terms with "consciousness, as an active process".
Edited March 26, 2014 by dream_weaver
Newton was able to extend his Optics into a viable general hypotheses through what we now call 'abduction' . So if this is what you want to call 'philosophy', then fine.
But Newton also believed in alchemy, so what's that called? Or how about his belief in god?
Babylonians and Greeks both had mathematics. For the former, it seemed to have been a grab-bag of methods applied to certain problems. As fr the later, we're well aware of certain philosophers' apparent desire to convert lots of how -to's into a few axioms, or 'worthies'. That's just what philosophers do, ostensibly a Greek invention.
At its birth, chemistry had to prove the viability of molecules. Then came an explosion of knowledge, particularly in Germany, that occurred so fast that Americans had such a hard time keeping up with the translations that many simply went and learned German, instead.
The advent of Physical Chemistry and Quantum Analysis was due in great part to Pauling's solution to the benzine-halogen problem in the 20's. As even Einstein couldn't understand the solution as personally explained, it's rather obvious that Chemistry was employing certain quantum techniques not universally known in Physicsworld.
No, I don't believe the 'knowledge hypotheses' as anything more than its accumulation overtime. For example, the 'roots' of Bessemer having figured out how to cheaply inject carbon in to iron was based upon the access to huge quantities of coal, iron, and labor.
in other words, what made the new industrial revolution of steel was not the understanding, which dates to the 1400's at least, but how to do it better, more efficiently.
Buddah,
As I mentioned in another post, situating Rand's epistemology in the company of those who you cited was meant as a complement.
For my own purposes, i'm trying to figure out where she fits in. Therefore, your knowledge of these philosophers would be of great benefit.
With anticipatory thanks, Bill
Am I suppose to pretend that what you are arbitrarily referencing in here actually ties in to the overall topic that has been being discussed since Binswanger's book came out? Just glancing over your replay reply tells me you're grasping at straws, trying to make your assessment as semi-plausible as you can. Sorry, I'm neither softwareNerd; able to address your insecurities on these issues; or Harrison, able to categorize your rationalizations for what they are. I'm simply a student here trying my best to understand the material my senses have been provided with.
Edited: relay = reply
Harrison Danneskjold reacted to this
Am I suppose to pretend that what you are arbitrarily referencing in here actually ties in to the overall topic that has been being discussed since Binswanger's book came out? Just glancing over your replay tells me you're grasping at straws, trying to make your assessment as semi-plausible as you can. Sorry, I'm neither softwareNerd; able to address your insecurities on these issues; or Harrison, able to categorize your rationalizations for what they are. I'm simply a student here trying my best to understand the material my senses have been provided with.
I was referring to # 121. Must I provide line-by-line citations?
Only if they are not self-evident.
Edited to add for clarification: In this case, I was replying to post # 121.


text:
54th National Board of Review Awards
February 14, 1983
The 54th National Board of Review Awards were announced on December 13, 1982, and given on February 14, 1983.

Top Ten Films
Gandhi
The Verdict
Sophie's Choice
An Officer and a Gentleman
Missing
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
The World According to Garp
Tootsie
Moonlighting
The Chosen

Top Foreign Films
Mephisto
Das Boot
Three Brothers
Yol
Siberiade

Winners
Best Film: Gandhi
Best Foreign Film: Mephisto
Best Actor: Ben Kingsley (Gandhi)
Best Actress: Meryl Streep (Sophie's Choice)
Best Supporting Actor: Robert Preston (Victor Victoria)
Best Supporting Actress: Glenn Close (The World According to Garp)
Best Director: Sidney Lumet (The Verdict)
Career Achievement Award: Patricia Neal

External links
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures :: Awards for 1982

1982
1982 film awards
1982 in American cinema

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


In my upcoming historical romance, Destined to Last, the heroine, Lady Kate Cole, has an extraordinary gift for music. I loved creating this aspect of her character. It provided me with the opportunity to take a small walk down memory lane. I was never a musical prodigy like Kate, but once upon a time, I had a decent sense of rhythm and the ability to read music without stopping to count lines and spaces.
I started piano lessons in elementary school, flute lessons and choir in junior high. I tried out the cello in high school, and took a keyboarding class for my fine arts credit in college.
I like to think my music teachers weren't just being kind when they said I had real talent. I also like to think I might have made something out of that talent had I just stuck with it. I didn't. I slowly traded lessons and practice time for skiing, dance, and the one hobby I've actually stuck with--marksmanship. By the time I graduated from college, I had set all instruments aside for good. As a result, my current musical capabilities do not extend beyond some high school band music and a few piano recital pieces.
This seems like the sort of thing I ought to regret, but I don't. Maybe the reason for this is because as much as I enjoyed studying music, I never had a true passion for creating it as Lady Kate exhibits in Destined to Last. Or it's maybe because I feel as if I didn't give up on music so much as I chose to develop other talents. So I can't play Beethoven's Appassionata. I can say that I out-shot my brother the sniper (just once, but it counts) and I can stand with my father in a pasture and shoot bows at paper targets stuck to bales of hay. It may not sound as impressive as a well played symphony, but I love it. I have a passion for it. I wouldn't give it up for the world.
What about you? Are there talents you've stuck with or let go since childhood? Are there interests or hobbies you'd like to pick up now? I'll be giving away a book from my backlist, so be sure to leave a comment. You can read about Destined to Last and the other books from my historical Providence series at www.alissa-johnson.com.


Womensport and Recreation New South Wales (WRNSW) is the state's peak non-government organisation to advance the status of women in sport. It was launched at Parliament House in Sydney in 1996. It is membership based and include individual members, sporting organisations and schools. In 2002 WRNSW established a Head Office in Sydney and appointed its first part-time Executive Officer. WRNSW was a finalist for the "Best Organisation of the Year 2002" in the State Sport Annual Awards.
Our mission is to facilitate full participation, access and equity for females through sport and active recreation.
To lobby decision makers on issue relating to females in sport and recreation.
Schoolgirls Breakfasts with the Stars in Sydney and country areas in which teenage girls meet female athletes from various sporting backgrounds as role models over breakfast. A highly successful program with the most recent Sydney Breakfast (our 10th breakfast!) catering to close to 1000 participants.
Annual Series of Workshops on cutting edge topics. The 2002 Series focused on "How to engage the media" with the aim of getting more media coverage for women in sport. Representatives from radio, tv and newspapers were facilitators. The 2003 Series will focus on sport and physical activity for health and well being.
The Women on Boards (WoB) program successfully placing highly skilled women on sporting Boards and Committees. This program addresses gender equity in leadership positions. As a gateway to the WoB program the Breakfast Club (see below) was established.
The Breakfast Club for women working in sport as an avenue to network, exchange ideas and increase personal development. The Club meets four times a year at various locations in Sydney.
Development of our web site with information about WRNSW, upcoming events and hot topics in women's sport.
Publication of quarterly Newsletters with a wealth of information, discussion and analysis of women's sport issues which are widely distributed to members, politicians, state and national sporting organisations and other stakeholders.
Ongoing research on good practices which increase teenage girls' participation in sport and physical activity.
Publications and presentations on research findings and WRNSW projects within Australia and overseas including the 2002 World Conference for Women and Sport in Montreal.
The annual meeting, which is a full day program of lectures and workshops, serves as a platform for discussion of women-sport related issues, and formation of action groups.
initiatives to advance women and girls into sport in the school and in the community - examples from the "field"
We organized two conferences, one in 1997 and one in 1999 and two seminars- one in 1998 and in 2001 - on women and sport issues. We also organized special seminars and workshops in other sports conferences. Another task equally important and more difficult was the fund raising task. At the beginning we managed to get some funds to publish and distribute leaflets with our objectives and later managed to publish twice annually our newsletter. Currently we are publishing our first scientific journal with issues exclusively connected to women in the field of sport, leisure and recreation. This journal is going to be published twice annually.