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Google Earth View of Shoal Harbour
Posted on January 13, 2016 by elaineethier07
(Kerry Finley reports that he has found a reason that hunting for Shoal Harbour's) fabled eel-grass beds has been so hit and miss:
One of the latest Google Earth images from this past summer is one of the best resolutions yet. It shows that the patch we've been hitting is an isolated small spot in the northwest corner. See dark patch below. Not the long oval green patch which actually is quite interesting because it was not there a couple years ago and seems to have formed where a large tree became stranded and has been decaying ( it seems to have disappeared since the Nov – Dec storms). You can make out the more extensive band that parallels the sand flats headed to the east. This image from June 7 2015 shows a brighter green photo-bloom that somewhat obscures the edge of the well delineated eel-grass contour. (In order to find an eel-grass bed it) might be good to allow for a lower tide so that you can access the larger bed.
The Precious Smelt and Mr. Brandt's Cormorant for Xmas
Posted on January 5, 2016 by fmboyce
At sunset on January 2nd, I watched the resident male Kingfisher dive from the pier across the bay, then fly with his catch toward me and land on the boat ramp below. It was a relatively large fish and the Kingfisher spent a considerable time bashing it adeptly on the planks, until its prey went into death throes. After jostling it to get it ready for a head-first entry, it lost it and since the tide was out, it landed on the exposed beach.
It proved to be a Surf Smelt, 18 cm in length (dinner plate size), and it was evident that it was a male from the milt that it exuded. I wondered whether smelt referred to its odour which was strong, and noted in the field guide that the family name Osmeridae was derived from Greek for odorous.
Its species name 'pretiosus' means precious. Whoever bestowed that name must have beheld it closely, for they fairly mesmerize with their varied hues and silver sides, and the fluorescent emerald back that distinguishes the females. Precious, but too big for a Kingfisher.
Not much is known about their abundance in B.C. waters. At one time, beginning in the mid nineteenth century, they were the subject of a substantial commercial fishery for domestic consumption. This fishery peaked before the first World War, with a maximum tonnage over 200 taken in 1904. It is now subject largely to a recreational fishery in Burrard Inlet, and the summer spawning on the Washington and Oregon coasts provides an important food source for native people. It's not known whether the Salish Sea is comprised of more than one stock but the occurrence of both summer and winter spawning populations suggests that there are genetic differences.
Despite its abundance in coastal waters in winter, it is seldom noticed, and their spawning beaches are not well known, or targeted by recreational fisheries. These winter spawning sites tend to be situated in protected bays with a freshwater input. Recent beach sampling by students from the University of Victoria have found evidence of spawning within Shoal Harbour Sanctuary.
It's probably no coincidence that a large flock of Brandt's Cormorant (150 +) along with Red-breasted Mergansers (45) entered the mouth of Roberts Bay on December 23rd as the moon approached fullness. A large pack of Brandt's again entered the bay on Christmas Day in pursuit of prey but were thwarted by a holiday kayaker. Unlike other cormorants, Brandt's hunt in dense packs so it is difficult to count them. They seldom enter the sanctuary and when they do it marks a special occasion because their behavior and fishing technique are so different from the resident Double-crested and Pelagic Cormorants. It takes a lot of forage fish to sustain a pack of hungry Brandt's. After dispersing from their California-based breeding grounds, the species migrates north and its appearance and local abundance are dependent on the seasonal movements of schooling prey species like Herring, Sand Lance and the Surf Smelt.
Brandt's Cormorants were first recorded nesting in B.C. in 1965 on and island off Long Beach. Their numbers peaked in 1970 at 150 pairs, and declined afterwards to none today. In winter, its centre of abundance is in the adjacent waters, including Sidney Channel Important Bird Area, reflecting its high productivity due to its oceanographic features, and aggregations of 'forage fish'. Brandt's Cormorants know where the action is, as do the Mergansers.
As we enter into this winter of a full blown El Nino, many species have drastically shifted their distributions, or starved, due to the oceanographic changes. Monitoring programs, such as the Coastal Waterbird Survey, can provide important insights into what is happening beneath the surface.
Kerry Finley, January 5, 2016
MERMAID CREEK ESTUARY, 3 Jan 2016
Posted on January 3, 2016 by elaineethier07
The delta and outwash plain of Mermaid Creek supports a diverse plant community from Dune Grass to the Sea Asparagus beds that are occupied by overwintering prairie and boreal ducks. Chief among them is the American Wigeon, or Baldpate as it was once known, that is unique among freshwater dabbling ducks, in its voracious appetite for Sea Lettuce or Ulva. Large windrows of Sea Lettuce have been accumulating on beaches on the delta and around the end of Fifth Street, a popular viewing point, overlooking Roberts Bay.
The richness of the estuarine community is recycled through Ulva in several ways. Most notably through the digestive system of the Wigeon which explains the luxurious carpet of Sea Asparagus. Buts its the Dune Grass, which anchors the fine sands, that benefits by stranding the Ulva at the highest tide reach, and deriving abundant nutrients from its decomposition. ( Which is why the Town sometimes receives complaints about the sewery smell in the area when the plant recycling system is thrown out of whack). Another important avenue of recycling is through the amphipod – Beach Hopper community, which in turn supports Mallards that require more concentrated protein than Wigeons.
Even without maximum storm tides coinciding with strong Sou,easters in this El Nino winter, the kelp and flotsam been deposited on adjacent lawns. The rising ocean is now lapping over the pavement on Fifth on a regular basis, and the storm sewer outlet is blocked every winter from shifting sand.
Sidney's Emergency Measures document identifies this area of Roberts Bay to be highly susceptible to flooding from storm surges, as sea levels continue to rise. An integrated management plan, involving the Canadian Wildlife Service and the Town of Sidney, should consider this eventuality, and the importance of the delta to migratory birds, as a prime resting or roosting site, as well as a source of freshwater and nutrient filtering system.
American Wigeon, Mallards and Green-winged Teal resting on Mermaid Delta, 3 December, 2016


Daniel Schorr, a legend and former senior news analyst for NPR who passed away in 2010, reminds us of the role journalists play in holding their feet to the fire of facts.
When suicide bombers blow up crowded marketplaces, or a lone shooter attacks a nightclub, one question we're always left with is why. This hour, a look at the underlying psychology of political violence.
Occupy Wall Street co-creator says activists are following an outdated script.
In "The Year of the Runaways," British novelist Sunjeev Sahota tells the story of three recent immigrants to the UK, and with deft precision examines their struggles, fears, and relationships.
Social media has brought us all closer together. Sometimes that's a good thing. But when it comes to online shaming, it's a bad thing.


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If I wanted to be wealthy, I should have been a priest
August 9, 2017 1:49 pm / 17 Comments on If I wanted to be wealthy, I should have been a priest
What is missing in the 2017 National Diocesan Survey on Salaries and Benefits for Priests and Lay Personnel? (Commissioned by the National Association for Church Personnel Administrators [NACPA] and the National Federation of Priests' Councils [NFPC], it was carried out by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate [CARA]). The overview seems both modest and comparable to the typical lay ecclesial minister's income:
If I were a priest, I could probably afford the $795 that NACPA is charging to download a copy of their full study, and find out in closer detail. But as a lifetime lay employee of the Church, I have to take it as a given that the good people at NACPA (mostly lay pastoral administrators) have crunched their numbers accurately and the $45,593 is in fact the median taxable income of U.S. priests. A table of contents is publicly available which indicates what they did (and did not) consider.
What about the untaxable income? What about the things that are hard to quantify but observably make a difference? Or easy to quantify but simply taken for granted? What about the expenses that the lay counterpart has that the priest does not? A penny saved is a penny earned, after all.
A pastor I know complained – often and loudly – that he was paying the lay pastoral staff at his new assignment far too much (A little less than $50,000 per year, less than the state's average income[1]). To his credit, the pastoral council president, who had been involved in the hiring process with the previous pastor, usually replied that the staff were paid about 1/3 of what they were worth in the private sector, and the young priest should be a little more appreciative.
Fr. Scrooge's attitude got me thinking about the apparent disparity between compensation for equally qualified people with a vocation to ecclesial ministry.
Look at two people of reasonably comparable demographic – single, no children, with undergraduate and graduate degrees in theology/divinity, committed to a life of ministry in the Church – and consider them in a similar parish, similar ministry, with similar qualifications, experience, and responsibility. One is a priest, the other a lay ecclesial minister.
There is no question the priest in such a scenario is "wealthier" – enjoying a higher standard of living, a nicer house, with greater stability, and less stress about making ends meet. So how does this observable reality reconcile with the apparently low income that priests have, according to the NACPA study? Something is missing.
Considering a few major areas of disparity, we can easily track how those pennies add up, taxable or otherwise.
Source: Mundelein Seminary
In the U.S., the standard education and formation program for a priest is to have a four-year Bachelor's degree (in anything, really, but with a year's worth of philosophy and theology at the undergrad level before graduate seminary), and a three-year Master of Divinity or equivalent, plus a pastoral internship year. Most lay ecclesial ministers have something similar, if, of necessity, in a greater variety of configurations.
In one diocese I am familiar with, the entire cost of seminary is covered, at least from pre-theology onward, plus a variable stipend for travel and spending. For college seminarians, the students are accountable for half their cost (which could be covered by scholarships they earned from the university, for example).
The average cost of tuition and fees at Catholic colleges and universities in the U.S. in 2016-2017 was about $31,500, with the highest ones being around $52,000 (Source: ACCU). So let us say the diocese i mentioned is typical, and pays for two years of the undergraduate and all three years of the graduate costs for formation: middle-of the road estimate of $157,500 per seminarian.
An additional spending stipend can range from $2000-$6500 per year depending on where they are in studies. Let us say $4000 a year for ease of calculation. An additional $20,000 brings the educational investment up to $177,500. It would be interesting to see what the actual numbers on this spending are.
The candidate for lay ministry, on the other hand, has to work or take out loans, though in some places some assistance is available. Forty years ago, one could work full time at a minimum wage job in the summer to pay for a year of tuition at a respectable state school, but that has not been true since the 1980s. Despite savings, work-study, scholarships and grants, and, if fortunate, parent contributions, the average graduate leaves with $38,000 in student loan debt after a Bachelors, and about $58,000 all told if they have also a Masters from a private institution, which has to be the case if you have a degree in theology. (Source: Newamerica.org study, Ticas.org). The interest on that, at the standard federal rate of 6% over the life of the loan (twenty years) will add another $19,000 to the total.
So far, in terms of pennies saved and earned, the priest is $196,500 ahead, and ministry has not even begun.
But we are not done: the best and brightest are often called to graduate studies, say, a license in canon law or a doctorate in theology.
Another three years of graduate school for a JCL (or five, at minimum, for a doctorate). In Rome, where tuition is cheap but living is costly and jobs are hard to find, it is easy to contrast the stability and support given to clergy with the complete chaos experienced by most laity – who, nevertheless, sacrifice more and more in answer to a vocation to serve the Church.
About $25,000 a year, (choosing the cheaper options of a canon law degree in Rome), and there's another $75,000 where our priest has uncounted 'income'.
He is now $271,500 better-off than the lay counterpart …and we are not even counting the little extras Knights of Columbus 'pennies for heaven' drives or Serra club gifts.
Note, too, that the priest-grad student continues to draw a salary/stipend, plus other benefits like housing and food stipends, while in studies; the lay minister has to give all this up to pursue studies. According to the study, that means adding another $45,000 per year to the priest's advantage.
So, make that $406,500 ahead of the lay minister with the same education.
St. George Parish Rectory, Worcester, MA.
Housing was calculated in the NACPA study, either (or both?) in terms of taxable cash allowances and housing provided, but it is hard to reconcile the low-ball numbers given with the observable reality: Priests living alone in houses that are considerably larger and/or nicer than what their lay counterpart could ever afford to live in. How is this possible?
Simply ask the question: What is the value of the house (rectory) and what would it take to live there?
You can either look at the value of the rectory and estimate the salary required to afford such a place; or you can look at the salary earned and look at how much house someone with that income can afford, and how it compares.
Based on the 2012 CARA survey (being unable to see the 2017 median salary as it is behind a paywall), the median annual salary in 2010 was $34,200. That's about $38,351 in 2017, factoring for inflation. Assuming no other debts (ha!), that means one could afford a house valued at about $185,000, considerably less than the median price.
The median house value is about $300,000 in the U.S., based on sales prices over the last year (Source: National Association of Realtors). To afford this, one would have to be making about $65,000 a year, at least, and paying $1800 a month mortgage or rent.
But is the typical rectory more or less expensive?
As a point of reference from which to extrapolate, I checked on the value of the rectories in the five parishes where I have lived and worked in the last twenty years. (Source: Zillow). I then compared their value to the median house value in the same cities or regions.
Everett, WA Rectory Value: $550,000. (Median House: $330,000)
Estimated monthly payment: $3560. Recommended income: $120,000 per year.
Woodinville, WA Rectory Value: $641,000. (Median House $755,000)
Bellingham, WA Rectory Value: $700,000. (me Median House: $415,000)
Bothell, WA Rectory Value: $951,000. (Median House: $529,000)
Edmonds, WA Rectory Value[2]: $1,600,000. (Median House: $541,000)
Estimated monthly payment: $10,281. Recommended income: $343,000 per year.
The average rectory value was $888,400 in a region where the average house is valued at $514,000 (or, 172% the price of a 'median' house). Only in one case was the rectory valued lower than the typical house, and in most cases they were considerably higher. One would have to be earning an annual salary at least $192,200 in an area where the median household income is $58,000, in order to live in these rectories – and most Church employees are not even making the state median income.
Extrapolating this trend to the national median house price, we could estimate that the national typical rectory is valued at about half a million dollars, meaning a mortgage or rent of $3000 a month for the lay employee wanting to buy or rent the same place. An additional $36,000 a year is well beyond the taxable extras indicated by the NACPA survey. The main reason for this is probably that many of the properties are already owned in full by parish or diocese, so the cash flow is calculated differently, but to my question: what would it take for the lay employee to live there, this is the more accurate measure of wealth differential.
Our priest is now not only $406,500 better off to begin with, but at an advantage of $36,000 per annum. On average. In a place like western Washington State (where my rectory examples are from), the annual disparity is nearly double.
For those considering a PhD in Theology
These days, it is not unusual to be without work for some period of time, no matter how educated, skilled, or driven one is. Though Baby Boomers tend to think of these as irregular, it is an expected part of professional life for GenX and Millennials. About 1 in 5 workers are laid off every five years, in the twenty-first century, and 40% of workers under 40 have been unemployed for some significant amount of time in their short careers. I can only imagine this statistic is higher for those who have worked (or tried to work) for the Church.
When a priest is incompetent, or just not a good fit for a particular job or office, it is almost impossible to have him moved or fired. Even when he does, his livelihood is never in question.
Even when a lay minister is at the top of his or her game, an economic downturn will affect them far before the priest. Our exemplar lay minister not only has to worry that he could lose his job just because the new pastor does not like lay people or feels threatened by anyone with a theology degree besides himself, s/he has to worry about more than just a loss of respect or office, but something as simple as whether or not he can afford a place to live, health care, or the cost of moving to a new job. Lay ministers are not even entitled to state unemployment benefits, being employees of a religious institution. If he or she is out of work for a month or two, that means a significant loss of income and increase in stress, not vacation time.
How do we quantify this? Certainly, the psychological advantage of knowing you have virtually untouchable job security is priceless. Based on some (admittedly unscientific) survey of other lay ecclesial ministers, an average seems to be about one month of (unpaid, involuntary) unemployment for every three years of working for the Church. Based on the median annual pay and benefits of such ministers, that's a little more than $4300 in lost income and benefits every three years, or about $1450 a year we can add to the priest's income advantage, which now stands at $406,500 out of the blocks and $37,450 annually.
Blurred boundaries and clerical culture
Some years ago, I was at a conference once with several priests, and we decided to go out for a steak dinner at a nice downtown establishment. One of the priests (soon after, a bishop) reached for the bill, pulled out a credit card, and said, "Dinner's on the parishioners of St. X's tonight!"
Whether he meant the he was paying out of his own pocket for our dinner but realized his salary came from parish giving, or that he was using the parish credit card (and budget) was a little unclear, but it seemed like the latter.
Even the most well-intentioned priest is hard-pressed to clarify where his personal finances begin and the parish's ends in every case, especially as he has essentially full control over the latter, what with most parish finance councils being merely 'consultative'. For those who feel they are entitled to the benefices of their little fiefdom, it is only too easy to meet basic needs without even touching one's official salary or stipend.
Sometimes it is a result simply of not knowing any other way. When I was a grad student, the then-chair of theology was a Benedictine monk. At the end of my first year, he called me in to inquire why I, as a scholarship student, was not getting straight A's. When I mentioned the 25-30 hours I put in at work each week, he was perplexed: why was I working while in studies? I pointed out that my scholarship covered only tuition, and not university fees, housing, food, insurance, travel and transportation, books, computer, etc., he sat back and with a rather distracted look on his face said, "Oh… I forgot about all that." Such is the advantage of the 'wealthy' – even in vows of poverty!
I cannot calculate the untaxed income of intentional or innocent blurring of boundaries between budgets, but we would be naïve if we did not realize that our current quasi-monastic compensation structure lends itself to confusion at best, and abuse at worst. Certainly, most priests are among the well-intentioned and conscientious in this regard. That does not mean we cannot improve.
Conclusions and Solutions
Fifteen years after ordination or the beginning of a career in ministry, our two Church ministers are sitting quite differently. Nearly $970,000 differently, in fact. Our priest started with $406,500 in education advantages, and enjoyed housing and security advantages at a rate of $37,450 per year.
In other words, in order for our lay ecclesial ministers to be living on par with our priest – their average salary should be about $96,000 per year (plus benefits) – nearly triple the current reality. (Calculated by dividing the education advantage over twenty years, and adding the annual advantage to the average annual pay).
Remember, this is not all cash in hand, or the kind of wealth you can take with you (I know most priests do not own the rectories in which they get to live, but then, most lay ministers are renting too.). Nor is this all of the same quality information – some is based on extensive national study, but where data is lacking, we have had to estimate a median goal by extrapolating from known reference points. Obviously, that means i will continue to update the figures up or down as more or better information presents itself.
But in terms of, "what would the lay minister's salary have to be to enjoy the same 'wealth' as a priest" there is your answer. These are expenses the priest never personally had, that the lay minister did or would have to have had to live in the same houses, have the same education, etc.
So how can we make our compensation structure more just, more transparent, and more equitable?
The detailed information in the NACPA study helps, but it only address some of the problems. Accounted taxable income is only a portion of the income disparity, as we have seen. So what could we do differently?
Perhaps when a bishop or pastor hires a lay ecclesial minister, he should compensate them for the education they paid for that he now gets to take advantage of, to the same degree as what he would have paid for a priest in their situation? How does a $406,500 signing bonus sound? At the very least, compensate the individual as you would a fellow bishop when a priest from his diocese is excardinated from there to join yours.
On that note, all ministers should be incardinated, or registered, or something. It really makes no sense, ecclesiologically, to have any kind of 'free-agent' ministers in the Church, which is how our lay ministers are treated. All ministry is moderated by the bishop, and all ministers are, first of all, diocesan personnel, 'extending the ministry of the bishop'. They should be organized, supported, and paid as such. (At the bare minimum, they should show up in every dioceses' statistics on pastoral personnel!)
I am a big supporter of the idea that all of our ministry personnel – presbyters, deacons, and lay ecclesial ministers – should all follow the same compensation system and structure. Preferably, a straight salary. This clarifies the boundaries, makes real tracking of compensation easier, and clarifies comparable competencies.
Wherever the Church wants to remain in the real estate and housing business – though i am unsure if it should – these should be administered at the deanery level and set up as intentional Christian communities for ministers. Will have to write something else about this.
The same should be said for support and funding for formation and education. When the majority of parish ministers are lay ecclesial ministers (which has been the case for over a decade in the States), the majority of funding should be going to support their formation.
The same is true for advanced studies. Too often bishops seem to forget that their pool of human resources is wider than just the presbyterate. Raise up talent wherever it is found, and you will find dedicated ministers and coworkers for the Lord's vineyard.
Years ago, I met a young woman who wanted to spend her life in service of the Church, and so was pursuing a degree in canon law. She had written dozens of bishops asking for some kind of support or sponsorship in exchange for a post-graduation commitment to work, and received only negative responses. Her classmates were all priests ten to twenty years her senior, most of whom had not chosen to study canon law, and all receiving salaries in addition to a full ride scholarship from the diocese.
When she and I caught up ten years later, half her class was no longer even in priestly ministry, and she was still plugging along, serving as best she could. Talk about potential return-on-investment! Hundreds of thousands wasted on priests who did not want to study canon law in the first place, a fraction of which would have yielded far better results with this one young lay woman. Imagine how many more are out there denied the opportunity to serve simply because not enough support is offered.
You never know what it is that will catch people's attention. I hoped this post would provoke some thought, at least among friends and colleagues who read my now very occasional postings, but never thought this would be one to run viral. Read 4000 times here, shared 900 times on Facebook (!), quoted in America and prompting at least one blog in response, i have read and engaged many comments and am adding a follow up to those – many insightful – in a new post.
[1] Household median income is the standard measure of "average salary" in the U.S. census and demographic studies; it includes single-earner households such as our examples of a priest or a single lay ecclesial minister. The average per capita income for the same state was $30,000. (For the county in question, median household income is $68,000 and average per capita is $38,000.)
[2] This is the only one I had to make an estimate. Neighboring houses ranged from $800K to $1.5m, all of which were substantially smaller, on less property, and none of which featured an outdoor swimming pool… So I am, if anything, probably a bit conservative on the estimate.
Facebook's no "Father" fascism (and other woes of our age)
February 16, 2015 6:23 pm / Leave a comment
There is a new kind of fortnight for freedom on Facebook campaign. For the last couple of weeks one of the most pressing issues facing the church has not been, according to my newsfeed: the martyrs created by ISIS, the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the plight of immigrants and refugees, or the staggering disparity between multibillionaires and the billions in poverty. Rather, we must raise up arms about a new (or newly enforced) policy on Facebook that people ought to be using their real names. Petitions are being signed, editorials written, and, naturally, Facebook pages have been created.
Shocking, I know.
The thing is, though, there are already two solutions in place. Here is a radical idea: Before starting a virtual religious freedom riot, why not see if you can get what you want by using the tools already at hand?
The first options is the Public Figure Page. This is intended for people with a following. Celebrities and theologians and whatnot. Here I use the well-known Father Robert Barron as an example. He has two facebook pages:
His personal page is Robert Barron. He has 84 friends. (Somehow, I still know he's a priest).
His public figure page is Father Robert Barron, with over 411,000 likes.
You can use titles for public figures, no problem.
The second option is the "Name with Title" option.
(screenshot included)
Go to your profile's "About" tab,
click on "Details about you"
under "Other Names" click on "add nickname, birthname,…"
on the drop down menu for name type select "Name with Title"
Type in whatever you want: Deacon Tom, Father Dick, Bishop Harry, Pope Sixtus VI….
Now, as a Catholic Christian, I have no problem with this "real names" rule. Online integrity is part of "though shalt not lie" as far as we are concerned. No need for aliases, pseudonyms, or the "anonymous" setting behind which we can sling mud. No, all trolling must be done in our own name, as our online presence is an extension of ourselves. Recent remarks by both Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI, usually on World Communications Day, have underscored this idea.
However, some in the flock are not satisfied that they cannot present their title or style of address as if it is part of their name. This has primarily been a concern of priests and seminarians, some deacons and sisters. It is apparently some kind of anti-Catholic conspiracy, despite the fact that the policy applies to rabbis and imams and wiccan priestesses and pretty much everybody else as well.
Some clergy have taken to creating neologisms for their names, as Father Ralph becomes FrRalph and Deacon Bob becomes DeaconBob. Others have changes their profile pictures in protest (samples inserted).
As a child of the digital age, a postmodern son of the Church (at least by generation), I am not inclined to agree. (And, as far as I can tell, Catholic doctors, judges, and professors have not expressed similar outrage.)
If I see your occupation is physician, I know it is polite to address you as "Doctor"; if you teach at university, I know your style is "Professor"; if I see you are a priest or deacon, I know that "Father" is a customary style of address, and will likely choose to address you that way.
It is not your name, however. Your name is your name, and that should be sufficient. Your name was good enough for your Christian Initiation, it is certainly good enough for your ordination, to say nothing of your Facebook page.
It would be similarly pretentious, and inaccurate, to introduce yourself by saying "Hello, my name is Father Smith" or "My name is Doctor Jones". NO: your name is Bob Smith or Tom Jones. Father, or Doctor, is not part of your name.
You could say, "Call me Father Smith" or "Call me Ishmael" if you want me to call you something other than just your name, but your name is your name. Be proud of it, and do not confuse it with your title.
"Simple is the new chic"
September 22, 2013 11:30 pm / 3 Comments on "Simple is the new chic"
So says an octogenarian cardinal usually known in Rome for his sartorial splendor, when asked upon his recent appearance in a Trastevere trattoria in simple black clerical suit.
The tale is relayed by John Allen, the well-known vaticanist at dinner, from his own experience earlier this year, at the end of one of those typical Roman days where you get nothing done that you planned, but which turns out so much more interesting for it.
During the course of the day, which started with the Divine Liturgy at the Russicum (the Russian Catholic collegio), I have broken bread with a Byzantine-rite Jesuit, the organizer of an international Vatican conference, two archbishops, the aforementioned vaticanist, a papal dame, a worker-priest, journalists and students from five continents. Before yesterday I had not expected any of it.
Discussion ranged to include, (somewhat predictably):
Pope Francis' big interview;
Cardinal Piacenza's perceived demotion (officially a lateral move) from Congregation for Clergy to Major Penitentiary;
Archbishop Gus DiNoia's unclear mandate as adjunct secretary at CDF (he had been the last ditch effort to save the talks with SSPX, after even our most traditionalist-friendly prelates assigned to the dialogue team found the task untenable);
the situation in Egypt, including an assessment that the military coup has popular support and will let democracy happen, if a party can be found that wont prove nepotistic or despotic;
expectation that the canonization of popes John XXIII and John Paul II will indeed be on Divine Mercy Sunday (27 April);
another impending financial scandal that will make the Vatican bank issues look like small potatoes;
the fears that Francis, who reminds many of John Paul I, will be the target of an assassination plot;
one world-traveled cleric claiming that his experience of worship at Caravita last week was one of the best he's experienced, ever, anywhere (and that Fr. Gerry's preaching was phenomenal);
the removal of two bishops this week for sex abuse of children (in Dominican Republic and Peru);
the positive effects of diocesan-wide petitions against their bishops (in both Germany and Brazil);
rumors that Pope Francis is considering strict , non-renewable, 5-year term limits for all curial posts;
German elections, Angela Merkel, and the evening's Roma-Lazio game;
and whether men appreciate women who are willing to ask men out, or if they find it unappealing (2:1 in favor of women taking the initiative, for the record).
OK, the last one may not have come up with the clerical company, but it did come up during the day!
One overarching theme was that everyone I talked to, in every different setting, was positive about Pope Francis, but unsure, still, about how much hope to have.
Part of that relates to the concern exemplified by the "simple is chic" cardinal. If that's all it is – knowing which way the wind is blowing – I think I would rather trust a priest who sticks to his French cuffs or a prelate preening in his watered silk, if that is what they really think is appropriate, rather than those who are simply dressing up or down according to the boss' style. Because then none of the change is permanent, and it will shift with the sands. I might disagree with the capa magnas and the little fiefdoms, but I have much greater respect for the prelate princeling or the lord of the rectory manor who admits what he is than the one who plays the game just to look the part, whichever way it goes.
Now, if the bishop of Rome really wants to curtail clericalism, he might just announce that anyone working at any level in the curia or the diplomatic corps will be ordained only to the diaconate, in accordance with their original vocation, and neither to the presbyterate nor to titular dioceses long-since buried under the Sahara. Wouldn't that be interesting?
Recall "the smiling pope"
Married Priests: Optional Celibacy among Eastern Catholics – Past and Present
November 12, 2012 8:40 pm / Leave a comment
Report on the Chrysostom Seminar at the Domus Australia, Rome
Presentation Panelists with their host
Did you know that there are now more married Roman Catholic priests in the U.S. than Eastern Catholic priests?
I do not actually remember a time when I did not know that there were married Catholic presbyters, so it has always been amusing to encounter people who find this a scandal in some way. The real scandal is that Catholic Churches with a right (and a rite!) to ordain married men are not allowed to do so, basically because of 19th and 20th century anti-immigrant sentiment, in the U.S.
That was not a main theme of the conference this morning, but it was certainly an interesting fact that was new to me.
Of the varied and lively discussion, probably the main take-away theme was this: The Gospel does not coerce, but offers conversion.
In other words, conversion is a response of the heart, whereas coercion is an exercise of power. Any relationship of supposedly sister churches, say, of Rome and of Constantinople – or of New York and Parma, for that matter – which is experienced as a relationship of coercion, becomes a church-dividing issue. This came up repeatedly regarding the imposition of a Latin discipline – mandatory celibacy for diocesan presbyterate – on non-Latin churches.
Speakers for the day included:
Archpriest Lawrence Cross, Archpriest, Centre for Early Christian Studies, Australian Catholic University
Rev. Prof. Basilio Petrà, Facoltà Teologica dell'Italia Centrale (Firenze)
Rev. Thomas Loya, Tabor Life Institute, Chicago:
Protopresbyter James Dutko, Emeritus Dean of the Orthodox Seminary of Christ the Savior, PA
Archpriest Peter Galazda, Sheptytsky Institute, Saint Paul University, Ottawa
Archpriest Dr. Lawrence Cross spoke on "Married Clergy: At the Heart of Tradition." Father Cross opened by stating for the record that the conference here was not a critique on the Latin practice, internally, but a protest against what he described as 'bullying' in some parts of the Latin Church against Eastern sister churches in communion with Rome: namely, the requirements in some places (such as the U.S.) that Eastern Catholic churches not allow married clergy because of pressure from the Latin (Roman) Catholic bishops.
Both married and celibate clergy belong to the deep tradition of the church. Though some try to point to the origins of mandatory celibacy as far back as the Council of Trullo in Spain, it is really from the 11th century Gregorian reforms – based on monasticism and coincident with a resurgence of manichaeism in the Church.
One of the results of this, much later, is the novelty, he says, of speaking of an ontological change in ordination, or an ontological configuration to Christ, as in Pastores Dabo Vobis 20, which sees married priesthood as secondary. One US Cardinal, he did not name, has referred to the ontological change of priesthood as analogous to the Incarnation or transubstantiation. The problem with the analogy is that the humanity of Christ is unchanged! Trying to assert an essential link between priesthood and celibacy, something which has been relatively recent in its effort, is problematic.
Indeed, there is no celibacy per se, in the Eastern tradition, just married or monastic life. Both require community, and vows to commit one to that community. The Code of Canons of the Eastern Church 374-5 highlights to mutual blessing that marriage and ordination offer to each other. He wonder why Pope John Paul II, who seemed to have such a high respect for the "primordial sacrament" did not see fit to apply it to the presbyterate.
Professor Basilio Petrà of the Theological Faculty of Central Italy (in Firenze), spoke on the topic of "Married Priests: A Divine Vocation." Two immediate thoughts he shared were that the Catholic Church has always, officially at least, affirmed married priesthood, and to consider that vocation is always a call of the community and not of the individual. Marriage and priesthood are two separate callings, but both sacraments and therefore complementary not competitive.
Fr. Petrà drew attention to the recent apostolic exhortation, Ecclesia in Medio Oriente, which included this paragraph:
48. Priestly celibacy is a priceless gift of God to his Church, one which ought to be received with appreciation in East and West alike, for it represents an ever timely prophetic sign. Mention must also be made of the ministry of married priests, who are an ancient part of the Eastern tradition. I would like to encourage those priests who, along with their families, are called to holiness in the faithful exercise of their ministry and in sometimes difficult living conditions. To all I repeat that the excellence of your priestly life will doubtless raise up new vocations which you are called to cultivate.
While he emphasized the positive nature of the bishop of Rome including the married priesthood as a respected and ancient tradition in the east, it is interesting to note that while celibacy is a priceless gift of God" which "ought to be received in East and West alike," married priesthood is not categorized as a gift of god but "a part of the tradition" and only in "the East."
Father Thomas Loya of the Tabor Life Institute in Chicago, and a regular part of EWTN programming, presented on the topic, "Celibacy and the Married Priesthood: Rediscovering the Spousal Mystery." Married priesthood witnesses to the Catholic tradition of a life that is 'both-and' rather than 'either-or.' We need a more integrated approach to monasticism and marriage, and relocating celibacy in its proper monastic context. But the continued practice of requiring eastern Catholic churches to defer to the Latin church hierarchy with respect to married clergy is to act as though the Latin Church is the real Catholic Church and the eastern churches are add-ons – fodder for accusations of uniatism if ever there was.
One of the clear problems of this was that when, in 1929, celibacy was imposed upon eastern churches in the US and elsewhere, married priesthood was part of the strength of these churches. Since then vocations have disappeared, evangelization has all but ceased, and the general life of the churches has withered. After "kicking this pillar of ecclesial life out from under the churches" it offered nothing to hold them up in its place, and the Church is still suffering.
Can you imagine a better seedbed for presbyteral vocations than a presbyteral family? What better way for a woman to know what it would be like to marry a priest than to be the daughter of a priest?
Married priesthood is part of the structure of the Church, but celibacy always belonged to the monasteries. Without a monastic connection, a celibate priest is in a dangerous situation, lacking the vowed relationship of either marriage or monastic life to balance the call to work. Every celibate must be connected to a monastery in some way.
Just as a celibate monastic must be a good husband to the church and community, so too must a married couple be good monastics. The relationship of monasticism and marriage ought to be two sides of the same coin and mutually enriching. The call to service in ordained ministry comes from these two relationships to serve. This would be a sign of an integrated and healthy church.
Protopresbyter James Dutko is retired academic dean and rector of the Orthodox Seminary of Christ the Savior in Johnstown, PA. His topic was "Mandatory Celibacy among Eastern Catholics: A Church-Dividing Issue." Father Dutko was the only Orthodox presenter on the panel (and the only one without a beard, incidentally…) The bottom line? As long as the Latin Church (that is the Roman Catholic Church) imposes its particular practice on other Churches even within its own communion, there will be no ecumenical unity. Stop the Latinization, and the Eastern Orthodox may be more inclined to restore full communion.
Almost Reverend
January 28, 2011 1:30 pm / 1 Comment on Almost Reverend
I originally posted this a couple of years ago on a different blog. I came accross it recently, and given where i am now (that is, Rome), it still seems funny, and i hope you can appreciate the humor. [Disclaimer: No clerics were harmed in the making of this post.]
**Original Post: August 15, 2008**
At an ecumenical meeting not long ago, i found myself again trying to explain lay ecclesial ministry to a Lutheran pastor. While many non-Catholics (and even some Catholics) often think the only ministers in the Catholic Church are priests, at least this one had been ecumenically involved long enough to know different. He just was not sure how to address me.
"As a member of the Board," he said, "you deserve to be addressed with appropriate formality in correspondence, and appropriate respect during meetings. So, what do we call you?"
I told him the name given me at my birth and baptism was Andrew, and that was fine – or A.J., as I have been known since birth: "No adornments necessary."
Pressed, however, I shared how evangelical Christians i meet with invariably address me as "Pastor Boyd", since anyone who does professional pastoral ministry is, ipso facto, a pastor, and therefore called "pastor". I noted how, every time i got something from Hilel or the local synagogue, it was addressed to "Rev. Boyd", because, again, the logic is, clergy are professional ministers, and I am a professional minister, so i must be clergy. Even when filling out legal forms, i often have to select "clergy" as my occupation, because for the uninitiated, clergy is defined by Webster, and not the Codex Iuris Canonicis, as "a group of church officials doing official church ministry".
After all this, i was informed it just was not acceptable. We had to find something appropriate to my position as not-ordained but vocational, "professional" minister of the Church while respecting the internal distinction between clerical and lay ministers. So we began an exploration.
"Virtually Reverend", "Not-Quite-Reverend", and "Sort-of-Reverend" were all suggested before we alighted on "The Almost Reverend".
After my colleague observed that a personal style was needed, too, I remembered a line from a great book and movie about a pope, Saving Grace, and we decided the only possible ecclesiastical style for someone of such standing as myself was "Your Mediocreness…"
Therefore I can now fit in at the next clerical cocktail party as "His Mediocreness, The Almost Reverend A. J. Boyd".
I am thinking of petitioning the Pontifical Council for the Laity for making this a universal norm…
The Challenge of Priesthood
November 28, 2009 12:16 pm / Leave a comment
This should not be the topic of my first blog touching on the Year of the Priest. Maybe it should a story of vocation, or a theological reflection on the priesthood of Christ and his church. Perhaps an ecclesiological exposition of the ministerial priesthood of the bishop, presbyter, and deacon, with ecumenical emphasis. That is the price of procrastination, however. Those will come in time.
I came across both of these articles yesterday evening, and it was too powerful to avoid.
Very Rev. K. Scott Connolly
The first is from my diocesan newspaper, the Catholic Northwest Progress, in part of a series highlighting the presbyterate of the archdiocese in honor of the Year of the Priest; they provide brief profiles of five pastors each issue. This week's issue includes five whom I know personally. Two were in seminary formation with me; two have worked with me as collaborators for the pastoral leadership of a parish; I have had several conversations with each, and have known most of them since I was 17 or 18.
Given that familiarity, I was mostly skimming the profiles. What priest does not think the greatest joy of being a priest is celebrating the sacraments, anyway? (Well, OK, there was one). I almost missed "the greatest challenge as a priest" on my first read, but that is the most telling part. Most of us who are or have been in pastoral ministry find that time-management and administration is an omnipresent challenge, and legitimately so. Yet, one response truly stands out, and calls us to remember what ministry, and the presbyterate, is really about.
Achbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin
To then turn to the next article only confirmed that read. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin addressed this week's release of the national investigation of the sexual abuse of children and its systematic cover-up by the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland. The report itself reads much like the reports in the States over the last ten years. What reads differently is the response of the archbishop himself, which should be read in full and is available here:
Three times, the archbishop repeats that "No words of apology will ever be sufficient."
He acknowledges not only the profoundly sinful nature of the acts of abuse by priests, but also the abject failure of the bishops and religious superiors to act for good:
"One of the most heartbreaking aspects of the Report is that while Church leaders – Bishops and religious superiors – failed, almost every parent who came to the diocese to report abuse clearly understood the awfulness of what has involved. Almost exclusively their primary motivation was to try to ensure that what happened to their child, or in some case to themselves, did not happen to other children."
He does not equivocate, blame the media, secular society or anti-Catholic bias; he does not claim that they 'did not understand' the nature of the pedophile and the ephebophile thirty years ago, or that they needed a 'learning curve' to adequetely deal with these problems. He makes no excuse for the culture of clericalism and institutionalism that allowed and encouraged the perpetuation of grave sin:
"Efforts made to "protect the Church" and to "avoid scandal" have had the ironic result of bringing this horrendous scandal on the Church today."
In his interview he refers to the people making these excuses as a 'caste', a group who thought they could do anything and get away with it – which makes the crimes all the more horrendous because they were perpetuated by those who serve in the name of Jesus Christ.
There may be a long way to go before all remnants of that caste-mentality are eradicated from the Church, but our prayers and dedicated efforts to that end must never cease. Structures of sin have no place in the Body of Christ.
It reminds me of a parishioner whose daily intercession at Mass was for the "holiness of our priests" – simultaneously a prayer of gratitude for the many holy men who serve the Church, and a plea for the conversion of the rest.
Amen, indeed.
Shopping for Roman collars
October 19, 2009 9:06 pm / 1 Comment on Shopping for Roman collars
Everyone in Rome has a uniform and a title; and that's if you are a nobody. If you are important, you also have a stamp, a wax seal, and most likely a signet ring. Perhaps this is why electronic means of communicating, providing identification, registering for classes, paying bills, and the like are so difficult and considered downright foreign here. I've gone through i don't know how many hard-copy pictures of myself, and every correspondence to everyone needs to be an original letter, signed, co-signed and countersigned, then stamped in duplicate or triplicate.
Norbertine Habit
But back to the uniforms: One of the many blessings of being in Rome is seeing the life of the church in all its profound diversity. You cannot maintain the illusion of a monolithic Catholicism very long in this capital of the church. I've seen habits for orders i had heard of but never met: Norbertines, for example, dress in a white simar and fascia looking almost identical to the pope. Then there are those i did not even know existed: the Teutonic knights, apparently, are back as a diocesan order, and looking very medieval.
Even most of the lay people around here are in ecclesiastical garb, particularly seminarians and lay religious, even during classes. So, naturally, I am on a mission to discover the appropriate ecclesiastical garb for a lay ecclesial minister. After all, if a student candidate for ministry gets a uniform, so too should someone already in sacred ministry, no?
(The current favored title is "Almost Reverend…", or "Your Mediocreness", and the garb is a white or black dress shirt with banded collar, though I am open to suggestions. But, I digress.)
Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory
Allora… I decided to peruse the ecclesiastical shopping district near the Pantheon with Stian, an Anglican seminarian and friend of mine who shares that you can get four clerical shirts in Rome for the price of one in Norway.
We picked up a couple new friends on the way, Matthew, from Australia, and Cosima, from Germany. While Stian was being fitted for his clericals, the rest of us were perusing the mitres, zucchetti, and birettas that seemed to be available over the counter.
Did you know that with an ecclesiastical doctorate one is entitled to wear a biretta with the appropriate color trimming? For theology, it's scarlet; canon law is green, etc.
As we were about to leave in search of a pizzeria and gellateria, America's lone representative to the Synod for Africa, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, walked in for some shopping of his own. He was kind enough to stop for a brief chat about the Synod, and exchange a warm greeting before we moved on for pizza and gelato. At least now we know we were in the right shop!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The October 27 Quiz Box features Quiz Box ALL STARS! Each of these competitors has at least one previous belt win, has appeared on the Quiz Box many times before, and they are all fan favorites! Don't miss this all-star cast to find out who is the champion of champions for 2017: Nick Glaser, Lauren Bencaz, Jason Banks, and Mark J. Lucas.


I am noticing some tumblrs/blogs are directing for Sims custom content downloads to a dangerous site called activetect.net. This site is dangerous and full of malware, according to Google.. Google Chrome prevents its browser from even navigating to activetect.net.
Please, please, please use patreon or paypal if you need money to finance your creation of custom content. Adware ad-link shortening services are potentially dangerous because they do not screen their advertisers, and some "advertisers" make money by "warning" you about a "virus" on your computer, and if you take the wrong action (close your browser IMMEDIATELY if you see a "virus warning" popup and run a scan on your existing antivirus software - if the bad site prevents you from closing your browser, restart your computer by pushing and holding down the power off button until your computer powers off, or physically pulling the plug on your computer, and run an antivirus scan) your computer may be infected by these scam artists who then charge you to fix the problem they created on your computer.
Adware ad-link shortening services may also be ILLEGAL in the European Union, since they do not disclose what they do with your information to the extent required by EU law, nor do they allow users to remove information stored by them.


recently visited 250 incarcerated teens age 16 to 18 in New York's Rikers Island to inspire them to succeed. On Friday, the Knicks player joined Malcolm X's grandson Malcom Shabazz, ex-Knicks player John Wallace, former NBA player Etan Thomas, rapper Styles P and others to talk with the inmates for two hours at the prison gym about fighting through the stereotypes.
"The plan for us is not to succeed, and it goes back to when there was slavery," Stoudemire said. "What you got to do is look at yourself in the mirror and say: 'What am I going to do so I will not be a number?'"
"In the school systems, our neighborhoods, it's a hard situation for us. But you got to be man enough to know you got to be good fathers and stay out of here after you get back home," he added.
Stoudemire later told the New York Post that his goal was to motivate the fathers behind bars and "keep their spirits up."
This summer, the NBA all-star began releasing a children's book series through Scholastic titled STAT: Standing Tall and Talented, which are aimed towards middle school children to encourage them to read.


text:
Georgian Leaders to Abstain from Genocide Commemorations in Yerevan
Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili lays a wreath at the Dzidzernagapert Armenian Genocide Memorial. Feb. 27, 2014. (Photo: official publication)
TBILISI—The President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili, will not visit Armenia to commemorate the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, Russia's Interfax reports.
Interfax quoted Tengiz Pkhaladze, an aide to Margvelashvili, as saying that Georgia had informed Armenian authorities through diplomatic channels that president Margvelashvili will not be able to come to Armenia on April 23 and 24 because he will be meeting with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko who will be visiting Georgia on the same days with an official visit.
The Georgian government did not confirm earlier reports that Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili will be present in Armenia for the centennial.
Last week, Georgia's parliament declined a motion to consider the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Independent experts say Georgia is reluctant to recognize the massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide for fear of disturbing its good relations with neighboring Turkey and Azerbaijan, its key economic partners.
Hagop D - April 20, 2015 said:
Cool. And on April 25, 2015 Armenia should join Russia to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as two sovereign nations. Next on the agenda: the freedom of Javakhk.
State-Of-Emergency - April 20, 2015 said:
Really? Couldn't Putin ask Lukashenko to delay his visit. And doesn't this indirectly mean that Lukashenko will not attend as well. With friends like these, who needs enemies?
And to think, we have Russophiles ready to point their fingers at the US and Europe at every chance.
The laughable part of this is that Belarus is our partner in the EEU…….
Hunt Kahav - April 20, 2015 said:
Big mistake, Georgia
Berge Jololian - April 20, 2015 said:
The Syrians once believed that Turkey was their most important trading partner and best friend in the region. Ask the Syrians now what they think of Turkey. The Georgians will get it soon when Turks bite them.. it is a matter of time.
danoog - April 20, 2015 said:
Shame on Georgia. Intimidated by the Turks.
tommy - April 20, 2015 said:
If I were Georgia, I wouldn't worry about those two countries. The Azeris have have NO other option for their pipeline.
Arto - April 20, 2015 said:
You won't mind then when we support Russia when they kick the living daylights out of you when you get out of line.
DAK - April 20, 2015 said:
Shame on Georgians! They haven't been much better than Turks throughout history.
GeorgeMardig - April 20, 2015 said:
We are taking note on who is our friend and who is not, what goes around comes around, it will arrive the day when these ass holes will need help, then will be the pay back time.
Shlomo - April 21, 2015 said:
Cowards ! The world is walking away from the Turks and Georgia is kissing there ass!
Hamik Gregory - April 21, 2015 said:
Georgians are thinking about the Azeri oil pipeline going through their land.


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text:
Marc Alan Johnson (Omaha, Nebraska, 21 de octubre de 1953), más conocido como Marc Johnson, es un contrabajista y compositor estadounidense de jazz.

Johnson estudió en la Universidad de North Texas donde fue miembro de la afamada One O'Clock Lab Band junto con Lyle Mays. Johnson realizó giras con los Thundering Herd de Woody Herman a finales de los 70s. En 1978, con 25 años, Johnson fue contratado por Bill Evans, permaneciendo en su trío hasta la muerte del pianista en 1980.

La primera grabación de Johnson con su nombre fue para ECM en 1985 y se tituló Bass Desires, realizada con Bill Frisell y John Scofield a la guitarra, y Peter Erskine a la batería. El siguiente disco, en 1987, Second Sight, incluyó la balada "Hymn for Her", dedicada a la memoria de la hermana de Johnson, Terese. The Sound Of Summer Running fue realizado en 1998 y contó con la participación de Bill Frisell, Joey Baron, y Pat Metheny.

Johnson ha tocado con John Abercrombie, Peter Erskine, Eliane Elias (con quien está casado), Jerry Sokolov y Enrico Pieranunzi, entre otros. Su grabación de 2005 para ECM, titulada Shades of Jade, contó con la participación de Joe Lovano al saxofón. Su mujer, por su parte, contribuyó con varias composiciones del disco, entre ellas la balada "Apareceu".

Johnson es hijastro de Robert Ottman, que fue profesor de teoría de la música en la UNT. Su hija, Francesca Johnson, es una cantante de jazz que también estudió en la misma universidad.

Discografía

Como líder:

 Bass Desires (1985)
 Second Sight (1987)
 2x4 (Two by Four) (1989)
 Right Brain Patrol (1991)
 Magic Labyrinth (1996)
 The Sound of Summer Running (1997)
 Shades of Jade (2004)

Como colíder:

 Yellow and Blue Suites (1990) con Enrico Pieranunzi.
 If Trees Could Fly (1999) con Eric Longsworth.
 Play Morricone (2001) con Enrico Pieranunzi y Joey Baron.
 Current Conditions (2001) con Enrico Pieranunzi y Joey Baron.
 Trasnoche (2003) con Enrico Pieranunzi.

Notas

Enlaces externos
 Discografía
 Artículo en European Jazz Network

Contrabajistas de jazz de Estados Unidos
Bajistas de jazz de Estados Unidos
Compositores de jazz de Estados Unidos
Músicos de bop
Músicos de jazz moderno
Nacidos en Omaha

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The administration of the estate of JAMES DAVID HOBBS a/k/a JAMES D. HOBBS, deceased, whose date of death was January 16, 2018; is pending in the Circuit Court for Hernando County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 20 N. Main Street, Brooksville, FL 34601. The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representative's attorney are set forth below.
All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent's estate, on whom a copy of this notice is required to be served must file their claims with this court ON OR BEFORE THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE TIME OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM.
The date of first publication of this notice is March 22, 2019.


Cano Broncano, Francisco (2016). Resource Allocation in Correlated MIMO Systems. Thesis (Doctoral), E.T.S.I. y Sistemas de Telecomunicación (UPM). https://doi.org/10.20868/UPM.thesis.45189.
Antennas proximity produces the antennas correlation effect which impacts over the Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) system performance. This PhD thesis evaluate the receiver-side antennas correlation effect and outputs the appropriate antennas set-up, showing simulation results for a (4 x 4) correlated MIMO channel with linear and non-linear uniformly spaced antennas. Therefore, optimal and sub-optimal resource allocation techniques for MIMO systems are compared. Bit and power allocation techniques have been investigated in order to find out optimal algorithms to achieve the best bit-error rate (BER) performance. An optimal power allocation (PA) technique based on Lagrange multiplier method is compared against a sub-optimal PA based on an equal-SNR for uncorrelated and correlated channel profiles. Following the sub-optimal strategies, a novel iterative bit- and power allocation (IBPA) approach has been developed when transmitting a given bit/s/Hz data rate over a correlated frequency non-selective (4 x 4) MIMO channel. The iterative resources allocation algorithm developed in this investigation is aimed at the achievement of the minimum BER in a correlated MIMO communication system. In order to achieve this goal, the available bits are iteratively allocated in the MIMO active layers which present the minimum transmit power requirement per time slot. Finally, this single-user MIMO system has been extended to multi-user MIMO system.


text:
Ben Bishop was an important part of the Lightning's return to contention
The big man in net was a key part of the early success of the Yzerman/Cooper Era
By JustinG. Dec 13, 2021, 12:00pm EST
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I can still remember where I was when the Tampa Bay Lightning traded for Ben Bishop. It was a lovely April afternoon and The Wife and I had decided to take a long lunch at Kuma's Too, the sister restaurant to the mildly famous rock & roll themed burger bar in Chicago. I was well into my second beer when the text hit my phone. I was happy that the Lightning had picked up yet another large goaltender. Then I read the other half of the text and saw the price they had paid, Cory Conacher, and was no longer happy.
Now, more than eight years after the fact, I can admit that it was a steal for General Manager Steve Yzerman, in fact it might be one of the best trades of his regime, but at the time I was absolutely livid. It may have been the angriest I've ever been at a hockey trade, and the most upset I've been at any trade since the Orioles dealt away Eddie Murray (my favorite player as a kid) for a pu pu platter of prospects.
Before he embarked on his journeyman career with Ottawa, Buffalo, the Islanders, and then eventually returning to the Lightning, Conacher was a bona fide Calder Trophy candidate. After a successful run at the AHL level with Norfolk and Syracuse, Conacher had been called up in the lockout shortened 2012-13 season and posted 24 points (9 goals, 15 assists) in 35 games, a total that placed him fifth in scoring for the team that season despite ending it in Ottawa. He added another 2 goals and 3 assists for the Senators and finished 6th in Calder voting (Jonathan Huberdeau won that year).
In April of 2013 it seemed like Mr. Yzerman had wasted a talented young scorer on yet another tall goaltender. He had just paid a hefty sum (two second-round picks, a third-round pick, and the immortal Sebastien Caron) a few months prior to bring in lauded young netminder Anders Lindback (who was two years younger). Why was he trading one of the Lightning's best prospects for a potentially decent goaltender who had already been with two organizations by the age of 26?
Now, in hindsight, it's obvious that Lindback wasn't the answer in net. One thing we learned about Mr. Yzerman during his tenure here in Tampa is that he wasn't shy about correcting any mistakes he made. A lot of GMs might have clung to Lindback as a started because his acquisition was so pricey. Not so with Mr. Yzerman, he delved into his well-stocked cabinet of prospects to pry Bishop away from the Senators and despite the two tall netminders entering the next season as co-number ones, it quickly became apparent that Bishop would be the foundation for the next run of success for the Lightning, a run that continues to this day.
Bishop was okay in his nine-game run with the 2012-13 Lightning, posting a 3-4-1 record with a .917 SV% and 2.99 GAA. He sparkled the next season, kicking off one of the great three-season runs in Lightning goaltending history. The next three seasons for Bishop:
2013-14 - 63 games, 37-14-7, ,924 SV%, 2,23 GAA, third in Vezina voting
2014-15 - 62 games, 40-13-5, .916 SV%, 2.32 GAA
2015-16 - 61 games, 35-21-4, .926 SV%, 2.06 GAA, second in Vezina voting
During that span he was 10th in goals saved above average at 5v5 with 16.09 according to Natural Stat Trick. Not a bad place to be considering some of the best of this generation were stopping pucks at the same time. His .928 SV% at 5v5 was also good for a top 10 spot over that time frame.
It's no surprise that during those three years the Lightning returned to the playoffs, making it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014-15 and the Eastern Conference Final in 2015-16. In 2013-14 he was injured just prior to the playoffs and Tampa Bay was forced to go with Lindback and Kristers Gudlevskis in the opening round against the Montreal Canadiens. A round that was swept by the Habs.
Bishop put the Lightning on his back in the 2015 playoff run, starting a league-high 25 games, facing a league-high 669 shots while making 616 saves. Had he not torn his groin in Game Two against the Chicago hockey team, perhaps that series ends differently.
He battled injuries the next season and the Lightning floundered a bit, spending most of the season outside of the playoff race. With a big raise due to his relatively modest $5.9 million salary, and a youngster named Andrei Vasilevskiy waiting in the wings, Bishop was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings for a package that included a young, raw defensive prospect named Erik Cernak. It was another deal that at the time looked like it might not favor the Lightning, but in the end turned out more than okay.
All in all, Bishop's Lightning career lasted 227 regular season games and he posted a 131-64-20 record with 17 shutouts, a .921 SV%, and a 2.28 GAA. When he departed the organization he was the franchise leader in games played, wins, saves, save percentage (a record that he holds every once in a while depending on how Vasy is playing), goals against (still his), shutouts, minutes, and goals saved above average. Not too shabby. If there is a Mount Rushmore of Lightning goaltenders it's Vasilevskiy, Bishop, Nikolai Khabibulin, and they are still carving the fourth face.
The most important thing that Bishop gave the Lightning during his time here is consistency. For the first time since Khabibulin, the Lightning had a true franchise goaltender. With a young, agressive team in front of him, the Bolts needed a goaltender who could bail them out of their problems. Now it's Vasy, but first it was Bishop. It wasn't always pretty or technically sound, but the 6'7" fella usually found a way to keep the puck out of the net.
Does the Yzerplan work without a stable presence in net? Probably not. There are a lot teams that have exciting young offensive talent that never go anywhere other than the first round of the playoffs. It's all well and good to be able to score pretty goals, but if you're constantly digging the puck out of your own net because you're goaltending is suboptimal, than you will always be chasing success.
For the three-plus years he was in net for the Lightning, they could count on him to keep them in the game on a nightly basis, and on those nights where nothing else was working, there was always a chance he could steal a game or two for them.
His ability to move the puck was also key to the Lightning's success while he was in town. Being able to grab the puck behind the net or on a dump-in and move it cleanly to a teammate really helped out the transition game for the Bolts. It kept their defenders from having to retreat all the way back to the goal line or behind the net to lead the breakout and the quickness he played it often caught teams in line changes (he notched 7 career assists in the regular season). Sure, there were moments it lead to disaster:
but there was usually more good than bad when he came out to play the puck.
And while personality has no effect on on-ice play, it was a bonus that he seemed like a pretty nice guy. There are plenty of stories about him signing autographs or hanging out with fans. Plus, he was darn entertaining.
Best of luck in your future endeavors, Mr. Bishop. You will always be remembered fondly here in Tampa.


text:
Літяга північна (Glaucomys sabrinus) — вид гризунів родини вивіркових. Населяє ліси Канади й США.

Поширення
Країни поширення: Канада (Альберта, Британська Колумбія, Лабрадор, Манітоба, Нью-Брансвік, Північно-Західні території, Нова Шотландія, Онтаріо, Острів Принца Едварда, Квебек, Саскачеван, Юкон), США (Аляска, Каліфорнія, Айдахо, Мен, Массачусетс, Мічиган, Міннесота, Монтана, Невада, Нью-Гемпшир, Нью-Джерсі, Нью-Йорк, Північна Кароліна, Північна Дакота, Огайо, Орегон, Пенсільванія, Південна Дакота, Юта, Вермонт, Вірджинія, Вашингтон, Західна Вірджинія, Вісконсин, Вайомінг). Віддає перевагу хвойним та змішаним лісам, але також використовує листяні ліси і прибережні ліси.

Життя
Займає дупла дерев, листяні гнізда, та підземні нори. Тварини дуже соціальні, особливо взимку, коли гнізда можуть бути загальними. Раціон складається в основному з грибів і лишайників, а також рослинного і тваринного матеріалу (комахи, горіхи, бруньки, насіння, плоди). Проводять багато часу на землі. Летяги активні вночі. Активні протягом року.

Сезон розмноження: лютий — травень, і липень. Вагітність триває 37–42 днів. Буває один або два приплоди на рік по 2–6 дитинчат (в середньому 4–5), які народжуються на початку березня до липня і в кінці серпня-початку вересня. Відгодовування дітей  молоком триває близько двох місяців. Статевозрілою молодь стає в 6–12 місяців.

Морфологічні особливості
Загальна довжини тіла 275–358 мм, хвіст довгий, 120–164 мм, задні ступні 36-50 мм, вуха 16—26 мм, вага 99.5–207.5 грама. Новонароджені 5–6 грамів. Має густе м'яке хутро, великі темні очі, величі рожевуваті вуха, широкий плаский хвіст. Забарвлення дещо відрізняється з місцем проживання. Спина й боки можуть біти від корицевого до попелясто-коричневого кольору. Черево від кремово-білого до жовтувато-коричневого чи сірого. Хвіст від світлого попелясто-коричневого до червонувато-коричневого чи майже чорного зверху з темним кінцем. Низ хвоста від блідо-сірого чи корицевого до майже чорного. Зубна формула: 1/1, 0/0, 2/1, 3/3, загалом 22 зуби.

Джерела
 Linzey, A.V. & NatureServe (Hammerson, G.) 2008. Glaucomys sabrinus
 Donna Naughton The Natural History of Canadian Mammals, University of Toronto Press, 2012

Примітки

Вивіркові
Ссавці Канади
Ссавці США


text:
Indie Hits
No studio strings equals no-holds-barred filmmaking.
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Mysterious Skin
A teenage hustler (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible but liberating truth.
One of the most critically acclaimed films of 2016, and a standout hit at Sundance, The Fits is a poetic and mesmerizing coming of age mystery that follows an 11-year-old girl whose local dance team is suddenly plagued by random episodes of unexplained 'fits.'
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A young Maori girl fights to become the first female chief of her patriarchal New Zealand tribe. For her extraordinary performance, Keisha Castle-Hughes earned a Best Actress Nomination, becoming the youngest ever to be nominated in that category.
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In this complex and intriguing romantic drama, a bachelor is torn between the woman his parents wish he would marry (Vinessa Shaw) and his beautiful but volatile new neighbor (Gwyneth Paltrow).
Meadowland
In this 2015 Tribeca FIlm Festival hit, a young couple Sarah (Olivia Wilde) and Phil (Luke Wilson) come unhinged in the aftermath of an unimaginable loss, recklessly ignoring the repercussions.
Ma Ma
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Embrace of the Serpent
Tracking two parallel odysseys through the Amazon, this historical epic from the fiercely talented Colombian filmmaker Ciro Guerra offers adventure, mysticism, and a heart-rending depiction of colonialism laying waste to indigenous culture.
The Trials of Cate McCall
Cate McCall (Kate Beckinsale) used to be a hot shot lawyer. These days she's lucky she's not in jail. Now, newly sober, McCall must prove a convicted killer innocent on appeal in order to get reinstated in the bar and win back custody of her daughter.
An Eye For Beauty
A brilliant young architect puts his seemingly-perfect marriage in jeopardy when he falls for a mysterious woman during a business trip.
Charlize Theron's Oscar-winning portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos was described by Roger Ebert as 'one of the greatest performances in the history of cinema.' Witness her unforgettable performance in the shocking true-life retelling of the infamous serial killer.
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Alex of Venice
Workaholic attorney, Alex is forced to reinvent her life after her husband suddenly leaves. Now faced with the humdrum and sometimes catastrophic events that permeate the fabric of our lives, Alex discovers both a vulnerability and inner strength she had not yet tapped into.
Mister John
Escaping his troubles at home, Gerry adopts his deceased brother's life in Singapore.
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At 26, an exiled Karl Marx meets Friedrich Engels, the son of a powerful factory owner. Together, amidst censorship and police raids, riots and political upheavals, they preside over the birth of the transformational labor movement.
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In the cruel world of junior high, two friends suffer in a state of anxiety and alienation. Misunderstood by their families and demoralized at school, their fury simmers quietly until an idea for vengeance offers them a terrifying release.
This stylish thriller follows a charismatic couple who befriend a young guide during a European trip. Their friendship quickly takes a dangerous turn when it morphs into a love triangle rife with envy, obsession, and murder.
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An indigenous Sami girl searches for identity between the world of old traditions and the racial oppression of 1930s Swedish society.


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text:
Elizabeth of York: A Tudor Queen and Her World
Weir, Alison
HIS015000, HIS013000, BIO014000
9780345521385, Related ISBNs: 0099546477, 0224089811, 022409775X, 0345521366, 0345521374
Synopsis: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Bestselling historian Alison Weir tells the poignant, suspenseful and sometimes tragic story of Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the Yorkist King Edward IV and sister of the Princes in the Tower, a woman whose life was inextricably caught up in the turmoil of the Wars of the Roses and the establishment of the usurping Tudor dynasty. She was the wife of Henry VII and mother of Henry VIII.
Many are familiar with the story of the much-married King Henry VIII of England and the celebrated reign of his daughter, Elizabeth I. But it is often forgotten that the life of the first Tudor queen, Elizabeth of York, Henry's mother and Elizabeth's grandmother, spanned one of England's most dramatic and perilous periods. Now New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir presents the first modern biography of this extraordinary woman, whose very existence united the realm and ensured the survival of the Plantagenet bloodline.
Her birth was greeted with as much pomp and ceremony as that of a male heir. The first child of King Edward IV, Elizabeth enjoyed all the glittering trappings of royalty. But after the death of her father; the disappearance and probable murder of her brothers—the Princes in the Tower; and the usurpation of the throne by her calculating uncle Richard III, Elizabeth found her world turned upside-down: She and her siblings were declared bastards.
As Richard's wife, Anne Neville, was dying, there were murmurs that the king sought to marry his niece Elizabeth, knowing that most people believed her to be England's rightful queen. Weir addresses Elizabeth's possible role in this and her covert support for Henry Tudor, the exiled pretender who defeated Richard at the Battle of Bosworth and was crowned Henry VII, first sovereign of the House of Tudor. Elizabeth's subsequent marriage to Henry united the houses of York and Lancaster and signaled the end of the Wars of the Roses. For centuries historians have asserted that, as queen, she was kept under Henry's firm grasp, but Weir shows that Elizabeth proved to be a model consort—pious and generous—who enjoyed the confidence of her husband, exerted a tangible and beneficial influence, and was revered by her son, the future King Henry VIII.
Drawing from a rich trove of historical records, Weir gives a long overdue and much-deserved look at this unforgettable princess whose line descends to today's British monarch—a woman who overcame tragedy and danger to become one of England's most beloved consorts.
Praise for Elizabeth of York
"Weir tells Elizabeth's story well. . . . She is a meticulous scholar. . . . Most important, Weir sincerely admires her subject, doing honor to an almost forgotten queen."—The New York Times Book Review
"In [Alison] Weir's skillful hands, Elizabeth of York returns to us, full-bodied and three-dimensional. This is a must-read for Tudor fans!"—Historical Novels Review
"This bracing biography reveals a woman of integrity, who . . . helped [her husband] lay strong groundwork for the success of the new Tudor dynasty. As always in a Weir book, the tenor of the times is drawn with great color and authenticity."—Booklist
"Weir once again demonstrates that she is an outstanding portrayer of the Tudor era, giving us a fully realized biography of a remarkable woman."—Huntington News


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हिमालयाच्या कुशीत एक छोटंसं गाव आहे - गाव तसं छोटं पण बऱ्यापैकी प्रसिद्ध. म्हणजे तुम्हा आम्हाला फारसं माहिती नाही पण, बर्याच लोकांना नाव सांगितला कि त्याचं गुणगान चालू होतं.
गावाकडे जायचे मार्ग २ - १) दिल्ली वरून शिमल्याची बस पकडायची, पहाटे शिमल्याला पोहचायचं, मस्त ISBT वर चहा प्यायचा आणि तिकडून पुढे नारकंडा / थानादार ची बस पकडून गावात पोहचायचं.
रस्ता पण कसा - मस्त डोंगर दर्यांमधून जाणारा, पाईन आणि देवदार वृक्षांच्या जंगलामधून जाणारा. अश्या रस्त्यावरून साधारण एक तास दोन तास प्रवास केला कि एका छोट्याश्या valley मध्ये आपण प्रवेश करतो. दोन्ही बाजूला फळ झाडांच्या बागा दिसतात - सफरचंद आणि apricots. इथली सफरचंद तर जगभरात प्रसिद्ध! किंबहुना भारतात याच ठिकाणी सफरचंदाची खेती प्रथम चालू झाली.
अश्या सुंदर valley मध्ये वसलेली काही टुमदार घरं - आणि त्या पैकी एका घरामध्ये २ दिवस राहायच सुख. सकाळी उठून खिडकीबाहेर मस्त सफरचंदांचे बगीचे, मध्ये मध्ये कदाचित काही Oak ची झाडं, आजूबाजूला हिमालयाचे उंच बर्फाने आच्छादलेले डोंगर, त्यावर पडलेली सूर्याची सकाळची कोवळी किरणं. बाजूच्या टेकड्यांवर असलेले जंगल, जंगलातून टेकडीवर जाणारी एखादी पायवाट. तिथून समोरचा दृश्यावर नजर फिरवताना अंगावर आलेले रोमांच.
परत येताना अचानक दिसलेले एखादे छोटेसे सुंदर तळे - तळ्यातल्या निळ्याशार पाण्यात पाय बुडवून तास भर मारलेल्या गप्पा आणि बरोबर असलेले परोठे खाण्यात आलेली मज्जा. उन्हे उतरून अंधार पडायच्या आत घरी परत यायची घाई - आणि घरी आल्यावर मिळालेले गरमागरम जेवण. रात्री चांदण्या रात्रीत शेकोटी समोर बसून मारलेल्या गप्पा आणि मग नंतर त्या कुडकुडणार्या थंडी पासून बचाव करण्यासाठी अखेर उबदार रजईचा घेतलेला आसरा!
गाव कुठलं ? - गावाचं नाव कोटगढ - कसं आहे हे गाव? बघायचय ??
" Nestled in the valleys of Himalayas lies a small village - a village so small that it has only one street that runs through it, so small that many people like me, are unaware of it's existence, yet when the name of the village is told or in today's world - Googled - you learn that it is quite famous.
A journey to such a breathtaking and idyllic place has to be equally enchanting! Travelers have an option of going from Delhi to Shimla via an overnight bus which will probably drop you in the wee hours of the morning at the Shimla ISBT. Sip a cup of hot tea, while you wait for the next bus or a series of buses that will take you via Narkanda to Thanadar or if you are lucky - directly to our quaint little village. If you are more of the adventurous kind, then try hitching a ride with the newspaper guys readying up their vans early in the morning at ISBT - They will be happy to drop you till Narkanda from where you can either get another bus or hitch another ride.
For those of you, who love train journeys - there's always the option of catching the Kalka - Shimla Train - which as it climbs up the hills will take you through 103 tunnels. From there on it is the same routine - catch a bus / taxi to our destination.
The route from Shimla to Narkanda / Thanadar will be a feast for your sleepy eyes - Beautiful valleys being lit up with the morning rays of the Sun, painting splendid pictures on every turn you take, the morning chill in the crisp mountain air, the road winding through Pine and Deodar forests - you will never notice how a couple of hours went by. Towards the end of the journey, you enter a small valley and get off on a road that winds down to our little village - a road that is bordered on both sides by Apple and Apricot orchards. In fact the apples from this place are quite famous - and why not! It is said that it was here that Apple Farming actually commenced in India.
As you make your way down the road to the quaint little village with cozy cottages hidden in between orchards or the forests, you can't help but relax and get that content feeling in your heart. A village where you can just relax and do nothing, in fact a village where the entire population spends the day out on the main street just soaking in the warmth of the winter Sun! Imagine getting a chance to spend a couple of days with those happy and content people, in one of their beautiful houses! Wake up to the sight of Apple orchards outside your bedroom window and the snow clad peaks of the Himalayas being lit up by the morning Sun in the background, take a stroll along the market street and enjoy a cup of hot tea with delicious samosas and fries at the one and only tea stall, bask in the sun all day long and mingle with the locals or take one of the small trails dotting the hillside disappearing through the forests to make your way atop an adjacent hill overlooking the valley. Enjoy the Sunset or just meander in the forest to chance upon a small lake with clear blue waters. Enjoy your lunch while you dip your feet in the cold water and try to make your way back to the village before darkness sets in. If you are lucky, Anantramji (caretaker of the Govt. Rest House) will serve you with the best daal and roti that you have ever tasted! Spend some time enjoying the starry skies or the beautifully lit up villages on NH22.
And before it gets too cold - retire into the comfort of your cozy blanket only to wake up again to one of the most breathtaking dawn ever!!
Who wouldn't want to live here? - Where?? - Here - Kotgarh! Wanna experience it?"
What started off as a search for spending 2 days in the Himalayas between the Delhi Marathon and a Friend's wedding in Chandigarh, turned out to be one of the most unplanned, spontaneous, beautiful and peaceful vacations I have ever been on. It was by chance that I stumbled across the story of Kotgarh and was immediately smitten by it. Although the plan didn't materialize till the last minute - once it was set in motion there was no going back.
So on a lazy Sunday evening, still recovering from the Delhi Marathon run in the morning, I booked my tickets to Shimla, borrowed a backpack from the friend I was staying with, packed for the 2 days, picked up my camera and got onboard. To be honest this was the least researched journey I had ever done. I just knew the name of the place I wanted to go to. I had no clue how to get there, I had no reservations and I had no alternative plan as well.
At 5.30 am on the Shimla ISBT, sipping on a cup of hot tea in the freezing morning, there I was contemplating on whether to wait for a bus to the next stop - Narkanda or hitch a ride with one of the many newspaper vendors going on the same route. Suddenly, out of nowhere a bus to Narkanda arrived.(Was this the sign of good things to come?) What ensued later was 2 hour epic battle between my eyes and sleep. The eyes wanted to stay open and get mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the mountains waking up to the morning, where as sleep was trying to lure them shut. I guess the bus driver was a bit biased towards the eyes. The moment sleep managed to overpower them he would ensure that my head would bang on the window rail, ensuring I was always wide awake. Lady luck followed and the bus to Thanadar ( a village close to Kotgarh) was waiting at Narkanda. This was going to be the last leg of my journey.
An hour later, chit chatting with the locals who seemed surprised that a lone traveler had come in search of Kotgarh, that too in the off season, I got down at Bherdidar. A small walk downhill from here and I was going to reach my have destination.
Finding a place to stay turned out to be more fun than I imagined. Right from eager grannies and aunties who unfortunately could not offer me a room due to the off season, to a bragging and self proclaimed owner of a few dozen houses in the village and also in Shimla. 5.min into the coversation and i knew that this was a wrong place to stay. So downhill again it was. It was finally the Govt. Rest House that provided me shelter for the night. The officer seemed surprised that I wanted to stay just for one night and was kind enough to grant me permission to stay. So now I had the entire rest house to myself at a price of Rs. 500 :) Awesome!
The village consists of one market street, the small church, a single samosa stall, a Dhaba wala whose owner was missing, a few Kirana shops and a theka.
The thought of getting a chance to click star trails early at dawn got me out of bed at 5.30 am. The cold did not make things easier but a few breathtaking shots later the cold didnt matter. A couple of hours later, I was on my way back to Narkanda.
The friendly bus driver told me about 2 places which I should visit next time I come down in these parts - Tani Jubbar - a lake in the woods and the Hatu Peak.
A quick tour of the temple, and a walk in the forest with one of the member of the temple trust, gave me access to some more magnificent views.
Just as I was about to exit the forest and take the trail going downhill, I was privy to seeing a Himalayan eagle at eye level. Although I could not click a picture of it, seeing the big bird up so close was enough to give me goosebumps.
The return journey to Chandigarh was pretty uneventful, but the memories of Kotgarh and the sights and sounds of it are enough to ensure one more trip to the valley of apples. This time may be in the apple season.
And if the blog hasn't tempted you enough to plan your own trip to Kotgarh, here are some of the memories that I tried to capture and bring them back with me!
Happy viewing and see you soon in Kotgarh!
This is the driveway that greeted me while i was walking towards my destination. Well I had half a mind to just barge in unannounced and lay claim to one of the rooms in the house that was settled in this beautiful orchard. Someday ... Amen!
So what if the apple season is not there, a walk amongst the orchard still revives your senses. A beautiful blend of brown, red, yellow, green and blue!
Leaves cover the driveway to this beautiful house overlooking the valley. Not a soul to disturb the peace. A perfect place to relax, unwind and probably read a book!
Notice how the elevation of the road automatically decides who gets which shop. The barber gets the one with maximum height, the jeweler gets the middle one and the electronics guy who is going to be poring over small wires and capacitors all day long gets the one with the smallest height.
The small church built in 1872, is probably the only monument in the entire village that will be there on places to see map of a tourist!
The sun sets over the valley, turning the skies crimson red, while there is still light in the sky, the valley below colors itself in shades of blue with a hint of oncoming fog. The village settled on the National highway opposite to apple valley is lost in the darkness... well only till its lights turn on - but that is another picture altogether!
Himalayas are not as remote as you would think! The hills are lighted along the national highway. These are the same blue hills lighted up after the sunset!
A dawn that took my breath away... although this was the same shot which frustrated me enough as I missed out on a perfect start trail capture around this scene! Waking up at 5 am to capture this in the chilly morning was totally worth it!
A father walks his little girl from the village bus stop to their home early in the morning. The sun rays filter through the trees and the smoke of the bidi mixes with the early morning mist in the air.
A walk in the woods - well yes there's a tar road here but nevertheless walking in the himalayas in the middle of a Pine forest with no vehicles at all and climbing all the way to 11,000 ft is always a fun experience.
Pine trees reach out to the sky on a cold November afternoon.
The afternoon sun filters through the forest and the hay to form this beautiful image.
after the grueling climb - well not so grueling - this flight of stairs to the Hatu temple looks like a blessing in disguise! There atlas!
The temple of Hatu Goddess is believed to be there since the era of Pandavas. However the wooden structure around it has been recently built!
The deity of the Hatu Peak. The temple was opened just for us, so that we could get the blessings of the deity :) Talk about special service.
The temple borders cast beautiful shadows on the temple walls which are made of a combination of gray slate and wood.
A withered dry tree in the middle of a pine forest reaches out to the sky, probably in search of some precipitation to revive and rejuvenate itself.
This man. part owner of the Krishan tea stall at Kotgarh is in the process of making some of the most yummiest samosas in the world. In a place where, restaurants are few and whose owners go missing, tea stalls like these are a life savior :) These samosas were my Lunch, breakfast and evening snacks for all the time i stayed there.
While I was waiting for my bus to Narkanda the next day, Krishan tea stall was busy brewing it's first cup of hot tea. I was not the only one waiting in line to hold that cup in hand and drink the warm liquid to brave the cold .
where there are such lovely roads, who cares where they lead to - as they say...the journey is more important than the destination!


text:
Home All Titles G Gothic Knights "Reflections from the Other Side"
Gothic Knights "Reflections from the Other Side"
UPC/EAN: 8450174457
Cat#: ISM 0512-001
Available for distribution: Yes
Death From Above
Lord of the Underworld
Welcome to My Horror
Scythe Denied
1689, Trial of the Witch
Shadows of Time
Ave Satani
Hailing from NYC, Gothic Knights was formed in 1990 by guitarist John Tzantis with a vision of crafting a unique brand of epic power metal. After gaining label interest from its 1994 demo To Hell and Back, the band released its 1996 self-titled debut and 1999 Kingdom of the Knights albums on Sentinel Steel Records. In 2003, the band released its third CD Up from the Ashes on Limb Music, further establishing the band as a force and endearing presence in the world's heavy metal scene. Over the years, the band has played countless shows, opening for national acts and participating in several U.S. festivals. The band is now preparing to release of their latest CD "Reflections from the Other Side" worldwide in the Summer of 2012!!!
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