Financial Services Marketing and Communication: content and integrated marketing, PR, social media: News...morally bankrupt or giving us what we want?
News...morally bankrupt or giving us what we want?
How quickly, fueled by genuinee public outrage, and years of restrained bile, media can turn.
In this case, on itself.
It raises a bigger question than the obvious one of media ethics.
There's a very good reason for the media furore. And it's not phone tapping.
News of the World, and possibly other News Limited titles, intervening in the private lives of grieving people was simply the thread that unravelled the whole ball of yarn...and led to this particular tangle.
The British public are rightly outraged at the notion of media, or anyone, inserting themselves into the investigation of a child's death - and them profiting from such morally bankrupt activity.
But really haven't the media just been giving us what we, the avaricious public, been consuming on demand and gravitating towards by reading ever more salacious details of other people's lives? I'm thinking maybe the whole ball of yarn here has as much to do with media consumers as media malpractice.
There is no justification in my mind for the actions of media party to this behaviour.
But where's the line? And what part do we, the public, play?
I'm speaking here as a media consumer, not as a PR person. As a PR person I tend to think decent journalists have a hard time of it as they set out to do a very worthy job. As a PR person I also strongly believe both media and PRs should work in ethics-driven cultures, and be under scrutiny - nothing beats sunlight to help encourage good behaviour.
Possibly since journalism (and PR) began we've all been reading, hearing and watching and probably will continue to, news that's delivered via foul means as well as fair.
It's just that rarely do we lift the bonnet to see how the engine runs. Because all we care about is whether or not the car gets us from point A to point B in the style we want to travel.
High brow economics commentary? Page three girls? Perhaps a dodgy used car sales person running from the cameras? Or perhaps your taste runs more to celebrity weight loss/infidelity/surgery stories. Or to civilian deaths in another country's conflict.
We've all become, to some extent, voyeurs entertained or informed at some cost to others - whether that cost is their dignity, their safety or simply their right to suffer unseen.
I have no moral ground to stand on here. I read newspapers, listen to radio, read online news and occasionally read 'one of those' magazines while waiting for something better to happen or avoiding my email.
That makes me too complicit in the decline of media standards. Some media would argue that my profession does also...but that's a debate for another day.
If one lasting and fundamental good could come from this 'you wouldn't read about it' saga, it may simply be this: that media are more accountable.
For the most part the many journalists I've worked with, sometimes at cross purposes to, and alongside, are exceptional people.
For often average incomes they work, day after day, to report news that people should know. That's news that is in the public interest. It's news that holds people, governments and businesses accountable. And it's news that sometimes changes the world.
For that ridiculously important task many get little more than a byline or story credit. Very often the money and professional opportunity doesn't adequately cover the grief that goes withnthe job. There is however, for those journalists, the great satisfaction of knowing they really did make a difference.
It's just a shame that media organisations, guided by the scandal and sauce-loving public, have increasingly rewarded another kind of journalist and photographer - and apparently private eye.
That's the kind who really does only care about money and ego.
But they will, sadly, continue to be rewarded by the average reader. Because actually, until now, we really didn't want to think too hard about where our 'news' was coming from or how it was sourced.
In my private nirvana, news consumers and those who serve them, would actually want to know about the kind of ethics and behaviour that generated the headlines.
It's happened with clothing, chocolate and coffee. Maybe one day we'll read news that comes with a "free trade" or "ethical" label. If no-ones rights were infringed, it's okay to read. If so, straight to the bin.
Yes, that's fantasy land. Because media, and many others do believe the means justifies the ends.
But should we all be a bit more careful about that kind of thinking?
Sometimes nothing justifies the ends. Sometimes the means in itself is so wrong that it represents the slippery slide to an ethical wilderness. Once lost, we might never emerge to see the greater good, or innthis case, the public interest.
Carden, you were prescient to last nights Q&A. I think the theme is broader; consider this piece in The Oz http://bit.ly/qXRRQH. Polical debate and discourse is broken until the readership demands rather than accepts what they are shovelled. Unless, sadly, they are getting what they want.
Andrew, thank you for the comment. I agree about political debate and discourse being broken unless we demand more. Australia is a big country - sad to see us descend to the lowest common denominator. We seem to have followed the NOTW/Fox News lead. Maybe one positive out of these recent conversations - including the last two weeks' Q&As (full credit to ABC TV!) - is simply that there is actually now a debate...as opposed to a few lone commentator voices. C.


text:
Waldo D. Castor
Maurice Castor
Birth 25 Dec 1877 West Monroe Twp., Oswego County, New York
Died 9 Feb 1945 Redfield Twp., Oswego County, New York
Buried Mar 1945 Woodlawn Cem., Sandy Creek, Oswego County, New York
Family Maude Yerdon, b. 4 Nov 1888, Greenboro, Redfield Twp., Oswego County, New York
1. Blossom Zella Castor, b. 4 Aug 1913, Redfield Twp., Oswego County, New York
2. Morah Julietta Castor, b. 3 Oct 1909, Greenboro, Redfield Twp., Oswego County, New York
3. Waldo D. Castor, b. 17 Jul 1911, Greenboro, Redfield Twp., Oswego County, New York
Maude Yerdon
Birth 4 Nov 1888 Greenboro, Redfield Twp., Oswego County, New York
Died 25 Feb 1967 Adams, Jefferson County, New York
Buried Feb 1967 Woodlawn Cem., Sandy Creek, Oswego County, New York
Father Lester Delancy Yerdon, b. 24 Oct 1859, St. Lawrence County, New York
Mother Etta Clemons, b. 8 Jul 1860, Greenboro, Redfield Twp., Oswego County, New York
Married 4 Jul 1882
Family Maurice Castor, b. 25 Dec 1877, West Monroe Twp., Oswego County, New York
Gladys Kenney
Birth 1901 Hannibal, Oswego County, New York
Buried Jan 1956 Greenboro Cem., Redfield Township, Oswego County, New York
Family Waldo D. Castor, b. 17 Jul 1911, Greenboro, Redfield Twp., Oswego County, New York
Married 18 Oct 1950
Dora Showers
Married Abt 1960
Name Waldo D. Castor
Born 17 Jul 1911 Greenboro, Redfield Twp., Oswego County, New York [1]
Buried Jun 1995 Greenboro Cem., Redfield Township, Oswego County, New York
Died 8 Jun 1995 [1]
Father Maurice Castor, b. 25 Dec 1877, West Monroe Twp., Oswego County, New York , d. 9 Feb 1945, Redfield Twp., Oswego County, New York (Age 67 years)
Mother Maude Yerdon, b. 4 Nov 1888, Greenboro, Redfield Twp., Oswego County, New York , d. 25 Feb 1967, Adams, Jefferson County, New York (Age 78 years)
Family 1 Gladys Kenney, b. 1901, Hannibal, Oswego County, New York , d. 25 Jan 1956 (Age 55 years)
Family 2 Dora Showers
Details: Details: Footnote: Broderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 1, Ed. 6, Social Security Death Index: U.S., Date of Import: Mar 22, 2001, Internal Ref. #1.111.6.9013.130 Footnote: Broderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 2, Ed. 6, Social Security Death Index: U.S., Date of Import: Mar 21, 2001, Internal Ref. #1.112.6.126909.48 Footnote: Broderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 2, Ed. 6, Social Security Death Index: U.S., Date of Import: Mar 21, 2001, Internal Ref. #1.112.6.126909.48.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


On the eve of Father's Day, before I leave, my daughter's gift to me.
On Mother's Day I saw a video posted in my school group. Before I could see the video I saw messages praising it and 'how touching it was'. I was curious about it.
I saw it and I was touched by it. But the difference was in the way it touched me vs the way it touched others. Everyone raved about the mother, her strife and her repeated phrase, NO CHARGE. I was touched that the young boy was reduced to tears. And I was touched that he cried when he shouldn't have.
A young boy goes up to his mother and hands over a 'bill' for services rendered. These are mundane things like taking the garbage out, mowing the lawn, doing the dishes etc.
The mother in turn produces her own bill of services rendered and hands it over to the son.
The child looks at this list of things the mother has done for him and is reduced to tears. The mother smiles at her triumph, the child continues to cry. And I am moved even today at his tears. I was angry at the mother's attitude. I spoke my mind out and those that heard me thought I spoke of some bitter personal experience. But the truth is today I am a father and it's the father in me that felt angry. I thought it best to put my thoughts in words to express to my daughter what I want to say.
I am a father and I have a daughter who means the world to me. On Father's Day this is what I would say to her.
In life you hear others say that they owe many things to their parents. I want you to know you owe me nothing. Here are some of the things that you will hear and here is what I think about these issues. Your mother too contributed and perhaps her contribution is greater than mine. Nevertheless, this is what I remember and this is what I feel.
The service: staying up late at night when you cried and couldn't sleep; you were not even able to sit up on your own.
My payment: when you fell asleep in my arms, I would hold you close to me so that you would feel secure. When I viewed your tiny eyes closed and lost in sleep, I felt complete and I felt warm. For this feeling I owe you.
The service: trying to feed you when you refused to eat. You would refuse food and almost needed to be force-fed. Sometimes I had to dance, sometimes I had to walk around the house with you in my arms.
My payment: when you ate and smiled, I knew you were content. The smile made me forget everything, the pain of the day gone by, the trials at work and the trudge home. My fatigue left me and I felt alive. For this I owe you.
The service: changing your diapers when you soiled them. You would cry until the diaper was removed. It didn't matter what I was doing, sometimes even when I was eating. I would let go of my food to first tend to you. I did but a fraction of what your mother did, but I did too.
My payment: when I undid the diaper, your crying would reduce to a whimper. I would gently clean you with warm water and you would stop crying. As I put on a new diaper you smiled and gurgled. You would raise your arms asking me to hug you and hold you. And when I did, you gave me the warmest hug I could ever get. For this I owe you.
The service: arriving home from work, tired, exhausted and then you asking me to take you to the park to play on the swing. I didn't want to and tried to convince you to go the next day but you held my hand saying "please let's go dad".
My payment: the feeling of being led by your small hands is still the best feeling in the world. In the park you would lead me to the swing and I would help you get on to it. I would be careful in pushing you and you always wanted me to push you higher. Your laughter would echo in the park. My tired shoulders would no longer feel the day's burden. I smiled like the world belonged to me. You would hold my hand and proudly walk me through the park. For the feeling of being the king of the world, I owe you.
Today you are a young lady and at every turn in life you make me proud. I am proud when I take you to school, proud when I pick you up, proud to attend the parent teacher meeting and proud to be known as your father. How then can I ever repay you in this life or the next?
I want you to live your life not be a prisoner of my dreams. You should make and live your own dreams.
I want you to know life, the world and experience all of it yourself. I don't want you to know it second-hand from me.
When you make mistakes, and I know you will, you should know your father is there for you. I will always be your safety net to catch you if you fall. I will not be the shackles that bind you.
I will not remind you of anything I did for you because I did out of love not out of expectation that it will be one day repaid.
When you do cherish what I did, I do and what I will do, I will acknowledge them with a smile on my lips and tears in my eyes. The smile is for seeing you happy and the tears are because I am happy. But even if you don't I will still love you because that's what fathers should always do.
On this day and forever, I want you to know that your father loves you. I don't know about other father's but I am sure they are this way too.
Video | This entry was posted in miLife and tagged daughter, father's day, love, no charge, owe, repay. Bookmark the permalink.
It's really nice to read the letter. A letter full of fatherly emotions.
Though I ain't a father. I share the same feelings for my mother.
The relationship between parents and children is one of the best examples of a WIN WIN collaboration.It is in no way a one way transfer.
The relationship between parents and children is the best WIN WIN collaboration in the world.
It is in no way a one way transfer.
WORDS ARE LIKE BABIES WE GIVE BIRTH TO, WHO TRAVEL FAR AND WIDE TO DISTANT MINDS, TO LIVE A LIFE OF THEIR OWN.
Vivek, very well said and beautifully expressed. I'm sure a lot of father's feel this way. I have 4 girls and a son and to each of them their father is the alpha Omega because of the kind of human being he is. I'm so glad to know other father's like him and you do exist but unfortunately only a few come out in the open and express their feelings…so happy for you…God Bless!


What bedding to use for your rabbit is a widely debated topic, some people swear by fleece while others use nothing but wood flooring and newspaper. For this article, we will be going over four different types of bedding commonly used for rabbits, and the pros and cons of each of them. Depending on what kind of litter you choose to use for your rabbit, make sure to avoid pine and cedar bedding as these can cause respiratory problems for your rabbit.
Fleece is the most commonly used bedding for rabbits, being that it is easy to clean and because you change the pattern based on the season. If you want to use fleece, you will need to see if your bunny nibbles on fleece, because you may not like the appearance of fleece when it has holes all over because your bunny got a little curious. I don't use fleece because Hadley enjoys chewing up the fleece and it didn't look very nice.
I only recently discovered foam mats, but I can safely say that I love them. With foam mats, you face the same risk of your rabbit ripping them up, but I solved that by wrapping duct tape along the edges (that's where Hadley commonly chewed) and they no longer ripped it up. Foam Mats can also help prevent sore hocks because it is a cushioned surface that the bunny will walk on.
Tile is not recommended as permanent bedding for your rabbit, because as they walk on it there back legs splay out and if that happens for a prolonged period, it can cause problems. Tile can be perfect bedding for small portions of the rabbits home. If you use fleece, you can put tile slabs around the litter box, so if they have accidents, it can be easily cleaned up.
Not many people use carefresh as permanent bedding, most commonly the people that use carefresh as bedding are the ones that keep them in cages. Some do use carefresh as a litter box bedding, but because it doesn't absorb smell very well, they tend to stray away from it.
Con: Expensive, gets stuck in bunny fur, not suitable for free roam rabbits, doesn't absorb the smell.


The street parking around Holy Trinity and on Ponsonby Road is free from 12pm. The available spaces tend to be few however and for those who are able, then public transport is recommended.
Holy Trinity has the following bus routes that stop close by: 72, 85, 170, 265, 430, 493, 639, 670 and 969.
The Catholic Church of St. Joseph's – on the other side of Roehampton Lane – is kindly allowing us use of its car-parking on Friday and can take about 25 cars. We want to reserve this for people who have mobility issues but can walk a short distance, please be in touch to: admin@holytrinityroehampton.org or 020 8780 9467 if you would like us to reserve you a spot here. The satnav postcode for St. Joseph's is SW15 4LE.
The satnav postcode for Holy Trinity is SW15 4LA.
Holy Trinity has space for those using wheelchairs and there is full disabled access through the North Door which also can be used by those who find steps difficult to manage. Stewards will be on hand to direct. We expect a full church and seating may fill up quickly.
The reception at Whitelands will be held directly after the service and all are very welcome. Whitelands address and satnav is: Holybourne Avenue SW15 4JD.
Whitelands is in close walking distance from Holy Trinity Church and takes about 5/6 minutes walk – see map below.
A shuttle bus will be running between Holy Trinity Church and Whitelands College for all those who need it. The bus is not equipped to take wheelchairs but does have a ramp/tail-lift for those who can't manage steps.
The reception at Whitelands is on the ground floor and suitable for disabled access and directions to the function room (G 070) will be sign-posted.
Clergy will be directed to the School Hall in Roehampton Church School which adjoins the Church at the top of the road where they will be able to robe (in either purple or white) . They will then process into the Church via the North Door (and will be guided/stewarded by our two churchwardens).
The family have asked for no flowers but rather donations if desired can be given for either Water Aid (which was a charity very close to Jim's heart) or to Roehampton Parish Church. This can be done through cheques payable to Water Aid or Roehampton PCC and sent to T H Sanders & Sons, 12 Medfield Street SW15 4JZ or by the retiring collection at the end of the service.
Until April last year I was a regular at Holy Trinity and have many happy memories of Jim. I shall miss him even though now having moved out of Roehampton and I know that his loss will be keenly felt by all the church members and by the other organisations in which he took such a positive and enthusiastic part.


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If like us your one of the lucky ones to get yourself a ticket to the hottest gaming expo in the UK this year, it is of course Eurogamer Expo it is now open!
We will be attending the Expo on Friday and will have posts and news regarding the games we play at the expo throughout the day.
This year's Expo will be filled to bursting point with playable versions of the most anticipated games for this Christmas and beyond.
We also welcome the world's leading game designers who will present their latest work directly to attendees in our dedicated auditorium.
Plus we have tournaments, competitions, indie games, a retro zone, the Games Industry Fair, cosplay and more. What's not to like? Join us this September for the biggest Eurogamer Expo ever!
Eurogamer 2012 & My excitement for this year!!


text:
First Pic of Mr. Robot star Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury
Deron Generally September 8, 2017
The upcoming biopic of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury had a minor piece of controversy when it looked like there would be a halt to production when actor Sacha Baron Cohen left the film. Producers went to a new actor to take on the role of the famed performer and showman and Entertainment Weekly has the first pic of the actor.
Mr. Robot star and Emmy winner Rami Malek stepped into the role and the first pic of him as Mercury is astounding. Malek definitely look like he has the swagger and demeanor of Freddie on full display. It will be something to see if he has the voice. Malek addressed whether or not he could reproduce Mercury's unique sound. "We're going to use Freddie as much as possible and use myself as much as possible," he said.
The film, Bohemian Rhapsody will chronicle the creation of the band Queen through the band's performance at Live Aid in 1985. According to the director Bryan Singer, the film will be a celebration of the band, the music and Freddie. "It won't just be the dark Freddie story, but that being said, that also will be honored," Singer says. "It's about collaboration. It's a celebration."
Let me know what you think of Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in the comments below.
Follow me on Twitter @superpoweredfan.
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text:
Marcus Aurelius Nielsen
After working out for NFL teams BC Lions starting quarterback Nathan Rourke has started receiving offers according to multiple sources. There have only been two Canadian born quarterbacks to start in an NFL game. Mark Rypien was the first but as someone who was raised from the age of 3 in Spokane, Washington he considers himself as an American.
Nathan Rourke finished his 3rd NFL workout for this week:#Chargers today#Cardinals Tues#Vikings Mon
That's it for December. 8 workouts done. Offers have started coming in.
Has more workouts in early Jan, if it gets there. First day players can sign @NFL futures deals is Jan 9 pic.twitter.com/R8ivF84FH8
— Farhan Lalji (@FarhanLaljiTSN) December 22, 2022
Former Florida Gator Jesse Palmer from Ottawa was the other. Palmer perhaps just as famous for his role as the Bachelor in the award winning television series, has made his life in the USA and covers college football as an analyst. Rourke is more than likely to sign a reserve/futures deal with an NFL team, so talking about a 3rd Canadian born starting quarterback is still very premature.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/lions-rourke-could-receive-multiple-nfl-offers
Lions fans have seen many players attempt to make the transition to the NFL. Pro Football's all-time point leader Lui Passaglia was signed by the Cleveland Browns in 1988 as a punter but ended up back in the CFL after a brief stint. The same would go for linebackers over the years, Daved Benefield (SF 49ers), Paul Lacoste (Indianapolis Colts) and Adam Bighill (New Orleans Saints).
There have been crossovers the other way, like defensive back Barry Wilburn who was a part of the 1994 Grey Cup winning squad. Wilburn had two interceptions in winning the Super Bowl in 1987 with Washington. Offensive Lineman Bobby Singh would win the Grey Cup with the Lions in 2006, after spending time in the NFL and XFL early in his career. Singh has the distinction of being the only player in pro football to win the championship in the NFL, XFL and CFL.
Joe Kapp led the Lions to a Grey Cup victory in 1964 before moving onto the Minnesota VIkings where he would guide them to a spot in the Super Bowl IV. They would lose 23-7 to the Kansas City Chiefs. Kapp is the only quarterback to have started in a Rose Bowl, Grey Cup and Super Bowl.
One thing that people must understand is that Nathan Rourke got hooked on football at a young age. Instead of watching cartoons like other kids, he would watch replays of Green Bay Packer games. To be in the show that he watched so avidly as a youngster would be a great feat.
A Canadian quarterback starring north of the border is something CFL fans have been waiting a long time for. Fans feeling like it was too short a stint for the promising young qb have a right to feel that way. With that being said, seeing someone fulfilling their lifelong dream is something to root for. Here are three Lions that have had success going from the Lions to the NFL.
In 2002 the BC Lions had Barrin Simpson, Carl Kidd and Brendon Ayanbadejo in the middle of their defence. Simpson and Kidd would go on to play many successful years in the CFL, Ayenbadejo would be done after one season. The Miami Dolphins would sign Ayenbadejo for the 2003 season, where he would hone his craft on special teams. In 2005 the Chicago Bears would come calling, there he would blossom. Making three straight Pro Bowls from 2006-08 while also playing in his first Super Bowl in the Bears loss to the Indianapolis Colts in the 2006 Super Bowl.
He would finish his career with the Baltimore Ravens winning the Super Bowl in 2011. Impressive for Ayenbadejo to find his niche as a special teams guru and parlay it into a successful NFL career. The two others we are going to look at had impacts both in the CFL and NFL at skilled positions.
https://www.raiders.com/news/former-raiders-wr-mervyn-fernandez-has-been-inducted-into-canadian-football-hall
When drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders in 1983, Swervin' Mervyn Fernandez was already coming off a successful rookie campaign with the Lions in 1982. After 5 seasons with the team, where the Lions would play in two Grey Cups, Raiders owner Al Davis finally persuaded Fernandez to play for his ball club. The CFL's Most Outstanding Player in 1985 and eventual hall of fame inductee didn't disappoint in Los Angeles.
In 1988 he led all NFL receivers with an unbelievable 26.0 yards per catch. He would follow that up next season by leading all Raider receivers in every major offensive category. Those who had watched him in BC were not surprised with his success in the NFL.
Cameron Wake would arrive in BC after a solid career at Penn State. From the start fans could tell that the young man was special. Wake would be the first player in CFL history to win both the Most Outstanding Rookie and Defensive Player of the Year in 2007. As an encore he would thrash the competition in 2008 on his way to a unanimous selection as the CFL Defensive Player of the Year.
In 2009 he would sign with the Miami Dolphins. He would be named a pro bowler 5 times in his time there. In 2012 he would get the ultimate reward being named the best player at his position in the NFL. Wake would play one season with the Tennessee Titans in 2019 before retiring from professional football.
Vernon Adams Jr. Called To Command Lions' Offence
Shortly after Fernandez departed the Lions found a suitable replacement in his 1987 Raider teammate David Williams. In 1988, Williams would be named the CFL Most Outstanding Player and help get the Leos within six yards of a Grey Cup Championship. In 1990, Williams would make his way to Ottawa but the Lions lucked out replacing him with the Dallas Cowboys leading receiver in 1988, Ray Alexander. After Cameron Wake left, Wally Buono knew there was no replacing him.
Instead what the team did was build a complete defence that would win the Grey Cup in 2011. With Rourke about 80% sure of not being at Lions training camp come May, Vernon Adams Jr will be left to carry a weight of unfair expectations. When asked if he was comfortable with Adams Jr being the starter in 2023, Lions Coach Rick Campbell responded "100%".
Since they became a franchise in 1954 the BC Lions have seen many individuals come and go. The Lions have seen two of their own have success in acting, Linebacker Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed) and 55-yard line girl Pamela Anderson (Baywatch). Former water boy Bob Ackles became a successful NFL executive and Super Bowl Champion.
Merced Solis briefly played for the Leos in 1976 before becoming a famous wrestler under the name Tito Santana. Every former member of the Leos knows that whatever their next venture brings them, the Lions faithful will always be behind them. Nathan Rourke will be celebrated by Lions fans regardless if he is playing football north or south of the border in 2023.
Jeanne Earick
A wonderful informative article as always.
David Tress
In the case of Nathan Rourke, the B.C. Lions should be offering him the highest QB salary in CFL history, higher than Doug Flutie commanded. Such should include a 7 figure signing bonus and at least $2 million per year. If that is not enough to keep him in B.C. then let him go to the NFL.
They can not pay him that much or they wouldn't be able to field a team. In the cfl it's a 3.5 million dollar salary cap for the entire team and that includes the coaches
You are right they lost to the Chiefs but in Super Bowl IV. Super Bowl III was Joe Namath's famous guarantee victory over the Colts. Thanks for catching the error will work diligently so it doesn't happen again.
That is impossible due to salary cap in the cfl. I dont care for players who only want to play for money. Football is a sport, you play for the love of the game! If you get pay that is a bonus. Some players going after the money, like Russell Wilson $154 millions? What are you going to do with all that money? You are born with nothing and you will leave with nothing. If you get $500,000 to a million a season is good enough. Most people work their asses off and dont even make $80,000 a year.
Kapp lost to KC in Super Bowl 3, not Baltimore.
Super bowl 3 was Joe Namath with the Jets. Can't believe you wrote that. Vikings ,Superbowl 4 was against Kansas.
You are correct, it was an egregious error on my part. Baltimore defeated the Vikings 24-14 in the previous postseason. Hank Stram's Chiefs took down the Vikings in Super Bowl IV. Thank you for pointing it out it will make me a better writer.
Just a terrible article all around. My God..
Dont go givin up your day job at McDicks.
Thank you for your very eloquent and informative critique. The level of maturity you showed in writing that comment is unparalleled. One final thing "would you like fries with that?".
The CFL salary cap is not $3.5 million; it is $5 million. In the case of Nathan Rourke the B.C. Lions should be willing to surpass the salary cap and make a respectable offer above the NFL minimum. There will reappear a host of empty seats at B.C. Place if Rourke bolts for the NFL. Breaking the salary cap is in the B.C. Lions best interests.
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Loba (a small black cairn terrier) and I, went on a longish coastal cycle ride. In a uniquely unspoilt part of Catalunya.
There were sandy, rocky coves with fisherman's shelters, small single room houses bigger than a shed but smaller than a cottage, with a round tiled roof and a chimney. Usually they are purchased and converted to summer houses by rich people from Barcelona or Madrid. At one tiny and very quiet, natural beach, a single fishermans hut remains, the dozen or so others having crumbled into the sea decades ago. It was free for passers by to use.
The front opened onto a crescent of sand leading to protective rocks. Inside, on the left, a fireplace which was still smouldering deep under the ashes. A pile of wood had been left by previous visitors as a gift. The fire ignited easily after I pushed some sticks and pine cones in. The back wall had a ledge filled with wine and spirit bottles, a bag of flour, a bag of sugar, a jar of barbeque sauce, a pair of reading glasses and notes of wonder and thanks left by temporary dwellers. On the left was a stone table with old newspapers. Underneath a stack of barbeque racks and a large tree trunk, burned at one end and dragon faced at the other. On the right was a large steel table surrounded by picnic chairs and long benches. The walls had been painted with flowers, fruits and graffitti. The atmosphere was sooty and tatty but there was no aroma of urine, only a luscious scent of the wood fire and the careworn presence of human utensils. Long sticks leant in one corner. I often find good walking sticks leant against a tree or rock and now I leave them too in such places.
I had with me a picnic, sponge buns, which I toasted, a can of olives stuffed with anchovies, bananas, orange juice and a bar of chocolate.
At first I thought I would like to live in a beach hut with a fire, but after a while I noticed I kept getting up to scan up and down the beach outside, to see if people were approaching and so I realised I wouldn't be happier in a hut - although I 'd like to try it. maybe an old stone cottage or a log cabin in the woods, but then would I really wish to live through the Winter in an old cottage with no central heating? Probably not.
I left three pieces of smooth, green glass; a fragrant eucalyptus seed cup; and a lavender flower, on the ledge and collected drift wood off the beach outside to replace what I'd used.
The bike ride was ten kilometres through woods and fields, along lovely sand beaches. I walked the bike over rocks and Loba barked dragged pebbles out of splashy rock pools.
I cannot say where this precious, beautiful place is because it is a treasure and a secret.


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Please be sure to save every URL to the Wayback Machine hosted at the Internet Archive. Their API is very easy to use; just send one GET request per URL (and sleep a second or two in between each request).
Not a bad idea, thanks..


What is IMAX? IMAX is the "abbreviation" of maximum image and is largest film format in the world. With crystal clear images that are ten times larger than the traditional cinema format, it also features digital surround sound, ensuring a powerful cinematic experience. IMAX also supports 3D using state-of-the-art electronic headsets, complete with infra red sensors to detect the left and right eye images, the IMAX 3D experience has brought 3D enjoyment a long way from the cardboard glasses of the 1950s.


text:
Threat By English National Alliance
The march came up Whitehall in silence and then burst into applause at the Cenotaph
I was surprised this morning to receive an e-mail informing me about a page attacking journalists on a web site which calls itself the English National Alliance, and even more surprised to find my picture at the bottom of the page with the caption;
"Peter Marshall.
Anti English Journalist
and Photogpraher"
Well, at least there they had spelt socialist correctly, as in the title and address of the page it was "socilaist". And of course I've no objection to being called either a Journalist or a Photographer, but I'm certainly not anti-English.
The complaint against me was that I had written about a 'Patriot' demonstration in May, and had:
"lied to try and create interest more in himself as a journalist than the event, by stating that the patriots were involved in a scuffle at 10 Downing street, which was a total fabrication on his part…"
Unfortunately the writer had simply got it wrong, and has mixed me up with another photographer who had written about the event.
What I actually wrote in the only part of my article which mentioned Downing St was this:
"The march set off noisily, but as it turned into Whitehall and approached the Cenotaph it became a silent tribute to British troops, which was followed by applause, with the chanting resuming as they came past Downing St and on to Trafalgar Square."
No mention of any scuffle, and several people on the left have criticised me for being too kind to the marchers for writing what I thought was a truthful account.
As usual I set out to describe the event as clearly and objectively as I could and give reader a fairly good idea of what happened, of why people were marching and the ideas they were putting forward. I did also describe the behaviour of some of the marchers towards the journalists present, particularly at the end of the event and the chanting of racist slogans by some. And as well as my description of the event I also made my own point of view clear – something which I think is also vital for journalists to do.
Interestingly when I met some of the march stewards earlier this month they thanked me for the fairness of my account of the event, and also told me that they had too been appalled by some of the behaviour I'd commented on.
The story about "a scuffle at Downing St" did not come from me, but was written by another photographer at the event in a completely separate story. I saw nothing of the incident he describes, where marchers were held back by police as they surged towards a woman who had shouted "racist scum" at them. I have no reason to doubt his account, but I didn't see it, so I didn't report it.
My story, headlined Peaceful March by EDL in London, includes this paragraph:
Many of us who are not members of the EDL would like to see a proper celebration of traditional British culture and would certainly support the wider use of the English and other British flags and the proper celebration of our national Saints Days. And while parts of our history have involved the exploitation of other cultures, there are also many aspects of which we can justly be proud, particularly for example in the areas of science and technology.
Which I think is hardly anti-English.
But more importantly than a misplaced attack on me, the ENA article is an attack on all journalists and on the freedom of the press. It's a call for censorship and control of the media:
On all future demonstrations and protests Journalists must be challenged and sent packing if they are NUJ members and also start gathering photographic evidence against them as well where possible so we can identify them constantly and banish them from our events.
By creating 'welcome cards' we can ensure that unbiased Journalists are allowed into the ranks of Nationalist protesters with us so that they can tell the truth of the protests and demonstrations and start getting the message out that we are growing in stature, strength and support and will no longer tolerate a socialist minority dictating to us or spreading lies about the patriotic cause through their media access.
It clearly is a call for the kind of controlled press that is a feature of totalitarian societies both of the right and the left, and a complete denial of the freedoms which are one of our proudest English traditions. And it is a call we need to fight against – and this is a fight in which anyone concerned with upholding English traditions and freedom will join with us.
Lost Ansel Adams?
The claim by Richard Norsigian that the 60 glass negatives he bought at a garage sale nearly ten years ago from a man in Fresno are lost images by Ansel Adams is attracting a lot of attention in the press. The negatives, which Norsigan bought for $45, having haggled with the seller who wanted $60 are said to be worth $2 million. Experts are said to have identified the handwriting on the negative envelopes as that of Ansel's wife Virginia, and the evidence of a meteorological expert and others is said to confirm they are by Adams.
You can see some of these pictures for sale on the Lost Negatives web site, yours for $1500 for a 24×30″ digital print. Looking at them I'm not convinced that they show the same interest as the known work of Adams; if they are by him they were surely in the main his rejects, and it is hard to believe that he would not have destroyed at least some of them.
But truly the last thing we need is more Ansel Adams pictures. Not only did he take rather a large number – of which a small few are works of considerable power and majesty and most are frankly rather on the boring side, but thousands of other photographers have gone out and taken Ansel Adams pictures too. Sometimes I have this image of queues of photographers lining up with their 10×8 view cameras to try to faithfully replicate his once unique vision of the Californian landscape.
So I'd really like to see some kind of mechanism for losing much of Mr Adams's work rather than anyone coming up with more. The true finds of his work that are interesting are those that show a different side of his photographic mind, such as the many pictures by him in the Los Angeles Public Library, pointed out by Gerard Van der Leun on American Digest in 2006 (and reposted in 2009) which you can find by putting the photographer's name in either the photographer or keyword fields in the LAPL search page.
Back to those Norsigan images. The grandson of Ansel Adams believes the claim that they were by Adams to be false and has given some reasons. Although Norsigan may genuinely believe they are by Adams it seems to me that he may not be entitled to market them as such without the permission of the Ansel Adams estate, who may have some title to the use of the photographer's name. And if they are genuinely the work of Adams, surely the copyright would still lie with the Ansel Adams estate except in the case of images taken before 1923, although the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 0f 1998 is not entirely clear on the status of unpublished images.
Posted in Photo History, Photo Issues, Photographers | 1 Comment »
I Really Don't Need a Hasselblad
A week or two ago I went to a members evening at Photofusion in Brixton, where one of the events on the programme was a demonstration of one of the latest Hasselblad digital models, the H4D with a 50Mp back. It's basically a 645 format camera although the sensor is rather smaller at 36.8 × 49.1mm, twice the area of that in my Nikon D700.
The camera we were shown by a guy from Calumet came with a fairly hefty 80mm macro and I certainly wouldn't have wanted to carry that combination too far, but with the normal 80mm standard lens it weighs 2290g, not a huge amount more than the Nikon D700 with the 16-35mm which adds up to around 1800g. Definitely portable if not lightweight.
But of course I wouldn't be happy for long with only a standard lens, and a couple of lenses would probably double the weight, with the smallish wide-angles weighing in around 900g each and a moderate telephoto at around 1300g.
But I'd miss would be the ability to take several images in rapid succession. The H4D is a little slower than I could wind on with a film camera at 1.1s per image, while the Nikon manages around 5 fps (and 8 fps with a battery pack.)
Of course I wouldn't want to make many pictures, as 50Mp images take up rather a lot of disk space, and realistically I'd need a faster computer to handle them too. It's undeniable that if I want to make really big prints the extra pixels would help and there are roughly twice the number of pixels across the frame comparing 50Mp with 12MP, but even at A2 the D700 can do a pretty decent job.
Obviously the H4D-50 isn't the camera for me, which is just as well considering the price, around £18,000 in the sales, saving about £3000 on the RRP, with another couple of grand for a lens. I can't even see myself getting the cheaper H4D-40 which you can pick up with lens for a mere £13,000 or so if you shop around, or even a cheaper medium format competitor but I did listen carefully to see what I might be missing.
True Focus and Absolute Position Lock
One thing – and a major USP in both their literature and the talk we got – is True Focus and Absolute Position Lock. The H4D only has a central focus point for autofocus, so you need to focus and then tilt the camera to get an image focussed away from the centre. When you focus, assuming the lens has a flat field of focus, this plane is actually at different distances from the camera, increasing as you move from the centre of the image. So when you tilt the camera to alter the composition you are moving the focus behind the part of the subject on which you focussed. The H4D True Focus detects the tilt and alters the focus to compensate. Clever or not?
Let's do a little maths. Thankfully we have our friend Pythagoras, who can enable us to avoid trigonometry. Imagine you are taking a full length portrait from about 8 feet away. You tilt your camera up slightly to focus on the eyes, setting the focus distance at 8 ft, then you tilt the camera down, having locked the focus. But the tilt has meant that camera to subject distance is now less than 8 ft, as the distance from the camera to the point in the centre of your image, perhaps now 2 ft lower than where you focussed, is less than 8 ft. How much less? Going to that Greek we find that instead of 8 ft the distance is the square root of (8×8-2×2) which works out as 7.745 ft, a full 3 inches less.
Will it matter? To find out we need to think about depth of field and the sensor/lens and aperture we will be using and decide on an acceptable circle of confusion. It all gets too complicated, so lets just try a simple example and assume we are using a standard 50mm lens on a Nikon D700, and to avoid more maths I'm going to feed those figures into an on-line Depth of Field Calculator. Assume I've got a 50mm f1.4 (I don't) and have decided to use it wide open. DOFMaster tells me if I've focussed at 8 ft, the near limit will be 7.69 ft, so those eyes will still be sharp. I don't think I need a Hasselblad H4D.
Wider Dynamic Range?
The other big point is quality, and as well as superb lenses that also comes down to the large sensor. But it isn't really the fact that the cells on the sensor are larger and perhaps surprisingly the H4D doesn't offer the kind of high ISO performance we get on FX format cameras. The big difference, according to the sales talk, is that the sensor is 16 bit rather than 14 bit, and that gives you better tonality and a wider dynamic range.
Well I think, is that so? Certainly for their digital back they claim a dynamic range of 12 stops, which is pretty good. But using the D700 with RAW files and processing with ACR the guys at Digital Photography Review got a best result of 11.6EV which is pretty similar. I think they might squeeze out a little more now with LR3. Perhaps those 2 extra bits don't offer quite as much as they guy said.
I found it hard not to laugh when he said that shooting a Canon or Nikon DSLR is like working on transparency film. Not if you know what you are doing, and its perhaps significant that DPR note that their best result was almost 5 stops more than the default jpeg dynamic range.
In practice digital has proved itself able to handle almost anything I've thrown at it – so long as I've got the exposure right (and when working fast that's often a problem.) Here's an image I took last Friday at Downing St:
The sun is strong and low, just out of frame. You can just see some detail in the sky at left (the line at the top is actually the edge of my digital portable light shield – my left hand.) I don't know what the subject dynamic range was, but I do know that I had to do a terrific amount of burning in Lightroom to get that detail to show. Getting the tone I wanted in that blue shirt, the Peace flag and the face of the guy holding it needed a bit of added brightness too.
Getting however many stops of the subject into an 8 bit RGB range is going to be a tricky business with any camera and high contrast scenes will almost always look too flat if this is done without a certain amount of dodging and burning as well as using a curve that flattens unimportant parts of the tonal range. Using a back with inherently greater dynamic range may make the job easier, but in the end – like darkroom printing – it comes down to the skill in interpretation of the negative or RAW file.
It's a picture I wouldn't have tried on tranny and would have been tricky on black and white, and which I don't think my older digital cameras would have managed well. When Digital Photography Review tested the D300 they could only manage just under ten stops, though I think they (and Lightroom) may have improved enough to squeeze out a little more. But certainly the D700's 11.6 seems good enough. So yet again I don't really need the H4D!
Making an impression
Under the dark cloth – a DSLR. And why not?
Then on Monday last week I watched a photographer taking a group photograph of the swan uppers and there was the camera all set up on a tripod and covered with a large black dark cloth. I was surprised to think that someone was still using a large format camera but had to laugh when the assistant briefly lifted the cloth to reveal a rather ordinary looking DSLR (it could have been a 25Mp Canon, though I couldn't from a distance identify it) but I thought that the D700 would probably have done the job adequately. That photographer didn't need an H4D and nor do I.
Of course back in the old days of film, there were many photographers who used medium or large format for jobs that could readily have been done on 35mm. The larger negs were more forgiving in some respects, particularly over sloppy processing and handling (and some repro guys really were sloppy) and I think the same is true with larger digital files. And many clients, especially those paying big advertising money, were considerably happier to see photographers using large and expensive equipment. Some would specify 4×5″ and never knew when they were given Kodachrome duped up to that size. Perhaps the main selling point of medium format digital is keeping clients happy in much the same way.
Posted in My Own Work, Photo Issues | 2 Comments »
Big Lunch Street Party
The Nikon 16-35mm on the FX format D700 was pretty well an ideal lens for photographing this suburban street party, part of a nationwide neighbourhood building exercise 'The Big Lunch'. You can see more of the pictures mainly taken with this combination on My London Diary, which also tells you more about the street and the event.
There were a few occasions when I wanted a longer lens, and the 18-105 Nikon on the DX format D300 (27-157 equiv) provided what I needed. I did find myself being slightly confused on occasion and forgetting that the physically longer lens (the 16-35mm) was actually the wide angle, and grabbing the wrong camera, although the overlap in focal lengths between the two sometimes meant it didn't matter.
The D300 also came in useful for a few images with the 10.5mm fisheye where I thought that the red circle of the pool would really make an overhead view with the fisheye work. I had to take several images to get the framing I wanted as I was shooting with the camera held up well above my head, but this frame was just about perfect.
Framing with the fisheye is always a rather different exercise to framing with rectilinear lenses, and it is seldom really possible to locate the corners of the image with any precision – you get a 180 degree view across the image diagonal. So while normally framing is very much about where edges and corners fall, with the 10.5 its much more about placing the centres of the edges (and in this example particularly the centre top to give just a little space above the heads and the centre bottom around the edge of the pool.)
LR3, Distortion correction at 30
Previously I've often made use of the Fisheye Hemi plugin which retains these edge centres while losing some of the extended corners, and its a very useful tool. Here is the result it gives with this image, similar but with some lines noticeably straighter, and just a little more content at the two edges.
FishEye Hemi Distortion correction
Lightroom 3 comes with a lens profile for the Nikon 10.5mm which will actually convert to rectilinear when set to 100, its default, which I think is totally useless.
LR3 Distortion correction at 100 – Rectilinear.
Uncorrected image
Which of these images best represents my intentions when photographing the scene is an interesting question, and for me either of the upper two versions is more acceptable. The rectilinear result clearly distorts the scene in a way that misrepresents what I saw, and the uncorrected image gives far more prominence to the corners than I intended. Technically, Lightroom's rectilinear version produces an unusable result, having to stretch out some of the pixels unacceptably and losing sharpness in some areas.
In a week that has seen yet another highly publicised case of digital manipulation, with a caddy being removed from a golfing shot and Getty firing the photographer concerned, Mark Feldman, who claims he took out the caddy while showing him and the golfer the picture when it the caddy suggested his presence ruined the picture, and that sending this version as well as the uncorrected original to Getty was simply an unintended "fatal mistake."
Given the poor quality of the Photoshop job and that he sent both corrected and uncorrected versions I'm convinced his story – and his own comments on the article are a true explanation of what happened.
But if he had done it deliberately and suppressed the original it would clearly have been digital manipulation. However the kind of perspective alteration shown in the above examples is an example of the kind of digital manipulation that is fully acceptable. It's a subject I discussed at some length a couple of months ago in Ethics and Images.
Two Years to London 2012
The Olympic site in June 2010 – more (and larger) pictures
Today is exactly two years to the start of the London 2012 Olympics, and various events are taking place to mark this. The man in charge, Lord Coe of Ranmore (still better known as Seb) was interviewed on the BBC this morning and talked to the presenter about how just five years ago, the Olympic site was an undeveloped wasteland.
It's a lie, and one that Lord Coe knows is so, all part of a deliberate attempt to justify the Olympics as bringing some great redevelopment opportunity to the area (which might just be true.) These are some pictures from around the site before the Olympic redevelopment, which led to the closing down of many small local employers, along with a few larger companies, some of which did rather better from the forced removal.
The stadium was built at the left of this picture. Nothing remains.
This industrial area on Marshgate Lane has been completely cleared
The stadium is more or less where this building was
This housing estate and tower block was demolished for the Olympic Village
Of course there are many more pictures from the area here on My London Diary (the index page only covers work up to 2007 – see entries under Newham) and rather more on my River Lea site, with pictures from 2000-2005 starting here.
More convenient for some is my recently published 'Before the Olympics', still available on Blurb which packs 240 pictures into its pages, including a significant selection from the Olympic area, particularly from the 1980s before the London Olympics was even a gleam in Seb Coe's eye. Had he really wanted them on a "undeveloped wasteland" he could of course have chose Ranmore.
BP Plugs Leak
If you've not already seen it there is a great piece on The Russian Photos Blog today, BP Plugs Leak, Photoshops Entire Gulf Coast.
Of course much of the anti-BP US hysteria is no more than an attempt to deflect attention from the US government's responsibility for encouraging unsafe oil exploration in the gulf and elsewhere, which has backfired spectacularly, exposing the almost total lack of proper regulation of the oil companies activities.
And it would be hard to find anyone with any understanding of the matter who has any sympathy for the attacks on BP and the Scottish government over the release of the the Libyan who was convicted on very doubtful evidence of planting the bomb on an airline. Perhaps the remaining documents that the US government and the UK government will not allow the Scots to release could make their way to Wiki-leaks and might then help convince those US politicians that there is no case for the Scots to answer.
Party at the Pumps exposed BP's exploitation of Canadian Tar Sands
BP of course do have plenty of things to answer for, not least their intention to exploit the Alberta tar sands
Picket at BP in solidarity with Colombian Oil Workers
and their lack of care and respect for the dignity of their workers in Colombia.
Democracy Camp Stops Traffic
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
The Democracy Camp which set up in Parliament Square on May 1 was cleared by bailiffs and police early on Tuesday morning after two and a half months there. I wasn't there to see it go, but I did visit last Friday after the court had announced its decision that they had to leave.
Dry grass – just add water & leave it to grow – but made to look like bare earth in the Standard
For the moment Brian Haw and his Parliament Square Peace Campaign is still there, and in its tenth year, but very much under threat. He's become something of a national institution and I hope he manages to keep there until he feels it is time to leave.
It seemed to me that the Democracy had perhaps in several ways outstayed its welcome, although certainly its presence had livened up what is normally one of London's dullest areas, and one that the city has always completely failed to make sensible of proper use of. It did at least provide a little entertainment and amusement for tourists. It also gave a temporary home and some hope to a number of London's homeless – including some ex-soldiers – at minimal cost to the tax payer. But perhaps like the Climate Camp it should have cleaned up, packed its bags and left of its own accord after a decent period of occupation.
Of course there were down sides, though the councils and the press seemed to make rather too much of these. Clearing the rubbish was only a matter of a lorry coming occasionally to pick up the neatly piled black sacks as the campers did the rest of the work and it's hard to see how Westminster Council can work out the rather large amounts it has quoted. The site too was largely self-policing and there was certainly no point in the presence of 'heritage wardens' who simply stood around doing nothing there (I did see one taking a few photographs.) The grass about which so much fuss has been made was not in much worse state than my own lawn, and I confidently expect that to recover given a few decent falls of rain and a few of months of my usual neglect rather than the unnecessary turfing and reseeding the Mayor will spend Londoners money on.
One of the causes which the camp has brought some attention to through its protests is the war in Afghanistan, and the longest banner on its site read 'SOLDIERS COME HOME ALIVE!' On Friday evening Stop The War were holding a demonstration opposite Downing St against the war, so I wasn't surprised to see the campers coming up Whitehall carrying the banner.
Nor was I surprised that rather going across the road to the area on the opposite side of Whitehall where demonstrations are permitted they instead stood on the pavement to block the gates to Downing St. Like them I'm not happy with the restrictions including this on the right to demonstrate that were made by the Labour government in SOCPA (Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005) which were a serious assault on our democratic freedoms.
The police at least responded fairly reasonably and after a few minutes told them they would have to move, and they did, but only to the centre of the road so as not to obstruct the gates. It was difficult there for both police and photographers who were in danger from the traffic that was still being allowed to move along the road, and police politely explained this to some of the leading campers and requested that they move across to the pavement where they were allowed to demonstrate.
Instead some of the other protesters from the camp decided on a different logic of solution. If traffic created a hazard, stop the traffic – and so they did. Police made some attempt to get them to move, but there were simply not enough present to actually force them. After around ten minutes I saw one of the officers talking to one of the leading protesters and they shook hands, I think having come to an agreement. She organised the protesters to stand with their banner for a few minutes across the road, then led them back towards the camp.
It was a protest without violence from protesters or police. The protesters had been allowed to make their point clearly but the police had also minimised the disruption caused by the protest, although it had held up traffic for almost 20 minutes by the time it ended. Perhaps it was a little bit of democracy in action.
Pictures from Parliament Square, the Stop the War demonstration and the Democracy Camp's contribution to this on My London Diary, along with more about the event. A few thoughts on the photographic problems in another post here.
Waterloo Carnival
There is a certain chaos and madness about this picture that I like and is perhaps why I like to photograph the event it comes from, a relatively recent annual carnival held close to Waterloo station, in an area centred about a street called Lower Marsh.
The carnival itself is a symbol of a changing area, not long ago a down at heel and solidly working class area which came to life a little on weekday mornings with a street market, but after than packed up in the early afternoon was pretty dead.
Lower Marsh is the remnant of a much larger market through the centre of Lambeth from Vauxhall to Blackfrars which was notorious in the nineteenth century for the depravity of those who traded there and frequented it. Building Waterloo Station cut it off from the area to the north in 1848, and in the 2oth century road building, wartime bomb damage and slum clearance continued its decline. The end of the GLC came as a blow too, as workers there would come through Leake St under the station to shop and eat. Also in the 1980s property developers brought up much of the area hoping for a windfall from redevelopment around the Paris-London Eurostar train service to Waterloo but it didn't happen and many buildings were more or less left to rot.
But over the last ten or so years it has begun to pick up, with new offices around and it's become a much trendier area, with various specialist shops, cafés that have moved beyond the full English breakfast (though I love a good 'greasy spoon' even though my diet forbids it) and a pub called the Camel And Artichoke which despite the name serves a decent pint.
The samba group from Christian Aid whose offices are in the street
The population is also considerably more mixed with the selling off of both council housing and formerly cheap private rented accommodation to people who see the advantage of living within walking distance of Westminster and central London.
As usual at the moment I was working with the D700 with the 16-35mm f4 Nikon lens and the D300 mainly with the Nikon 18-105mm, with just a few pictures on the 10.5mm fisheye. And for once everything worked as it should.
More pictures on My London Diary.
Trent and Narelle
Thanks to Magnum for a tweet pointing out a "Wonderful 30 minute documentary about photographers Trent Parke and Narelle Autio", Trent Parke – Dreamlives (2002) – Australian Story which you can watch on Vimeo.
According to my computer its actually 25 minutes 17 seconds long, although perhaps it does seem longer as Magnum suggest. Although it does have a lot of interesting moments and comments – it was good to see some of the locations of pictures in 'Dreamlives' and also some more about the making of their joint book 'The Seventh Wave' I did end up feeling it would have been a much better 10 minute film.
But if you want to relax for a while with a glass or two of wine or a couple of beers 10 minutes would be a little short. So perhaps its a film about a very photographically driven couple for an Australian audience who perhaps won't notice the title and the strapline "Newcastle's own Trent Parke" omits to mention the female half while the film itself stresses the importance of them working together. And in case anyone is confused, that's Newcastle, New South Wales and I think Parke was Magnum's first Australian photographer.
Considerably more interesting photographically is his Minutes to Midnight, produced over a two-year period tavelling across Australia with his partner, and culminating with the birth of their first son in November 2004.
This 2006 Magnum in Motion essay is clearly to date the definitive presentation of this work, (the book is a 32 page pamphlet with only 20 images) and I think is a now a real classic. After completing it he stopped working in black and white and moved to colour.
Road to 2012 at NPG
The latest stage of the National Portrait Gallery/BT Road to 2012 project is on show (admission free) in the Studio gallery of the London National Portrait Gallery from now until 26 September 2010. It consists of a larger set of pictures from the project than previously shown by Brian Griffin along with some individual portraits of athletes by Bettina von Zwehl.
Brian Griffin listens to the speeches at the NPG
I think you can see all the pictures, along with much other material about how they were made on the NPG project web site although it seems to me to have an unnecessarily confusing interface to navigate. Of course seeing the pictures in reproduction on the web (click on them to see them larger) is no substitute for seeing the actual work.
At the NPG non-Breakfast event
I went to the so-called "Breakfast Launch" of the show (an entirely breakfast-free event) where one of the athletes pictures, rower Katherine Grainger talked about being photographed by von Zwehl.
Katherine Grainger
Later I was able to photograph her standing beside the portrait of her (all photographs in this review are © Peter Marshall 2010, but included works by the photographers in the show in them are © Bettina von Zwehl – National Portrait Gallery/BT Road to 2012 Project or © Brian Griffin – National Portrait Gallery/BT Road to 2012 Project respectively.)
Katherine Grainger and her portrait by Bettina von Zwehl
It and the similar pairing of young weightlifter Zoe Smith I think typify the problem I have with her portraits.
Zoe Smith and her portrait by Bettina von Zwehl
Somehow to me these portraits all look too much the same. And unfortunately they don't seem to much resemble the real people who were used to make them. It's a particular look which I think best suits sullen adolescents but none of those in the show fits that bill. They seem to be images that tell me more about the photographer than the sitter, which isn't what I want from a portrait.
Roy Haggan won the Everyday People competition – his prize a portrait by Bettina von Zwehl – perhaps the most recognisable of those on show
As you can see, these pictures are surprisingly small – only moderately sized – and at this scale fail to demonstrate the kind of quality that the 8×10 camera can give. I'm not usually a fan of printing stuff large, but I do think these needed a greater scale, although I don't think I would have found them any more convincing. One aspect of the larger format is that the subject stands out more from the background with the greater inherent depth of field, but here, combined with the over-lighting of the subject it often creates a kind of cardboard cut-out effect. Looking at a number of these I felt they would almost certainly have been improved by using only ambient light.
I know that von Zwehl is a very successful photographer and have admired some of her previous work, but I just don't get these images. The gallery notes on the show describe them as "meditative observations of face, mood and physique" but I fail to find this in them. Doubtless it's my loss.
Brian Griffin with his portrait of the Kenny Family including track cyclist Jason Kenny
I have long been a fan of Brian Griffin, and as well as producing interesting work he is always an interesting guy to talk to. These works show that he has lost nothing of his touch and the show includes several that can rank among his best over the years.
'The conspirators' – Simon Clegg and David Luckes
My favourite of the new works is one which I immediately christened "the conspirators", perhaps a scene out of Hamlet, where David Luckes's right eye peers out over the shoulder of Simon Clegg. Both of them have a hand on the 395 page report written by Luckes in 2000 which persuaded the Mayor of London and the government to back the bid, and its white plastic spine is surely the murder weapon. Something very nasty is certainly about to happen! As we've now found out.
I've also included this image to show the framing of these works with a white border and a white frame, which I think as very effective.
There are others that struck me powerfully too. Ken Livingstone, posing with LDA Managing consultant Tony Winterbottom shows Ken pointing and Griffin makes powerful use of the frame with one finger pointing to his left exactly at its edge, and the other hand on the opposite edge above the open palm of Winterbottom, doubtless waiting for the cash to drop into it. Ken is of course wearing a red tie, the only touch of colour in the scene, taken in front of a dynamically sloping background at City Hall, reinforcing the dynamic thrust of Ken towards the frame edge.
The Aquatic Team -Jim Heverin, Zaha Hadid, Stuart Fraser and Mike King
Many of those in Griffin's pictures are men in grey suits (and some women too) but one dramatic piece of colour is provided by architect Zaha Hadid in a group showing the Aquatics centre team. Like many of his works this also illustrates his very theatrical use of lighting (and also some superb printing of his work.)
There are just one or two which I don't think work, some where perhaps he seems to almost be parodying his own work, and others that just don't quite come off. But overall he is creating a powerful set of work. It may well be the best thing to come out of the Olympics.
[My own 'Olympic' contribution is the book of pictures 'Before the Olympics: The Lea Valley 1981-2010.']
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Kay S. Hymowitz: "How Single Motherhood Hurts Kids"
Kay S. Hymowitz of the Manhattan Institute presents some common sense in the NYT:
How Single Motherhood Hurts Kids
By KAY S. HYMOWITZ
The last few weeks have brought an unusual convergence of voices from both the center and the left about a topic that is typically part of conservative rhetorical territory: poverty and single-parent families. Just as some conservatives have started talking seriously about rising inequality and stagnant incomes, some liberals have finally begun to admit that our stubbornly high rates of poverty and social and economic immobility are closely entwined with the rise of single motherhood.
But that's where agreement ends. Consistent with its belief in self-sufficiency, the right wants to see more married-couple families. For the left, widespread single motherhood is a fact of modern life that has to be met with vigorously expanded government support. Liberals point out, correctly, that poverty rates for single-parent households are lower in most other advanced economies, where the welfare state is more generous.
That argument ignores a troubling truth: Single-parent families are not the same in the United States as elsewhere. Simply put, unmarried parents here are more likely to enter into parenthood in ways guaranteed to create turmoil in their children's lives.
Fifty years ago, American liberals noticed that high welfare payments and low public criticism of unmarried parental couples weren't immediately destroying Stockholm, so they figured it would make perfect sense in Milwaukee.
The typical American single mother is younger than her counterpart in other developed nations. She is also more likely to live in a community where single motherhood is the norm rather than an alternative life choice.
The sociologist Kathryn Edin has shown that unlike their more educated peers, these younger, low-income women tend to stop using contraception several weeks or months after starting a sexual relationship. The pregnancy — not lasting affection and mutual decision-making — that often follows is the impetus for announcing that they are a couple.
Guys, do not trust your girlfriend to take care of the contraception. She has her own agenda.
I wonder what percentage of these "unplanned" pregnancies have to do with women getting tired of dieting to look hot. Okay, I've got a guy interested in me, kind of, but now I'm hungry all the time. If I go off my diet, he'll probably dump me for that skinny skank Amber. But nobody can blame me for eating for two if I'm pregnant. So I'll kill two birds with one stone: I'll permanently reel him in by having him be my babydaddy and I can get off this diet. So stuff happens, you know? The Miracle of Life.
Unsurprisingly, by the time the thrill of sleepless nights and colicky days has worn off, two relative strangers who have drifted into becoming parents together notice they're just not that into each other. Hence, the high breakup rates among low-income couples: Only a third of unmarried parents are still together by the time their children reach age 5.
Also complicating low-income single parenthood in America is what the experts call "multipartner fertility." Both divorced and never-married Americans are more likely to repartner and start "second families" than Europeans, but the trend is far more common among unmarried parents. According to data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study at Princeton and Columbia Universities, over 60 percent of low-income babies will have at least one half sibling when they are born; by the time they are 5, the proportion will have climbed to over 70 percent.
Obviously, this data should be broken out by race. My guess is, however, that working class whites are slowly drifting toward black norms as criticizing anything associated by disparate impact logic with blackness becomes increasingly unspeakable.
All of this would be of merely passing interest if it weren't for the evidence that this kind of domestic churn is really bad news for kids. The more "transitions" experienced by a child — the arrival of a stepparent, a parental boyfriend or girlfriend, or a step- or half sibling — the more children are likely to have either emotional or academic problems, or both. (My own research indicates that boys, especially, suffer from these transitions.)
Part of the problem is that a nonresident father tends to fade out of his children's lives if there's a new man in his ex's house or if he has children with a new partner. For logistical, emotional and financial reasons, his loyalty to his previous children slackens once he has a child with a new girlfriend or wife.
New girlfriends/wives show remarkably little female solidarity toward the idea of their man turning over a big chunk of his paycheck to ex-girlfriends/wives.
Nor is it likely, from the overlooked child's point of view, that a mother's new boyfriend or husband can fill the gap. There's substantial research showing that stepfathers are sometimes worse than none at all.
These realities help explain the meager results of government marriage promotion programs. It doesn't make much sense to encourage, much less pressure, a couple with no shared history, interests or deep affection to marry. At any rate, given the prevalence of multipartner fertility it's not clear, as one scholar asked in a paper, "who should marry whom."
But those same realities raise serious doubts about the accept-and-prop-up response to single-parent families. Increasing government largess could actually incentivize, or at least enable, parental choices that everyone admits are damaging to kids.
Universal pre-K, for example, offers a sort of taxpayer-subsidized nap time for welfare moms to rest up so they can hit the clubs harder in the evening and create more little net tax consumers / Democratic voters.
So where does that leave us, policy-wise? Liberal critics of marriage promotion are probably correct that there are only limited steps government can take to change the way low-income couples meet and mate. But that doesn't mean the status quo is the way things have to be. Not so long ago, the rise of teenage motherhood seemed unstoppable. Instead, over the past two decades adolescent births have declined to record lows.
And abortion rates have dropped as well.
Researchers believe the decline was caused by a combination of better contraceptive use and delayed sexual activity. Both were grounded in a growing consensus — including by the policy makers, educators, the public and teenagers themselves — that having a baby when you are 16 is just a really bad idea.
As I've been saying for years, you can see just in reading government statistical reports that the government is out to get teen pregnancy (even if the teen is a married 19-year-old high school graduate) but is completely neutral on post-teen out-of-wedlock births.
It's not impossible that Americans could reach a similarly robust consensus about having children outside of a committed relationship, which in the United States, at least, tends to mean marriage. But despite the growing list of center-left writers willing to admit that single motherhood is complicit in our high levels of poverty and inequality, that consensus still seems a long way off.
Single motherhood generates Democratic votes, now and in the next generation. See "Life of Julia."
Kay S. Hymowitz, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor at City Journal, is the author of "Marriage and Caste in America: Separate and Unequal Families in a Post-Marital Age."
Liberal English Whites Upset Ukrainian Refugees Don't Want To Live In Majority-Non-White Birmingham Neighborhoods
AZ Congressman Andy Biggs Reintroduces Bill To Impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas,
ANN COULTER: "Black And Brown People"—Activists Try To Rope Hispanics Into Black Dysfunction


Thanks for visiting the Saint Paul School of Theology online shop! Find what you're looking for yourself or great gifts for your friends. You'll find unique merchandise with the Saint Paul logo on t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, stickers, and more.


What were you most interested in seeing on our Facebook page last year? Here's a round-up of the top 10 most popular FB posts of 2015. Comment to let us know your favorite one of the year, and if you'd like to see more posts in 2016 about any specific type of information, please let us know that too!
Massey scientists may have potentially discovered a way to make treatments for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) more effective! AML can be particularly difficult to cure, since patients often develop a resistance to standard therapies. However, a new, preclinical study suggests blocking a key protein could help overcome the drug resistance and potentially reduce the risk of relapse. Check out our news center to learn more!
"At Massey, with our multidisciplinary team, with our specialists, with our opportunity to give research as part of your treatment, we can offer you that global care that you need to survive breast cancer." Watch Dr. Mary Helen Hackney explain why Massey's expertise and collaborative approach make us your best choice for breast cancer care.
"Massey's Dr. Harry Bear, Dr. Mary Helen Hackney and Dr. Aimee Grover were recently honored at VCU School of Medicine's 17th Annual Faculty Excellence Awards! Congratulations to Dr. Bear who received the MCV Physicians Distinguished Clinician Award, Dr. Hackney who received the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, and Dr. Grover who received the Women in Science, Dentistry, and Medicine Professional Achievement Award!" Visit our news center to read more.
Massey researchers have discovered in preclinical experiments that a common antibiotic synergizes with a drug called sabutoclax to destroy pancreatic cancer. This research was spearheaded by VCU M.D.-Ph.D. student Bridget Quinn, and is a promising new approach for a disease with very few treatment options. Follow the link to our blog to learn more!
Drs. Elisabeth Weiss and Geoff Hugo are leading three innovative clinical trials designed to improve tumor imaging during radiation treatment for lung cancer. Long a worldwide leader in the development of new radiation technologies, Massey is combining this expertise with discoveries in detection, prevention and treatment to make advancements against lung cancer.
We're excited to share that a new study led by Massey scientist Richard Moran, Ph.D., has uncovered a protein signaling process that could be responsible for the development of more than half of all cancers! Read our blog to learn about how mutations in the p53 gene lead to cancer growth, and the potential to develop new therapies that restore the gene's function.
Dr. Lenhardt has been a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University for almost 45 years and a patient at Massey since October. Unable to attend his daughter's wedding, we brought the wedding to him! Click to read this heartwarming story.
Great music and dancing. Check. Delicious food. Check. James River Cellars Winery. Check. Silent and live auction. Check. Fun. Of course! Don't miss out on attending Massey's summer tradition and grab your tickets for Massey Alliance's Moonlight Magic presented by Hunton & Williams LLP! We hope to see everyone from Team Massey on June 6!
A new year, a new chance at life. Mackenzie was diagnosed with brain cancer just shy of her 2nd birthday. This year, she celebrates life as a 10 year old. Watch her incredible story and learn why this year is such a huge milestone for her and her family.
There's been lots of honking down here this morning! Congratulations!


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Little did I know that this lovely country road would lead to the beautiful ruins of an old monastery.
An hour into today's walk, I come across the stunning ruins of the monastery of San Antón, founded by the Order of Saint Anthony in the fourteenth century. I stop to take pictures, and to take in the serenity of the beautiful buildings in the morning light. Unexpectedly, a woman appears from behind one of the old stone walls and we greet one another with a "buen Camino", then I ask her if there is a way to enter the ruins. "They're closed at this hour," she tells me, but then pauses, and invites me to follow her.
We round the back and enter the hallowed space and I see that inside there is a tiny refugio with pilgrims finishing their breakfast! The woman tells me there is no electricity, no hot water but offers me tea made on a gas stove. I ask her name and she tells me "Paqi". When in return I give her my name, her face erupts in a smile and she embraces me. When I ask her why, she tells me that a very special person in her life is called Elisa.
I sit in the shadow of the crumbling walls sipping my tea and talking to her partner, a man named Dave who is from Ireland. They live now in Spain but met on vacation at a cafe in another country. They are volunteering as hospitaleros in this albergue for 15 days. This is the case with many of the people working in the albergues; they are volunteers who at one time or another were pilgrims and who are now donating their time to The Way.
I finish my tea, bid farewell, and resume my walk.
As I walk away toward Castrojeriz, I think to look back and am witness to a beautiful perspective of the convent. It occurs to me that although we are always moving forward, some of the most precious views can be seen only when we look behind.
This post gives me goosebumps — the good kind. I'm so happy to read about your journey (and am excited for your next one). Those small moment of connection are so precious.
Thank you so much for sharing your advice and adventures! I'm looking forward to your next update! Until then, Bon Camino!
You are very welcome! Thank you for subscribing and buen camino to you Michael!


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Palestinian girl Ahed Tamimi freed from jail
Days of Palestine - 29 July, 2018
Palestinian teen activist Ahed Tamimi has been released from Israeli prison after completing an eight-month sentence in a case that sparked international condemnation.
Tamimi broke down in tears as an emotional crowd welcomed her in the village of Nabi Saleh on Sunday.
She was released with her mother, Nariman, who also served an eight-month sentence.
Addressing the crowd, Tamimi thanked activists and the media for their support during her prison stay.
"This is a very happy moment for me," Tamimi's father, Bassem, told Al Jazeera prior to his daughter's release. "We have missed them a lot. But I am also worried because the [Israeli] occupation is continuing and still in our lives."
Bassem's happiness, however, was overshadowed by a heavy heart, as his 21-year-old son, Waed, remains in Israeli detention since being arrested in an overnight raid on his home in May.
A press conference is scheduled in the village at 4pm (13:00GMT) on Sunday.
Tamimi and her mother were arrested by Israeli forces in December 2017 after a video went viral showing the young woman, then 16, hitting and slapping two armed Israeli soldiers outside her home in Nabi Saleh.
At the time, the teen was reacting to news that her 15-year-old cousin Mohammed had been shot in the face by Israeli forces with a rubber-coated steel bullet earlier in the day, leaving him in critical condition.
The teen's arrest drew international condemnation and again put the spotlight on Israel's treatment of Palestinians, especially Palestinian youth.
Tamimi was indicted on 12 charges in Israel's Ofer military court in Ramallah two weeks after her arrest. In March, Tamimi and her mother accepted plea deals that would see them serve eight months in prison, including time served, in exchange for pleading guilty to some of the charges.


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Cross-examination of Allocution is Plain Error
In United States v. Moreno, No. 14-1568, 2016 WL 53796 (3d Cir., Jan. 5, 2016), Defendant was charged with wire fraud conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343, 1349 and 2, for his participation in a mortgage fraud scheme. Specifically, Defendant, an unlicensed appraiser, provided inflated appraisals to his co-conspirators who used them to secure loans for unqualified buyers. The jury returned a guilty verdict for all of the counts in the indictment. Defendant challenged his conviction on three grounds: violation of his rights under the Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause, violation of his right to allocution, and error in application of a sentencing enhancement.
At trial, defense counsel impeached a government cooperator as coloring his testimony in exchange for sentencing concessions. The prosecutor rehabilitated the cooperator by having him read into the record portions of memoranda written by a federal agent, documenting the cooperator's proffer sessions. The Third Circuit held this to be a Confrontation Clause violation, as the memoranda were statements of the agent rather than the cooperator, even though the memoranda purported to document the cooperator's statements. The Circuit found the error harmless, however, under the specific circumstances of this case.
The Third Circuit also concluded that sufficient evidence was presented at trial to support the application of the four-level sentencing enhancement for more than 50 victims under U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(b)(2)(B). Specifically, the court determined that the evidence supported a finding that Defendant had provided more than 110 fraudulent appraisals during the course of the mortgage fraud conspiracy, and that unsophisticated buyers either purchased the fraudulent appraisals or were induced to purchase properties at prices that were well above their true value.
Defendant also claimed that his right to allocution had been violated when the sentencing court permitted the prosecutor to cross-examine him during his allocution. Citing Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32, as interpreted by United States v. Ward, 732 F.3d 175 (3d Cir. 2013), cert. denied, 134 S.Ct. 2684 (2014), the Third Circuit determined allowing cross-examination of allocution is plain error because it is contrary to the purpose of allocution, i.e., to allow a defendant to personally address the sentencing court and present mitigating evidence. The court concluded that Defendant did not attempt to testify or challenge the facts of the case, which may have warranted cross examination. To the contrary, Defendant merely presented information about himself and his acceptance of responsibility. Consequently, the sentencing court committed plain error in allowing to prosecutor to conduct the cross-examination during allocution in contradiction of clear authority, namely Rule 32 and Ward. Allocution error is presumed prejudicial on plain-error review, but the Court noted that there was evidence of actual prejudice here. Both the prosecutor and the sentencing court relied upon Defendant's responses to the cross-examination during allocution in recommending and fashioning his sentence.
The Third Circuit also noted that even if the sentencing court had not committed plain error, the Court would have invoked its supervisory authority to prohibit cross-examination during allocution.
By Angela Haynes at January 20, 2016 No comments: