One of the greatest moments I've ever seen involving anything that lasts for only 22 minutes happened on a Thursday night in the spring of 2010. James "Toofer" Spurlock (Keith Powell) bounded into Tracy Jordan's dressing room with some urgency. On his way into work, a stranger called him a "biggledeeboo." "Old-school racism is back," says Tracy. James can't believe it: But the president is black. That's the problem, Tracy says. James remains incredulous nonetheless: "Racism is back because white people no longer feel sorry for us?" And Tracy, who for two seasons of 30 Rock had let us believe in his buffoonery, offers a nugget of insight that turns James's world upside down: "All you've ever known is your affirmative-action job and Queen Latifah Cover Girl commercials."
With that, James, a writer on the sketch-comedy show TGS, marches into the office of his boss, Liz Lemon, and asks whether it's true, that he does owe his employment to a racial quota. Liz demurs, then concedes. He brought the "diverse point of view" mandated by corporate policy, and his salary is paid not from the TGS budget but from a separate quota division of the network. Angered and insulted, he quits rather than stay in a job he feels he didn't earn.
We'd never seen a black character stand up for himself on such everyday human terms, only to have that moment of self-respect land him more or less where he began — as a token hire and the butt of his coworkers' jokes. His quitting and ultimate rehiring in a more important position should be a moment of triumph, but no one on 30 Rock stays triumphant for long. The show spent seven seasons as one of the best in the recent history of television. Its last episode airs tonight, at which point its jersey should be retired but its entertainment-industry lessons about how to handle identity should live on. A farce about the pragmatic limits of ambition aimed a lot of its own ambition at the comedy of race.
For nearly all of its run, 30 Rock practiced what's best called the comedy of Teflon topicality. It had story arcs, but no matter how serious the offense, the show would usually manage to reset itself by the start of the next episode. But it refused to evade race, gender, and their discontents the way dozens of its predecessors had. It wanted to know what kind of fire starts when two different types of black men — uptight Toofer and uncouth Tracy — rub each other the wrong way; when Liz's sense of propriety clashes with Jenna's runaway narcissism; when the self-made executive titan Jack Donaghy encounters a na?f like Kenneth the NBC page.
The conflicts mixed and matched, like when Tracy and Jenna pulled a "Freaky Friday" stunt in which she put on a suit and Afro and painted her face brown to prove that women were more oppressed than black men, and he tried to make the opposite point by wearing a blond wig and painting his face white. Half the comedy came from the idea of these two stupid-like-a-fox egomaniacs waging "a social experiment." Half of it came from the way they inhabited their costumes: She looked like a smudge pretending to be Nipsey Russell; he looked like what would happen if science crossbred Paris Hilton and Godzilla.
At the moment, network TV is relatively rich with farce — How I Met Your Mother, Happy Endings, The Big Bang Theory, Suburgatory. But 30 Rock operates at several orders of magnitude higher, much like the The Simpsons and Seinfeld before it. It sidesteps protecting the safe and peaceable and celebrates the mean, pathetic, and ridiculous. Not far into the first season, Jack sets Liz up on a blind date with a lesbian named Gretchen Thomas. They bond over their fear of dying in their apartments alone and undiscovered. When you're single, Liz says to Thomas, "Everything's the worst." This is the rare show daring enough to bring out the best in the worst.
There's a way that network television normalizes and sanitizes the dirt of being alive. We can turn on the TV and see our ideal selves — the funnier, faster, braver, more entertaining people we wish ourselves to be. But for most of a decade the dirt of being alive was actually dirty. Norman Lear's great run of 1970s sitcoms — All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons — peeled back the surface of American idealism to invite the country to spend most of the decade with the increasingly liberal family of a bigot, with a witheringly stubborn feminist, with a black family subsisting in the Chicago projects, and with a middle-aged black couple that had earned its way to luxury. It was a progressive era, and it was short-lived.
Television in the 1980s tried to pluck the thorns from social issues palatable to a vast audience with far fewer television channels than it currently has. The landscape had been resanitized. Both Lear's contentious liberalism and the galvanizing perseverance of the Mary Tyler Moore empire were eroding. Activism and righteousness had turned to a kind of pacifism. The "temporary layoffs and easy credit rip-offs" of Good Times had morphed into the insidiously benign paternalism of Benson, Diff'rent Strokes, Webster, and Gimme a Break!, shows that represented a new strain of liberalism in which the needs and concerns of black people were more or less held in check by their proximity to the alleged privilege of whiteness. It was hard to be a poor black male complaining about the man when you were living in his penthouse. Television had lost its nerve when it came to race and social issues.
TV became overwhelmingly white, again. Mostly black shows, like 227 and Amen, were largely stressless havens, free of racial and social upheaval. That comfort continued to swell in the 1990s with shows like Living Single, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Family Matters.Most of these shows took the wrong lessons from The Cosby Show and its black-college spin-off, A Different World, the two most important shows about black life in the history of television. The former took lavish pride in blackness and the black middle class. The latter offered an absorbing survey of the many ways to be black. But each show could also be watched, respectively, as a universal half-hour about a large, loving family and as a resonant dramedy about the ups and downs of higher education. Not seeing blackness in either show meant the writing was generous enough to permit you to see past it. But that didn't mean it wasn't there. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Family Matters were more insipid shows that nonetheless managed to further normalize a black middle class, while characters like Carlton Banks and Steve Urkel followed the cool nerdiness of A Different World's Dwayne Wayne and further expanded the parameters of who else a black male could be.
But the problems of race and racism were shuttled off to cop procedurals and courtroom dramas or were being fought on nascent daytime talk shows and reality stunts like the alarming first two seasons of The Real World. 30 Rock turned a sharp corner on the depiction of those conversations. It's useful to remember that the show debuted in the fall of 2006, right before the cancellation of Aaron Sorkin's terrible Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, whose setting was a sketch comedy show that was too proud of all the positions it took to be funny. That show resulted in nearly two dozen episodes of awkward self-misunderstanding. It was like watching a horse try to ride a man.
At the time, the fear was that 30 Rock would be more lefty righteousness and politically correct self-affirmation, another gassy indulgence from an NBC star. Sorkin's show was pure Hollywood earnestness and view-from-the–Town Car platitudes. But after half a season, it was clear someone on 30 Rock rode the subway. The show enjoyed the mess of trying to get along. Its approach was Blazing Saddles to Studio 60's Crash. Liz breaks up with a geeky black business manager (Wayne Brady) because he's dull. But he swears it's because he's black. This is a man who blithely fulfilled no black stereotypes until he played the race card, which insults her sense of liberal guilt.
In one of the all-time best half-hours of television, Liz assumes that Tracy can't read. But he's actually just exploiting her white liberal guilt to get time off work. When she tells Pete (Scott Adsit) that Tracy's either illiterate or slacking, he calls her a racist. But she knows Tracy is working her white guilt, which is only to be used for "tipping and voting for Barack Obama." Part of the show's innovation was the way whiteness was as much up for discussion as blackness. Jack Donaghy doesn't see the color of his skin as a race so much as a class. He grew up Irish-Catholic in the slums of Boston, went to Princeton and Harvard Business School, and arrogantly votes Republican. He's come into his whiteness just as John Houseman in those old Smith Barney ads would have wanted him to: He's earned it.
During Tracy and Jenna's "Freaky Friday" disaster, Jack interrupts their complaining to make the exasperated observation that white men have it hardest of all. Kenneth begins to interrupt him by saying, "As a white man … " and Jack shuts him down: "Socioeconomically speaking, you are more like an inner-city Latina." According to Jack, Kenneth, whose sole ambition was to get out of Stone Mountain and into the NBC page program, can't even afford to be white.
2013年1月31日星期四
Santa Susana situation has improved
After a leaking roof and inconsistent heating and cooling system became problematic late last year, teachers and staff are welcome to a newly-repaired Santa Susana Hall.
According to Ken Rosenthal, manager of construction services for CSUN’s facilities and planning department, the roof had been leaking, and the Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system had to be replaced on the fourth floor.
“The reality is, it’s one of those buildings where we are aware there have been multiple issues,” Rosenthal said.
Last fall, the Facilities and Planning Department undertook the task of addressing some of the worst problems in Santa Susana Hall on the south side of campus across from the Matador Bookstore complex.
The recent rainfall did not penetrate the new roof according to Herman Debose, sociology department chair, whose Santa Susana office was affected by severe water leaks last year.
Other offices on the third and fourth floors that had also once experienced indoor water damage have stayed dry.
Faculty on the fourth floor said they are enjoying their new HVAC system. Each office now has its own thermostat, so occupants can control the temperature more effectively.
The first, second and third floors, however, are still operating on the original, outdated HVAC system, Rosenthal said.
Debose added that thermostats in some offices control the temperature in others, and the inclement situation is compounded when staff members open doors in order to increase visability in the hallways.
“Most people don’t realize it’s all interconnected,” Rosenthal said. “They don’t have a dedicated unit for each office. It’s one big system.”
Another recent change in the building is the sudden removal of the venerable system of ivy that had been growing up both of the interior courtyards’ four floors for years.
Santa Susana Hall is designed with two courtyards connected by a section of hallway containing offices and the building’s elevator. The boundaries of each courtyard are made up by the offices, lined by walkways with a railing at the interior edge. The vines grew up the inside of each of these courtyards in the corners and around the railings.
Without the greenery, the balconies are more exposed, and the railings are left uncovered.
“It looks like a prison now,” said mathematics professor Mark Schilling, whose office is on the fourth floor.
Debose said he felt the removal of the vines would allow more light to get through into the building.
Senior manager of Physical Plant Management, Jason Wang, said the vines were posing problems.
The weight of the plants caused cracks to form in the old railings and provided refuge for vermin like rats or insects, Wang said. They determined it was safest to remove the vines rather than to let the situation continue.
Planned improvements include additional seating on the first floor, new railings that are up to current code and doors with larger windows to improve visibility and make the space more inviting. Wang added the project could proceed as early as this summer.
When complete, there will be 630 spaces between surface parking and a new parking garage, an enhanced bus staging area, I-15 BRT-branded shelters, next bus arrival signs, new landscaping, a photovoltaic system, electric vehicle charging stations, fuel-efficient and smart vehicle spaces, security cameras and modular bicycle parking facility.
Per a simulation video, the project will maximize open space, minimize heat island effect, have water efficient landscaping, optimum energy performance, include recycled and regional materials, increased ventilation in the garage, open views to increase passive security and 100 percent security camera coverage.
Frank Owsiany, a senior transportation engineer at SANDAG, said the station will include 630 parking spaces because it is a “huge hub,” with more demand expected after full BRT service comes. It will draw commuters from surrounding communities including Poway, Rancho Penasquitos and Mira Mesa.
The facility is near the shared border of Sabre Springs and Carmel Mountain Ranch.
According to Owsiany, the winning bid came in well below the original estimate of more than $19 million and is expected to be completed faster. This is because SANDAG went with a design-bid contract, a first for the agency. This has the same contractor designing and constructing the station. For other projects, a design-bid-build contract was used, so the designer and builder were two entities. This led to an additional bid time factored into projects and many consultations needed between design and construction teams, which led to increased costs and delays.
SANDAG officials met with more than 35 locals on Jan. 16 to explain the project and answer questions, said Tedi Jackson, a senior public affairs representative at SANDAG.
As for Rancho Bernardo Transit Station upgrades that began in August, those are expected to be complete by mid-March, Owsiany said. The $768,000 renovation includes adding bus bays, new shelters and new signage that indicates updated arrival times. The existing landscaped median is being reconfigured to accommodate an eight-bay bus staging area. Until work is completed, the north lot will remain closed and riders are using the 39-space Rodeway Inn parking lot at 16911 W. Bernardo Drive, about a 7-minute walk, in addition to the station’s southeast lot.
According to Ken Rosenthal, manager of construction services for CSUN’s facilities and planning department, the roof had been leaking, and the Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system had to be replaced on the fourth floor.
“The reality is, it’s one of those buildings where we are aware there have been multiple issues,” Rosenthal said.
Last fall, the Facilities and Planning Department undertook the task of addressing some of the worst problems in Santa Susana Hall on the south side of campus across from the Matador Bookstore complex.
The recent rainfall did not penetrate the new roof according to Herman Debose, sociology department chair, whose Santa Susana office was affected by severe water leaks last year.
Other offices on the third and fourth floors that had also once experienced indoor water damage have stayed dry.
Faculty on the fourth floor said they are enjoying their new HVAC system. Each office now has its own thermostat, so occupants can control the temperature more effectively.
The first, second and third floors, however, are still operating on the original, outdated HVAC system, Rosenthal said.
Debose added that thermostats in some offices control the temperature in others, and the inclement situation is compounded when staff members open doors in order to increase visability in the hallways.
“Most people don’t realize it’s all interconnected,” Rosenthal said. “They don’t have a dedicated unit for each office. It’s one big system.”
Another recent change in the building is the sudden removal of the venerable system of ivy that had been growing up both of the interior courtyards’ four floors for years.
Santa Susana Hall is designed with two courtyards connected by a section of hallway containing offices and the building’s elevator. The boundaries of each courtyard are made up by the offices, lined by walkways with a railing at the interior edge. The vines grew up the inside of each of these courtyards in the corners and around the railings.
Without the greenery, the balconies are more exposed, and the railings are left uncovered.
“It looks like a prison now,” said mathematics professor Mark Schilling, whose office is on the fourth floor.
Debose said he felt the removal of the vines would allow more light to get through into the building.
Senior manager of Physical Plant Management, Jason Wang, said the vines were posing problems.
The weight of the plants caused cracks to form in the old railings and provided refuge for vermin like rats or insects, Wang said. They determined it was safest to remove the vines rather than to let the situation continue.
Planned improvements include additional seating on the first floor, new railings that are up to current code and doors with larger windows to improve visibility and make the space more inviting. Wang added the project could proceed as early as this summer.
When complete, there will be 630 spaces between surface parking and a new parking garage, an enhanced bus staging area, I-15 BRT-branded shelters, next bus arrival signs, new landscaping, a photovoltaic system, electric vehicle charging stations, fuel-efficient and smart vehicle spaces, security cameras and modular bicycle parking facility.
Per a simulation video, the project will maximize open space, minimize heat island effect, have water efficient landscaping, optimum energy performance, include recycled and regional materials, increased ventilation in the garage, open views to increase passive security and 100 percent security camera coverage.
Frank Owsiany, a senior transportation engineer at SANDAG, said the station will include 630 parking spaces because it is a “huge hub,” with more demand expected after full BRT service comes. It will draw commuters from surrounding communities including Poway, Rancho Penasquitos and Mira Mesa.
The facility is near the shared border of Sabre Springs and Carmel Mountain Ranch.
According to Owsiany, the winning bid came in well below the original estimate of more than $19 million and is expected to be completed faster. This is because SANDAG went with a design-bid contract, a first for the agency. This has the same contractor designing and constructing the station. For other projects, a design-bid-build contract was used, so the designer and builder were two entities. This led to an additional bid time factored into projects and many consultations needed between design and construction teams, which led to increased costs and delays.
SANDAG officials met with more than 35 locals on Jan. 16 to explain the project and answer questions, said Tedi Jackson, a senior public affairs representative at SANDAG.
As for Rancho Bernardo Transit Station upgrades that began in August, those are expected to be complete by mid-March, Owsiany said. The $768,000 renovation includes adding bus bays, new shelters and new signage that indicates updated arrival times. The existing landscaped median is being reconfigured to accommodate an eight-bay bus staging area. Until work is completed, the north lot will remain closed and riders are using the 39-space Rodeway Inn parking lot at 16911 W. Bernardo Drive, about a 7-minute walk, in addition to the station’s southeast lot.
2013年1月27日星期日
Wylie's newest album Montana to the core
Wylie and the Wild West’s latest album provides a select compilation of previously recorded songs that illuminate Montana’s sense of place.
The 15 tracks of “Skytones: Songs of Montana” span more than a dozen albums dating back to 1997, according to Conrad contemporary cowboy songwriter Wylie Gustafson. The album includes “My Home’s in Montana,” voted among the top five Montana songs in a recent Tribune readers’ poll.
Gustafson’s brand of Western music is rooted in tradition yet embraces broader influences as well.
“I’ve made a concerted effort to bring cowboy music to a contemporary crowd,” he related in a recent phone interview. “That’s the great thing about American music. We have so many influences to draw from.”
“I think you develop an acute awareness for the outdoors and the beauty of the landscape just by bein’ a rancher,” Gustafson said. “It becomes this theme and this pulse of your life. The beauty really weaves itself into your psyche.”
Gustafson, raised on a cattle ranch near Conrad, noted the natural environment plays an active role in shaping the culture of the ranching and the agricultural community.
“Montanans are very unique, you know,” he said. “They’re very independent yet friendly with a sense of humor. You have to have a sense of humor equal to Mother Nature’s sense of humor. I think Mother Nature humbles you time and time again. You’re not in control.”
The driven rocker “Buck Up and Huck It” and the spirited “Hi-Line Polka” pay tribute to the hearty character of Hi-Line folks. Songs that clarify the spiritual power of landscapes include the serene “Grace,” which describes a mysterious connectedness to the land, and the reverent “I Get High,” which reveals sublime feelings inspired by Montana’s natural beauty.
“The Yodeling Fool” is an autobiographical account of a young Montana kid chasing perceived greener pastures outside the state. In “Montana Love Song,” Gustafson employs the metaphor of Montana as a lover. Gustafson described “Big Sky Lullaby,” a slow yodel, as “a sonic reflection of the beauty of Montana.”
“I tried to capture the loneliness and beauty of the landscape through just a melody,” he explained further. “It’s just an emotion.”
Gustafson said the release of “Skytones” at this stage in his 40-year music career is a retrospective realization prompted by the return to his native state four years ago after an absence of 20 years.
“If you wanna figure out how much you love something, go away from it,” Gustafson mused. “Looking back, the theme of Montana is so prevalent and such a key part of the foundation of my songwriting. It’s all I care about in terms of place.”
Nowhere in the publicity did it say that Peter Jackson had entered a work in the Sculpture on the Gulf exhibition. But there it was, on the headland, a Hobbit building complete with squealing Hobbit children prancing around and playing on the swings which hung from the creaking construction, cobbled together from bits of timber.
But these heightened expectations were dashed when it was revealed that the work was actually by the mere mortal of an artist, Gregor Kregar who had created the Middle Earth structure.
Constructed out of eleven tonnes of recycled timber “Pavilion Structure” owes much to the traditional children’s tree house, the elegant European pavilion and the jerry built bachs of Waiheke.
The work has much in common with the artist’s previous work that sees him working within the area of the cultural landscape looking at architecture, cultural symbols and emblems with an element of playfulness and wit, giving the everyday object a surreal and mythic quality.
What made the work successful was the presence of two grass skirted female musician/ dancers / singers who performed mid-twentieth songs of the Pacific accompanied by some hula dancing. This bit of Pacific on Waiheke was a clever and witty take on colonialism, cultural appropriation and exploitation.
The most successful work of this sort was “Field Notes” by Carolyn Williams. Dozens of delicate metal rods suspended between the bough of a tree and the ground with each rod having a metal shape representing a sound which the artist had transcribed from sounds she had recorded in the environment around the tree. These shapes hovered in the air, a physical representation of the sounds one could hear.
Her work had a companion piece in Sharonagh Montrose’s “A Weave of Words” which consisted of a small grove in the bush where which the artist had created a soundscape which could have been pre recorded or sounds picked up from elsewhere on the trail and fed back into the grove.
Several of the works were interactive with works such as Aaron McConchie’s "I Am Auckland" ($11,430) which initially looked like a giant scrum machine. The work consists of three large wooden paddles which can be manually manipulated by levers. The work is like a primitive form of semaphore, enabling participants to signal across the harbour to those on the mainland.
The most innovative of these notions about communication is Kazu Nakagawa’s “A Play – Catwalk” in which the artist has chosen two curators who in turn have designed costumes to perform on the large outdoor catwalk. The whole piece is a combination of fashion show and promenade with the audience as spectators, voyeurs and participants.
The 15 tracks of “Skytones: Songs of Montana” span more than a dozen albums dating back to 1997, according to Conrad contemporary cowboy songwriter Wylie Gustafson. The album includes “My Home’s in Montana,” voted among the top five Montana songs in a recent Tribune readers’ poll.
Gustafson’s brand of Western music is rooted in tradition yet embraces broader influences as well.
“I’ve made a concerted effort to bring cowboy music to a contemporary crowd,” he related in a recent phone interview. “That’s the great thing about American music. We have so many influences to draw from.”
“I think you develop an acute awareness for the outdoors and the beauty of the landscape just by bein’ a rancher,” Gustafson said. “It becomes this theme and this pulse of your life. The beauty really weaves itself into your psyche.”
Gustafson, raised on a cattle ranch near Conrad, noted the natural environment plays an active role in shaping the culture of the ranching and the agricultural community.
“Montanans are very unique, you know,” he said. “They’re very independent yet friendly with a sense of humor. You have to have a sense of humor equal to Mother Nature’s sense of humor. I think Mother Nature humbles you time and time again. You’re not in control.”
The driven rocker “Buck Up and Huck It” and the spirited “Hi-Line Polka” pay tribute to the hearty character of Hi-Line folks. Songs that clarify the spiritual power of landscapes include the serene “Grace,” which describes a mysterious connectedness to the land, and the reverent “I Get High,” which reveals sublime feelings inspired by Montana’s natural beauty.
“The Yodeling Fool” is an autobiographical account of a young Montana kid chasing perceived greener pastures outside the state. In “Montana Love Song,” Gustafson employs the metaphor of Montana as a lover. Gustafson described “Big Sky Lullaby,” a slow yodel, as “a sonic reflection of the beauty of Montana.”
“I tried to capture the loneliness and beauty of the landscape through just a melody,” he explained further. “It’s just an emotion.”
Gustafson said the release of “Skytones” at this stage in his 40-year music career is a retrospective realization prompted by the return to his native state four years ago after an absence of 20 years.
“If you wanna figure out how much you love something, go away from it,” Gustafson mused. “Looking back, the theme of Montana is so prevalent and such a key part of the foundation of my songwriting. It’s all I care about in terms of place.”
Nowhere in the publicity did it say that Peter Jackson had entered a work in the Sculpture on the Gulf exhibition. But there it was, on the headland, a Hobbit building complete with squealing Hobbit children prancing around and playing on the swings which hung from the creaking construction, cobbled together from bits of timber.
But these heightened expectations were dashed when it was revealed that the work was actually by the mere mortal of an artist, Gregor Kregar who had created the Middle Earth structure.
Constructed out of eleven tonnes of recycled timber “Pavilion Structure” owes much to the traditional children’s tree house, the elegant European pavilion and the jerry built bachs of Waiheke.
The work has much in common with the artist’s previous work that sees him working within the area of the cultural landscape looking at architecture, cultural symbols and emblems with an element of playfulness and wit, giving the everyday object a surreal and mythic quality.
What made the work successful was the presence of two grass skirted female musician/ dancers / singers who performed mid-twentieth songs of the Pacific accompanied by some hula dancing. This bit of Pacific on Waiheke was a clever and witty take on colonialism, cultural appropriation and exploitation.
The most successful work of this sort was “Field Notes” by Carolyn Williams. Dozens of delicate metal rods suspended between the bough of a tree and the ground with each rod having a metal shape representing a sound which the artist had transcribed from sounds she had recorded in the environment around the tree. These shapes hovered in the air, a physical representation of the sounds one could hear.
Her work had a companion piece in Sharonagh Montrose’s “A Weave of Words” which consisted of a small grove in the bush where which the artist had created a soundscape which could have been pre recorded or sounds picked up from elsewhere on the trail and fed back into the grove.
Several of the works were interactive with works such as Aaron McConchie’s "I Am Auckland" ($11,430) which initially looked like a giant scrum machine. The work consists of three large wooden paddles which can be manually manipulated by levers. The work is like a primitive form of semaphore, enabling participants to signal across the harbour to those on the mainland.
The most innovative of these notions about communication is Kazu Nakagawa’s “A Play – Catwalk” in which the artist has chosen two curators who in turn have designed costumes to perform on the large outdoor catwalk. The whole piece is a combination of fashion show and promenade with the audience as spectators, voyeurs and participants.
Kazem and Abdulaziz talk about the future of art in the UAE
Two voices pierce this din: the Dubai-based Mohammed Kazem, a former student of Hassan Sharif and a pillar of the Group of Five, recently nominated to represent the UAE at the 55th Venice Biennale; and Kazem's one-time student, Ebtisam Abdulaziz, a distinguished Sharjah-based artist with a string of biennials to her credit, and who is participating in the Delfina Foundation's Artist-in-Residence, which has just started in Dubai.
Observing these two generations of Emirati artists in an interview at Kazem's studio, one is struck by the confident continuity of shared beliefs - in the importance of education, the value of their artistic heritage - punctuated by some critical differences of opinion. As the double interview unfolds, we get a privileged view of the state of UAE art, its phantoms and its promise.
The Group of Five was the UAE's first art scene. Three generations passed through the group's hands, from the founder Hassan Sharif in the late 1970s through to Mohammed Kazem in the 1980s, down to Ebtisam Abdulaziz and her contemporaries in the early 2000s. United by a contemporary vision at a time when arts in the UAE were anything but, the early group members took teaching as seriously as they did art.
Under Kazem's eyes, the group's Open Studio was a welcome gift for fledgling artists at the time. "I did not receive any kind of art education in school," recalls Abdulaziz. "I felt I had talent, but no one helped me work on it and develop it.
"The group influenced me a lot. I had reached a point where painting wasn't enough, so I sought your help [addressing Mohammed Kazem]. I remember you gave me one of Hassan's books about Systemic Art, and this helped me overcome that obstacle."
Such opportunity is rare today, as the educational flame sparked by the group has dwindled. Abdulaziz believes artists themselves should resume this cause, whereas Kazem points to institutions. "Education policy should change," he insists, "for the simple reason that we now have numerous art institutions and the already famous Sharjah Biennale. We need to make a gradual inclusion of art into education."
Almost every discussion is riddled with the word "gap". Abdulaziz boasts having a "scan" on the new generation of Emirati artists, through seminars she organised at the Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah. Yet she seems perplexed by their ahistorical stance.
"I remember I was a judge in a photography competition in 2007. I was surprised that most photographers were unaware of the medium's founding artists. They use the tools, the materials, without knowing why."
The evident complicity between these two generations seems on the verge of extinction. "Today, most arts graduates are more European," remarks Abdulaziz, "and less affiliated with their own society, in terms of the way they think and their connection with the older generation of artists. Most of them don't even know Hassan Sharif!"
Far from hollow nostalgia, both Kazem and Abdulaziz believe understanding previous generations' work dictates how an artist will influence subsequent generations. "Hassan's generation gave me something I still use today," explains Abdulaziz, "and I learnt the artist's role is not just to produce a work, but to give something back to society."
Perhaps stemming from this early influence, their own works present obvious overlaps, such as the use of data and numbers, and a pronounced autobiographical slant. Both evoke thorny social concerns (Abdulaziz's sly swipes at consumerist society; Kazem's continuing examination of control and boundaries), yet they remain divided on art's fundamental role. "The function of art is to present problems," maintains Abdulaziz, "and find solutions through the work itself." Philosophically, the 43-year-old Kazem retorts: "An artist cannot solve social and political issues."
Each artist is now poised for global recognition - there is Kazem's solo show at Venice, while Abdulaziz is involved with Delfina Foundation's Artist-in-Residence programme, among other international pursuits. She is currently working on a project which will be shown at Art Dubai in March. In this context, Abdulaziz asks a final question: "Has UAE contemporary art arrived at a level that we, as artists, hope for?"
Last week witnessed another vibrant artistic evening at Koel Art Gallery where the fresh exhibition took off with the title “Intimacy”. This exhibition, that attracted a lot of crowd associated with different segments of society and all walks of life, showcased the work of five artists: women who have worked either directly with processes of abstraction, or who have turned to non-figural gesture in recent years. The exhibition attended to a quieter region of feeling, work that is, in itself, solitary, slow timed, process-based, work that suggests intimacy, the realm of the sensual, within a meditative aesthetic. It was, at once, a manner of exploration, an acknowledgment, and a conversation between the five. Selected artists included Ayessha Quraishi, Lala Rukh, Meher Afroz, Mussarat Mirza, and Naiza H. Khan. Selected genres included landscape and contemplative art.
The Artistic Director National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) Zain Ahmed declared, during a press conference, the other day that the institute would present five projects in February (from Jan 31 to Feb 24) at its in-house theatre. Mr. Ahmed said the February series would begin with an Urdu translation of Shakespeare‘s The Merchant of Venice‘ (Venice Ka Sodagar) directed by Akbarul Islam from Jan 31 to Feb 3. The play would be followed by ‘Manto Aur Ghalib: Aik Guftugu‘ from Fe 8 to Feb 10. He said the dialogue between n Manto and Ghalib, collaborated by the Napa theatre and music departments, was also presented in Kolkata on Jan 11 and was well received. He informed journalists that the project drew upon the similarities of the two greats of Urdu literature as Manto was inspired by partition of the subcontinent and Ghalib by the 1857 mutiny.
Mr Ahmed said from Feb 15 ‘Zard Patton Ka Bunn, An Evening of Faiz‘ would be presented for three days. The music for the project is composed by Arshad Mahmood. From Feb 19 two short plays ‘Salgirah‘ and ‘Shaam Bhi Thi Dhuan Dhuan‘ would be staged for a couple of days (and would also be presented in Lahore and Islamabad in the same month). The final event was based on Hazrat Amir Khusrau‘s creative endeavours to be produced for three days from Feb 22.
Observing these two generations of Emirati artists in an interview at Kazem's studio, one is struck by the confident continuity of shared beliefs - in the importance of education, the value of their artistic heritage - punctuated by some critical differences of opinion. As the double interview unfolds, we get a privileged view of the state of UAE art, its phantoms and its promise.
The Group of Five was the UAE's first art scene. Three generations passed through the group's hands, from the founder Hassan Sharif in the late 1970s through to Mohammed Kazem in the 1980s, down to Ebtisam Abdulaziz and her contemporaries in the early 2000s. United by a contemporary vision at a time when arts in the UAE were anything but, the early group members took teaching as seriously as they did art.
Under Kazem's eyes, the group's Open Studio was a welcome gift for fledgling artists at the time. "I did not receive any kind of art education in school," recalls Abdulaziz. "I felt I had talent, but no one helped me work on it and develop it.
"The group influenced me a lot. I had reached a point where painting wasn't enough, so I sought your help [addressing Mohammed Kazem]. I remember you gave me one of Hassan's books about Systemic Art, and this helped me overcome that obstacle."
Such opportunity is rare today, as the educational flame sparked by the group has dwindled. Abdulaziz believes artists themselves should resume this cause, whereas Kazem points to institutions. "Education policy should change," he insists, "for the simple reason that we now have numerous art institutions and the already famous Sharjah Biennale. We need to make a gradual inclusion of art into education."
Almost every discussion is riddled with the word "gap". Abdulaziz boasts having a "scan" on the new generation of Emirati artists, through seminars she organised at the Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah. Yet she seems perplexed by their ahistorical stance.
"I remember I was a judge in a photography competition in 2007. I was surprised that most photographers were unaware of the medium's founding artists. They use the tools, the materials, without knowing why."
The evident complicity between these two generations seems on the verge of extinction. "Today, most arts graduates are more European," remarks Abdulaziz, "and less affiliated with their own society, in terms of the way they think and their connection with the older generation of artists. Most of them don't even know Hassan Sharif!"
Far from hollow nostalgia, both Kazem and Abdulaziz believe understanding previous generations' work dictates how an artist will influence subsequent generations. "Hassan's generation gave me something I still use today," explains Abdulaziz, "and I learnt the artist's role is not just to produce a work, but to give something back to society."
Perhaps stemming from this early influence, their own works present obvious overlaps, such as the use of data and numbers, and a pronounced autobiographical slant. Both evoke thorny social concerns (Abdulaziz's sly swipes at consumerist society; Kazem's continuing examination of control and boundaries), yet they remain divided on art's fundamental role. "The function of art is to present problems," maintains Abdulaziz, "and find solutions through the work itself." Philosophically, the 43-year-old Kazem retorts: "An artist cannot solve social and political issues."
Each artist is now poised for global recognition - there is Kazem's solo show at Venice, while Abdulaziz is involved with Delfina Foundation's Artist-in-Residence programme, among other international pursuits. She is currently working on a project which will be shown at Art Dubai in March. In this context, Abdulaziz asks a final question: "Has UAE contemporary art arrived at a level that we, as artists, hope for?"
Last week witnessed another vibrant artistic evening at Koel Art Gallery where the fresh exhibition took off with the title “Intimacy”. This exhibition, that attracted a lot of crowd associated with different segments of society and all walks of life, showcased the work of five artists: women who have worked either directly with processes of abstraction, or who have turned to non-figural gesture in recent years. The exhibition attended to a quieter region of feeling, work that is, in itself, solitary, slow timed, process-based, work that suggests intimacy, the realm of the sensual, within a meditative aesthetic. It was, at once, a manner of exploration, an acknowledgment, and a conversation between the five. Selected artists included Ayessha Quraishi, Lala Rukh, Meher Afroz, Mussarat Mirza, and Naiza H. Khan. Selected genres included landscape and contemplative art.
The Artistic Director National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) Zain Ahmed declared, during a press conference, the other day that the institute would present five projects in February (from Jan 31 to Feb 24) at its in-house theatre. Mr. Ahmed said the February series would begin with an Urdu translation of Shakespeare‘s The Merchant of Venice‘ (Venice Ka Sodagar) directed by Akbarul Islam from Jan 31 to Feb 3. The play would be followed by ‘Manto Aur Ghalib: Aik Guftugu‘ from Fe 8 to Feb 10. He said the dialogue between n Manto and Ghalib, collaborated by the Napa theatre and music departments, was also presented in Kolkata on Jan 11 and was well received. He informed journalists that the project drew upon the similarities of the two greats of Urdu literature as Manto was inspired by partition of the subcontinent and Ghalib by the 1857 mutiny.
Mr Ahmed said from Feb 15 ‘Zard Patton Ka Bunn, An Evening of Faiz‘ would be presented for three days. The music for the project is composed by Arshad Mahmood. From Feb 19 two short plays ‘Salgirah‘ and ‘Shaam Bhi Thi Dhuan Dhuan‘ would be staged for a couple of days (and would also be presented in Lahore and Islamabad in the same month). The final event was based on Hazrat Amir Khusrau‘s creative endeavours to be produced for three days from Feb 22.
2013年1月25日星期五
Bilingual Island of Learning
On one side of the room, a woman crouches on the carpet with a young girl. They play with a herd of small plastic animals. Their interaction is simple, one that most people would remember from childhood. “?Cuál es el nombre de esta cosa?” (“What is the name of this animal?”) asks Lety Arroyo, the classroom’s Spanish language instructor. When the student does not answer, Arroyo says, “vaca” (cow), and the child repeats it. Arroyo then asks the girl to tell her what color the animal is. “Blanco,” the child answers, and she is correct. “Mooo,” Arroyo intones. The child responds with laughter.
Ten students between the ages of 3 and 6 populate the spacious, organized classroom of Castle Island Bilingual Montessori inside the Delaware Avenue Boys and Girls Club in Albany. Soothing classical music emanates from a stereo in the corner. Most of the class time is not officially scheduled; rather, the children are free to engage with whichever material interests them. Students designate their space by unrolling individual rugs on the carpeted floor to work on their lessons. The lead teacher, Patricia Ferry, and Arroyo walk around the classroom to supervise and provide individualized instruction.
Now in its first academic year, Castle Island Montessori is the first school in the Albany area to offer a Montessori-based education while also immersing students in both English and Spanish. According to its website, the school “believe[s] that the hands-on, learn at your own pace method of a Montessori education will support second language learning. While some of our students will come to us already bilingual, most will benefit from the Montessori environment as a safe place to acquire their second language in the context of our concrete materials.”
One student lays out 10 rods composed of small cubes on his mat. Each rod represents a number between one and 10. He arranges them in ascending order from left to right. “Let’s count together,” says Ferry. The boy places his hand on the first rod. “One,” they say in unison. Gently, Ferry places her hand on top of his, presumably to remind him to touch each cube individually and glean the full tactile effect of the exercise. “One, two,” they count the cubes on the second rod. When they reach five, Ferry exclaims “Whoa, you’re good at this!”
Once the student completes the exercise, Ferry asks him if he wants to match numerals (cards with each number printed on it) with the corresponding rods. He hops up and heads for the mathematics shelf to collect the numeral cards. This exercise starts the same way as the previous one, beside the added wrinkle of placing the numeral card at the base of each rod after making an accurate count. This time the student counts alone. “I like the way you do that,” says Ferry as he reaches four. Emboldened by success, the student begins to count the rods less methodically without the need to touch each cube. “Can we do it slowly? Can you count with me?” asks Ferry.
“What’s the second sound in leg?” asks a nearby student. “Luh-EH EH EH,” pronounces Ferry, unfazed by the sort of harmless intrusion that likely happens to her a dozen times daily. The student gets the clue and arranges the letters on the tablet in front of him to aggregate the sounds into a word that at his age and skill level, he probably wouldn’t have been able to legibly compose with a pencil on paper.
“Can we do it slowly?” repeats Ferry to the first student who, by this time, is harvesting diminishing returns on his counting exercise. “Can you count with me?”
“I just want to count fast,” he pleads, clearly frustrated. “When you count fast you don’t touch the rods,” reminds Ferry. After a few seconds it is apparent that they have reached a standoff worthy of a spaghetti western. Ferry asks him if he is done with his work, and he nods in the affirmative. “I like the way you do that—so tidy,” she remarks as he carefully brings the rods back to the shelf in order from one to 10.
Castle Island Montessori has written a curriculum that flouts traditional models for education. Contemporary public education in the United States, some educators believe, is riddled with rigid, harshly quantifiable benchmarks that are supposed to evaluate how well our children learn. Just as a corporate executive is singularly responsible for his company’s bottom line, teachers are often judged based on their ability to shepherd their diverse array of students through a homogenous maze of standardized testing.
This approach enjoys largely bipartisan support. President Barack Obama’s comprehensive education plan Race to the Top reiterates the central tenet of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind: The best way to gauge our collective educational progress is by rigorous, annual testing, even for children as young as 4 years old. In a letter that became the focal point of a New York Times “Sunday Dialogue” conversation regarding educational reform, high-school author Nikhil Goyal laments that our schools have become “test-preparation factories with a stress on drill, kill, bubble-fill methods.” Legislators are forcing teachers into a results-oriented approach with a very inflexible definition of “results.”
At Castle Island, the dynamic processes that spark a child’s mind are as important as the end result. “Montessori teachers are trained to do specific things to show the process behind a lesson,” says Ferry. “This is a whole sensorial, tactile way of doing things.”
“Montessori provides for social, emotional, and creative development with equal weight,” adds Diane Nickerson, Castle Island’s director. “The curriculum follows the child, as opposed to the child following a standardized state- or district-mandated academic-only curriculum.”
Skeptics might be tempted to dismiss these claims as idealized rhetoric to prop up a utopian ideal of a classroom that seems unable to exist in today’s world. It is, however, harder to question the efficacy of the Montessori method after seeing it in action. It is surprising how much autonomy each child wields over his or her lesson. Why was it beneficial for the child learning to count to be allowed to stop partway through? According to Montessori theory, if a young child has exhausted interest in a lesson, he or she will gain almost nothing from an instructor trying to hammer it into his or her head. Considering the many other options for valuable alternative lessons, it makes sense that exploring a fresh topic might be a more efficient use of time than drilling an exercise that is no longer stimulating the student. This sort of flexible agenda is less feasible logistically in a public-school classroom with one teacher and 23 chattering children facing a looming standardized exam.
One of the main reasons the Castle Island staff extols the virtues of exploratory learning is to catalyze children’s progress during “sensitive periods,” or times during young children’s intellectual development when they show a special proclivity toward mastering skills in a certain subject area. The staff stays vigilant for signs of rapid progress. “If I’ve noticed a student really taking off in math, I’ll facilitate his or her sensitive period in math. I’ll take them to the next level by challenging them with higher level work,” says Ferry.
The students at Castle Island are an exceedingly chipper bunch, but not even lining up to play in the gymnasium elicits the sort of unbridled excitement that Arroyo’s Spanish circle time sparks. Circle time begins with a song sung entirely in Spanish, with a rousing chorus of “Buenos dias!” Some eager soloists are serenaded with enthusiastic applause from the rest of the circle. Arroyo leads the entire class in this way—a fully immersive, interdisciplinary session where no English is spoken; even the instructions are in Spanish.
Arroyo has seamlessly incorporated science and mathematics into the lesson as she presents graphical representations of various flowers. She says their names in Spanish, and the children repeat them back to her. Next, the students identify the type of flower by name and color. Arroyo reminds the children of a poster they completed detailing the anatomy of the flower. Unlike most children around the age of 6, they are able to point out the stamen of the plant—en Espanol. Arroyo reinforces the students’ mathematical progress by encouraging them to join her in counting the petals of the flower. Afterward, the students identify pictures of geometric shapes (“Triangulo!”) with the sort of regularity that pleases their instructor (“Excellente!”). Finally, the students engage in an alphabet exercise in which they articulate the letter pictured on a flash card, vocalize its primary sound three times and call out the animal pictured under the letter. Although a majority of the students are native English speakers, none of the them are merely learning Spanish—they are learning in Spanish.
Ten students between the ages of 3 and 6 populate the spacious, organized classroom of Castle Island Bilingual Montessori inside the Delaware Avenue Boys and Girls Club in Albany. Soothing classical music emanates from a stereo in the corner. Most of the class time is not officially scheduled; rather, the children are free to engage with whichever material interests them. Students designate their space by unrolling individual rugs on the carpeted floor to work on their lessons. The lead teacher, Patricia Ferry, and Arroyo walk around the classroom to supervise and provide individualized instruction.
Now in its first academic year, Castle Island Montessori is the first school in the Albany area to offer a Montessori-based education while also immersing students in both English and Spanish. According to its website, the school “believe[s] that the hands-on, learn at your own pace method of a Montessori education will support second language learning. While some of our students will come to us already bilingual, most will benefit from the Montessori environment as a safe place to acquire their second language in the context of our concrete materials.”
One student lays out 10 rods composed of small cubes on his mat. Each rod represents a number between one and 10. He arranges them in ascending order from left to right. “Let’s count together,” says Ferry. The boy places his hand on the first rod. “One,” they say in unison. Gently, Ferry places her hand on top of his, presumably to remind him to touch each cube individually and glean the full tactile effect of the exercise. “One, two,” they count the cubes on the second rod. When they reach five, Ferry exclaims “Whoa, you’re good at this!”
Once the student completes the exercise, Ferry asks him if he wants to match numerals (cards with each number printed on it) with the corresponding rods. He hops up and heads for the mathematics shelf to collect the numeral cards. This exercise starts the same way as the previous one, beside the added wrinkle of placing the numeral card at the base of each rod after making an accurate count. This time the student counts alone. “I like the way you do that,” says Ferry as he reaches four. Emboldened by success, the student begins to count the rods less methodically without the need to touch each cube. “Can we do it slowly? Can you count with me?” asks Ferry.
“What’s the second sound in leg?” asks a nearby student. “Luh-EH EH EH,” pronounces Ferry, unfazed by the sort of harmless intrusion that likely happens to her a dozen times daily. The student gets the clue and arranges the letters on the tablet in front of him to aggregate the sounds into a word that at his age and skill level, he probably wouldn’t have been able to legibly compose with a pencil on paper.
“Can we do it slowly?” repeats Ferry to the first student who, by this time, is harvesting diminishing returns on his counting exercise. “Can you count with me?”
“I just want to count fast,” he pleads, clearly frustrated. “When you count fast you don’t touch the rods,” reminds Ferry. After a few seconds it is apparent that they have reached a standoff worthy of a spaghetti western. Ferry asks him if he is done with his work, and he nods in the affirmative. “I like the way you do that—so tidy,” she remarks as he carefully brings the rods back to the shelf in order from one to 10.
Castle Island Montessori has written a curriculum that flouts traditional models for education. Contemporary public education in the United States, some educators believe, is riddled with rigid, harshly quantifiable benchmarks that are supposed to evaluate how well our children learn. Just as a corporate executive is singularly responsible for his company’s bottom line, teachers are often judged based on their ability to shepherd their diverse array of students through a homogenous maze of standardized testing.
This approach enjoys largely bipartisan support. President Barack Obama’s comprehensive education plan Race to the Top reiterates the central tenet of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind: The best way to gauge our collective educational progress is by rigorous, annual testing, even for children as young as 4 years old. In a letter that became the focal point of a New York Times “Sunday Dialogue” conversation regarding educational reform, high-school author Nikhil Goyal laments that our schools have become “test-preparation factories with a stress on drill, kill, bubble-fill methods.” Legislators are forcing teachers into a results-oriented approach with a very inflexible definition of “results.”
At Castle Island, the dynamic processes that spark a child’s mind are as important as the end result. “Montessori teachers are trained to do specific things to show the process behind a lesson,” says Ferry. “This is a whole sensorial, tactile way of doing things.”
“Montessori provides for social, emotional, and creative development with equal weight,” adds Diane Nickerson, Castle Island’s director. “The curriculum follows the child, as opposed to the child following a standardized state- or district-mandated academic-only curriculum.”
Skeptics might be tempted to dismiss these claims as idealized rhetoric to prop up a utopian ideal of a classroom that seems unable to exist in today’s world. It is, however, harder to question the efficacy of the Montessori method after seeing it in action. It is surprising how much autonomy each child wields over his or her lesson. Why was it beneficial for the child learning to count to be allowed to stop partway through? According to Montessori theory, if a young child has exhausted interest in a lesson, he or she will gain almost nothing from an instructor trying to hammer it into his or her head. Considering the many other options for valuable alternative lessons, it makes sense that exploring a fresh topic might be a more efficient use of time than drilling an exercise that is no longer stimulating the student. This sort of flexible agenda is less feasible logistically in a public-school classroom with one teacher and 23 chattering children facing a looming standardized exam.
One of the main reasons the Castle Island staff extols the virtues of exploratory learning is to catalyze children’s progress during “sensitive periods,” or times during young children’s intellectual development when they show a special proclivity toward mastering skills in a certain subject area. The staff stays vigilant for signs of rapid progress. “If I’ve noticed a student really taking off in math, I’ll facilitate his or her sensitive period in math. I’ll take them to the next level by challenging them with higher level work,” says Ferry.
The students at Castle Island are an exceedingly chipper bunch, but not even lining up to play in the gymnasium elicits the sort of unbridled excitement that Arroyo’s Spanish circle time sparks. Circle time begins with a song sung entirely in Spanish, with a rousing chorus of “Buenos dias!” Some eager soloists are serenaded with enthusiastic applause from the rest of the circle. Arroyo leads the entire class in this way—a fully immersive, interdisciplinary session where no English is spoken; even the instructions are in Spanish.
Arroyo has seamlessly incorporated science and mathematics into the lesson as she presents graphical representations of various flowers. She says their names in Spanish, and the children repeat them back to her. Next, the students identify the type of flower by name and color. Arroyo reminds the children of a poster they completed detailing the anatomy of the flower. Unlike most children around the age of 6, they are able to point out the stamen of the plant—en Espanol. Arroyo reinforces the students’ mathematical progress by encouraging them to join her in counting the petals of the flower. Afterward, the students identify pictures of geometric shapes (“Triangulo!”) with the sort of regularity that pleases their instructor (“Excellente!”). Finally, the students engage in an alphabet exercise in which they articulate the letter pictured on a flash card, vocalize its primary sound three times and call out the animal pictured under the letter. Although a majority of the students are native English speakers, none of the them are merely learning Spanish—they are learning in Spanish.
The Big Leap
Russell Wilson arrived at the Senior Bowl last year and began wowing NFL executives and coaches with a combination of athleticism, poise and preparation that forced them to look beyond his 5-foot-10 inch shortcoming. Few people outside of NFL front offices noticed.
Two of the most impressive young quarterbacks in the NFL launched their careers in Mobile, where more than 100 college seniors endure a grueling week of practices and interviews in preparation for Saturday’s Senior Bowl all-star game, as well as the upcoming draft process. The practices are open to the public and televised on NFL Network. The players are made available for dozens of media interviews when they are not being cornered by coaches or scouts. There are plenty of opportunities for draftniks and armchair scouts to spot the next big thing. Yet no one really noticed Wilson or Kaepernick.
Ryan Nassib does not look comfortable. His passes sail high, beyond receivers’ fingertips, during 7-and-7 and full-squad drills. When he throws while rolling out, the pass tails toward the sideline. He keeps making some of the little mistakes that scouts harp on, the ones that push the football a few precious feet off target: over-stepping with his feet, dropping his arm.
As the Tuesday morning practice wears on, however, Nassib settles down. He connects with Alec Lemon, his Syracuse teammate, on a pretty pass up the sideline. He finds tight end Jack Doyle with a pair of tight passes up the seam. Tuesday’s gains disappear on Wednesday, as Nassib again spends the early drills of practice overthrowing receivers.
Quarterbacks have it rough at the Senior Bowl. They arrive on Sunday, receive a bare-bones playbook, meet most of their receivers for the first time (Nassib at least knows Lemon), and are expected to throw perfect passes by Monday morning. The resulting overthrows and miscommunication can be mistaken for ineptitude; a quarterback who threw for 9,190 yards and helped turn a major program around (as Nassib did) can suddenly look like he is stepping onto the field for the first time.
Coaches and team scouts want to see the quarterbacks adjust and improve as the week goes on, and how they handle the demands is judged just as carefully as how they throw the football. “How do they carry themselves behind the scenes?” asked Oakland Raiders/North Squad coach Dennis Allen, explaining the off-field evaluation process. “We’re looking for leadership qualities.” The Russell Wilson story began not with rocket passes on a practice field, but with a take-charge attitude in the meeting rooms. A player like Nassib can erase Tuesday memories with poise and precision on Wednesday; Nassib did not quite step backward, but he did not take the leap forward that teams want to see.
Scouts like a lot of what they saw from Nassib at Syracuse, where he displayed a good arm, sound management skills and enough running ability to make read-option strategies a viable once-in-a-while weapon. He was getting first-round grades before Senior Bowl week (the Buffalo Bills, coached by former Syracuse coach Doug Marrone, possess the eighth pick in the draft), and a few overthrows and mechanical lapses won’t change that. Inconsistent practices left Nassib unable to put the exclamation point next to his qualifications.
The successes of Wilson and Kaepernick, plus Robert Griffin and Andrew Luck, could be seen by a prospect as increased opportunities. The days of two-year mentorships appear long gone, and a capable quarterback can have success right away. It can also be seen as increased pressure. Nassib is not looking that far into the future. “I’m not really sure,” he said, when asked how the success of other young passers affects his expectations.
Nassib is sure that he could help a team with both his arms and legs if called upon. “That’s something I’ve done in the past and feel I can do,” he said about the option tactics that helped Kaepernick vault the 49ers into the Super Bowl. His sense of timing, however, sounds a little old-fashioned for a league where a third-round pick can find himself in a playoff duel for the ages and a quarterback’s 10th career start can be in the Super Bowl. “It’s going to take some growing pains, some time to learn,” Nassib said about the transition to the NFL. “You’ve got to do that whenever you go to a new football team.”
Manuel threw for 3,392 yards for Florida State last year, but he also rushed for 310 yards and four touchdowns, with much of that production coming on designed plays. Manual executed an up-tempo, high-tech offense for the Seminoles; game plans contained everything from conventional I-formation sets to elaborate shotgun options.
A few years ago, success in such a system would be a red flag: the scrambling, gadget-dependent quarterbacks would face a tough adjustment to the NFL. Now, the NFL is adjusting to the quarterbacks. Florida State’s offense looks, superficially, like the Seahawks offense, and as collegiate tacticians like Chip Kelly take NFL coaching jobs, the opportunities for all-purpose quarterbacks like Manuel increase.
It’s the Senior Bowl script that has become an anachronism: strict limitations are put on formations and game plans, and the realities of assembling 50 guys from around the nation and getting them to play as a unit limit how much exotic stuff coaches would dare put into a game plan, even if they were allowed. For Manuel, that means only being able to show a fraction of what he does well.
Two of the most impressive young quarterbacks in the NFL launched their careers in Mobile, where more than 100 college seniors endure a grueling week of practices and interviews in preparation for Saturday’s Senior Bowl all-star game, as well as the upcoming draft process. The practices are open to the public and televised on NFL Network. The players are made available for dozens of media interviews when they are not being cornered by coaches or scouts. There are plenty of opportunities for draftniks and armchair scouts to spot the next big thing. Yet no one really noticed Wilson or Kaepernick.
Ryan Nassib does not look comfortable. His passes sail high, beyond receivers’ fingertips, during 7-and-7 and full-squad drills. When he throws while rolling out, the pass tails toward the sideline. He keeps making some of the little mistakes that scouts harp on, the ones that push the football a few precious feet off target: over-stepping with his feet, dropping his arm.
As the Tuesday morning practice wears on, however, Nassib settles down. He connects with Alec Lemon, his Syracuse teammate, on a pretty pass up the sideline. He finds tight end Jack Doyle with a pair of tight passes up the seam. Tuesday’s gains disappear on Wednesday, as Nassib again spends the early drills of practice overthrowing receivers.
Quarterbacks have it rough at the Senior Bowl. They arrive on Sunday, receive a bare-bones playbook, meet most of their receivers for the first time (Nassib at least knows Lemon), and are expected to throw perfect passes by Monday morning. The resulting overthrows and miscommunication can be mistaken for ineptitude; a quarterback who threw for 9,190 yards and helped turn a major program around (as Nassib did) can suddenly look like he is stepping onto the field for the first time.
Coaches and team scouts want to see the quarterbacks adjust and improve as the week goes on, and how they handle the demands is judged just as carefully as how they throw the football. “How do they carry themselves behind the scenes?” asked Oakland Raiders/North Squad coach Dennis Allen, explaining the off-field evaluation process. “We’re looking for leadership qualities.” The Russell Wilson story began not with rocket passes on a practice field, but with a take-charge attitude in the meeting rooms. A player like Nassib can erase Tuesday memories with poise and precision on Wednesday; Nassib did not quite step backward, but he did not take the leap forward that teams want to see.
Scouts like a lot of what they saw from Nassib at Syracuse, where he displayed a good arm, sound management skills and enough running ability to make read-option strategies a viable once-in-a-while weapon. He was getting first-round grades before Senior Bowl week (the Buffalo Bills, coached by former Syracuse coach Doug Marrone, possess the eighth pick in the draft), and a few overthrows and mechanical lapses won’t change that. Inconsistent practices left Nassib unable to put the exclamation point next to his qualifications.
The successes of Wilson and Kaepernick, plus Robert Griffin and Andrew Luck, could be seen by a prospect as increased opportunities. The days of two-year mentorships appear long gone, and a capable quarterback can have success right away. It can also be seen as increased pressure. Nassib is not looking that far into the future. “I’m not really sure,” he said, when asked how the success of other young passers affects his expectations.
Nassib is sure that he could help a team with both his arms and legs if called upon. “That’s something I’ve done in the past and feel I can do,” he said about the option tactics that helped Kaepernick vault the 49ers into the Super Bowl. His sense of timing, however, sounds a little old-fashioned for a league where a third-round pick can find himself in a playoff duel for the ages and a quarterback’s 10th career start can be in the Super Bowl. “It’s going to take some growing pains, some time to learn,” Nassib said about the transition to the NFL. “You’ve got to do that whenever you go to a new football team.”
Manuel threw for 3,392 yards for Florida State last year, but he also rushed for 310 yards and four touchdowns, with much of that production coming on designed plays. Manual executed an up-tempo, high-tech offense for the Seminoles; game plans contained everything from conventional I-formation sets to elaborate shotgun options.
A few years ago, success in such a system would be a red flag: the scrambling, gadget-dependent quarterbacks would face a tough adjustment to the NFL. Now, the NFL is adjusting to the quarterbacks. Florida State’s offense looks, superficially, like the Seahawks offense, and as collegiate tacticians like Chip Kelly take NFL coaching jobs, the opportunities for all-purpose quarterbacks like Manuel increase.
It’s the Senior Bowl script that has become an anachronism: strict limitations are put on formations and game plans, and the realities of assembling 50 guys from around the nation and getting them to play as a unit limit how much exotic stuff coaches would dare put into a game plan, even if they were allowed. For Manuel, that means only being able to show a fraction of what he does well.
2013年1月21日星期一
Location of Joe Paterno statue remains a mystery
In the months after Paterno’s death, the site along Porter Road had become a makeshift memorial for distraught students and alumni seeking closure. But the university feared the statue became a lightning rod when the Louis Freeh report implicated Paterno and other top Penn State officials in a cover-up of child sexual abuse. The acts were perpetrated by longtime Paterno assistant and now-convicted pedophile Jerry Sandusky.
And so Penn State workers armed with jackhammers and a forklift removed the controversial statue from the public eye as the sun rose on July 22, while much of State College slept. Since then, the questions about where the statue was taken haven’t stopped.
“I get asked about it all the time,” said Lou Prato, a Penn State historian and the former director of the Penn State All-Sports Museum. “I just get asked about it as if I’m supposed to know.”
But Prato doesn’t know. In fact, there may be only a handful of people who can say with certainty where the statue rests — and they aren’t talking.
“The scope of the crime is so horrible, so huge that any mention of the statue just awakens feelings,” Di Maria said. “It’s too sensitive an issue, too horrible of a crime. The feelings are still running very hard.”
“I have to put my art on the back-burner,” he continued. “This thing is all about the children, the victims. That’s the priority. That healing has to happen. I can deal with the loss of the statue.”
But the decorated sculptor, who was born in Sicily, still believes his work will resurface one day. “It may be a while, maybe 25 years down the road,” he said.
When the statue first disappeared into Beaver Stadium, many assumed it would resurface at the All-Sports Museum. But Prato doesn’t see that happening in the immediate future.
Perhaps the university is concerned about safety, he said. Before the statue came down, a plane owned by an Ohio advertising agency flew over State College with a banner demanding the statue’s removal. “That was a real threat,” Prato said. “It wasn’t a joke.”
Still, with no official word from the university a year after Paterno’s death, many are left to simply speculate.
“If they destroyed it, that would be stupid because the trials (for former Penn State President Graham Spanier and administrators Gary Schultz and Tim Curley) haven’t even taken place,” Prato said. “They sure as heck didn’t put it in a tractor-trailer and move it out of the area. It’s probably in some building on campus. And if not, some secretive place.”
Congratulations to Alexander Tsiaras for communicating the beauty and complexity of fetal development. But the message he delivers -- "it's a mystery, it's magic, it's divinity" -- is mistaken.
Just watching a fetus develop, though a vital first step, can't by itself tell us how development comes about. In fact relying on visual appearances, as Tsiaras does, can be misleading. For example, the video states that the sex of the fetus is not determined until after 12 weeks, when you can actually see the difference between the male and female genitals. Yet the fetus's sex is already determined at conception -- by whether or not it inherits the sex-determining gene SRY, which is located on the Y chromosome. This discovery has made possible the use of IVF technology to implant, say, only female embryos -- a life-saving procedure if a couple's male offspring are at risk of some genetic disorder.
In fact -- although you'd never guess it from the video -- a great deal is already known about the actual mechanisms of development. Many Nobel prizes have been awarded for discoveries in this field. Molecular geneticists have identified genes that guide development, as well as their mechanisms of action and their evolution from similar genes in simpler organisms. Experimental embryologists, by transplanting cells or tissues from one bodily location to another, or from one animal to another, have deduced organizational rules by which tissues form. Many of the chemical signals and hormones and receptors that execute these rules have been identified. And contrary to Tsiaras' assertion that development lies beyond the possible comprehension of mathematicians, theoreticians (starting with Alan Turing) have developed computational models to explain how complex biological patterns and structures are organized.
Tsiaras is right when he says that the fetus' movements play a positive role in its development. But when he shows the emerging baby as launching itself from the birth canal with a forceful kick of its legs -- and already having jettisoned its umbilical cord -- he's presenting outright fantasy as fact. It's as if he wants to make a fetus the conscious captain of its own destiny, which it's not. In fact, calling a one-cell embryo a "baby," as Tsiaras does, projects his notion of conscious personhood back to the very day of conception.
When we gaze at the wonders of the natural world, be they growing fetuses or the scenery of Yosemite Valley or the stars over our heads, we should indeed be filled with awe. How could all this amazing beauty and complexity come about? Tsiaras believes that divine guidance must be at work. He not only says so in words, he also reinforces this message by his choice of religious music to accompany the video.
Fetal development is not completely understood, but much is known, and the rest is knowable, and none of it requires divine action. Does it diminish our admiration of Yosemite to know how cyclical changes in Earth's orbit brought on ice ages and glaciers that then carved out those spectacular cliffs? Does it make the night sky less radiant to know how gravity draws clouds of gas and dust into spinning balls of matter hot and dense enough to ignite nuclear fires? On the contrary, understanding how they came about makes them even richer objects of our admiration.
And so Penn State workers armed with jackhammers and a forklift removed the controversial statue from the public eye as the sun rose on July 22, while much of State College slept. Since then, the questions about where the statue was taken haven’t stopped.
“I get asked about it all the time,” said Lou Prato, a Penn State historian and the former director of the Penn State All-Sports Museum. “I just get asked about it as if I’m supposed to know.”
But Prato doesn’t know. In fact, there may be only a handful of people who can say with certainty where the statue rests — and they aren’t talking.
“The scope of the crime is so horrible, so huge that any mention of the statue just awakens feelings,” Di Maria said. “It’s too sensitive an issue, too horrible of a crime. The feelings are still running very hard.”
“I have to put my art on the back-burner,” he continued. “This thing is all about the children, the victims. That’s the priority. That healing has to happen. I can deal with the loss of the statue.”
But the decorated sculptor, who was born in Sicily, still believes his work will resurface one day. “It may be a while, maybe 25 years down the road,” he said.
When the statue first disappeared into Beaver Stadium, many assumed it would resurface at the All-Sports Museum. But Prato doesn’t see that happening in the immediate future.
Perhaps the university is concerned about safety, he said. Before the statue came down, a plane owned by an Ohio advertising agency flew over State College with a banner demanding the statue’s removal. “That was a real threat,” Prato said. “It wasn’t a joke.”
Still, with no official word from the university a year after Paterno’s death, many are left to simply speculate.
“If they destroyed it, that would be stupid because the trials (for former Penn State President Graham Spanier and administrators Gary Schultz and Tim Curley) haven’t even taken place,” Prato said. “They sure as heck didn’t put it in a tractor-trailer and move it out of the area. It’s probably in some building on campus. And if not, some secretive place.”
Congratulations to Alexander Tsiaras for communicating the beauty and complexity of fetal development. But the message he delivers -- "it's a mystery, it's magic, it's divinity" -- is mistaken.
Just watching a fetus develop, though a vital first step, can't by itself tell us how development comes about. In fact relying on visual appearances, as Tsiaras does, can be misleading. For example, the video states that the sex of the fetus is not determined until after 12 weeks, when you can actually see the difference between the male and female genitals. Yet the fetus's sex is already determined at conception -- by whether or not it inherits the sex-determining gene SRY, which is located on the Y chromosome. This discovery has made possible the use of IVF technology to implant, say, only female embryos -- a life-saving procedure if a couple's male offspring are at risk of some genetic disorder.
In fact -- although you'd never guess it from the video -- a great deal is already known about the actual mechanisms of development. Many Nobel prizes have been awarded for discoveries in this field. Molecular geneticists have identified genes that guide development, as well as their mechanisms of action and their evolution from similar genes in simpler organisms. Experimental embryologists, by transplanting cells or tissues from one bodily location to another, or from one animal to another, have deduced organizational rules by which tissues form. Many of the chemical signals and hormones and receptors that execute these rules have been identified. And contrary to Tsiaras' assertion that development lies beyond the possible comprehension of mathematicians, theoreticians (starting with Alan Turing) have developed computational models to explain how complex biological patterns and structures are organized.
Tsiaras is right when he says that the fetus' movements play a positive role in its development. But when he shows the emerging baby as launching itself from the birth canal with a forceful kick of its legs -- and already having jettisoned its umbilical cord -- he's presenting outright fantasy as fact. It's as if he wants to make a fetus the conscious captain of its own destiny, which it's not. In fact, calling a one-cell embryo a "baby," as Tsiaras does, projects his notion of conscious personhood back to the very day of conception.
When we gaze at the wonders of the natural world, be they growing fetuses or the scenery of Yosemite Valley or the stars over our heads, we should indeed be filled with awe. How could all this amazing beauty and complexity come about? Tsiaras believes that divine guidance must be at work. He not only says so in words, he also reinforces this message by his choice of religious music to accompany the video.
Fetal development is not completely understood, but much is known, and the rest is knowable, and none of it requires divine action. Does it diminish our admiration of Yosemite to know how cyclical changes in Earth's orbit brought on ice ages and glaciers that then carved out those spectacular cliffs? Does it make the night sky less radiant to know how gravity draws clouds of gas and dust into spinning balls of matter hot and dense enough to ignite nuclear fires? On the contrary, understanding how they came about makes them even richer objects of our admiration.
Parade grand marshals provide service in mold of MLK
When it came time to choose the 31st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade grand marshals, the selection of both the Rev. Marion Bennett and Lillian McMorris was simple for parade president Wendell Williams.
Since 1982, Williams and a selection committee have chosen a male and female grand marshal that best represent King’s values of community service and unity. Each year the grand marshals ride in the parade – which will weave through an estimated 40,000 spectators Monday - as the ceremonial guests of honor.
The selection of Bennett and McMorris were long overdue, Williams said.
“These two people most exemplify what we are looking for in grand marshals,” Williams said. “… They’re both are involved in the entire community.”
When the 10 a.m. festivities kick off, both Bennett and McMorris will ride through a parade on a holiday that Williams said represents a day of duty to one’s community rather than a day off. He feels both grand marshals represent King’s beliefs, and both have left a large imprint on Las Vegas.
Williams said Bennett represented the “no non-sense service” King was known for. Bennett has been serving the Las Vegas community since 1960; he worked as the pastor of Zion United Methodist Church until 2003.
Bennett also spent three terms as president of the Las Vegas NAACP, served in the Nevada Legislature for a decade and founded a low-cost African American daycare facility. Williams said Bennett’s true impact on the community, however, would be felt in years to come.
“He’s done so much to plant seeds in community,” Williams said. “…His work will show what he’s been about and has given.”
He has been so entrenched in the Las Vegas community that Williams assumed Bennett already had served as grand marshal. In fact, his daughter, Judge Karen Bennett had even been selected for the honor in the past. When parade organizers realized Bennett hadn’t been selected, it didn’t even require a vote.
“Nobody in the (selection committee) could believe we had overlooked him,” Williams said. “It was an oversight we were glad to overcorrect.”
McMorris had been involved in the parade from the beginning, when it was no longer than a funeral procession and lasted just 30 minutes. Now it is one of the largest parades in Nevada. She has helped with planning, handled media relations, hosted the cable parade show, and done pretty much anything else Williams has needed.
Growing up with a deacon father and a missionary mother in West Sahara, helping others is the only way McMorris has ever known. She has donated most of her life works to charity and community efforts.
Her impact ranged from producing and directing the KVVU-Fox5 public affairs show “A.M. Southern Nevada” highlighting charity efforts throughout Las Vegas to advocacy work for various charities. She said she’s so busy with community efforts most people are baffled at how she juggles her schedule.
The nation’s first African-American president, taking his ceremonial oath of office on the official birthday of the late Martin Luther King Jr., juxtaposed the nation’s Founding Fathers, the civil rights battles of the 1960s and this era’s drive for equal rights for gays and lesbians in a speech that was short in length and long on ambition.
The president wove familiar campaign themes into an address about governance, including support for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security; alternative energy sources and climate-change science; immigration reform; gun control measures; and a foreign policy that promotes international alliances as well as the “strength of arms and rule of law.”
The White House said Obama will detail his agenda Feb. 12 during his State of the Union address, and wants the two speeches to be examined as a pair.
Tutored by historians that second terms can be drained of clout long before they run out of time -- and are often marred by unscripted dramas -- the president urged action, speed, “common purpose,” and sufficient courage to take risks that affirm American values.
“We have always understood that when times change, so must we,” he said. The American “truths” of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- and the belief that all men are created equal -- “may be self-evident [but] they have never been self-executing,” he added.
Obama included a reference to the 1969 riots at Greenwich Village’s Stonewall Inn, which helped spark a decades-long gay rights movement after police raided a well-known gay bar. By including Stonewall in his rhetoric, the president elevated equal rights for LGBT Americans to a place of historical importance with the women’s rights convention held at Seneca Falls, N.Y., in 1848, and the 1965 march for racial equality from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.
On Jan. 18, the administration hosted an all-day pre-inaugural policy briefing for the LGBT community and donors from the gay community, held at the Commerce Department. Federal officials reviewed Obama’s achievements and policy ambitions deemed of interest to that constituency, including progress on health care issues such as HIV/AIDS. Other similar policy briefings for constituent groups took place in advance of Monday’s inauguration, as the White House got a head start on mobilizing supporters to promote Obama’s legislative initiatives.
The president’s 15-minute address was chock-full of references to the middle class, seniors, teachers, women, young people, immigrants, African-Americans, and gays -- in other words, the political base and the voters who made his second term possible. In the mold of Abraham Lincoln and King, the president used his speech to present himself as a leader determined to work for them -- to leave behind a stronger, more just and mightier country.
Although many Obama advisers have sounded upbeat about enacting immigration reform, they have not been as confident about reviving gun control measures, with the exception of universal background checks, which Congress may adopt. White House aides have sounded even less gung-ho about Congress’s willingness to tackle climate change. Even outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Obama would likely use his executive authority in his second term, because legislation seems like such a long shot.
Nonetheless, Obama devoted a large chunk of his address to energy and climate science, going so far as to appeal to conservative evangelicals, who support some environmental protections as a form of stewardship of God’s creation.
“The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it,” he said. “We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries -- we must claim its promise. That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure. . . . That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God.”
The president challenged his Republican congressional opponents to move quickly in helping him to address the nation’s problems. And he was pointed in his denunciations of positions the GOP -- most prominently Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan -- voiced during last year’s election.
Since 1982, Williams and a selection committee have chosen a male and female grand marshal that best represent King’s values of community service and unity. Each year the grand marshals ride in the parade – which will weave through an estimated 40,000 spectators Monday - as the ceremonial guests of honor.
The selection of Bennett and McMorris were long overdue, Williams said.
“These two people most exemplify what we are looking for in grand marshals,” Williams said. “… They’re both are involved in the entire community.”
When the 10 a.m. festivities kick off, both Bennett and McMorris will ride through a parade on a holiday that Williams said represents a day of duty to one’s community rather than a day off. He feels both grand marshals represent King’s beliefs, and both have left a large imprint on Las Vegas.
Williams said Bennett represented the “no non-sense service” King was known for. Bennett has been serving the Las Vegas community since 1960; he worked as the pastor of Zion United Methodist Church until 2003.
Bennett also spent three terms as president of the Las Vegas NAACP, served in the Nevada Legislature for a decade and founded a low-cost African American daycare facility. Williams said Bennett’s true impact on the community, however, would be felt in years to come.
“He’s done so much to plant seeds in community,” Williams said. “…His work will show what he’s been about and has given.”
He has been so entrenched in the Las Vegas community that Williams assumed Bennett already had served as grand marshal. In fact, his daughter, Judge Karen Bennett had even been selected for the honor in the past. When parade organizers realized Bennett hadn’t been selected, it didn’t even require a vote.
“Nobody in the (selection committee) could believe we had overlooked him,” Williams said. “It was an oversight we were glad to overcorrect.”
McMorris had been involved in the parade from the beginning, when it was no longer than a funeral procession and lasted just 30 minutes. Now it is one of the largest parades in Nevada. She has helped with planning, handled media relations, hosted the cable parade show, and done pretty much anything else Williams has needed.
Growing up with a deacon father and a missionary mother in West Sahara, helping others is the only way McMorris has ever known. She has donated most of her life works to charity and community efforts.
Her impact ranged from producing and directing the KVVU-Fox5 public affairs show “A.M. Southern Nevada” highlighting charity efforts throughout Las Vegas to advocacy work for various charities. She said she’s so busy with community efforts most people are baffled at how she juggles her schedule.
The nation’s first African-American president, taking his ceremonial oath of office on the official birthday of the late Martin Luther King Jr., juxtaposed the nation’s Founding Fathers, the civil rights battles of the 1960s and this era’s drive for equal rights for gays and lesbians in a speech that was short in length and long on ambition.
The president wove familiar campaign themes into an address about governance, including support for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security; alternative energy sources and climate-change science; immigration reform; gun control measures; and a foreign policy that promotes international alliances as well as the “strength of arms and rule of law.”
The White House said Obama will detail his agenda Feb. 12 during his State of the Union address, and wants the two speeches to be examined as a pair.
Tutored by historians that second terms can be drained of clout long before they run out of time -- and are often marred by unscripted dramas -- the president urged action, speed, “common purpose,” and sufficient courage to take risks that affirm American values.
“We have always understood that when times change, so must we,” he said. The American “truths” of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- and the belief that all men are created equal -- “may be self-evident [but] they have never been self-executing,” he added.
Obama included a reference to the 1969 riots at Greenwich Village’s Stonewall Inn, which helped spark a decades-long gay rights movement after police raided a well-known gay bar. By including Stonewall in his rhetoric, the president elevated equal rights for LGBT Americans to a place of historical importance with the women’s rights convention held at Seneca Falls, N.Y., in 1848, and the 1965 march for racial equality from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.
On Jan. 18, the administration hosted an all-day pre-inaugural policy briefing for the LGBT community and donors from the gay community, held at the Commerce Department. Federal officials reviewed Obama’s achievements and policy ambitions deemed of interest to that constituency, including progress on health care issues such as HIV/AIDS. Other similar policy briefings for constituent groups took place in advance of Monday’s inauguration, as the White House got a head start on mobilizing supporters to promote Obama’s legislative initiatives.
The president’s 15-minute address was chock-full of references to the middle class, seniors, teachers, women, young people, immigrants, African-Americans, and gays -- in other words, the political base and the voters who made his second term possible. In the mold of Abraham Lincoln and King, the president used his speech to present himself as a leader determined to work for them -- to leave behind a stronger, more just and mightier country.
Although many Obama advisers have sounded upbeat about enacting immigration reform, they have not been as confident about reviving gun control measures, with the exception of universal background checks, which Congress may adopt. White House aides have sounded even less gung-ho about Congress’s willingness to tackle climate change. Even outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Obama would likely use his executive authority in his second term, because legislation seems like such a long shot.
Nonetheless, Obama devoted a large chunk of his address to energy and climate science, going so far as to appeal to conservative evangelicals, who support some environmental protections as a form of stewardship of God’s creation.
“The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it,” he said. “We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries -- we must claim its promise. That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure. . . . That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God.”
The president challenged his Republican congressional opponents to move quickly in helping him to address the nation’s problems. And he was pointed in his denunciations of positions the GOP -- most prominently Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan -- voiced during last year’s election.
2013年1月17日星期四
Democratic activists from south suburbs head to inauguration
In 2009, Barack Obama supporter Linda Broadford of Weymouth attended the inauguration festivities in Washington, making the trek in a van with eight other activists from Massachusetts. After campaigning for the president’s reelection last year, she expects to be in the audience for the swearing-in ceremony on Monday.
“I’m going with one other person and we’ll connect with another person when we get there,” said Broadford, a member of the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee. “There will be three of us in one hotel room. I’m so happy Obama was reelected. I take so much pride in his reelection. I want to be part of it.”
Political activists and Obama supporters from the south suburbs are headed to the capital this weekend, although not in the numbers of four years ago. For Obama’s first inauguration, approximately 1.8 million visitors jammed the city, while this year about half as many are expected, according to estimates from Washington-area transportation officials.
Members of Congress distribute tickets to Monday’s swearing-in ceremony. Offices of the congressmen who represent the south suburbs reported that while the excitement seems to be lower than it was four years ago, demand for tickets has still been strong. “We’ve had many more requests than we can handle,” said Ninth District US Representative William R. Keating of Bourne.
The massive crowds of January 2009 came to see the swearing-in of America’s first African-American president. The ceremony took place in bitter cold, and the harsh conditions, combined with gridlock across the city, made for a challenging experience for many who came to witness the event. “Many of the people I got tickets for couldn’t get in,” said Seventh District US Representative Michael E. Capuano of Somerville. “It was so cold. Hopefully, we’ll have better weather this time. Fifty degrees would be nice.”
This year, the overall celebration has been scaled back. There will be only two official inaugural balls, the fewest in many years. The traditional inaugural parade also will take place, and a concert honoring military families is scheduled. Some Democratic organizations and activist groups will host parties. For many of the party faithful, the inauguration of a Democratic president is not to be missed.
Philip W. Johnston of Marshfield, former Massachusetts Democratic Party chairman and a longtime Democratic activist, attended both of Bill Clinton’s inaugurations and Obama’s four years ago. He is going again this year.
“I’m a big history buff in addition to being a big Obama supporter,” Johnston said. “It’s just a great time to enjoy the history and the pageantry and to see old friends.”
Johnston is a former state representative and state secretary of human services who served as New England regional health and human services administrator under President Clinton. He was an important organizer and fund-raiser for Obama in 2008 and 2012. He said the trying conditions of 2009 would influence his approach to events Monday.
“I had good tickets four years ago. They were up close,” Johnston said. “But it was so cold. I was stamping my feet for four hours trying to keep warm, and once you were seated, you couldn’t leave. If it isn’t better weather, I’ll be watching from my hotel room.”
Jeffrey M. Graeber of Quincy plans to attend the inauguration ceremony with his wife and another couple from Quincy. They will stay with friends who live in Washington.
“Four years ago, we went down for the weekend and went to some of the pre-inaugural activities but not the actual event,” said Graeber, an attorney. “We’re not real active in politics. We’re supporters who decided it was just as important to go down this year as it was four years ago. It was a historic moment then, and I think it’s important that the progress continues.”
Pembroke High senior Charlie Meyer, 17, and his girlfriend, Rachel Teevens, 18, also a senior at Pembroke High, will attend the inauguration. They will take a bus to Washington, where Teevens’s sister lives.
Meyer was a campaign aide to Democrat Josh Cutler of Duxbury, who won an open state House of Representatives seat last year. Meyer also campaigned for Obama and Elizabeth Warren, who defeated Republican Scott Brown for US senator. Teevens helped with the Democratic get-out-the-vote effort on Election Day.
This will be their first trip to an inauguration. “I’ve always been a big Obama fan,” said Meyer. “I’ve got an Obama bumper sticker and an Obama lanyard. I helped get out the vote on Election Day. I grew up with Bush as president for my whole childhood.”
On six occasions between Dec. 7, 2011, and June 19, 2012, Kristine Wilson, 47, and Alan Eugene Wilson, 41, came into contact with people while wearing clothing and equipment similar to what police officers wear, according to court documents.
Five times, Alan Wilson pulled motorists over using red and blue strobe lights on his Jeep and issued verbal warnings; in one instance, his wife got out of the car and approached the victims as well. In another incident, Alan Wilson threatened to arrest a fast-food worker during an argument over his food order.
When police went to the Wilsons' home, they found handcuffs, pepper spray and a weapon in their living room, court documents state. Kristine Wilson was wearing a black shirt that read "Security," a lanyard that said "Police" and a duty belt equipped with two police badges, three folding knives and handcuffs.
“I’m going with one other person and we’ll connect with another person when we get there,” said Broadford, a member of the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee. “There will be three of us in one hotel room. I’m so happy Obama was reelected. I take so much pride in his reelection. I want to be part of it.”
Political activists and Obama supporters from the south suburbs are headed to the capital this weekend, although not in the numbers of four years ago. For Obama’s first inauguration, approximately 1.8 million visitors jammed the city, while this year about half as many are expected, according to estimates from Washington-area transportation officials.
Members of Congress distribute tickets to Monday’s swearing-in ceremony. Offices of the congressmen who represent the south suburbs reported that while the excitement seems to be lower than it was four years ago, demand for tickets has still been strong. “We’ve had many more requests than we can handle,” said Ninth District US Representative William R. Keating of Bourne.
The massive crowds of January 2009 came to see the swearing-in of America’s first African-American president. The ceremony took place in bitter cold, and the harsh conditions, combined with gridlock across the city, made for a challenging experience for many who came to witness the event. “Many of the people I got tickets for couldn’t get in,” said Seventh District US Representative Michael E. Capuano of Somerville. “It was so cold. Hopefully, we’ll have better weather this time. Fifty degrees would be nice.”
This year, the overall celebration has been scaled back. There will be only two official inaugural balls, the fewest in many years. The traditional inaugural parade also will take place, and a concert honoring military families is scheduled. Some Democratic organizations and activist groups will host parties. For many of the party faithful, the inauguration of a Democratic president is not to be missed.
Philip W. Johnston of Marshfield, former Massachusetts Democratic Party chairman and a longtime Democratic activist, attended both of Bill Clinton’s inaugurations and Obama’s four years ago. He is going again this year.
“I’m a big history buff in addition to being a big Obama supporter,” Johnston said. “It’s just a great time to enjoy the history and the pageantry and to see old friends.”
Johnston is a former state representative and state secretary of human services who served as New England regional health and human services administrator under President Clinton. He was an important organizer and fund-raiser for Obama in 2008 and 2012. He said the trying conditions of 2009 would influence his approach to events Monday.
“I had good tickets four years ago. They were up close,” Johnston said. “But it was so cold. I was stamping my feet for four hours trying to keep warm, and once you were seated, you couldn’t leave. If it isn’t better weather, I’ll be watching from my hotel room.”
Jeffrey M. Graeber of Quincy plans to attend the inauguration ceremony with his wife and another couple from Quincy. They will stay with friends who live in Washington.
“Four years ago, we went down for the weekend and went to some of the pre-inaugural activities but not the actual event,” said Graeber, an attorney. “We’re not real active in politics. We’re supporters who decided it was just as important to go down this year as it was four years ago. It was a historic moment then, and I think it’s important that the progress continues.”
Pembroke High senior Charlie Meyer, 17, and his girlfriend, Rachel Teevens, 18, also a senior at Pembroke High, will attend the inauguration. They will take a bus to Washington, where Teevens’s sister lives.
Meyer was a campaign aide to Democrat Josh Cutler of Duxbury, who won an open state House of Representatives seat last year. Meyer also campaigned for Obama and Elizabeth Warren, who defeated Republican Scott Brown for US senator. Teevens helped with the Democratic get-out-the-vote effort on Election Day.
This will be their first trip to an inauguration. “I’ve always been a big Obama fan,” said Meyer. “I’ve got an Obama bumper sticker and an Obama lanyard. I helped get out the vote on Election Day. I grew up with Bush as president for my whole childhood.”
On six occasions between Dec. 7, 2011, and June 19, 2012, Kristine Wilson, 47, and Alan Eugene Wilson, 41, came into contact with people while wearing clothing and equipment similar to what police officers wear, according to court documents.
Five times, Alan Wilson pulled motorists over using red and blue strobe lights on his Jeep and issued verbal warnings; in one instance, his wife got out of the car and approached the victims as well. In another incident, Alan Wilson threatened to arrest a fast-food worker during an argument over his food order.
When police went to the Wilsons' home, they found handcuffs, pepper spray and a weapon in their living room, court documents state. Kristine Wilson was wearing a black shirt that read "Security," a lanyard that said "Police" and a duty belt equipped with two police badges, three folding knives and handcuffs.
There’s no comfort like this kind of love
Well, I finally did it. I didn’t think it would happen for a very long time, but I recently decided I’d lived alone for long enough, and was tired of coming home to an empty house. I didn’t know if I was ready for that big step just yet, not sure if I was ready for that kind of commitment, but there are just times when you have to take that big leap of faith, and hope it all works out.
I’ve had dogs all my life, and I’ve always been very thankful for that. My family was always fond of dogs and my father was a sort of “St. Francis” when it came to animals. He could approach any pet – even a stray – and it would sense something there and just walk right up to him. I always thought that was pretty cool. I am a lot like my father, though I don’t have that particular ability.
My father was always busy doing something and was rarely home. I don’t have many memories of him just sitting around and relaxing. Having a dog helped him with that. He always seemed very happy whenever he was spending time with the dog, and that works for me as well. I don’t relax easily, and rarely just sit and do nothing. But once in a while I will just sit down on the floor and love the dog up, and the world seems absolutely perfect in those moments.
Dogs help us with a lot of things; processing emotion being one of them. And perhaps it’s one of the most important abilities a dog has, to simply accept and comfort those that care for it. When I was a junior in high school and my mother unexpectedly died, it left a big hole in my life. My father and I were not close then, so being home without my mother there was difficult. Our family dog offered comfort and solace that my father, deep in his grief, could not.
In my 20s, when I was in the middle of building my career, I was abruptly told one day to gather my things and leave. I didn’t see it coming whatsoever and it was quite a shock. My family was young and I felt like I had let them down in huge way. My world seemed like it was crashing around me. Stunned, I went home and collapsed on the floor and sobbed uncontrollably with the dog in my arms for what felt like hours.
Many years later, finding myself separated after more than 20 years of marriage, friends and family were suddenly scarce. I spent an entire summer alone in a big, empty house, struggling to make sense of it all. I spent countless nights lying on the floor crying while hugging the dog, trying to figure out where things went wrong.
And now, a magnet on my fridge proclaims “When all else fails, hug the dog.” Funny how dogs can be such good therapy by just being there. They are such good listeners.
Dogs are also good at reminding you of things you might forget about. Being an enthusiastic and driven person, I have a tendency to obsess about a project and getting it done within a certain amount of time. This can drive other people mad, or at least push them to the point of frustration.
People have the tendency to nag at that time, but dogs never do. They simply walk into the room, push their nose under your elbow, and look at you sweetly while happily wagging their tail. Who can decline such a ridiculously friendly invitation? We are told to try and live in the “now” but dogs are always there. How wonderful they know to come and rescue us from ourselves.
And who has more fun than a dog? The way they enjoy life is something we should all try to emulate. Exploring with abandon, greeting strangers without prejudice, getting all excited about simple, silly things, enjoying a good belly rub. We should all be so happy with so little.
Dogs are pretty important. They have a sense of humor and know how to use it. When I get home at the end of the day, the amazing happy dance we do together is so much better than just coming home and saying “Honey, I’m home!” to a mirror in the hallway.
There is much wiggling, wagging and heavy leaning, as she knows that we are heading out for an adventure as soon as I can clip on her leash. I have to say, I can think of few things as wonderful as an unsolicited face lick or two from a very happy dog.
We don’t know each other that well just yet, but we are on our way. She is choosing favorite places to lay down in each room, while I sit nearby and take care of chores. I’m not in any one room for very long though, so sometimes she will just chill out and wait for me to park it. And each morning she lets me know when the mailman has offended us by trespassing on the porch to deposit the day’s mail.
It’s lovely. The house doesn’t seem so big and empty, and having someone to care for again is fulfilling and comforting. She’s a great roommate and doesn’t seem to mind me “hearsing and rehearsing” my lines for a show, or playing music after 11 pm, and loudly singing along.
And if I stay up until 2 a.m. reading Stephen King, there are no complaints. Sometimes I hear her softly snoring, even if the TV show I’m watching is a noisy one. I think it’s safe to say she’s pretty happy and relaxed here in her new home. I am very thankful that we found each other, and to have someone to say good night to from now on.
He didn’t do focus too much one thing, but Wade was everywhere. With only 15 points on 12 shots, he was efficient, defensively hounding, and smart with the ball. He was four blocks away from that most neato of feats, the 5×5. He played like a superstar going 80%, which is what we’ve come to expect from this whole team. Perhaps Wade is finding his niche as that free safety-type player (remember that hit on Collison last year in Indy?) where he just kind of controls things as he can. Maybe the athleticism is slipping, but right now he’s just doing everything in all ways, and it helped lead to some dominance in Oakland.
I’ve had dogs all my life, and I’ve always been very thankful for that. My family was always fond of dogs and my father was a sort of “St. Francis” when it came to animals. He could approach any pet – even a stray – and it would sense something there and just walk right up to him. I always thought that was pretty cool. I am a lot like my father, though I don’t have that particular ability.
My father was always busy doing something and was rarely home. I don’t have many memories of him just sitting around and relaxing. Having a dog helped him with that. He always seemed very happy whenever he was spending time with the dog, and that works for me as well. I don’t relax easily, and rarely just sit and do nothing. But once in a while I will just sit down on the floor and love the dog up, and the world seems absolutely perfect in those moments.
Dogs help us with a lot of things; processing emotion being one of them. And perhaps it’s one of the most important abilities a dog has, to simply accept and comfort those that care for it. When I was a junior in high school and my mother unexpectedly died, it left a big hole in my life. My father and I were not close then, so being home without my mother there was difficult. Our family dog offered comfort and solace that my father, deep in his grief, could not.
In my 20s, when I was in the middle of building my career, I was abruptly told one day to gather my things and leave. I didn’t see it coming whatsoever and it was quite a shock. My family was young and I felt like I had let them down in huge way. My world seemed like it was crashing around me. Stunned, I went home and collapsed on the floor and sobbed uncontrollably with the dog in my arms for what felt like hours.
Many years later, finding myself separated after more than 20 years of marriage, friends and family were suddenly scarce. I spent an entire summer alone in a big, empty house, struggling to make sense of it all. I spent countless nights lying on the floor crying while hugging the dog, trying to figure out where things went wrong.
And now, a magnet on my fridge proclaims “When all else fails, hug the dog.” Funny how dogs can be such good therapy by just being there. They are such good listeners.
Dogs are also good at reminding you of things you might forget about. Being an enthusiastic and driven person, I have a tendency to obsess about a project and getting it done within a certain amount of time. This can drive other people mad, or at least push them to the point of frustration.
People have the tendency to nag at that time, but dogs never do. They simply walk into the room, push their nose under your elbow, and look at you sweetly while happily wagging their tail. Who can decline such a ridiculously friendly invitation? We are told to try and live in the “now” but dogs are always there. How wonderful they know to come and rescue us from ourselves.
And who has more fun than a dog? The way they enjoy life is something we should all try to emulate. Exploring with abandon, greeting strangers without prejudice, getting all excited about simple, silly things, enjoying a good belly rub. We should all be so happy with so little.
Dogs are pretty important. They have a sense of humor and know how to use it. When I get home at the end of the day, the amazing happy dance we do together is so much better than just coming home and saying “Honey, I’m home!” to a mirror in the hallway.
There is much wiggling, wagging and heavy leaning, as she knows that we are heading out for an adventure as soon as I can clip on her leash. I have to say, I can think of few things as wonderful as an unsolicited face lick or two from a very happy dog.
We don’t know each other that well just yet, but we are on our way. She is choosing favorite places to lay down in each room, while I sit nearby and take care of chores. I’m not in any one room for very long though, so sometimes she will just chill out and wait for me to park it. And each morning she lets me know when the mailman has offended us by trespassing on the porch to deposit the day’s mail.
It’s lovely. The house doesn’t seem so big and empty, and having someone to care for again is fulfilling and comforting. She’s a great roommate and doesn’t seem to mind me “hearsing and rehearsing” my lines for a show, or playing music after 11 pm, and loudly singing along.
And if I stay up until 2 a.m. reading Stephen King, there are no complaints. Sometimes I hear her softly snoring, even if the TV show I’m watching is a noisy one. I think it’s safe to say she’s pretty happy and relaxed here in her new home. I am very thankful that we found each other, and to have someone to say good night to from now on.
He didn’t do focus too much one thing, but Wade was everywhere. With only 15 points on 12 shots, he was efficient, defensively hounding, and smart with the ball. He was four blocks away from that most neato of feats, the 5×5. He played like a superstar going 80%, which is what we’ve come to expect from this whole team. Perhaps Wade is finding his niche as that free safety-type player (remember that hit on Collison last year in Indy?) where he just kind of controls things as he can. Maybe the athleticism is slipping, but right now he’s just doing everything in all ways, and it helped lead to some dominance in Oakland.
2013年1月15日星期二
Esposito recalled for service to Norwalk
Former Mayor Frank Esposito, who served a record seven terms as the city's top elected official, was remembered Monday for his love and understanding of people, decades of public service and accomplishments, and fun-loving personality.
"Public service is not easy, and on the local level, it can be very difficult," said former Mayor Frank Zullo, one of two elected officials who delivered eulogies during Esposito's Mass of Christian Burial in St. Matthew's Church on Scribner Avenue.
City residents who support a mayor's decision don't have long memories, while those who oppose the decision never forget, Zullo said. He said mayors, unlike elected officials at the state and federal levels, are not insulated from their constituents, but must be prepared to justify their decisions to constituents "at every turn."
Still, Esposito won seven elections in a row, serving as mayor from 1987 to 2001, a record Zullo said he doubts anyone else will achieve.
State Rep. Lawrence Cafero Jr., who also delivered a eulogy, said Esposito had "incredible knowledge" of people and human nature, and knew how to bring people together and negotiate settlements. He noted Esposito was not a man of great wealth or lengthy formal education, but his "wealth and success was measured by how much he loved and how much he was loved by others, and, by that measure, Frank was the richest and most powerful man in the world."
The Rev. Walter Orlowski, pastor of St. Matthew's Church, said people always knew where Esposito stood on issues and many city residents remarked at Esposito's wake on Sunday that when they called his office and reached his secretary, Esposito always called back that afternoon. Orlowski said Esposito "understood his role in life: to serve God's people to the best of his ability."
Esposito's accomplishments as mayor included building a parking garage for rail commuters, raising the city's bond rating to the top AAA through sound financial management, leading the effort for a $50 million upgrade to Norwalk's sewage treatment plant and moving the Department of Public Work's garage from Matthews Park so a children's museum and playground could be built on that property, Zullo said.
Zullo said Esposito also designated a new site for the Norwalk Police Department, closed the city dump, which was near Interstate 95 and the last thing visitors saw of the city when entering or leaving it, and supported The Maritime Aquarium at a time when it wasn't that popular. "Frank saw the need for that center and supported it, and thank God because it's one of the rocks of South Norwalk," Zullo said.
"He knew how to work behind the scenes and across the aisle. Keep in mind he did all of this while still maintaining a very reasonable tax rate," Zullo said.
Esposito also had a fun-loving side, which Zullo and Cafero recalled in anecdotes that gave a glimpse into Esposito's sense of humor.
Cafero recalled going with Esposito to Hartford to ask then-Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. for more money for the city and that Weicker, whose idea of a state income tax had been opposed by Esposito, launched into a tirade filled with colorful language. "We could not get out of there quickly enough," Cafero said. "Just as we got out, Frank said, `I forgot my coat in his office,' and he sent me in to get it."
Zullo recalled a time when he and Esposito stood by a table of hors d'oeuvres during a function and a woman walked up and asked who they were. Esposito took both of her hands in his and introduced himself as Frank Zullo. The woman, Zullo said, replied that she had wanted to meet Zullo for a long time and believed that he was the best mayor the city ever had.
Zullo said Esposito, who served in the Korean War and on the city's Common Council and state's General Assembly, dedicated his adult life "to make Norwalk a better place for all of us and for future generations.
Zullo said a good man must die, but his death cannot erase his good name or memory. "All who knew him and worked for him are better for that experience," he said.
Esposito's 90-minute service included the hymns, and his coffin was brought out of the church to an organist's rendition of "My Way," which Cafero said was Esposito's favorite song.
"There's a little piece of each and every one of us that is missing today, and the shine of our beloved Norwalk has lost a little luster," Cafero said. "Rest in peace, my dear friend. We'll see you soon."
Penned under the watchful eye of Peter Schreyer , Kia's global chief of design, the Cadenza's broad shoulders, contoured hood, large wheels and wide stance give it a strong and grounded appearance. The striking design has a distinctive sport-sedan form, as if the car would be equally comfortable on the Autobahn or carving through the Swiss Alps.
The aggressive "Tiger Nose" front fascia instantly speaks to Kia's brand identity. Flanking the grille are quad headlights that nestle deeply behind crystalline lenses. The lower fascia is wide, lending to the Cadenza's imposing stance, and chrome trim accents around the fog lights and grille add to the vehicle's premium presence. LED positioning lights and available HID headlights provide additional European sophistication.
Perhaps best enjoyed in profile, the Cadenza's silhouette is at once strong and elegant. The vertical nose is imposing; the long hood is sensuously sculpted to meet the swept-back windshield. The greenhouse curves gracefully to the C-pillar and is surrounded by a tasteful chrome bezel that flares upward at the rear door, effectively creating a beautiful glass droplet. Beginning just aft of the front-door cutline is a chiseled indentation that sweeps upward, seamlessly transitioning into the tail lights. Classic chrome accents adorn the lower portions of the doors and the treatment continues into the rear fascia. The 19-inch alloy wheels offered in the Technology Package resemble a jet turbine and add to the Cadenza's athletic stature.
Moving to the rear of the vehicle, the standard LED taillights sit high on the deck and are designed to cut across a large portion of the vehicle, lending to the Cadenza's broad stance. The twin oval tail pipes accentuate the Cadenza's sporty and elegant design.
The interior of the Cadenza envelops its occupants in a premium environment complete with soft leather upholstery and tasteful accents of wood and chrome. Ambient lighting and horizontally positioned switch gear radiates an uncluttered and sophisticated aesthetic. An elegant analog clock centered between the center stack buttons lends a classic feel. The center console is angled toward the driver for optimized control, and an available large seven-inch high-resolution TFT LCD screen in the gauge cluster showcases a wide range of vehicle information including turn-by-turn navigation and infotainment. Elegant chrome bezels surround the HVAC and audio controls, air vents and the standard push-button start. Standard Bluetooth, wood-trim door inserts, one-touch automatic up/down power front windows and power-folding heated outside mirrors with integrated turn signal indicators all enhance the Cadenza's premium image.
"Public service is not easy, and on the local level, it can be very difficult," said former Mayor Frank Zullo, one of two elected officials who delivered eulogies during Esposito's Mass of Christian Burial in St. Matthew's Church on Scribner Avenue.
City residents who support a mayor's decision don't have long memories, while those who oppose the decision never forget, Zullo said. He said mayors, unlike elected officials at the state and federal levels, are not insulated from their constituents, but must be prepared to justify their decisions to constituents "at every turn."
Still, Esposito won seven elections in a row, serving as mayor from 1987 to 2001, a record Zullo said he doubts anyone else will achieve.
State Rep. Lawrence Cafero Jr., who also delivered a eulogy, said Esposito had "incredible knowledge" of people and human nature, and knew how to bring people together and negotiate settlements. He noted Esposito was not a man of great wealth or lengthy formal education, but his "wealth and success was measured by how much he loved and how much he was loved by others, and, by that measure, Frank was the richest and most powerful man in the world."
The Rev. Walter Orlowski, pastor of St. Matthew's Church, said people always knew where Esposito stood on issues and many city residents remarked at Esposito's wake on Sunday that when they called his office and reached his secretary, Esposito always called back that afternoon. Orlowski said Esposito "understood his role in life: to serve God's people to the best of his ability."
Esposito's accomplishments as mayor included building a parking garage for rail commuters, raising the city's bond rating to the top AAA through sound financial management, leading the effort for a $50 million upgrade to Norwalk's sewage treatment plant and moving the Department of Public Work's garage from Matthews Park so a children's museum and playground could be built on that property, Zullo said.
Zullo said Esposito also designated a new site for the Norwalk Police Department, closed the city dump, which was near Interstate 95 and the last thing visitors saw of the city when entering or leaving it, and supported The Maritime Aquarium at a time when it wasn't that popular. "Frank saw the need for that center and supported it, and thank God because it's one of the rocks of South Norwalk," Zullo said.
"He knew how to work behind the scenes and across the aisle. Keep in mind he did all of this while still maintaining a very reasonable tax rate," Zullo said.
Esposito also had a fun-loving side, which Zullo and Cafero recalled in anecdotes that gave a glimpse into Esposito's sense of humor.
Cafero recalled going with Esposito to Hartford to ask then-Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. for more money for the city and that Weicker, whose idea of a state income tax had been opposed by Esposito, launched into a tirade filled with colorful language. "We could not get out of there quickly enough," Cafero said. "Just as we got out, Frank said, `I forgot my coat in his office,' and he sent me in to get it."
Zullo recalled a time when he and Esposito stood by a table of hors d'oeuvres during a function and a woman walked up and asked who they were. Esposito took both of her hands in his and introduced himself as Frank Zullo. The woman, Zullo said, replied that she had wanted to meet Zullo for a long time and believed that he was the best mayor the city ever had.
Zullo said Esposito, who served in the Korean War and on the city's Common Council and state's General Assembly, dedicated his adult life "to make Norwalk a better place for all of us and for future generations.
Zullo said a good man must die, but his death cannot erase his good name or memory. "All who knew him and worked for him are better for that experience," he said.
Esposito's 90-minute service included the hymns, and his coffin was brought out of the church to an organist's rendition of "My Way," which Cafero said was Esposito's favorite song.
"There's a little piece of each and every one of us that is missing today, and the shine of our beloved Norwalk has lost a little luster," Cafero said. "Rest in peace, my dear friend. We'll see you soon."
Penned under the watchful eye of Peter Schreyer , Kia's global chief of design, the Cadenza's broad shoulders, contoured hood, large wheels and wide stance give it a strong and grounded appearance. The striking design has a distinctive sport-sedan form, as if the car would be equally comfortable on the Autobahn or carving through the Swiss Alps.
The aggressive "Tiger Nose" front fascia instantly speaks to Kia's brand identity. Flanking the grille are quad headlights that nestle deeply behind crystalline lenses. The lower fascia is wide, lending to the Cadenza's imposing stance, and chrome trim accents around the fog lights and grille add to the vehicle's premium presence. LED positioning lights and available HID headlights provide additional European sophistication.
Perhaps best enjoyed in profile, the Cadenza's silhouette is at once strong and elegant. The vertical nose is imposing; the long hood is sensuously sculpted to meet the swept-back windshield. The greenhouse curves gracefully to the C-pillar and is surrounded by a tasteful chrome bezel that flares upward at the rear door, effectively creating a beautiful glass droplet. Beginning just aft of the front-door cutline is a chiseled indentation that sweeps upward, seamlessly transitioning into the tail lights. Classic chrome accents adorn the lower portions of the doors and the treatment continues into the rear fascia. The 19-inch alloy wheels offered in the Technology Package resemble a jet turbine and add to the Cadenza's athletic stature.
Moving to the rear of the vehicle, the standard LED taillights sit high on the deck and are designed to cut across a large portion of the vehicle, lending to the Cadenza's broad stance. The twin oval tail pipes accentuate the Cadenza's sporty and elegant design.
The interior of the Cadenza envelops its occupants in a premium environment complete with soft leather upholstery and tasteful accents of wood and chrome. Ambient lighting and horizontally positioned switch gear radiates an uncluttered and sophisticated aesthetic. An elegant analog clock centered between the center stack buttons lends a classic feel. The center console is angled toward the driver for optimized control, and an available large seven-inch high-resolution TFT LCD screen in the gauge cluster showcases a wide range of vehicle information including turn-by-turn navigation and infotainment. Elegant chrome bezels surround the HVAC and audio controls, air vents and the standard push-button start. Standard Bluetooth, wood-trim door inserts, one-touch automatic up/down power front windows and power-folding heated outside mirrors with integrated turn signal indicators all enhance the Cadenza's premium image.
TomTom review
I tested TomTom on an Apple iPhone 5 running iOS 6.0.2. The app boots quickly to a main menu that lets you navigate to a destination, modify your route options (if one is already in progress), browse the map, plan multi-segment routes, or change settings. Tap the Navigate To button, and you'll see options for navigating to your home, favourites, recent destinations, specific street addresses, and so on. You can also navigate directly to contact addresses, geotagged photo locations, coordinates, or points on a map as well.
For the most part, keying in street addresses was a smooth process in my tests. Just as with the company's standalone navigation devices, you input the city first, followed by the street name, and then the street number.
Searching for points of interest (POI) is also standard fare. However, TomTom's POI database isn't the greatest, and the category breakdown continues to make little sense. Food stores, hardware stores, electronics stores, and more are all lumped together in one overcrowded category labelled "shop," while there are dozens of top-level categories for things like veterinarians, water sports, tennis courts, and tourist information offices, which is misguided to say the least. Another issue: TomTom has removed its Google local search feature, so it’s not possible to get around the internal POI database anymore as you could in earlier versions of the app.
Once on the road, TomTom's app is easy to use but not particularly attractive, with bland graphics and choppy animation that's more reminiscent of a three-year-old standalone GPS. That said, TomTom still leads the pack when it comes to displaying route information. You get all manner of data across the bottom of the screen, all of which updates in real-time.
The main display shows the current street, the next turn off, how far away it is, your current speed, the speed limit of the current road, and the estimated time remaining, distance remaining, and estimated arrival time. You also get 3D lane assistance views, which help with complex motorway or inner city street layouts, although TomTom's iPhone 5 optimisations missed this screen, as it's blurry and appears with black bars to either side.
One annoyance is that clearing a route still takes three taps on three separate screens, which is at least two too many. Rival Garmin, in contrast, offers a clear "End Trip" button at the bottom right at all times. That makes it easy to end navigation if you're looking for a parking spot near your destination, or decide mid-route that you no longer need guidance. The latter is a common occurrence if you're coming back from a new place and need navigation just to get to a major motorway, at which point you know the rest of the way home.
In a series of route tests, TomTom performed exactly as expected, which is to say very well. The company's IQ Routes feature adapts estimated arrival times and matches them to real-world data collected from drivers. Combined with daily Map Share updates, which you can download right from the phone, TomTom's app is arguably more "plugged in" to current road conditions than the competition.
Voice prompts were clear, crisp, and loud. They were also well timed, and the app pronounced street names correctly in almost all cases. TomTom includes several dozen voices in roughly two dozen languages; most don't say street names, but a few do. You can also purchase celebrity voices for the app via an in-app purchase, with options for the likes of Homer or Mr Burns from the Simpsons, or Darth Vader or Yoda from Star Wars.
The HD traffic plug-in deserves a special mention. It places a bar on the right side of the screen that represents traffic conditions for your route along the way. It's very impressive, and the traffic readouts update very frequently, and always accurately reported what was ahead – even on secondary routes, which was a nice surprise.
In one particular case, it insisted I exit a normally empty motorway earlier than usual. As I thought, "nah, let me ignore it and see what happens," right past the exit, I saw brake lights as everyone ahead came to a stop. I exited just in time. The only downside is that HD traffic is an in-app purchase so you’ll be paying extra for the service.
The November election did not change the balance of power in Washington, but committee leadership in Congress is in flux and trucking lobbyists are alert for what that might mean.
Hill committee assignments are particularly important. During the next couple of years, trucking will have to track implementation of 2012's highway law and prepare for the drafting of the next version, due in 2014.
Infrastructure funding already has come up for discussion during negotiations over the "fiscal cliff," a combination of tax increases and spending cuts designed to be so unpalatable that legislators will be forced to come to terms on long-term debt reduction and tax reforms.
Transportation experts look to the several high-level infrastructure commissions that have called for more highway money, and to the 2010 Simpson-Bowles plan for solving the fiscal crisis, which recommended a 15-cent fuel tax increase. The idea is not dead on arrival, said Peter Ruane, president of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, at a Bipartisan Policy Center forum.
"Politicians should have to have the debate," he said. "The fuel tax is the most efficient, proven form of financing. The only time we've gotten any increase in funding has been as part of a grand agreement on deficit reduction. It should be considered, and it is being considered."
When Carrie storms into her sister Dorrit's room and demands the purse, the brooding 14-year-old denies any knowledge of its whereabouts. While rifling through her younger sister's drawers, Carrie comes across a bag of pot. This leads to accusations of jealousy and spying and ends with hair pulling. As the girls tussle, a voice over informs us that the year is 1984, that Ronald Reagan is president, and that the family matriarch died of cancer three months earlier.
The fight is broken up by the girls' bland looking father Tom. Carrie insists she has nothing to wear, because she didn't have her annual shopping trip with mom. In an effort to comfort his eldest daughter, Tom lets her have access to her mother's closet that has been left in exactly the same condition as it was when she was still alive. In awe, Carrie's eye catches a green sundress, but her father holds too much of a sentimental attachment to it, "Not that dress. She wore it on her last birthday," he says. Instead he hands her a pair of sunglasses which prove useful on the first day of school.
When Carrie arrives at school, we find out she's a junior with three close friends: Mouse, Maggie and fashion-forward Walt, who give her the gift of normalcy while the rest of her classmates whisper and stare as she walks down the hall. The other big news on campus is the arrival of Sebastian. As he appears all heads turn. It is hard to understand why, because he isn't especially appealing.
Turns out he does know Carrie from spending summers at the swim club when he was home from boarding school. That news pales in comparison to the fact that Mouse got herself an older boyfriend and lost her virginity over the summer, or as she puts it, "It was like putting a hot dog in a key hole." Even for a high-school girl, that is uninspired dialogue. In addition, Carrie finds out from Maggie that she too had her V-card punched.
Emboldened by her friends' sexual escapades, Carrie approaches Sebastian. It turns out that swimming isn't the only thing the twosome had done at the local pool. Sebastian and Carrie had shared a steamy kiss. It was also her first kiss, and she hadn't seen him since. While trying to work up the nerve to ask Sebastian out, Carrie spots her father coming down the hall. The only other time he had come to the school was when her mother took a turn for the worse.
Frozen and unable to speak, Carrie elegantly faints into Sebastian's arms, and he lays her gently on the floor. When she regains consciousness, Carrie finds out her father was here to meet with her guidance counselor. They decide that Carrie might benefit from an internship that would take her out of her snug little suburban town and plop her into Manhattan.
The night before starting her new internship, Carrie again confronts Dorrit about their mother's purse. It doesn't take Carrie long to find it and see that it has been ruined; covered in nail polish. Carrie accuses her sister of destroying the beloved bag on purpose, but Dorrit denies the accusation. She tells her sister she just wanted something of their mother's because Carrie got everything, "You got the purse, your 16th birthday, the start of high school; I got nothing." Carrie has one of her famous revelations, "I never thought of myself as the lucky one, but I had precious extra years that Dorrit would never have." The damaged purse offers a glimpse at creative Carrie as she creates her own custom bag.
For the most part, keying in street addresses was a smooth process in my tests. Just as with the company's standalone navigation devices, you input the city first, followed by the street name, and then the street number.
Searching for points of interest (POI) is also standard fare. However, TomTom's POI database isn't the greatest, and the category breakdown continues to make little sense. Food stores, hardware stores, electronics stores, and more are all lumped together in one overcrowded category labelled "shop," while there are dozens of top-level categories for things like veterinarians, water sports, tennis courts, and tourist information offices, which is misguided to say the least. Another issue: TomTom has removed its Google local search feature, so it’s not possible to get around the internal POI database anymore as you could in earlier versions of the app.
Once on the road, TomTom's app is easy to use but not particularly attractive, with bland graphics and choppy animation that's more reminiscent of a three-year-old standalone GPS. That said, TomTom still leads the pack when it comes to displaying route information. You get all manner of data across the bottom of the screen, all of which updates in real-time.
The main display shows the current street, the next turn off, how far away it is, your current speed, the speed limit of the current road, and the estimated time remaining, distance remaining, and estimated arrival time. You also get 3D lane assistance views, which help with complex motorway or inner city street layouts, although TomTom's iPhone 5 optimisations missed this screen, as it's blurry and appears with black bars to either side.
One annoyance is that clearing a route still takes three taps on three separate screens, which is at least two too many. Rival Garmin, in contrast, offers a clear "End Trip" button at the bottom right at all times. That makes it easy to end navigation if you're looking for a parking spot near your destination, or decide mid-route that you no longer need guidance. The latter is a common occurrence if you're coming back from a new place and need navigation just to get to a major motorway, at which point you know the rest of the way home.
In a series of route tests, TomTom performed exactly as expected, which is to say very well. The company's IQ Routes feature adapts estimated arrival times and matches them to real-world data collected from drivers. Combined with daily Map Share updates, which you can download right from the phone, TomTom's app is arguably more "plugged in" to current road conditions than the competition.
Voice prompts were clear, crisp, and loud. They were also well timed, and the app pronounced street names correctly in almost all cases. TomTom includes several dozen voices in roughly two dozen languages; most don't say street names, but a few do. You can also purchase celebrity voices for the app via an in-app purchase, with options for the likes of Homer or Mr Burns from the Simpsons, or Darth Vader or Yoda from Star Wars.
The HD traffic plug-in deserves a special mention. It places a bar on the right side of the screen that represents traffic conditions for your route along the way. It's very impressive, and the traffic readouts update very frequently, and always accurately reported what was ahead – even on secondary routes, which was a nice surprise.
In one particular case, it insisted I exit a normally empty motorway earlier than usual. As I thought, "nah, let me ignore it and see what happens," right past the exit, I saw brake lights as everyone ahead came to a stop. I exited just in time. The only downside is that HD traffic is an in-app purchase so you’ll be paying extra for the service.
The November election did not change the balance of power in Washington, but committee leadership in Congress is in flux and trucking lobbyists are alert for what that might mean.
Hill committee assignments are particularly important. During the next couple of years, trucking will have to track implementation of 2012's highway law and prepare for the drafting of the next version, due in 2014.
Infrastructure funding already has come up for discussion during negotiations over the "fiscal cliff," a combination of tax increases and spending cuts designed to be so unpalatable that legislators will be forced to come to terms on long-term debt reduction and tax reforms.
Transportation experts look to the several high-level infrastructure commissions that have called for more highway money, and to the 2010 Simpson-Bowles plan for solving the fiscal crisis, which recommended a 15-cent fuel tax increase. The idea is not dead on arrival, said Peter Ruane, president of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, at a Bipartisan Policy Center forum.
"Politicians should have to have the debate," he said. "The fuel tax is the most efficient, proven form of financing. The only time we've gotten any increase in funding has been as part of a grand agreement on deficit reduction. It should be considered, and it is being considered."
When Carrie storms into her sister Dorrit's room and demands the purse, the brooding 14-year-old denies any knowledge of its whereabouts. While rifling through her younger sister's drawers, Carrie comes across a bag of pot. This leads to accusations of jealousy and spying and ends with hair pulling. As the girls tussle, a voice over informs us that the year is 1984, that Ronald Reagan is president, and that the family matriarch died of cancer three months earlier.
The fight is broken up by the girls' bland looking father Tom. Carrie insists she has nothing to wear, because she didn't have her annual shopping trip with mom. In an effort to comfort his eldest daughter, Tom lets her have access to her mother's closet that has been left in exactly the same condition as it was when she was still alive. In awe, Carrie's eye catches a green sundress, but her father holds too much of a sentimental attachment to it, "Not that dress. She wore it on her last birthday," he says. Instead he hands her a pair of sunglasses which prove useful on the first day of school.
When Carrie arrives at school, we find out she's a junior with three close friends: Mouse, Maggie and fashion-forward Walt, who give her the gift of normalcy while the rest of her classmates whisper and stare as she walks down the hall. The other big news on campus is the arrival of Sebastian. As he appears all heads turn. It is hard to understand why, because he isn't especially appealing.
Turns out he does know Carrie from spending summers at the swim club when he was home from boarding school. That news pales in comparison to the fact that Mouse got herself an older boyfriend and lost her virginity over the summer, or as she puts it, "It was like putting a hot dog in a key hole." Even for a high-school girl, that is uninspired dialogue. In addition, Carrie finds out from Maggie that she too had her V-card punched.
Emboldened by her friends' sexual escapades, Carrie approaches Sebastian. It turns out that swimming isn't the only thing the twosome had done at the local pool. Sebastian and Carrie had shared a steamy kiss. It was also her first kiss, and she hadn't seen him since. While trying to work up the nerve to ask Sebastian out, Carrie spots her father coming down the hall. The only other time he had come to the school was when her mother took a turn for the worse.
Frozen and unable to speak, Carrie elegantly faints into Sebastian's arms, and he lays her gently on the floor. When she regains consciousness, Carrie finds out her father was here to meet with her guidance counselor. They decide that Carrie might benefit from an internship that would take her out of her snug little suburban town and plop her into Manhattan.
The night before starting her new internship, Carrie again confronts Dorrit about their mother's purse. It doesn't take Carrie long to find it and see that it has been ruined; covered in nail polish. Carrie accuses her sister of destroying the beloved bag on purpose, but Dorrit denies the accusation. She tells her sister she just wanted something of their mother's because Carrie got everything, "You got the purse, your 16th birthday, the start of high school; I got nothing." Carrie has one of her famous revelations, "I never thought of myself as the lucky one, but I had precious extra years that Dorrit would never have." The damaged purse offers a glimpse at creative Carrie as she creates her own custom bag.
2013年1月13日星期日
Hygienic show features art with 'class'
Saturday afternoon, a light mist on Bank Street in downtown New London was just persistent enough to present a mosquito-like annoyance factor. The brightly lit Hygienic Art Galleries, though, offered the promise of shelter - along with a welcome and day-glo plethora of pieces from the new "Whalers & Lancers" exhibition.
The seventh annual show features works in a variety of mediums from art students at both Waterford and New London High Schools.
The opening reception took place Friday evening, and A. Vincent Scarano, the president of Hygienic Art, estimated about 500 students, parents and assorted art-enthusiasts attended.
"It was a very diverse and enthusiastic crowd," Scarano said. "You could tell the kids were proud and excited. They should be. There's some wonderful stuff here, and this gives them an actual gallery exhibition experience."
Both of the ground-level rooms in the gallery were full of pieces roughly arranged into sections featuring pottery and sculpture, photographs, and drawings and paintings.
The subject matter varied expansively. There are plenty of land- and seascapes, portraiture, and expressions ranging from abstract to realism. Various pieces seem to reflect themes of autumn - possibly because much of the student work was done in the fall semester.
There are also indications of the influence of popular culture with respective allusions to music such as Deadmau5 and Skillet as well as the television series "Pretty Little Liars."
For most of Saturday, attendance at the show was scarce and void of student artists - which was perhaps not surprising given the large turnout at the reception.
But those who did wander through were impressed by variety of disciplines and the skill level.
Jack Shackles, a pastor at Taftville Congregational Church, was walking in downtown New London and, seeing some of the art through the window, came in to see the exhibition.
"It's always encouraging to see students express themselves, and some of these pieces show a lot of talent," he said. "The technique and perspective, the humor and movement ... it's good stuff. It also helps show you the world through (the students') eyes. I also think it's really nice of the gallery to encourage them and give them space."
Scarano said that's the whole idea. "This is a professional art gallery as opposed to a classroom wall," he said. "Being an artist is like being in a band. You can rehearse in the garage all you want - and you should - but eventually you've got to play that first gig. This show is a gig experience for the students. It gives them that sense of pride, and it gives their families a sense of pride."
There is also the aspect that much of the work on display is for sale. Visitor Bud Bray, a resident of New London who studied the exhibition in leisurely but comprehensive fashion, said he was drawn immediately to an untitled crayon piece by New London High School student Austin Clay - and was dismayed to learn it had already been sold.
"If you want to be a professional artist, you've got to realize that there is a business side of art as well as the creative side," he said. "That's another great thing about not just this show but how the art departments at these schools operate today. The kids learn about the process of the business and how to price art work even as they learn technique."
A "Celebration of Life" for Armond "Army" Kirschbaum will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Blue-Hollomon Gallery, 3555 Arctic Blvd. We previously noted his passing, at age 89, on Dec. 4, 2012, but this seems a good time to revisit some of his accomplishments, with information supplied by his family and friends.
Born in San Francisco March 25, 1923, he spent summers in Nome with his mother and stepfather who ran a trading post. He enlisted in the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor and served as a Seabee. After the war, he attended the San Francisco Art Institute on the GI bill, studying what was then called commercial art and is now known as graphic design.
He came to Anchorage in 1948, according to a Daily News interview in 1981. He told the reporter that he found five little theater groups and a symphony orchestra, but "there was nothing, nothing going on" in the visual arts.
He opened an advertising business with a strong commercial art component and sold art supplies to people who would become the core of the town's visual art community, like William Kimura and Alex Combs, well before they were actually making money from their art. He expanded his business to include a gallery and showed the work of Rie Munoz, Keith Appel, Bill Sabo and Pat Austin. He was instrumental in forming the Alaska Artists Guild.
He served on the Anchorage Historical and Fine Arts Museum Commission, on the boards of the Alaska Watercolor Society and was a founding member of the Anchorage Lions Club.
As an artist, Kirschbaum produced paintings and murals, including some of the prominent pieces at the Hotel Captain Cook. When the city of Anchorage merged with the Greater Anchorage Area Borough, he created the seal for the new municipality.
Some said they had known him and the picture included with the article was not of him; others who knew him said it certainly was.
It didn't take long for folks with connections to the old homesteading community at the head of Kachemak Bay to get word to his grandson, Ron Wieber, and we connected by phone early last week. Wieber told me that the "old man's" name was properly spelled Alvia Mattox and that he was best known as "Matt." He was born in 1879 in Buffalo, Wyo., and was working at the Turkey Track Cattle Company there at the turn of the century.
It was a wild and woolly place, Wieber said. "He told me how he encountered a sheep herder one time and they shot it out. He wound up with a bullet in his back that he carried to his grave."
He came to Alaska to work in the gold fields in Nome, Wieber said, and accumulated enough of a stake to fund his ranching efforts in the Homer area. That would not have been during the first Nome gold rush, however, since the 1910 census shows him still living in Wyoming and the 1930 census has him living in Unalaska -- herding sheep. Wieber thought Mattox's Nome years were in the '30s.
The seventh annual show features works in a variety of mediums from art students at both Waterford and New London High Schools.
The opening reception took place Friday evening, and A. Vincent Scarano, the president of Hygienic Art, estimated about 500 students, parents and assorted art-enthusiasts attended.
"It was a very diverse and enthusiastic crowd," Scarano said. "You could tell the kids were proud and excited. They should be. There's some wonderful stuff here, and this gives them an actual gallery exhibition experience."
Both of the ground-level rooms in the gallery were full of pieces roughly arranged into sections featuring pottery and sculpture, photographs, and drawings and paintings.
The subject matter varied expansively. There are plenty of land- and seascapes, portraiture, and expressions ranging from abstract to realism. Various pieces seem to reflect themes of autumn - possibly because much of the student work was done in the fall semester.
There are also indications of the influence of popular culture with respective allusions to music such as Deadmau5 and Skillet as well as the television series "Pretty Little Liars."
For most of Saturday, attendance at the show was scarce and void of student artists - which was perhaps not surprising given the large turnout at the reception.
But those who did wander through were impressed by variety of disciplines and the skill level.
Jack Shackles, a pastor at Taftville Congregational Church, was walking in downtown New London and, seeing some of the art through the window, came in to see the exhibition.
"It's always encouraging to see students express themselves, and some of these pieces show a lot of talent," he said. "The technique and perspective, the humor and movement ... it's good stuff. It also helps show you the world through (the students') eyes. I also think it's really nice of the gallery to encourage them and give them space."
Scarano said that's the whole idea. "This is a professional art gallery as opposed to a classroom wall," he said. "Being an artist is like being in a band. You can rehearse in the garage all you want - and you should - but eventually you've got to play that first gig. This show is a gig experience for the students. It gives them that sense of pride, and it gives their families a sense of pride."
There is also the aspect that much of the work on display is for sale. Visitor Bud Bray, a resident of New London who studied the exhibition in leisurely but comprehensive fashion, said he was drawn immediately to an untitled crayon piece by New London High School student Austin Clay - and was dismayed to learn it had already been sold.
"If you want to be a professional artist, you've got to realize that there is a business side of art as well as the creative side," he said. "That's another great thing about not just this show but how the art departments at these schools operate today. The kids learn about the process of the business and how to price art work even as they learn technique."
A "Celebration of Life" for Armond "Army" Kirschbaum will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Blue-Hollomon Gallery, 3555 Arctic Blvd. We previously noted his passing, at age 89, on Dec. 4, 2012, but this seems a good time to revisit some of his accomplishments, with information supplied by his family and friends.
Born in San Francisco March 25, 1923, he spent summers in Nome with his mother and stepfather who ran a trading post. He enlisted in the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor and served as a Seabee. After the war, he attended the San Francisco Art Institute on the GI bill, studying what was then called commercial art and is now known as graphic design.
He came to Anchorage in 1948, according to a Daily News interview in 1981. He told the reporter that he found five little theater groups and a symphony orchestra, but "there was nothing, nothing going on" in the visual arts.
He opened an advertising business with a strong commercial art component and sold art supplies to people who would become the core of the town's visual art community, like William Kimura and Alex Combs, well before they were actually making money from their art. He expanded his business to include a gallery and showed the work of Rie Munoz, Keith Appel, Bill Sabo and Pat Austin. He was instrumental in forming the Alaska Artists Guild.
He served on the Anchorage Historical and Fine Arts Museum Commission, on the boards of the Alaska Watercolor Society and was a founding member of the Anchorage Lions Club.
As an artist, Kirschbaum produced paintings and murals, including some of the prominent pieces at the Hotel Captain Cook. When the city of Anchorage merged with the Greater Anchorage Area Borough, he created the seal for the new municipality.
Some said they had known him and the picture included with the article was not of him; others who knew him said it certainly was.
It didn't take long for folks with connections to the old homesteading community at the head of Kachemak Bay to get word to his grandson, Ron Wieber, and we connected by phone early last week. Wieber told me that the "old man's" name was properly spelled Alvia Mattox and that he was best known as "Matt." He was born in 1879 in Buffalo, Wyo., and was working at the Turkey Track Cattle Company there at the turn of the century.
It was a wild and woolly place, Wieber said. "He told me how he encountered a sheep herder one time and they shot it out. He wound up with a bullet in his back that he carried to his grave."
He came to Alaska to work in the gold fields in Nome, Wieber said, and accumulated enough of a stake to fund his ranching efforts in the Homer area. That would not have been during the first Nome gold rush, however, since the 1910 census shows him still living in Wyoming and the 1930 census has him living in Unalaska -- herding sheep. Wieber thought Mattox's Nome years were in the '30s.
2013年1月10日星期四
Mong Ha contract dispute renews doubts on quality of public housing
Twenty people from the construction material suppliers and the sub-contractor that built part of the facilities of Phase 2 of the affordable housing estate of Mong Ha staged another demonstration outside the construction site yesterday, delivering a petition demanding the outstanding payment of MOP40m that the contractor allegedly owes them. But the contractor denied the allegation, prompting new doubts on the quality of public housing estates after Phase 1 of Mong Ha was found to have massive peeling of its tile covering earlier this month.
The group of suppliers and the sub-contractor staged a rally outside Mong Ha’s construction site on the road of Rua de Francisco Xavier Pereira in the northern district, requesting an intervention by the government to help them claim back the MOP40m. Police was standing by at the scene.
But the contractor told the broadcaster they terminated the contract with the sub-contractor due to the sub-contractor’s low construction and management skills. The contractor also filed a lawsuit against the subcontractor for document forgery, and denied owing the sub-contractor any outstanding remuneration after an earlier payment of MOP62m had settled all due charges. The company was quoted as saying that the dispute would not affect the quality of the Mong Ha public housing estate. Mong Ha’s Mong Sin Building was found to have tiles falling from walls on several floors into public areas, prompting debate on whether construction quality was sacrificed for a timely completion of the public housing units the government promised.
Regarding the Sin Fong Garden building that was evacuated last October due to structural problems, the Government is calling for cooperation by Sin Fong shop owners, and posted notices outside shops on the ground floor of the building. The notice says shop owners have a legal obligation to allow government workers inside their premises to carry out reinforcement works intended to prop-up the demised structure, which was found to be suffering from large cracks in the walls, as well as distorted main pillars, prompting fears of a building collapse.
According to TDM’s report, the owners refused entry of workers after the government granted urgent housing allowances for residents in the building, before the authority claim back the money from the party/parties responsible for the problem. An investigation report initiated by the government is entering its final stage, and will likely pave the way to compensation claims against the party/parties responsible for the exodus affecting hundreds of residents.
But the shop owners on the ground floor were not given the same subsidy, expressing fears that they might not be able to independently claim their losses against the responsible party/parties. The owners have sent petition letters to the Chief Executive requesting assistance. The government also published a press release on Wednesday calling for cooperation among shop owners, as the reinforcement works on the ground floor are crucial in ensuring the building is protected from possible collapse.
In 2001, Tod and I lived above Carnegie Hall. Most New Yorkers at the time didn't know there were residential studios in a tower on top of the building. Our rent was too good to be true, and soon we heard rumors that the hall was going to evict tenants to convert the studios into rehearsal space. The buzz motivated us to buy a safety apartment—just in case.
Our architectural practice was taking off, and we wanted to live on top of a building—for the sunlight and view. We looked at penthouses and fell in love with an awful one on Central Park South—just blocks from our office. The building's owner had mounted it on the roof in the '60s, and the interior was a wreck—shag carpeting and gold-veined smoked mirror tiles on the walls and ceiling. But being able to see the park from the 22nd floor and the silence won us over.
When we closed on the space in 2001, Tod and I thought we were buying an apartment—but we wound up with a construction site. We tore down the structure and put up a 16-by-30-foot glass box. Now when you walk in the front door, you enter another world. There are 9-foot floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides, a wood-paneled kitchen, a tiny bedroom just big enough for a bed, and a bathroom with a tub that looks out to the view. The penthouse became our glamour pad—like a quiet place in the country.
In 2008, we received a formal eviction letter from Carnegie Hall. That's when Tod and I realized our glass penthouse wasn't going to work as a primary residence. We couldn't move our art collection and books there. The space was too small, and the walls were all glass. We talked briefly about selling, but we loved the penthouse too much. Instead, we decided to look for a second apartment—a simple place for our life stuff.
We had always been fond of an unusual 10-story building on the Upper West Side. It was built in 1915 as a cooperative—housing residences and artists' lofts on opposite sides of the same floors. In some ways the layout had the same spirit as the Carnegie Hall studios. Apartments with double-height living spaces were all taken, but we found a duplex that was 15 feet wide by 28 feet long on the first level and a little larger on the second.
We gutted both levels and painted the entire interior white—including the wood floors—to brighten the space and make it feel larger. We created three different zones on the first level—a galley kitchen, a dining area and living space—by designing a continuous series of elevated platforms. We unified all three with a 13-foot-long white marble countertop.
When you enter the duplex, you are immediately in the kitchen galley. Next you step up to a platform where you can sit on stools and dine at the counter. Then you walk up two steps to sit in the living area. That final elevation allowed the back of our long sofa to meet the base of the apartment's original 20-foot-high studio window, which continues up to the second level.
Upstairs, you arrive at a living area with a flat-screen TV and sofas. We wanted a quiet wall for the hall connecting the living area to our bedroom, so we created floor-to-ceiling panels of etched Bendheim glass with mirrors behind them. The mirrors reflect light into the etched glass, producing a greenish, satiny wall surface.
Tod and I have been married since 1983 and we're together all the time—at work and at our two apartments. I suppose we've never had a big enough fight for us to spend time separately in the two homes. When we're at the duplex, Tod prefers to be upstairs watching sports. I like being downstairs—near the bookcases and the food.
We also spend a lot of time looking at our art, which includes photography by Rachel Perry Welty, a small sculpture by Mark di Suvero and mixed media by El Anatsui. Art isn't fraught, and we'd rather be indirectly inspired by our collection than directly stimulated by other works of architecture in books.
The group of suppliers and the sub-contractor staged a rally outside Mong Ha’s construction site on the road of Rua de Francisco Xavier Pereira in the northern district, requesting an intervention by the government to help them claim back the MOP40m. Police was standing by at the scene.
But the contractor told the broadcaster they terminated the contract with the sub-contractor due to the sub-contractor’s low construction and management skills. The contractor also filed a lawsuit against the subcontractor for document forgery, and denied owing the sub-contractor any outstanding remuneration after an earlier payment of MOP62m had settled all due charges. The company was quoted as saying that the dispute would not affect the quality of the Mong Ha public housing estate. Mong Ha’s Mong Sin Building was found to have tiles falling from walls on several floors into public areas, prompting debate on whether construction quality was sacrificed for a timely completion of the public housing units the government promised.
Regarding the Sin Fong Garden building that was evacuated last October due to structural problems, the Government is calling for cooperation by Sin Fong shop owners, and posted notices outside shops on the ground floor of the building. The notice says shop owners have a legal obligation to allow government workers inside their premises to carry out reinforcement works intended to prop-up the demised structure, which was found to be suffering from large cracks in the walls, as well as distorted main pillars, prompting fears of a building collapse.
According to TDM’s report, the owners refused entry of workers after the government granted urgent housing allowances for residents in the building, before the authority claim back the money from the party/parties responsible for the problem. An investigation report initiated by the government is entering its final stage, and will likely pave the way to compensation claims against the party/parties responsible for the exodus affecting hundreds of residents.
But the shop owners on the ground floor were not given the same subsidy, expressing fears that they might not be able to independently claim their losses against the responsible party/parties. The owners have sent petition letters to the Chief Executive requesting assistance. The government also published a press release on Wednesday calling for cooperation among shop owners, as the reinforcement works on the ground floor are crucial in ensuring the building is protected from possible collapse.
In 2001, Tod and I lived above Carnegie Hall. Most New Yorkers at the time didn't know there were residential studios in a tower on top of the building. Our rent was too good to be true, and soon we heard rumors that the hall was going to evict tenants to convert the studios into rehearsal space. The buzz motivated us to buy a safety apartment—just in case.
Our architectural practice was taking off, and we wanted to live on top of a building—for the sunlight and view. We looked at penthouses and fell in love with an awful one on Central Park South—just blocks from our office. The building's owner had mounted it on the roof in the '60s, and the interior was a wreck—shag carpeting and gold-veined smoked mirror tiles on the walls and ceiling. But being able to see the park from the 22nd floor and the silence won us over.
When we closed on the space in 2001, Tod and I thought we were buying an apartment—but we wound up with a construction site. We tore down the structure and put up a 16-by-30-foot glass box. Now when you walk in the front door, you enter another world. There are 9-foot floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides, a wood-paneled kitchen, a tiny bedroom just big enough for a bed, and a bathroom with a tub that looks out to the view. The penthouse became our glamour pad—like a quiet place in the country.
In 2008, we received a formal eviction letter from Carnegie Hall. That's when Tod and I realized our glass penthouse wasn't going to work as a primary residence. We couldn't move our art collection and books there. The space was too small, and the walls were all glass. We talked briefly about selling, but we loved the penthouse too much. Instead, we decided to look for a second apartment—a simple place for our life stuff.
We had always been fond of an unusual 10-story building on the Upper West Side. It was built in 1915 as a cooperative—housing residences and artists' lofts on opposite sides of the same floors. In some ways the layout had the same spirit as the Carnegie Hall studios. Apartments with double-height living spaces were all taken, but we found a duplex that was 15 feet wide by 28 feet long on the first level and a little larger on the second.
We gutted both levels and painted the entire interior white—including the wood floors—to brighten the space and make it feel larger. We created three different zones on the first level—a galley kitchen, a dining area and living space—by designing a continuous series of elevated platforms. We unified all three with a 13-foot-long white marble countertop.
When you enter the duplex, you are immediately in the kitchen galley. Next you step up to a platform where you can sit on stools and dine at the counter. Then you walk up two steps to sit in the living area. That final elevation allowed the back of our long sofa to meet the base of the apartment's original 20-foot-high studio window, which continues up to the second level.
Upstairs, you arrive at a living area with a flat-screen TV and sofas. We wanted a quiet wall for the hall connecting the living area to our bedroom, so we created floor-to-ceiling panels of etched Bendheim glass with mirrors behind them. The mirrors reflect light into the etched glass, producing a greenish, satiny wall surface.
Tod and I have been married since 1983 and we're together all the time—at work and at our two apartments. I suppose we've never had a big enough fight for us to spend time separately in the two homes. When we're at the duplex, Tod prefers to be upstairs watching sports. I like being downstairs—near the bookcases and the food.
We also spend a lot of time looking at our art, which includes photography by Rachel Perry Welty, a small sculpture by Mark di Suvero and mixed media by El Anatsui. Art isn't fraught, and we'd rather be indirectly inspired by our collection than directly stimulated by other works of architecture in books.
Texas artist due in court for defacing Picasso painting
Uriel Landeros is expected to face two felony charges of criminal mischief and felony graffiti. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.
Landeros, 22, a University of Houston student originally from South Texas, fled last summer after he was caught on a cellphone video by a fellow museum patron spray-painting a stencil of a bullfighter killing a bull and the word "conquista" -- Spanish for "conquered" -- on Picasso's "Woman in a Red Armchair" at Houston’s Menil Collection on June 13.
Landeros crossed back into the U.S. on Tuesday via a border bridge in the city of McAllen and surrendered to a U.S. marshal, according to Sara Marie Kinney, a spokeswoman for the Harris County district attorney's office. His case was still being processed Thursday, and he wasn't expected in Harris County court until next week, according to his attorney, Emily Detoto.
Detoto said she planned to waive extradition, speeding Landeros' return to Houston. Once he's back, Detoto said she plans to seek his release on bond, because he no longer poses a flight risk.
“He turned himself in. How clandestine of a fugitive was he if he was giving news interviews and posting on Facebook?” she said.
It’s not clear how Landeros plans to respond to the charges, especially because he left a trail of evidence on social media, including incriminating images and a video statement posted on YouTube in August.
"I did this to turn heads, to raise awareness to the world," he said in the video, appearing shirtless and in sunglasses in front of a white backdrop. "My intention was never to destroy Pablo's painting, or to insult the Menil."
His attorney said Landeros made many of the statements before his family hired her.
“Had he known he had a lawyer, I would have discouraged him from speaking to the media. He’s a young kid and I don’t think he realized anything he said could be used against him,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “It doesn’t make the case impossible -- it just makes it more difficult.”
The museum's director, Josef Helfenstein, released a statement to The Times on Thursday condemning the graffiti.
"An act of vandalism against one museum is an attack on all museums and violates the trust that we hold with the public," he said. "We are pleased that the legal authorities are able to move forward in prosecuting this serious crime."
The 1929 masterpiece, oil on canvas, has since been restored at a conservation lab on site and will be displayed again soon, according to Vance Muse, a spokesman for the Menil, who called the painting priceless.
"It is in very good shape -- the prognosis is excellent," Muse told The Times.
Landeros posted photos of the defaced Picasso on his Facebook page, “I have Picasso's soul in my hand,” tweeted the graffiti phrase “la bestia se conquista” and “The revolutionary artist does not create art that can easily become a commodity; his [sic] transgresses the boundaries of political mediocrity.”
“My intention is to give a voice to all those who go unheard of, all those people who get pushed around by their goverment [sic], all those people of the OCCUPY MOVEMENT who protest the streets and the goverment ignores,” Landeros wrote on Facebook. “REMEMBER, when the people fear their goverment that is tyranny, when the goverment fears the people that is freedom. We are legion, We do not forgive, We do not forget, expect us.”
Electrolux, with more than 3,300 workers and the county’s largest employer, completed a significant expansion in 2012 which added 20,000 square feet of research and development space and testing labs to support the company’s new operation in Memphis.
Macy’s Logistics, Martinrea Fabco and Tate Ornamental have also seen physical and employment expansions, says Margot Fosnes, president and chief economic development officer for the Robertson County Chamber of Commerce.
Two new industries relocated to Robertson County in the past 18 months along the I-65 corridor between Portland and Orlinda. Kyowa America, a plastic injection molding supplier for Toyota, relocated from Pennsylvania. FWE Corp., a maker of food-warming equipment for the restaurant industry, moved from Chicago. Together, they will bring nearly 300 jobs to the area, she says.
“Our population grew more than 20 percent in the last decade, among the top 10 counties in the state, and we believe that the combination of lower costs, convenience to Nashville and the appeal of our ‘small-town’ communities will attract a larger share of the region’s growth in the next decade,” Fosnes says.
“On the business side, as our population grows to hit market targets, more retailers will be looking to locate in either the Springfield-Greenbrier corridor or the White House area,” she says.
Springfield and White House have attracted new retail and restaurant business, mostly through remodeling of existing space. Jet’s Pizza, Zaxby’s, Berry D-Lite, Waffle House, Burkes Outlet, and several medical clinics have located in the Springfield and White House areas. The Springfield Kroger is looking at an expansion. Three of the county’s four car dealerships underwent significant remodeling and upgrading of showroom space in 2012, she says.
Highland Crest College Campus, a collaborative project involving the city of Springfield, Robertson County, NorthCrest Medical Center and private donors, which opened in the fall of 2011, continues to exceed enrollment expectations.
Classes from Volunteer State Community College and Austin Peay State University are being offered, bringing a college education within reach for Robertson County residents who might be unable to afford the time or cost of attending another school, Fosnes says.
Landeros, 22, a University of Houston student originally from South Texas, fled last summer after he was caught on a cellphone video by a fellow museum patron spray-painting a stencil of a bullfighter killing a bull and the word "conquista" -- Spanish for "conquered" -- on Picasso's "Woman in a Red Armchair" at Houston’s Menil Collection on June 13.
Landeros crossed back into the U.S. on Tuesday via a border bridge in the city of McAllen and surrendered to a U.S. marshal, according to Sara Marie Kinney, a spokeswoman for the Harris County district attorney's office. His case was still being processed Thursday, and he wasn't expected in Harris County court until next week, according to his attorney, Emily Detoto.
Detoto said she planned to waive extradition, speeding Landeros' return to Houston. Once he's back, Detoto said she plans to seek his release on bond, because he no longer poses a flight risk.
“He turned himself in. How clandestine of a fugitive was he if he was giving news interviews and posting on Facebook?” she said.
It’s not clear how Landeros plans to respond to the charges, especially because he left a trail of evidence on social media, including incriminating images and a video statement posted on YouTube in August.
"I did this to turn heads, to raise awareness to the world," he said in the video, appearing shirtless and in sunglasses in front of a white backdrop. "My intention was never to destroy Pablo's painting, or to insult the Menil."
His attorney said Landeros made many of the statements before his family hired her.
“Had he known he had a lawyer, I would have discouraged him from speaking to the media. He’s a young kid and I don’t think he realized anything he said could be used against him,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “It doesn’t make the case impossible -- it just makes it more difficult.”
The museum's director, Josef Helfenstein, released a statement to The Times on Thursday condemning the graffiti.
"An act of vandalism against one museum is an attack on all museums and violates the trust that we hold with the public," he said. "We are pleased that the legal authorities are able to move forward in prosecuting this serious crime."
The 1929 masterpiece, oil on canvas, has since been restored at a conservation lab on site and will be displayed again soon, according to Vance Muse, a spokesman for the Menil, who called the painting priceless.
"It is in very good shape -- the prognosis is excellent," Muse told The Times.
Landeros posted photos of the defaced Picasso on his Facebook page, “I have Picasso's soul in my hand,” tweeted the graffiti phrase “la bestia se conquista” and “The revolutionary artist does not create art that can easily become a commodity; his [sic] transgresses the boundaries of political mediocrity.”
“My intention is to give a voice to all those who go unheard of, all those people who get pushed around by their goverment [sic], all those people of the OCCUPY MOVEMENT who protest the streets and the goverment ignores,” Landeros wrote on Facebook. “REMEMBER, when the people fear their goverment that is tyranny, when the goverment fears the people that is freedom. We are legion, We do not forgive, We do not forget, expect us.”
Electrolux, with more than 3,300 workers and the county’s largest employer, completed a significant expansion in 2012 which added 20,000 square feet of research and development space and testing labs to support the company’s new operation in Memphis.
Macy’s Logistics, Martinrea Fabco and Tate Ornamental have also seen physical and employment expansions, says Margot Fosnes, president and chief economic development officer for the Robertson County Chamber of Commerce.
Two new industries relocated to Robertson County in the past 18 months along the I-65 corridor between Portland and Orlinda. Kyowa America, a plastic injection molding supplier for Toyota, relocated from Pennsylvania. FWE Corp., a maker of food-warming equipment for the restaurant industry, moved from Chicago. Together, they will bring nearly 300 jobs to the area, she says.
“Our population grew more than 20 percent in the last decade, among the top 10 counties in the state, and we believe that the combination of lower costs, convenience to Nashville and the appeal of our ‘small-town’ communities will attract a larger share of the region’s growth in the next decade,” Fosnes says.
“On the business side, as our population grows to hit market targets, more retailers will be looking to locate in either the Springfield-Greenbrier corridor or the White House area,” she says.
Springfield and White House have attracted new retail and restaurant business, mostly through remodeling of existing space. Jet’s Pizza, Zaxby’s, Berry D-Lite, Waffle House, Burkes Outlet, and several medical clinics have located in the Springfield and White House areas. The Springfield Kroger is looking at an expansion. Three of the county’s four car dealerships underwent significant remodeling and upgrading of showroom space in 2012, she says.
Highland Crest College Campus, a collaborative project involving the city of Springfield, Robertson County, NorthCrest Medical Center and private donors, which opened in the fall of 2011, continues to exceed enrollment expectations.
Classes from Volunteer State Community College and Austin Peay State University are being offered, bringing a college education within reach for Robertson County residents who might be unable to afford the time or cost of attending another school, Fosnes says.
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