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Living A Simple Life- Part 5 (Simplicity in Nutrition)

Thank you to everyone who has been joining me each Thursday for my Simple Living series!  I encourage you to go back and read the various “installments” of our journey, if you haven’t already.  Feel free to let me know how your heart is responding or if you have any questions or suggestions.

An important aspect of our journey to Simple Living has been our perception and attitude toward food, and how God molded us through our pursuit of nutrition.  (We all need to eat, right?)  I decided to leave the pre-med program I was majoring in at college, as the term ended right before our wedding.  I knew that nutrition played a vital role in health, and yet the subject was rarely, if ever, touched upon during my studies.  We’ve all heard about “eating a balanced diet,” the old “Four Food Groups,” and the “Food Pyramid,” over the years of elementary school health classes.  But the nutritional education ended there.  I knew there had to be more than just these vague references.

In college, we were surrounded by students cooking their “pseudo-foods” of boxed mac & cheese, ramen noodles, Velveeta, and cake mixes, washed down with Coke. (The “typical” American diet, full of MSG, BHT (check your cereal box!), high fructose corn syrup, and other chemicals.)  These were mostly nursing students, and yet most were unaware- even skeptical- of food’s true effects upon our bodies.  I suspected that something was amiss with these meals, but didn’t know where to start.  So, I sent in an application to a college’s Registered Dietitian program.  (I now know even that program would not have provided the information I sought.) We dreamed of living a “simple life” of healthy meals made “from scratch,” but it seemed so unattainable.  My roommates teasingly called me “Betty Crocker” as I mixed up meals in the kitchen, but often even I resorted to Rice-A-Roni.

After a series of mishaps (odd “unfortunate” instances that can only be attributed to God’s sovereign hand, in hindsight), I did not end up transferring to the Dietetics/Nutritionist program.  As I spoke of in Part 1, God guided me home as a stay-at-home wife, and I began to study cookbooks from the small local library.

A friend had given me $25 as a wedding gift, and I used it to purchase the Whole Foods Market Cookbook.  I learned to soak and cook dry beans, and a pot of black beans became ever-present in the kitchen of our 1890’s-era apartment home.  When we had the rare blessing of eating chicken, I would make broth (although unbeknownst to most of its benefits!).  However, we did not yet know about the incredible merits of whole grains/flours, and certainly didn’t know about the benefits of soaking grains.  We continued to cook with (white) all-purpose flour, except for a small amount of oat flour for waffles!  I started baking breads and cakes “from scratch.”

When we first got married, we started out with a small income from Calvin’s on-call job.  We would often find our pantry/refrigerator empty, and no idea how we would have meals for the next week.  We often fell into the “cheap food trap”- the 25-cent boxes of pasta mix, etc, and didn’t know how to create frugal meals full of nutritional value.  We rarely had fresh produce, and relied on canned fruit and vegetables through the winter; oblivious to the nutritional deficit in canned foods versus fresh, seasonal produce.

Once spring arrived, though, we used our wedding gift money to purchase a few gardening tools.  We spent hours digging up a centuries-old garden patch, and to our delight, our plants grew!  We suddenly had fresh peas (it’s too bad we didn’t know about this, though).  I started going to local berry fields, and picked fresh strawberries and blueberries to freeze.  A friend introduced us to the local Farmer’s Market, where we bought huge heads of lettuce for 75-cents!

We also discovered a natural foods store (they sponsored the weather report on the local Christian radio station!), and decided to join their membership with $5 per month.  They provided free issues of natural food/health-type magazines, which introduced me to the world of naturopathic medicine, and the health benefits of foods! I even learned fun tips, such as adding edible flowers to our food!  I began sprinkling in our homegrown nasturtiums into our summer pasta salads.  My scientific skepticism (ingrained from my pre-med years), began to meld into an appreciation for God’s provision for health through natural sources (not solely drug companies!).

Food-based capsules of a Garlic & Cayenne blend healed me of a pervasive (seemingly antibiotic-resistant) strep infection, and I now welcomed Calvin’s handful of natural healing knowledge, taught to him from his parents.

As our income increased, we started buying more “healthy”- but still packaged- products.  We went on a cleansing “fertility” diet. I learned how to cook tofu, and gradually acquired a taste for yams and kale.  We started eating sprouted grain yeast-free breads, and eliminated meat and dairy products for several months.  Our refrigerator was suddenly filled with delicious, fresh produce, and our health seemed to be improving.

The stress of moving into a new home, and increasing job obligations encroached upon our nutrition fervor, and our “healthy diet” began to fall by the wayside.  Often, I was late getting home- to an empty house- and didn’t feel like cooking.  I would fall asleep with a bowl of buttered pasta or slices of cheese and a handful of dried fruit.  I justified it with the old “well, it qualifies as a fruit…” line.

Once in awhile we would attempt a greater effort for healthy meals, and would open up cans of beans for a soup or casserole, alongside a spinach salad.  I did do some “once-a-month” freezer cooking, and would make batches of veggie lasagna, meatloaf, and tofu meatballs. Super Wal-Mart moved into town, and suddenly groceries became cheaper.  But, that also “allowed” for those extra “fun” purchases like sugary cereal and salty pretzels.  (We did insist on buying organic foods & formula for our baby daughter, though.)  I happened upon a garage sale copy of Adelle Davis’ book Let’s Have Healthy Children, several months before Gen was born, and loved it. Reading the book really encouraged me to persist in attempting to raise up a child with the simple benefits of healthy foods, and to teach her how to prepare foods wisely.

It wasn’t until after we moved this summer that we realized the additives that had been in most of the Wal-Mart food.  (BHT is so prevalent, especially in the many foods we assume to be healthy: cereals, canned beans, frozen turkey.)

As we purposefully sought after living a simple life, nutrition kept popping up in our discussions.  We started buying local, seasonal foods; mostly organic.  Whole wheat flour became the norm, and we buy it in ever-increasing amounts, while phasing out all-purpose flour.  Our white sugar consumption plummeted, as I vowed to find healthy alternatives.  We researched with the amazing resources available through our new county-wide library systems, and read books such as Nourishing Traditions, Wild Fermentation, Simply In Season, and Sue Gregg’s 15-Minute Meal Planner.  We learned about the benefits of soaking grains, and the necessity of eating whole, natural foods in season.  We’ve also eliminated soy from our diet (read about it here).

A few months ago, I discovered the concept of meal planning, which has made an amazing difference!  We no longer have the empty fridge/pantry problem (unexpectedly, anyway). :) I’m not just tossing “what looks good” into the shopping cart.  Plus, since I’m not shopping at 10 pm after work, I can take the time to read labels.

I have finally started taking a daily multi-vitamin supplement over the past couple months. (Doctors have been recommending them to me for years, but I didn’t follow through.) One doctor actually did tell me that the vitamins were probably unnecessary (even during a pregnancy at that time!), if I ate a “balanced diet” (not that she could tell me what that meant!).

For the past month, I have been basing my weekly meal plans on the Brewer Diet, with these guidelines. (No, I don’t have anything to announce; it was just the best meal plan I could find.)  I have a little checklist inside a clear page protector, and I mark off my daily intake with a white-board marker.  At the end of the week, I can evaluate it, wipe it off, and start over.

It keeps me accountable to my goal to gain/maintain a healthy weight, as well as ensuring that we actually do have a “balanced diet” of green, orange, and yellow fruits and vegetables, plus grains, proteins, and dairy.  I’m the type of person that tends to fall into the trap of not eating if I get too busy, tired, etc.  But when the chart is staring me in the face, it forces me to fix up something to eat (and usually, I end up having more energy after that anyway- imagine that!) :)  If you look at my weekly meal plans for the past several weeks, you can see the impact of these guidelines.

Calvin has sporadically reminisced about the raw milk they drank during his childhood, and lamented the difficulty in finding it now.  We just recently found out about a local source for raw milk, and picked up our first two gallons yesterday.  I made our first batch of butter, from the cream we skimmed off the top.  We spread it on our homemade bread at lunchtime, and it was a delicious simple pleasure!

I sprouted sunflower seeds for the first time.  (Now that I’ve finally taken the time to learn how!)  We enjoyed them on our lunchtime salad, and I will be blending some into a porridge for Gen.
We have found that eating natural foods, is actually a more taste-filled pleasure, than consuming chemical-laden, artificially-flavored alternatives. It’s not the “tastes-like-cardboard” event, that many people perceive.

We are continually learning ways to use God’s provision for our physical needs, and discovering what resources are available to us.  Read more about our grocery/meal plan transition here.  Already, we have seen God’s blessings as we seek to honor our Creator our eating habits.  For each meal we’ve made this week, I have had enough leftovers to freeze for additional meals!

That’s a much more simple way to live, than subsisting off a boxed dinner!  Plus, we are supporting sustainable local farmers, and not large corporations who are trying to impress Wall Street, or push anti-family agendas.  We thank God for His continual guidance and blessings as we seek to glorify Him!

To be continued… Join me next week for Part 6!
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1 comment to Living A Simple Life- Part 5 (Simplicity in Nutrition)

  • Anonymous

    Thank you so much for your blog! I found it by accident today and it is really inspiring me. I am a stay at home mom and I'm longing to be a good steward of the life God has given me. I've been praying that God would send people to teach me, and here is your blog for a start!

    I was raised to trust the medical system and all of the "normal things". That began changing starting with my pregnancy. We chose a natural birth for all of it's benefits and other areas of life are gradually changing too.

    After my daughter was born, I became very sick. My body would not heal and in fact began growing sicker day by day. The medicine that normally healed people quickly, didn't do much good. I was on it for months, when most people heal with one treatment. After going to several different doctors, all of them being baffled, the last one telling me that all I could do was pray, God sent me to a naturopath (I would not have gone there had He not allowed me to be hopeless in the things I had always trusted). She gave me herbs, a diet that even the doctors had all recommended and these are the things that eventually healed me.
    This post sounds so familiar :), we are not as far along in the nutritional journey. We started out the same way, now we are in a co-op, we drink raw milk, no canned, processed, fake anything. I'm just learning though. I didn't know how to cook or do any home maker type things a year ago, and God is teaching me through friends and women like you. Thank you for sharing all of this!

    Ashley Gibson e-mail:

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Tablets will boost rise in web-enabled devises

by on22 October 2013

Gartner has been looking at the tarot cards

Strong demand for tablets will help worldwide shipments of web-enabled devices rise in 2013, offsetting a decline in desktop and laptop computers, according to Gartner teams of prophets.

The analyst outfit has been looking at its tarot cards and decided that combined shipments of computers, tablets and mobile phones will reach 2.32 billion units in 2013. Shipments of tablets are expected to rise 53.4 per cent to 184 million units. Traditional desktop and laptop computers will continue to decline, with shipments forecast to total 303 million units, an 11.2 per cent drop on 2012, the research group said.

The mobile phone market will continue to experience steady growth, it said, with shipments projected to increase by 3.7 per cent to more than 1.8 billion units, it said. Price competition will be tough for the smaller, 7-inch, tablets, particularly over the Christmas sales period, Gartner said.

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Evolution Of The Modern Marketer

What better way to say hello to the New Year than to strike on our nostalgic chords? Who remembers getting their first science project assignment in elementary school? It most likely looked like this . . . Little did we know that this simple childhood joy of researching, establishing the... Read more ›

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Hiking at Sky Ranch Fitness Spa: My Naughty Dog Story

Kymberly Williams-Evans, MA

Sky Ranch trailAre you ready for a low class poop story to reveal how high class the Sky Ranch Fitness Spa experience is? First, to cut to the chase: If you are looking for a beautiful, healthy, intimate spa getaway that emphasizes hiking, movement classes, personal attention and nutritious meals, this is the place for you. (Read our post asking what your health is worth) Now back to the part of my week that was really stinky!

Last month, Alexandra and I were invited to Santa Barbara County’s newest week long wellness resort. With accommodations at the world class Bacara Resort, and adventures throughout the county, we left Sky Ranch Fitness quite impressed with the level of passion, instructor quality, and commitment to improving guests’ healthy living habits.

My notiebook from Sky Ranch Fitness

They spelled my name right!

Chef's meal Sky Ranch

This smelled great, unlike poop dog!

We especially loved the looooong, calorie burning hikes to places even we had not seen in our 30+ years living in Santa Barbara. Starting our day at 6:15 with a stretch or “foundation” class was worth waking for. Ending the day with a massage, or visit to a local winery for an exclusive dinner with a top level chef made me feel pampered and almost ready to move to a ranch.  Or to have a personal chef at the very least.

However, it was the daily 3 hour hikes I really loved. Ok, maybe at the time as we were going uphill, both ways, in the heat, forever and ever, I might have moaned and whimpered a bit. And sung the Gilligan’s Island song. A Three Hour Tour. From coastline to mountain to meadow, Sky Ranch Fitness Spa took us on trails they had spent months researching and culling to provide the perfect options for a range of guest levels.

Gaviota hike with Sky RanchThe hikes were so lovely and the staff so encouraging, offering so many great water bottles biomechanical walking tips, that a FUN thought occurred to me. Would it be ok to bring Kila princess doggie number one best and most loyal pup in the whole wide world who lives to run and walk and move and groove, as she still needed her daily walk? (Confession – I also did not want to have to miss the Sky Ranch afternoon classes, drive home, and walk Kila after spending the day exercising.) Or would it be tacky and intrusive to be THAT person who had to bring her dog along? So I asked Sky Ranch owner, Stuart Gildred plus checked with the other hikers. who all said “no prob.” Yeah, we had a great group of comrades the week Alexandra and I were at Sky Ranch Fitness! Since Tuesday’s hike took place on owner, Stuart’s private ranch, it seemed the perfect day to pack Kila in the Sky Ranch van and tote her along.

As Kila’s human guardian, I knew she would be easy to control and sweet with other people and animals.  Plus I keep a sharp eye on her as she zips up hill and down dale. Except for that one minute I lost sight of her (possibly due to some heavy breathing on my part on a steep hill that necessitated a “photo opp” stop.) The fink! In fewer than 60 seconds of unsupervised excitement, that rat’s patootie of a pup found the freshest –as in wet, greenish brown, and still fermenting — cow pie ever. And rolled in it. A lot. All over. As in totally covered in sticky, stinky, socially unacceptable poop. Remember we came in a van? How was Mz Stank Thang going to get home?

Best hike dog ever

Scratch, but don’t sniff.

Yes, she and I were facing social pariah status. Here is where you get an example of the level of service the Sky Ranch Fitness Spa offers. As we sweated our way back down the trail to Stuart’s ranch and the van waiting to take us back to an amazing lunch at the Bacara Resort, Stuart came up big! He brought over his hose to wash off some of the semi-dry, half squishy and still wet poop that could have fertilized an entire field.  Then he fetched several towels from his personal stash. Towels I suggested would not recover from the duty they were about to perform. Towels that no human will want to touch ever again despite the cute, pink horsey theme they had going on.

And to top it off, the Sky Ranch staff and Stuart would not let me rinse, stash, pay for, nor burn them. They allowed me to abandon them in the parking lot where they said they’d take care of it. Trust me that these no pink horsies showed through the brown and green layers any more. Like the 1987 movie, these were Untouchables. And Kila was still Unpettable. But van Acceptable.

picture at Bacara running drills

Doing drills outside. I beat the trainer at least once.

My point is that if you go to Sky Ranch Fitness, you will get this level of service, attention, and kindness of heart. From the Bacara maid to the certified fitness instructors to the owner himself, the Sky Ranch staff had our best interests in mind from morning to night.  You will play hard and be rewarded for it. Though it’s only fair that you wash your own poop covered dog.
And now for some pictures of our week to really make you want to come to Santa Barbara! And maybe even to move more than usual as we head into summer.

Hiking near Gaviota

I claim this land as mine!

Hiking near Gaviota

Shh, don’t tell her that my arm is dripping sweat onto her hat.

Hike over to our blog to subscribe and listen to our radio show. Experience some of the best leaders in the health, wellness, and fitness world every Wednesday morning at 8:00 PT/ 11:00am ET. Listen in (better yet, call in to 866-472-5792) to our new radio show Active Aging for Boom Chicka Boomers with guests who offer practical advice and cutting edge solutions to your active aging challenges. You’ll find us at voiceamerica.com on the Health and Wellness channel.

What is Your Health Worth?

Alexandra Williams, MA and Kymberly Williams-Evans, MA

Retreat to A Week at Sky Ranch Fitness

From Spa to Shining Sea

From Spa to Shining Sea

Is a fitness spa or resort vacation in your future?

Alexandra: My physical, emotional and mental fitness is important to me. Ever since January, when I wrote about trying to lose the ten pounds  that found me, I’ve been working hard at moving differently (“more” isn’t my issue; adding interval training is) and eating smaller portions. And after comparing how many hours I worked in 2013 with how many hours I spent doing things I enjoy with friends, family, and myself, I also promised myself that I’d spend more time AWAY from the computer in 2014.

Sometimes serendipity comes along, which is how I find myself heading to a local Santa Barbara week-long fitness vacation camp with Sky Ranch Fitness.

The Serendipitous Steps to a Week at Sky Ranch Fitness

  1. Start a new radio show in 2014
  2. Interview movement expert Dr. Michael Luan on our radio show
    wine tasting at SkyRanch Fitness

    Wine Tasting

  3. Perk up ears when Dr. Michael talks about his upcoming presentations at Sky Ranch Fitness/ Bacara Resort
  4. Perk up mood when Dr. Michael introduces us to the owner of Sky Ranch Fitness
  5. Pack up when we are invited to participate in a week of Sky Ranch fitness fun As part of being participants in this luxury fitness event (yes, those two words DO go together), we have promised to help get the word out about Sky Ranch.
Bacara Resort and the beach - Santa Barbara

A few of the 354 luxury rooms at Bacara Resort

As everything the camp offers aligns with our mission and values, we are totally jiggy with that!!! Let’s lay it out for you, and you can decide whether you’d find this appealing or not. The event includes:

  •  Six nights at Bacara Resort, which sits on the beach in Santa Barbara
  • Complete fitness assessments
  • Nutrition education, including a cooking class in a local setting
  • Sunset dinner cruise along the California coast
  • Wine tasting in the Santa Ynez Valley (made famous in the movie “Sideways”)
  • Hikes, fitness classes and personal training
  • Massages
  • Lectures on wellness and health
  • Take-home individualized fitness and nutrition plans
  • Post-event accountability check-ins

Santa Ynez Valley

The location of one of the hikes

Kymberly: When interviewing Dr. Michael for our radio episode, Reframe Your Brain to Heal Chronic Pain, he had a comment that I latched onto as an insta-quote to share with you all:

“The healing whispers we hear in our mind are drowned out by the chatter in our heads and dramas of the day.”

Is that true for you? When it comes to dealing with deadline stresses, the ache of my knee arthritis, bills, my newly developed plantar fascitis, and a never-shortening “to-do” list, I don’t pay attention to the calming whispers. Worries, pains, anxieties, and the feeling of fleeting time create a cacophony that’s hard to turn off.

Even this amazing, fortuitous offer to attend the new Sky Ranch Fitness spa week started the chatter. “Will we alienate our readers by writing about attending such a high end resort or will mainstream midlifers see this as a retreat worth saving up for?” “Can I get all my work done in two days to be able to immerse myself in the experience for the week?” “Can I take advantage of the hikes the spa week offers given my teaching schedule or should I sub out another class?” “Will my foot and knee restrict me?”

And on and on and on. Chit chat fret fret worry drama. Doesn’t this sound like I need a week off? A week that offers the time and space to allow the nurturing whispers to infiltrate? As a baby boomer, I like to think I have the age and experience to make good decisions. Finding out more about a new, local business that combines two things I hold dear — wellness and Santa Barbara County — seems like an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime.

My goal while at the Sky Fitness Ranch at the Bacara Resort, which I am stating aloud AND whispering in my head is to achieve the healing strategies Dr. Michael summarized in our radio show:

  1. Smile as often as possible to reset my brain
  2. Re-evaluate my walking technique and style
  3. Find, form, and pursue my passions

My second goal is to share that experience with you in a future post, so you can achieve the same. Maybe vicariously; maybe in person one day in Santa Barbara.

hiking with Sky Ranch Fitness

Beautiful hikes every day

Photo credits: Stuart Gildred of Sky Ranch Fitness

Disclosure: We were not paid to talk about Sky Ranch, though we did receive the week-long adventure at a seriously discounted rate. Seriously!


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A Bicyclops Built for Two

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A Bicyclops Built for Two
Futurama 213 - A Bicyclops Built for Two
Episode 13
Season 2
Air date March 19, 2000
Directed By Susan Dietter
Written By Eric Kaplan
Opening subtitle This episode has been modified to fit your primitive screen
Preceded by "Raging Bender"
Followed by "A Clone of My Own"

A Bicyclops Built for Two is episode thirteen in Season Two of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on March 13, 2000.

Plot Edit

Professor Farnsworth brings good news for the crew; after several years of trying, he has finally logged onto the internet via AOL. The Planet Express crew gets into their Net Suits and visits the Internet in a virtual reality simulation. Chased by ads, the crew finds refuge in different pornography websites, including an adult chat room populated by children and a website Bender created using Amy's head on Leela's body. Disgusted by the men visiting the Filthy Filthy Chatroom, the women, accompanied by Bender, go into the Filthy Chatroom.

Thanks to the Internet, the crew becomes bored with sex. So they pander to their lusts for violence instead and play Death Factory III, the legend of Death Factory II. Fry, an accomplished video game player, dispatches all of the crew easily, including a one-eyed man Leela had been happily chatting with. Leela is furious that Fry has ruined her one chance to learn who she is.

The crew is en route to Cineplex 14 in order to deliver desperately needed popcorn, when Leela receives an email from Alcazar, the one-eyed man she met online, who invites her to his home. Leela dumps the popcorn and changes course to find where she belongs.

Alcazar greets Leela and 'her servants' and introduces her to Cyclopia and the forbidden valley, where no one must go. At Alcazar's castle, he tells Leela the story of what happened to their people. He claims that Leela was sent away as a baby when the blind moles of Subterra 3 launched missiles in every direction, hitting forty planets including Cyclopia. Alcazar had been employed as a pool cleaner and was spared from the chaos while fishing out a dead possum. Leela decides to help Alcazar save their race and sleeps with him.

However, the next morning, Leela discovers that Alcazar is rude and abusive. Fry doesn't trust Alcazar and attempts to visit the Forbidden Valley, only to fall down a trapdoor and into the dungeon. Leela changes her clothes and hair in an attempt to impress Alcazar, who insults her in front of his friends, Pig, Rat Man and Rat Woman. Fry tells Leela that Alcazar is a jerk and is hiding something from her, but she doesn't want to destroy the cyclops race by breaking up with him. Leela gives him a champagne. Fry tries to beat the door open with it, but the cap flies off and hits the 'DOOR RELEASE' button. He celebrates but the door starts to close so he runs under just in time. At dinner, Alcazar proposes to Leela, who accepts.

All this time, Bender has been busy stealing the many valuable artifacts from the city, and for the first time ever manages to fill up his chest cavity, and is even hauling a large sack around. When Fry, having escaped from the dungeon, begs him to help investigate what makes the Forbidden Valley so forbidden, even trying to tempt him with the possibility of more stuff to steal. Bender merely replies that, "For the first time in my life, I feel like I've stolen enough..." but Fry slaps him, and they head for the Forbidden Valley. They discover four identical castles, each more identical than the last and having statues of different aliens.

Before Leela can say, "I do", Fry and the loot-stuffed Bender return with four women, each the last female of their species. Alcazar tries to reason with the women, shapeshifting each time to match their form; the women quickly beat him into submission, and he takes his real form, a green cockroach-like alien. He explains that he wanted to make it with five weirdos and have them scrub his five castles. Also, he explains that he had scheduled all five weddings on the same day, because it's very expensive to rent a tuxedo that can also change shape.

Leela returns with the rest of the crew to Earth, sadly contemplating her desire to find her species, wondering "How many planets could there be?" as she looks out at space.

Ongoing ThemesEdit

In this episode, the crew use their virtual reality equipment for the first time. This time they use it to access the Internet and play online video games. Leela becomes involved with Alcazar and almost marries him, although her relationship with him has little to do with love, and more to do with loneliness and a desire to propagate her species. Fry tries to talk Leela out of the relationship, but his motives are pure: rather than just selfishly trying to keep Leela for himself, he sees that Alcazar is bad for Leela and genuinely wants her to be happy.

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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

On Stories, and Authenticity

I just got my copy of the new book Significant Objects documenting a fascinating project exploring the relationship between objects, stories and value.

Synopsis: Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker collected inexpensive, tag-sale objects (e.g., a Santa nutcracker, a creamer cow), paired an established writer with each object and tasked them with creating a story about it, then auctioned each object + story on eBay. The project’s premise is that “Stories are such a powerful driver of emotional value that their effect on any given object’s subjective value can actually be measured objectively.” And what was that effect? The collective value of what at first seemed to be insignificant objects increased by 2,700 percent.

Some readers may already be poo-pooing this experiment because it is about commerce, about selling things on eBay, for heaven’s sake. Museums hate talking about monetary value. We act as if it is a necessary evil accompanying the artistic, historic, scientific or cultural value we attach to an object (even while we preen about our acquisitions budget, and surreptitiously peek to see how it measures up to our rivals’.) But money is, after all, just a proxy for how humans “value” objects and services for their utility, their beauty or because they fulfill some deeper need. What need was filled by the (valued) stories that the Significant Objects project attached to these tchotchkes?

Futures studies challenges us to question our assumptions about the nature of the world, assumptions which may blind us to possible futures. The Significant Objects project leads me to question one of my bedrock assumptions about museums: that our physical collections are irreplaceable because of the (true) stories we tell about them. The anxiety most often voiced by participants in CFM forecasting workshops is “will the virtual will supplant the real? Will future audiences care less about authenticity?” I’ve always assumed the answer is “no,” because one of the reasons humans are so attached to objects is that we attach our stories, memories, emotions to them. We treat objects as external hard-drives—psychological extensions of ourselves.

But what if fictional stories can be just as compelling as true ones? Orhan Pamuk just opened a museum in Istanbul that documents the life of the narrator of his novel The Museum of Innocence. It’s a real museum that recreates a fictional museum documenting a fictional life story. Part of the addictive appeal of the Museum of Jurassic Technology (MJT) is that some of the stories it tells through its exhibits and publications are true, some aren’t, and it’s left to the visitor to a) realize that and b) figure out which is which. (If you aren’t familiar with MJT and can’t get to Culver City, Calif. to visit, I recommend Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder as an excellent introduction to the museum, its founder and its complex relationship with the truth.)

These museums are good examples, as Peter Linett puts it, of “break[ing] most of the unwritten rules of museum display, such as the one that says…museums offer direct, unmediated encounters with authentic works…, the “real thing.” [Italics added.]

Can museums flirt with fiction without losing their credibility? Can fictional back stories create the same kind of value & emotional response as the truth? Can playful (and transparent) use of fiction enhance the value of collections, and fire the imagination and interest of our audiences?

This is a particularly timely question because the theme of AAM’s annual meeting next year is “Storytelling.” “Story is the very foundation of the human experience,” reads the call for proposals. “Long before there was writing, there was oral tradition. Inventing and conveying stories may be what most distinguishes us from all other species—and the power to unite us across all cultures. Humans cast their identities in narrative forms.”

So let’s use the coming year as an opportunity how all kinds of stories—fiction and non-fiction—can help people relate to objects, and value the collections museums hold in trust for them.

This year, AAM is crowdsourcing input on annual meeting session proposals. To test reactions to your own proposals and comment on ideas presented by others, login to the proposal web site. I’ve posted four session ideas on behalf of CFM, and look forward to seeing what you have to say about them.

shineslikerubies said...

I really love this post. It touches on some of the questions that I have about museums, objects and ideas (and some ideas that I'm exploring in my own research).

I have for some time now wanted to run completely fictional art tours that invite great writers and speakers into an institution to give stories about individual objects or entire exhibitions, crafting compelling (and untrue) stories from the objects on the floor. I suspect the experience would be a compelling one. I also think many institutions would be open to such a game if it was very clearly announced that the story-telling was just that, 'mere' fictions. But what if the exercise was less clearly denoted as fictional story-telling? Would that be more troubling? What if it was really compelling and engaging, and audiences paid more attention to the fictions than the official museum stories? Would that matter?

AAM's Center for the Future of Museums said...

@Shineslikerubies, check out Jonathan Salem Baskins' Amuseum Guides http://www.amuseumguides.com/--he is playing with the concept you describe. For example, see his "The Vampire Takeover of America" tour for the “American Modern Art, 1900-1950″ gallery at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Jonathan Salem Baskin said...

I've just posted an audio tour for the MCA in Sydney, actually...entitled "WTF"" it's a wholly-invented dance through the museum.

I'm also exploring tours that are 'added content,' so my Archaic Technology tour at Chicago's Art Institute explores the sailing ships, telescopes, and quill pens featured in 18th century portraiture. I'm convinced that a "Sex Lives of the Impressionists" tour would be a hoot!

One of the outcomes of my tours is that users have reported that they got more-deeply engaged with the art than they would have 1) walking on their own, or 2) being lectured by the museum-sanctioned tour. So could 'mere fictions' be pathways to experiencing actual truths?

Anyway, I would love to know what you think.

shineslikerubies said...

Jonathan, these are great (especially the vampire takeover of America)! Do you have any feedback about how they have been received by the museums themselves (I notice they aren't formally endorsed by the museums). How do people find out about them? And have you ever considered running the tours live? I'd love to know more.


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Tracy Lawrence, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Live! coming to Renaissance

MANSFIELD, OHIO. The Renaissance Performing Arts Association is thrilled to announce two additions to the 2015-2016 performance season. Newly added performances include country artist Tracy Lawrence, who will perform a concert at the Renaissance Theatre on Saturday, January 16th at 8 PM, and PBS Kids’ popular children’s show Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Live! on Tuesday, April 26th.

Tracy Lawrence is one of the most recognizable voices in Country music with songs such as “Paint Me a Birmingham,” “Time Marches On,” “Alibis” and “Find Out Who Your Friends Are.” The entertainer has enjoyed twenty-two songs on the Billboard top ten charts with eighteen number one singles, selling over thirteen million albums.

Tracy Lawrence will present a concert of both his classic hits and new material on Saturday, January 16, 2016 at 8 PM at the Renaissance Theatre. Tickets are on sale now starting at $35 at the Renaissance Box Office, via phone at (419)522-2726, and online at Tracy Lawrence is presented as a part of the 2015-2016 Avita Health System Concert Series.

The legacy of the beloved “Mister Rogers” lives on with the hit television series, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, from The Fred Rogers Company and airing daily on PBS KIDS. Now, Daniel and all of his friends are hopping aboard Trolley to delight live audiences with Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Live! Donning his iconic red sweater, Daniel invites the audience on an interactive musical adventure as he and his friends explore the vibrant world of their much-loved Neighborhood of Make-Believe, sharing stories of friendship, helping others, and celebrating new experiences.

Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood tells its engaging stories about the life of a preschooler using musical strategies grounded in Fred Rogers’ landmark social-emotional curriculum. Through imagination, creativity and music, Daniel and his friends learn the key social skills necessary for school and for life.

In February 2015, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood was the #2 program across all TV networks for Kids 2-5 and with moms of young children. In addition, it continues to be one of the highest-streamed shows, averaging over 40 million streams per month. One million Daniel Tiger books have been published to date, and downloads of the apps, music and episodes continue to rank high on iTunes.

The animated TV series has garnered a host of prestigious awards, and most recently was nominated for a 2015 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Preschool Animated Program. This recognition follows a string of additional honors, including a 2015 Parents’ Choice Gold Award and 2014 Prix Jeunesse International Selection as well as the 2013 Kidscreen Award for Best Animated Series in the Preschool Category, and 2013 Cynopsis: Kids! Imagination Award for Preschool Series.

PBS Kids’ Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Live! is coming to the Renaissance Theatre in Mansfield, Ohio on Tuesday, April 26, 2016 at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Tickets are available now starting at $21.00 at the Renaissance Box Office, via phone at (419)522-2726, and online at Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Live! is presented as part of the Mechanics Bank Education Series, with additional support from Richland County Foundation.

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Galion swimmers compete today in state prelims
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Photo: Nick Saban and Alabama have new, $50 million recruiting technique

Photo via OCNN/Twitter

Photo via OCNN/Twitter

When it comes to recruiting, it’s good to have a $50 million sales pitch.

No, Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide cannot legally pay any players to head to Tuscaloosa to dominate the SEC and the nation.

What the coach and his staff can do, however, is prove the fact that no other school is sending more players to the NFL, or getting their players paid the way Saban is at Alabama. Of course, that is before winning national titles.

Roll Damn Tide.

Alabama freshman Dee Liner apparently gets money, ‘struggle’ is over with

  • James

    Except, as much as I hate to say it, Florida State had more draft picks than Alabama this year…


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Saturday, August 10, 2013

In thousands of layoffs, what about age diversity?

Laid-off employees in 2011's The Company Men. (Watch the trailer.)

"By diversity, I mean not only racial, ethnic and gender diversity -- although that is vitally important -- but also diversity of thought, skill and ambition."

-- Craig Dubow, in his annual letter to shareholders for 2006, his first full year as CEO. At the end of that year, Gannett had nearly 50,000 employees. By the end of last year, total employment had plunged to less than 31,000 -- and it continues falling today.

1 comment:

  1. Age diversity at Gannett? You've got to be kidding me. This company went from people sort of quietly pushing older workers (by older, I mean 50 and up) out for many years to blatantly/openly marching them out by the hundreds during the recession, without any regard for employment laws or common decency.

Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.


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How to Replace Snowblower Spark Plugs

January 23, 2012

Looking for outdoor equipment parts?
Enter model number, part number, equipment type, brand, or part description and press Enter:

Spark plugs provide spark for engine combustion and are installed on top of most snowblower gas engines.

Spark plug parts for most small engines

Spark plug parts for most small engines

Most snow blower manufacturers recommends changing the spark plug at least once a year, preferably before the onset of winter and the busiest snow clearing season.

To determine the proper plug gap for your particular snowblower engine, read the users manual that came with your machine when you bought it.

Even if you have misplaced or lost your manual, you can still get the right spark plug (and other parts) for your snowblower. Visit this excellent outdoor power equipment website for snowblower parts, repair help, informational videos and more.

Step-by-step video on how to change your snowblower engine spark plug

Step-by-step video on how to change your snowblower engine spark plug

To change the spark plug on your show-blower engine, pull the wire off the old spark plug, unscrew the plug with the socket wrench, then turn the wrench to the left and detach the plug.

Using a gaping tool, set the gap on the new spark plug to the measurement recommended for your particular engine. Models vary on different snow blower types and manufacturers so make sure to check your engine for specifics. For many small Briggs & Stratton engines a common plug gap is 0.03 inches.

After you have inserted the threaded end of the new spark plug into the socket on top of the snowblower engine and tightened it with the wrench, connect the engine wire to the tip of the new plug.

Your snowblower is ready to go!

For more on snowblower parts, videos, information, repair tips,etc. visit this excellent snow-blower website.

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WPEngine Coupons

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Monday, May 14, 2007

Jamestown Church

Jamestown went through a series of churches in the early years, which were repeatedly lost to fire. The existing church consists of the 1639 bell tower (far left on the top picture) and the church that was built for the 1907 300th Anniversary celebration.

Early gravestones from the 1600's remain in the church yard. The church was just a few steps from the fort.

Pictures from our trip to Jamestown.

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GDEcD Announces Georgia Automotive Awards

Friday, January 6, 2017   (0 Comments)
Posted by: Kelly McLendon
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ATLANTA – December 1, 2016 – The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) today announced the winners of the inaugural Georgia Automotive Awards. The program is designed to recognize leaders throughout the state, and to honor them for the contributions they have made to build a robust automotive ecosystem.

The first-ever Georgia Automotive Awards were presented to companies and individuals in five unique categories: Innovation Award, Supplier of the Year, Community Impact Award, Company of the Year and Leader of the Year.

“Automotive has quickly become one of the most important industries within the state of Georgia. The state’s infrastructure and offerings have attracted multi-million dollar investments from headquarters, OEMs and suppliers, which have led to significant job creation. These investments attract more businesses, which inevitably leads to a strong hub-and-spoke supplier network. A growing and vibrant economic automotive industry in Georgia continues to contribute to, and support our national ranking as the top state for business,” said Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson. “We are grateful to all those in the automotive industry that have chosen Georgia as their home. We created these awards to honor them and their contribution to the state.”

Nominees in each of the five categories were voted on by members of the Georgia Automotive Awards committee. The committee was assembled by the GDEcD, and included a diverse cross-section of experts with a deep understanding of the automotive industry.

The following are the winners of the inaugural Georgia Automotive Awards:

Automotive Innovation Award
Conferred to the company that clearly demonstrates a commitment to excellence and innovation in their approach to solving a problem within the automotive industry.

Winner: Novelis

Novelis, the global leader in aluminum rolled products and the world’s largest recycler of aluminum, was voted the winner of the Georgia Automotive Innovation Award. Novelis supplies its technologically sophisticated aluminum to global automotive manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover and Ford to help them meet evolving fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions standards by reducing the weight of the vehicle without compromising safety and strength. Located in Kennesaw, Ga., Novelis’ Global Research & Technology Center has a fully functioning automotive pre-treatment pilot line, which is used to develop new and improve existing products for the auto industry. Novelis employs hundreds of engineers, metallurgists, chemists, computer scientists and other experts, many of whom work alongside its customers from program development to launch.

Automotive Supplier of the Year
A supplier to an automotive OEM, at any tier, that demonstrates strong growth and projections, which positively impact the overall economic health of the state of Georgia.

Winner: Toyo Tire

Tire manufacturer Toyo Tire took home the Georgia Automotive Supplier of the Year honor for its substantial and sustained growth, and its associated contributions to the state’s economic development efforts. Since breaking ground in White, Georgia in 2004, Toyo has more than doubled the size of its facility and grown the staff from an initial 81 employees to 1,180 workers today. The fourth expansion, scheduled for completion in 2017, brings the total manufacturing space to three million square feet. Bartow County Commissioner Steve Taylor said the expansion will boost Toyo’s local investment to more than $1 billion. The White plant features Toyo’s proprietary Advanced Tire Operation Modules (ATOM) process, which produces tires on a hands-free basis. Once the fourth and final expansion is completed, the plant will have about 40 ATOM machines, increasing the annual output to about nine million tires.

Community Impact Award
An automotive company that strongly demonstrates a high level of corporate citizenship in and around the local community and/or within the state of Georgia.

Winner: Hitachi Automotive Systems

Based in Monroe, Georgia, Hitachi Automotive Systems employs 1,000 people and manufactures valve timing systems, propeller shafts and power steering systems for multiple automotive manufacturers. The company actively participates in two key community impact programs: F.I.S.H. (Faith in Serving Humanity) and Communities in Schools.

As part of the F.I.S.H. program, Hitachi Automotive provides food for organizations to combat child hunger in Walton County. The company recently completed a successful food drive as part of that community engagement. Additionally, it has provided assistance to those in need well beyond food collection, including rental and utility assistance, providing clothing and furniture, assistance with transportation, prescription payments, emergency shelter, educational assistance and more.

Hitachi Automotive also is active with the Communities in Schools program, which works to ensure that at-risk children remain in school through provision of five basic things: a one-on-one relationship with a caring adult, a safe place to grow and learn, a healthy start and a healthy future, development of marketable skills to use upon graduation, and a chance to give back to peers and community.

Georgia Automotive Company of the Year
A Georgia-based automotive company that exemplifies all relevant factors as outlined in the other awards, and demonstrates overall industry leadership within the state.

Winner: Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia

Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG) has become one of the biggest automotive players in the state since it opened its first North American automobile manufacturing plant in West Point, Georgia in 2010. The popular Optima and Sorento models are manufactured here. Earlier this year, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia celebrated its milestone two-millionth car manufactured in the plant.

Kia’s West Point facility employs 3,000 people, creating more than 15,000 jobs within a 50-mile radius. KMMG made a $3.5 million contribution to establish THINC, the new college and career academy at West Georgia Technical College’s LaGrange campus and donated $2.1 million toward STEM education at local elementary schools. Kia most recently contributed $100,000 to the J. Randy Jackson Scholarship Fund at THINC College and Career Academy.

KMMG has demonstrated a high level of corporate citizenship in the West Point and surrounding communities. They have partnered with the community to found and expand the aforementioned THINC, a college and career academy in Troup County. THINC provides state–of-the-art technical training and graduates students who are ready and eager to meet the challenges of post-secondary study and working in a globally competitive environment. KMMG also supports other educational programs such as robotics programs for the region and funding scholarships for THINC students to attend West Georgia Technical College. They support the SAE Foundation, particularly the A World in Motion® (AWIM) program where students are provided exposure to hands-on training in STEM activities along with soft skills experience like team work and problem solving. KMMG has contributed to the SAE Foundation to continue to impact STEM education for students in the local area. The company also has donated vehicles to schools and public safety departments for educational and training purposes.

Georgia Automotive Leader of the Year
A leader in the automotive industry who has devoted their time and effort to leadership of a company with operations in the state of Georgia, and who demonstrated pride in the company’s Georgia-based operations.

Winner: J. Randy Jackson, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia

Jackson was the face of Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG), where he ultimately served as the company’s chief administrative officer. A Macon, Georgia native, Jackson helped establish KMMG’s presence in Georgia, and led the company’s substantial growth by cultivating a workforce, managing its expansion and serving as a liaison to both foreign investors and the state government. This award is posthumously conferred on Jackson, as he was the embodiment of all the traits described, giving selflessly and tirelessly as a champion for STEM education, workforce development and the automotive industry within the state of Georgia.

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Monday, April 18, 2011

Story a Week 19 - Propheteering Part 7

Well, another late Story a Week. I had a little writer's block last week and with all of the moving preparations as well... Anyway, it's here now. It's a little long, but this part of the story is pretty good. I'm quite proud of this one.

Without further ado...

Rixi stood there staring numbly at her short swords as they dripped blood onto the dirt floor. She felt, rather than saw, someone approach her.

She glanced up and saw Meentha standing near her, a concerned look on her face. Rixi tried to smile, but she knew that her smile was weak, at best.

Meentha asked, "How arre you doing, Rrixi?"

When Meentha said her name, Rixi's smile grew. "I like the way you say my name," she said. "It sounds more exotic."

"Arre you okay?" Meentha asked again.

Rixi's smile diminished a little, but she nodded. "I've never killed, nor helped to kill, another humanoid before," she said.

Meentha nodded. "I thought as much," she said. "Do not worrry yourrself, little one. Minotaurrs are notorriously evil crreaturres. The worrld is a betterr place with the death of this one."

Rixi nodded. "I guess so..." she started to say.

Cuddlington interrupted their conversation by saying, "Lasses, ye all ready to move on?"

Rixi nodded to Cuddlington and he waved them over. Meentha started walking over, but Rixi put her hand on the pantheron's arm. Meentha looked a question at her, and Rixi said, "Thanks."

Meentha smiled and nodded back. When the four of them were all standing together, the dwarf nodded to Melbrid. The sorcerer mumbled some mystical words and waved the wand over their heads. Rixi closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes she was confused to find herself standing in the town square of Telquirk. She quickly glanced around and noticed a few subtle differences in the town. A couple of the shops had the wrong signs on them and there were a lot more ships in the harbor.

Rixi walked around town in a daze. The town was busier than she remembered. She wandered down to the wharf. Suddenly she stopped short.

She recognized one of the boats docked on the pier. She also recognized two of the people on the deck. "Mommy? Daddy?" she whispered.

She saw that the crew was preparing to push off. Frantically, she ran down the pier shouting, "Stop! Wait!"

Her parents turned toward her when they heard her shouting. They looked puzzled as they walked down the gangplank onto the pier. Rixi stopped in front of them, out of breath.

Rixi's mother said, "Rixi, dear, what's wrong?"

Rixi took a moment to catch her breath and said, sobbing, "I don't understand, how can you be here?"

Rixi's parents looked at each other and shrugged. Her mother said, "I don't understand you, dear. Calm down now, honey, and tell us what's wrong."

Rixi looked about the pier for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. She recognized more and more of the ships there as some of the ones that were lost in the past ten years. Understanding dawned on her. Her parents weren't back; Rixi had been transported to the past somehow.

She looked at her parents again with concern on her face. There could only be one reason why she was transported to the past with her parents there. "Don't go," she said, "I have a bad feeling about it."

Rixi's parents smiled down at her. Her father said, "You know, Losa, we could use another deck hand since Maveri is too sick to sail with us."

Her mother, Losa, replied with a smile, "I think you're right, Luvar. What do you say, Rixi?"

Rixi considered their offer for a moment. 'Maybe if I go along I'll be able to prevent whatever disaster would befall my parents,' she thought to herself. Aloud, "I think I'll go along."

Her parents each put an arm around Rixi and the three of them walked up the gangplank together. Rixi followed her father into the Captain's Cabin. She went to the large navigation table in the center of the room. She saw the course charted on the map and turned to her father, "Why does your course take you so far away from the continent?"

Her father put down the spyglass that he'd been cleaning and strode over to the map. He pointed at the farthest point from the continent that the course would take them. "We've heard a rumor of some schools of exceptionally large tuna out here and we thought that it would be worth spending a little extra time to take a look."

Rixi nodded to her father to show she understood. She looked more carefully at the route and saw that they would come close to several uncharted islands. Her father interrupted her studying by saying, "We're going to be pushing off soon, want to watch?" She nodded and followed him outside.

The next couple of days Rixi spent with her parents bathing in the warmth of their love and company. She realized that this event or whatever it was might be fleeting, so she tried to take advantage of the situation as best she could.

Rixi was sitting in the Captain's Cabin on the fourth day when she felt the ship slow. She stood and went out to the deck. She shielded her eyes from the sun as she scanned the deck for her father. She spotted him at the wheel when he waved her over.

"The lookout thinks he's spotted a school of tuna," her father announced when Rixi approached where he and the pilot were standing. "We're going to furl the sails soon and throw the nets over."

Rixi spent the next two days watching the crew fill their hold with the largest tuna that Rixi had ever seen. She wondered aloud to her father how the fish was kept fresh. "Oh, all fishing vessels have magically enchanted holds that keep the fish fresh," Luvar explained. "In the old days, fishermen would have to salt the fish right away, but that wasn't a very good system and they wouldn't dare try a fishing run this far away from their home port."

Rixi nodded absently. She was busy staring at something on the horizon. "What's that?" she asked, pointing.

Her father squinted at where she was pointed. Sighing, he pulled out his spyglass. Rixi knew that something was amiss when his stance turned rigid instead of being the casual gait he normally affected. All of a sudden he put the spyglass away and sprang into motion. He jumped down onto the main deck and started shouting orders to pull in all of the nets and prepare the sails.

Startled, Rixi turned to the wheelman and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Me thinks yer father seen something he don't like in that ship ye spotted," the old sea dog responded.

Rixi's heart pounded in her chest. 'This must be what happened to my parents,' she thought to herself. 'I would bet that that is a pirate ship.'

Now Rixi jumped down to the main deck and ran back into the Captain's Cabin. She practically bowled her mother over as she charged into the room. "What's going on?" Losa asked. "I heard shouting..."

She must have seen the dread on Rixi's face as her own face steeled in resolve. Rixi wasn't sure what her mother mumbled next, but it sounded something like "Pirates".

Losa ran over to a chest on one wall of the cabin and threw it open. She pulled out several wands and potions and pushed them into her belt pouches. Rixi went to where she had hidden her own weapons and started equipping herself. She felt a hand on her back and turned to see her mother's stern face looking at her own.

"A battle is no place for a child," her mother said.

Rixi's face showed determination as she said, "Mother, I cannot explain it now, but I'm no child. I will fight with you and there is nothing you can do to stop me."

Losa was taken aback by Rixi's fierce words. Gently she said, "As you wish, Rixi." She kissed her daughter on the forehead and ran out onto the deck.

Tears welled up in Rixi's eyes, but she fought them down. "I can make a difference here," she said as she charged out onto the deck.

She shielded her eyes from the bright sun as she stared out at the approaching vessel. It was much closer than before. Rixi dodged the sailors running about as she ran to the forecastle where her parents were standing. As she approached she heard her mother say, " doubt about their intentions?"

Luvar shook his head and replied, "None. They display no colors and heed no signals."

Rixi reached the forecastle just as the sailors unfurled the mainsail and the ship started moving. "Can we outrun them?" she asked her father.

Luvar turned to his daughter. He saw the weapons and equipment she was carrying and started to say something but was stopped when Losa shook her head. Sighing, he said, "Not likely, my dear. If they're good pirates, their ship is built to be faster than ours, not to mention the fact that we're carrying several tons of tuna in our hold."

Rixi glanced back to fast approaching pirate vessel. "How long do we have?" she asked.

Her father shrugged. "Perhaps fifteen minutes," he said. "I plan to sail directly towards them and then turn hard to port just after we pass broadside of them. Hopefully, that will buy us some additional time as they scramble to intercept us."

Her father ran back to the wheel. Rixi watched the approach of the pirate vessel with apprehension. They were getting close enough for Rixi to make out sailors running on the deck. The ship was about the same size as her father's, but it sported broadside cannon where the fishing vessel didn't. Rixi saw smoke bellow from the front of the other ship, then saw a splash about twenty yards fore and starboard of the fishing vessel.

"Great, they have a forward cannon on deck," her mother mumbled. She pulled out a stunning red wand from a pouch and aimed it at the other ship. "Just one more minute until we get into range..."

The pirate vessel sent another cannon ball sailing towards their ship. The range on this one was good, though five yards or so to port. The next one would probably land squarely.

Before they could get off another shot, Losa let loose with her wand. Several bright spheres of light sailed across the open water and struck one of the sailors serving the forward gun square in the chest. The man flew back and landed on the main deck, unmoving. Losa smiled at Rixi and said, "I just hope they don't have a real wizard or sorcerer on their ship. I couldn't match them with my meager skill."

Losa drew another wand as the ship neared and let loose a fireball at the other ship. The fireball exploded on the bow of the pirate vessel causing the rest of the guns crew to fly backward. The sail above the forecastle burst into flames.

The two ships were beside each other now and the pirate ships broadside guns opened up on the fishing vessel. Rixi felt the boards beneath her vibrate as the roundshot struck home. Rixi grimaced when she saw the pirate sailors wielding grappling hooks. Their approach was close enough that most of them stuck when they threw them over. Rixi was nearly thrown from her feet when the ship slewed to starboard as the sailors on the pirate vessel pulled the ships closer together.

Rixi jumped down to the main deck as pirates began to make the crossing to the fishing ship. Her qualms about killing humanoids from earlier in the day were thrown out into the wind as she began slashing and stabbing the intruders.

Rixi didn't get much of a chance to gauge the status of the overall battle as it raged around her, but she did notice every time the ship shuddered when something struck it. After one particularly large shake, Rixi dispatched the pirate she had been fighting and glanced around. The first thing she noticed was that two of the fishing boats masts had fallen and the sail on the mainmast was on fire. The pirate ship was faring much better, the fire Rixi had seen on the foremast's sail was out and there wasn't much other damage to speak of.

Then Rixi noted a figure moving about the pirate ship. The man was wearing simple robes and walking about the ship confidently. Rixi could tell right away that he was a wizard. Growling, she stormed over to the rail and grasped the nearest rope. She swung over to the pirate vessel and landed near the wizard.

"Ah, what's this? One of the peasant fishermen wishes to bring the battle to our ship?" the wizard said.

Rixi ignored the man's brash comments and growled again as she charged him. He just stood there smiling as she passed right through him. Rixi stumbled for a couple of steps and looked up to see the wizard standing on the quarterdeck, smiling down at her. "You're no match for me, little girl," the wizard boasted. "I've killed the meager sorceress your ship boasted and I've been plastering your vessel with my destructive..."

The man's boasting was silenced when Rixi charged him again. This time, she stopped short of his image and spun around to where he had been standing before. Sure enough, the wizard was there. Rixi launched both of her short swords at him and quickly drew her daggers. She watched as the short swords reached their target and she stabbed into the image of the wizard standing behind her. She smiled as her daggers penetrated flesh and she heard the wizard gasp. The image on the main deck disappeared.

She withdrew her daggers and turned on the wizard. She stabbed him again with both daggers and watched as the life drained from him. Something inside her cried out, but she pushed the feelings down deep. She cleaned her daggers and returned them to their hiding places. She quickly jumped down to the main deck and retrieved her short swords.

Rixi took a moment to assess the situation. The pirate ship was all but deserted with most of the pirates aboard the fishing vessel. The fighting over there seemed to have stopped with most of the sailors dead or surrendered. Rixi saw that a full third of the fishing vessel was on fire. Tears welled up again in her eyes, but she fought them back as she ran to the rail. She swung back to the fishing ship. The pirates seemed to ignore her presence as they looted and corralled their prisoners.

She turned to run to the forecastle, but stopped short when she saw the wall of flames engulfing the entire deck there. Tears welling up, she ran instead to the poopdeck where the wheel was. As she approached she saw several bodies piled up there.

She cautiously began sifting through the bodies until she saw a shining spyglass. Sobbing, she pushed the body of a dead pirate off of her father's body. Tears began pouring down and blurred her vision. The closed her eyes and let the tears come.

After a few moments, she began to wipe her face and she opened her eyes. She was startled to see that she was no longer kneeling on the fishing vessel, but was in an unfamiliar room. She saw the wizard Yif standing over her.

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THE LONE RANGER Casting - Helena Bonham Carter, Dwight Yoakam & Barry Pepper

Helena Bonham Carter, Dwight Yoakam and Barry Pepper are all currently in talks to join Gore Verbinski's big screen adaptation of the classic TV series the Lone Ranger. If everything works out they will joing the previously cast Johnny Depp as Tonto, Armie Hammer as The Lone Ranger and Tom Wilkinson as a railroad Tycoon.

In the new film Tonto will play a much bigger role in this film. The Lone Ranger's origin story begins with a group of Texas Rangers chasing down a gang of outlaws led by Butch Cavendish. The gang ambushes the Rangers, seemingly killing them all. One survivor is found, however, by an American Indian named Tonto, who nurses him back to health. The Ranger, donning a mask and riding a white stallion named Silver, teams up with Tonto to bring the unscrupulous gang and others of that ilk to justice.

This is a pretty solid cast being put together. "Carter will play the madam of a brothel who deals with gentlemen and scoundrels, Yoakam would portray the film's central villain, Butch Cavendish with Carter a brothel madam and Pepper appearing as 7th Cavalry Captain J. Fuller. Dale's potential role, meanwhile, is that of Dan Reid, brother to the Ranger's alter ego, John Reid."

The script for the movie was written by Pirates of the Caribbean screenwriters Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio and Justin Haythe. Filming is scheduled to start this fall for a December 21, 2012 release.

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Friday, January 20, 2006

Lack of Politics

I haven't been writing much about politics lately because it just depresses me. I think when the NSA thing came out, I thought, well, if they can spy on me without anyone knowing about it, then there's nothing I can do. And there's not much I can do about Samuel Alito either. Until the 2006 elections, I feel pretty helpless.

Geeky Boy is studying the Boston Tea Party right now and as part of that, the teacher handed out an official-looking letter that declared that lunch prices were going up and that students were no longer allowed to bring their own lunches and that backpacks would be searched to make sure no outside food was brought it. Geeky Boy handed me the letter and I feel so beaten down that I just said, okay, I guess that's the way it's gonna be. Geeky Boy, however, would have none of it. He said he and his classmates immediately began planning a protest. How sad is it that I can't even get up the energy to fight the lunchroom nazis? Sigh.

Seriously, though, aside from voting people out, writing letters that may or may not be read, and staging protests that largely get ignored, what recourse do we really have to effect change. The system seems corrupt and set up in a way that blocks the average citizen from having any say. It's run by corporate interests, most of whom are looking to make a buck and not make the world a better place.

Now I'm all depressed again. See? This is why I can't write about this stuff.