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Wednesday, 31 August 2016

stockPINing ! keePINg track

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updated : Mar 8, 2017

Irrespective of the size of our stockpile, do we ever stop pining for more ?!!! As our stock grows larger & more diverse, greater the risk of messes, misses, & mix-ups … of losing track. I finally heeded the clarion call of my thread stock as part of our monthly Pinterest Challenge – my stockPINing !

" One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is
constantly making exciting discoveries"
- AA. Milne

Yes, I so did !!! A few of my discoveries as I waded through my stash, organizing & cataloguing the threads….The pics don’t show the number or size of containers or the stuffed stuff inside ;-p

 Discovering new shades & the ease of choice !
i) Embroidery Threads
It all started last month, with my cross stitch bookmarks. With all skeins cramped into one box, & the patterns needing many colours, I found myself spreading out the skeins on the bed – not a good sight at all !
First sorted skeins according to colours. Then simply tied a knot at tip of each strand, cut off a very short length & glued it to the page, along with details. Slow-going, but with immediate results. Not only did it help in choosing colours for bookmarks, but for the Floral Fantasy Doily ! 2 shades of light green were Very similar (2nd coloumn); but I could locate the exact shade I wanted because of the catalogue.

 Discovering the mystery of the zero !
ii) Mercerized Crochet Cotton (Size 20)
For the last 30 years, I have used only Anchor MCC (from Madura Coats), bought at various shops & now online stores. As my stash grew, it always perplexed me that some threads seemed thicker than others, despite the size number being same. Also the shade numbers – some had a single 0 before them, some had two zeroes, while many of my vintage balls didn’t have any 0 before the shade number.
I put it down to different stores, different years/decades, & so on. In fact that is how I entered in the catalogue. TILL the shade column & the tatting alongside threw up this interesting fact : the 0 digit represents the thickness within that size !!!!! Now I know which balls can be used together in same project.

Also noticed that the shape of ball with single 0 is different from the one with 00 (which is squatter with thicker thread) !

Discovering doodads & forgotten ideas !
iii) Mercerized Crochet Cotton (Size 40)
Buried deep under the balls of crochet cotton threads, I found tatted scraps - possible design ideas, little doodads/doodles, first trials, etc. It was quite amusing. (forgot to take pics)
I tatted little 5-petalled flowers to glue for reference. And devised this to speed things up (instead of cataloguing each colour individually) – pull out a short length of thread from ball & finger-tat the ring with thread still attached to ball. When all were tatted, I simply had to snip off the flower from each ball & glue to page, adding details.

Discovering amazing threads !
iv) Silk & Metallic Threads
I had totally forgotten about spools of metallic threads including gold & silver ! These are unmarked, so I have no idea of the brand.
But even more amazing & nostalgic were my Mom’s machine embroidery silk threads in wooden spools. They date back to at least the late 1940s, early 50s !!! It was mesmerizing watching her skillfully maneuver the embroidery hoop with her left hand at a hand crank sewing machine ! I can’t do with 2 hands on my electric pedal machine with it’s multiple decorative stitch options !
Strands of these threads were difficult to glue down, hence practiced some Hanging Cluny Leaves to display the colours better. A few got stuck while pulling, thus disfiguring their shape.

Discovering forgotten/misplaced balls !
v) Crochet & Knitting Cottons (Size 10 & above)
These are big balls taking up much space. Hence, I used to store them in the closet, in bags, not in transparent boxes. After I’d completed the table cloth edging, I was under the impression that the size 10 variegated blue ball was all over. So imagine my delight when I discovered 1 entire, unused ball ! Now even the balls are stored in different places, a quick reference to the catalogue will tell me that I do have more ! How useful a clue is that ?!

Discovering quality beads !
vi) Beads & Findings
For the first time last year, I had ordered in some gold & silver beads & jewelry findings to use in my tatting (and they worked beautifully). All the rest of my bead stash (mostly pearls, transparent plastic, & some wooden beads) & some rhinestones, sequins, etc. were stuff I took off discarded decorations, mementos, dress materials, etc. Couldn’t bring myself to throw out the colourful embellishments. But while some of these were good, some were irregular in shape & hole size, making them difficult to use … which was fine since I didn’t tat much with beads.
Last month I finally ordered some other beads & pearls from an online craft supplies chain. Amazing ! The seed beads have proper sized holes which can be strung through even size 20 thread. And here I was struggling with stringing, thus limiting my choices ! You might see many more beaded projects now ;-P
Seen in the pic is a snipping of the invoice with relevant details of my latest bead acquisition and a sampling of my stash…. I still have to prepare a proper page with new & old bead samples taped & buy a larger bead container.

vii) Sewing Threads

These are old pics (top view with open drawer & side view of entire organizer) of segregated sewing threads, organized for many years now. They are in an A4 size file cabinet with 4 transparent pull-out drawers from Staples. The lowermost was the perfect height for sewing thread spools ! All not-in-use reels are stored there in broad colour-groups, and can be picked out easily. The 3 upper drawers are used for other sewing-related supplies.

viii) Wool Yarn
Remember these quick yarn shade samplers I made, inspired by crochet bloggers ? They did come in handy for the colourful stashbuster Memory Afghan, but how pathetic are they ?!
Come winter, I will sit down to prepare a proper one-page catalogue for my wool stash too.

UPDATE : My wool stash is now organized (Dec, 2016)!

Now if only I can catalogue my book collection. Believe me, I’ve tried many times, but new books kept getting added before I could sort them out. I have also tried to take pics on my cell phone but not every shelf is well lit.
And of course my fabric stash - that is indeed a major task.
Despite all the sniggering at my spread-out stock, it was ‘his’ idea to place each sheet within a transparent sleeve ;-p Love the idea – makes them so durable despite all the handling & referring !!!
These took time & patience to put together. But the advantages are so worth it, and already showing. Besides, some old threads also brought back memories of embroidery, card-making, crochet, tatting projects done before my marriage. Long time !
It also brought home the fact that the quality of Anchor (Coats) threads has decreased over time - they were finer, silkier, brighter in colour before !

As usual, my pinterest challenge is merely utilitarian & boring. For a glimpse into some amazingly creative challenges, click on the names of my fellow pin chicks … they are always so delightfully inspiring !

have a great time :-)

Monday, 29 August 2016

A bit here a bit there

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a medley of tatting, as the title suggests, and in no particular order …

Floral Fantasy Doily
Kathleen Minniti

Round 7 – measures 6¼”
Rings – 0289 (2 strands) ; Chains – 4054-0359 (size 40)

I began the round using the same yellow crochet cotton as in earlier row. But the picots were airier & distinct. Cut it off & replaced with embroidery thread to imitate the orange flowers.
Very quick tat around !
Fresh off the shuttles; no blocking. Will block only at end, when fraying picots...
Now need to figure out the next rounds. No stitch count posted yet, but before that I need to figure out how to tat the 2 rounds - probably tat them together.... let's see.

The Sixteenth Day of December Snowflake
Lene Björn

finished size : 3½”  Size 40
threads : 2 colours in Anchor size 40 (Art 4054) : dusty pink - 00033 & ecru - 00887
techniques : 2 shuttles, self closing mock ring (SCMR), mock picot, reverse join, picot gauge, ball thread join (lock join with other shuttle)

Started with a SCMR and climbed out with a mock picot. Noticed too late that it had twisted while closing.
Again tried to experiment with 2 colours & the reverse join really helped to switch colours/shutles. I made only the 2nd half stitch after the join, counting the join as 1st half stitch.
Ball thread joins helped when connecting the arms, maintaining some symmetry with picots on each arm in each colour.
With some experience gained tatting the earlier snowflakes, especially the Day 10 snowflake, I tried to keep the picots ‘normal’. Could’ve been just a tad bit shorter still (since these become double in length when ball thread join is used).
All frontside tatting in clockwise direction.
I rarely use a picot gauge for regular tatting. But this time I decided to challenge myself & used a picot gauge for the decorative picots on trefoil rings.
1st ring of the ecru trefoil is a mock ring (SCMR) in order to make a proper ball thread join.
I’m not happy with my chosen colours, but these balls have to be consumed as well. Tatting-wise, I could’ve done a lot better, too – some basic errors should’ve been avoided !

This makes 11 snowflakes completed, 10 posted, & 1 that was half-finished but needs to be re-started. Lagging behind on this tat-along, but I’m fine with that. Snowflake season will soon see us all shift gears & speed up ;-D

Spiderwort Doodle (3D)
This teeny tiny 3D flower (a mere ½” in size 20 thread) is inspired by part of an edging in Lavoro Chiacchierino #11 (which was catalogued in Craftree here) The edging had a row of rings that seemed to be filled-in or 'solid'. I tried to figure out how they were done, following a 'distress call' from a dear friend ;-P
These are true rings, including the leaf. No chains or mock rings.
Tip to tip, the doodle measures just over 1½”.

happy tatting :-)

Saturday, 27 August 2016

antique pattern, modern presentation

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A couple of weeks back, Georgia asked if anyone could check for supposed errors in her modern notation of this vintage snowflake pattern. That very evening, I sat down to test tat it, making my own errors in adding wrong threads, but finally ending with a diagram, written pattern & a pictorial, alongside 3 tatted models ! Yes, I need to get a life beyond tatting ;-P

Louise Hauck ©1915 in ‘Tatting of To-day
*free pdf d/l of the modernized pattern with diagram
I like the pattern, especially how the arms are filled in - a breezy center with dense middle !

It is a 2 shuttle, 4 round pattern, all done in a single pass using mock picots to climb out to next round !!!
Except for one small bit (chain), all tatting is done from the frontside, moving in clockwise direction.

This is the diagram, with colour-coding of each round. To download the complete 3-page pdf which includes written notation, diagram & a pictorial, click here.
The pictorial collage in the pdf has fewer pictures. Hence, I am sharing pics of each round here, indicating major points of each round alongside.

Pictorial of Snowflake
In Georgia's pattern, each round is notated in letters (A-D), which was kept the same ...
Climbing out with a mock picot. The long picots in this round were made with a ⅜ inch gauge held horizontally/parallel to core thread.
TIP : When starting the chain after mock picot, I did not make any unflipped half stitch. Instead, start tatting normally after leaving picot space, and while snugging the chain stitches, simply ensure that the core thread retains the picot length (see pic below). This is especially useful when working chain in another colour - no colour blip will show !
The picot at the tip of chain is a small picot, but the one at the base (after the lock join) is a normal picot. The difference in picot lengths helps to bridge the next round so that the short chains lie neatly. If the base picot is small, the chain tends to turn.
2 thrown rings spanned by a chain. This is the only time when we Reverse Work (RW) in the entire pattern; otherwise, it is all tatted from the front. Of course, this chain can be worked in Direct Tatting using unflipped/reverse stitch.
I used a Catherine Wheel Join to bring continuity to the chain, but it is optional & can be substituted with a lock join. The CWJ is not included in the stitch-count of the chains. Consider it a way to span the distance.
The snowflake ruffles a bit, but is easily flattened with fingers. Picot lengths/sizes play a role in this piece.
The Trefoil is thrown off the chains. Hence, to anchor each ring, as well as the trefoil, in place, I used very small picots keeping the overall stitch-count same.

These tat up very quickly & most of the thread used is from shuttle 2 since it is mostly chains & thrown rings!
I used Anchor crochet cotton size 20 (white - model #2) & size 40 (white model #1 & 4054-0185 for model #3).
It measures 3" in size 20 & 2" in size 40.

It was Rakshabandhan on the day I completed tatting, so how could I not play around, especially since my resolve to put up a rakhi bracelet pattern this year did not materialize. So here's a pic of how 2 snowflakes in different sizes, topped with a long-picoted ring, would work as a possible rakhi centre ... we cord/twine attached under. Of course, the colours are too 'icy', but the idea is use-able, don't you think ?

So, here's hoping you like the modern presentation & download the Snowflake pdf for this Christmas :-)

happy tatting :-)

UPDATE (Jan 2017) : Check out what I did with the 3 snowflakes here

Monday, 15 August 2016

picking on picots

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I’ve sensed this for a long time & this medallion confirms it. Anchor Crochet Cotton that is made in India by Madura Coats is thicker than the size 20s & 40s (of any brand) that I see you tatters using. In fact, it is thicker now than the old thread I have ! Makes it very difficult to follow a pattern with long picots.

(aka Woven Center Flower)
Robina Melville
first published in Ring of Tatters Newsletter #72, Spring 2016
This is such an elegant pattern !

Materials : Anchor Cotton size 20, Art. 4054. Golden yellow – 0307 ; red – 046
2 shuttles ; picot gauge : 2.5cm & 3 cms
Techniques I used : long picots, woven picots, split rings, thrown rings, lock join, SSSR to climb out.

Round 1 : 1⅛”
My first attempt failed, as I had sensed, due to difference in thread brand :-( The last ring didn’t even have any space to fit in (top right in pic) !
Increased the picot sizes & the 2nd attempt worked.
TIP : I used a threaded tapestry needle to easily weave the picots, otherwise it was a bit fiddly in the cramped centre.

Climbing Out
For my own recollection, there many ways 2 colours can be used in 1st round & still climb out to next round without tying & cutting both threads.
1. Climb out with a SSSR in red, while hiding the yellow tail in first half of the SSSR.
I had to do this, because I didn’t think ahead & I wasn’t sure what colour(s) I wanted for next round.
2. Wind 3 shuttles : Sh1 with yellow; and 2 shuttles wound CTM with red. Thus while climbing out, we hide the yellow within a split ring. This is what I could’ve done.
3. Double Core SSSR to hide the yellow within & keep the SSSR red. This, in fact, gives us the option to continue with both colours for next rounds, yet keeping the ring a single colour – either red or yellow. I had tried this for the first time here, with a slight adaptation.

Round 2 : 2¼”
Round 3 : 3”
I absolutely Love this medallion & enjoyed tatting it. Hey, even my long chains behaved !

Although, I did make a mistake – a picot in one of the outer chains – an expected outcome of trying to watch the Olympics & tat. Noticed too late, so folded the picot behind & glued it. Will sew it in later.

Flashback to May 2014

My very first attempt at woven picots was when I saw these lovely earrings by Lilas Lace. I was going through a phase of learning different picots & effects - the net kept throwing up such gorgeous tatting !
So these earrings both inspired & intrigued me & using her basic idea, I attempted to tat it.
The stitchcount is my own & I included 2 colours & Josephine Rings. Didn't have findings/hooks... This can work as a pendant, too.
This is the 'before' pic. More practice with picot gauge was needed then, but blocking the piece now has helped a bit.

and this one is for Michelle !
Remember this, Michelle ? A while back I had tried to duplicate the look of that tatted model in pinterest that you shared. Tried a few things in size 40, but don’t know where I’ve misplaced them. Will turn up some day.
Before posting, I usually do another round of online research for resources. And guess what - Karen already Has a video of these !!! They are called Interlocking Picots (why do the tutorials turn up After I've gone through the grime ?! I need better perception & recognition).
Had some thread left on the shuttles after the medallion, and quickly tatted another for this post before I forget again.

Many thanks to Robina & Georgia,
to Lilas, & to Karen
happy tatting :-)

Related Posts : Snow Doily

Sunday, 14 August 2016

a mixed dream

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It wasn’t intentional, but a lucky coincidence – the symbolic resemblance to our flag colours ! We are celebrating the 70th Independence Day on 15th & these are the colours I see all around (with the white, of course).
Floral Fantasy Doily

Kathleen shared a few tatted rounds (& pattern) of this doily but a complete sketch on Craftree. It was still a work in progress, including pattern-writing, but two features called out to me instantly & I began tatting along …So far she has shared stitch count for 6 out of the 9 rounds.
Following the name & the pattern, I wanted this to be a bit colourful. In order to increase my colour choices, I have tatted this in a combination of size 40 Anchor crochet cotton (Art 4054) & 2 strands of Anchor embroidery thread (Art 4625).
Many rounds can be done with single shuttle & ball & while I used 2 shuttles for the most part, I have mentioned which rounds can be tatted with ball & shuttle.
Only Rnds 1&2 were blocked before taking pics. All subsequent rounds are unblocked &/or un-ironed/unpressed … will do it after completion, for the final presentation.

Round 1 – 1½”
Rings : 4054-020 ; Chains : 4625-0314 (2 strands)
Techniques: Swirl Join, down join, directional tatting, picot gauge 3/8" for the long picots, last ring SCMR, ball & shuttle.
Actually a swirl join would hold them all together, since it is a proper join. But with these very very long picots & fine thread, it became extremely difficult for me to manage. Hence, after very many failed attempts, I started the last ring as a SCMR; then cut off a length, pulled the end through all the picots, and completed the ring. This can be seen in the more open picot towards the bottom right in later pics.
TIP : I should've taken the thread back through all the picots again to secure them in the center ! Now, however, I am planning on weaving the picots after completing the doily, as in the old vintage patterns, An opportunity to try it out :-)

Round 2 –  < 2”
CTM or shuttle & ball : 4054-0293.
Techniques : lock join, reverse join, RODS. Ball & shuttle CTM.
I loved this overlap of the chain & chose a light colour to highlight it.
TIP : Probably better to start with the ring at the LJ position. Now I had to cut off shuttle thread in the end and pull it through to the front for overlapping, before completing the last segment.

Round 3 – ~ 3”
Rings : 4625-0204 ; chains – 4625-0879 . 2 strands each
Techniques : directional tatting, long picots, down join, ball & shuttle.

Round 4 – 3⅜”
Rings & Chains : 4625-254. 2 strands each
Techniques : directional tatting, long picots, down join, split rings, 2 shuttles.

Round 5 – 4”
Rings : 4625-314 ; Chains : 4625-0359. 2 strands each
Techniques: directional tatting, long picots (for frayed picots later on), down join, lock join, 2 shuttles (ball & shuttle possible), SCMR to use up ends.
Although the pattern did not call for this profusion of picots, I visualized these as flowers & have chosen long picots for a reason. Yes, you guessed it, I want to convert them to Frayed Picots !
After a few repeats I noticed that my fs/bs tatting was ‘wrong’ & I continued in correct sequence, which led to an interesting observation while joining these flowers ….
TIP : Using a down join to connect the flowers to previous rounds makes the central picots lift up to the front of the work !!!! (compare with the 2 bottom right flowers in the 6th round pics) are not really visible, but one can get rid of them by tatting the rings RODS.
It is cumbersome & time-consuming to separate the strands of embroidery thread. To make full use of the thread in tatting, I used SCMR for many of the rings, thus using up the last lengths of thread. I had first used this in my Wiosna last year (lengthening the functionality of thread & SCMR instead of normal ring).

Round 6 – 4¾”
Rings : 4054-229 ; Chains : 4625-0204. 2 strands
Techniques: directional tatting, down join, ball & shuttle possible.
This is a very quick round & I love the overlap of rings at the base of the scallops.
Colours are fun to work with, but it takes me so much time to choose them :-(  As you can see, I attempted a few combos but snipped them off, ending with a repeat of earlier round colours.
Not sure whether I’ve lost the colour plot here, but these were chosen keeping in mind the next round & it’s colours ….

Kathleen is still in the process of developing & writing this pattern & will be sharing it in a proper format soon. I will update accordingly.

happy tatting :-)


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Stallone Decries “Bold Faced Lying To Pacify The Masses”

 Rambo star asked why he does not “go after Al Qaeda” in new movie

Steve Watson
Thursday, Jan 17, 2008
Sylvester Stallone, star of the upcoming fourth Rambo film, has described the current political climate as being based upon “bold faced lying” by governments in order to “pacify the masses”.

Taking part in a question and answer session for popular culture website anticool.com, Stallone was responding in answer to a mind numbing and cringe inducing question from a fan as to why Rambo does not “git them evil islamo-facist muslim dudes” in his fourth and final outing.

“Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr” from Los Angeles (if indeed he is a real doctor – which I seriously doubt given that he brags about having full sex with a woman before asking his question) asked the following question of Stallone:

“In the eighties, John Rambo took on villains who were the real villains of the day: ruthless, invading Russian commie bastards hellbent on global communism. So I always assumed that if Rambo returned he’d be taking on the real villain of this day: extreme, radical Islamist bastards hellbent on worldwide jihad. It seems like all of today’s movies have pussed out on making Islamofacists the bad guys even though they are clearly the bad guys in the real world right now. Why is Rambo pussing out on this mission? Has he become politically correct?”

YEAH Stallone you wimp! Ha, choke on that!

Well, actually “doctor” it seems Rambo is more concerned with sorting out some bad guys in Burma this time around. You know, that place where a REAL and vicious Socialist military dictatorship has been oppressing and killing innocent people on and off for nigh on 60 years now.

Stallone replies:

“The phrase ‘politically correct’ is basically a euphemism for bold face lying because unfortunately, lies keep society functioning. The day we have our politicians actually tell us the real truth, we’d have anarchy in the streets. So we’re told what they think will pacify the masses not inflame them. ”

Running around after a few incompetent rag tag arabs who have neither the wherewithal nor the capability of instigating a proverbial piss up in a brewery let alone a “worldwide jihad”, does not rank high on Rambo’s to do list.

Besides, the end of the last Rambo movie saw the headbanded hero riding off into the sunset on a camel with his new best buddies, the very same “extreme, radical Islamist bastards hellbent on worldwide jihad”. Why so? Because back then they were our boys.

Rambo III was a cinematic depiction of the fact that throughout the 1980’s, the CIA covertly pumped billions of dollars of military aid into Afghanistan to support the mujahedeen–or holy warriors–against the Soviet Union, which had invaded in 1979.

These holy warriors were armed, trained and funded using American tax dollars. Their CIA handlers compiled the names of the mujahedeen leaders into an electronic intranet database, which was also used by the intelligence agencies to communicate with their holy-warriors. Being one of the first of it’s kind, this source of information became known as The Base“, or when translated in Arabic, “Al Qaeda“.

Now we’re all a bit more pally with the “ruthless, invading Russian commie bastards hellbent on global communism”, our governments have turned their attention back to plundering the hell out of the middle east. Of course we as rational peace loving people would never tolerate such actions in our names unless there was some gigantic threat to our freedom and way of life, which of course comes in the form of a prolonged propaganda campaign to convince us that there really are hordes of “Islamofacists” around every corner and hiding under our beds waiting to get us because they abhor our freedom.

Unfortunately the average American, like “Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr”, buys this fiction hook line and sinker, cannot remember further back than when that 9/11 thing happened, and will not question why his favorite hero, the dude he sacrificed some great sex for, used to be best pals with those guys who are now the evil baddies.

As Stallone points out, for our governments to tell the truth would be too inflaming, instead we are pacified and told that everything is black and white. We’re at war with the Islamofacists, we’ve always been at war with the Islamofacists.

Original Article: http://www.infowars.net/articles/january2008/170108Stallone.htm

  1. I.Am.Me.Alone

    An interesting opinion. I’ll say nothing more.

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text:
The Government Is Trying to Wrap Its Mind Around Yours

By Nita Farahany
Sunday, April 13, 2008

Imagine a world of streets lined with video cameras that alert authorities to any suspicious activity. A world where police officers can read the minds of potential criminals and arrest them before they commit any crimes. A world in which a suspect who lies under questioning gets nabbed immediately because his brain has given him away.

Though that may sound a lot like the plot of the 2002 movie “Minority Report,” starring Tom Cruise and based on a Philip K. Dick novel, I’m not talking about science fiction here; it turns out we’re not so far away from that world. But does it sound like a very safe place, or a very scary one?

It’s a question I think we should be asking as the federal government invests millions of dollars in emerging technology aimed at detecting and decoding brain activity. And though government funding focuses on military uses for these new gizmos, they can and do end up in the hands of civilian law enforcement and in commercial applications. As spending continues and neurotechnology advances, that imagined world is no longer the stuff of science fiction or futuristic movies, and we postpone at our peril confronting the ethical and legal dilemmas it poses for a society that values not just personal safety but civil liberty as well.

Consider Cernium Corp.’s “Perceptrak” video surveillance and monitoring system, recently installed by Johns Hopkins University, among others. This technology grew out of a project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — the central research and development organization for the Department of Defense — to develop intelligent video analytics systems. Unlike simple video cameras monitored by security guards, Perceptrak integrates video cameras with an intelligent computer video. It uses algorithms to analyze streaming video and detect suspicious activities, such as people loitering in a secure area, a group converging or someone leaving a package unattended. Since installing Perceptrak, Johns Hopkins has reported a 25 percent reduction in crime.

But that’s only the beginning. Police may soon be able to monitor suspicious brain activity from a distance as well. New neurotechnology soon may be able to detect a person who is particularly nervous, in possession of guilty knowledge or, in the more distant future, to detect a person thinking, “Only one hour until the bomb explodes.” Today, the science of detecting and decoding brain activity is in its infancy. But various government agencies are funding the development of technology to detect brain activity remotely and are hoping to eventually decode what someone is thinking. Scientists, however, wildly disagree about the accuracy of brain imaging technology, what brain activity may mean and especially whether brain activity can be detected from afar.

Yet as the experts argue about the scientific limitations of remote brain detection, this chilling science fiction may already be a reality. In 2002, the Electronic Privacy Information Center reported that NASA was developing brain monitoring devices for airports and was seeking to use noninvasive sensors in passenger gates to collect the electronic signals emitted by passengers’ brains. Scientists scoffed at the reports, arguing that to do what NASA was proposing required that an electroencephalogram (EEG) be physically attached to the scalp.

But that same year, scientists at the University of Sussex in England adapted the same technology they had been using to detect heart rates at distances of up to 1 meter, or a little more than three feet, to remotely detect changes in the brain. And while scientific limitations to remote EEG detection still exist, clearly the question is when, not if, these issues will be resolved.

Meanwhile, another remote brain-activity detector, which uses light beamed through the skull to measure changes in oxygen levels in the brain, may be on the way. Together with the EEG, it would enhance the power of brain scanning. Today the technology consists of a headband sensor worn by the subject, a control box to capture the data and a computer to analyze it. With the help of government funding, however, that is all becoming increasingly compact and portable, paving the way for more specific remote detection of brain activity.

But don’t panic: The government can’t read our minds — yet. So far, these tools simply measure changes in the brain; they don’t detect thoughts and intentions.

Scientists, though, are hard at work trying to decode how those signals relate to mental states such as perception and intention. Different EEG frequencies, for example, have been associated with fear, anger, joy and sorrow and different cognitive states such as a person’s level of alertness. So when you’re stopped for speeding and terrified because you’re carrying illegal drugs in the trunk of your car, EEG technology might enable the police to detect your fear or increased alertness. This is not so far-fetched: Some scientists already are able to tell from brain images in the lab whether a test subject was envisioning a tool such as a hammer or a screwdriver or a dwelling, and to predict whether the subject intended to add or subtract numbers. Just last month, scientists announced a new study aimed at decoding visual imagery in the brain.

Although brain-based lie-detection technology has been quite controversial and has only been tested on a limited basis, early researchers have claimed high accuracy at detecting deception. But there’s a problem: Most brain-based lie-detection tests assume that lying should result in more brain activity than truth-telling because lying involves more cognition. So these lie-detection methods may fail in sociopaths or in individuals who believe in the falsehood they’re telling.

Whether such technology will be effective outside the laboratory remains to be seen, but the very fact that the government is banking on its future potential raises myriad questions.

Imagine, for example, a police officer approaching a suspect based on Perceptrak’s “unusual activity” detection. Equipped with remote neural-detection technology, the officer asks her a few questions, and the detection device deems her responses to be deceptive. Will this be enough evidence for an arrest? Can it be used to convict a person of intent to commit a crime? Significant scientific hurdles remain before neurotechnology can be used that way, but given how fast it’s developing, I think we must pause now to ask how it may affect the fundamental precepts of our criminal justice system.

Americans have been willing to tolerate significant new security measures and greater encroachments on civil liberties after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Could reports of significant crime reduction such as that seen by Johns Hopkins, or incidents such as the student shootings last year at Virginia Tech or more recently at Northern Illinois University, be enough to justify the use of pre-crime technology? Could remote neural monitoring together with intelligent video analytics have prevented those tragedies? And if they could, should they be allowed to?

These are just some of the questions we must ask as we balance scientific advances and the promise of enhanced safety against a loss of liberty. And we must do it now, while our voices still matter. In a world where private thoughts are no longer private, what will our protections be?

Nita Farahany, an assistant professor of law and philosophy at Vanderbilt University, is the editor of the forthcoming “Genes and Justice: The Impact of Behavioral Genetics and Neuroscience on Criminal Law.”

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The Benefit Shop in Bedford, New York that has over 5,000 square feet of furniture, home décor, household goods, china, crystal, art and so much more. You can practically furnish a home with all this shop has to offer and I am sure that interior designers are frequent customers. The prices are more than reasonable for the quality of the merchandise you are purchasing. The Benefit Shop opened in 2011 and is the brainchild of Pam Stone, the owner. She collects merchandise from estate sales and stocks the Benefit Shop with them. The most amazing part of the Benefit Shop is that it donates the proceeds right back into the community to local organizations. Donations have gone to Northern Westchester Hospital, Mount Kisco Boys and Girls Club, Northern Westchester Interfaith Food Pantry, Center For Children’s Advocacy in Stamford, CT and so many others – far too numerous to list.

I don’t think that the pictures do the Benefit Shop much justice – it is a goldmine. The shop has a wide variety of decor for all different tastes and I can’t imagine anyone leaving without a treasure. This is a DEFINITE do not miss!!

IMG_1053WAIT, it just keeps getting better.

The Benefit Shop Foundation Inc. holds monthly auctions for art, antiques, jewelry and more. They have an 8,000 square foot gallery (yes, 8,000 square feet) in Mount Kisco where items can be viewed before auction. You can also view the catalogs online at There is also absentee and online bidding available at and . Of course, you can go to the auctions in person. The next auction date is in July – check the website for updates. I viewed the catalog for June and I must say it contained some spectacular items including Hermes dinnerware (who would be able eat dinner off an Hermes plate 🙂 not me)

The website states that they offer competitive consignment rates; I believe it to be 80% of the sale price.

I commend Ms. Stone for what she has done and what she is doing with the Benefit Shop. How she is helping local organizations, setting up the “auction house” and all in the name of charity.

The Benefit Shop
Thrift Store & Donation Center
720 N. Bedford Rd, Bedford Hills, NY  10507
Store Hours
Monday – Closed
Tuesday – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday – 12:00 – 5:00 pm

The Benefit Shop Foundation
Auction Gallery & Consignment Center
27 Radio Circle
Mt. Kisco, NY 10549

The Summer Bazaar is an indoor Hampton’s style tent sale featuring fantastic prices on all our products. Special for this event are home accessories, summer hats, totes, beach tops and other surprise items just in time for summer fun. (From the Society Boutique website.)

The Society Boutique – MSK Thrift Shop
1440 Third Avenue between 81st and 82nd
New York, New York

Store Hours
Monday – Saturday, 10:30 a.m – 6:00 p.m, Sunday, 11:30 a.m – 5:00 p.m.

cauz for pawz

Cauz For Pawz
Customer Appreciation Sale
20% off Men’s Wear – June 19 – June 21

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads!

Until next time, HAPPY SHOPPING!


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17 March 2017

Evelyn Underhil: Preparatory Prayers for Mass

The following are the prayers selected by Evelyn Underhill for the Preparation of the Liturgy in her volume Eucharistic Prayers:

     VOUCHSAFE unto us, O Lord God, that we may stand before thee in purity and holiness; and with knowledge and fear, in the beauty of spiritual order, may serve thee, the Lord and Creator of all, to whom worship is due from all, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, world without end, Amen. Liturgy of the Syrian Jacobites.
Evelyn Underhill

     HEAVENLY King, Paraclete, Spirit of truth, present in all places and filling all things, Treasury of good and Master of life; come and dwell within us, cleanse us from all stain, and save our souls.Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.

     LET us pray with faith to our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, that at this hour of sacrifice and prayer we may be found acceptable to him. May he listen to the voice of our hearts and receive their requests, forgive us our sins, and ever have mercy upon us. May our needs and petitions be ever in the sight of his sovereign Majesty, and may he strengthen us in the unity of the faith and in the justification of good works; that he may bestow on us the grace of his mercy, pity us and save us.Armenian Liturgy.

     O MIGHTY God, most great and omnipotent Father of Goodness and Power, not without dure reverence, yet unadorned by any dignity of office, I come before the might of thine immeasurable greatness, and before thine unspeakable sight, O wondrous Majesty—a suppliant nothing worth. I stand here, conscious of guilt and bearing witness to it. What shall I ask, I that deserve nothing? What shall I seek? For must it not be said of me, that he who should mediate for sins, must rather himself be charged with sin?
     Therefore I come to thee, not to excuse but to accuse myself; confessing my wrong-doing unto thee before witnesses, my Lord God. I confess, yea, I make open confession of mine iniquity; that thou mayst forgive me the wickedness of my sin. I confess things which, if thou forgive not, thou dost rightly punish. I stand before thee confessing my sin, yet well I know that I make not amends, save with words: for with words I seek to appease thee, whilst with deeds I offend. My fault I know, my amends I delay. Help, help me, therefore, O ineffable Goodness. Forgive, forgive me, O wondrous Trinity. Spare, spare, spare I beseech thee, O God that hearest prayer. Hearken, hearken, hearken unto me when I cry aloud unto thee in the words of thine own Son, “Father, eternal God, I have sinned before heaven and before thee; I am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thine hired servants.”
     And now, merciful Father, I seek by Christ's help the only haven of thy mercy; that thou mayst see fit to take and accept through him what in me is nothing worth. Who with thee evermore liveth and reigneth. Amen.Gothic Missal.

     HOLY, Most High, Terrible, thou that art present in holy things; Lord, do thou thyself make us holy, and bring us to thy precious altar with a good conscience. Cleanse our hearts from all defilement, and count us worthy of the awful priesthood. Drive away from us all evil feeling, and hallow our mind and soul, that we may perform the worship of the holy fathers in thy fear; seeking the favour of thy countenance through all things, for thou art he that blessest and hallowest all things.Liturgy of St. Mark.


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On the Choice Upon to you Between Heaven and Hell Preparation.

Taken from The Saint Francis de Sales Collection Chapter 17.
1. PLACE yourself in the Presence of God.

2. Humble yourself before Him, and ask His inspiration.

1. Imagine yourself alone with your good angel in an open plain, as was Tobit on his way to Rages. Suppose the Angel to set before you Paradise, full of delights and joys; and on the other hand Hell, with all its torments. Contemplate both, kneeling in imagination before your guardian Angel. Consider that you are most truly standing between Hell and Paradise, and that both the one and the other are open to receive you, according to your own choice.

2. Consider that the choice you make in this life will last for ever in the next.

3. Consider too, that while both are open to receive you according to your choice, yet God, Who is prepared to give the one by reason of His Justice, the other by reason of His Mercy, all the while desires unspeakably that you should select Paradise; and your good Angel is urging you with all his might to do so, offering you countless graces on God’s part, countless helps to attain to it.

4. Consider that Jesus Christ, enthroned in Heaven, looks down upon you in loving invitation: “O beloved one, come unto Me, and joy for ever in the eternal blessedness of My Love!” Behold His mother yearning over you with maternal tenderness—” Courage, my child, do not despise the Goodness of my Son, or my earnest prayers for thy salvation.” Behold the Saints, who have left you their example, the millions of holy souls who long after you, desiring earnestly that you may one day be for ever joined to them in their song of praise, urging upon you that the road to Heaven is not so hard to find as the world would have you think. “Press on boldly, dear friend,”—they cry. “Whoso will ponder well the path by which we came hither, will discover that we attained to these present delights by sweeter joys than any this world can give.”

The Choice.

1. O Hell, I abhor thee now and for ever; I abhor thy griefs and torments, thine endless misery, the unceasing blasphemies and maledictions which thou pourest out upon my God;—and turning to thee, O blessed Paradise, eternal glory, unfading happiness, I choose thee for ever as my abode, thy glorious mansions, thy precious and abiding tabernacles. O my God, I bless Thy Mercy which gives me the power to choose—O Jesus, Saviour, I accept Thine Eternal Love, and praise Thee for the promise Thou hast given me of a place prepared for me in that blessed New Jerusalem, where I shall love and bless Thee for ever.

2. Dwell lovingly upon the example set before you by the Blessed Virgin and the Saints, and strive to follow where they point you. Give yourself up to your guardian Angel, that he may be your guide, and gird up your courage anew to make this choice.
God Bless BJS!!

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Dominican Republic - Investment in transport with private participation

Investment in transport with private participation (current US$) in Dominican Republic was reported at 73400000 USD in 2013, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources.

 dominican republic investment in transport with private participation us dollar wb data
Trading Economics members can view, download and compare data from nearly 200 countries, including more than 20 million economic indicators, exchange rates, government bond yields, stock indexes and commodity prices.

The Trading Economics Application Programming Interface (API) provides direct access to our data. It allows API clients to download millions of rows of historical data, to query our real-time economic calendar, subscribe to updates and receive quotes for currencies, commodities, stocks and bonds.

Investment in transport projects with private participation covers infrastructure projects in transport that have reached financial closure and directly or indirectly serve the public. Movable assets are excluded. The types of projects included are operations and management contracts, operations and management contracts with major capital expenditure, greenfield projects (in which a private entity or a public-private joint venture builds and operates a new facility), and divestitures. Investment commitments are the sum of investments in facilities and investments in government assets. Investments in facilities are the resources the project company commits to invest during the contract period either in new facilities or in expansion and modernization of existing facilities. Investments in government assets are the resources the project company spends on acquiring government assets such as state-owned enterprises, rights to provide services in a specific area, or the use of specific radio spectrums. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Dominican Republic | Infrastructure


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Sudan - Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP)

Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) in Sudan was reported at 7.9904 % in 1999, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources.

 sudan revenue excluding grants percent of gdp wb data
Trading Economics members can view, download and compare data from nearly 200 countries, including more than 20 million economic indicators, exchange rates, government bond yields, stock indexes and commodity prices.

The Trading Economics Application Programming Interface (API) provides direct access to our data. It allows API clients to download millions of rows of historical data, to query our real-time economic calendar, subscribe to updates and receive quotes for currencies, commodities, stocks and bonds.

Revenue is cash receipts from taxes, social contributions, and other revenues such as fines, fees, rent, and income from property or sales. Grants are also considered as revenue but are excluded here.

Sudan | Economy & Growth


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Stellan Skarsgård

  • 66
  • June 13, 1951 in Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Stellan John Skarsgård (born 13 June 1951) is a Swedish actor, known internationally for his film roles in Angels & Demons, Breaking the Waves, The Hunt for Red October, Ronin, Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, Mamma Mia! and Thor. Description above from the Wikipedia article Stellan Skarsgård, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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Justice for the Oppressed: The Plight of the Falun Gong

An article in the front page of the Vancouver Sun this week says that the Falun Gong are going to be allowed to rebuild their protest booth on Granville Street.  Although I rejoice that the court has decided to give a public voice back to those who stand up for the injustice being inflicted on their fellow religious adherents, I cannot help at the same time to be saddened when I think about why this booth was ordered to be disassembled in the first place.

The timing appears to be more than a little suspicious.  Those familiar with Vancouver will know that the protest booth has been a part of the landscape in the fair city since August 2001.  To be sure the city has wanted to get rid of the protest booth for quite some time now—Vancouver’s former fearless leader Sam Sullivan started the process in 2006.  These efforts met no success until last year when Vancouver was granted an injunction which required the booth to be removed.  Fast forward one year and the BC Court of Appeal unanimously decides that the original judge who granted the injunction made an error.

I cannot help but find the timing of these events to be more than a little suspicious.  Despite the victory of the Falun Gong in the Court of Appeal, the process ensured that the booth would be removed between 2009 and late 2010.  Perhaps there was some sort of highly publicized event occurring in the ‘Greatest City on Earth’ in this time period that made the authorities want to make the Falung Gong go away—at least for a little while?

Of course the irony in this should not be lost.  It has been said that the Olympics were Canada’s coming out party.  It was a time where patriotism wasn’t hid underneath a shell of Canadian politeness but rather where we shouted “we’re Canadian and we’re proud of it”.  In my opinion national pride is something this country has been missing for a long time.  Healthy patriotism can be a sign that a country is maturing and are shoring up a sense of identity—a sense of who they are.

Unfortunately it is precisely this factor that still seems to be lacking in the Canadian psyche.  Sure we are proud of our geography, diversity, and clean streets but what of our character?  What is it about who we are that makes us gush with pride?  It is my hope that as country we take on an identity that goes beyond politeness—surely this must not be the primary virtue!  I dream of a country that stands up for justice whose citizens rail against the violation of basic human rights no matter how financially significant the abusers are.  It’s time for politeness with a backbone.

 “OK”, you may be thinking “I get what you’re saying but aren’t you making a little bit much out of an eye-sore protest booth in our otherwise beautiful city that nobody cares about anyway.  Besides it’s not like the booth is saving any lives”.  It’s true the Falun Gong booth has not likely saved any lives from the totalitarian government in China.  However the cold reality is that the protest booth is one of the few public voices this oppressed group has. Unless the civic leaders were to publicly condemn the actions of the Communist Party of China or provide some other voice for this religious group their actions say that the murdering of thousands, harvesting of organs, and exile of hundreds of thousands to Chinese Gulag-style work camps (called Laogai) does not matter.

I understand that in the time of recession increasing trade with the emerging market of China is being heralded as our great escape and the road back to prosperity.  However no matter how tempting and insistent is the Siren’s call there is a voice that is even harder to ignore.  The blood of the murdered cries out from the ground—it’s so loud, it’s deafening….


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Photo of the Day: One Yellow Boat

by • January 13, 2014 • A, Photo of the DayComments (0)5263

One Yellow Boat in Camiguin

Photo by Jojo Nicdao (CC via flickr)

Jan 13 2014 – Photo of the Day

Location: Camiguin

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The Good versus Evil theme

Reading the introduction to the Cook lecture, something seems really familiar. The way it is written is recognizable. Recognizable, not from scientific reports or papers, no, it is how Hollywood would write it! The old Good versus Evil theme.

Let’s first see how Cook and his team are introduced in the first part of the introduction:

In 2013, John Cook lead the Consensus Project, a crowd-sourced effort to complete the most comprehensive analysis of climate research ever made. They found that among relevant climate papers, 97% endorsed the consensus that humans were causing global warming. When this research was published, it was tweeted by President Obama and received media coverage all over the world, with the paper being awarded the best article published by the journal Environmental Research Letters in 2013.

This is how their opponents are introduced:

However, the paper has also been relentlessly attacked by climate deniers who reject the scientific consensus. Hundreds of blog posts have criticised the results while newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal and Boston Globe have published negative op-eds. Climate denial organisations such as the Global Warming Policy Foundation and Heartland Institute have published critical reports and the Republican Party organised congressional testimony against the consensus research on Capitol Hill. This sustained campaign is merely the latest episode in over 20 years of attacks on the scientific consensus on human-caused global warming.

See the difference?

It depicts Cook and his teams as the noble members of the Consensus project, calling the project the most comprehensive analysis ever made and the successes/awards/support he got with this research.

Obviously painted as the good guys.

His opponents are described as the not-so-noble deniers who relentlessly attack this paper, criticizing the result, publishing negative op-eds and attacking that scientific consensus.

Obviously painted as the bad guys, battering on the nice scientists who honestly report on the consensus.

If I hadn’t look deeper into the issue, I would believe it and would probably be influenced by it. It is something recognizable. In Hollywood it is used to make the viewers more sympathetic to the hero and in the meanwhile instinctively distrusting the bad guy. But I didn’t expect this theme implemented in the introduction of a “scientific” lecture. If this introduction is used to make the audience sympathize with them and reject beforehand the arguments of skeptics, it is no less than a logical fallacy.

How does these propaganda techniques fit in with a scientific debate? How does this fit in with a side that claims to have superior arguments? If it were a real scientific inspired lecture, why the need to paint themselves as the heroes and the skeptics as the villains? Why is the potential audience not given a more balanced view on the issue?

How much objectivity can we expect when this is the level on which the issue is brought?

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Sunday, April 17, 2011

The Missions visit - Surprised by God

The Missions Visit - Surprised by God

Right after the teams left we got very sick, but praise the Lord we are all well now.
Indeed we saw the hand of the Lord in all that happened during the two weeks the teams were here. Your partnership and prayer was definitely vital for the success of the trip!

In the last post we talked about the doors God was opening and the confirmations that were needed...

Well, as the team arrived everything started falling into place, although there were still many things "trying to fall apart" by way of cancellations and changes of schedule. But God showed us He was in it by making it all work out and putting down the obstacles that were appearing so that we would be able to do the work -- and with results that were above and beyond our expectations!

If we were to write down details of everything that happened this would be a very long post, but we do want to give an idea of what happened during that time.

When the first team arrived after a very long travel time, we still had to face a 6-hour journey to get to the church (where they were lodging). The travel time from the airport to the church usually takes about 2.5 hours, but because of the constant rain we had before they came, a lot of dirt and trees had slidden down from the mountain into the express way.

We prayed and prayed for the weather to be good as we had rain every single day before the teams came. That was a major concern. Praise the Lord! For the two weeks they were here we only had rain a few times - and then only at night! Thank you Lord!
Courtney and Alyssa chillin' on the beach...

In between breakfast, quiet time, lunch, dinner and fellowship, the days sort of looked like this (but not necessarily in this order):

- Saturday(the day they arrived): Meal and getting to know church people. Organizing and settling in. Youth group meeting at church where the team did some skits and gave testimonies. Late night. Long day!

- Sunday morning: Meeting and introduction to Camboriu/ orientation meeting. Prayer walk. Drama and puppets practice. Church clean up. Service (7:00 pm) with testimonies from the team, drama, message, and prayer for people.

Then during the week the first team got busy with all types of things like: visiting an orphanage, a drug rehab center, the PETI school (after school program for underprivileged, neglected, and abused children), Kids' Club on our street, ladies outreach meeting, construction work on the church building - fixing the sanctuary floor that was sagging and damaged by termites and replacing all the carpet, as well as some painting work, prayer and worship night at the beach -- a few bold ones took a swim in the cold water!, handing out fliers for a Sunday event on a busy intersection, Anita Public School outreach day, free day -- riding cable cars (at Parque Unipraias) up a mountain and going down to the beach on the other side, some shopping, and of course, dinner at a real Brazilian steak house: A Gaúcha.

Steak House Shots:

Getting places was always an adventure! We always had the back hatch of our car full of people as well! Here is Jasmine with our kiddos:
Worship Night on the Beach - Ken and Connie get their feet wet:

The second week with Trip B. We took Trip A to the airport and picked up the second team which had to also face a real long journey to church. Sunday a group of guys (David, Mark, Blake, Matt) went to do some drills with the newly started American football team where they played, gave out some gifts and shared an impactful testimony, Kids Club again, ladies outreach meeting, Clotilde Public School and a basketball game with Camboriu's local basketball team, PETI school meeting for the mothers of students there, two orphanages, a nursing home, Ivone Public School, ministering at Betesda drug rehab (again).

This was taken at the Tuesday night Bible study that I have been having weekly for some ladies in our neighborhood. Both weeks, I took a small group of ladies from the team to share God's love and God's Word, and both weeks we had a powerful time of sharing and prayer.

Energy to jump over every obstacle! Alyssa (above) and David (below)
having a little fun at the church.
Church people, especially those who were more involved with the activities were amazed at the team's motivation to come, the sacrifice they paid to be here (which was used by the pastor to exhort and encourage the church to be more purposeful in serving the Lord), their hard working posture and beautiful attitude toward everything, although it was a full and tiring week.

A guy from church came in awe and confusion to say, "You have to see what they are doing upstairs! They all have a little tiny putty knife in the hands and are scraping the glue off the floor! That's a lot of work!!! What is this? They came here from so far away and spent their own money to scrape our floor? Dude! Who is paying for this carpet? They are?!? Why would they do all this?" By this time he had his hands on his head trying to understand what was going on and what "these people" were about. Then finally he said, "This is like a slap on my face to wake up! I can't believe this people!"
Then at the end of the week others commented, "Really, my hat is off for that "old guy"... He really worked...I mean, the other guys helped and some of us too, but man, that guy really worked hard..."
People were impressed at the quality of the work performed by Ken, Eric, Clint and the whole crew that helped in a way or another by ripping the carpet, scraping the glue off and pulling out staples, fixing the floors, installing new carpet, painting the walls.... Your hard work, your joy in serving and good attitude about serving really spoke louder than any words could ever do! And the church building looks SO much nicer as well. What a blessing!

Most of the meals were deliciously abundant throughout out the week, although there were times when we had to quick grab a bite and run. Well, one evening some of us came back to church after dinner was over, sat at the table in the kitchen and ate whatever was left, which was french bread which they stuffed with cold rice and beans. So some of the church guys said, "Man, they are eating bread with cold rice and beans! We can't let them do that! We gotta do something about it!" So we went to the bread shop and they bought all kinds of breads, various cookies, donuts, sweet breads with coconut toppings, etc. to bless the group of "bold" guys who were eating whatever was available to them.

Good to the last bite! Mark was cleaning out the serving dishes
with help from his mother-in-law, Tina Pals.

Anita Public School At the first school we went to, we ministered to a total of 1300 + kids from ages 6 to 15. We spent all day there presenting the gospel in a very clear way through drama, puppet shows and testimonies. The topic at target, as requested by the principal, was bullying and respecting each another, teachers and parents. So that was our focus, presented from a biblical perspective and in light of what Jesus has done for us and how He has made us fearfully and wonderfully. Pastor Carol (Pr. Facundo's wife) also came to participate in the presentation as a clown as well. We did our presentations in a room with capacity for about 250 people, which is why we had to be there all day in order to do the presentation for all of the students. There were kids that were playing around in the beginning of the presentations, but many left the place in tears as they were touched by what the teams had ministered. The local newspaper and a politician (from the City Council) showed up to see what was going on, then she (the politician) set up for David Hamstra (Cross Point Church) to be on the local radio to talk about the work they came to do.
At the school
That night they asked us to speak to the mothers of the students as well. So, Megan Beard (left in the photo below) and I spoke - I on basic family matters of love and discipline, all from a clearly biblical perspective and Megan on nutrition and the importance of parental involvement. Courtney and Roshini went as body guards. :)
Local Radio
Menina FM is known as the number one radio in the region. They also broadcast the program on their online TV. There Pastor David Hamstra (Cross Point Church - Crown Point, IN), Jane (the politician) and Fabio were able to talk about the needs in the community and the work we do as a church with the partnership of the churches from Chicago area. After this, we went out to some other schools and orphanages to see if they would be interested in us coming in the case that we had an opening in our schedule, and they were like, "Sure! We know you all. We heard about you on the radio!"

At Betesda Drug Rehab Center
Ken and Clint shared their testimonies, showing the power of Jesus Christ in their lives. Then David preached on Jesus being the author and perfector of our faith. He is the One writing our story and our story is not over yet. All were very touched by it, some shouted, others cried, while some would just raise their hands in thanks to God. They all know this is a difficult time in their lives as they are trying to get rid of drugs and alcohol but they were assured that God wasn't done with them yet and there was still hope for each one of them, as He who started the work in their lives will bring it to completion! Then the group (David and Beth, Mark, Ken, Matt, Clint, Bruno, Fabio) went to each one of them to pray and it was evident that God used them all to minister in that place.

At PETI schoolMany of you blog readers may remember the PETI school where Elizabeth taught English classes weekly for most of last year. Well, we had another opportunity to reach out there, not just with English, but with the love of Jesus and the message of the Gospel. Because the PETI school is smaller than the other large public schools we went to, we were able to give it all a more personal feel, have lunch together, and spend some time just playing after the presentation. The team brought a parachute to play with, as well as Follow-the-Leader and other games.

Something else that was really neat, is that the principal of this school was recently saved! She is so on fire now, and really wants to reach the families of the PETI students. She invited us to come back during Week 2 to speak to the mothers of the students. Ellen Barker and Tina Pals shared from their hearts about building relationships with your children, what a blessing family can be and God's heart for family life. Many of the moms were very touched, and five afterward came to the front to leave their names and contact information, asking for a visit in their homes in the future because they want to hear more! Praise the Lord!

At the Football Outreach
David, Mark, Blake, Matt were able to teach some techniques and things at the American football practice with the newly formed team Lobos do Mar (Sea Wolves). After the practice, they gave out gifts of some footballs, gear, and shirts/shorts with the team's logo they had had made in the States and brought along. Mark shared his testimony and it really caught their attention. They were really impacted by their generosity and the message they brought. Then we invited them all to come to MANG church for a movie night to watch Facing the Giants. You can see a pic and read their post on their blog: (you might need to use Google translator).

At the OrphanagesPuppet Shows really caught the children's attention, which made it easier to talk to them about the point of the shows afterward (the point being JESUS!).
We just spent some time loving on these needy children too. They are so hungry for attention and affection that they just jumped in the arms of anyone who would hold them and eat up all the lovin'. Jessica brought these bubbles, and they were a big hit!
We were able to visit two different orphanages, and one of them we went to twice, with Team A and Team B. They both really enjoyed our visit and the leaders begged us to come back. It was impressive to see how much they were touched by the presentations! The Gospel was clear, and God's love for them, which is unchanging and unconditional. What a privilege to get to be His hands and feet in demonstrating that love in a tangible way!Drama at the Orphanage

At the Nursing HomeI get tears in my eyes just thinking about how precious our time at the nursing home was - far beyond my expectations! The Lord accompanied us there with the sweet manifestation of His Presence, and many people were deeply touched. They presented the puppet shows, and then we had some time to pray for them individually. During this prayer time, the Lord moved Ellen Barker to share with them from the parable of the generous master of a vineyard in Matthew 20. Moved with much compassion, Ellen shared with them that it is never too late - that no matter if they come to the Lord on the last day of their lives, or if they have served Him since childhood, that He loves us the same and offers the same salvation for all. It was a moving time.

Kids' Club

Once each week, we took a group of the team members out to our road to do a Kids' Club there.
The only open slot we had in our schedule was in the afternoon, both times. This was both good and bad. You see, the way school is set up here, the kids go either in the morning or in the afternoon. Most of "our" kids from Kids' Club go in the afternoon, so they weren't around for this special Kids' Club. The good part of this equation, however, is that we went a few streets further to invite kids to come, and thus extended our outreach that way, where we otherwise might not have.
We were able to give the kids these stuffed animals and the painted bags that were sent here for them from America! They were just tickled pink! THANK YOU all who participated in sending these special gifts for them!! Also a very special THANK YOU to Vicki Hillis who was the one who coordinated the bag-painting "Brazil party". We so appreciate your thoughtfulness!

As we were finishing up kids' club, "our" kids who usually come were coming back from school and we chatted a bit. One noticed the soccer ball on Courtney's shirt and wondered what the words said? "Coach". When he found out she was a SOCCER COACH!!!, he challenged her to a game in the sandpit nearby that they use as a soccer field. We were able to get in a little ball before we had to head out. :-)

At Clotilde Public School
We met at the gym for a basketball game with the local Camboriu basketball team. Lots of excited children, loud music, hip hop dance during break time and a lot of noise! We spent one whole afternoon there, and then the morning of the next day as well, in order to minister to all 1200 + kids. Again (after the basketball game), the children were presented with the talks about bullying, respect and most importantly JESUS, through drama. There were games and testimonies with a clear presentation of the gospel. The local TV broadcast came and interviewed David and Pastor Cristian (from MANG), and that footage was aired on TV next day. Before we left Fabio talked to the principal who was very touched by the testimonies of lives changed by Jesus.

At Ivone Public School
Going to Ivone Public School was fun, because it is right here in our neighborhood, so all the children we have been reaching out to for all these months through kids' club go to this school. We knew a lot of the kids there! We split the team into two groups in order to minister to all the kids - one group downstairs did drama for the older grades, and one group upstairs did puppets for the younger grades. It still took us a good, full day to be able to reach all of the students.
Chuck Olthoff in particular was touched at this school by the openness of the students, and their willingness to believe - faith like a child.

Movie Outreach Night
The grand finale of the second week was on Friday night - an outreach at the church using the movie Facing the Giants. Our church building used to be a theatre, so it has the perfect set-up! We gave out bags of popcorn to complete the effect. :) The movie itself gives a clear gospel message, but was also followed up by a mini-message by Pastor Facundo. Then, we had a HUGE give-away of footballs, jerseys, hats and other misc. stuff. It was a lot of fun! And, the ENTIRE football team turned out for the event! One of them is already coming now to MANG church faithfully the last few weeks, and says that MANG is his church now.

A guy winning a football!
The entire football team at the front of the church after the movie was over:
A few misc. pics, just for fun:

Our kids got so loved on during the trip!
Thank you all for making it a special time for them, too!
Mark with sleeping Johann:
I was impressed with how much fun Calvin thinks it is to have water dumped in his face during bath time! My kids hate it! What a cutie!Crammed in our car! You can see behind us in the back seat, a few in the back hatch. :) Beth and I were both impressed with how much we look alike in this picture! A lot of people asked if we were sisters. :)
The men crammed in the back hatch:
And in the front seat was Ken, with a large rug on his lap! We had a total of ELEVEN passengers, plus a carpet roll, in our five passenger car. :)
Clint making me dizzy by spinning our kids! They loved it, though!
Alyssa made a fantastic clown!A Brazilian guy from our church that does NOT speak English. Here is a very good reason why you should not wear clothing with words in another language that you don't know what they mean! He had no idea what his shirt said!
Courtney and Israel:
Bridget, Ellen and Israel:
Chuck on our hike:
This was our afternoon hike in the jungle to a beautiful waterfall!
Hiking in the jungle:
One of the puppets:

THANK YOU, all of you who came, who gave so much and worked so hard and encouraged our hearts and blessed the town of Camboriú so abundantly! Eternity alone will tell the impact of your sacrifice!

THANK YOU, every one of you who prayed, who gave to those who were coming to make it possible for them to come, who gave toward the construction projects at the church, and who sent love gifts for us. We cannot adequately express our appreciation for your love and care. None of this would have been possible without you! And the victories we saw during this time were victories won in the heavenlies through the prayers of God's people! Thank you for being our Aarons and Hurs!

We feel that this is only the beginning of the impact that can be had on this society and community! Already we are seeing the continuation ... yesterday Ivone Public School invited us to come back to do a presentation for Easter. Today we were able to go into a new school to invite the students to come for a special play at our church on Sunday. Fabio has been working on a plan of action for a year's worth of material in the schools to teach biblical principles, and we already have a foot in the door! We have a great sense of excitement and anticipation as we look toward the future. Thank you for helping us open doors during this time!

Anonymous said...

So Awesome! Thank you for caring for the team and allowing them to partner with you. It is something that they will never forget! May the favor of the Lord continue to be with you. Praying for you :) Love you guys! The Bosticks!

Brandilyn said...

Praise God!! So amazing to see His hand opening the door for so many extreme oppurtunities. Thanks for being a wonderful reflection of Him. That is why peeps want more<3 Love ya! Brandi

MOM said...

WOW! What a story! I thought I had heard all about the trips, but this tells it all even better! What a blessing it is to read all that the Lord did through the teams, and also all the time, effort, work, money, and energy you Tsukayamas and all those on the 2 teams put into those 2 weeks. Praise the Lord!


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Is the Web Series the New Pilot?

We here at TVWriter™ believe it is and have said so for years. Here’s another look at the concept:

Actually just one web, as in not really a series. Get it? Get it? (from Pexels.Com)

by Shannon Liao

In its current form, the HBO comedy Insecure often looks and feels like a lush, feminist rap video that pays tribute to black excellence and corporate success. The show is centered around two black women in their late 20s who live in LA. It’s also insanely awkward, channeling the same humor creator Issa Rae used on her YouTube series The F Word, I Hate LA Dudes, and Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. Although HBO executives have said Insecure isn’t a direct adaptation of Rae’s other series, Rae’s writing has a unique, authentic voice that shines through across all platforms. The show was renewed for a third season in August.

Episode 1 of the original Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl show, posted in 2011, begins with a few piano chords and an illustration of Issa in a magenta shirt that says “ABG.” It shows Rae as “J,” looking washed-out in a car under the glaring sun. The camerawork is shaky, and the scene cuts make the three-minute video feel like a Vine. The plot is simple: Issa raps along to the radio enthusiastically in her car, then has an embarrassing run-in with her co-worker. Awkward Black Girl’s production quality is rough, but its reception on YouTube was enthusiastic. Commenters marveled that Rae had tapped into something in the public psyche, and identified a strand of humor the world needed more of. They posted responses like, “It is so good and so relevant to who I am. Much love to Issa Rae,” and “Bitch, this is what should be on Netflix! Eight stars!”

HBO programming president Casey Bloys was one of Rae’s online fans, and he let his team know about how she was being received. Seeing the audiences she was able to draw, HBO executives reached out to her in 2013, expressing interest in a partnership. They didn’t quite want to turn Awkward Black Girl into a pilot, however. Instead, HBO wanted to explore Rae’s creative ideas. How could she riff off Awkward Black Girl to tell a story that would fit a 30-minute time slot? Although Rae and HBO entertained the idea of an office comedy called Nonprofit, according to HBO executive Amy Gravitt, they ultimately felt that a show located in a single office wouldn’t have enough material to explore. Instead, they developed a series revolving around three main characters — Issa Dee, her best friend Molly, and her boyfriend Lawrence. As the characters grow up and apart, the show found plenty of material to mine besides petty office dramas.

After Rae piqued HBO’s interest, she spent a hard three years nailing down the details of what would become Insecure. Former talk show host Larry Wilmore signed on as the show’s co-creator. Rae then had to hire directors, actors, and producers, fleshing out a staff that had previously just been her. But the move to HBO still keeps a lot of the original YouTube series’ overly awkward sentiments alive, and it fleshes out more of Issa’s life. Symbolically, her character’s name goes from “J” to “Issa Dee,” which is a closer iteration of her real name, Jo-Issa Rae Diop. On an HBO budget, Rae was able to better depict Windsor Hills, the affluent black neighborhood in California where she grew up — and in season 2, the gentrification of nearby Inglewood.

Earlier in 2017, Insecure was renewed for a third season. But Issa Rae isn’t the only web series creator experiencing the mainstream’s embrace right now. Comedy Central recently greenlit the fifth season of Broad City, a comedy about two Jewish-American women trying to make it in New York. Broad City originated as a web series that premiered on YouTube in late 2009. In April, black comedian and activist Franchesca Ramsey signed on with Comedy Central to make a still-unnamed late-night comedy TV pilot. And the web series Brown Girls, headed by co-stars Sam Bailey and Fatimah Asghar, got picked up by HBO in June for an adaptation.

So why are we seeing so many web series getting adapted for television lately? In this age of GoPros, neatly curated social media presences, and streaming services on demand, creators can design and shoot their own series, then serve as their own agents and manage their own online star power. As Webby Awards CEO David-Michel Davies says, “If you go back and look at webisodes in 2007, the quality of the ones made today are much, much higher, because the access to production is so much higher.” The road to becoming a TV star appears smoother than ever. And lately, we’ve been getting more of these perfectly curated DIY packages of talent and PR. A simple search for “web series” on YouTube garners 41.6 million results today. As more web series are posted online, more are getting noticed….

Read it all at The Verge

From the Creator of ‘The Mayor’: How I made it in Hollywood

Don’t you just love stories about how other writers have made it in TV or films? Don’t you wish those stories were about you?

Here’s something to love. And it’s helped keep the wish alive for this TVWriter™ minion, that’s for sure. Hope it does the same for you:

by Kate Stanhope

Jeremy Bronson got his start in TV working as a producer for longtime MSNBC host Chris Matthews. So, it’s only fitting that his new series The Mayor is about – you guessed it – politics. The half-hour comedy centers on a struggling young rapper named Courtney Rose who runs for mayor of his small town to increase his celebrity and ends up winning. That being said, the transition from Hardball producer to comedy series creator (with a few stops at Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, The Mindy Project and Speechless along the way) wasn’t quite so easy. Ahead of Tuesday’s series premiere, Bronson reflects on how he made it.

I was always very interested in writing and also very interested in politics. I wrote for the Harvard Lampoon and had assumed I was going to try and write for a TV show. And then decided that I really wanted to start out in politics and specifically in political television. When I was a senior in college, I started reading a lot of White House memoirs and really got hooked and throughout the year, just found myself really gravitating towards that. I had taken two classes, one about political speech-writing and another class about how to run for president, and they both made a big impact on me. They made me want to give it a go for real.

The day I graduated college, I drove down to Tennessee and worked for a Senate campaign doing communications. And then I left Tennessee and went to D.C. to work on The Chris Matthews Show, which had not been launched yet. I thought Chris Matthews was interested in potentially working with someone who had a humorous take on certain stories, but really, I think he was just casting a wide net. I ended up coming in for an interview and we really hit it off. Then I moved over to Hardball. We were covering all the big stories that I cared a lot about, and we got to do a lot of travel as well. Chris Matthews loved to take the show on the road whenever there was an excuse to and that meant that we were doing shows in primary states, doing shows from debates, and even prepping the NBC debates themselves. I loved it, but then I started to miss comedy writing. After we finished the show every day, I would go home and I would write while I was living in D.C.

I was writing half-hour spec scripts, pages of jokes for any show that might need to hire a joke writer, I was writing some sketches in case something popped up. I just wanted to be positioned in case the right opportunity came along that I would have the material to show that I could do it. Anyone who’s trying to break into a business while they currently have a job knows it can be challenging and taxing and sleepless, but I was having fun with it. I was really, really starting to feel that this is what I’m meant to do. I was enjoying writing tryout material, which is something that is inherently not enjoyable, so if you’re actually enjoying writing your packets, it’s a good sign that you’re doing what you should be doing.

When I was at that crossroads of figuring out whether or not to continue in TV news or move out to Los Angeles and really devote myself to comedy, I was fortunate enough that I had a manager to help me. My manager then took my material out to agents and once I had an agent, he started submitting my material to different shows….

Read it all at Hollywood Reporter

Remembering ‘Ren and Stimpy’

Ren and Stimpy was the father of all the wonderful, outre, weird, delightful, and magnificently written and produced animated series that have made TV, in all its formats, the joy to watch that it is here in TV’s “Golden Age.”

In all likelihood, without R&S and its producer/co-creator (with the equally brilliant but perhaps not as deranged Bob Camp), Rick and Morty and Bojack Horseman, among many other current offerings. simply wouldn’t – as in couldn’t – exist.

So we at TVWriter™ are over the moon at learning that a documentary about our favorite childhood television memory is on its way:

Visit and nab an advance copy of the film and some really cool swag.

Star Trek: The Original Series Story Editor D.C. Fontana Speaks!

Back in the day when Our Beloved Leader Larry Brody was breaking into the biz one of his early mentors was his still very good friend Dorothy Fontana, known best by her oft-seen D.C. Fontana TV byline on everything from ST:TOS to The Six Million Dollar Man, Kung Fu, The Streets of San Francisco, Logan’s Run, The Waltons, ST: NG, The Silver Surfer, to just about 2 million other great shows.

There’s no question that Dorothy is one of the pioneering and genuine greats of TV writing. Talk about knowing your stuff! It’s always a treat to hear what she has to say:

The Gay Couple Who Made Your Favorite TV Shows

Now hold on just a darn minute there, before you start screaming about the headline on this piece. TVWriter™ is as color/sex/ethnicity/etc blind as can be (go back and read all our posts and see!), and normally we would be talking about David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik in terms of their writing only.

But this article originally appeared in The Advocate, with the title “Meet the Gay Couple Who Made Your Favorite TV Shows,” and our thought is that if its subjects’ sexual preferences are important to one of the most important gay publications in the U.S., then we’d damn well better honor it.

Now, about Crane and Klarik and their sensational writing:

by Daniel Reynolds

In the final season of Episodes, viewers will see the last chapter in the tale of Sean (Stephen Mangan) and Beverly Lincoln (Tamsin Greig) — a British couple who moved to the United States in order to create a television show starring Matt LeBlanc. Throughout its five-season run, the Showtime series has received acclaim for its insider’s observations (and evisceration) of the entertainment industry. It also garnered 10 Emmy nominations throughout its run — four for LeBlanc in his meta portrayal of a narcissistic actor.

What viewers may not know is that Episodes was created by and is inspired by the lives of an American gay couple: David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik.

“The two principals, Sean and Beverly? We are absolutely writing ourselves,” Crane confirmed in a recent interview with The Advocate.

“They work together, they live together, and basically, their points of view toward the world and show business reflects ours. Jeffrey is very much Beverly — more cynical, more willing to step up to a fight. I’m more Sean — needing everyone to get along and hating conflict,” Crane said.

In fact, Klarik and Crane have been partners in life and business for over 30 years. (The pair were set up at a dinner arranged by mutual friends, and they’ve been together ever since. “My trap was set,” joked Klarik, who had set the wheels in motion.)

Like Sean and Beverly, the writers have a relationship that extends to their work, which has included two of the biggest hits in modern network television. Crane cocreated NBC’s Friendsalongside Marta Kauffman. Klarik was a coproducer and executive story editor on NBC’s Mad About You. And as in every venture in their careers, they helped each other in writing these productions.

“I was the unofficial writer on Friends,” said Klarik, about how the pair would ghostwrite for one another’s shows. “I had overall deals with different studios so there was a conflict of interest. So I would just do what I had to do in the shadows.”

Thus, unbeknownst to America, a gay couple worked together to craft jokes and storylines for its favorite shows. The impact of this was subtle. Unlike their contemporary Will & Grace,neither Friends nor Mad About You had LGBT primary characters. And the couple is hesitant to say the shows had a “gay sensibility” or agenda. However, the gay writers did bring a perspective that is unique from the mainstream.

“I don’t know if it’s a gay sensibility or if it’s a female sensibility,” Klarik clarified about this understanding. “On Mad About You, I knew how Helen [Hunt] with [her character] Jamie would feel. I don’t know why. But I just understand how women think and feel. And I emphathize with them. And so it’s very easy for me to get into that, to kind of channel female characters.”

“I don’t think there was ever a conscious [intention] to approach anything with a gay sensibility,” Crane said. “I think I’ve always written things that make me laugh or make Jeffrey laugh. I have my own personal sensibility, which also happens to be gay, and I guess it informs the writing that we do.”

Their identity also gave them an understanding of the importance of the inclusion of gay characters. “We felt as though if you have a big ensemble cast, they should be in the mix,” Crane said. This has led to some major moments in television history….

Read it all at Advocate

40 or over & starting a Hollywood career? Here’s what you need to know.

What’s that? You’ve heard about H’wood’s, erm, “ageism problem?” So although at 40+ you’re feeling at the top of your intellectual writing game, you’re worried that you might not stand a chance. Here’s some genuinely helpful advice:

Yes, this is a plug for Carole Kirschner’s new book, Hollywood Game Plan. But we’re thinking it’s worth reading. And maybe even buying too – even if you’re younger. Honest!

WGAW 2017 Officers & Board Of Directors Election Results

The Writers Guild of America West has announced the results of its 2017 Officers and Board of Directors election.

The following members were elected to serve as Officers: President – David A. Goodman; Vice President – Marjorie David; Secretary-Treasurer – Aaron Mendelsohn.

The following eight members were elected to the WGAW’s Board of Directors for two-year terms, effective immediately: John AugustNicole YorkinAndrea Berloff (inc.), Meredith Stiehm (inc.), Angelina BurnettLuvh Rakhe (inc.), Michele MulroneyZak Penn (inc.). *Editor’s Note: (inc) denotes incumbent.

The ninth finisher, Patti Carr, was elected for a one-year term on the Board of Directors to fill the vacancy created by Marjorie David’s election as Vice President.

President: David A. Goodman (1,952)

Vice President: Marjorie David (1,962)

Secretary-Treasurer: Aaron Mendelsohn (1,322), Carleton Eastlake (553).

Board of Directors: John August (1,634), Nicole Yorkin (1,561), Andrea Berloff (inc.) (1,510), Meredith Stiehm (inc.) (1,436), Angelina Burnett (1,337), Luvh Rakhe (inc.) (1,337), Michele Mulroney (1,284), Zak Penn (inc.) (1,172), Patti Carr (1,096), Spiro Skentzos (920), Francesca Butler (734).

A total of 2,142 valid ballots were cast. The ballot count was supervised by Votenet Solutions.

The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing writers of motion pictures, television, radio, and Internet programming, including news and documentaries. Founded in 1933, the Guild negotiates and administers contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members. It is involved in a wide range of programs that advance the interests of writers, and is active in public policy and legislative matters on the local, national, and international levels. For more information on the WGAW, please visit:


text:
Taken by Cars- Endings of a New Kind

Check their Myspace here.

Endings of a New Kind

Taken by Cars was recently covered on Pulse.PH, and I must say they were absolutely correct when they said that Taken by Cars came out of nowhere. Personally, I hadn’t heard of them before reading the article. After listening to their debut Endings of a New Kind, I am convinced that the album will be one of 2008’s best releases.

Taken by Car’s sound has been compared to that of Bloc Party, and it is hard to not see why, as both bands take rock and mix in a healthy dose of electronica, guitar effects, and the like. In TBC’s case, it results in a sonic experience that I haven’t heard from a local band since Up dharma Down’s Fragmented. Most of the songs are very ethereal and dreamy, two qualities I like in my music. At the same time, some of the cuts are also very punk-ish, which creates a strong contrast that can really make a person listen. Think of the band as a median between the punk-pop rock acts (and I mean that in the most positive way) and the experimental rock acts like Drip or the aforementioned UDD. Blend the two sounds together and you might just get something that sounds like Taken by Cars.

Listening to the album, it is readily apparent that the guitar work really adds a lot of depth to the songs. The string work sets the mood of the songs, whether it is the dark punk of The Blackout, the sadder, contemplative tone in The Colourway, or the urgency in A Weeknight Memoir (In High Definition). The vocals are a great fit for the band as well, moody and sultry. Overall, the band fits really well into this form of music, and the individual components really blend in nicely.

The best cut in the release is probably A Weeknight Memoir (In High Definition). The song was instrumental in bringing them some recognition in the crowded OPM scene and it is not hard to see why. The song is very catchy and a great primer to the band’s style of music. It’s high spot in NU’s year-end countdown was well-deserved. Beyond that, songs like All for a Tuesday or current radio single Uh Oh give the album punk energy, while the later songs in the album, as noted by The Wily Filipino, show a more deliberate, dreamy sound that can be very soothing. Personally, I think the track arrangement was done on purpose, as shown by the interlude track. It is also interesting to listen to the album on repeat, as the album basically fades in and out due to the hidden track which segues very well back to the intro.

Overall, the album is very good. With its unique mix of punk, electronica, shoegaze, rock, and whatever else, Taken by Cars has produced an album that is refreshingly unique from the plethora of masa-rock and emo bands on the airwaves. It’s a very promising debut and I’m already excited to see what the band can come up with in the future.

Rating: B+ (I think the stars system didn’t really fit me, Urbandub and Pupil would’ve probably got Bs, by the way)

Addendum: The band was featured last week in The Philippine Star, good for them. (It also beats another 6Cyclemind or Cueshe article)

  1. this is a scary site…wordpress must use the same engine or has cookie scripts to pick up my name and email from youtube. btw, i’m a filipina who has recently become a big fan of ‘taken by cars’ through channelv…and totally by accident. i’m an old fart who has listened to new wave/alternative for as long as 27 years…people my age have now moved on to Dave Matthews and I’m still listening to progressive rock. nevertheless, i’m just posting this because i love the band…and hope to get to see them live someday…

  2. i’ll drink to that!!!
    taken by cars is one of the refreshers people need from
    crappy pogi bands…novelty songs sang by a cheap sexy group trying to hop on the scene…nice review man…nice review

  3. Another great band from the Philippines! This was a great find. On a visit to Manila, I was fortunate to see TBC live. I hope the best for this band, they have lots of talent.

    Another great band is Plus/Minus.

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text:
I give you feeble excuses not because I fear the truth would destroy you, but because I fear it would destroy me.
Or maybe it would destroy the neighbour, I don’t know.

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Rating: 7.9/10 (7 votes cast)
Neighbour, 7.9 out of 10 based on 7 ratings

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