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Tag: Space News
Cassini spacecraft is ready for its grand finale!!!
The Cassini Spacecraft is about to fly through the undiscovered space between Saturn's rings and the planet. For the first time in history Cassini will be taking pictures and collecting data about Saturn's interior, its mysterious storms, the age of its rings and the length of its day. Cassini launched into space on October 15th, 1997, entered Saturn's orbit on July 1st, 2004, and has been orbiting the planet for last 13 years.
The Cassini's grand finale started earlier this week when it flew past Saturn's moon, Titan, for the very last time. The trajectory that the spacecraft is on will lead to it's demise when it hits Saturn's atmosphere.
Check out some of the images captured by Cassini during its orbit of Saturn here:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/cassini-spacecraft-saturn-orbit-rings-images-pictures-photos-nasa-unmanned-mission-a7703496.html#gallery
Check out NASA's video to visualize Cassini in action!
Author Science Made Fun!Posted on April 26, 2017 Categories Hot Topics: Science in the News, UncategorizedTags Cassini, Saturn, space, Space News, titianLeave a comment on Cassini spacecraft is ready for its grand finale!!!
Mars Rover Curiosity Finds Evidence of Ancient Stream!
The NASA rover Curiosity has beamed back pictures of bedrock that suggest a fast-moving stream, possibly waist-deep, once flowed on Mars — a find that the mission's chief scientist called exciting. There have been previous signs that water existed on the red planet long ago, but the images released Thursday showing pebbles rounded off, likely by water, offered the most convincing evidence so far of an ancient stream bed.
From a NASA/JPL news release:
NASA's Curiosity rover mission has found evidence a stream once ran vigorously across the area on Mars where the rover is driving. There is earlier evidence for the presence of water on Mars, but this evidence — images of rocks containing ancient streambed gravels — is the first of its kind.
Scientists are studying the images of stones cemented into a layer of conglomerate rock. The sizes and shapes of stones offer clues to the speed and distance of a long-ago stream's flow.
"From the size of gravels it carried, we can interpret the water was moving about 3 feet per second, with a depth somewhere between ankle and hip deep," said Curiosity science co-investigator William Dietrich of the University of California, Berkeley. "Plenty of papers have been written about channels on Mars with many different hypotheses about the flows in them. This is the first time we're actually seeing water-transported gravel on Mars. This is a transition from speculation about the size of streambed material to direct observation of it."
The finding site lies between the north rim of Gale Crater and the base of Mount Sharp, a mountain inside the crater. Earlier imaging of the region from Mars orbit allows for additional interpretation of the gravel-bearing conglomerate. The imagery shows an alluvial fan of material washed down from the rim, streaked by many apparent channels, sitting uphill of the new finds.
The rounded shape of some stones in the conglomerate indicates long-distance transport from above the rim, where a channel named Peace Vallis feeds into the alluvial fan. The abundance of channels in the fan between the rim and conglomerate suggests flows continued or repeated over a long time, not just once or for a few years.
The discovery comes from examining two outcrops, called "Hottah" and "Link," with the telephoto capability of Curiosity's mast camera during the first 40 days after landing. Those observations followed up on earlier hints from another outcrop, which was exposed by thruster exhaust as Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory Project's rover, touched down.
"Hottah looks like someone jack-hammered up a slab of city sidewalk, but it's really a tilted block of an ancient streambed," said Mars Science Laboratory Project Scientist John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
The gravels in conglomerates at both outcrops range in size from a grain of sand to a golf ball. Some are angular, but many are rounded. "The shapes tell you they were transported and the sizes tell you they couldn't be transported by wind. They were transported by water flow," said Curiosity science co-investigator Rebecca Williams of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Ariz.
The science team may use Curiosity to learn the elemental composition of the material, which holds the conglomerate together, revealing more characteristics of the wet environment that formed these deposits. The stones in the conglomerate provide a sampling from above the crater rim, so the team may also examine several of them to learn about broader regional geology.
The slope of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater remains the rover's main destination. Clay and sulfate minerals detected there from orbit can be good preservers of carbon-based organic chemicals that are potential ingredients for life.
"A long-flowing stream can be a habitable environment," said Grotzinger. "It is not our top choice as an environment for preservation of organics, though. We're still going to Mount Sharp, but this is insurance that we have already found our first potentially habitable environment."
During the two-year prime mission of the Mars Science Laboratory,esearchers will use Curiosity's 10 instruments to investigate whether areas in Gale Crater have ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech, built Curiosity and manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Read More About this Article Here
More from Mars Curiosity:
See a crescent moon in Martian sky
Curiosity touches first rock, then takes off
Mars rover spots mini-moon's transit
Cosmic Log archive on the Mars mission
Author Science Made Fun!Posted on October 1, 2012 August 25, 2014 Categories Hot Topics: Science in the News, UncategorizedTags curiosity, high touch high tech, mars, mars rover, science made fun, science news, Space NewsLeave a comment on Mars Rover Curiosity Finds Evidence of Ancient Stream!
First Man to Walk on the Moon, Neil Armstrong, Dies
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins came into orbit around the Moon. Before long, the command module Columbia separated from the Lunar Module Eagle, and Aldrin and Armstrong headed for a historic achievement. Soon, Neil Armstrong was taking mankind's first steps onto the moon. This transformed the engineer into a world-wide hero, won the space race for the United States, and won Armstrong immortality as one of the nation's true heroes. Neil Armstrong has died at age 82. His family put the cause of death on complications from recent cardiovascular procedures; he had been living in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, at the time of his death.
The importance of the Apollo 11 mission cannot be overstated. It is a historic achievement for all mankind, and the Apollo 11 astronauts are living treasures, memorials of one of human kind's greatest success stories. There's a reason Jeff Bezos wants to get the Apollo 11 rocket boosters. These guys were real heroes, and it's a shame to see one of them go.
Click here to read more about the life of Neil Armstrong & how he made an American Dream tangible for people across the globe.
Author Science Made Fun!Posted on August 27, 2012 August 25, 2014 Categories UncategorizedTags apollo 11, apollo 11 astronaut neil armstrong dies, apollo 11 moon landing, astronauts, first man on the moon dies, first man to walk on the moon, first man to walk on the moon dies, first moon landing, high touch high tech, moon landing, neil armstrong, neil armstrong dead at 82, neil armstrong dies, science made fun, science news, Space News, today in science historyLeave a comment on First Man to Walk on the Moon, Neil Armstrong, Dies
Amazon Founder To Recover Apollo 11 Rocket Boosters!
Amazon.com billionaire Jeff Bezos to recover Apollo 11 parts for fun.
It's been over 40 years since man first walked on the moon thanks to the brave astronauts of Apollo 11. Now, an important artifact of the race for space has been discovered some 14,000 feet below the surface of the earth. Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos is planning to find and recover the F-1 rocket engines that powered Apollo 11′s Saturn V rocket into space, with the hopes that the Apollo 11 equipment will find a good home in a museum.
"We don't know yet what condition these engines might be in," wrote Bezos, who watched the moon landing when he was 5 years old. "They hit the ocean at high velocity and have been in salt water for more than 40 years. On the other hand, they're made of tough stuff, so we'll see."
Bezos has stayed quiet about just how he found the Apollo 11 rocket booster parts, and he's doubly quiet about who will be paying to bring the 19-foot rocket parts to the surface, only saying that private funds (probably his own private funds) will be bringing them to the surface and that he will be using sonar to find the pieces he's looking for among the hundreds of NASA artifacts littering the ocean floor near Florida. The equipment is technically NASA property, but odds are NASA will allow the pieces to go to a museum rather than force Bezos to turn them over to Cape Canaveral staff.
Author Science Made Fun!Posted on March 29, 2012 Categories UncategorizedTags amazon founder to recover apollo 11 rocket boosters, apollo 11, apollo 11 artifacts, apollo 11 f-1 boosters found, atlantic ocean, current events, f-1 engines, high touch high tech, jeff bezos, jeff bezos to recover apollo 11 artifacts from beneath the atlantic ocean, Jeff Bezos to recover Apollo 11 rocket boosters, moon landing, moon landing artifacts, NASA, rocket boosters, rocket engines, Saturn V rocket, science made fun, science news, Space News, space travelLeave a comment on Amazon Founder To Recover Apollo 11 Rocket Boosters!
Biggest Scientific Breakthroughs of 2011
From law-violating subatomic particles to entirely new, earth-like worlds, 2011 was an incredible year for scientific discovery. In the past 12 months, scientific breakthroughs in fields ranging from archaeology to structural biochemistry have allowed humanity to rewrite history, and enabled us to open to brand new chapters in our development as a species.
Here are some of our favorites.
The world's lowest density material
With a density of less than one milligram per cubic centimeter (that's about 1000 times less dense than water), this surprisingly squishy material is so light-weight, it can rest on the seed heads of a dandelion, and is lighter than even the lowest-density aerogels. The secret — to both its negligible weight and its resiliency — is the material's lattice-like structural organization, one that the researchers who created it liken to that of the Eiffel Tower.
"Feeling" objects with a brain implant
It could be the first step towards truly immersive virtual reality, one where you can actually feel the computer-generated world around you. An international team of neuroengineers has developed a brain-machine interface that's bi-directional — that means you could soon use a brain implant not only to control a virtual hand, but to receive feedback that tricks your brain into "feeling" the texture of a virtual object.
Already demonstrated successfully in primates, the interface could soon allow humans to use next-generation prosthetic limbs (or even robotic exoskeletons) to actually feel objects in the real world.
Astronomers get their first good look at giant asteroid Vesta
In July of 2011, NASA's Dawn spacecraft entered the orbit of Vesta — the second largest body in our solar system's main asteroid belt. Just a few days later, Dawn spiraled down into orbit. Upon reaching an altitude of approximately 1700 miles, the spacecraft began snapping pictures of the protoplanet's surface, revealing geophysical oddities like the triplet of craters on Vesta's northern hemisphere — nicknamed "Snowman" — featured here. Dawn recently maneuvered into its closest orbit (at an altitude averaging just 130 miles). It will continue orbiting Vesta until July of 2012, when it will set a course for Ceres, the largest of the main belt asteroids.
NASA's Kepler Mission changes how we see ourselves in the Universe
2011 was a fantastic year for NASA's Kepler Mission, which is charged with discovering Earth-like planets in the so-called "habitable zone" of stars in the Milky Way. Kepler scientists announced the discovery of the first circumbinary planet (i.e. a planet with two suns, just like Tatooine); located the first two known Earth-sized exoplanets; quadrupled the number of worlds known to exist beyond our solar system; and spied Kepler-22b — the most Earth-like planet we've encountered yet. And here's the really exciting bit: Kepler is just getting warmed up.
Heartbeat-powered nanogenerators could soon replace batteries
In a few years, you may never have to recharge your phone again — provided part of you keeps moving. Back in March, scientists announced the world's first viable "nanogenerator" — a tiny computer chip that gets its power from body movements like snapping fingers or – eventually – your heartbeat.
The researchers can already use the technology to power a liquid crystal display and an LED, and claim that their technology could replace batteries for small devices like MP3 players and mobile phones within a few years.
Discover More Top Scientific Discoveries of 2011 on io9.com
Author Science Made Fun!Posted on January 11, 2012 November 12, 2015 Categories UncategorizedTags aerogels, brain implant, cool science, fun science, high touch high tech, io9.com, kepler mission, lowest density materia, nanogenerators, NASA, new earth, science made fun, science news, Space News, top scientific discoveries of 2011, Vesta, virtual brain scienceLeave a comment on Biggest Scientific Breakthroughs of 2011
Farmer Finds Rare Meteorite!
It wasn't a goose that laid a golden egg for one Missouri farmer — it was an asteroid. Scientists are analyzing an extremely rare meteorite found by a farmer in a tiny Missouri town called Conception Junction (population 202)
It wasn't a goose that laid a golden egg for one Missouri farmer — it was an asteroid.
Scientists are analyzing an extremely rare meteorite found by a farmer in a tiny Missouri town called Conception Junction (population 202), reports Washington University in St. Louis, which helped identify the rock.
An unnamed farmer had found the unusually heavy stone buried in the side of hill. He sawed off the end of the stone and realized he had something that didn't come from Earth.
The metal rock is studded on the inside with green olivine crystals. It is one of only 20 so-called pallasite meteorites that have been found in the United States.
These types of meteorites are believed to be fragments of large asteroids that had enough internal heat to begin melting, which allowed heavy metals to sink and form a core, while lighter elements became part of the rocky surface.
Pallasites are believed to come from the area where an asteroid's metal core transitions to olivine in its lower mantle.
Scientists believe the Conception Junction meteorite was once part of an asteroid that flew in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter until it was nudged toward the inner solar system by Jupiter's gravity field. Sliced and polished, the stone, which is now in the hands of private collectors, is worth about $200 a gram.
SCIENCE CHANNEL: Meteorite Men: Top 10 Meteorites
Author Science Made Fun!Posted on November 11, 2011 November 12, 2015 Categories Hot Topics: Science in the News, UncategorizedTags asteroid, asteroid found, Conception junction, farmer finds meteorite, fun science, gem stones, hands-on science, high touch high tech, jupiter, mars, meteor in US, meteorite for sale, missouri, science channel, science experience, science kid, science made fun, science news, sciencechannel.com, space asteroid, Space News, st louis school, teaching science, united states, washington university in st. louisLeave a comment on Farmer Finds Rare Meteorite!
Huge Asteroid Headed For Close Encounter With Earth
A huge asteroid will pass closer to Earth than the moon Tuesday, giving scientists a rare chance for study without having to go through the time and expense of launching a probe, officials said.
Earth's close encounter with Asteroid 2005 YU 55 will occur at 6:28 p.m. EST Tuesday, as the space rock sails about 201,000 miles from the planet.
"It is the first time since 1976 that an object of this size has passed this closely to the Earth. It gives us a great — and rare — chance to study a near-Earth object like this," astronomer Scott Fisher, a program director with the National Science Foundation, said Thursday during a Web chat with reporters.
The orbit and position of the asteroid, which is about 1,312 feet in diameter, is well known, added senior research scientist Don Yeomans, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
"There is no chance that this object will collide with the Earth or moon," Yeomans said.
Thousands of amateur and professional astronomers are expected to track YU 55's approach, which will be visible from the planet's northern hemisphere. It will be too dim to be seen with the naked eye, however, and it will be moving too fast for viewing by the Hubble Space Telescope.
"The best time to observe it would be in the early evening on November 8 from the East Coast of the United States," Yeomans said. "It is going to be very faint, even at its closest approach. You will need a decent-sized telescope to be able to actually see the object as it flies by."
Scientists suspect YU 55 has been visiting Earth for thousands of years, but because gravitational tugs from the planets occasionally tweak its path, they cannot tell for sure how long the asteroid has been in its present orbit.
Track the asteroid, YU55, and track it's journey as it passes by Earth on the NASA Asteroid & Comet Watch!
Get Asteroid Fun Facts Here!
Author Science Made Fun!Posted on November 7, 2011 December 11, 2014 Categories Hot Topics: Science in the News, UncategorizedTags asteroid, asteroid 2005 YU55, asteroid fun facts, asteroid hit earth, asteroid hit moon, asteroid journey, Asteroid oribt, asteroid pass earth, astronomer, astronomy, gravity, high touch high tech, NASA, NASA asteroid & comet watch, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, november 8 news, Pasedena California, science made fun, science news, Space News, space rock, Space telescope, track asteroid approach, YU55Leave a comment on Huge Asteroid Headed For Close Encounter With Earth
Hubble Telescope Finds Most Distant Galaxy Visible From Earth
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured what astronomers are claiming is the oldest galaxy in the universe. Here's some of what NASA's Hubble website says about the discovery
"The farthest and one of the very earliest galaxies ever seen in the universe appears as a faint red blob in this ultra-deep–field exposure taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. This is the deepest infrared image taken of the universe. Based on the object's color, astronomers believe it is 13.2 billion light-years away.
The dim object is a compact galaxy of blue stars that existed 480 million years after the Big Bang, only four percent of the universe's current age. It is tiny and considered a building block of today's giant galaxies. Over one hundred such mini-galaxies would be needed to make up our Milky Way galaxy."
Think of that – the light from this object we're seeing now took 13.2 billion years to reach our eyes. That's mind-boggling. We're actually looking back in time. Anyway, the study which appears in the journal Nature, was led by Rychard Bouwens at the Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands, and Garth Illingworth, of the University of California, Santa Cruz. The tiny smudge of light will be further studied and confirmed when the infrared-optimized James Webb Space Telescope is up and running in 2014.
You can learn more about this story by clicking the link below:
http://www.space.com/10691-oldest-galaxy-discovered-hubble-space-telescope.html
Author Science Made Fun!Posted on January 27, 2011 December 11, 2014 Categories UncategorizedTags 13.2 billion light years away, astronomy, fun science, galaxy, Hubble, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Telescope, image from Earth, image of galaxy, most distant object in the universe visible from Earth, NASA, new galaxy discovered, Night Sky, space discoveries, Space News, UDFj-39546284, Wide Field Camera 3Leave a comment on Hubble Telescope Finds Most Distant Galaxy Visible From Earth


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middle east – general
india/pakistan
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The View of Afghanistan From the Island of Elba
Stratfor | 4th September 2017
When rulers seek unslayable dragons to destroy, they should remember Elba. This tranquil, idyllic isle off the coast of Tuscany was, from May 1814 to April 1815, home to Napoleon Bonaparte. The British and their allies had exiled him there, leaving him to govern the island's 12,000 souls. The emperor, a title he was allowed to keep, enjoyed two splendid houses, a magnificent library, servants, a small army and the company of family and retainers. This was a life for a king, but small recompense for a man who sought to rule the world.
Rather than write memoirs of one of history's greatest dramas, Napoleon escaped. But, wrote biographer Philip Dwyer, "Napoleon left Elba not to save France, but to save himself from oblivion." As we now know, his decision to resume the fight against Britain proved to be a mistake. His country's humiliation followed at Waterloo, leaving thousands of his countrymen and their opponents dead or mutilated and forcing him to abdicate again. He ended his days, not in the congenial splendor of Elba, but on another island, Saint Helena, in the icy waters of the south Atlantic. He died there in 1821.
As I explored the grounds of Napoleon's Palazzina dei Mulini, I thought of U.S. President Donald Trump's recent decision to send another 4,000 American troops to Afghanistan. The United States' battles began there in 2001, ostensibly with the limited objective of removing Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda followers from the country. That was 16 years ago. Sending more soldiers to risk their lives in the South Asian quagmire would make sense if Trump's strategy differed from the doomed policies of the past. But it doesn't.
A Not-So-New Strategy
No one but a fool — and Trump is no more foolish than his predecessors in the long Afghan war — believes in a magic formula for the use of armed forces to win the war. The Taliban's members are Afghans. They have long received help from neighboring Pakistan and, recently, from its Shiite enemies in Iran. Thanks to geography, culture and language, Iran and Pakistan understand Afghan dynamics better than "the best and the brightest," as David Halberstam put it, from the Ivy League and Mar-a-Lago. I remember how Syria and Iran ran rings around the United States and Israel in Lebanon in the 1980s, to the point that Washington, which abominated Damascus, begged it to send troops back into Beirut in 1987.
Trump outlined a "new strategy" in his Aug. 21 speech. It consists, he said, of not mentioning "numbers of troops or our plans for further military activities"; integrating "all instruments of American power — diplomatic, economic and military"; and changing "the approach in how to deal with Pakistan." His disdain for complexity and diplomacy, which requires dealing with everyone involved on Afghanistan's plains — Pakistan, Iran, India, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, NATO and the Afghans themselves — does not bode well for peace. Most soldiers I've known who have served in Afghanistan contend that military victory, which means eliminating the Taliban, is not viable.
Pentagon sources recently told The Wall Street Journal that around 12,000 American military personnel are based in Afghanistan. Trump's 4,000 will raise that figure to 16,000. Afghanistan's population totals 34 million, 40 percent of whom are from the Pashtun community that dominates the Taliban. Will an additional 4,000 young men and women from the American heartland really make a difference in a country of 34 million people?
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, an old friend and former classmate, has worthwhile ambitions for his country. But it is unlikely that 4,000 more foreign troops will help him to achieve them. Ghani, as hardworking and honest a man as anyone I know, has multiple, potentially Sisyphean, tasks before him: unifying a land that has resisted unity for ages; elevating women to the status of full citizens; cleansing Afghan life of the corruption that cripples the nation's economy and society; and, most importantly, ending the state of war that has persisted there since the Soviet invasion of December 1979. He cannot do this without the cooperation of neighboring states, an understanding with the Taliban insurgents his army is battling and a consensus among his people.
A Path That Has Already Ended in Defeat
America, like Napoleon in 1815, is overstretched. It is engaged in conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, while providing arms to governments to repress their populations in some countries and to rebels to overthrow their leaders in others. At home, Americans are confronting one another over history, race and class in ways that should alarm the White House but don't. In 1931, eight years before the Second World War broke out in Europe, Sir Leo Chiozza Money wrote a book called Can War Be Averted? Whether or not war could have been averted, it wasn't and 50 million people died. Money wrote, in words that we might recall today as wars engage the United States around the world and the threat of a nuclear holocaust looms from North Korea, "And just as within a nation social justice must be done before social peace can be attained, so in the world some better approach to equality of opportunity must be made if we wish for peace."
As I watch sailboats riding at anchor off Elba, I wish that Napoleon's confidants had persuaded him to stay on the island, govern it well, cultivate his garden and write books. The failed emperor, however, was unlikely to heed anyone who told him that the same strategy, the same tactics, the same army and the same enemies would produce the same outcome: defeat. In Afghanistan, Trump's "new strategy" looks a lot like the old: counterinsurgency, reliance on unreliable local informants to discover who is and who isn't a member of the Taliban, drone attacks, torture and search and destroy. It hasn't succeeded, and the president gave no reason to believe that an extra brigade on the ground will make it work. My generation remembers Lyndon Johnson's and Richard Nixon's assurances that new approaches would reveal the elusive "light at the end of the tunnel" in Vietnam. We didn't see it until April 1975, when helicopters evacuated the last Americans from Saigon.
The Voices of Syria Have Always Been Ignored by the West
All the Last Wars: around the world with the Goya of conflict photography
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My coaching philosophy is based on learning how to gain a new perspective when faced with an emerging challenge or entrenched issue.
If we hold a prism in the light, a display of shapes and colors appears. If we then shift the prism, even slightly, suddenly a new array of shapes and colors appears. I am committed to a coaching relationship that supports you to shift the prism to produce a new array of possible solutions.
An individual coaching session is a focused time to concentrate wholly on yourself and the role you play in your organization. We will discuss your goals in a safe environment where we can test answers until we uncover the strategy or mindset you need to succeed. We will find a practice by which you can incorporate that mindset into your everyday life and your company's culture. These moves will happen fluidly, not necessarily in this order, and will manifest themselves in big or small changes that will impact the effectiveness of your organization, your team and yourself.
Assign homework including self-observation exercises, journal assignments and reading for you to complete between our sessions. We will jointly discuss these assignments and adapt them to fit within the demands of your schedule.
The following services can be included in your Individual Coaching Package. Please click to view a description of each service.
You and I will draft a series of questions that you want asked of your colleagues. These questions will pertain to your goals and the changes you seek.
I will conduct a series of interviews with people who report to you and to whom you report. In a confidential setting, I will ask them the questions we developed and encourage a fully honest response.
I will ask follow-up questions when verbal or physical cues indicate a deeper issue may exist.
I will synthesize the results of these interviews into an overall assessment of your strengths and areas for improvement. This summary will contain the beliefs most commonly shared across your colleagues.
We will then weave these findings into your overall development plan to ensure you are aligned with the vision and goals of your team and your organization.
Following the close of our coaching relationship, I will return to your organization 6-9 months later to perform another round of 360-degree Feedback Interviews to determine how your colleagues now perceive you and evaluate the progress you have made.
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You will receive a personalized reading list to support with your goals and interests. These readings will span the fields of adult development, team leadership, vision-setting, communications, psychology, time management and other personally relevant topics.
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Please note that if you refer a colleague or friend to Open Circle Coaching who then engages in coaching with us, you will receive 2 hours of leadership coaching for yourself at no charge. We appreciate your recommendation and are committed to delivering excellent service to earn it.


Metal look slim recycling bins made of plastic with lids. Ideal for workplace and home recycling.
Metal look plastic recycling bins with slim design for fitting into smaller areas. Ideal for workplace and home recycling.


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Alexxus (,  1 липня 1987, Бронкс, Нью-Йорк, США) — професійна американська реслерка, відома за ім'ям Alexxis Nevaeh. Нині виступає у незалежних промоушенах. До цього виступала під ім'ям Lexxus та Alexxus в New England Championship Wrestling, Chaotic Wrestling та World Women's Wrestling. Також співпрацювала з Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, використовуючи ім'я Mercedes Steele.

Рестлінґ
 Фінішери
 Guillotine drop
 One-handed bulldog
 Улюблені прийоми
 Camel clutch
 Front dropkick
 Reverse DDT
 Roll-up
 Seated senton
 Tilt-a-whirl
 Прибране ім'я
 "The Double X Diva

Здобутки
 Chaotic Wrestling
 Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship
 Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 PWI ставить її #46 з топ-50 найкращих рестлерок у 2012 році
 World Women's Wrestling
 World Women's Wrestling Championship
 Women Superstars Uncensored
 WSU Tag Team Championship (1 раз) — з Амбер

Посилання

 Online World of Wrestling profile
 CageMatch profile

Реслери

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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The Hades Hotel
by Rosie Dastgir
It is my pleasure to introduce this subterranean tale by Rosie Dastgir author of A Small Fortune as the last of our three Ghost Stories of Old London written specially for the season by Spitalfields Life Contributing Writers.
"Tread carefully over the pavements of London for you are treading on skin, a skein of stone that covers rivers and labyrinths, tunnels and chambers, streams and caverns, piles and cables, springs and passages, crypts and sewers, creeping things that will never see the light of day." – Peter Ackroyd, London Under
They worked around the clock, the tunnel gang of twenty men. It was vital, they were told, to reduce the likelihood of settlement while the tunnels were constructed. Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. Even on Christmas Day. Jake and Ivan were two of twelve tunnellers who worked below ground at the front of the machine, while the remaining eight worked from the rear to over ground. Ivan was from the Ukraine, and Jake was his one English mate, who'd befriended him in the early weeks, when everything was mysterious and alien. Ivan longed for his family, and was counting the days till Christmas, his life reduced to a timeline until he was reunited with them. It was grueling, the work, tunneling deep beneath the Eocene clay of the muddy Thames, dirty and exhausting, and he missed the comforts of home. His wife and four children were expecting him on Christmas Eve, but he dared not make promises. He needed the overtime, and as they'd offered him the work, he'd be mad to turn it down.
At first, it had seemed a great adventure, working on the visionary Crossrail project, and being part of such an astonishing feat of engineering. But Ivan suffered bouts of uneasiness almost from the moment the work began, with excavations uncovering things that should be left well alone. Charnel houses were unearthed, and a Roman baptistery discovered. Nearby, a skeleton of a baby. They'd come across a massive femur and joked that it must have belonged to a giant that had roamed the earth in prehistoric times, only to discover they'd been fooled: it was a mammoth's bone.
Wherever you looked, you could not escape the dead down there, layered in sediments, packed into the darkness that surrounded the tunnel. Many an evening Ivan had drowned his fears in vodka laced beer, wondering what he was doing here, toiling in the underworld beneath a city that was opaque to him, a massive, inscrutable sprawl, linked by stations with baffling names. He did not like to think about the weight of water that pressed down upon them as he operated the slurry clearing machine, sealed in a tight tunnel snaking through infernal darkness. As the days had grown shorter, the nights longer, he had been plagued with insomnia, too fearful to fall asleep for what his dreams might bring.
He arrived at dusk for work that day, to find Jake waiting for him at the mouth of the works site, smoking a cigarette, as he finished his tea. The previous night, the two men had been out drinking at the Star of the East in Canning Town, downing shot after shot, until they were legless. That was a new word for Ivan. It was how they survived, the drinking, or so they told each other. After closing time, Ivan had wound his drunken way home to the rickety high rise in Stratford where he lodged, miraculously reaching his front door unscathed. But Jake was not so lucky. He'd taken a fall on the matt black ice that skimmed the streets, skidding headfirst into the gritty path. His grazed forehead shone in the floodlit building site, pink and raw as an exotic peeled fruit.
"What happened to you?" Ivan wanted to know.
"Had a fight with the pavement outside my house."
Jake grinned through a cloud of fag smoke while Ivan worked out the idiom.
"Fell flat on my face, didn't I? Don't laugh!"
"But it sounds funny, fighting the pavement. "
"Hurts, it does. So, you got back in one piece, then?"
Ivan shrugged. "Suppose so."
Jake scrutinised his friend's pallid features carefully. "You look like you could do with a fry up. Get something later at the caf, yeah? C'mon, Santa Claus, Christmas is coming, and we gotta get tunnelling."
A flurry of fat snow flakes drifted down from the sky, flecking Ivan's moustache as he looked up for one last glance of the outside world before going to work.
"What would I do without you, Jake?" he smiled.
The question was heartfelt. For it was Jake who had taken him on the bus to Moorfields Eye Hospital, when he had woken up a few weeks ago to find that he was unable to see in one eye. The inexplicable blindness had been experienced by other tunnellers, a hushed epidemic that nobody mentioned on site. At the hospital, a doctor had prescribed him a course of eye drops and, before very long, his sight returned. But something disturbing had happened to alter his vision, so that he began to suffer strange sightings when he went back to work in the tunnel.
He began to see things, granular and grey, at the periphery of his vision while he drilled out the tunnel. The shapes were indistinct, though at times he experienced the rushing sensation of people passing through him, as though he were ethereal. At first he wondered if it was his eyesight, or a drink too many, that was producing these sensations. As time wore on, the sightings became more ominous.
That evening, he was dead tired as he went to work, his head and eyes throbbing with the effects of his hangover. At the bottom of the shaft was a door, scarcely visible, that he'd noticed once before. Nobody else could see it but him, and he saw that something hovered and fretted upon the other side. Flooded with unease, and yet unable to resist, he took the plunge and went through the door.
What he saw horrified him. Vast gloomy caverns, filled with legions of men in cages, wiry and filthy, digging foul earth by the light of flaming torches, their faces red and contorted as they sang mournful shanties. The walls were beaded with oily water, and evil gases plumed from the depths of the earth. Ivan found himself choking for air, his eyes stinging so much that he feared he would be blinded. Yet he could not tear himself from the scene, horrifying though it was. Mesmerised, he gawped in awe, as flames spewed forth at the rock face, green and orange and strange colours he had never seen before.
Then something made him long to flee for his life, but he was rooted to the spot. It was the shape, like a man but gargantuan, that had been hovering at the edge of his vision. The giant stood seven feet tall, a brawny figure, with blackened torso and harrowed features, waist high in water in the penumbral cavern. When he opened his mouth to speak, Ivan could not see his face.
You can't imagine it, the evil, the horror that lies underground! You fear the fire at the rock face even more than the river Thames that threatens to drown you! You fear the very ground beneath your feet will swallow you up into the dreadful darkness, a pitch black void that sucks out your soul.
The foul air made Ivan gasp as he tried to take in the giant's pronouncements. He gestured towards him with his outstretched hand, only to see it vanish, swallowed in darkness. Looking up, his eyes met Phineas' hollow, unseeing gaze, his pupils round as saucers, violet black, as he spoke.
The infernal gases are terrible, poisoning the eyes, destroying the vision and damning the body and soul. Mark my warning, Ivan. This is the Hades Hotel.
Terror bloomed in his chest. He would be blinded for life like this ogre!
Best left untouched, these depths, best left unchartered, left well alone. You are defying the natural world – you were not made to carry out this desecration of the earth.
In truth, Ivan had little idea what, if anything, he had been made for. To take care and support his family, to live a long and happy life. Simple, earthly things that made him yearn for home.
"Who are you? What is it you want from me?"
You know who I am. You've seen me many times –
"That was you? The dark form at my shoulder?"
It was. My name is Phineas.
"But what on earth are you? A devil? A spirit?"
The giant seemed to soften for a moment, his unseeing eyes illuminated with a fleck of gold in the gloom.
I am nothing, a wandering soul caught in limbo. I left my wife a widow, my children fatherless, fending for themselves in the workhouse. And I am one of hundreds, Ivan. The damp and the darkness hastened our early deaths, snatching us down to the underworld. Like you, we drank beer laced with gin, to survive the horrors.
"You know what I drink? Are you watching me? "
The giant sighed.
Everything, yes, it is my curse, for I am blinded yet a seer, like my namesake, Phineas, the Thracian king, tortured by what I must carry with me, for centuries, my warnings going unheeded in these dark, desolate tunnels. They keep digging! They keep digging! Deeper and deeper into the darkness, hollowing out the precious earth!
Fading into the craggy folds of darkness, Phineas grew indistinct.
"Don't go!" Ivan cried. "Finish what you have to say!"
But apparition was gone, leaving Ivan uncertain that it had been no more than a figment of his own dark imaginings.
Jake and Ivan ate breakfast together at the end of their shift, at Jake's favourite café in Limehouse, where they served chips with everything, even pasta. Usually it was Ivan's favourite antidote to a hangover, but his nerves had destroyed his appetite. He watched as Jake stabbed his fried egg with a fork stacked with black pudding, chips, and half a sausage, sliding his omelette to one side of the plate.
Jake fixed his gaze upon the food. "What's up? Innit any good?"
"We don't eat these baked beans where I come from," Ivan said gloomily. "I'm sorry."
Jake shrugged. "Whatever you say. Give 'em to me – silly to waste 'em. What's up?"
"Do you know much about this tunnel we're building? I mean, is there…. Has there ever been another one built like it?"
Jake finished a mouthful.
"Yeah, there's loads of tunnels up and down the Thames – bridges and that. London's world famous for it."
"And round here? In the Isle of Dogs?"
"Yeah. Famous one it was – my great, great, granddad was a mole man, digging out the tunnels, that's what they called them. Lots of them died, drowned, buried alive –"
"They say he drowned, my great great granddad, when the shaft was flooded… that's what my dad says."
Ivan's heart thudded. "So when was it?" he enquired, as if his interest were purely historical.
Jake paused for a moment. "1840, round then? The first tunnel ever built under the river."
"Round here?"
"Yeah, Isle of Dogs." Jake paused for a moment. "Dreadful things went on down there, all for this railway, they said. My dad says there's cousins of my great great granddad buried in the graveyard in St Anne's, and there's no trace of him. They never found his body."
Ivan felt hot, and wiped his forehead with a ketchup stained napkin.
His mate grinned. "Nah, don't be scared, mate, it's safe as houses down there. Them engineers know a thing or two, they do."
Next day Ivan woke with dread. As the December greyness gathered outside, resolving into wooly darkness after a scant few hours of light, he knew he had no choice but to go to work as usual. He eschewed the eye drops for once, convinced that they'd been altering his vision and playing tricks upon him. As he approached the river, he was seized with the urge to turn back, go home to his wife and never return to this place again. Damn the job! Damn the tunnel! He fretted that he should find Jake and warn him of imminent danger that he felt sure would befall them if they continued their work.
He headed towards Poplar, where Jake lived, though he didn't recall the address. Nothing seemed familiar in the orange-tinged fog, and he circled the streets without luck. He felt sure Jake lived in one of these squat blocks of flats, near a street with a Chinese sounding name. Amoy, was it? Or Canton? As the night stretched on, he grew despondent. And what was the point, telling his English friend? Jake would think him an idiot, dismissing his fears as madness. He'd told him it was fine down there, and he should know, shouldn't he? An Englishman born and bred, the descendant of a tunneller himself.
A chill wind blew off the Thames, and the earth braced itself as snow began to fall, settling in a thick pall across the city. The landscape was illuminated, and Ivan felt his mood lift as he made his way into St Anne's Church in Limehouse, drawn by the lamplit windows that glowed in the darkness. He settled himself in the churchyard amongst the weathered gravestones, their uneven granite forms glinting in the shadows. Reading the inscriptions of families perished centuries ago, he grew calm at last, safe in the knowledge that a boundary exists between the living and the dead. All would be well. He must go to work now, he thought, fending off his fears with a last cigarette, dragging slowly until his blood throbbed and buzzed in his veins. Never before had he felt so alive, or so alone. For a moment, he thought he heard voices, distant and haunting, but it was only the choir singing carols in the church, a skein of tones drifting into the ether.
The thought of the overtime he'd earn raised his spirits. He would leave in time for Christmas, just as he'd promised his wife.
Christmas Eve crept up upon the world and held it in its grip. Hundreds of meters beneath the humming, light-spangled city, Jake and Ivan were working their last shift of the year before the holidays. Loyal cohorts, they kept watch for one another, as they toiled away, lulled into a stupor by the roar of the slurry clearing machine. Ivan shuddered, pushing away a fleeting image of Phineas, hovering beyond the door at the bottom of the shaft.
"Alright, mate?" Jake said, seeing his friend shiver. "Home in time for the Christmas goose, then?"
Ivan swallowed, clearing his throat of grit.
"Hope so, yeah."
Midnight came. He and Jake were working alone, at the bottom of the deepest cavern, repairing hairline cracks in the concrete, when they heard the banging from the other side.
Ivan grew rigid with fear.
"What was that?" Jake cried. "That's not right – "
The banging grew louder, intensified in its desperation, as the men listened in horror.
"The Thames is in! The Thames is in!" came a terrifying voice, booming from beyond the tunnel.
"Get out of here – quickly – Jake, run!" Ivan yelled. "Raise the alarm, warn the others! It is Phineas, come to warn us!"
Too late.
A plangent boom that seemed to come from the earth's core to the surface of the ground above the tunnel, so that the land flexed and writhed as though it were alive, or so people said later. Ivan would never know, for he was trapped underground. The great river Thames was in, enraged, engorged, flooding the tunnel, bursting its walls.
"Run! Jake! Run! Raise the alarm – they'll be getting to work any minute!"
They'd practised the emergency drill many times, the tunnel gang, so that Jake did not have to think what to do, racing for the escape shaft.
It was the imprint of horror upon Jake's features that never left Ivan. A look upon his face that he had never seen before, and never would again, as the wall of water rose up before him, sweeping him to his end. In the blink of an eye he was gone.
Without thinking Ivan gave himself up to the river, its awesome force, tossing him round and round in a whirlpool that never ended, centuries whooshing past in a watery blur, ancient flint and muddy reeds clogging his mouth, flooding his ears, his nose, his head, battering and waterlogging his brain. This was not the abyss he had feared, the blackness that annihilated you. This was water, brackish and gravelly, life giving water, buoying him back to the surface. Like the great engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who built the word's first subaqueous tunnel under the Thames, he floated up to the top of the shaft, and survived.
When they pumped upon his chest and revived him, the metallic taste of blood mingled with mud filled his mouth, spewing out like a fountain. A front tooth was missing from his jaw, and in its place, he felt something incredibly hard. It was a fossil.
Photo of Brunel's tunnel courtesy Urban 75
Medallion courtesy Where Thames Smooth Water Glide
from → Literary Life, Past Life, Spiritual Life
Robert permalink
You tell such charming yet honest stories but I'm glad I don't work underground tunneling away but I shall look forward to using the new crossrail when it opens in 2018.
Marco permalink
And of course also the third story is another great tale 🙂
Thanks for these three stories, a much appreciated end-of-year gift!
Angella-Dee permalink
OOOOoooo. I wanted more, I was right in there with them.
leefer (@leefer3) permalink
Like that a lot,love Brunel and anything aquainted….Swindon especially!
Great stuff.


text:
SJ8990 : Stockport Sunday School Steps
taken 5 years ago, near to Stockport, Great Britain
Stockport Sunday School Steps
These steps on Wellington Street are all that remain of what was the largest Sunday School in the world.
The Stockport Sunday school was founded in 1784. In 1805, £6000 pounds was raised from subscription, and a school large enough to accommodate 5000 scholars was built on London Square. The school belonged to the town rather than a particular church. The building, austere in design, was 132 feet in length and 57 feet in width. The ground floor and first storey were each divided into 12 rooms; the second storey was fitted up for assembling the whole of the children for public worship, or on other occasions; having two tiers of windows, and a gallery on each side extending about half the length of the building. In order to aid both the hearing and sight in this long room, the floor rose in an inclined plane about half way. There was also an orchestra with an organ behind the pulpit. Despite the buildings being listed as a National Monument they were demolished around 1970.
SJ8990 : Stockport Sunday School 1805-1970 (sign).
© Copyright Gerald England and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Start a discussion on SJ8990 Suggest an update to this image Contact the contributor
SJ8990, 1794 images (more nearby )
Gerald England (find more nearby)
Wednesday, 19 March, 2014 (more nearby)
Religious sites Educational sites
Former (from Tags)
Date (from Tags)
OSGB36: SJ 8961 9017 [10m precision]
OSGB36: SJ 8960 9018
Southeast (about 135 degrees)
· Stockport Street [114]
· Square [146]
· Stockport Sunday School 1805-1970 (sign)
· London Square


VISUAL PHOOEY!: JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF MY BRAIN!
Here's a selection of black and white illustrations I did last year for the inside of James Carter's poetry book, Journey to the Centre of My Brain.
the first one is so cute!
I love this batch. Great stuff!
Love the multi-purpose lines on the guitar player. Wonderful!
Wow ! I really like your illustrations ! Yeah !


Golden coconut flan « Delish Home Cook - Asian inspired, FODMAP, gluten free and more..
Put sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat, cook gently until the sugar turns golden brown.
Run the hot caramel over the edge of a 9-10″ round cake tin to coat the bottom & side of the tin. Cool for 10 minutes.
Mix the condensed milk, coconut milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract & orange zest in a mixer, gently on low speed; Add eggs gradually. Pour the mixture in the coated cake tin.
Bake in a preheated oven at 160c for approx. 50-60 minutes; Take the cake tin out of the baking dish for it to cool.
To serve, I like to run a silicon spatula around the edge of the cake tin; tightly press a serving plate over the cake tin, before tip the cake tin up side down.


text:
from openprocurement.tender.core.utils import optendersresource
from openprocurement.tender.openeu.views.cancellation import \
    TenderCancellationResource as TenderEUCancellationResource

@optendersresource(name='esco:Tender Cancellations',
                   collection_path='/tenders/{tender_id}/cancellations',
                   path='/tenders/{tender_id}/cancellations/{cancellation_id}',
                   procurementMethodType='esco',
                   description="Tender ESCO Cancellations")
class TenderESCOCancellationResource(TenderEUCancellationResource):
    """ Tender ESCO Cancellation Resource """

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The Other Side Of Funerals: Guest Post - Is Death Taboo?
Recently I received a guest post from someone who has submitted a guest post in the past on their experiences with the hearse.
This time they submitted a rather interesting post about the taboo of death, aggressively questioning the way and reason society perceives death as taboo. This post got me thinking, especially as the 'taboo' of death is directly relevant to my thesis. So you can read their post and my reply below where we discuss whether or not death is really taboo.
Ok cool cats today I'm writing about the taboo around death. Firstly cut it out, stopping being so taboo about death and funerals and cemeteries and skulls. Can anyone explain to me why it's so taboo? I don't mean to be cold but I really just don't get it. Death is something that we will all have to face with our friends, our families and eventually ourselves. I read an article today that was signed off with 'future corpse' and I thought wow they really hit the nail on the head with that one. Be warned I'm in my 'time to change the world' mood today so internet feel my wrath. I want to eliminate this bad street cred that death seems to have picked up. If death was a person I would want to hang out them, I think it would really make you feel alive, what a way of putting everything into perspective right?
So I think we have established that I'm pretty comfortable and 'tabooless' (yeah I just made up a word, what of it?). I was visiting my dear grandmother in a nursing home the other day. I thought I'd dress nice and accessorised my outfit with a pretty scarf…which may have had sculls on it. I didn't see this as inappropriate, nor did my mother who I car pooled with. I must mention that my parents are also fairly tabooless as well. When we walked in my Aunt, Uncle and cousin were also visiting. I was there for about half an hour when my Aunt exclaimed "Look at your scarf!" in a very disapproving tone. In the car on the way home I mentioned that I didn't think she was very fond of my scarf. My mother stated that she thought it was fine, but thinks my Aunt found it inappropriate. She suggested that perhaps there is a time and place for my scull accessories. I tend to agree with her, yes there is a time and a place. I wouldn't wear them on funerals, but a nursing home? They are all there because they are still alive! Is everyone forgetting that? It's like they have half ticked her off as dead if they are being offended by sculls being worn in her presence. Of course that is a matter of opinion.
Anyway that's my rant, if I am to ever accomplish only one thing I hope that it is get you all thinking about what you're really so afraid of. Think of it as the facts, make it black and white and maybe lift some of the taboo that our culture seems to have picked up.
The first question asked is rather important, and central to the whole article as the answer determine the direction of the argument. That question was "can anyone explain to me why death is so taboo?", in a nutshell no because death itself is not taboo. We may think of death as taboo but it is far from it, talk of death is quite common and healthy within society on a public setting (healthy in the sense it is diverse and deep). Take the political setting, with debates on abortion and euthanasia. Or the medical setting with discussion of morbid obesity, war on cancer, and so on. Or the social and ideological spaces such as religion where a lot of focus of the doctrine is on the post-life aspects. Or in media where images of dead and dying are happily shown, like with the Boston bombing this year where many papers had a front page of the blast going off or images and descriptions of the injured. Or even the academic field such as in sociology with Durkheim's discussion of suicide as a way to explore the role of the social influence.
Death is all around us and happily so, we discuss it on a regular basis in many different ways. By no means is death a taboo thing, not in this regard. But here lies the confusion, death is not taboo yet it is sequestered from the public space and transferred to the private setting. There are a few good arguments that this is due to modernity rather than death; that modern society likes certainty and order, take OH&S as an example, potential risks are calculated and accounted for so they lose the sense of uncertainty.
Death by almost every definition is an uncertain, unorganised, and uncontrollable thing. We all die and have no choice in the matter, sometimes we have no say or warning of even when or how we are to die. Basically death is something we do not understand and cannot control, so it has no place within an organised and certain system. It's not so much that death itself is taboo, but it does not fit with the modern system around us. It exists in direct opposition to our system.
The confusion around this comes from the term 'taboo', I use it as I find most understand it. Taboo is simply a thing shunned and makes people uncomfortable. But it is an older term and idea that has become outdated with current lines of thought and perspectives.
We call our relationship with death taboo, using the old terminology yet discuss the relationship with a modern perspective and new questions. Which naturally does not line up at all and leads to confusion, to use an old term with old definitions and notions along side a new argument and perspective results in only incongruity and a lop-sided discussion.
The new term we should be using is 'normative', the notion not of removing unwanted, but of normalising and homogenizing that around us. Basically we do not remove death but reframe it and reshape it, bringing it into line with our modern society and systems. The scarf is a good example of this, the objecting to the skulls was not so much an objection to death, but to you not conforming to their preconceptions and sense of appropriate. The objection to the skulls was a normalising action, it lets you know that they re not appropriate for that setting, leading to you internalising the sense of appropriate and conforming to the 'norm' next time. You even had a conversation about this later and discussed together what is and is not appropriate, or 'normative'.
And the thing about 'future corpse' reminded me of the line "we are born to die" by Shakespeare, that in the end death is the inevitable constant and unknown variable, no matter what we do it ends. Yet this is a rather one sided view, while I don't believe in an after life I do think the bit in between life and death counts for too much to simply be dismissed as 'inevitably over'.
Look at all we do, how we mostly watch TV, play games, watch movies, listen to music, mess about and generally waste time. If you look at our lives a good chunk is spent procrastinating and wasting it. Which to me is rather inspiring, we are not living in fear of death and thus avoiding it. Rather, we are enjoying life too much to want it to be over. So instead of thinking we fearing death maybe we love life. Also, despite all our time wasted we accomplish so much and leave such impacts on others and the world around us. In the last few months I have watched hours of movies and TV shows, sat on the grass and not done much of anything, and generally wasted weeks worth of time overall. But at the same time I have written pages upon pages, read so much I have lost track, and gotten a nice chunk of work done on multiple things. Our achievements and our lack of productivity both indicate, for me at least, that we are all busily happy and not fearing the end in a regular manner.
I agree with what your saying here, however I still believe that some aspects of death are 'taboo'. I class as morbid because I don't mind visiting cemeteries, and can openly discuss death and apply it to everyday situations. If it didn't have this stigma attached to it then I wouldn't be morbid, I'd be normal.
I blame horror movies, everyone has this idea that bodies will come alive on my table, and that my mortuary is haunted. They don't realise just how clinical it all is.
That is why I'd love to help change the public's view of death, dying and funerals...and why I love your blog so much.
You visiting cemeteries is not so much 'taboo' as 'un-usual' which we then term as the taboo. It gets strange with that example, basically as part of modern society we have moved to a system of specific specialisation and juxtapositions and oppositions. Such as with the hospital, a place built for only one thing and designed to do that one thing as best as possible. Foucault uses the cemetery as his example of a 'heterotopia' (essentially places of many relations between multiple things). He explains that the cemetery was built in the heart of cities but over time was moved to the fringes, to the outskirts (Town Hall Cemetery to Rookwood Cemetery are a perfect example). This was because the cemetery gained a point and purpose, it was to store and/or remember the dead. Something which existed in opposition to daily life, it was not 'taboo' but it was a confrontation to life; expressed through concerns of disease and such.
There might be taboo perspectives, but if we dig under these taboo views we find a deeper cause. The cemetery might be seen as taboo, but this is not simply because it is taboo, and not simply because society views death as taboo. The 'taboo' is simply a symptom (if it even exists). Rather, the cemetery has a very specific point and use, you are not using it for this point, you are voiding the very reason a cemetery exists when you go to simply go. It would be like going to a hospital simply to read a book, strange as that's not what the place is for.
Combine this with the way our society exists in oppositions and you get negative views. The cemetery is for the dead and remembering the dead; dead and death exist in opposition to life and living. We define life by opposing it to death, just as we define death by opposing it to life. So when visiting a cemetery for reasons other than why it exists you not only question the reasons it exists, you enter a place marked as a direct opposition to daily life and living. In other words your visiting the cemetery is not 'morbid' or 'taboo', but these thoughts and feelings are how we express and understand a complex interaction with the space of the cemetery.
You can't blame horror movies for this! Although the thought is rather direct and amusing, it gave me a smile :D But it simply isn't accurate, it relies on a one-directional relationship, that media (in this case horror movies) influences people and yet people don't influence it. All research I know of tends to point the direction much more the other way if anything. The funeral industry is a good case of this, changes in social attitudes changed the industry, the industry did NOT change society. Take cremation, once seen as destructive, abhorrent, and sacrilegious; especially amongst Catholics as their death beliefs see death as a re-birth into the 'next life'. As a resurrection which requires an intact body, hence why it was such a punishment to destroy bodies of criminals. However, now the Catholics have their own nice crematorium. Social views (us individuals combined) direct media as they do the funeral industry.
And I'm not trying to change public views so much as foster healthy discussion and understanding ;) Debates like these are a HUGE part of that!!


text:
BGS Giving Day 2021
The first BGS Giving Day on Thursday 7 October 2021 was an overwhelming success – raising $1,078,351 from 322 donors.
Your support to needs-based bursaries honours our commitment to access and diversity. Your support of the STEAM Precinct will shape the way we educate BGS boys for decades to come.
A special thanks to BGS Old Boy Tom Strachan '90 who gave $500,000 to needs-based bursaries. The donation will support regional and Indigenous boys to attend BGS. "We need to be a school that attracts kids who come from all walks of life. The opportunity of an education can spur them on to become leaders and give back to society. That's why I think bursaries are so important." Strachan said.
BGS Old Boy Dr Daryl Holmes '81 contributed $100,000 – split between bursaries and the STEAM Precinct.
The P&F Auxiliary – who run the Tuckshop and the Grammar Shop – gave $100,000 to the STEAM Precinct and were one of our matching donors. While an anonymous donor gave $150,000 to match donations to need-based bursaries.
Thank you to all other donors and many Old Boys who gave amounts ranging from $25 to $20,000.


1. Unlike high school, most professors won't remind you every day about an upcoming assignment, project deadline, or exam. They'll simply put it in the syllabus and you'll be responsible from then on. Putting these dates in your planner allows you to figure out when to start studying/working for each task!
2. With student organizations, jobs, and tons of new friends, there are going to be a lot of events/obligations you'll want to attend to! Writing these in your planner will put all assignments, events, and meetings in the same place. This way you can see how busy your week will really be, and which days might need to be more study-intensive.
3. Most planners allow you space to create checklists, which have been shown to increase efficiency and overall productivity. These are two things you will definitely want to master during your four years here! Some people create a checklist for the day, some for the week, and others just for individual projects. You'll figure out what's best for you as you go along, and which helps you learn better.
You might think now that planners are unnecessary, but when you come to college you'll want to focus on learning and having as much fun as you can without forgetting that your midterm exam is at the same time as that Wisconsin basketball game!


>> Joe Arpaio, the controversial former Arizona sheriff President Trump pardoned in August, says he's now running for the US Senate. Known for his crack down on undocumented immigrants and investigating Trump supported claims questioning former President Barack Obama's citizenship. The 85 year old said Tuesday that he is running quote for one unwavering reason.
Support the agenda and policies of President Donald Trump in his mission to make America great again. Sheriff Joe had been convicted of criminal contempt in a racial profiling case, for ignoring a 2011 junction barring his officers from stopping and detaining Latino motorists. The president then let him off the hook before Arpaio could be sentenced.
>> Was Sheriff Joe convicted for doing his job?>> Yes!>> That's what.>> Civil rights activists slam Trump's decision as an endorsement of racist and unlawful immigration policies. Once proudly referred to a large, open air prison he operated as a quote, concentration camp, he lost his bid for reelection in 2016.
The Arizona seat is up for grabs after Jeff Flake, a prominent Republican critic of the president, announced he was retiring. The controversial sherif's run could pose a challenge for the GOP, which is down to just a one seat majority in the US Senate. Arpile will likely campaign as a hard line conservative loyal to President Trump but the president risks being embarrassed by another candidate like Roy Moore who, while loyal, may have too much baggage to win.
And even if Arpaio loses the nomination an ugly primary could weaken the republican candidate chances in an increasingly purple state.>> An illegal immigrants.


More great questions for us to answer, courtesy of Joyce! To play along, click on the above button, copy & paste the questions, answer them (DUUUH!), and don't forget to link up!
1. Who taught you how to cook?
No one, really. I'm self-taught! Mom taught me things like how to boil water, but I kind of had to learn by myself after I got married. It really isn't hard...as long as you can follow directions.
2. Have you been told you think too much? Are too much of a perfectionist? Are too sensitive? Were they right?
Think too much? NEVER. Perfectionist? Nope. Too sensitive? Yep! When I was younger, I used to be extremely sensitive. As I've gotten older, I've realized that it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks: It's more important to be comfortable with who you are instead of worrying what anyone else thinks of you.
3. As a child did you have a favorite blanket or toy? Tell about it.
I don't remember having a favorite. toy. I didn't have a favorite blanket, either, but I did have a thumb, which I sucked until I was pretty old.
4. What 'institution' do you have the most faith in?
Religion...get it: "faith" and "religion"? Honestly...if you don't have faith in religion, you can't have faith in anything else.
5. Chrysanthemums-pansies-burning bush-ornamental cabbage...your favorite in an autumn garden?
To me, nothing says "fall" like mums!
6. What superpower do the kids in your neighborhood seem to posses?
We have a couple of young boys right behind us, but we don't see them very often. They do like to jump on their trampoline, though.
7. Are you a fan of the cranberry?
Uh....no. Unless it's in muffins.
Guess it was worth going to work today after all!
That picture is breathtaking! Can't imagine having such views all the time. I have a fairly nice view from my window at Assisi House and also from my office (can't wait to get back there) but nothing like this. I have this special love of mountains and there are no mountains here! However, I still wish I had a camera!
I guess I have been told I think too much and definitely that I'm too sensitive. Someone told me many years ago that being too sensitive is both a blessing and a curse and I've learned that to be true.
Yep, seeing that view would make going to work "worthwhile"...Thanks for sharing it!
WOW! What an awesome view. I have the view of an old gym side and it is ugly. Thanks for sharing such a glorious present from God.
Beautiful photos! I'm glad you went to work yesterday too :).
As to #2, Yes, yes, yes, and, well, this explains a lot ;).
I agree, mums are Fall! The pictures are beautiful. Enjoy the rest of your week.
"Honestly...if you don't have faith in religion, you can't have faith in anything else."
The leaves are exceptionally beautiful this year!
Love the pictures. :) answer to #4. Have a great week.
I wish I could care less about what people think of me. Sigh.
What a beautiful picture! I went to school in Virginia, and my dorm room looked out over the Blue Ridge Mountains. I miss that!
Absolutely beautiful photo, Mary. What a view!


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Devin DiSanto
Devin DiSanto/Nick Hoffman - Three Exercises (ErstAEU)
Purchase Three Exercises here
The opening track of Three Exercises ends with a brief statement: "It's August 9th, 2014. Devin DiSanto and Nick Hoffman, St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School." Yet before we're told this, certain sounds help to establish the environment we're in—tables squeak loudly across tile floors, doors with push bars reverberate as they close, and both a parent and child talk in the distance. Even if one hadn't glanced at the photos that decorate the CD's packaging, one could likely deduce that these performances took place inside a school gymnasium. But more than just an unveiling of the sounds and location that characterize Three Exercises, "preparation / introduction" reveals a very important component to the album: transparency.
Two writers, Justin Palmer and Sharon Glassburn, are tasked with recording notes out loud into a tape recorder. And throughout the album, we get an understanding, albeit a vague one, of the ensuing sounds. The actual three exercises that take place are hard to parse, however, and an overlap of sounds between tracks diminishes any sense of clarity regarding when each activity took place relative to one another. In "sequence 1" and "exercise 3", we hear Devin playing with a Boggle game—the container is shaken, an hourglass is flipped, and a list of words is recited. Interestingly, a portion of the former is replayed over speakers in "sequence 2", and DiSanto performs a variation of this process that replaces the Boggle game with Bingo, cage and all.
The first and second "exercise" tracks and "sequence 1.2" seem to be interrelated. From piecing the tracks together and viewing the images on the cover, one can somewhat figure out what's going on here: duct tape is measured and placed on the gymnasium floor, DiSanto walks along the duct tape foot-to-foot with a collapsible table that's placed on a moving dolly, ping pong balls fall off that table and their end point is numbered and marked with duct tape. An interlude entitled "recreation" also occurs midway through the album which, appropriately, features basketballs being dribbled and shot into the gym's hoop.
For many, the task-driven nature of Three Exercises will be reminiscent of DiSanto's Tracing a Boundary. On that record, numerous sounds—namely the folding of paper and the soft hum of wind—were heard in an open space. The piece channeled the calming nature of working on a project or doing housework on a Sunday afternoon. Instruments were occasionally played and announcements with specific times (e.g. "13 minutes") periodically interjected but they never detracted from the overall mood. Three Exercises isn't exactly meditative but it feels very much like the product of DiSanto's approach there with Nick Hoffman's texturally-minded works via different types of synthesis (on this recording, frequency modulation and dynamic stochastic synthesis). It never gets too noisy, but it's a clear combined effort and the interplay between both musicians is harmonious and engaging, often helping to pace the record effectively.
There's a lot happening in Three Exercises but the beauty of the recording is that its mysteries don't need to be thoroughly decoded to enjoy. At times, the reveal is delightful—knowing that the terrifying crunch that opens "sequence 2" comes from a spinning Bingo ball cage is hilarious. But more often than not, a play-by-play isn't necessary to be fixated by what's present on these eight tracks; the juxtaposition between the twirling Bingo ball cage and the silence that follows is potent and affecting whether or not we recognize the source. And because of that, the record holds a fascinating paradox of sorts—the semi-acousmatic nature of the work affirms how nonessential it is to see and know the source of any given sound to appreciate it.
During my initial listens of Three Exercises, I made sure to pay close attention to Palmer and Glassburn's notes. At first, they functioned solely as guides who helped me unearth what DiSanto and Hoffman were doing. But after my "need" for them was presumably finished, their roles shifted from somewhat auxiliary to indispensable—their voices, usually signified with tape feedback, were important elements that contributed just as much as anything else to the sonic make-up of these tracks. In other words, the very things that exposed these sounds were better appreciated as pure aural elements. Three Exercises is transparent but the innate qualities of the sounds therein, and our visceral engagement with them, take precedence. And the record manages to point out that exact phenomenon. That the alluring mystique of the record's production is sustained after its literal unveiling is at the heart of what makes Three Exercises a masterpiece.
Tagged: Devin DiSanto, ErstAEU, Nick Hoffman


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Month May 2018
CYO Track and Field Championship Meets on Upcoming Schedule
May 30, 2018 Dan Pietrafesa Leave a comment
CYO New York will be hosting its biggest track and field meets of the season over the next two weekends.
On Sunday, the County Championships will be held at Mount St. Michael Academy in the Bronx with registration at 12:30 p.m. and the meet starting at 1 p.m.
The Archdiocese Championships will be at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island on Sunday, June 10 at noon.
The meets are open to all CYO youth and/or teams and/or unattached athletes in grades kindergarten through eight.
Following the Archdiocese Championships is the AAU Track and Field Club Championships at the Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World on July 9-14. Meetings for interested athletes and their parents are scheduled for June 4 at 6:30 p.m. in the Hegerty Room of Iona College's Hynes Center and June 5 at 6:30 p.m. in the CYO-MIV Center at 6451 Hylan Blvd. on Staten Island.
Kennedy Catholic Wins State Title
Jack Zona scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime off an assist from Bryan Szpindor as John F. Kennedy Catholic High School defeated Long Island champion Holy Trinity, 7-6, for the CHSAA state championship.
It was the second state title in four years for the Gaels, who received 18 saves from freshman goalie Sean Carroll.
"To beat Holy Trinity this year meant so much to our kids," Kennedy coach Vin Savastano told Catholic Sports Scene and Catholic New York. "The last two years we lost by a goal to them at their place. This year on our own field, we would not be denied."
Kennedy Catholic earned a spot in the state final by winning the CHSAA Class A city championship with a 7-5 victory over Msgr. Farrell May 12. Senior Greg Brann, who will play next season at NCAA power Loyola University in Baltimore, finished with two goals and two assists, and Carroll made 12 saves.
"We are so proud of our kids," said Savastano. "We put together the hardest schedule we've ever had here at Kennedy. We took our lumps early and found all of our weaknesses.
"We put together two gameplans that the kids executed to perfection leading us both to the city and state championships."
14 Iona Prep Scholar-Athletes Commit to Colleges Programs
Fourteen Iona Prep recently participated in a signing event at the school as they committed to compete at the collegiate level.
The Gaels now have 31 senior athletes committed to college athletics.
The recent 14 participants in the signing ceremony were Brian Alberts, Manhattanville College baseball; Kevin Bomba, Trinity College baseball; Michael DeGasperis, William College football; Matthew DiSanto, Catholic University of America football; Caleb Donnelly, Villanova club crew; Mike Eboli, Manhattan College swimming; Devin Grandison, Western New England University wrestling; Robert Greer, High Point University track and field; Ryan Kingston, St. Joseph crew; Brendan Martin, Ithaca College football; Mauro Pacsi, Iona College swimming; John Steele, MIT water polo; Bryce Willis, Stanford University basketball, and Tyler Dorsainvil, Providence College track and field.
The 17 who previously signed were Josh Alexander, American University basketball; Joseph Colaio-Coppola, Elon University football; Jack Doty, Brown University football; Marion Ellis, Springfield College football; Derek Ferraro, Rice University football; Johnryan Freeman, Trinity College football; Sebastian Gruber, Merrimack College lacrosse; Herschel Halesworth, College of Holy Cross lacrosse; Jacob Hargraves, Jacksonville University football; Souleymane Kouressi, Richmond University basketball; Malkelm Morrison, Army football; Jon Oronzio, St. Joseph's University lacrosse; Joe Persico, University of Utah lacrosse; Max Persico, Bryant University lacrosse; Colin Realbuto, Brown University wrestling; Ki'Shyne Shipmon, Pace University football; Luke Tobia, Ithaca College football.
All-State Boys Basketball Honorees
The following Catholic high school boys basketball players from the archdiocese earned all-state honors from the New York State Sportswriters Association:
First team — Alan Griffin, Archbishop Stepinac. Second team — Chris Ledlum, St. Peter's; Tyrese Williams, Cardinals Hayes. Third team — Joe Toussaint, Cardinal Hayes; R.J. Davis, Archbishop Stepinac. Fifth team — Bryce Willis, Iona Prep. Sixth team — Souleymane Koureissi, Iona Prep. Eighth team — Omar Silverio, St. Raymond; Dallas Watson, St. Raymond; 10th team — Adrian Griffin, Jr., Archbishop Stepinac; Erlyn Ramirez, Mount St. Michael. 11th team — Nick Johnson, All Hallows. 12th team — Jake Pawliczak, Burke Catholic. 13th team — Chris Clancy, St. Peter's. 14th team — Michael Green, Mount St. Michael. 15th team — Josh Alexander, Iona Prep.
Third team — Devin Nicholson, St. Joseph by-the-Sea. Seventh team — Kalos Evans, Cardinal Spellman.
Third team — Korey Williams, La Salle Academy; Dylan Wusu, Sacred Heart.
Pitching Leads Iona Prep
They always say pitching and defense win championships.
The Iona Prep baseball team sports the best record in the archdiocese at 15-2, and the Gaels have outscored their opponents 85-15 entering today's game with St. Francis Prep.
Iona Prep's pitching staff has eight shutouts this season and has given up three runs on only two occasions in 2018. The staff has surrendered two runs in two games and one run in five games.
Iona Prep's losses were 2-1 decisions to Fordham Prep and John F. Kennedy Catholic.
CHSAA Athletes Top List
Three CHSAA track and field athletes currently hold the top performances in the state during the spring outdoor season.
The leaders are Iona Prep's Robert Greer, javelin, 174-10; Msgr. Farrell's Charles Crispi, pole vault, 16-1, and Cardinal Hayes' Jahsira Dunbar, triple jump, 48-5.5. Crispi was the state pole vault champion during the 2017-2018 indoor season.
Click here for the complete list.
Cosgrove Rebounds After Slow Start
Tom Cosgrove has allowed four earned runs over his last 14 innings for the Fort Wayne TinCaps, a full-season affiliate of the San Diego Padres in the Midwest League.
He surrendered 11 earned runs over 11 innings in his first three outings of the season.
Cosgrove, who is 1-2 and averaging a strikeout per inning, was a 12th round pick of the Padres in the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft out of Manhattan College. He is a graduate of Msgr. Farrell High School on Staten Island.
Deadline Extended to Purchase Discounted Hersheypark Tickets
CYO New York athletes, parents and friends can purchase discounted tickets for a day's admission to Hersheypark through May 25.
The original deadline had passed but now has been extended.
The CYO New York rate is $41.50 per person, compared to the gate charge of $67.80.
CYO Track Meet Cancelled, Championship Meet Finalized
CYO New York announced its track and field meet scheduled for Saturday at Mount St. Michael Academy in the Bronx has been cancelled due to rain in the forecast.
CYO New York officials also announced Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island Park will be the site of CYO New York's Archdiocese Track and Field Championships on June 10. The tentative start time is noon.
Click here for CYO New York news.
Valecce, Jones Among Five CHSAA Football Stars in NYC's Elite Eleven
May 7, 2018 May 7, 2018 Dan Pietrafesa Leave a comment
Five Catholic high school football players from the archdiocese were among New York City's Elite Eleven honored at the sixth annual Scholar-Athlete Award Banquet at The New York Athletic Club in Manhattan by the New York City Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame May 1.
Fordham Prep teammates Matt Valecce (photo) and Joseph Petti, Cardinal Hayes' Elijah Jones, Shakim Douglas and St. Joseph by the Sea's John Buscini were recognized for being in the top-11 players in New York City. Scholar-athletes are considered based on 40 percent grade-point average, 40 percent football ability and 20 percent leadership, school and community involvement.
Valecce and Jones will be teammates at Boston College next season. Petti and Douglas both signed National Letters of Intent to play at the U.S. Naval Academy. Buscini will attend the College of Staten Island.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE VIRGINTINO


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June 27, 2020Dish On Dining Moving Forward
How Are Milwaukee's Restaurants Weathering the Pandemic?
Milwaukee hasn't seen mass restaurant closures yet, but that could change in the coming months.
BY Rich Rovito
When the coronavirus pandemic took hold and a state order forced restaurants to close their dining rooms, Paul Bartolotta, chef, owner and co-founder of The Bartolotta Restaurants, faced an array of emotions as he and his management team agonized over how to handle their 17 Milwaukee-area restaurants and catering facilities.
After offering curbside service for two days, Bartolotta opted to completely close all his restaurants, which include Ristorante Bartolotta in Wauwatosa, Lake Park Bistro and Harbor House in Milwaukee, and Mr. B's in Brookfield.
"The risk-reward wasn't there for me," he said. "I certainly wasn't going to make enough money to work in the positive and I didn't want to put my employees at risk."
As a result, Bartolotta's workforce abruptly went from an army of about 950 employees to a skeleton staff of 12.
"It has been gut-wrenching, challenging and difficult," Bartolotta said from inside Ristorante Bartolotta in the heart of Wauwatosa's Village District. "There's so much at stake. We've got families' lives to worry about, a company that my brother, Joe, and I founded 27 years ago and his legacy to build upon. I certainly feel that weight."
Ristorante Bartolotta. Photo courtesy of Bartolotta Restaurants
The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on Milwaukee-area restaurants, with many struggling to find ways to stay afloat amid limitations on their operations and a cautious, even fearful, customer base. Several establishments have been forced to permanently close their doors due to lost business from the coronavirus.
So far, most of Milwaukee's popular restaurants have survived the pandemic, although a few beloved spots have decided to call it quits.
Crazy Water, which has operated in Walker's Point for 18 years, plans to close in early July. Owner Peggy Magister says her decision to close was voluntary and that this gives her the chance to offer Milwaukee something new. After a brief shutdown, the restaurant will reopen as a refined Mexican cantina called La Dama. "The concept is a refined Mexican cuisine, something you would find in Mexico City and many other cities in the U.S. My chef for 18 years was born in Mexico City and lived much of his life in Qaxaca learning to cook from his mother and grandmother. This style of food is what La Dama is about," Magister wrote in an email.
Long-running Mexican eatery Samano's in Cudahy is closing, but the decision to shutter the business stemmed mainly from an old and troublesome building, not from financial woes brought on by COVID-19.
Others, like vegetarian-focused Beans & Barley, opted to close a satellite location in the Mequon Public Market but the restaurant's long-time main location on Milwaukee's East Side, which features a restaurant and market, remains open. Bavette La Boucherie and Bowls, have also pulled out of the Mequon Public Market, which opened in June 2019. Both with continue to operate their Milwaukee restaurants.
Mequon Public Market. Photo by Aliza Baran
Blue's Egg, which has a popular West Side establishment, shuttered its Shorewood site in April.
As the coronavirus pandemic took hold, restaurants had to abide by a state order that took effect in mid-March that only permitted them to offer delivery, carry-out or curbside pickup and prohibited them from serving customers inside their establishments.
Some restaurants have reopened for dine-in service as restrictions have eased. Others have opted to continue with just carryout and curbside service. A few, including some of the area's most popular establishments, remain closed altogether as they weigh their options.
Restaurants in the City of Milwaukee have been operating their dining rooms at 25% capacity as part of a staged reopening plan that began on June 5. Establishments in the 18 suburban communities in Milwaukee County have been open with capacity recommendations, not restrictions, since May 22.
Word came late Friday that the City of Milwaukee will move to phase four of its reopening plan, which will allow bars and restaurants to operate at 50% capacity beginning at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
RELATED: I Watched Milwaukee's Restaurants Pivot During the Pandemic. It Gave Me Hope.
The decisions have been painstaking for many restaurateurs, including Bartolotta, as they struggle to find ways to generate revenue while keeping employees and customers safe.
"It's been hard," Bartolotta said. "We went from shock to being kind of angry to having hope and saying we are going to figure it out."
Bartolotta is often up before dawn and working late into the night working on a reopening plan.
"I don't think this is going to be short-lived," he said. "I would love to think that by December we will have a vaccine and go back to our merry lives. I am not planning on that. I don't have the luxury to have that level of optimism. I need to prepare for a worst-case scenario."
He and his management team are in the final stage of planning and setting dates for a relaunch of the restaurants while still aware that many consumers aren't yet comfortable with having a meal in a sit-down restaurant.
"I don't need to be the first boat in the water," he said. "I need to be patient. I feel I need to try a couple of restaurants shortly and see what consumer confidence is like."
Some of Bartolotta's restaurants are likely to open "in the very near term," he said. Ristorante is expected to be the first to welcome back customers.
"It has the most history for me and my family," Bartolotta said. "It allows us to learn in a little bit smaller environment. It also has the ability to do outdoor dining."
Ristorante has been redesigned for 24 seats. Prior to temporarily shutting down, it featured 52 seats and nine bar stools. Dividers have been installed as part of the company's health and safety protocol.
The most dramatic change, however, will be a request that all diners wear masks.
"We've just got to deal with it. We can wear masks," Bartolotta said. "You pull it down, you talk, you pull it back up. You take it off and put it on the table. When the waiter comes by you put it back on."
Although Bartolotta expressed confidence that his restaurants will carry on, it's certain that many others won't.
The Wisconsin Restaurant Association previously predicted that as many as 50 percent of the state's independent restaurants could go out of business because of COVID-19. As restrictions have been eased, the organization has changed the estimate to 30 percent, a devastating figure, nonetheless.
"It's been brutal," association President and Chief Executive Officer Kristine Hillmer said. "There are a lot of challenges for restaurants. They've been closed for two or three months. Most restaurants cannot sustain their business on carry-out and delivery only. It helps a little bit but when you close down someone's dining room, you are losing money pretty quickly."
Staffing issues are also hurting restaurants, she added.
"It is currently difficult to find staff or recall staff," Hillmer said. "Some are making more money on unemployment than they were at the restaurants. Even pre-COVID-19, staffing was a really difficult thing for restaurants."
Although leveling off some now, prices of food supplies have risen, adding to the challenge, she said.
Restaurants also now must spend money on personal protective equipment, sanitizing products and reconfiguring their dining rooms.
"It is extremely challenging to run a restaurant right now," Hillmer said. "Some just don't want to open and then, instead of having it be a slow bleed having it becomes a hemorrhage. That's why you are seeing a lot of restaurants not opening yet. It doesn't make sense for them."
Although the Milwaukee area hasn't experienced mass restaurant closings at this point, that's likely to change in the coming months, Hillmer said.
"I think it's going to come down the road," she said. "The other thing I really fear is that we are really seeing a change in consumer behavior. I think you are going to continue to see more carryout or eating at home."
Restaurants in Milwaukee are being hampered by widespread cancellations of events and the closure of tourist attractions in and around downtown.
"There isn't that reason to go downtown," she said. "It changes consumers' behavior. As you see those dynamics, I think you're going to see more restaurant owners throwing in the towel because they just can't make it."
A new pilot program that would allow Milwaukee restaurants to fully open could offer some relief. Restaurants would be permitted to open at 100% capacity if their applications to the program and their required COVID-19 mitigation plans are approved by city officials.
Another pilot program, the Active Streets for Businesses initiative, gives businesses the ability to seek fast-track city approval to use sidewalks, parking lanes and the public right-of-way for expanded restaurant seating.
Like Bartolotta, long-time Milwaukee restaurateur Omar Shaikh opted to temporarily shut down his popular Downtown steakhouse, Carnevor, after only a few days of offering curbside service.
Food at Carnevor. Photo by Chris Kessler
"We actually got quite a bit of support with it and then beef prices spiked, and we decided it wasn't worth it," Shaikh said. "We have a pretty good set of guidelines of how we are going to operate our business so that it is safest for employees and safest for customers as well. But it also comes down to the economics."
Carnevor's business is highly dependent on business travelers and really thrives during the NBA and Major League Baseball seasons.
"Before and after Bucks' games, the players come in, fans come in," Shaikh said. "For baseball, we get a ton of players from opposing teams. Without that and without any of the shows and concerts, it's really hard to predict what our business is even going to be."
Shaikh wants to reopen Carnevor on Aug. 1, which would coincide with the end of the additional federal unemployment benefits his furloughed employees have been able to receive. The decision assumes that Milwaukee will continue to move through the phases of reopening.
"We lose more money at 25% than we would just keeping the doors closed," he said. "When you go to 50%, we're probably still not covering the nut."
The long-term effects for Milwaukee's restaurant industry could be staggering, Shaikh said.
"I do know that quite a few restaurants aren't going to make it," he said. "Some are fortunate enough to have investors or are well-financed enough to be able to sustain these times. But a lot of small mom-and-pop restaurants don't have large reserves, like the big chains do. Independents don't have the luxury."
Mass closures of restaurants in the Milwaukee area could be on the horizon, Shaikh warned.
"I think restaurants are hanging on as long as they can and they are waiting to see what the plan is from the city to reopen at capacity amounts at which they know they can pay the bills," Shaikh said. "I think this is just the very beginning of what we are going to see."
Shaikh is part of a group of restaurateurs from across the state who have banded together and take part in periodic virtual meetings with the city's political leaders and health officials.
"We want to be part of the conversation, especially when it comes to establishing some of the criteria," he said. "There are a lot of smart, really good operators out there. We were initially frustrated. The biggest thing for us is that we want ongoing communication."
The Milwaukee area enjoyed a rich food scene before the pandemic struck, the Wisconsin Restaurant Association's Hillmer said.
"We have a lot of independent, culturally diverse restaurants," she said. "It would be such a tragedy for our state and Southeast Wisconsin to lose some of that cultural identity that we have through food."
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Rich Rovito
Rich Rovito is a freelance writer for Milwaukee Magazine.
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