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Evangelii Gaudium . . . A Document To Savor And Return To

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(Editor’s Note: The Most Rev. Philip Egan, bishop of Portsmouth, England, sent the following message to the priests and people of the Diocese of Portsmouth on the publication of Pope Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. He called the exhortation a stimulus to put faith into action. The bishop’s message was dated December 9, 2013, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. ZENIT News Agency provided the text; all rights reserved.)

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On November 24 this year, the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe, in conclusion to the Year of Faith, Pope Francis published the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”) that followed up the Synod of Bishops held in Rome in 2012 on “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.”
On behalf of the clergy and people of the Diocese of Portsmouth, I welcome this uplifting and courageous document and I wish publicly to thank the Holy Father for his deep and meaningful teaching. Because in this exhortation the Pope freely develops the discussions of the synod and adds so much of his own thought and reflection, I suggest that alongside Evangelii Gaudium, we also continue to study the 58 propositions the synod issued so that the significant contribution of the synod to Catholic thought and to the work of our diocese not be overlooked.
Evangelii Gaudium is a long document. Yet it is easy to follow, and its central message, about how a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in His Body the Church naturally drives us out joyfully to evangelize others, is direct.
It is a classic expression of Pope Francis’ thought, style, and preaching as seen in his daily homilies at Mass, his speeches and audiences. I encourage everyone in our diocese to read it and study it, perhaps a few paragraphs a day, over the coming months. It is a perfect accompaniment to the “Year of Faith in Action” that I recently announced for the diocese as a follow-up to the Year of Faith.
The exhortation has five chapters. In chapter one (nn. 19-41), the Holy Father begins with the Church and how we need to transpose everything into a missionary key, going beyond our comfort zones to take the Good News of Christ joyfully to the peripheries. He next discusses the crisis of community in the modern world (nn. 50-109), brought about in part by trickle-down economics and consumer culture, which generates individualism and indifference.
In chapter three (nn. 110-175), he explores certain aspects of evangelization, such as the need to inculturate the Gospel and the role of preaching. Chapter four (nn. 176-258) is about the social dimension of the Church’s mission, especially her preferential option for the poor — “I want a Church that is poor for the poor” (n. 198) — and the need to build peace, justice, and fraternity. The Holy Father concludes the exhortation with a brief chapter on the spirituality of being a missionary disciple (nn. 259-288).
There are three features of the exhortation I wish to draw attention to, before asking some specific questions about how the Holy Father’ message might apply to the Diocese of Portsmouth.
1) First, note the Holy Father’s trenchantly critical analysis of the current economic model of consumer capitalism (nn. 52-60). Money, he avers, has become an idol that no longer serves people but dominates and excludes, creating huge inequalities that marginalize many and lead some to violence. “How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?…Can we continue to stand by when food is thrown away while people are starving?” (n. 53).
In this context, “some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting.”
Indeed, “we are thrilled if the market offers us something new to purchase” but in the meantime, “all those lives stunted for lack of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us” (n. 54). The current socioeconomic system is “unjust at its root” (n. 59): it needs to be brought into dialogue with ethics and with God.
2) Clergy might note, secondly, the Holy Father’s extensive consideration of the homily and its preparation (nn. 135-159). In the liturgy, the homily should not dominate but lead people, like a mother speaking with her child, to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. The pastor must be close both to the word of God and to his people. His words should set people on fire (n. 142). The preacher needs to be personal (n. 149), linked with daily life (n. 154) and able to use clear images (n. 157) with simple language (n. 158). His message must always be positive and lead listeners to a personal encounter with Christ.
3) Thirdly, the Holy Father speaks time and again of the Church’s mission as one of preferential love for the poor (nn. 186-216). “Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor, and for enabling them to be fully a part of society.” Indeed, if we, “who are God’s means of hearing the poor, turn deaf ears to this plea, we oppose the Father’s will and his plan” (n. 187).
This planet belongs to everyone, not just a few; the “mere fact that some people are born in places with fewer resources or less development does not justify the fact that they are living with less dignity. It must be reiterated that the more fortunate should renounce some of their rights so as to place their goods more generously at the service of others” (n. 190).
God’s heart “has a special place for the poor, so much so that he himself became poor” (2 Cor. 8:9). The Savior “was born in a manger, in the midst of animals, like children of poor families; he was presented at the Temple along with two turtledoves, the offering made by those who could not afford a lamb; he was raised in a home of ordinary workers and worked with his own hands to earn his bread” (n. 197).
This is why, Pope Francis adds, “I want a Church which is poor and for the poor” (n. 198). He mentions the “homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, the elderly who are increasing isolated and abandoned, . . . migrants . . . victims of various kinds of human trafficking, . . . unborn children,” the latter being the “most defenseless and innocent” of all (nn. 210, 211, and 216).
Evangelii Gaudium is challenging. At times the Holy Father adopts a style of “prophetic denunciation,” reminiscent of liberation theology, although without the undercurrent of Marxist ideology. It is a document to savor and return to, and a stimulus and call to put faith into action. In the Diocese of Portsmouth, as a follow-up from the Year of Faith, we have announced a “Year of Faith in Action” and during this Year we will be establishing our new diocesan agency, Caritas Portsmouth.
This is exactly in line with the Holy Father’s message. Consequently, I wish to urge the clergy and people of our parishes and pastoral areas to study this apostolic exhortation. Ask yourselves: Who are the poor in your neighborhood? What is the meaning of “poverty” in your local context? What strategies of assistance and support for those in need might you individually and communally put in place?
But there are three further questions the document raises for our Diocese of Portsmouth, that I would like to ask. First, our parish communities and pastoral areas. The parish, Pope Francis states, is a key locus of new evangelization. Over the coming Year of Faith in Action, I wish to ask you to give some thought as to how our parishes and pastoral areas can be transformed into truly evangelizing communities.
“The parish is . . . the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God’s word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship, and celebration. In all its activities the parish encourages and trains its members to be evangelizers. It is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a center of constant missionary outreach” (n. 28).
As your bishop I ask you: How genuinely mission-oriented is your parish and your pastoral area?

The Urban Areas

2) Secondly, our cities and urban areas. The Holy Father discusses the challenges of modern urban culture and the city as the particular goal of new evangelization (nn. 71-75). We “need to look at cities with a contemplative gaze, a gaze of faith which sees God dwelling in their homes, in their streets and squares” (n. 71).
For new “cultures are constantly being born in these vast new expanses where Christians are no longer the customary interpreters or generators of meaning. Instead, they themselves take from these cultures new languages, symbols, messages, and paradigms which propose new approaches to life, approaches often in contrast with the Gospel of Jesus” (n. 73).
The challenge is how to find “innovative spaces and possibilities for prayer and communion which are more attractive and meaningful for city dwellers” (n. 74).
So let us think of the cities and urban areas of our Diocese of Portsmouth. They tend to follow the motorway corridors: the M3, M4, M27, etc. Think, for instance, of Oxford, Reading, Ascot and Windsor, Aldershot, Basingstoke, Winchester, Eastleigh and Southampton, Portsmouth and Bournemouth. Then there are the islands, the Isle of Wight and the Channel Isles, which are fairly densely populated.
How should we “interpret” these dispersed urban areas? That is, how might the Lord be calling us specifically to evangelize them? What are the needs? What new “ways-in” might there be?
At the moment, I am conducting a consultation about grouping our pastoral areas into six or seven larger regions or deaneries in order to enable better strategic thinking for the new evangelization. But as your bishop I ask you: How might you, your parish community, your pastoral area, become a better evangelizer of the urban cultures of our dispersed centers?

Conversation With The Lord

3) And thirdly, ourselves. Pope Francis here and elsewhere calls for our churches to be open. The “Church is called to be the house of the Father, with doors always wide open. One concrete sign of such openness is that our church doors should always be open, so that if someone, moved by the Spirit, comes there looking for God, he or she will not find a closed door” (n. 47).
Moreover, “without prolonged moments of adoration, of prayerful encounter with the Word, of sincere conversation with the Lord, our work easily becomes meaningless; we lose energy as a result of weariness and difficulties, and our fervor dies out.
“The Church urgently needs the deep breath of prayer, and to my great joy groups devoted to prayer and intercession, the prayerful reading of God’s word and the perpetual adoration of the Eucharist are growing at every level of ecclesial life” (n. 262).
How good it is, the Holy Father opines, “to stand before a crucifix, or on our knees before the Blessed Sacrament, and simply to be in his presence! How much good it does us when he once more touches our lives and impels us to share his new life!” (n. 264).
For the “primary reason for evangelizing is the love of Jesus which we have received, the experience of salvation which urges us to ever greater love of him.” In the Diocese of Portsmouth, I once again urge everyone: Keep your church open! Visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament! Adore Him and come away renewed, sharing your love and happiness with others!
But as your bishop I ask you: When and how are you yourself going to find time to do this, to be in the Presence of the Lord in the Holy Eucharist? Pope Francis concludes Evangelii Gaudium by turning to Mary.
He notes that whenever we look to her, “we come to believe once again in the revolutionary nature of love and tenderness. In Her we see that humility and tenderness are not virtues of the weak but of the strong who need not treat others poorly in order to feel important themselves. . . . She is the woman of prayer and work in Nazareth, and She is also Our Lady of Help, who sets out from Her town ‘with haste’ (Luke 1:39) to be of service to others. This interplay of justice and tenderness, of contemplation and concern for others, is what makes the ecclesial community look to Mary as a model of evangelization” (n. 288).
At the end of this message, let us commend ourselves and all the clergy and people of our diocese to the powerful intercession of Mary Immaculate our patron. Mary is the Star of New Evangelization and if you look at my episcopal “coat of arms” you will see that Star shining brightly in the sky over the Diocese of Portsmouth.
Here is part of the Holy Father’s prayer, which I ask you now to pray: “O Mary, Star of the New Evangelization, help us to bear radiant witness to communion and service, to ardent and generous faith, and to justice and love of the poor, so that the joy of the Gospel may reach to the ends of the earth, illuminating even the fringes of our world.” Amen.
In Corde Iesu.

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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Quote of the Day

This is what has made clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church the subject of so many scathing reports, whether from the news media or grand juries: that a cover-up occurred at high levels in many dioceses. When a scandal of this proportion is uncovered, journalists will naturally want to see how far it goes – the basis for the latest round of stories. To say that sexual abuse in other churches or other sectors of society does not get the same media attention misses the point. The issue isn’t that Catholic priests are allegedly prone to commit sexual abuse, but that a small percentage of them were freed to do so, again and again, due to gross mismanagement, secrecy and lack of accountability on the part of church authorities. However dated most of the sexual abuse cases are, this story still calls out to be covered because some of those who failed to stop repeat abusers remain in positions of authority.

– Paul Moses
Weighing Weigal’s Case Against The Times
March 29, 2010

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Let the (Blame) Games Begin
Game Over
An Offering of Ashes
The Roman Catholic Pyramid is Crumbling

Recommended Off-site Links:
The Theocons Dig In - Andrew Sullivan (The Daily Dish, March 29, 2010).
Roman Catholic Church Abuse Allegations Ripple Across the Globe
- Brett Michael Dykes (Yahoo! News, March 29, 2010).
A Papal Conversion
- John L. Allen, Jr. (The New York Times, March 27, 2010).
Credibility Gap: Pope Needs to Answer Questions - National Catholic Reporter (March 26, 2010).
Catholics Find Ties to the Church Tested by Crisis - Vanessa Gera (Associated Press, March 30, 2010).

TheraP said...

May I add this part. This story also cries out because abused persons often take so long to come forward. Over and over, the Vatican mistakenly asserts that there are no recent victims.

Wait a while...

For this reason also, this scandal MUST be covered and the Vatican MUST undertake systemic change.

Michael J. Bayly said...

Excellent point, TheraP. Thanks for sharing it.

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Celebrity Gossip Never Looked So Good ®
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"The Game" star Brandy posed for the latest cover of PYNK Magazine where she reveals how she was courted by fiance Ryan Press, if she feels undervalued by the music industry and possibly bringing Whitney Houston's story to life.  Read the interview inside....

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R&B starlet Brandy sat down with PYNK Magazine for their latest issue where she opened up about a possible return to reality televison and revealed that she'd love to bring Whitney Houston's story to life.  "The Game" star was also very candid about the performance of her album Two-Eleven and if she feels that her contributions to the music industry have gone unrecognized.

Here are the highlights:

Do you feel like your growth and evolution as a woman influenced the creative process behind ‘Two-Eleven’?

“Yes, for me that’s the only way I can put the album together because I can’t put my all into a song if I haven’t experienced or watched someone else experience whatever it is I am singing about. With [‘Two-Eleven’], it was really about me reconnecting with my confidence and rediscovering who I am.”

You hit the ground running with the release of ‘Two-Eleven’. You were everywhere promoting the album. Do you feel as though your hard work paid off? Were you pleased with how the album performed?

“I feel like my hard work paid off because my fans love the album. Of course, I would’ve wanted the album to reach more people but I just feel blessed to be able to do what I love. Sales chart positions and all of those things don’t really define me…I define me.”

How do you feel about the current state of R&B? Are there any newcomers you listen to and would like to collaborate with?

“I’m not okay with the current state of R&B. That’s why ‘Two-Eleven’ was so important to me. I wanted to do an album that contributed to that genre of music. I think it was very necessary for the music industry and the hearts of people. As far as newcomers, I hadn’t really been paying attention because I was so focused on the album but I can’t help but pay attention to Kelly Rowland. I admire her so much and would love to collaborate with her. Beyoncé is phenomenal and Rihanna is amazing too.”

You’ve helped to musically influence an entire generation of singers and many of your fans feel that you have gone unrecognized for the impact you’ve had on R&B music. Do you agree? Why or why not?

“Sometimes I agree with it because I know there are a lot of talented people that have shown me a lot of love on top of my fans really expressing their love for me. Sometimes I think your ego gets in the way because you know you want everybody to feel that way about you. You want to get the credit. You want to get the props but I try not to live in that space because I know it’s ego. I’m just happy with being me. I’m happy with being able to be so connected in my being that I’m able to express that in my music. There are so many people who get the credit but they’re not really connected to their music. I would take the honesty and the connection with my music over the credit any day…but both would be nice! [laughs]”

You’re returning to “The Game” as Chardonnay for another season. What can viewers and fans of the show expect to see from your character this season?

“This season you’ll see Chardonnay find her place in this new football world. She’s transitioning into being Jason Pitts’ wife but still trying to balance maintaining her identity. You get to see her develop this friendship with Tasha Mack and also more of the dynamics of her relationship with Jason. What they have is true love. She’s not into him for his money.”

You and your family experienced great success doing reality TV. Would you ever do reality TV again?

“You know, I think I did reality TV at the wrong time. When I was on [Family Business] I wasn’t as consistent in my career. I wasn’t connected to my purpose at the time. After that, I said I wouldn’t do reality TV again but there are shows out there now like the ‘Mary/Mary’ show that are good. I would consider it if it were centered more on my career.”

What would be your dream [acting] role?

“Honestly, my dream role would be to play Whitney [Houston]. I studied her growing up, I knew her. I just feel that connection with her. I would love to be able to play her. I believe it could happen.”

You recently became engaged. How did you and your fiancé meet and how did you know he was “the one”?

“He’s a music executive. So, we actually met in the studio a long time ago. We reconnected at a music event sometime later and when we talked, it just felt like I knew him. Then I would just run into him in random places in New York…I’d walk into a restaurant for lunch and he’d be there. I ended up running to him at another event and he kept staring at me the whole night. It made me so uncomfortable because I thought he was married. So, I told him that he should stop staring at me because he’s married and it’s not a good look. He was like ‘what are you talking about? I’m not married.’ [laughs] From there, we just started talking on the phone. Then, dating. When he told me he was relocating to LA for his job, I just thought to myself, ‘he’s going to be my husband’. I took that as a sign.”

How do you balance your career, motherhood, and preparing to become a wife?

“I don’t know! [laughs] It’s hard. I haven’t worked this hard in my life! My daughter has her own life now. She’s getting older so she has her own schedule now. Sometimes, I want her to travel with me and she’s like ‘no mom. I have a school trip I have to go on.’ [laughs] I have a great support system though. My fiancé, my mom and god-sisters they definitely help out.”

You seem to be very close with your mother. How has that relationship grown or changed throughout your career?

“I think in the beginning it was about trying to figure out how to wear both hats. Being the client and the daughter and for my mother being the mom and the manager. But the foundation has always been love, protection, and wanting the best for me. It took a lot of self work but I can tell her anything and I know she always has my back.”

PYNK Girls love fashion! Tell our readers who some of your favorite designers are?

“Let me tell you…I have found my personal style! Bohemian Chic is totally my thing. So, when I’m not on stage that’s how I’m dressed. I love Free People…I’m addicted [to their clothing]. Free People…I need an endorsement or something. [laughs] Let’s get it in!”

Check out Brandy's photoshoot here:

 photo pnb6.jpg  photo pnb5.jpg  photo pnb4.jpg  photo pnb3.jpg

Photos via PYNK

Another Beautiful chocolate

Another Beautiful chocolate Honey. Love it!
PacificGirl's picture

Brandy sounds like a Free

Brandy sounds like a Free Spirit kind of person, especially, if she’s into the Bohemian Fashion Style…I mean, it’s cool…Also, I’ve been seeing a lot of the Bohemian Fashion Styles on different people in Hollywood lately, and I know it sells, and that’s for sure…I tell you what I think is hot right now, I think that the Pointy Nails design are so sexy, and they make everyone look younger…Oh, and I like your hair because it looks silky, and it flows.
rebellious soul's picture

Love her!

Love her!

Burself's picture

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Vitamin E oil and black hair

You might be wondering what vitamin e oil and black hair have in common. Vitamin E oil can have many positive effects on African hair. Not just African hair either, any hair type can benefit from vitamin E. This article will explain some of the common ways that people use vitamin E oil to promote healthier hair.

Where does vitamin E come from? There are many sources of vitamin E available, just like any vitamin; there are many ways that a person can get vitamin E in their diet. Some of the most common and richest sources of this vitamin are nuts, avocados, seeds, and olive oil. If you have ever looked for home remedies, you already know that many home remedies include all of the things mentioned above, and this is because of the benefits of vitamin E.

When consumed, this vitamin helps increase a person’s oxygen uptake, and this improves the blood circulation to the scalp. When a healthy supply of blood is reaching your scalp, your hair will become healthier.

This vitamin has the ability to slow down the ageing process as well. This is because it prevents cells and tissues from oxidizing; oxidation is what causes premature aging. That is why vitamin E is so successful in getting rid of unwanted gray hair. It can also help skin remain healthy and prevent premature wrinkles.

Not only does this vitamin have anti-aging properties, but it has a vast number of other great benefits as well. Below you will find a small list of the many ways vitamin e can be used to keep hair healthy, and looking its best.

Everyone suffers from split ends at some point during their lifetime, and it seems like the only solution is to have your hair trimmed regularly. However, did you know that vitamin E could help repair those split ends just as easily? It is true! Massaging a small amount of vitamin E oil into your hair before you wash it can help repair the damage caused by heat and over processing. In fact, many repairing shampoos have vitamin E in them for that very reason. You can also find many home remedies online, which will guide you through the process of making your own vitamin e shampoo and conditioner for your hair.

Vitamin E is also a very effective treatment for hair growth, especially in people who are balding. It is common for people who are suffering from hair loss to massage vitamin e into their scalp to promote hair growth.

There are many other uses for vitamin E, which you can discuss with your doctor. You should always consult a physician before taking vitamin E for any reason. It may interact with other medications that you are taking, and with any vitamin, it is always best to make sure that it is a health choice for you!

About The Author

My goal is to teach myself and others about our beautiful black hair and to have a place where we can come together to get examples, advice, and information of black hair growth and hairstyles. Whether you have permed, pressed, or natural hair its still black hair and it's beautiful.

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Friday, February 15, 2013

Taxing times for the Chancellor

With the UK budget scheduled to be unveiled on March 20th, Chancellor George Osbourne is receiving lots of advice on what to do.  So I will throw in my 'two-pennorth worth'.

Essentially there are three problems.  The UK is over-taxed, lacks economic growth and is over-stretched, debt and deficit wise.

I hold to the opinion that economic growth and tax reductions are self-supporting.  Cuts in taxes (however these are labelled) will stimulate growth.  There has been talk of further bouts of Quantitative Easing - where the Bank of England prints 'money' and pumps this into the economy.  I still hold to the view that the only way such inflationary measures will work is if you actually put the money printed, directly into the hands of consumers.  Please don't tell me that the BofE buying government debt is benefiting the economy (I will return to this later).

So to tax cuts and economic growth.

Firstly, let's do something simple about employer National Insurance Contributions (NIC).  Though how something that is compulsory can be called a 'contribution' escapes me.  So, how about this.  Effective from the day that this is announced, any Small, Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) that engages a new employee, will be able to enjoy a 5 year NIC holiday for that employee.  In my mind, an SME is one that employs less than say 500 people.  That should help stimulate employment growth and reduce a cost burden on companies.

In fact, let's take it one stage further, and extend the holiday, until the new employee's 25th birthday.  So either 5 years NIC holiday or until the person reaches 25 years of age, whichever is later.

Secondly,  be bold!  Reduce the basic rate of tax to 15% and accelerate the raising of the tax thresholds.   Raise the threshold for 2013/14 to £12,000 and, here is the crafty bit, enshrine in the budget a commitment to raise it in the next 5 years by £2,000 each year.  I appreciate that this may provide a dilemma for the Labour party - will they oppose or finally stand-up for low-paid taxpayers?  This might flush out who it is that they actually represent - the workers or the shirkers!

Third, reduce the next rate from 40% to 38%, again, with a commitment to reduce this by 2% per year for the next 5 years.  That might help the squeezed middle class that politicians bleat about so often but rarely actually do anything about!

Fourth, eliminate the 'green taxes' that are currently imposed, with immediate effect.  These economically insane charges merely transfer money from masses of people to an ever-richer few.  The taxes can never work in reducing so called greenhouse emissions, the science on so-called global warming is being daily discredited (and exposed for its untruths) and the UK acting unilaterally is plainly madness.  Sorry Britannia but you no longer rules the waves and while you saddle your people and companies with ever higher energy prices, the rest of the world is getting on with making a living!

Fifth,  and this is where the equation starts to balance out and where we address government debt.  Commence a programme of real cuts in government expenditure.  In all departments, take the 2010/11 out-turn as the basis and cut all expenditure by 10% in the coming year and enshrine 2% cuts in expenditure for the next five years.  Again, challenge the tax and spend socialists to decide on whose side they are on - the tax payers or the public service unions?

Sixth, abolish the Department for the Environment and Climate Change - completely.  Oh and this is over and above the savings from the preceding paragraph!

Please stay with me, not far to go now.

Seventh, Include a measure that with effect from after the 2015 election, MPs expenses will be subject to the same tax rules as those of the rest of the population.  That is, the benefits in kind that they receive (free or subsidized transport, meals and housing support) are taxed just as they would be if these privileged few were treated the same as the general population.  Some may say this is unfair but since those standing for election know the terms and conditions under which they will be employed, I suggest we ignore their complaints.  Remember their basic salary is more than two and a half times the national average wage.

Eigth, Local Government - commencing with this fiscal year, set a limit of minus 5% on council taxes - so they must cut council taxes by at least 5%.  Those that don't will see the central government grant being reduced by the amount that they would have had to reduce expenditure  to afford this cut.  Again, enshrine this in the budget and see the socialists and their fellow tax and spend travelers squirm.

We must get to a stage where tax increases - income, NIC and council taxes - are not considered natural, quite the reverse.  We have come to a stage where a council pats itself on the back if it keeps a council tax increase down to inflation levels.  That is plain wrong - what we need is cuts and continuously so - councils, like government, need to get out of the way and only do the things that the individual can't do.

Ninth, tell all government departments to re-negotiate all of their PFI deals, with a minimum target reduction of 20% in PFI fees required.  If these can't be achieved because the financiers won't play ball, then cancel the contracts.  Walk away and give them back their schools, hospitals and government office blocks and make a court date!

Tenth, ensure that the budget includes a measure that states that if the recently 'won' EU budget cuts are not approved by the European Parliament, then the UK will immediately cease all payments to the EU - all payments.   Please don't even bother to talk about democracy and such, in the same breath as the  EU, EU Commission or EU parliament and that such an act would be undemocratic.  These people need to understand that we, the people, have had enough.  There is no more money, as Liam Byrne said.  There is no more gravy train.  No more is going into the trough!

OK, so maybe this, when run through the various Treasury models, won't be cost neutral but since we are increasing the deficit anyway, isn't it better to do so, in order to put money into tax-payers pocket's?  That is my kind of Quantitative Easing!

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Alumni Interview Request

Denison does provide off campus interviews. By providing the information on this form, it will help us to serve you more accurately.

At Denison University we respect your privacy. Any information you provide to us will be used solely for admissions purposes. We are warned that email transmissions may not always be totally secure. Denison University will strive to protect your privacy. If you are concerned about privacy and confidentiality, you may call Connie Park in the Admissions Office at 740-587-6622 to schedule an off-campus interview.


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Friday, September 02, 2005

Jimmy Duff's

As some of you may recall, I celebrated bar number 750 at Duff's. You might find this link interesting. Duff's is, as you will see, quite a place.

Don't Be Afraid; Click The Head

  • A Scary Walk Down Court Street

    Decided to spend another day close to home and let me tell you, a walk up Court Street can be downright scary. Imagine, if you are a little kid, coming across this, almost as big as you, pig.

    Spooky if you ask me. But being a brave Bar Man I passed on by and made my appointed rounds.

    771) P.J. Hanley’s

    Located at 449 Court St. on the corner of Luquer Street is one of the older, if not the oldest, bar in Brooklyn. It was established in 1871 and some of the interior fixtures do indeed look as though they date back to that era. Interestingly enough, when I arrived there was a conversation going on amongst of few of the neighborhod old-timers about what a cesspool the Gowanas Canal is. They all seemed to think it was worse in the old days though when people used to dump horse carcasses and, on occasion, human ones as well in there and the rats were downright dangerous I wonder if these guys know Louie from Sam’s. Probably.

    There is a nice old wooden bar in here with an ivory colored marble arm rest and matching marble columns in front along with ornately carved wood. There is also the much beloved brass rail. A beer station with eight spigots serves up a somewhat ho hum selection of beers. There is a very ornately carved wooden bar back with more marble columns, two at each end with an oval mirror between them. There is a large rectangular mirror in the center. Tiered shelves with bottles and glasses are behind the bar. There is a large statue of an elegantly dressed woman golfer taking a swing and a smaller statue of the Virgin Mary at one end of the bar.

    American flags, Yankee and Mets pennants are tucked around the edges of the mirrors behind the bar. A couple of unlit lamps with orange Rhinegold shades flank the mirror. The lights over the bar back have small stained glass shades. The ones over the bar are dome shaped white glass in metal fixtures that look like they are being supported by metal webs. A partition topped with ornately designed frosted glass separates the bar from tables along the wall opposite the bar. Very interesting light fixtures hang over those tables, mottled dome shaped glass shades each flanked by five smaller upturned lamps with dark cone-shaped shades.

    The ceiling is copper-colored tin with hammered designs. The floor is patterned mosaic tile. Ceiling fans push the cool air around and it is quite pleasant in here, especially because I get to listen to the old-timers talking and can watch women’s pool on one of the three televisions. There is a large and very nice outside area with tables and chairs on the Luquer Street side.

    I had a Brooklyn Lager.

    772) Mama Maria’s

    Closer to home at 307 Court Street is this surprisingly nice narrow Italian restaurant and bar. Just a small L shaped bar up front with a well polished dark wood top and sides. The six bar chairs are dark wood as well and have nice floral patterned cloth seats in shades of tan. The kind of fabric you might find on an old sofa. A bright round beer station with four spigots sits on the bar. The bar back was also L shaped so it defined a small space for a bartender. The long side was dark wood with mirrors with glass shelves for bottles. They sat above a wooden topped set of shelves that held more bottles and glasses. The short side had a mirror with glass shelves in front of it above a cooler. The glass shelves held more glasses including a row of assorted martini glasses all of which had crooked stems sitting on the uppermost shelf.

    The floor was nicely tiled in shades of pink and the tables had pink marble-like tops. Floor to ceiling windows opened onto Court Street, and open they were. It was a hot day and the overhead fans didn’t do a whole lot to cool the place down. A couple of tables spilled out a bit onto the sidewalk and sat under red umbrellas. The floor opposite the bar and all the way back is brick and a couple of gold framed mirrors, pictures of flowers, and a number of decorative plates hang on it. There is a nice dining area in the back with a fireplace against the back wall and a large mirror hangs above its mantle.

    There were somewhat out of place looking frozen drink and juice machines opposite the bar.

    I discovered that this restaurant is attached to the pizza place next door and they advertised the drinks.

    I wandered over there and it just looked like they didn’t have any room for the machines so that is why they were parked next door. I had a slice of pizza while I was there and if you like thin crispy crusts this is the place to go. If you don't want a soft drink from next door you can get a beer in here instead.

    Before going next door though I sat and had a Tanqueray and tonic while watching what looked to be a cross between Judge Judy and Jerry Springer in Spanish on the television.

    A bit of a lazy day with two bars hit moving me up to 772 for the year and leaving 228 to go.

    I will be taking a few days off over labor day. Going to my sister-in-law's house in New Jersey and doing the smoking and grilling for the family's Labor Day party. I got a 12 pound beef brisket that I smeared with mustard and then applied my homemade rub. I will let that be absorbed for about 12 hours and then smoke the whole thing for about 16 hours. It should be yummy. Of course that gives me 16 hours to drink beer while I keep an eye on my work in progress.

    Thursday, September 01, 2005

    Closer To Home

    I went out to order a brisket to smoke for a family barbecue and walked by a place close by that I hadn’t visited yet but always wanted to pop into, Sam’s. I also saw a new place, Blue Star, that didn’t open until later so I figured I would visit Sam's and then head out again in the early evening. That also gave me a chance to stop into another place that doesn’t open until later, Brooklyn Social.

    768) Sam’s

    Not far from Staubitz Market, one of my favorite butchers, is Sam’s at 238 Court Street. This place has been around since 1930 so it is a real neighborhood place. When I got there it was just opening up so I had plenty of time to talk to Louie whose father owns the place and still works there at times. Louie was quite a character and grew up not far from here. We had a most interesting discussion about what would happen if a big hurricane ever hit New York. He is an avid boater and knew a lot about past Nor’easters and the topography of New York. He had some very interesting opinions, particularly about what would happen when the Gowanus Canal backed up, among other things. The Gowanus Canal is in the heart of downtown Brooklyn and is, to put it mildly, a cesspool. In fact, it is at least six blocks from Court Street and because yesterday was hot and humid and the wind was blowing the right (or wrong) way, you could smell it from there.

    But, I digress. The bar has no stools or chairs but enough room to stand and have a drink. No foot rest either. There is an illuminated half-circle overhang above it. Behind the bar are just some shelves holding the liquor in front of an old mirror. There are two statues of young boys sitting on swings hanging from the ceiling and they each hold a small lantern that provides a bit of light. Sitting on one end of a bar was an arrangements of plants that had what looked like memoriam cards and an American flag inserted among them. To the right of the bar, closer to the door, are two very old wooden telephone booths with glass paneled doors that are now being used for storage.

    The wall opposite the bar is lined with booths with bright red seats and backs. The tables have blue tablecloths with a white linen napkin positioned as a diamond in the center. They are covered with clear plastic though so your arms stick and if you spilt your drink it would just run off into your lap. Small white statues and green containers of pink flowers sit on a ledge next to the booths. A replica of Michelangelo’s David probably served as an inducement to order their sausage and meatball special. On the wood paneled walls above the ledge are pictures of Italian gardens, street scenes, and seascapes. A small overhang above them has clear plastic panels with small fluorescent lights behind them. There are also tables in the center of the floor similarly decked out with the plastic covered tablecloths and another room in the back. The floor is light and dark tile and the ceiling is the kind of tile you often see in basement recreation rooms.

    As I said, this is an old neighborhood place and you can see by the way Louie interacts with the customers that he must know them all, or will before their visit is over. A real classic Brooklyn Italian restaurant and well worth the visit if you want something a bit more authentic than the newer places over on Smith Street.

    I had a Brooklyn I.P.A., straight from the bottle. Louie was drinking a Manhattan Special Espresso Coffee Soda.

    769) Blue Star

    Up the street at 254 Court Street and right next to American Beer Distributing Company, one of Bar Man’s favorite places to shop for beer and where I picked up some Aecht Ochlenferla Rauchbier (Original Schlenkerla Smokebeer) for the weekend, is this seafood restaurant and bar. It is fairly new and has, well, a somewhat eclectic décor. You can tell it is a seafood place by the mounted plastic fish mounted on the overhang above the wall opposite the bar and the old harpoon hanging on the wall. On the wall up front is another mounted fish and a wood silhouette of the hull of a boat complete with portholes. On the other hand, there is a large space themed painting with what looks like planets and shooting stars on a white speckled black background behind the bar. At one end of the bar is a display of crab legs and oysters below a fishmonger type scale hanging from the ceiling while on the other end of the bar is an old wooden spinning wheel. Below the over hang opposite the bar are large round planet-looking wall hangings with more shooting stars. And some of the mounted fish wear straw hats for some reason.

    The bar hass a light grey shiny plastic top with a light and dark turquoise mosaic front. The foot rest is light sea-foam green blocks. The seats are chromed diner style stools with turquoise seats. There is a line of turquoise benches opposite the bar with tables and chromed chairs with matching turquoise seats in front of them. The walls are bright turquoise above blue and white mosaic that matches the front of the bar. Up front is another turquoise bench with the same table and chair setup and five small tables with a couple of chairs each.

    The setup behind the bar is fairly simple, just shelves and tiered shelves of liquor and there are old fashioned looking inverted helmet shaped white glass lights hanging from the ceiling. Kind of a funky looking place but neat in its own way. They have live music a couple of nights a week and $1 beers to go with your oysters. A small outside seating area as well.

    I had an East India Pale Ale.

    770 Brooklyn Social

    Over at 335 Smith Street is this former prohibition era speakeasy and subsequent Italian social club that doesn’t look like it has changed much over the years. Narrow and dark and easy to walk by. Dark wood paneling lines the bottom half of the walls with yellowish cream colored plaster above. A few benches with black seats are tucked into three corners and black round tables with a single wooden chair each sit in front of two of them. Old photos of what looks like former club members adorn the walls and there are a few trophies circa 1970’s in some small shelves.

    The bar is a nice dark wood and has a dark wood footrest. There are chromed bar stools with black seats. Old fashiioned fat disk shaped white glass lights hang above the bar. They make some classic, and maybe not so classic, cocktails here and use fresh ingredients. In fact a glass filled with fresh rosemary sat in front of me and its smell permeated my immediate area. Kind of weird, the place looked like I should be smelling of stale cigarette smoke. They use the rosemary in a drink called an Almalfi (don’t ask).

    The ceiling is red hammered tin and the floor is plain tan linoleum. There is a pool table in a small back room whose walls are covered with black and white photos of boxers. There is a small outdoor area with benches beyond that.

    The bar back sports a large distressed mirror with an old looking wooden frame with chipped paint. Below that are tiered shelves for the liquor that sit atop an old set of wooden shelves holding glasses. On each side of the mirror are two small semi-circular wooden shelves mounted on the wall holding a couple of bottles and above the mirror is a large old clock. There is also an old faded pea-soup green refrigerator back there.

    I had a Brooklyn made with straight rye whiskey, orange brandy, and a dash of bitters. It was a bit sweeter than I expected it to be, but not bad at all.

    A nice little neighborhood jaunt with three places visited bringing my total for the year to 770 and leaving 230 to go. There does seem to be a light at the end of this tunnel.

    Wednesday, August 31, 2005

    A Quick Day By The Garden

    Today was a quicker day than I had planned. I was going to head to a few bars on the East side but the subway was being held in the station due to a sick passenger in the train ahead of us at the next station. At least that was what was announced. After sitting in the train for about 10 minutes I heard the west side train pulling into the station so I bolted for that one and took it up to Madison Square Garden and hit a couple of bars right outside.

    766) Tupelo

    Tupelo is right across the street from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. It has a dark green marble-topped bar with a light and dark wood paneled front and a grey slate footrest. A silver T shaped beer station with 6 spigots sits on top. There is a large colorful picture of Earnest Hemmingway’s head on the wall behind the bar (the picture is on the wall, it isn’t a picture of his head on the wall). On the wall to the right of the bar is a slightly smaller picture of Babe Ruth done in the same style and at an angle to that is a larger picture of Bobby Jones with the caption “How To Break 90).

    The bar back has three combination wooden shelves and wine racks separated by glass shelving holding the liquor. Below the bottom glass shelves are tiered shelves holding more bottles. Below are metal coolers with glasses sitting on top of them. On a shelf above each of the three wine racks are iron framed glass candle holders each flanked by a couple bottles of wine. There is a framed poster advertising Strega (one of Bar Man’s favorite after dinner drinks) and one for Bull-Dog Cigars that are, apparently, “Hard To Beat” on the wall between the candle holders. On another wall is a large portrait of John Wayne from the movie “The Searchers.” A television is mounted high in the corner to the right of the bar with the U.S. Open showing.

    More wine bottles along with what I hope are plastic ferns and vines are on ledges mounted high on the walls. The rest of the fairly large space is broken into dining areas and looks to be quite fancy. The bar was all set up with white linen napkins, China, and silver when I walked in but most of it got pushed to the side when the drinking crowd showed up.

    I had a draft Samuel Adams Boston Lager.

    767) Nick Stef’s

    Right across the street from Tupelo and in the same building as Penn Station is this elegant, modernistic steakhouse. The green awning to the far right is an entrance to Madison Square Garden.

    The dining area is well separated from the bar. You can just glimpse some of the diners and hear them, but it is a kind of a cheerful background babble, soothing rather than intrusive. The bar is a large, very irregularly shaped affair with a gray and white mottled marble top, a dark wood front, and a gray footrest. Rectangular tannish orange glass shaded lights hang over the bar. There were three televisions that I could see from my vantage point and all were tuned to CNN’s coverage of the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. There have been reports of a three foot shark swimming in the streets of New Orleans which makes me wonder what happened to the aquarium. I don’t recall hearing anything about it. The had to shoot an escaped sea lion from another park in different town though.

    There isn’t anything too fancy behind the bar here, glass shelves for liquor and two beer stations with three spigots each. Metal coolers and shelves below that and under the sides of the bar. Functional, but not too pleasing to the eye. The ceilings are very interesting though, angled light wood. The walls are pale yellow with a fairly eclectic assortment of framed black and white photos mounted here and there. This used to be a Charlie O’s but Nick is making much better use of the space.

    I had a Tanqueray and tonic.

    Like I said, just a quick trip and a couple of bars making 767 for the year and leaving 233 to go.

    Tuesday, August 30, 2005

    Hopping Back To Hop Devil

    765) Hop Devil – The Belgian Room

    Next door to the "other" Hop Devil and connected to it through a hallway is this separate bar that sells only Belgian and Belgian style beers. It has a separate entrance from the street and there is a store between the two sides so, in my book at least, it counts as a different bar.

    It is smaller on this side and has the dark ambience of one of the old “brown” bars in Amsterdam. I was talking to the Steve, the manager, and he said that was the kind of feel they were aiming for. The dark wood bar is fairly small with plain wood barstools and just a narrow foot rest. The back bar is a combination of a curved set of shelves holding the various styles of glasses that one uses to serve the various beers. There are some carved statues of what I guess are Belgian elves on the upper shelves. This little section is the only really well-lit area in the bar and it is where Erin plies her trade.

    Erin Posing, Not Plying

    Actually, Erin was my bartender yesterday too, but she didn’t want me to take her picture then. I must be losing my touch; it took me two days to talk her into it. She is very nice though and fun to talk to when she isn't too busy. The owner was here too and he, along with the manager, were both very pleasant and conversational. We had quite a conversation about bars and beers.

    Also behind the bar is a large cooler with glass doors where the bottled beers are kept.

    Bare orange light bulbs hang from the ceiling by electrical cords and there are a few orange lights with somewhat of a nautical look to them hanging on the walls. There are a couple of round wood tables with chairs and booths along the wall opposite the bar. The other bright spot here is the flashy internet jukebox in a corner behind the booths. There is also a Big Buck Hunter machine in the back that looked a bit out of place.

    The ambience was definitely old European and once my trek of a thousand bars is over I can see myself spending some serious time here. Belgian beers are a bit pricey, some over $25 a bottle, although we are talking a good sized bottle. I kind of view it like drinking a nice wine though, especially if you drink it with a nice bowl of mussels.

    I had a bottle of Bink Bloesem and the Mysterious Chinese Woman had a glass of Peche Lambic. The Pech Lambic is a low alcohol, 2.5% , peach flavored beer, a bit too sweet for my tastes unless you had a glass after dinner as kind of a dessert. Mine was a bit more robust with a bit of a pear back flavor to it, but nothing overpowering. Steve then gave me a draft St. Bernardus ABT 12 to try and it was very good indeed. It is a quadruple and that means it is stronger and generally has more flavor than the other styles. And flavorful it was. It is very dark and has a nice creamy head. You wouldn’t want to just pound these down but a great beer. That is another thing about Belgian beers. Even though they are expensive they are also strong and so flavorful that you tend to drink them slowly. For the price of two or three rather, in my opinion, bland domestic beers you could get one really good Belgian beer that would last just as long (and have as much alcohol too).

    Finished up my beers and headed down the street to Jules, a French bistro I had visited before. Had a nice bottle of wine, a good dinner, and listened to some great live jazz. It was kind of like I made a quick trip to Europe tonight.

    Just one bar today bringing my total to 765 and leaving 235 to go.

    Monday, August 29, 2005

    Finishing Off St. Marks Place

    Well, perhaps I didn’t quite finish it off, but the only bars left that I haven’t visited weren’t open yesterday. Maybe it was too early. Can’t be more than a couple of them anyway and I will pick them off one evening in the not too distant future.

    762) St. Dymphnas

    Quite a ways east at 118 St. Marks Place, almost to Avenue A where it ends at Thomkins Square Park, is this Irish pub named after the patron saint of mental illness. There is a social club in Dublin with the same name and it is specifically for people who have experienced “mental health difficulties.” Seems like an appropriate enough name for a bar. There is an old wood bar with a brass rail in this fairly small space. The walls are primarily a light green as is the ceiling. The wall behind the bar is more of a desert rose. There was a nice vase of flowers on one end of the bar and a television that was turned off. A beer station with 9 spigots sits on the bar and it has a decent variety. The lighting overhead is track and there are old gaslight fixtures on the walls that now have light bulbs in them. The windows in front have wood panes and the flooring is wooden planks. Tables and chairs make up the dining area. While I was there someone ordered the Irish breakfast and it looked very good indeed. There is a nice little outdoor seating area in the back.

    I spent most of my time chatting with the bartender, mostly about real estate. He lives in a neighborhood not too far from me in Brooklyn. I was surprised to hear that housing prices are even higher in Dublin than in New York. And we are talking New York City here where a million dollars buys you a fixer-up in a suspect neighborhood. Ah me, where will it all end.

    My solution was to have a draft Kirin and move along.

    763) Hop Devil Grill

    This is a relatively new place across the street from St. Dymphnas that was built into an old space so some of the original fixtures are still in place. The bar is new and has a heavy well-polished light wood top and kind of a matching plywood front. The foot rest is rough wood with metal trim. They have a great selection of bottled and draft beers. The draft beers are pulled from 24 spigots mounted behind the bar above a patterned metal splash guard above a long drainage trough.

    All of the draft beers looked good and they had a few I had never seen before. Above the spigots is kind of a cubby-hole set of shelves with old beer cans, statues, glasses and stuff tucked in them. On each side of the spigots are tiered shelves of liquor. A small blackboard in the center of the shelves lists their bar food and a large rectangular blackboard above the bar lists the beer selections by country. Maybe I should have had the Layla Dirty Blond Lager from Israel.

    There are a lot of framed beer ads from days gone by mounted on the walls that are kind of a mottled tan above dark wood paneling. The back area is up three steps and has a bunch of round tables and chairs. Opposite the bar is a small partition with a fairly wide ledge and a few bar stools in front of it. Above the partition is another blackboard that explains just what a hop devil is.

    At each end of the explanation the daily specials are listed. On the other side of the partition up against the wall are booths with burgundy seats. The wall next to the large floor to almost ceiling windows and the entryway is hammered tin. Kind of an interesting look. The entryway and red outer door have large oval windows. The ceiling is kind of a paneled mottled tan plastic and there are ceiling fans with lights hanging from it. The floor is interesting multi-colored chip linoleum.

    Around the back and kind of next door they have another separate bar that only opens later in the evening. The only serve Belgian style beers at that bar and the bartender said the owners objective was to have the largest selection of Belgian style bars in the United States. I hope he succeeds. I will come back here later in the day sometime and I will count it as a separate bar. From the street side it is actually separated from the other side by a small store and it has its own street side entrance. In fact I think I will go back tomorrow.

    I had a draft Belhaven Twisted Thistle Ale, quite good I must say.

    764) Sushi Lounge

    This is just a small place at the end of St. Marks Place on the same side of the street as St. Dymphnas. There is just a small bar with only four chairs, but a bar is a bar. The bar has a dark wood top and a padded red leather front. The bar chairs are wood with a somewhat elegant design and pale green seats. There is a fairly plain, and small, set of shelves behind the bar with glasses and a couple of martini shakers for the sake cocktails they offer. On the top shelf is a plastic pair of clinking beer mugs. There are metal coolers behind the bar. On the left side of the bar are four large and two small sake bottles and s display of eight decorative sake glasses. Above that is a small bamboo mat with white flowers. Above the other end of the bar is a mobile of small Asian fans.

    The walls are the same shade of pale green as the seats of the bar chairs and the trim around the windows and doors is a brilliant yellow. Mostly track lighting on the ceiling with three large white Japanese style lanterns in the front and a couple more in the back room. The decorations in the front consist mostly of pictures of different kinds of sushi. In the back the walls are covered with black and white photos of New York.

    There is, of course, a large sushi bar on the wall to the left of the bar and signs advertising half off on Kirin Ichiban Draft and Sake Martinis. Happy hour runs from 10:00 P.M. until closing.

    I had a chilled Otokoyama sake and followed that up with a chilled Kurosawa sake.

    Not a bad day, a sunny stroll down an interesting street and three bars hit bringing my total to 764 for the year leaving 236 to go.

    Sunday, August 28, 2005

    A Day At Yankee Stadium, And Nearby Bars

    One of the readers of my blog, Allen, was coming down to the Yankees game today with a busload of fans. They rent a bus to make a day of it and before the game stop to visit the gravesites of Babe Ruth, Lou Gherig, and Billy Martin. They are buried in side by side cemeteries north of Manhattan in the towns of Valhalla and Hawthorne. Kind of a nice gesture. We won’t make any jokes about how Billy Martin died sliding into home. Anyway, I was going to hook up with these guys and gals before the game but the bus had a bit of an accident and needed to be towed out of a ditch. As a result I didn’t get a chance to hook up until I got to the game itself.

    757) Yankee Tavern

    Located on the corner at 72 161st Street is the place where I was supposed to meet everyone. Luckily Allen had the foresight to mail me the ticket so I was pretty well set. Well, I am here and so is a bar so of course I had a drink. I can’t quite pound them down like the rest of the fans in here, I am not in their league. Pretty much beers and shots being consumed at a rapid enough pace to insure a good buzz that will last through the game and thus avoid having to pay for beers inside the stadium.

    The bar has a blue vinyl top and front with light wood trim. The footrest is small blue tiles and matches the blue of the blue and white tiled floor. There are four beer stations pumping out the beer and the bartenders were being kept quite busy. Mirrors and shelves behind the bar. The shelves hold liquor and there are even some racks with glasses but, aside from the shots, everything is served in plastic.

    No surprise that the walls are plastered with Yankee memorabilia. There are three good-sized televisions behind the bar tuned to the consolation game of the Little League World Series. Vista, California is currently beating Ciba, Japan. The other smaller television is tuned to an old Ali fight. The wall opposite the bar has a ledge for drinks and is being put to good use by the standing room only crowd. There are large overhead fans that alternate with large flying-saucer like lights. There is also a large back dining area but I didn’t make it there. The crowd is starting to thin out a bit as it gets closer to game time but I think I can squeeze in, if I can squeeze into, one more bar.

    I had a draft Bass Ale.

    758) Billy’s Sports Bar

    Well, I didn’t have to worry about squeezing in here; it was pretty empty even though it is just a few Yankees souvenir stores down the street towards the stadium. This place was almost empty. It might be partly due to the fact that the game is about to start or perhaps because they charge ten bucks for a small gin and tonic served in a plastic glass. They only had Bombay gin too, either Sapphire or regular.

    The bar has a nice planked wood top and paneled front, but no stools or footrest of any kind. There were three nice televisions behind the bar where you could, perhaps, watch the game, but you would have to stand for the whole thing. Not my idea of fun, but then I am getting old. The whole place is quite new looking and although there are a few pictures of Yankees players it isn’t really jammed with Yankees memorabilia. The walls are brick and the wall opposite the bar is lined with tables and chairs and, I suppose, you could sit there and watch the game but you are quite a ways away from the televisions behind the bar. There is a fairly large back room and there are more, smaller televisions around the place but none with real good sight lines from anywhere you might sit. Kind of a strange layout for a sports bar and a bit out of place compared to all the others around here.

    The game has now started and thinking I have missed most of the crowd I headed out after drinking a Bombay gin and tonic.

    Well, it turns out I didn’t really miss the crowd, more like a ran into an angry mob.

    Apparently the scanners that they use on your tickets weren’t working so they weren’t letting anyone into the stadium even though the game had already started. As you might imagine, this did not really set well with a crowd, at least some of whom, were pretty well liquored up. Luckily the problem was corrected in about ten minutes so things didn’t progress beyond the shouting stage. Of course I ended up behind someone with two kids that wanted to hold one of them on his lap so didn’t have a ticket for him. This does not work. He had to debate the issue for several minutes before security was called and he was convinced he needed to leave the line and buy another ticket.

    I did finally get to my seat but Allen wasn’t there yet. Several of his crowd were though and they recognized me so we chatted a bit and Allen arrived soon after. Being a man after my own heart he also decided that arriving late and not hooking up with me was no reason not to stop for a drink or two.

    We did have a couple of beers at the game, one of which was served up by the effervescent Tany.

    Bar Man, Effervescent Tany, and Allen

    759) Stan’s Sports Bar & Restaurant

    After the game Allen and I headed right across the street from the stadium and wedged our way into this packed place. Now this is a sports bar. The top of the bar is covered with old faded color pictures of Yankees greats protected by glass and the every inch of the paneled walls are covered with pictures of Yankees and memorabilia. The place was too crowded to see much but the bar is a very large rectangle with the liquor, beer, and bartenders in the middle. Everybody in here was whooping it up because the Yankees had just slaughtered the Royals and Giambi had one hell of a day. He had been in a bit of a slump but broke out of it with two homeruns and drove in seven runs. He got his 1000th RBI and 1500th career hit in the game so if you were a Giambi fan it was a great day.

    Stan’s achieved a bit of notoriety some time ago when someone, after drinking there, managed to find himself on the subway tracks and lost both of his legs to an oncoming train. Needless to say there was a major lawsuit involving both the city and Stan’s. I am not sure how it turned out though.

    Bar Man, Allen, And New Friends

    Things just weren’t working out quite as planned with Allen and me. After failing to hook up before the game he got a call on his cell phone while we were in here with the news that one of his crew had fallen on the way out of the stadium and required emergency medical attention. He had to leave and help take care of the situation because he was the leader of the pack. I hope we have a chance to hook up again, it was a blast hanging with him.

    Ah well, I had a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and drank it out of the bottle like everyone else in here was doing.

    760) Stadium Billy’s Sports Bar

    This place is also right across from the stadium and, as it turns out, is connected in the back though a passageway to the other Billy’s Sports Bar. This has a totally different feel to it and is certainly the original with the other one being added later. The one thing that they do have in common though is no seats at the bar. My bet is that this place, at least, gets so crowded that they would just take up much needed room. Kind of just a no frills wooden bar with a few tables and chairs strewn about. Before the game there was a very large guy sitting just inside scalping tickets and the place was pretty emptied out (the game had started). Afterwards it was jammed. There are a few Yankees pictures and stuff on the wall but this is more of a dive bar than a sports bar, in my opinion. Still, not a bad place to wedge yourself into for an after the game libation.

    I had a bottle of Budweiser.

    761) Ball Park Sports Bar & Grill

    Well here you have it all, a bar, a souvenir shop, and a bowling alley all across the street from Yankees Stadium and all in one building. Quite a decent bowling alley too, a fair number of lanes on one side and a little four lane set-up across from them. It was doing a nice business too. The bar was separated from the bowling alley by the souvenir shop that had a large sidewalk presence and seemed to be the place to buy stuff after the game.

    Nothing on tap but bottles seem to be the way to go. Kind of recreation room look to the bar with chrome-plated bar stools. Nothing fancy here and not even too much sports related, unless you hit the souvenir shop. Actually, this bar would have been more appropriately located in the bowling area.

    I had one last bottle of Budweiser before the long ride home. In a better world I would just be able to hop the 4 train and end up just a few blocks from home. But, this is New York. The 4 train was not running all the way into Brooklyn so I had to transfer to the D train and then switch again to the A train. I had to take a similarly convoluted path to get to the game as well. Ah well, all is well that ends well.

    A very nice day indeed, great game, great people, and five bars hit. Kind of like shooting fish in a barrel though, they were all on a single block and nothing goes better with a ballgame then dumping down a few beers (and one expensive gin and tonic). Total for the year is now 761 and 239 to go. I am going to have to force myself to slow down to avoid hitting number 777 before September 12th.


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San Antonio's Sports Station

Spurs Paste Lakers

Spurs Paste Lakers
Posted March 14th, 2014 @ 10:11pm

SportsNetwork.com) - The San Antonio Spurs will take an eight-game winning streak into Friday's matchup against the floundering Los Angeles Lakers at AT&T Center.

The Spurs haven't lost since Feb. 21 in Phoenix. San Antonio has taken seven in a row as the host and it has moved into first place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Spurs' most recent victory came Wednesday night, at home, against the Portland Trail Blazers. San Antonio emerged with a 103-90 victory thanks to a balanced scoring night.

Patty Mills led the way with 15 off the bench, followed by 14 from Danny Green, 13 from Manu Ginobili, 12 apiece out of Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter and 10 from Tim Duncan.

Duncan pulled down 11 rebounds, while Splitter grabbed 10. Leonard was rebound shy of a double-double himself.

"I thought the defense was good," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "We played physically, we moved the ball well, got a lot of people to play. I think we're staying pretty fresh."

Duncan, Tony Parker and Ginobili tied Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper of the Los Angeles Lakers for second all-time for wins as a trio (490) and third for games played (663).

"One does have to stop and really think about what it's meant to our program," said Popovich. "It doesn't happen that often in our league. We all probably need to appreciate it more around here."

The Spurs will host the Utah Jazz on Sunday, then head west for three games.

It has been a tough couple of days for the Lakers. After a spectacular home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday at home, L.A. got clobbered in OKC Thursday night, 131-102.

The Lakers, losers in seven of their last 10 games, will go the remainder of the season without Kobe Bryant or Steve Nash. Bryant, who played in six games this season, is out due to a balky knee and Nash, who has appeared in just 10 games this season, is sidelined because of a back issue.

"We knew they were going to be ready, especially here at home," Lakers center Pau Gasol said. "They're playing for trying to get the best record in the league, we're not. They're situation is just a tiny bit different than ours."

Jodie Meeks led the way for the Lakers against the Thunder with 19 points. Kent Bazemore added 16 off the bench and Gasol chipped in 14 points for a Lakers team that allowed Oklahoma City to shoot 50.6 percent.

Jordan Farmar supplied 13 points, followed by 12 from Ryan Kelly and 10 out of Wesley Johnson.

The Spurs beat the Lakers by six in L.A. on Nov. 1 and have taken five of the last seven meetings. The two teams have split the last six matchups in Alamo City.

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Dancing on Ice -The Final Tour

Tickets Ready for collection/ dispatch 2 weeks before show

Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean and ITV have announced that Dancing on Ice will end next year and this will be followed by the last ever Dancing on Ice tour - a spectacular live show, that will perform across the UK, starting in March 2014. Tickets go on sale Friday 24 May.

Jayne and Chris said: "Next year will be the 30th anniversary of Bolero and our Olympic Gold medal in Sarajevo, so for us, it seemed a fitting time to say goodbye to Dancing on Ice. We wanted to go out on a high!"

"But, we will not be retiring or hanging up our skates just yet. We are delighted to announce the last ever Dancing on Ice UK arena tour, starting in March 2014. We can't wait to be back on the road and we're already planning the show. It will be the biggest and best tour we've done to date and there will be some great surprises for the audiences across the country - we hope you will come and see us."

"We have loved every minute of Dancing on Ice, it has been a real pleasure to work on one of the UK¹s most popular entertainment shows. We will miss it hugely and would like to thank all of our fans for their continued support over the years."

The 2014 Dancing on Ice tour will star skating legends Torvill & Dean and feature a host of celebrity skaters from the ITV show. Further details will be announced soon.

Please note that Level 3 is accessible by stairs only and may not be suitable for those with mobility difficulties.

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United Kingdom
G3 8YW

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TIME Economy

Jobs Grew at Sluggish Pace in January

Job applicants wait for the opening of a job fair held by National Career Fairs in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Sept. 17, 2012.
Lynne Sladky—AP Job applicants wait for the opening of a job fair held by National Career Fairs in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Sept. 17, 2012.

Unemployment rate still fell to five-year low

The economy added only 113,000 new jobs in January, the government said Friday, a number that fell short of expectations even as the unemployment rate dipped to its lowest level in five years.

The slow pace of growth underscored the continuing fragility of the economic recovery more than five years after the financial crisis. The 113,000 new jobs on nonfarm payrolls were considerably less than the 180,000 analysts had expected. The unemployment rate still fell to 6.6 percent in January from 6.7 percent in December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its monthly jobs report.

December’s disappointing report of just 74,000 jobs added was revised upward only slightly, to 75,000. Even as millions of jobs have been added since the worst of the recession in late 2008 and early 2009, the pace of the recovery has slowed in recent months. Average job gains the last three months have averaged just 154,000 each month, down from 201,000 in the previous three months, the Associated Press reports. Winter weather took a toll on construction and other industries. But there 232,000 fewer long-term jobless in January than in December, giving hope that some Americans who have long been out of work are clawing their way back.

Markets were mostly flat on the news, with futures on U.S. stock exchanges up slightly before trading opened.

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Government launches data website for public

| TNN | Aug 8, 2013, 09.07 PM IST
NEW DELHI: On the lines of the USA and the UK, the union government on Thursday launched an open data website, where information on various sectors like health, transport, sanitation and agriculture was made available. The website,, has been developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). Currently, it hosts over 3,500 data sets from 49 government departments which everybody is free to access and use.

Some of the released datasets include "State-wise recorded forest area of the country", "Gross irrigated area", "District-wise release of funds from centre share upto 31st March 2013" and more. Over 1,000 of the available datasets pertain to agriculture alone.

"Government is not the sole proprietor of data. All forms of data must be shared, barring those that are important for security. There is also a responsibility on those who use and interpret this data. They must realize that it is for development," said Kapil Sibal, union minister of communications and information technology, at the launch event. Sam Pitroda, who joined via videoconference, said this project could help implementation of services at district and panchayat level.

A contest organised by the NIC and the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) is in the offing too. Called the"#OpenDataApps Challenge", it invites entrepreneurs, start-ups, and people from civil society to create apps using this data. Participants can send in entries by August 20 to compete for three first prizes worth Rs. 1 lakh each and three second prizes of Rs 50,000 each.

Earlier this year, the Planning Commission had organized a hackathon in the country, inviting apps using similar data sets. Web developer Guneet Narula, who had participated and won in the hackathon, feels that this initiative is a "step in the right direction".

"The hackathon was just a starting point. This has a different objective. As a developer, I may not be able to see how two data sets relate. With a team where there are people who can analyse it that way, it may have useful results," says Narula.

Kantanu Kundu, CEO of a2z apps says he wishes the government would come up with an API (Application Programming Interface) as well. "That would excite app developers who want to use such data," he says.

A similar website called shares UK government data with the public. It was launched in 2010. The US has had a website since 2009.

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John Soorholtz was one of a kind

December 31, 2012
By Rep. Mark Smith and Sen. Steve Sodders , Times-Republican

One of the "tall timbers" of Marshall County fell this past week. On Friday, December 28, we both received word that former State Senator and Marshall County Supervisor, John Soorholtz, died. When we notified people who had served with him in the Iowa General Assembly, the common response was, "he was one of a kind."

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Lawyer: Miguel inviting lawsuit over fan's injury

June 16, 2013

LOS ANGELES - The woman who was kicked by Miguel during a Billboard Music Awards performance continues to suffer cognitive difficulties and has yet to receive any assistance from the R&B singer nearly a month after the incident, her attorney said.

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First seed catalog to arrive

First seed catalog of the year!

First seed catalog to arrive

Well ahead of the pack, Veseys takes first new seed catalog of the year. They’re a pretty marketing-oriented company, they get their stuff out early—this actually arrived a while ago, but I only got my hands on it now! Which is fine by me. I haven’t been this, well, EXCITED with that new-catalog feeling in a couple of years. That’s good. There is a lot of proper, well-ahead-of-time planning to do, expectations for 2012 run high! Whatever the weather!!

2 thoughts on “First seed catalog of the year!”

  1. A lot more (as in 3) late-blight resistant tomato varieties from the seed houses this year – “Mountain Magic” did well for me (SW Ontario) while everyone else died (except Matt’s wild cherry, a blight resistant heirloom?)

  2. This is pretty cool to have each year. I don’t have anything that I get each year before the new season but I really do love looking over growing calendars and planning out the possibilities for the year.

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