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Beer Stein Value Goes Up Like Rising Head Of Brew

February 15, 1986|By Denise Salvaggio of The Sentinel Staff

The $175 pottery beer stein manufactured around 1900 is shaped like a tower of Germany's Castle Rheinstein, replete with a red turret for a lid.

Like all good castles, Rheinstein has a legend, depicted by the relief figures on the stein. The castle's fair maiden, who faces a forced marriage, is being rescued by her lover on horseback.

The legend of the Castle Rheinstein is a colorful example of subjects traditionally used for the decorative but utilitarian beer stein. Like a frothy head of draft brew, the investment value is steadily rising. Prices range from $20 to $12,000, putting them within reach of a wide spectrum of collectors.

Collectors recently gathered in Orlando for a show and sale by Sun Steiners (the Florida chapter of Stein Collectors International SCI, based in Kingston, N.J.). Although stein prices do not tend to rise as rapidly as those of other types of collectibles, collectors said, the increase is consistent.

According to the collectors interviewed, steins also remain a constantly popular collectible, unlike some others that undergo fluctuations in interest and price.

The price range of beer steins varies among four main catagories: character, military regimental, glass and molded relief. Ron Fox, a stein dealer from Long Island, N.Y., offered the average ranges: character, $200 to $2,000; military regimental, $200 to $12,000; glass, $50 to $1,000 and molded relief, $20 to $200.

Character steins take the form of a person, animal or object. Some are shaped like birds and rabbits, with the head as the lid.

A porcelain stein selling for $550 at the recent Orlando show was of the head of Prince Otto von Bismarck, with his helmet as the lid. Military regimental steins depicting members of a soldier's regiment were sold to the soldiers after their duty. Molded relief steins are the most common, featuring raised human figures.

Fox estimated that 95 percent of the steins available were manufactured between 1885 and 1910. The first steins -- fashioned of hefty stoneware bodies and lead lids -- appeared in Germany and Germanic lands in the 16th century. A wide and colorful variety of steins flourished during the 19th century, but production virtually ended after World War I.

No one knows exactly why steins came with lids but Fox speculates that they were for protection from insects in outdoor German beer gardens and festivals. Value of stoneware depends on these factors:

-- Quality stoneware steins have finely detailed etched figures and consistent clay color.

-- Lesser-quality etched steins are painted, sometimes unevenly.

Value of glass steins depends on the intricacy of the cutting or etching, color and hand enameling work.

For military regimentals, steins depicting an elite or historical regiment are highly valued.

The price of character steins is determined by subject and material (porcelain being worth more than pottery, stoneware or faience -- a white glazed earthenware).

Some chipping is to be expected in a 16th- or 17th-century piece, Fox said, but similar damage may be unacceptable in a 19th-century stein. Small repairs -- such as fixing a metal thumblift -- will not greatly devalue a stein, but a broken handle will take off 40 to 50 percent.

Counterfeits are creeping into the market, said Mike Wald, author of two books on steins, HR Steins (available through SCI, $9.95) and Character Steins: A Collector's Guide (soon to be published by Cornwall Books).

A recent Japanese copy of a Villeroy & Boch stein (known to collectors as a Mettlach, after the factory's town) bore a poor imitation of the genuine trademark. But the real giveaway was the faces of the human figures, which were painted with narrow Oriental eyes.

Fox advised new collectors to take time to learn as much as possible before making a purchase.

''Be very slow and patient, because a mistake can be costly. Find out what you really like and want to collect. Most importantly, know who you're buying from.''

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Hatters Lose Center Desiderio For Season

December 6, 1991|By Derek Catron Of The Sentinel Staff

DELAND — Stetson center Chris Desiderio, who sat out the Hatters' 143-125 victory over St. Leo on Saturday because of a sore back, will likely miss the remainder of the season, leaving the Hatters with no player taller than 6 feet 6.

Desiderio, a 6-foot-9 junior from West Palm Beach, received the unsettling news Thursday when preliminary tests on his back showed two ruptured discs. Surgery, which would keep Desiderio out for anywhere from six months to a year, has been recommended. The school will seek a second opinion next week, but coach Glenn Wilkes said he already is adjusting his team's game plan to compensate for the lack of a true center.

''We're still going to play our game, though,'' Wilkes said before practice on Thursday. ''We're still going to shoot the three.''

Stetson, which is averaging more than 10 3-pointers a game - a pace that would break the NCAA I record - plays host for the 29th Hatter Classic tonight in the Edmunds Center. The Hatters (2-2) will face UNC-Asheville (0-3) in the first game at 7. Murray State (1-2), featuring All-America candidate ''Popeye'' Jones, and Monmouth College (3-2) will play at 9.

Desiderio, a redshirt during the 1988-89 season, missed time because of ankle injuries in his first two seasons with Stetson.

''I'm three-for-three,'' he said. ''It's like I'm cursed or something. I don't know how it happened. That's what upsets me most.''

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Bad-weather Driving Requires Deft Touch

December 19, 1991|By Mike Anson and Steve Parker

Wherever you live, bad weather can make driving hazardous. Slipping and sliding are the two greatest dangers presented by winter weather - and remember that rain-slick road surfaces encountered by drivers in Florida can be just as slippery as snow and ice encountered by our northern neighbors.

How should you cope? Former world driving champion Jackie Stewart said it best: ''You must be smooth.''

Smooth means avoiding jerky motions of the steering wheel and frantic use of the gas or brake pedal. Drive as if there were a raw egg taped to your foot pedals. Apply pressure to the gas and brake pedals smoothly, evenly and consistently.

Steer smoothly and precisely when changing lanes or turning corners. Persuade the car to move; don't insist or force it.

Remember that you are dealing with less traction. There are normally only a few square inches of tire on the road. When things are icy or wet, your traction quotient goes way down.

You may have a bit of an advantage if you have a four-wheel or all-wheel-drive vehicle, but don't get overconfident.

If your car does start to skid, turn your steering wheel in the direction of the skid to straighten the car. For example, if you are driving on a right-hand curve and your vehicle's rear end starts to slide, you can correct by turning the front wheels to the left just slightly. We recommend you practice and get comfortable with these maneuvers in a deserted, icy parking lot before trying them on the road.

Winter is the time to use your car's features to their best advantage. Use your windshield washers often. Carry at least one extra container of windshield-washing fluid in the trunk at all times and learn how to refill the reservoir.

If you have one of the new Instaclear windshields found on new luxury-model cars, that's great. If you don't, learn how to use your car's windshield-defrost system to its best advantage.

Experiment with different temperature settings before you go out in bad weather.

How to clear fogged side windows? Many newer cars have vents that help clear those windows, but they are not always effective. Apologize to your passengers and roll the windows up and down several times, no matter how cold the outside temperatures, to eliminate frost and fogging.

Make yourself more visible to other cars on the road. Use your headlights during the day. Your alternator is running anyway - this isn't going to run down the battery.

What happens if your car get stuck in a water-filled ditch or a sandy rut? Apply light pressure to the brake pedal with your left foot while using your right foot to apply a small amount of gas-pedal pressure.

The car eventually will find traction. Continue to apply very light brake and gas pressure until you are under way again. If you apply the gas and do not use the brake at the same time, you'll dig yourself in deeper.

If this method does not set you free, use the tried-and-true method of rocking the car back and forth by shifting between reverse and drive (or reverse and first gear with a standard transmission).

Don't use this method for more than three or four attempts at a time with your automatic transmission - it could ruin your transmission. Calling a tow truck is less expensive than buying a new transmission. Stopping your vehicle on slippery pavement, especially if you do not have anti-lock brakes, can be a frightening situation. The secret is to pump the brakes, but pump them very lightly.

Remember that raw egg on the brake pedal? It's still there. Smoothness is everything. Do not slam on the brakes; do not pump them up and down. Be smooth, consistent and have a light touch.

Smoothness and concentration are the real secrets of winter driving.

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Good People Tame A Bad Neighborhood

The Residents Lived In A Crime-ridden Dump, But After A City-assisted Cleanup, They Don't Anymore.

January 5, 1992|By Lauren Ritchie Of The Sentinel Staff

Parramore Village was a dump. Nobody denied it.

More than that, it was a dangerous dump ruled by drug dealers.

A council of them used to meet daily outside the Orlando condominium complex. You could drive by and see them standing there, passing plastic bags of crack to customers.

What you couldn't see were the dozens of kids who lived in the complex just south of the East-West Expressway on Parramore Avenue. Their mothers kept them inside.

That bugged Eddie Harris, aide to Mayor Bill Frederick. Orlando police Lt. Sam Ings wasn't too thrilled either.

Together, they started a drive in 1989 to clean up the 30-year-old complex. Since then, they've started using the same plan on several other crime-ridden neighborhoods.

Were they successful? You be the judge.

The first order of business at Parramore Village was to get rid of the crack dealers.

Then they set out to win over the residents, whose faith in government and police was about as strong as the first fence the pair erected in a corner of the complex to shut the dealers out.

''We tried double chain link fence,'' said Harris. ''That night, before sundown, they cut a hole in it big enough to drive a truck through.''

Ings chuckled at the memory. ''It was a neat hole too. It was clipped real nice.''

The dealers were serious. They had always conducted business in a crooked nook between buildings that came to be called The Hole. They did not take kindly to being evicted.

The Hole was valuable not just because it was sheltered from view. It was also strategically placed for spotting police and scooting out the back of the complex.

Ings and Harris knew the value of The Hole. The escape route had to be cut off. If they lost this battle, they would lose the war.

They brought out the big guns: 12-foot steel pipes. Eight feet sticking up, four feet buried in the ground. Anchored in concrete. Filled with concrete. And welded together.

The pipes aren't pretty, but they're still there. The drug dealers are gone.

''Once that wall went up, it was like they were plucked out of there,'' Ings said.

The departure of the dealers signaled the start of change at Parramore Village.

The cleanup started in the courtyard. In 1989, it was an overgrown sandlot filled with trash and drug dealers.

Legally, the courtyard property was owned by a private businessman who didn't pay the taxes. The city bought it.

''The day we started cleaning up, the fever caught on. People came out and started helping. Then they brought some of their own stuff out to the curb,'' said Ings.

The city, along with a coalition of private business, sodded the courtyard and installed sprinklers, bought benches, playground equipment, picnic tables, a picnic shelter, trash bins and trees.

Each of the 69 townhouses is surrounded by a black chain link fence and a gate. The junk is mostly gone.

Twenty-nine condominium owners have had the interiors of their townhouses rehabilitated through the city's program, which is funded by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Another seven are set to be done soon.

There is a new wrought-iron fence along Parramore Avenue and a stucco entry that proclaims ''Parramore Village.''

The city spent $80,000 on the project.

But that was the easy part.

Police Sgt. C.J. Laws, who grew up poor on the west side of Orlando, surveyed Parramore Village one morning two years ago and pointed out to a reporter what he thought was the real problem:

''You can clean up everything and make it flowery. But if you don't deal with the attitude, you're wasting your time,'' he said.

Annie Bell Scott loves the improvements. She loves the benches. She loves new outside lights that come on each night.

Things are a lot better in the complex, which has a mix of elderly and younger residents. She said there are fewer drugs and less shootings, and the nights are quieter.

Resident Ola Mae Davis, 71, agrees.

'' For a while here, I was afraid to go outside when all that was going on,'' she said.

Thirty-two major crimes occurred in the complex in 1988 and 1989. The number dropped to a total of 27 for the following two years.

Still, Miss Annie Bell, as she is known, is not too crazy about some of her neighbors.

After the city had installed spigots in the courtyard, the neighborhood kids turned them on. Hours later, Parramore Village had an unscheduled improvement - a wading pond.

Then the little hellions pulled up four planks from the picnic shelter trying to rip off the park bench that was anchored to them.

''They don't want to steal it. They just don't want to see nothing nice around here,'' said Scott, who has lived at 733 Webster Court for more than 25 years.

One day, she confronted some kids who were tearing branches off the city-planted trees.

''They say, 'This don't belong to you. It belongs to the city.' I say, 'Well, you're looking at part of this city - me.' '' she said.

Miss Annie Bell is the kind of Parramore Village resident that Ings and Harris would like to see more of. They know it will take a while.

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A Trio Of Styles

To Satisfy Everyone, Architect Mark Nasrallah Designed A House A La Cracker, New Orleans And Key West.

January 25, 1992|By Susanne Hupp, Of The Sentinel Staff

Ask Orlando architect Mark Nasrallah to describe the architectural style of the house he designed for Windermere entrepreneur Gregg Dobbs and his wife, Laura, and you'll get three answers: Florida Cracker, New Orleans and Key West.

Such an eclectic design evolved from several considerations: Nasrallah had to interpret his clients' wishes, while working around an existing house and pool and making sure the house fit in with the town's character.

The Dobbses wanted a contemporary house that was ''extremely unique,'' Nasrallah said, but they planned to build in conservative, traditional Windermere, a community of many old Florida-style houses.

''We were after a house with an island feeling, something that was light and airy and very roomy,'' Gregg Dobbs said. ''We wanted to be able to see lots of blue - the pool and the lake and the sky - and lots of green trees, bring the outside in and the inside out.''

Dobbs, who owns the novelty photography company, Fotozines, and his family moved from Chicago to Windermere 15 years ago.

''We liked the idea of very tall ceilings and very tall windows standing open,'' Dobbs said, ''maybe with plantation shutters. But at the same time we wanted a house style that would work in Windermere. And we wanted privacy and easy maintenance.''

Design style aside, Nasrallah's first challenge was to get the house onto the Windermere lakeside lot while leaving in place an existing house and a fairly new swimming pool.

Said Nasrallah: ''We wanted to keep the pool and let the house stand so they could live there during construction. The new house is L-shaped - wrapped around the back and the side of the pool.''

To come up with a style for the house that would allow it to fit in nicely with its more conservative neighbors, Nasrallah researched historical designs. The result is what he calls a ''combination of Florida Cracker-Key West-New Orleans style'' that mixes such features as a tin roof and plain, square porch columns with a cupola, a widow's walk, latticework-covered walkways and a brick courtyard.

The focus of Nasrallah's design - the pool and the courtyard opening off the living room - provides the New Orleans element. A high wall extends across the front of the lot from the pool cabana to the entrance gates, enclosing the brickcourtyard and pool to create a private garden entrance. A loggia and covered balcony along the bedroom wing and decorative ironwork add to the New Orleans flavor.

Because the two-story living room is lined with French doors and with high round-top windows on both the pool and lake sides, one can look from the courtyard through the living room to the lake. This brings ''the outside in and the inside out'' and lets the Dobbses look from the living room to the pool, the lake, the trees and the sky, giving them the island atmosphere they wanted.

Accents from the traditional Florida Cracker house style include the tin roof, the porches, the square porch columns and - stretching it a bit - the French doors. Though they are not typical of the style, French doors do offer the same almost floor-to-ceiling ventilation as the tall Cracker-style windows.

Key West (or island) features include the cupola, the widow's walk, the covered balconies, latticework trim and exposed column and beam porch framing. (The exposed column and beam framing also is typical of New Orleans and Cracker style.)

The interior of the four-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot house is finished with easy-to-maintain natural materials. Floors are of quarry and terra-cotta tile or wool Berber carpet. The two-story fireplace is built of carved coquina stone, and kitchen counter tops are granite. The house is furnished with light woods and comfortable oversized chairs and sofas in soft colors.

The old house was torn down after the new one was completed a year ago. Wyatt Anderson built the new house.

Now surrounded by the protective high wall, the courtyard and the open view to the lake, the Dobbses feel they've accomplished their goal.

They have real privacy, all the light and room they wanted and they have an ''extremely unique'' contemporary house that is quite compatible with the 1925 Florida Cracker-style house next door.

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Donovan-fogler Feud Draws Letters Of Reprimand

The Sec Sent Letters To The Basketball Coaches In Response To Their Exchange During The League's Media Days And Found No Basis For Fogler's Claims.

December 19, 1998|By Chris Harry of The Sentinel Staff

GAINESVILLE - The Southeastern Conference announced Friday that letters of reprimand had been sent to a pair of basketball coaches, Florida's Billy Donovan and South Carolina's Eddie Fogler, for the verbal jabs they took at one another at SEC Media Days last month.

The league also confirmed what Florida officials had been saying ever since Fogler levied veiled accusations of unethical conduct against his UF counterpart: That Donovan has done nothing wrong.

``From Day 1, we said there were no issues related to the situation,'' Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley said. ``We said the concerns raised by Coach Fogler had no basis, and the SEC agreed with us.''

During the Media Days session Nov. 4 at Birmingham, Ala., Fogler insinuated that Donovan was using an Atlanta-based financial advisor, who sponsored annual overseas trips for some of the nation's top basketball prospects, to funnel players to the Gators.

When told of the remarks later that day, Donovan blasted Fogler, calling the Gamecocks coach ``classless'' and ``gutless'' for choosing the Media Days forum to make his remarks, rather than coming to him first.

The SEC investigated Fogler's claims and found them baseless.

In addition to citing both coaches for violating item 10.5 in the league's Code of Ethics - ``Coaches and administrators shall refrain from directed public criticism of other member institutions, their staff or players'' - it also said there was ``no evidence of violations in NCAA recruiting regulations'' by Florida.

The league's statement, however, made no reference of Fogler's charges of unethical tactics by Donovan, but SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer addressed the matter when contacted later in the day.

``If there are ethical conduct issues, they would be considered a violation of our code,'' Kramer said. ``In this case, we investigated the entire matter and our findings of no violations were all-encompassing.''

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Probe Of Leaked Cia Name

Reporter testifies after 85 days in jail

Her testimony in a case involving the naming of a CIA agent comes after Dick Cheney's top aide waives confidentiality.

October 1, 2005|By Mark Silva Chicago Tribune

WASHINGTON -- Two years after the White House asserted that senior administration officials had nothing to do with disclosing the name of a covert CIA agent, a criminal probe of that leak moved a step closer to its end Friday with questions about the role of the top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney.

On Friday, New York Times reporter Judith Miller testified before a grand jury after spending 85 days in jail for refusing to reveal her source, finally agreeing to testify after Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's chief of staff, personally assured her that he voluntarily waived any confidentiality regarding conversations with her.

Libby's attorney asserted Friday that Libby had not given Miller the name of the CIA agent and also maintained that Libby is not a target of a probe that appears to be reaching its climax with the long-sought testimony of the now-freed journalist.

The investigation led by Chicago-based U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has questioned many members of the Bush administration -- including the president.

Karl Rove, Bush's deputy chief of staff and chief political strategist, also has been identified as a reporter's source in the investigation, though his lawyer, too, asserts Rove is not a target of the probe.

The grand jury has until Oct. 28 to return indictments if anyone is to be charged in the matter, and a lawyer close to the investigation said Fitzgerald should "be in a position to wrap up" the inquiry now that Miller finally has testified.

In the course of the grand jury's two-year investigation, Libby and Rove were identified as sources who aided reporters inquiring about Joseph Wilson.

Wilson is a former ambassador who was asked by the CIA to investigate claims that Iraq was attempting to buy uranium for nuclear weapons, one of the Bush administration's prewar allegations against Saddam Hussein.

Eight days after Wilson published a newspaper essay in July 2003 accusing the Bush administration of manipulating intelligence about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, newspaper columnist Robert Novak cited two administration sources in reporting that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, is a CIA agent.

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Seattle at Washington

Seahawks' Alexander is the key guy today

October 2, 2005|By Mike Huguenin, Sentinel Staff Writer

QUICK SLANT: The Seahawks are coming to the Eastern time zone, where they've won only one of their past seven (and just three of the past 12).

ABOUT SEATTLE: Lost amid the "Cadillac" Williams hoopla has been the play of Seattle RB Shaun Alexander. He has rushed for 357 yards and five TDs but faces the league's No. 2 run defense; the Redskins haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher in seven consecutive games. That means QB Matt Hasselbeck will have to get something from his butter-fingered receivers against the Redskins' blitzing defense.

ABOUT WASHINGTON: The Redskins need to see if that crazy Monday night finish against Dallas two weeks ago was a fluke or if they can -- truly -- throw the ball deep downfield. QB Mark Brunell was awful until hitting WR Santana Moss for TDs of 37 and 70 yards in the final four minutes against a good Dallas defense. RB Clinton Portis (4.6 yards per carry) will test the Seahawks' 18th-ranked run defense.

THE BUZZ: The Redskins haven't been 3-0 since their Super Bowl-winning season of 1991.

Total Yards Rush Yds. PG Pass Yds. PG Turnovers PG Points PG

SEA Offense 399.0 141.0 258.0 2.0 24.0

WASH Defense 258.5 65.5 193.0 1.0 10.0

WASH Offense 334.5 134.0 200.5 2.5 11.5

SEA Defense 283.7 108.0 175.7 0.7 18.7

1 p.m.

TV: None

Partly cloudy, about 82.

Overall 2-1

Away 0-1

vs. NFC 2-0

Overall 2-0

Home 1-0

vs. NFC 2-0

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Rookie says he's ready to fill hole

NFL - Bucs - The Beat

October 6, 2006|By Chris Harry, Sentinel Staff Writer

Jeremy Trueblood started the final 20 games of his career at Boston College -- all at left tackle.

Come Sunday, the Tampa Bay rookie will make his NFL debut for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-3) on the road against the New Orleans Saints (3-1) -- at right tackle.

"It's difficult in the sense that your whole body is just like muscle memory,'' Trueblood said of flip-flopping tackle spots. ". . . I never really learned how to pass-block out of a right-hand stance. That was my only major adjustment, which is fine now.''

Trueblood, the team's second-round draft pick, started three preseason games while Kenyatta Walker rested a sore right knee. Walker had season-ending surgery Tuesday.

"We expect him to play well,'' Coach Jon Gruden said.

Practice report

TE/LS Dave Moore (rib) was the lone Buc on the injury list who did not practice Thursday. Moore is listed as questionable, as is CB Brian Kelly (toe), LB Ryan Nece (knee) and OG Davin Joseph (knee).

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Money 'watcher' keeps clients' finances on track

  • Caitlin Hall works from her home when she is not with clients. She is a daily money manager, which means she pays bills, organizes receipts and creates an organized system for her clients money matters. Working from home allows her to spend time with her children while having her own business.
Caitlin Hall works from her home when she is not with clients. She is a daily… (Ginny Dixon, Correspondent )
June 15, 2013|By Donna Gehrke-White, Sun Sentinel

Caitlin Hall, of Plantation, makes money minding others' dollars. These days, Hall, 39, and a growing number of professional daily money managers cater to clients who are too busy, elderly or inexperienced to handle their finances.

Hall steps in with computerized spreadsheets and budgets, ready to relieve stress for clients who need a hand in saving, paying bills, checking credit reports, maintaining financial records and controlling spending. She calls it "financial cleanup services."

The name of her company — Organize My Life — is what many clients are craving, she said.

Some elderly clients need help keeping track of their expenses and writing checks. "My oldest client is 98," Hall said.

Many other clients are dual-income workers with children at home who complain they don't have the time to get their finances in order, Hall said.

"I know what they go through; I used to work crazy hours too," said Hall, who has an MBA and worked in Los Angeles before moving back to her South Florida hometown of Plantation with her husband. They have two sons, ages 2 and 5.

"Time deficit is one of the biggest problems," Hall said. "People are overwhelmed with their daily lives."

Of the financial workers who help, 682 belong to the American Association of Daily Money Managers. Fifty-six are in Florida, including Hall, who passed an exam to become a certified professional daily money manager. "It's a growing field," association spokeswoman Erin Connelly said.

The nonprofit money management association formed 15 years ago, when a handful of money managers began meeting to talk about their work in helping seniors keep track of their money, Connelly said. Now daily money managers see a full range of clients, including young people wanting advice as they start out in careers and set up households.

"We're seeing a lot of newly married couples who want help in their budgeting," Connelly said. "A lot of people come out of school in debt."

Other clients come to Hall for help in sorting out their financial troubles, which they have allowed to grow by not opening bills or even legal mail. "Most of the time, they are embarrassed," Hall said. But ignoring the financial mess only adds stress, she said.

"The problem is, after ignoring your finances for months, or years, you find that you are in a hole you can't see your way out of," Hall writes on her website.

There's sweet relief from stress once people begin to confront their financial problems, she said.

In West Palm Beach, Amy McCabe, a married saleswoman with two young children, said life became easier once Hall began helping her.

"She has definitely organized my life," said McCabe, who once carried her yearly tax records to her accountant in a shoe box. "She also has saved me a lot of money."

Now McCabe said she doesn't rack up late fees for forgetting to pay bills. "My credit score has gone up, too," McCabe said. She is even finding a way to save money with tips from Hall.

It's a misconception that high-earning couples have a lot of extra money to save for retirement and their childen's college educations, Hall discovered. In reality, they are so busy with their careers and children, they don't even know how they are spending their money. Some even forget to cancel automatic withdrawals from their checking accounts once they go with another cable or phone service.

In many cases, Hall requests — and gets — refunds from companies.

"I feel like I am making a difference for people," she said. "I find it very satisfying." or Twitter @donnagehrke

Managing Money

Daily money manager Caitlin Hall says you can take control of your finances if you:

Write down your income and expenses. Don't ballpark them. Use credit card statements and tally other monthly expenses such as house payments and utilities. Look for ways you can cut and save.

Have savings automatically taken out of your paycheck before you receive it.

Set up an emergency fund to cover expenses such as when your car breaks down or if you get laid off.

Focus on saving for retirement before you put away for your kids' college. "You can't get a loan for your retirement, but there are loans for college," Hall said.

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Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Mountain Dog by Margarita Engle

When Tony's mother is sent to prison for dog-fighting, Tony is sent to live with an uncle he has never met.  He meets Gabe, a search and rescue dog, and he experiences the love of community and a new way of life.

Mountain Dog by Margarita Engle is told in free verse from Tony's and Gabe's perpectives.

For an explanation of my rating scale, click here.
Find me at Goodreads.

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BIRMINGHAM, AL - The Birmingham Museum of Art announces a gallery dedicated to folk art through 2009. Folk art is a term that encompasses works that also have been called outsider, naïve, primitive, visionary, and self-taught. Some of these artists represent art forms, such as quilting, that are passed down through generations, while others employ their own ingenuity to respond creatively to their environments. Objects in this gallery will rotate throughout the year. Visit often to see the changes in this gallery.

George Williams, American (b.1911), Crucifix, 1989 - Paint, wood, nails. Gift of the Kurt Gitter and Alice R. Yelen Collection 1991.1165The work of folk artists is regularly displayed in the Birmingham Museum of Art's contemporary art galleries. The creation of this dedicated folk art gallery is in response to the considerable visitor interest and enthusiasm for the exhibition Alabama Folk Art, organized in 2007 by the Museum in a 10,000 square foot space located at the historic Young & Vann Building in downtown Birmingham.

"We are delighted once again to present these artists and their works to our visitors," says Gail Andrews, R. Hugh Daniel Director of the Birmingham Museum of Art. "Folk or self taught art has a strong legacy in the South and in Alabama in particular. The depth and complexity of southern traditions and peoples have come together here in an environment conducive to the creation and acceptance of these remarkable works of art."

Three installations during 2009 will include artists such as Mattie Green, Minnie Black, Thornton Dial, Burgess Delaney, Howard Finster, Lonnie Holley, Charlie Lucas, and Mose Tolliver, among others. All of the artists included are American, many are African-American, and most are from the Southeast.

"These artists have various motivations and inspirations," says Ron Platt, Hugh Kaul Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art, who organized the current installation in the gallery. "They are driven by religious beliefs, the desire to chronicle family history or daily observations, or the impulse to bring forth imagery suggested to them in natural forms or objects. All of their works demonstrate how creativity and artistic talent has no set path and knows no bounds."

Minnie Black - American (1899-1996) Untitled (Critter) - Gourd, glue Gift of Kurt Gitter and Alice R. YelenObjects on display are from the Museum’s permanent collection, augmented by occasional private collection loans. Gail Andrews, R. Hugh Daniel Director, and Emily Hanna, Curator of the Arts of Africa and the Americas, in turn will curate two more installations in this gallery over the course of the year.

Birmingham Museum of Art

Founded in 1951, the Birmingham Museum of Art today has one of the finest collections in the Southeast. Its collection of more than 24,000 paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, and decorative arts represents a rich panorama of cultures, including American, African, Asian, European, Native American and Pre-Columbian.

The Birmingham Museum of Art is located in the heart of the City’s cultural district. Erected in 1959, the present building was designed by architects Warren, Knight and Davis of Birmingham, with a major renovation and expansion by Edward Larrabee Barnes of New York completed in 1993. The facility encompasses 180,000 square feet, including a splendid outdoor sculpture garden. Visit :

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Pause For Thought

Rodin on Artist Inside

"Inside you there's an artist you don't know about. He's not interested in how things look different in moonlight. "


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Oct 31, 2015

Elaine Taylor - Making Everyday Life Extraordinary with Her iPhone

Huge apologies to Elaine for my tardiness in publishing this interview. I'm getting back on track after our recent move and I'm sure you will agree her work and words were worth the wait.

What is your name and where do you live?

Hello! My name is Elaine Taylor. I live in Leeds, Yorkshire (UK) with my husband (Stephen) and our sons (Charlie & Billy).

How did you get started in mobile photography? What device do you use?

I’ve always loved taking snaps and looking at other people’s photos. I never get bored! When I got an iPhone 3S, nearly 4 years ago, I discovered a whole new world of photography. A friend introduced me to Hipstamatic, and soon after that I found Instagram. That was it. I was hooked! I have an iPhone 5S now and it’s the only camera I use. I love mobile photography; it’s become a huge part of my every day life.

© Elaine Taylor

Oct 27, 2015

Memory Reconsolidation by Joshua Sariñana

I am fascinated by the many ways the iPhone aids artists and even neuroscientists in their work. With permission from Joshua Sariñana (neuroscientist and photographer), I am reposting an article he recently published on his own site. When asked what role the iPhone played in this particular series, Joshua provided me with this answer: "The original images were captured on multiple cameras, including my iPhone. All of the images were post processed on my phone and then transfered to polaroid film using my iPhone and the Impossible Universal Lab."

In this series of images, I aim to connect past and present through the reconciliation of disparate identities I’ve formed between two vastly different cultures on opposite sides of the United States (more specifically, Los Angles, CA and Cambridge, MA). These images are of emotionally salient and important points in my life. Using the circular frame to telescope back in time I conflate distinct representations of who I am. Some images are of solitary figures while others are superimposed upon one another, newer images with older ones. I reflect upon how poignant and hybrid photographs represent the unstable nature of memory and how the brain assembles narrative.

Oct 12, 2015

GIVEAWAY! Assembly by Pixite - Graphic Design for Everyone

Pixite has a new app, Assembly... and I have a giveaway!! Leave a comment below to enter the draw - there are two promo codes available. Winner will be announced on Friday, October 16th at noon PDT.

You know the name Pixite - the creative company that has given us Shift, Matter, Union, Fragment and Unbound! With their latest app, Assembly anyone can create icons, logos and even scenes using the unique building block approach to design, one shape at a time.

Oct 7, 2015

Jack Hollingsworth Interview by Mobilni

Recently my friends at Mobilni interviewed the very talented photographer Jack Hollingsworth.  With their permission, I am reposting that interview here, in case you missed it!

Good morning Jack. I’m very happy to have you here for the interview. You are one of the most prolific and impactful mobile photographers in the world, sharing your knowledge and techniques with the community. Let us start from the beginning: can you tell us how you started your photographic adventure; when did you realize that it is photography that you want to do for a living?
After graduating from high school, in the early 70s, I took my very first overseas trip. Over the summer I worked in the kitchen on a 600-cadet merchant Marine ship that sailed from Buzzards Bay (Cape Cod) to Scandinavia. My uncle, Leigh Harrington, was the president of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, one of six State Maritime Academies in the country. As a going away gift, my dad bought me a Minolta 101 SLR. As I look back, that experience sent me on a path but I’m still on today – travel and photography.

Oct 5, 2015

Mob Paint #45

Creativity can release you from the limitations that the world has constructed around you; the everyday, mundane, 9-5 jail cell where everybody is waiting for the weekend to party so they can get outside of their head.
~Robert LaSardo

Is that what makes creating so attractive? Is it the ability to carry us to another world where time stands still and we release our inner imagination to the world? The Mob Paint Flickr Group is comprised of creatives and I'm pleased to feature some of their work here. If you enjoy editing your images in a painterly way, please join us!

© Ivy Newport
Ivy Newport
Repix, Procreate, iColorama and Stackables

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Museum acquisitions dominate star-studded Abu Dhabi Art 2015 – round-up

Art Radar brings you highlights from the seventh edition of Abu Dhabi Art, which featured 43 international galleries and a dazzling multidisciplinary programme.

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Talking Art with the Louvre Abu Dhabi – event alert

The permanent collection of the Jean Nouvel-designed Louvre Abu Dhabi, which is scheduled to officially open in 2015, is the topic of a series of talks, panels and workshops from 22 October to May 2014.

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“Boutique” Abu Dhabi art fair welcomes 6 new Asian galleries

Abu Dhabi Art recently announced the participating galleries for its fourth edition, set to run from 7 to 10 November 2012. This year, six new galleries from Asia have been added to the exhibitor list.

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Travel tips from Beijing art pro – ARTINFO

Art Radar sets out to explore three popular art vacation destinations, bringing  the reader tips on what to see and eat and where to stay, as well as summarising recommendations made by Jérôme Sans.

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Gallerist Salwa Zeidan explains mission of inaugural Abu Dhabi Sculpture Symposium – interview

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES SCULPTURE SYMPOSIUM Salwa Zeidan, gallerist and an organiser of the inaugural Abu Dhabi International Sculpture Symposium (ADISS),  (25 February to 7 April 2010 at Zayed University) talks to Art Radar about the mission of ADISS, government sponsorship of the arts and … Continue reading

Art industry elite meet at inaugural Abu Dhabi Art fair

ART FAIRS The inaugural Abu Dhabi Art fair opened to much fanfare on November 19th. The government-run Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) organized the fair, along with the area’s new cultural district on Saadiyat Island. In attendance at the … Continue reading


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Turtle News 2007

6 - 2007
Hi Everyone;
I am so pleased and happy to be able to tell you that we finally  have our first nest here in Carolina Beach!!!  Mama turtle came ashore around 9:00 this evening, and spent about 1 1/2 hours laying the nest...a great PR opportunity for an awesome (and very respectful) crowd of excited tourists who all hope to be able to return in 60 days! Congratulations to Nest Leaders Barbara and Richard Allinson and Joan Manson!! Barbara and Richard arrived in time to see their nest being laid...
a great way to start the season!

     It was great to have our first turtle nest of the season arrive last night
 (6-11-07.)  It was a wonderful experience to watch the laying process of this big turtle.  She weighed approximately 220 lbs and measured 42" from flipper to flipper.  I walked the turtles path from where she came out of the ocean and back, just to pick up on her vibes.

     On the way home I decided to name the mama turtle "Naomi."  I looked up her name on the net and found that in Hebrew, Naomi means "Pleasant One" and in Japanese it means "Above All Beauty."  How fitting because the experience of watching her laying her eggs was a pleasant one and at the time she was above all beauty.
     The nesting season for sea turtles is from May 1st. to Aug. 30th. Each morning volunteers drive the beach in search of turtle nests. When one found, the project leader is called to verify the nest and to determine if the nest is too close to the surf.  If in danger of being washed away the nest is then moved, within 24 hours, closer to the dunes.

     Sea turtles are on the endangered list and fall under the federal protection act.  A sign is posted at each nest stating that it is illegal to harass, molest, collect or otherwise harm sea turtle eggs, hatchlings and adults.  Violators  can be prosecuted under civil and criminal laws and be assessed a maximum of $100,000 in fines and or serve up to one year in prison.

This clutch of 125 eggs is in the process of being moved to  higher ground.  (2005)
(6-2007) Tracks made by Naomi's flippers leading back to the sea after  laying her nest.  They measured 42" flipper to flipper.  The drag mark in the middle was made by her body, which weighed approximately 220 lb.
(6-11-07) This nest was laid about 50 ft. from the surf.  The following week it rained for several days & the beach was washed away.  Joan is building up a sand bunker to protect the nest.
Fifty days after a nest is laid volunteers dig a trench from the nest to the sea.
 Hatching usually takes place 60 days after the nest was laid.  The turtle eggs hatching causes the sand to shift which create the depression.  This signals the nest is about to hatch, which could take several hours.
(8-10-07)  Nest #1.   Baby turtles love to hatch during a storm!!!  Although the count varies we guess just over 50 hatchlings emerged after dark.  Thanks to all the volunteers who endured high winds and sandblasting to get these babies to the water.  Because of the lightening we had to leave the beach.  Not sure how many came out during the storm.  Will know more when we excavate in a few days.   Watch the hatching by clicking on to the site below.
In the Search Box type in
 Turtle Hatching Carolina Beach #1
This is the nest just before excavation.  You can see the hole where the turtles emerged from.
Nancy (Rt.) Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project Coordinator with other volunteers waiting the excavation of nest #1.  Excavation takes place three days after the nest has hatched.
(8-13-07)  The results of the excavation  we found (by the count of the egg shells) that 119 hatched, 5 unhatched,
3 were dead and 4 live babies were found and released.  Over all it was a great nest with a good, high hatch rate.
Volunteer shines a red light to lead hatchlings to the ocean.
The last hatchling of nest #1 to make it to the ocean.
One out of 1000 hatchlings survive.
Would you like to see more turtle pictures.  Click here:   Turtle Photos & More -

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Note: All artwork & photos featured on this site is copyrighted © by
Barbara E. Allinson unless otherwise noted.


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BOTANICAL WORKS - Linda Gist, Carol Ashton-Hergenhan, John Gist

Pennswood Art Gallery

July 23, 2017 thru September 10, 2017

Opening Reception

July 23, 3-5 PM

Artists' Talk 2-3 PM

Philadelphia area artists Linda Gist, John Gist and Carol Ashton-Hergenhan, all graduates of the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts) and members of both the American Society of Botanical Artists and the Philadelphia Society of Botanical Illustrators, are jointly exhibiting their botanical works at Pennswood Art Gallery, located in Newtown, Pennsylvania.

Although their work is not limited to botanical art, each of them find it holds a special place in their ouevre. To quote Linda, "Botanical work continues to engage and challenge me because of its endless complexity, "  a sentiment echoed by Carol who says "My work on paper is about how plants work and the incredible intricacies which are rarely observed but give even the most common "weed" a beauty of its own."  John's approach is to "...find the the structure and graphic qualities as opposed to the "pretty" image that is unfortunately the sterotype of what is thought, by some, to be a botanical drawing." Together, these artists' unique views combine to give an in-depth view of the plants around us and the art they inspire.

Pennswood Gallery is open daily from 9 AM to 7 PM and is located at 1382 Newtown Langhorne Rd, Newtown PA 18940, adjacent to George School. Call 215-968 9110 for directions and information.

  • Pelargonium sp. Linda Gist; Chicorium intybus, Carol Ashton-Hergenhan; Syringa vulgaris, John Gist


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Arts, Science and Commerce College, Rahuri was established in 1978 by Shri Shivaji Shikshan Prasarak Mandal Shrishivajinagar, Tal. Rahuri, Dist. Ahmednagar. Shri Shivaji Shikshan Prasarak Mandal is a Trust sponsored by Dr. Baburao Bapuji Tanpure Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd Shrishivajinagar. The Mandal was established in 1960 with a view to promote and carry out educational activities in the area of operation of the Sakhar Karkhana. The College Arts, Science and Commerce College, Rahuri was established in 1978 by S.S.P. Mandal Shrishivajinagar. The objective behind the establishment of the college was to meet the academic requirements and to bring about the all-round personality development of rural students especially the female and the socially and economically disadvantaged students. Objectives 1. To promote the cause of education among the rural masses. 2. To make higher education available to all people irrespective of class, creed and sex. 3. To make available the facility of Higher Education to female students. 4. To develop learned and skilled manpower in society. 5. Upliftment of economically backward class students and marginal students. 6. The college has been operating successfully along the line of the set objectives.

Achievements and salient features 1. Qualified and efficient staff. 2. Good academic performance at University level. During last 30 years 15 students stood first at University level either at special subject level or at General level. 3. Study Centre of Yashwantrao Chavan Open University – Nashik. 4. Very good results at University level. 5. Best College in Rural Area’ award in 2006 by the Pune University. 6. College has Junior and Senior College wings. 7. P.G. Courses in Arts and Commerce faculty. 8. Well-equipped laboratory, Library, Computer Lab. 9. Well equipped Gymkhana and sports facility. 10.Good performance in sports at University and National level.


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With Dada Chen at NYAFF 2013

With Dada Chen at NYAFF 2013
With Dada Chen at NYAFF 2013

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

ACF 270: "Adopted" - screening & discussion @ The Korea Society

This Friday, April 17th, 2009, The Korea Society will present a screening of Adopted, a documentary film that explores seldom spoken about aspects of international adoption through two stories. A 32-year-old Korean-born woman makes one last effort to bond with her dying adoptive mother, while a young couple, flush with hope, begins the process of adopting a baby girl from China.

This emotionally intense film juxtaposes hope and possibility with a view of adoption that does not shy away from its intrinsic complexities. Though the two families are at the opposite ends of their journeys, the stories converge to show that love is not always enough to make a family work.

A discussion and a Q&A session with Director and Producer Barb Lee and Producer Nancy Kim Parsons will follow the screening.

6:00 PM-6:30 PM ♦ Registration and Reception
6:30 PM-8:30 PM ♦ Screening and Q&A

The screening will be at The Korea Society, 950 Third Avenue @ 57th Street, 8th Floor (entrance on SW corner of Third Avenue and 57th Street)

$10 for members (The Korea Society or A.K.A.) and students, $20 for nonmembers. (Walk-in registration will incur an additional charge of $5.)

The event is free for IKAA badge holders, but RSVP is required.

Buy tickets online

For more information or to register for the program, contact Patrick Clair at 212-759-7525, ext. 328.

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Exhibition Menu +
Sections +

Chitra Divakaruni and 'One Amazing Thing'

Author Chitra Divakaruni in Houston on Feb. 2, 2010. (Jeff Fantich Photography)
by Jeff Tompkins
2 February 2010

HOUSTON, February 2, 2010 — One Amazing Thing, Chitra Divakaruni's new novel, blew in on the winds of Hurricane Rita. The popular Indian-American novelist described how in 2005 she and her family found themselves trapped in traffic gridlock as thousands of Houstonians sought to evacuate in advance of the massive storm.

"About 2 am I could see people around me behaving in very different ways," Divakaruni told an audience of nearly 200 at the book's launch party, hosted by Asia Society Texas Center.

“Some were very paranoid—there were people carrying guns—while other people were sharing their water. You saw the whole spectrum of how people behave when faced with a life-threatening catastrophe.”

From that experience grew a novel of grace under pressure, set amid a different type of natural disaster. Nine strangers find themselves trapped inside a collapsed Indian consulate building in an unnamed American city in the wake of a devastating earthquake. To pass the time and take their minds off their perilous situation, they agree that each will tell about "one amazing thing" in their lives.

The novel is the 16th book for Divakaruni, who teaches creative writing at the University of Houston and is best-known for her novels of the Indian immigrant experience, including Sister of My Heart and The Mistress of Spices.

Divakaruni regaled the audience with her reading of a comic chapter involving a coiffure calamity at Miss Lola's Lovely Ladies Salon. She then sat for an onstage interview with St. John Flynn, cultural programming director for the Houston PBS affiliate, KUHF-FM, where she proved an illuminating commentator on her own practice as a writer.

Divakaruni explained why she adopted the Canterbury Tales-like structure of the novel. By having her nine characters tell stories, she could "open up" the novel to nine different worlds while maintaining the dramatic tension created by the unfolding disaster, she said.

"Also I believe strongly in the power of story in creating a community," she said. "It is when we learn about the core of the lives of strangers that they become family to us."

Special guests at the launch included Andrea White, who introduced Divakaruni. White is the wife of former Mayor Bill White and a novelist herself. Sanjiv Arora, India's Consul-General in Houston, attended with Virendra Gupta, the visiting Director-General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Divakaruni drew laughs when she assured the Consul General that the two nearly adulterous Indian visa officers she depicts are "completely fictional."

Reported by Fritz Lanham

Slideshow: Chitra Divakaruni's Book Launch in Houston

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Meet Russian Father Frost in Abalak, Western Siberia

Every Russian child knows that Father Frost (Ded Moroz) brings New Year presents. Most of us were very much disappointed in our childhood, when we found out that Father Frost was in fact your dad or a family friend. In 1990s when the borders were opened, Russian kids could go to Finland to meet Santa Clause in his residence in Lapland, but they got no clue where a tall red-nosed Father Frost with his beautiful granddaughter Snegurochka (their family relations are still arguable) come from.

The government of Moscow initiated building the official residence for Father Frost in 1998. The residence is in Veliky Ustyugin of Vologodosky Region (1568km from Yekaterinburg) has since become a popular destination for children from all over Russia during winter holidays. A four day trip for two persons by train will set you back from 15000 roubles to 25000 roubles. The official website is a big surprise as it has only an English version.

But let’s be realistic, a real Father Frost should be living somewhere amidst the snow of Siberia. It’s too warm in Veliky Ustyug and together with the Moscow government’s involvement the whole story sounds fishy even to a 7 year old.

Siberian Ded Moroz in Abalak

Another residence of Father Frost is set in Abalak near Tobolsk, western Siberia. Fortunately, it’s much closer to Yekaterinburg. The distance between Yekaterinburg and Tobolsk is 536 km. The Abalak tourist village is built in the Siberian style of wooden architecture in the area of Abalaksky Monastery. The wooden village tells the story of the first fortresses built by the Cossacks in the 16th century when they were conquering the Urals and Siberia.

Besides, Abalak is inhabited by the characters of Russian fairy tales. Baba Yaga, a witch, lives in Abalak in her chicken-legged cabin and treats guests to hot piroggi and bliny. Father Frost is greeting children there from 24 December to 8 January. Meanwhile Russian beauties in the White Owl tavern offer tasty Siberian dishes and drinks made of Siberian berries. Guests can also go sleighing, skiing or riding. Father Frost’s residence has a farm with horses, deer, cows, sheep and raccoons.

The website of Father Frost’s Siberian residence: (in Russian)

The price list is modest (payment per person upon arrival)

Entrance - 50 roubles

Meeting Father Frost - 100 roubles

Lunch - 300 roubles

Sweet gift from Father Frost - 250 roubles

You can stay overnight in the hotel of Abalak with finely carved wooden furniture. A room for two persons costs 5000 roubles from Mon. to Thu. and 6000 roubles at weekends.  Alternatively, there is Slavyanskaya Hotel in Tobolsk that will hit your wallet for 3000 roubles per person.

Getting to Abalak: From Yekaterinburg take the road via Tymen in the direction of Tobolsk. Before entering Tobolsk go down the bridge across the river Irtysh and turn to the right following the sign to the village of Probrazhenka and the village of Abalak.

There are many trains bound for Tobolsk. I suggest taking train #310. This night train is convenient as it leaves Yekaterinburg at 22.16 and arrives at 8.28. A 10 hour sleep in a train will cost you 800-1500 roubles. Note, that Tobolsk and Abalak are not on the Trans-Siberian route!

All photos by Alexey Kolmakov, courtesy of

Useful phone numbers, websites and addresses in Yekaterinburg

I got this question from several expats in Yekaterinburg – Are there any foreign friendly taxi companies in the city?

I’m afraid there aren’t many phone operators in the taxi companies who speak English here. However you can always order a taxi from the website, i.e. you still need to read Russian and at best have a Russian phone number as you receive a text message when your car is arriving.

Once you arrive in Yekaterinburg, you need to know about the websites, phone companies and certain addresses. And here they are:

Koltsovo International Airport

Airport Koltsovo Ul. Sputnikov 6  tel. +7 434 2644202

getting there: by buses #1, 29, 67

Main Train Station (Vokzal)

Ul. Vokzalnaya 22  Tel +7 343 3583211

Getting there by trams # 3, 5, 7, 12, 21, 23, 27, 32, A

By trolleybuses # 1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 15, 17, 19

By busses # 1, 21, 23, 31

by Metro - Uralskaya Station

Nothern Bus Station (Severny Avtovokzal) Ul. Vokzalnaya 15A   Tel. +7 343 3584168

Getting there: see directions to the Main Train Station

TopTaxi tel. +7 343 2223030

Automig tel. +7 343 3450450

Sky tel. +7 343 2388888

Tri Desyatki tel. +7 343 3101010

Car Rentals

Auto Plus Rent a Car tel. +7 343 2647400  Ul. Bakhchivandzhi 1 (Airport Koltsovo)

Apis Auto tel. +7 343 2576249 Ul. Vainera 516

Imperia Auto tel. +7 343 2138585 Ul. Malysheva 53

Mobile Companies

MTS Ul. Vainera 12 (09:00 – 22.00)

Beeline Ul. 8 Marta, 8B (09:00 – 21:00)

Megafon Ul. Malysheva 122 (Mon-Fri 09:00-18.00)

Motiv Ul Sheinkmana 57 (09:00 – 20.00)

Central Post Office

Central Post Office (Pochta) Ul. Lenina 39 (Mon-Fri: 08:00-22:00 Sat-Sun: 09:00-18:00)

Souvenirs Ul. 8 Marta, 21 (Mon-Fri: 10.00-19.00)

Emergency Station (open 24 hours)

Travmpunkt #2   Ul. Bazhova 124a tel. +7 343 3503259

Doctor Plus Prospect Lenina 7, tel. +7 343 2120606

If you think of any other useful websites and directions, let me know and I'll add them here 🙂

for information on hotels and hostels in Yekaterinburg click here:

for eating and meeting foreigners in the city click here:

Novourask, a treasure of a closed town

Every sun rise is beautiful and it’s similarly beautiful in any part of the world. I spotted my October sun rise in a strange place near Novouralsk, a closed town behind the wall 90 km north of Yekaterinburg.

The town was known as Sverdlovsk-44 in the Soviet times and it was absolutely unknown to the rest of the world until 1994. Since that year it’s not a secret town but a closed town due to the Ural Electro Chemical Plant built there during World War II.  Novouralsk had the first mountain ski track in the Urals but very few people from the outside world could go skiing there (population of the town is 85.519)

Another treasure of Novouralsk is Verkhneyvenski pond with beaches and a yacht club.

Verkhneyvenski pond

The pond is outside the town thus you don’t have to go through the control post which you won’t be able to do anyway. Boat and yacht rentals are available in summer.

Getting there: by car from Novo-Moskovsky trakt drive through Pervouralsk. By any local train bound for Nizhni Tagil. Get off at Verkh-Neyvinsk Station. Novouralsk is on the left side, you will see it behind the barbed wire. The pond is on the right side. And the sun rise is for every one!

watch the sunrise by clicking here:

Is it possible to travel in Yekaterinburg in a wheelchair?

As a freelance guide I got a request from a Moscow travel agency to arrange a city tour for two German women who came by Trans-Siberian train. One of them was in a wheelchair. The agency asked me to call a local social taxi service to order a special minivan for a handicapped person. Good to know that we have such a service at all and it’s very reasonable – 80 roubles per hour. However, as with any social service, they don’t work on weekends (the tour was on Saturday) and they don’t go outside the city, i.e. a visit to the Europe-Asia border was out of the question.  - If you have any complaints, send them to the city administration, – a man on the phone said politely before I began even to think of complaints. – Besides, we don’t have enough vehicles to transport the sick to hospitals, - he continued. – How can you ask for a 5 hour leisure trip? -

Plotinka - the historical centre on Lenin St. is not the best place to visit in a wheelchair

For a second he made me feel guilty but then again, a woman in a wheelchair has the right to enjoy her day traveling around Yekaterinburg. So I called an ordinary taxi and asked how much it would be to hire a minivan with an extra man so that he and the driver could carry the German lady in and out. 16 grand for 5 hours was the answer.  - Men cost a lot in this city, you see – the manager told me. The next taxi company was a little less pricey. They were okay with 15.000 roubles. But it wasn’t okay for the German tourist as even in overpriced Moscow a vehicle with a ramp (we don’t have them here at all) is maximum a thousand roubles. Finally, I found Victor, a private driver who was strong enough to carry my client on his own and charged an ordinary fare for taxi companies. Hail to Victor who proved that some men in Yekaterinburg do not live just for quick money. But I still don’t know what we would do if it had been a heavy man in a wheelchair. By the way, two expensive men from the first taxi company showed up on the train platform to greet the tourist just in case.  Even though they had been denied, they still hoped the foreigner was ready to splash out with her plastic card.

Church on the Blood is well equipped with ramps and an elevator

On the bright side of things, I found out that the city is not that bad for wheelchair travelers. Of course, one can forget about visiting Plotinka with its numerous steps on both sides. But the second main attraction, Church on Blood, is well equipped with ramps and an elevator. Grand Avenue Hotel on Lenin Street is also convenient for wheelchair travelers. My German client (with a Russian name: Katya) looked happy. She had already traveled through North America and South Africa and was covering the Trans-Siberian route. She only regretted that the Kremlin in Moscow had a single but very large step, and she hadn’t had Victor there to help her.

German tourists on the border of Europe and Asia

Social taxi in Yekaterinburg is located on Mashinnaya ul. 9A.

Tel +7(343)2604444 Monday – Friday from 8 to 17. To make a reservation call five days prior to the needed date.

Welcome to Cuba – a green island in Yekaterinburg

Cuba is a district in Yekaterinburg but not many citizens know where it is. It’s an unofficial name of Bolshoy Konniy distict aka Green Island to the west of VIZ (Verkh-Isetsky Factory). The nickname appeared in 1960s when the Green Island of Liberty was extremely popular with Russians. It doesn’t mean they could travel to Cuba easily but everyone knew about Fidel and ‘no pasaran’ became a Russian phrase. By the way, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara visited Yekaterinburg-Sverdlovsk in 1963. Castro gave a long speech in Uralmash Factory. He didn’t see our local Cuba but I’m sure he would have liked it!

A journey to Cuba starts on the pier of Verkh-Isetsky Pond. It was made in 1725. It’s 12km long and 2.5 km wide. The pond is rather polluted but ‘the Cubans’ don’t mind fishing there all year long. It’s about 4 km along the pond from VIZ to Cuba. You can take a bicycle or tram 11. It’s the only tram that goes to Cuba. Trams run every 20 min., get off on the last station Zelyony Ostrov (Green Island) well, technically it’s a peninsula but ‘island’ sounds more romantic, doesn’t it?

I guess Cuba is the most diverse place in Yekaterinburg. The district was built in 1920s along with a power station and it was a true working class area in the USSR. The station doesn’t work anymore and I have no idea what ‘the Cubans’ do there no – not much, judging by their houses. However, there is a luxury beach opened this year in Cuba. So, the citizens might get jobs there although summers in the Urals are very short.

As I went to Cuba in August, the beach was absolutely dead, so I walked around and took some photos of the locals. They were very friendly, by the way. I’ve never been to Cuba but I have a feeling that the atmosphere there is pretty much the same as in our Cuba. Ok, you can’t grow sugar cane here but look at those tomatoes!

Click here to see more photos with captions from the Green Island of local Cuba Libre

The oldest cemetery in Yekaterinburg

Many tourists, as I noticed, like visiting Russian cemeteries, apparently because they are so different from those in the West. Yekaterinburg is famous for two mafia cemeteries but there is also Ivanovskoye cemetery in the centre. The oldest cemetery in the city traces the history of Yekaterinburgers from rich merchants of 19th century to Gulag prisoners and the killers of the Romanovs.

Church of St, Iowan is the main church of Yekaterinburg

Ivanovskoye cemetery is hidden behind the blue church on Repina Street, 6A next to the city prison and opposite the Central Stadium. The Church of St. Iowan is the only one that worked in the Soviet Sverdlovsk. During the Second World War Stalin decided to ease restrictions on churches to appeal to people’s patriotism. So the church wasn’t destroyed but, of course, Father Nikolay, the priest of the church had to be on friendly terms with the KGB. Local merchants the Telegins built the church in 1846. The family was buried behind the church. These are the oldest tombstones here.

The cemetery is pretty much neglected. You can only walk along the main alley. The most prominent citizens were buried here in Stalin’s times. A few steps further to the bushes and you will see simple gravestones with Soviet stars – the graves of 1920s-30s. Some graves have just markers with names of the so-called ‘enemies of the USSR’, the victims of repressions.

A small square on the alley has a monument to local writer Bazhov. On the left side from it you will find a gravestone of Petor Ermakov – one of the murderers of the tsar’s family. He was the one who stabbed the children with his bayonet when they were still alive lying on the blood splattered floor of Ipatiev House. When the house became a Museum of Revolution, Ermakov did excursions there, telling people how he killed the Romanovs. No wonder that his gravestone is splashed with red paint now.

You can get to Ivanovskoye cemetery by trolley buses 3 and 17. They run past the main train station and Church on Blood. Get off at Central Stadium.

Visim – the land of ostriches and old believers

Visim is a village located in National Park Visimsky, 50 km from Nizhni Tagil and 195 km to the North-West of Yekaterinburg. Why is it worth visiting? First of all, you’ll be able to see the real Ural Mountains. On your way to Visim, right on the border between Europe and Asia you pass Gora Belaya – one of the highest mountains in Middle Urals (705m). It has a well equipped skiing resort ( and a chairlift operates all year long. On a sunny day you can see the village of Visim from the top of the mountain.

The landscape around Visim can be compared to Switzerland. No wonder that top local businessmen and the former Governor of Sverdlovskaya Oblast have their dachas in the area. The nearby village Uralets is the place where so-called ‘bad silver’ (first Ural platinum) was found in 1824. By 1917 Middle Urals was supplying 90% of the world’s platinum. They say you can still find platinum in local rivers.

Visim is not only a perfect retreat to breathe in fresh air and enjoy wild nature. It is also a good anthropological destination to learn more about Russian inhabitants. The village was founded in 1741 as a settlement around ironworks. The factory belonged to the Demidoffs – a famous dynasty of successful merchants in the Urals who later moved to Florence and became related to Napoleon. They brought their serfs from Ukraine and Tula (western Russia) to Visim and hired the already settled Old Believers who had fled to the Urals from Novgorod in the 1720s.

 “Three Ends”, the novel by the Visim-born writer Mamin-Sibiryak, depicts lifestyles in three areas of the village. Differences can still be seen in wooden architecture – Ukrainian and Tula houses have bright colours and elaborate décor. Old Believers’ houses look dark, solid and have shutters. Over time Ukrainian and Tula villagers assimilated as both liked wine and celebrations. Old Believers, however, managed to preserve their culture and austere customs. They are known as very hard-working, non-drinking strong people. Life expectancy in Visim is very high among Old Believers, some women reach 95. To date, there are several young men in the village who claim they are Old Believers.

The population in Visim is now 1200 although in the Soviet times it was 7000. It is interesting that the villagers do not like to promote Visim. They are afraid that new-comers may spoil their quiet rural life – unlike in many other decaying Russian villages, this one looks very neat. A local businessman helps the village to survive. He is currently building a mini-hotel and a church in Visim. The businessman is of course an Old Believer. Visim has two Museums: Museum of the writer Mamin-Sibiryak and Museum of Local Crafts. Public celebrations and festivals are held during Christmas holidays and Maslenitsa (Pan Cake carnival). There is a decent café Kedr in the centre of the village.

in the museum of Mamin Sibiryak

The highlight of Visim is a deer farm. The same local businessman bought herds of Saika Deer and Caspian Red Deer; in Russia they are called Siberian stags or Marals. The deers' velvet antlers are used to produce immune stimulant and anti-cancer medicine which the owner of the farm gives to his employees.

Book the tour to Belaya Mt and the Deer Farm here:

The excursion in the farm is 50 roubles. Make sure you bring some bread to feed deer. They especially like baton (sweet white bread).

A year ago the farmers received an unexpected gift – three abandoned ostriches on the farm doorstep. The birds outlived their first winter on the farm. It turned out that ostriches can endure temperatures down to -20, not that they liked it though.

Petrovich, the ostrich

and his girlfriend

Since spring 2011 the farm has adopted five Yakut horses. There is no worry about their survival. Yakut horses will probably take Ural winters for a summer holiday.

photo from

Book the tour to Belaya Mt and the Deer Farm here:

Getting there by car: 115 km down Serovsky Trakt. Pass Lenevka Sanatorium and turn left to detour around Nizhni Tagil, then turn to Chernoistochinsk-Uralets and drive 50 km more. To enter Visim,  turn left from the highway. To go to the farm go 300m straight on. The farm is the next right turn from the highway. You will see a sign in Russian 'ostriches, deer'

Getting there by bus: there are buses from Nizhni Tagil Main Bus Station. Take a bus bound for Visimo-Utkinsk and get off at Visim bus stop.

Tsarina Alexandra Romanova. How she became a Saint

Monastery Ganina Yama, the burial place of the Romanovs (17km from Yekaterinburg) is changing all the time. Some of the wooden churches get burnt, then restored again. The first stone church is being built now. So, even if you have been to Ganina Yama already, there is always something new and interesting to see. Recently, a bust of tsarina Alexandra appeared on the central valley of the monastery.

  German Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, a favourite granddaughter of Queen Victoria was given a Russian name Alexandra Feodorovna as she married Nicolas II.  The new tsarina was heartily disliked in Russia from the very beginning. She seemed very reserved in public, ignored Russian culture and the court in St. Petersburg. Her obsession with mysticism and relationships with a controversial ‘holy man’ Rasputin didn’t add popularity. When the Romanovs were kept in the Ipatyev house in Yekaterinburg, Alix drew swastika and other cabalistic signs for good luck, which later gave rumors that it could be a ritual murder.

Alix didn’t manage to learn Russian, so the family members spoke mainly English in the palace. However, she was a fervent Orthodox believer. Russian Orthodox Church canonized her in 2000 as Saint Alexandra the Passion Bearer.

Interestingly, the Romanovs are now presented by the church as saints above criticism. The monastery in Ganina Yama as well as Church on Blood in Yekaterinburg offer the so-called Orthodox excursions run by special Orthodox guides. No other guides are allowed to show tourists around. But there are many good books you can read on the subject and not to be baffled. One of them is Ekaterinburg by Helen Rappaport . A vivid account of the final fourteen days of the Romanovs will give you an idea of what was going on during those days not only in the Ipatyev house, but all over Russia and abroad.

Book the tour to Ganina Yama here:

Lake Shartash – a piece of nature in Yekaterinburg

Summer is short, so don’t miss a chance to do a short eco-tour to Lake Shartash. You can walk in the forest, climb ancient rocks, ride a bicycle, go swimming and sunbathing on the beach, what’s more it’s all within Yekaterinburg so you don’t need a car to get there!

Shartash in the east of Yekaterinburg is one of the oldest lakes in the Urals - 1 million years old. It has a shape of a bean; its area is 7 Shartash means a yellow stone therefore don’t be afraid of the yellowish waters – it’s not dangerous for swimming. First gold in the Urals was discovered in the lake area in 1745. The bottom of the lake has granite deposits and sapropel.

Getting there: from Lenin Prospect you can go by trams 8,13,15,23,32, “A” or any mini bus that has a weird abbreviation ‘40 let VLKSM’ (in English it means ‘40 years of All-Union Leninist Young Communist League’ – it’s actually the name of a tram stop) You need to get off at Kamennie Palatki on Viysotskogo Street. Cross the street, you will see a big sign Shartashsky Les (forest of Shartash) and stone steps leading up the rock. Climb the steps and you get to Kamennie Palatki:

Kamennie Palatki - granite monuments of the Stone Age can be found only in Middle Urals

Kamennie Palatki (stone tents) is something of the same significance in Russia as Stonehenge in England. The natural monument of the Iron Age is a wall of granite formed by the volcano eruption. Granite layers look like piles of huge pancakes. Archeologists found out that ancient people used the place as an altar.

Nowadays Yekaterinburgers bring food and drinks to Kamennie Palatki too, but instead of sacrifice they make picnics.

In 1905 the place was used by Sverdlov and other Bolsheviks for secret meetings.

Get down back to the street and walk about 400 m. eastward, the forest is on your left. Turn left in front of the petrol station. Cross a railway crossing. To rent a bicycle walk straight on to the forest, the lake is on your right. Continue walking till you see a sign on your right Sportivnaya Baza. Alternatively, from the railway crossing turn right and walk to Sundali Beach

Sundali Beach

Bicycle rentals are open daily from 10a.m. to 8p.m. 1 hour is 100-200roubles. Bring a passport or driver’s license with you to rent a bicycle. Don’t worry about the passport - it’s a common practice in Russia when a rental company keeps your document while you keep a bicycle.

The cycling trail around the lake is 12.5 km. Near the village of Shartash you have to cycle about 2 km on the highway as there is no trail by the lake which is inconvenient especially with children. My favourite route is along the lake anti-clockwise to Izoplit village and back. It takes one hour and apart from peaceful nature you will see an interesting site in Izoplit:  shabby wooden huts standing next to mansions of rich Yekaterinburgers:

Houses in Izoplit on Rybakov Street

And on the opposite side of the same street...

For sale

Shartash is a closed lake. It has about 50 springs and no outflows. The lake is getting shallow; it’s now 2-3m. deep and scientists predict it may turn into a swamp in 50-70 years. I hope you will find some time to visit this beautiful ancient lake before it disappears.

Whenever I have a day off in summer I go to Shartash for a ride. You are more than welcome to join me 😉

Gora Belaya – a mountain to mount in summer

Last week I got a question from Nicole. She is arriving from Berlin in August and she would like to see some mountains. When you are going to the Urals you expect to see a landscape similar to that in the Alps. But the reality is different and the first thing that tourists ask is “where are the mountains?” – Hmm, actually, everywhere to the North, South or West from Yekaterinburg.

The closest mountain skiing resort is Gora Volchikha (520m) It’s 40 km to the west  near the town of Revda But the slope is closed in summer time and there are no chair lifts or trails for trekking. The same story is with other mountains in the vicinity.

The only one mountain with good infrastructure all year long is Gora Belaya - 705m (White Mountain) 150 km north to Yekaterinburg. The long drive is worth it as on your way you can also visit two interesting Ural towns: Nevyansk and Nizhni Tagil.

As winter lasts 5 months here, Belaya is still good for skiing in March

The mountain is called white because even in late May snow is there

The Regional Government invested a lot of money to promote the mountain as the best resort in Middle Urals. The plan was to make it a training ground for the Olympics. Gora Belaya hasn’t become popular all over Russia yet. To date, it is only visited by the locals. Thus a hotel, restaurants, saunas and a swimming pool are deserted most of the year. But our government doesn’t give up, so the resort is open every day from 10 to 22 and the staff will start the chair lift for you even if you are the only visitor.

Book the tour to Belaya Mt here:

A view from the top

As I took these photos on May 9th there were 4 visitors - 3 German tourists and I.

In summer you can also rent a bicycle, roller skates and race in go-cart. The website has prices and maps (only in Russian)

Getting there

by car from Yekaterinburg: 115 km down Serovsky Trakt. Pass Lenevka Sanatorium and turn left to detour around Nizhni Tagil, then turn to Chernoistochinsk-Uralets. Turn left at the obelisk on the Europe-Asia border and drive 2 km towards the car park.

By public transport from Yekaterinburg: take any bus, minibus or a local train to Nizhni Tagil. From the main bus station in Nizhni Tagil (which is next to the train station) take bus 113 directly to Belaya. Bus runs twice a day at 10.40 and 15.00 from the city and at 12.20 and 16.30 from Gora Belaya.

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About the Project is the blog dedicated to my lovely region known as the Urals or the Ural Mountains in Russia.

My name is Luba Suslyakova. I am based in Yekaterinburg (Russia), and I would love to share useful information about my area as much as possible and be your travel adviser.

Just keep asking me via the contact form and I will come back to you with answers!

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Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Unstealing bikes: Commitment fulfilled

Here's a long-overdue update to my "unstealing" project.

Mid-February: Brian donates a beater bike. (Thanks, Brian!) It has a nice enough lugged frame, but the bike is a wet-braking deathtrap with steel 26 x 1 3/8 rims and long-reach, stamped-steel brake calipers.

Early March: Patrick rescues an abandoned early 90s Hard Rock from death by rust in an empty lot and turns it over to me. It's perfect for Nellyda, but it's got a ton of BTA stickers.

Mid-March: I replace the Hard Rock's rust-locked headset, tune it up, and put the word out to the BTA that I likely have one of theirs.

Late March: Ann reads about her Hard Rock in the BTA email newsletter, contacts me, and is happily reunited. Too bad for Nellyda, though.

Early April: I acquire a coaster-brake hub and use it, a drop bar and old Pivo stem, a narrow saddle, and some miscellaneous parts to rebuild Brian's donated beater as a presentable, relatively safe faux fixie. This becomes bike #4, for Nellyda. When she takes delivery she gives me not only some random, decent parts but also a jar of peach jam (Yum!) and the great painting you see pictured here. What nice people in this town!

The delivery of bike #4 fulfills my January commitment. (Actually, counting Ann's, I delivered five.) Maybe now I can get back to my original vision, which is to release one finished bike at a time by locking it up in a popular spot with a combo lock whose combination I would email to applicants who qualify.

The next release likely will be for a six-foot or taller rider. I have a nice old (big) Rockhopper frame (still another from the Clown House) and some parts on hand (from Patrick, Brian, Nellyda, et al), but I'm lacking wheels and a fork that fits. If you have a mountain-bike fork for a tall frame (in the old 1-inch steer tube diameter) and/or some functional but homely wheels or bare rims that are just cluttering up your garage, I'd love to take them off your hands.

1 comment:

patrick said...

I guess it's too late, but I sure would love to see photos of the drop-bar coaster-brake bike!

I saw Ann's recovered Rockhopper parked at the New Seasons yesterday, just about a block from where I found it. So nice to have a bike returned to its owner.

I'll keep an eye out for some wheels for that Clown House Rockhopper.

Thanks WOBG!


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Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Readers Pictures - The Autumn Aurora

Reader Paul Albers managed to snap some images of the unexpected Aurora on the night of March 1 from Balnaring, Victoria.He made a star trail too

With the C/2013 A1 story, and the C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS close approach, I've been dropping the ball a bit, like the not mentioning the aurora of March 1.

Reader Paul Albers saw it, and sent in these nice shots, one stand alone image, and one stacked to make star trails. Paul says:

it caught me by surprise too. The k-index keep on rising, I placed the camera on the door near the back Veranda and saw some colour.
I rushed to the local beach, it was windy and the moon was about to rise. I managed to obtain about 100 images but the quality decreased over time due to the moon washing out the night sky.
The intensity stayed the same with some curtains appearing, overall worth while making the effort.

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Thursday, 25 October 2012

The Best Phone Call IN THE WORLD !

Most readers will be aware that I recently went on one of my necessary-for-sanity trips back to Britain. I returned via a Star Trek conference in London, of which I expect I'll have more to say at some point. Unfortunately, the journey did not quite go according to plan.

The last trip I went on was an epic expedition to Socorro and Anchorage, and I've already related the horrors of that particular journey. Travel wise, things weren't anywhere near that bad this time. I got on a train from Horsahm to London and then Heathrow without incident. The plane to JFK wasn't much fun - it was full and the seats were unusually small, so I was literally elbow to elbow with my fellow cattle (I mean, passengers) for 7 hours. On the other hand, that's an hour less than I was expecting, which was nice.

I arrived in JFK on time with 4.5 hours until the flight to San Juan. Even so, since I had a connecting flight, I was able to skip the huge immigration line and go to this new-fangled "Quick Connect" thing that no-one else has ever heard of, and I was inside the airport in about 10 minutes. If you've ever been through US customs and immigration, you'll know that this is no small achievement.

Then I remembered that the spaceship Enterprise had been moved to JFK - literally, a real-life spaceship called Enterprise. The first space shuttle. It even features in the opening credits of the Star Trek series of the same name, which may well be the coolest possible way to break the fourth wall.

So, this is a spaceschip named Enterprise in a show of the same name which is derived from a previous show featuring a fictional spaceship named Enterprise which led to the naming of the real Enterprise which is seen in the credits of the fictional show called Enterprise. Just to be clear.

Since I now had several unexpectedly free hours, I wandered around the airport for a while hoping to find it. I didn't, because (as I half-suspected) it was quickly moved from the airport to a museum. Which is a pity, because riding atop a space shuttle called Enterprise would have been the perfect way to outdo my friend's efforts to fondle Kate Mulgrew while the Star Trek convention continued without me.

Be afraid, Kate. Be very afraid.

No matter. I got on the next plane, wherein being awake for over 20 hours began to take its toll. It wasn't as squashed as the first one, thankfully. So a little under 4 hours later I staggered off the plane and collapsed into a pre-arranged taxi. About 2 hours later I found myself back at my little orange concrete bunker, and only then did I realise I was now devoid of such essentials as my coat and wallet.

This turn of events caused me some level of distress. Normally, I'm so ultra-paranoid about checking I have all my belongings that losing any just can't happen. I check the pocket on the back of the seat in front of me at least 5 times. Even when I know full well I never put anything in it. I check for the essentials of keys, wallet and mp3 player in such a repetitive fashion that an anthropologist once wrote a paper on my ritualistic habits*.

* This isn't literally true. In fact, it isn't true at all.

This time the paranoia must have created a peculiar brand of self-confidence. Knowing that I'm too unsure of myself, I knew I must have already checked that I'd got all my stuff, because that's what I always do. So I proceeded from the airport safe in the knowledge that I was far too worried about leaving my stuff behind to have left any of my stuff behind.

Fortunately, though one rather major thing had gone horribly wrong, absolutely everything else was going right. The taxi driver is familiar with the observatory and nice enough to defer payment, knowing that I'm not attempting any scam. But I did have a thoroughly miserable 30 minutes while I struggled with second-guessing myself as to how I could have lost it. I concluded that it was probably on the last aircraft, but I wasn't sure.

Then I got a phone call.

"Hello, is this Rice Taylor ?"
"Err... yes."
"Hi, this is XXXXX from American Airlines -"
"Oh, hello, have you found my wallet ?"
"Yes - "
"Ah, wonderful. We should have dinner sometime, as I would like to father your children."

Even better, I had indeed left it on the plane to Puerto Rico, and it sounded like (from the remainder of the conversation, after we'd sorted out the family planning) everything was intact. Though I'd have to pay to get it Fed-Exed to me, this wasn't necessary, as by an extraordinarily unlikely coincidence I was planning to be back in San Juan anyway two days later (for a mini-conference I will describe later).

And indeed, I was back in San Juan two days later, where I retrieved my wallet which contained absolutely everything it was supposed to contain. Then everyone was happy and there were rainbows and kittens and sunshine and lollipops and all other wonderful things.

Rainbows are produced by vomiting unicorns, obviously.

Wednesday, 24 October 2012

Myths of Star Trek (I)

I've just finished watching the first series of the original Star Trek. I've seen all of the others, of course, but until now I've only seen a handful of the original. I always had the impression that it was a much more primitive show, laughable by modern standards. And of course I was certain that every episode, Kirk would make out with a hot alien babe and a dozen men in red shirts would be brutally slaughtered.

Well, I was wrong on all counts. Yes, it is a lot more primitive, but once you swallow the cheap '60's styling, it isn't all that bad. The modern remastered version has replaced most of the effects shots with CGI, so the ship isn't made of stickyback plastic covered in tissue paper and PVA glue any more. Not all of them though - in "The Alternative Factor", the ship still gets attacked by the Triffid Nebula and (for some reason) a whirling newspaper. And yes, I mean that literally.

The Triffid Nebula will not stand for your shenanigans.

Watching the original series 40 years late is a little weird, sociologically. It's at once ground-breakingly politically correct (probably more than any show, ever), what with a black female officer and a Russian flying the ship, yet it's also quite bizarrely anti-feminist. So while most of the women are intelligent and professional (Uhura not only deals with communications but also takes the helm when required), the minute they find a pretty dress they become useless baubles who are totally incapable of doing anything. Not to mention the immortal line by Captain Pike in the pilot episode : "I just can't get used to having a woman on the bridge."

The characters may be identical but at least one of them is now ironic.
I already knew that Kirk never says, "Beam me up Scotty", but I was still expecting him to be a gung-ho womaniser. He isn't. He spends a great deal of time signing forms (seemingly without ever reading them) and often restrains his crew from violence rather than the other way round. And although he does sometimes order the hand phasers to be set on kill, when stun isn't working, he doesn't even use the ships phasers until episode 10. I contest that he's no more trigger-happy than Picard, and probably a lot less than Sisko and Janeway.

On the other hand, Janeway becomes very angry when she's drunk, which is all of the time.

There's also another aspect to Kirk (and Pike even more so) that we don't see in any of the other Trek captains : they're worriers. Picard wouldn't know self-doubt if it punched him in the kidneys and bit off his nose, and Sisko doesn't face more than occasional misgivings. Janeway admittedly does wrestle with her conscience that blowing up the only thing that could get the ship home might have been a bad idea, but that's the only thing she ever really questions. Whereas Kirk and Pike confess to doubts about being a starship captain at all, and admit to not enjoying the responsibility of trying to keep hundreds of people alive every day.

What of the famous Kirk the ladies man ? Lies and slander. He has many female admirers, it's true, but he could hardly be called a womaniser. In fact he usually stalwartly resists the flirtations of alien seductresses while his crew go instantly weak at the knees ("How'd you like to have her as your own personal yeoman, hur hur hur..."). He has one very brief, demure kiss with an old flame, but that's about it. Admittedly he does try quite forcefully (and utterly unsuccessfully)  to seduce a sexy android in "What Are Little Girls Made Of ?". but in context this incident is really quite bizarre and actually out of character. I'm going to give Kirk the benefit of the doubt and put this down to bad writing.

Then there's the famous guarantee that wearing a red shirt is a death sentence. It isn't. To prove this, I'm keep a tally of all the casualties reported during each episode, including what colour shirt they were wearing (when possible). Now, it's true that the average death rate is about 16,000 per episode in series 1, which, quite wonderfully, is because 500,000 people walk into actual freakin' suicide booths in "A Taste Of Armageddon".

It's also true that the first few episodes are particularly bloody for the crew of the Enterprise. In fact the rate of attrition is so high that a five-year mission is off the cards, because everyone would be dead in about three years. But these too are anomalies. The total number of on-screen permanent (i.e. not brought back to life by aliens / gods / McCoy / sheer luck) crew deaths is 4 red shirts, 3 blue and 4 gold. There are also reported casualties that we don't see, but these only total about a dozen. So, sadly, there's absolutely no basis for the idea that wearing a red shirt shortens life expectancy.

All in all, season 1 leads me to conclude that the good name of Captain James R / T Kirk (it's R in an early episode, then changes to T later on) has been sullied by later parodies. A violent womaniser happy to see his men fall in the line of duty ? Hardly. He's a worrying bureaucratic gentleman, devoted to his crew and mission of peaceful exploration. Ensign Ricky need not fear for his insurance premiums in season 1. Of course, whether all this lasts into season 2 remains to be seen...