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End of Discussion

How the Left's Outrage Industry Shuts Down Debate, Manipulates Voters, and Makes America Less Free (and Fun) eBook

End of Discussion book cover
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From the dynamic, unapologetic Fox News and Townhall Media duo comes an exploration of how the Left exploits wedge issues and fake outrage to silence their political opponents--in public, on social media, at work, and even in their homes. End of Discussion grapples with how conservatives and freedom-loving Americans should--and should not--fight back against this strategic effort that makes America less free, less feisty, and less fun.

Who is the Outrage Industry? It's the media frenzy, orchestrated by the Left, designed to shut down debate. Opposing viewpoints on topics like gay marriage, government policies, and women's issues are labeled racist, sexist, and evil. A coalition of blowhards and busybodies with boundless energy adds to the list of the officially offensive every day. Instead of engaging in discussion, they eliminate speech that makes them uncomfortable, demanding boycotts, firings, regulations, and other economic costs for the sin of disagreeing with them.

And, if you think this impulse is relegated to political fights or politicians, think again. A network of well-trained operatives, nonprofit groups, liberal leaders, P.R. firms, universities, politicians, and "thought leaders" exists to foment outrage over your association with the "wrong" fried chicken joints, Internet browsers, breast cancer charities, pasta, children's toys, Halloween costumes, TV shows, schools, even comedians' jokes.

With Ham and Benson's help readers can cut through the noise and find their voices again. With fresh reporting and insightful, occasionally tongue-in-cheek, analysis, End of Discussion is certain to be a timely handbook for anyone trying to figure out what is really going on behind the headlines and how to make sure debate doesn't meet an ugly death as the outrage industry revs up for 2016.

“This book needed to be written, needed to be published and needs to be read. Best of all, it's great fun to read." – Brit Hume
“End of Discussion will actually start more conversations than it finishes. Mary Katharine and Guy are two of the bright stars of conservative commentary, and their insight and humor comes together well to showcase the absurdities of manufactured outrage and the benefits of taking a breath before launching an attack. End of Discussion is a smart and charming political page turner that was a delight to read.” —Dana Perino, former White House press secretary and cohost of The Five on Fox News
 “Here’s why I can wholeheartedly endorse and recommend this book: Mary Katherine Ham and Guy Benson are really good writers. This book had me laughing out loud on yesterday’s flight.” Jim Geraghty, contributor to National Review

"A brilliant exposé of the left’s outrageous outrage over everything!  Free speech isn’t free.  It must be fought for.  Get in the fight with this fantastic book by Mary Katherine Ham & Guy Benson!"
-- Brad Thor #1 New York Times bestselling author of CODE OF CONDUCT
"I can't think of any two people more qualified than Guy Benson and MaryKatharine Ham to expose the left's decidedly undemocratic efforts to silence opposing views. With their characteristic wit and humor, they take on the outrage industrial complex on behalf of fun- and freedom-loving Americans everywhere."
-- S.E. Cupp, author and nationally syndicated columnist
" This book will make you laugh—and cry—at a world where honest debate is all too rare."
-- Juan Williams,  Fox News analyst & author of Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate
“Come for the writing and the humor, stay for the point: The ‘outrage industry’ is destroying politics. Benson and Ham have diagnosed a new kind of media cancer, one that is metastasizing and eating away at our ability to survive as a free people, freely debating our future. Yes, that sounds serious for a book with as wonderfully light a touch as this, and one so full of laugh-out-loud moments. But it is true. That’s why you need to read this book.” —Hugh Hewitt

From the Hardcover edition.


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Thayer School Investiture

Saturday, June 10, 2017, 10:00–11:30am

Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts

Part of the Dartmouth College Commencement Program, Thayer School's annual Investiture ceremony is held the day before Commencement at Dartmouth.

In addition to bestowing hoods and awards to graduating students, Thayer School presents its Robert Fletcher Award to a graduate or friend of Thayer School in recognition of distinguished achievement and service in the highest tradition of the School. The award is named in honor of Robert Fletcher, who was appointed by founder Sylvanus Thayer as the School's first dean and professor of engineering.

The 2017 Robert Fletcher Award recipient is Frances Arnold, the Dickinson Professor of Chemical Engineering, Biochemistry, and Bioengineering at the California Institute of Technology.

2016 Investiture

For more information, contact Daryl Laware at

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Awamori shipments decrease for 6 consecutive years

March 24, 2011. Ryukyu Shimpo

The Okinawa Awamori Distillers Association, headed by Takeshi Sakumoto, announced figures on shipments of Awamori for 2010 on March 20.

Total shipment quantity of 22180 kiloliters was down 5.2% on the previous year, the sixth consecutive annual decrease. This represents 80% of that for 2004, when the shipment figures reached their peak.

While shipments to other prefectures dropped markedly by 8.8%, shipments within the prefecture also dropped by 4.5%. In 2010, shipments within the prefecture totaled 18658 kiloliters, 87% of the 2004 peak figure, with those to other prefectures amounting to 3522 kiloliters, 56% of the peak.

The Okinawa Awamori Distillers Association pointed out that the nationwide shochu (distilled spirit) boom has slowed down and that old vintages have become rather expensive due to deflation. This, combined with the falling population and the fact that young people’s tastes are moving away from alcoholic beverages, has caused a nationwide decline in Awamori shipments.

Kenji Shikina, vice-president of the Association, suggests that the reason for the decline lies in the fact that more people in other prefectures are now seeking to buy cheap but good quality alcoholic beverages, something which runs counter to the strategy of adding high value on old vintages. He added, “Awamori is well-known in other prefectures. We have to be patient for a while and do our best to boost its popularity.”

(English Translation by T&CT, Mark Ealey）

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1. What is it?

This is the home of people who like English and need english for development in career.

This is the place for all of you can connect and share with others about the interest in English.

This is not only a Social website, it is a real community via English Club

You can find out many many useful videos those help you better in 4 skills of English and many more video – articles is updating everyday.

We – the Content Development Team’s members have beening working very hard to provide you with the best resources in studying English.

2. What inside this social website?

– Firstly, the blog (you can find it detail on each category) is where you can find the videos, audios and articles about the tips and conversation of learning english online.

– Secondly, the Social network (Sitewide activity) includes the activities of all groups and members.

– The last one, the group and member’s page is more customized for specific needs.

You just need some minutes to understand the whole website, so don’t worry.

3. Who we are?

We are the members of English Club Webkynang.vn, we’d love to share the good and interesting materials with all of you,

Just because, WE LOVE ENGLISH.

Some key members:

Author of this English social websites:

Quotes: I have a dream that: every student can use english to work in an international environment and i have a beleive that i can do it.

She is the co-ordinator for the article in the website and she’s also a leader’s assistant for english club.

Linh Tran

She had contributed a lot of good and interesting materials in the websites, unfortunately for some personal reasons she can not go along with us at the moment, anw, we still want her to come back :)

Bich Doan


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Saturday, August 01, 2009

English around the world

Here's a quick link to an American article offering advice to American English speakers about how to avoid communication difficulties with other English speakers. It covers some of the main areas we'll look at in our A2 course when we look at Language Variation and how English is used around the world, specifically that the English used by non-native speakers is often a very different beast from what we use in the UK and USA. Here's an example:

Common colloquial American phrases will not mean much to a person who does not live in the United States. Telling a colleague that he or she should "go for it" will not take anyone anywhere and saying someone is "out of the loop" will likely put you there.

We've covered World Englishes (as they're often called) in previous posts, so if you want to stay ahead of the game...sorry, prepare so you are ready when we start this unit... have a look at these links:
The End of English - David Crystal's take on World English
French, English and American
Dirty English infects beautiful Italian

language school barcelona said...

Informative post ..

I read that article and found that great. The author there has described so many things about the tradition problem while speaking English in America. Great..

Sprachkurs Sevilla said...

It's a global language. Everywhere you can find English speakers. They have some different accent tradition and culture about it. :)

Jeremy Jones said...

It's must a compulsary language for all in the world. :)

It's a global language..

Jeremy scuola di lingua inglese


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He makes everything sparkle. Marchetto is a true original." The Scotsman
A genuinely fresh twist. One amusing outfit after another to a cavalcade of pop songs" The Huffington Post
A sustained hour of heaven by an entertainer touched by genius" Time Out London
Brilliant" Edinburgh Evening News

Social Media

The Show

Ennio is the original quick-change artist, revolutionising the art of origami into hilarious theatrical magic. This Olivier award-nominated, ‘wickedly funny’ (The Observer) and wildly entertaining show uses ingenious paper costumes, razor-sharp mimicry and split second timing to create a whirlwind of popular icons.

Ennio’s show is truly remarkable, it appeals to all ages and is extremely funny. Supported by a sizzling soundtrack, in just 60 minutes Ennio magically morphs into parodies of up to 50 popular characters from the world of music, movies, famous works of art – basically popular icons known worldwide.

Characters are as diverse as the Mona Lisa, Marilyn Monroe, Adele, Freddie Mercury, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Elvis, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Justin Bieber, Dolly Parton, Eminem, Bono, The Queen of England, James Bond and many, many more.

No celebrity is safe!

Photos & Videos

About Ennio

Ennio was born in 1960 in the beautiful city of Venice, next door to the house of Carlo Goldoni. The son of an espresso machine repair engineer, everybody expected Ennio to continue the family tradition – except him.

Inspired by the Disney cartoons he watched in his childhood, the modern choreography of Pina Bausch and growing up amidst the Venetian Carnival, Ennio daydreamed himself into flights of fancy – amusing his family and friends – with visions of Marilyn Monroe dressed in white paper. At the beginning of the 1980s Ennio used to make extravagant costumes and masks for the re-emerging carnival. Growing from strength to strength, his dream became reality with the creation of his first cabaret show winning him the prestigious Golden Lion Award, at the Venetian Entertainment Festival and The Golden Mosquito Award for comedy.

When he met his collaborative partner Sosthen Hennekam, a fashion and costume designer, they developed enough paper characters to create a full one-hour show. Only a year later London based producer Glynis Henderson invited Ennio to perform at the Edinburgh Festival. He quickly became a cult hit and achieved massive critical acclaim. Things started to move very quickly and in 1994, after several UK Tours, West End runs and international festivals, Ennio was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment. That same year Granada Television made a one-hour documentary called ‘Celebrations, Paper Marilyn’ about Ennio’s life and career.

A year later, Ennio appeared at the first European MTV Music Awards in Berlin, together with several stars who were in his repertoire at the time such as Prince, George Michael and Bjork. Ennio also performed with The Spice Girls, Brian Adams and other artists for HRH Prince Charles at the Royal Variety Show, broadcast for the BBC. For his off-Broadway run in 1999, Ennio was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. Shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles followed. In LA the show won the Garland Award. In the summer of 2001 he performed at Elton John’s ‘White Tie and Tiara Ball’ – an important AIDS benefit held every year at Elton John’s private estate in Oxfordshire. Ennio has since continued his charity work having performed at the esteemed Lifeball in Vienna.

Ennio has performed in over 70 countries worldwide, everywhere from Singapore to China to South Africa to Colombia. His side-splitting performances of our best-loved celebrities and his adaptability to different cultures has brought his show to royal and celebrity attention giving Ennio a huge following and a massive international fan base.

Ennio continues to tour the world – he’s a global phenomenon and a fascinating man with an incredible history.

Tour & Dates

buy the dvd now

Ennio is the original quick change artist, revolutionising the art of origami into theatrical magic.

His screamingly funny and wildly entertaining solo performance features a whirlwind of superb paper costumes and split second transformations.

In his home town of Venice, Ennio tells us stories about his fascinating life and shows us the secrets behind his costumes and scenes from his phenomenal theatre show.

* Please note the DVD is Region 2 and will not work on Region 1 players.

Contact us

The Living Paper Cartoon


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\ The IoT Customers Are Coming. Are You Ready?
Feature: Page (1) of 1 - 04/19/17

The IoT Customers Are Coming. Are You Ready?

By Jim McKay, Marketing Director at Fortegra

As smart homes and wearable technology grow in popularity and more items become "connected," the Internet of Things (IoT) will continue to be more of, well, a thing. Up 30% from 2015, it's expected that 6.4 billion connected things will be used worldwide this year. Wow.

With this boom in IoT advancement, we're sure to see some priority shifts for the competitive carrier industry. As customers process what it means to be connected, carriers will have to keep up with new demands. Are you ready?

Here are four things you can do to prepare for the growth of the IoT.
1. Know your customers: As you consider the best ways to leverage your data and network to IoT-savvy customers, you must first understand exactly who that customer is. For example, there's a big diff erence between private consumers and business consumers as far as what they need from a carrier. And if you're dealing with enterprises, your customers are going to need multinetwork connectivity and more integration. Knowing up front what your target customers are after can help you formalize your plans, product offerings, and solutions faster and earlier than your competitors.
2. Provide flexible solutions: Knowing what your customers want is only half the battle. The other piece of the puzzle carriers need to figure out is how they can offer their customers flexible solutions. Although enterprise customers will have different needs than individual consumers, it's important to have products and services that would appeal to both customer bases in a variety of different circumstances or stages. Being able to offer a wider variety of hardware, mobile apps and connectivity solutions can set your carrier apart from the crowd.
3. Get ready to scale: More users and more connectivity can only mean one thing: more data. Anticipate the surge in network activity early so you can prepare to scale accordingly. Expanding your network will take time and resources, but the alternative - not being prepared - could be detrimental. As you increase your IoT capabilities, you should simultaneously increase your network capabilities so customers can continue to receive the same level of service they've always had. Bottom line: Don't let growing pains get in the way of customer satisfaction.
4. Prepare for price regulations: To level the playing field in the relatively new IoT market, expect the FCC to regulate pricing for all carriers when it comes to business data services. This reform could mean good things for competitive carriers outside the Big Four, with greater access to the necessary backhaul for optimum carrier performance. A new approach to data services, including spectrum reserves and smaller geographic licenses, will allow competitive carriers to play in the market and cash in on the IoT, despite the seemingly endless reserve of resources big carriers have at their disposal.
There's no doubt about it, the IoT is coming and you'd better be prepared. Follow these four strategies to ensure your carrier is ahead of the game and prepared for this revolutionary, new consumer technology.)
Jim MacKay is marketing director at Fortegra Financial Corp., a single-source insurance services provider that offers a range of consumer protection options including warranty solutions, credit insurance and specialty underwriting programs.

Related Keywords:IOT, Internet of Things, IoT Customers

Source:Digital Media Online. All Rights Reserved

Our Privacy Policy --- @ Copyright, 2015 Digital Media Online, All Rights Reserved


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Stars Welcome Fallon to ‘Tonight Show’

A-List celebrities welcome show back to New York

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If you said Jimmy Fallon would never get to host The Tonight Show, you owe him a hundred bucks—and you’re not the only one.

Stars including Lady Gaga, Sarah Jessica Parker, Stephen Colbert, Mariah Carey, Lindsay Lohan, Tina Fey, Robert DeNiro and former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani lined up during Fallon’s first show as host on Monday to pay up for doubting he’d ever take over Jay Leno’s desk. Carey pulled her cash out of her bra, Parker pulled hers out of her shoe, and Colbert dumped a bucket of change on Fallon’s desk, then demanded a selfie.

Fallon also danced with Will Smith, and musical guest U2 performed on the roof in front of the New York skyline.


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Dangal Fourth (4th) Day Box Office Collection 1st Monday Earning

Dangal Movie Fourth (4th) Day Box Office Collection First (1st) Monday Earning Business

Its fourth day today for one of the latest released Blockbuster Bollywood film. Yes, it’s non-other than Aamir Khan’s Dangal. Dangal is on the top of making records. Why not! As Mr. Perfectionist is there to maintain his repo. And this has been seen in Dangal 4th day collection in India and overseas.

The movie was a big buzz from more than a year. Because the fans of Aamir were waiting for this much awaited film. And after giving a gap of more than a year, he’s back with this Superhit film. The first weekend collection of Dangal is extraordinary and has reached many heights.

On First Monday also, fans have to wait to get the favorite seat and time for the tickets of Dangal film. No doubt the pre-booking for this film has created even more hype than before. The word of mouth is still at its peak and is assumed that it will break many big films records of 2016 said by experts. The fourth day box office collection of Dangal has however little drop from its previous day but still is at a safe place.

Aamir Khan’s Dangal Movie Official Trailer

Dangal Fourth (4th) Day Box Office Collection First (1st) Monday Earning Report with Occupancy :

Aamir is known to release his films on the occasion of Christmas. This year also he released ‘Dangal’ on 23rd December (2 days before Christmas). And Christmas may be said as his lucky charm as this is also moving ahead to be a Superhit one. That’s why you may say Dangal 4th day collection is high.

Aamir’s success rate during Christmas is 100% as seen from the record earning of some of his previous movies. It was all started with Taare Zameen Par, Ghajini, 3 Idiots, Dhoom 3, PK and now, Dangal.

On one side there is a situation of Demonetisation in India where some of the movies got flop due to this. But it’s not for Aamir fans. Yes, his fans are using Digital ways to avoid any last moment hassle and are reaching to the Big screens to watch Dangal.

Dangal’s Second (2nd) Official Poster

The first weekend for Aamir is as great as assumed. The total overseas collection of Dangal crossed Rs 50 Cr in three days. In India, it becomes 2nd highest opener of 2016 (Highest Opener of 2016- Sultan). And in the coming days, as the fans are reaching to watch this real story film, no doubt this will create more records.

Starting from Opening Day collection of Dangal, it earned Rs 29.78 Cr. On 1st Saturday, this number went up to Rs 34.82 Cr. And yesterday, it was Christmas and Sunday as well. Shows were houseful from morning itself. Two days total business is Rs 64.60 Cr. The 3rd collection of Dangal rises to a great extent.

Watch Hrithik Roshan’s Kaabil Movie Official Trailer

On First Sunday or 3rd day, it does a business of Rs 42.35 Cr in India. This is the highest among all the movies released this year. First Weekend Collection of Dangal is Rs 106.95 Cr. Till Saturday, Dangal overseas earning was Rs 44.98 Cr.

  • Dangal Fourth Day Box Office Collection – Rs 25.48 Cr
  • Four Days Total Earning of Dangal – Rs 132.43 Cr
  • Dangal 4th day Occupancy – 52%

This is all about Dangal movie 4th day collection or 1st Monday business. Stay tuned with us for updates on Dangal 5th day collection first Tuesday income.

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Eoin Macken Online
Your source for everything Eoin Macken

Dec / 8 / 2016
Posted by Silvestre | under: 2016, eoin, photos, photoshoots

Thanks to @FarFarAwaySite, we’ve added 8 new/old HQ Pictures of sir Eoin Macken posing for a whole new photoshoot looking amazingly handsome and nice, hope you guys enjoy it!

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How To Experience The Best Of California’s Temecula Valley Wine Country

temecula valley

Temecula Valley. Photo courtesy of Visit Temecula Valley.

“What’s the number one reason after Disneyland that visitors come to California?” asks Elizabeth, my host for the day.

As I’m on a Grapeline Wine Tour of California’s Temecula Valley Wine Country, I think I can guess the answer.

“Wine!” I belt out.

Ding, ding, ding.

That’s over 20 million tourists to California wine countries each year, accounting for $2.1 billion spent in the state. Another fun fact: California is the USA’s largest wine producer, accounting for 90% of the country’s wine (making it 4th in the world!). To put it simply, California is not a small player when it comes to the world of wine.

Roses In The Temecula Valley

The coach has picked me up from my hotel, the Temecula Creek Inn, and is now whisking me away to a land of endless rows of sauvignon blanc and cabernet sauvignon vines, hilltop cellar doors and colorful rose bushes. I quickly learn these beautiful flowers aren’t just for aesthetics: rose bushes typically require the same growing traditions as grape vines, allowing them to act as early detection for disease. Wine regions in California that have a Mediterranean climate — like Temecula Valley — are prone to Oidium, a powdery mildew that can destroy crops. As roses are more susceptible to the fungus than vineyards, winemakers can watch for symptoms on the roses and will know when to take proper precautions, like spraying sulfur. Regardless, they add a whimsical element to the already idyllic scene.

temecula valley

Enjoying art, music and wine at Lorimar Winery. Photo courtesy of Jessica Festa.

Lorimar Vineyard & Winery

As we arrive to our first stop of the day, Lorimar Vineyard & Winery, I’m pulled out of my trance and am forced to peel my face from the coach’s large picture window and gather my belongings.

Here we’re each allowed six full tastings, and I begin with their “California Sparkling,” an effervescent wine with lemon and tangerine notes. I figure I’ll start light then move onto the heavier stuff as the day progresses. It doesn’t take long for the six tastings to turn into 10, as our winery guide brings four open bottles on the tour of the property.

What makes Lorimar unique is its dedication to art, music and wine, especially enjoyed all at once. While around the winery you’ll find works of art, they also show family-friendly films in the vines once per month. Setting the tone of the venue is big band and jazz music, and on weekends live music is featured — which is never cancelled, not even for a wedding (they’ll just change the location slightly). On white wine bottles you’ll notice custom art labels, while the red wines are named after musical terms like “Allegro,” “Solo” and “Trio.”

temecula valley

There’s no shortage of wine grapes in California’s Temecula Valley Wine Country. Photo courtesy of Andrew Hagen via Shutterstock.

While by the end of the visit my mind is slightly foggy, I do remember my favorite wine was their “Duet,” a red wine featuring cabernet sauvignon and mourvèdre, for a libation that’s full bodied and somewhat acidic, with notes of blackberry, black cherry and black pepper spice.

A fun wine they serve is a White Merlot rose, which I’m told by staff is a “hot tub wine” — as in it’s great for drinking in the hot tub. The slightly sweet but uber fruity wine — I personally taste lots of strawberry and cranberry — would never be my must-have with dinner, but would definitely be appreciated in a warm and laid-back setting.

temecula valley

The tasting room at Robert Renzoni. Photo courtesy of Jessica Festa.

Robert Renzoni Vineyards & Winery

Next we’re off to Robert Renzoni Vineyards & Winery, serving high quality Bordeaux and Italian varietals as well as their namesake marinara sauce, which they serve to tasters alongside napkins of log-shaped crackers.

“You guys must be well-known for this sauce!” I gasp, taking a tasty scoop with my cracker.

The bartender laughs. “Well, I hope we’re known for ours wines! But yes, people love the sauce.”

The tasting room is spacious and clean, with dangling bare bulb lights, wood accents and sunflower-adorned tables providing a rustic feel. It’s not surprising the Renzoni’s focus on Italian varietals, as the family’s ancestry hails from Northern Italy, near the coast of the Adriatic Sea, where Robert’s great-grandfather Federico began making wine in 1886. The beautiful four-generation story of the business takes many turns, beginning with Federico immigrating to America at 18. The family business changed names and mission statements numerous times, shifting from cordial creation, where Federico was joined by his brother-in-law, Romeo, to wine distribution, where the team was joined by Federico’s son, Domenic — and eventually Robert, his brother and father.

Although that business ultimately didn’t work out, the family came together in Temecula Valley, where their passion for winemaking was ignited, bringing them back to their original Italian roots. This is seen not only through their 12 acres (five hectares) of vines comprising mainly cabernet sauvignon, pinot grigio and sangiovese, but through wines like “Prosecco Superiore” with grapes sourced from Veneto and notes of green apple and lemon; a sweet and fizzy “Moscato d’ Asti” featuring Piedmonte-sourced grapes and a tantalizing honey finish; and a classic-style “Barbera” that’s just a touch more fruit-forward than you’d find in Italy.

Pair with some of their Italian food products and you’ve got yourself a true global table adventure!

temecula valley

My boyfriend and I relaxing at Cougar and enjoying the view. Uh oh, is that an empty wine glass I see? Photo courtesy of Jessica Festa.

Cougar Vineyard & Winery

Cougar Vineyard & Winery was opened by Rick and Jennifer Buffington in 2006, named after their old home of Cougar Mountain in Washington. It is also focused on Italian varietals, although here everything is estate grown and these varietals make up the total output — no French of Spanish grapes to be found. This helps them to focus on acquiring grapes you won’t really find elsewhere on the continent, such as primitivo, falangini, prosecco, arneis, sangiovese, aglianico and montepulciano.

This winery easily becomes my favorite of the day. Maybe it’s the Italian in me, maybe it’s their Boar’s Head deli counter that I so desperately needed, or maybe it’s the adorable “wine dogs.” I’m almost positive, however, my love of this winery comes from the fact they have an outdoor hilltop patio overlooking the Temecula Valley, complete with giant Adirondack chairs. I could have laid their all day sipping my vermentino-based “Cougar Bubbly,” with notes of Asian pear and green apple just as delightful as the sun washing over me.

temecula valley

Photo courtesy of Longshadow Ranch Winery

Longshadow Ranch Winery

But alas, there is more wine to be drank. The last stop for the day is Longshadow Ranch Winery, which, as the name suggests, is also a ranch. As the coach crawls its way to the top of the hill, I see animals of all kinds: horses, goats, bird-life (they’re nestled on a protected bird sanctuary). I can’t help but feel like I’m in the Old West, and I’m not surprised to learn that visitors can take a carriage ride of the vineyards. I’m also not surprised — although I am impressed — when I’m told that Belgian Draft Horses and Old World machinery are used to work the vineyards.

The timber winery, with its immersive barn feel, wine barrel bar tops, tumbleweed chandelier and wines named after Old West terms, offers something unique in Temecula Valley. Oh yea, and did I mention they serve “Port” wine (technically to be called Port the wine must come from Portugal’s demarcated Douro Valley Region) in a Belgian chocolate cowboy boot? Don’t let the silly presentation fool you. It’s a smooth solera-style Port — meaning the current release features a mix of vintages — aged in 50-year-old whiskey barrels and is seriously delicious, with decadent notes of raisins, caramel and honey that pair perfectly with the chocolate.

The best time to visit is Saturdays, between 6 and 10pm, when fire pits and live music add to the fun.

After spending my day imbibing in California’s Temecula Valley, one thing is clear to me (well, as clear as can be while sitting in the fog of 25 wine tastings): this region deserves more recognition. While Napa and Sonoma get all the credit, and make places like Temecula Valley seem like an afterthought, the truth is the region is full of offerings;  unique cellar doors, winemaker stories that transcend generations, beautiful views, award-winning wines and events in the vines are just a few.

Whether you want to sip rare Italian varietals or just want to shoot fortified wine from a chocolate cup, you can find an enjoyable wine experience in Temecula Valley.

Have you visited California’s Temecula Valley Wine Country? Which wineries would you recommend? Please share in the comments below.

Also Check Out:

Wine Innovation: The World’s First Commercial Rooftop Vineyard Grows In NYC

Quirky Travel: Top 15 Unusual Wine Tastings And Experiences Around The World

A Breathtaking Jordan Desert Sunset [Photo]

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Jessica Festa

Jessica Festa is the editor of Epicure & Culture as well as Jessie on a Journey. She enjoys getting lost in new cities and having experiences you don’t read about in guidebooks. Some of her favorite travel experiences have been teaching English in Thailand, trekking her way through South America, backpacking Europe solo, road tripping through Australia, agritouring through Tuscany, and volunteering in Ghana.

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Presiding Bishop addresses statelessness in the Dominican Republic

Historical prejudice, migratory labor demands offer perspective on the crisis

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori preached in mid-December at Holy Cross Church in Santa Fe, in what was once the heart of the Dominican Republic’s sugarcane producing region in San Pedro Macoris. Photo: Lynette Wilson/ENS

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori preached in mid-December at Holy Cross Church in Santa Fe, in what was once the heart of the Dominican Republic’s sugarcane producing region in San Pedro Macoris. Photo: Lynette Wilson/ENS

[Episcopal News Service – Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic] A large crowd gathered to meet Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori in mid-December at Holy Cross Church in Santa Fe, in what was once the heart of the Dominican Republic’s sugarcane producing region in San Pedro Macoris.

Jefferts Schori would later preach, but first she was scheduled to have a conversation with the immigrant community about its experience in the wake of a 2013 Constitutional Court sentence that annulled the citizenship of an estimated 200,000 Dominicans of Haitian ancestry, many of them women and children.

“The current reality is that there are generations of people with Haitian ancestry in the Dominican Republic; children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren born in the DR who now have been told that they are not citizens, which means that now they can’t get passports (or) cellphones because they don’t have identification numbers,” said Jefferts Schori, in an interview with Episcopal News Service. “In a number of cases their birth records have been expunged or declared invalid. They can’t go to school, they can’t go to university, they can’t get loans; they simply can’t function in the normal areas of society.

“They are not just undocumented, they are ‘de-documented.’ ”

The court’s 2013 ruling came three years after the Dominican Republic changed its constitution removing jus soli, the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship – an almost universal right in the Americas. The 2013 sentence, or ruling, furthered the constitutional change, making it retroactive to 1929 and stripping the citizenship of three generations of people born in the Dominican Republic.

“The de-nationalization imposed by the sentence is an act of injustice, an iniquity; they are Dominicans that have been dispossessed by the sentence,” said Dominican Republic Bishop Julio Holguín, who from the start has been involved with a solidarity committee of lawyers, activists and academics who’ve condemned the court’s action and defended the rights of those affected.

“As a church we feel very committed and obligated to be the voice of those who don’t have a voice.”

Eight months after the sentence, in May 2014, following intense political pressure and international calls for justice, the president introduced and the Dominican Congress passed a law allowing children of “irregular” migrants, or non-residents deemed “in-transit” under a 2004 law who have birth certificates, to become citizens and those without to apply for legal residency and later citizenship.

The May 2014 law would apply to about 20,000 people, which critics say falls short.

Without a birth certificate, a person cannot obtain an identification card, which is required to study, to apply for dignified employment, to marry, to register children, to qualify for state health insurance and pensions, to open a bank account, to apply for a passport, to participate in elections, or even to be baptized.

Obtaining a birth certificate, however, can be an arbitrary, expensive process in the Dominican Republic, given the current right-leaning, anti-immigrant sentiment percolating in advance of presidential elections in 2016. It’s an already arduous task in a developing country with irregular record-keeping procedures made more difficult in small towns and rural areas where workers continue to live in bateyes – the informal communities that grew up around the sugarcane plantations where Haitian migrants typically lived and where poor, marginalized people continue to live long after the sugarcane industry’s crash.

Back at Holy Cross Church, one young woman, Linda, a 24-year-old mother of two, shared her story of living without a birth certificate and thus an ID, which is necessary for her to continue her education and to register the births of her children, a 7-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, both born in the Dominican Republic, one to a Dominican father, the other to a Haitian.

Linda held documents from the secretary of education saying she couldn’t continue her night school studies without a birth certificate, a photocopy of her mother’s identification card issued by the Dominican government in 2005, and a “to whom it may concern” letter signed and stamped with the seal of a Roman Catholic parish confirming her birth in 1990 and her mother’s identity.

Without a lawyer to assist her in navigating the bureaucracy and what activists, lawyers and members of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic’s Pastoral Committee on Immigration describe as an arbitrary process, Linda’s life and that of her two children will likely remain in limbo.

Others in similar situations or with affected family members in the crowd of more than 250 people were fearful of sharing their story publicly. Following the meeting, however, outside the church during the Eucharist, they came forward in the hope of finding some assistance. Like Linda, many were looking to legitimize their residency in order to study, to work in the formal economy and provide a better life for their families. Without a birth certificate and a nationality, they are stateless, “a person who is not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law.”

An estimated 10 million people are stateless worldwide, many of them made so by war and others because of economic migration, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which in 2014 launched a 10-year campaign aimed at eradicating statelessness.

In addition to UNHCR, statelessness has caught the attention of the International Anglican Family Network, which supports the campaign for universal birth registration, meaning it supports global efforts to ensure compliance in countries that recognize the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Dominican Republic is party to the convention and therefore agreed to Article 7 which says children have a right to be registered immediately following birth and have a right to nationality, particularly where they otherwise might be stateless.

That said, the United Nations has resisted taking formal action against the Dominican Republic, which is not a party to either the 1954 nor the 1961 conventions on statelessness; and the country has ignored previous international legal attempts to protect the rights of Dominicans of Haitian descent.

In 2005, after seven years of litigation, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the Dominican Republic to grant birth certificates, and thereby citizenship, to two Dominican-born girls of Haitian descent.

The court concluded that the Dominican Republic had “violated the rights of children of Haitian ancestry and rendered them stateless by refusing to issue their birth certificates because of their race.” Further, the ruling required the Dominican government to reform public policy to address historic discrimination in its birth registration procedures – to issue birth certificates to children regardless of their immigration status or the race of their birth parents, as well as to reform the education system.

In a press release issued immediately following the October 2005 court decision, one of the plaintiffs predicted the historical significance of the decision.

“This watershed decision will change the Dominican Republic just as Brown v. Board changed the United States,” said Laurel Fletcher, the director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

It did not.

Dominican Republic Bishop Julio Holguín and members of the solidarity committee held a press conference on Jan. 14 denouncing a recent decision by the electoral board to invalidate the IDs of 2 million people.

Dominican Republic Bishop Julio Holguín and members of the solidarity committee held a press conference on Jan. 14 denouncing a recent decision by the electoral board to invalidate the IDs of 2 million people.

In 2007 the Central Electoral Board, which in addition to organizing and monitoring elections oversees the country’s national identification program, implemented a resolution limiting access to birth certificates and government identification cards to Dominicans of Haitian descent. Recently, Holguín and other members of the solidarity committee held a press conference on Jan. 14 denouncing a recent decision by the electoral board to invalidate the IDs of 2 million people, “continuing the work initiated by the 2007 ruling.”

Years of legislative changes and administrative policies aimed at limiting access to citizenship have further complicated an already complicated, unjust system.

“The justice issues are enormous. The human rights courts in Latin America have ruled this is illegal and have told the DR that it has to change its laws. But thus far the administration in the DR has resisted all such efforts by changing the interpretation of the law, denying that they have exceeded to the human rights covenants in Latin America. It’s not clear that there is going to be any real resolution, quickly,” said Jefferts Schori, during her mid-December visit.

“It’s also apparent that if people have the financial resources to litigate, they often can get relief. But it’s often very expensive and it takes a long time and clearly many people in the working class simply can’t manage it.”

Numerically, the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti is the largest in The Episcopal Church; the Diocese of the Dominican Republic is one of the fastest growing dioceses in Province IX, which covers Latin America. Following the Constitutional Court’s 2013 decision, Executive Council suggested the presiding bishop travel to the Dominican Republic on a fact-finding mission.

Through her visit, which included briefings from the diocese’s pastoral committee; a visit to Centro Bonó, a Jesuit-sponsored nongovernment organization; and informal conversations with journalists, academics and lawyers, who described the situation “as a threat to democracy,” the presiding bishop hoped to make the larger church aware of the situation in the Dominican Republic.

“Certainly education helps people be better advocates with their own legislators. I think our own government has some ability to apply pressure on the Dominican Government. I think the change will come from international pressure,” said Jefferts Schori.

“Trade relationships between the DR, the US and other developed nations are increasing and at some point the economic pressure, the economic and political pressure, is most likely to have an effect.”

Not unlike the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants who have crossed the border into the United States to find work, an estimated 1 million Haitians have crossed the 170-mile border separating Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The similarities don’t end there: Recently minors have been crossing the border in record numbers, and tensions have flared after Haitian fishermen were arrested in Dominican waters near Pedernales, the southern-most border town on the Caribbean Sea.

Occasionally conflicts arise on the border. Particularly when it is opened to make way for traders on both sides to sell their products,” said Holguín, adding that in this case there were protests outside the Dominican consulate in Haiti. The protest stopped following the fishermen’s release. And that many Haitians cross the border during the holidays, which increases traffic and the potential for conflict.

Additionally, months of ongoing violent protests in Haiti – calling for long-delayed elections and the president’s resignation – and the Haitian parliament’s recent dissolution have further created tension on both sides of the border.

“The political situation in Haiti has become difficult … which worries some sectors on the Dominican side,” Holguín.

Colonization and history of Hispaniola

The Dominican Republic, population 10.4 million, and Haiti, population 10.3 million, share the island of Hispaniola, with the Dominican Republic occupying approximately the eastern two-thirds and Haiti the western third of the island. Hispaniola is the second largest of the Greater Antilles’ four islands and the only one shared by two nations.

In 1492, explorer Christopher Columbus landed on Hispaniola in what would become Haiti; a year he later established the first permanent European settlement on the island in what is now the Dominican Republic. The Spanish colonized the island and ruled it until the French claimed the western part, Haiti, in 1660. During centuries of colonial rule the Spanish and the French exploited the island’s natural resources. When labor ran short, the French imported millions of African slaves to work Haiti’s sugarcane and tobacco plantations in what was considered by far the richest colony in the Caribbean. When the slaves rebelled, Haiti became an independent nation in 1804, and the Dominican Republic, then known as Santo Domingo, followed in 1821.

A year later the Haitian army invaded and the two countries were governed by Haiti until 1844, a 22-year occupation portrayed as “harsh and oppressive” that continues to fuel tensions and anti-Haitian sentiments today. On February 27, annually, Dominicans celebrate independence not from Spain, but from Haiti.

Independence in Haiti and the Dominican Republic did not, however, bring about stable democracy. Instead it gave rise to dictatorships, and eventually the likes of Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier and Rafael “El Jefe” Trujillo, the latter ordering the massacre of between 9,000 and 20,000 Haitians living along the border in October 1937.

The massacre and Trujillo’s denigrating portrayal of the Haitian people have left a stain on Dominican-Haitian relations, say historians, politicians and others.

The rise in sugarcane production

Beginning in the 1870s and into the 1880s sugar production began to develop on an industrial scale in the Dominican Republic. Haitians eventually dominated its migrant labor workforce; by 1952 the two countries came to a bilateral agreement ensuring a continuing supply of Haitian workers to meet the seasonal demands of sugarcane production.

At one time, there were eight major sugarcane plantations near Santa Fe, where the presiding bishop visited.

“Many, many Haitians came to work in the DR in the sugar industry under the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo,” said Jefferts Schori.

The arrangement was similar to the bracero program in the United States, which ensured a steady stream of manual laborers from Mexico from 1942 to 1964.

“When the sugar industry collapsed and the labor was no longer needed, the Haitians stayed,” she said.

The Rev. Alvaro Yepes, a member of the diocese’s pastoral community who serves at the Camp of the Mount of the Transfiguration in El Pedregal, said at least 10 members of his community lack birth certificates. Aside from offering prayers and pastoral counseling, he’s frustrated by what little else he can do for them, he said.

“It’s easy to say we are all children of God, but hard to put into practice” when not all members of society are treated equally, said Yepes. He said that, for political reasons, the government often stirs resentments between Dominicans and those perceived to be Haitian immigrants.

In times of crisis, the Dominican Republic has responded generously to Haiti. Given its proximity, it was the first country to respond following the Jan. 12, 2010, catastrophic earthquake that killed between 200,000 and 300,000 people and leveled parts the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince and nearby Léogâne. The Dominican Republic provided emergency assistance, organized volunteers, and most significantly, opened the border restrictively at Jimani, 40 miles east of Port-au-Prince, to Haitians fleeing disaster.

An estimated 1 million Haitians fled to the Dominican Republic, doubling the size of the immigrant population. Of the 2 million Haitians living the Dominican Republic, 70,000 were there legally, according to Human Rights Watch data.

Shared border, shared struggles

Haiti is classified as a low-income country where 58.5 percent of the population lives in poverty; in comparison, the Dominican Republic is classified as an upper-middle-income country, with 40.9 percent of the population living in poverty, according to data from the World Bank.

Both the Haitian and the Dominican economies depend on wages earned by immigrants working abroad and sent back to support families in-country. Remittances make up 7.3 percent of the Dominican economy and 21.1 percent of the Haitian economy, according to World Bank data.

An estimated 1.5 million Dominicans and some 600,000 Haitians reside in the United States.

“When our economic system depends on the transportability and the ability of people who want to work to move, as well as the need for people to move for lack of opportunity or (because of) violence, state violence or non-state violence, we’re faced with a recognition that our ancient ways of doing things no longer function,” said Jefferts Schori. “Look at the Philippines: Its economy depends on its migrant labor (and) that’s increasingly true of some nations in Latin America.”

The Dominican Republic has recently ranked consistently among the fastest-growing economies in the world, averaging a 5.5 increase in gross domestic product annually for 20 years. The labor market, however, has remained stagnant, with workers largely employed in low-wage jobs or in the informal economy, according to studies.

In that same two-decade period, remittances – wages transferred home by migrant workers – rose steadily peaking at 11.4 percent of GDP in 2004, and dropping to 6.5 percent in 2011; income inequality has increased in the last decade.

That the economy grows but demand for labor and wages remains stagnant stokes the fires of resentment, which have increases noticeably since 2013, said Franklin Paula, who teaches English at an Episcopal school in Santa Cruz.

There have been demonstrations in response to incidents perceived to be racially motivated, a May 2014 flag burning, for instance, said Paula, who was born in the Dominican Republic but whose family is from Antigua.

And Haitians, he said, who come to the Dominican Republic speaking two or three languages, often are preferred hires at the resorts that cater to European and American tourists, which leads to further resentment among low-wage Dominican workers.

 — Lynette Wilson is an editor/reporter for the Episcopal News Service.

  1. Rev Dr Paul Mpongo says:

    I am worried to hear that bad news
    This world and all are within it belong to God
    Let love shine in Dominican Republic
    I codemn this act and join my voice to one of the church leaders in this country
    Let God take care of these victims and help the government to review this law in human way
    Soli Deo Gloria

  2. Linda McMillan says:

    Yeah, well, they’re Christians, they’re black, and they’re politically safe. And, really, someone should be on their side. I’m glad someone is standing up for them. But, who will speak out for the Rohyngia? They are also stateless, mercilessly persecuted, and without any fancy presiding bishops to speak for them. It’s dicey, I know, to say anything against Burma: Land of Democratic hope, reform, and oh-so much money to be made. So very much money for ambitious westerners to make. Oh, we shouldn’t risk that! shesh… I think there was room in this speech for more than one oppressed minority group. Citizenship is a right that should be enjoyed by ALL people. That includes the dirty, smelly Moslem minority in Arakan!

    Linda McMillan
    The American Rohyngia.

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Bulletin Insert – March 5, 2017

Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday

Episcopal Relief & Development is an international relief and development agency and a compassionate response to human suffering on behalf of The Episcopal Church.

Their work to heal a hurting world is guided by the principles of compassion, dignity and generosity. Episcopal Relief & Development collaborates with local church and ecumenical partners in nearly 40 countries on longterm community development strategies.

Episcopalians across the church are invited to commemorate Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday on the first Sunday in Lent, March 5.

At the 2009 General Convention, Lent was officially designated as the time to encourage dioceses, congregations, and individuals to remember and support the life-saving work of Episcopal Relief & Development.

Join Episcopal Relief & Development today and throughout the Lenten season in praying for people fighting poverty, disaster, and disease in their communities and for those around the globe leveraging local resources and expertise to address disparity and inequality in the world.

2017 Lenten Meditations

Written by a collection of Episcopal Church and faith leaders and published by Forward Movement, Episcopal Relief & Development’s 2017 Lenten Meditations explore how faith is fed and enriched through spiritual relationships and communities.

These Lenten meditations will deepen your faith in the risen Christ and strengthen your connection to a community that walks together with others around the world.

As we consider Jesus’ life of healing and sacrifice during this Lenten season, Episcopal Relief & Development asks you to reflect on your faith and how you might take action in responding to a hurting world.

Find out more on Episcopal Relief & Development’s website, www.episcopalrelief.org/Lent.

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EverQuest 2 Spell Information
Blaze of Faith V
Icon green yellow outline
Wheel Gold Hammer
Deals instant divine damage to the target and nearby encounter members.

Target Enemy
Power 191
Casting 3.0 seconds
Recast 10.0 seconds
Effect Radius 10.0 meters
Range Up to 25.0 meters
Level 84

  • Inflicts x divine damage on target encounter (see below)
Blaze of Faith Spell Line

Spell Effects by Spell Rank
Effect Apprentice Journeyman Adept Expert Master Grandmaster Ancient
Divine Damage 464  ?  ?  ?  ? 851

Gray cells correspond to unavailable ranks of the spell. Effect values for this spell are modified by the player's Wisdom.

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For other articles with related titles, see Augur.
The Angry Augur

The Angry Augur

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EverQuest II NPC Information
Purpose Quest
Race Erudite
Zone Zek, the Orcish Wastes (Shattered Lands)
Location In the west-most tent in the fort area of the Warship Dock ( 520, 40, 250 ) /waypoint 520, 40, 250 Eq2map

Related QuestsEdit

The Angry Augur's Three Meanings of Life

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Friday, April 1, 2011

English royals Received by Their Spanish Majesties

Their Royal Highnesses are welcomed by The King and Queen of Spain

31st March 2011
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall received a warm and relaxed welcome from The King and Queen of Spain today.

Their Royal Highnesses were greeted at the Spanish Monarch's home in the mountains above Madrid before a private lunch on the second day of their official visit.

The two families are old friends and share a common ancestor in Queen Victoria – The Prince of Asturias is Her Majesty The Queen's cousin.

The Prince and The Duchess’s visit to Spain is part of a 10-day tour promoting UK trade and sustainable living.

Earlier in the day, Her Royal Highness and The Princess of Asturias visited a training centre for guide dogs for the blind.

The Duchess, who owns two Jack Russells called Rosie and Tosca, appeared delighted at the visit where she was asked to name a two-month-old flat-coated retriever - choosing Columbus after the explorer who discovered the Americas for Spain.

The Duchess and The Princess also met Babu, a black Labrador which has recently completed its guide dog training, and saw a display of the dogs' skills.

At the conclusion of the visit, each was presented with a small model guide dog.

There was also a special treat for The Prince of Wales when he was given the Golden Key of Madrid at the city's regional assembly.
Her Majesty The Queen was presented with a Key of the City during a State Visit in 1988.

During a speech, The Prince praised the work of Spanish companies on sustainable development.

"I want to applaud their efforts to recognise that climate change is a clear and present danger and to waste no time in doing all they can to adapt their practices and business models to tackle it," he said.

"I am afraid we have no choice but to work together to build low-carbon economic growth if we are to bequeath a planet capable of sustaining human life for our children and grandchildren."

Earlier in the day, The Prince also discussed climate change with the Spanish Prime
Minister, Jose Luis Rodrigo Zapatero, at his Moncloa Palace office and residence, as well as touring Respol technology centre, an oil company that is undertaking work in bioenergy.

The Duchess also attended a tea party raising money for the British charity Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres.

Her Royal Highness is Patron of the organisation, which is launching a project in Barcelona to support UK residents living in Spain.

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Sunday, October 9, 2016

August travels - part 1B (High Line/ Whitney)

I had heard quite a bit about the High Line, and I managed to get down to the 14th St. entrance at 6 pm.  That gave me a bit of time to check out the High Line and then to get dinner before heading over to the Whitney.  I figured I might as well wait until 7 pm to get in on the Pay What You Want deal.

I had sort of thought that after the visit to the Whitney, I would then walk back on the High Line all the way to Hell's Kitchen, as I then wouldn't be all that far from my hotel (which was slightly west of the Port Authority Bus Terminal).  Not to give too much away, but my feet were absolutely killing me after another couple of hours walking through a museum (the third museum of the day) and it had gotten really dark by that point, so I ended up going back to the subway.  Also, while I liked the High Line, it was far more of a park with an amazing view, and much less of an efficient transportation corridor.  Chicago now has some elevated structure called The 606 (a few more details here) and its primary focus is on being an elevated bikeway and is a park second (not that I don't expect there to be some conflicts around these uses down the road (or bikepath).)  Cyclists aren't even allowed to ride their bikes on the High Line, which I thought was quite unfair until I went up there and saw that it really was not appropriate for going fast but rather for meandering and just taking in the view.  So without further ado, here are a few of my pictures of the High Line.

Traffic watching...

Everyone's gotta hustle, even on the High Line

As I said, the views are quite stunning, and perhaps on my next visit I will pace myself better so that I can walk the whole thing.  Anyway, I got to the Whitney at about 7:10 and the line was quite long see below).  It felt longer than the lines used to be at the old location, but maybe that is just my imagination.  It moved reasonably quickly, however.

I was there primarily to see the Stuart Davis exhibit, but I checked out the art on all the other floors as well.  I don't have the floor plan or anything, but it felt to me that this was a real wasted opportunity and that the Whitney actually has less space for its permanent collection than before.  It isn't quite as bad as the MCA in Chicago (which I feel is a completely unforgivable waste of the available footprint) but I was expecting they would have doubled the exhibit space, more akin to where the MoMA ended up.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Portals (detail), 2016

Susan Hall, New York Portrait, 1970

Urs Fischer, Standing Julian, 2015

It's a little hard to see from this photo, but Standing Julian is actually a larger-than-life-size candle in that doubles as a "portrait" of Julian Schnabel.  Over the course of the exhibit, it will burn down perhaps as low as the torso.  (I would expect the legs would not stand on their own and become a fire hazard, but perhaps they will brace them somehow if the candle actually does burn down that far.  Actually, it is only today that I noticed the fire extinguisher back by the window!)

By now, I was quite prepped for the Stuart Davis exhibit.  It really did cover all the major bases with quite a few of his early Paris scenes and then the major paintings held by the Met and the Whitney and the Brooklyn Museum.  I was pleased that this painting in the Cornell University collection was included, so that I don't have to road trip to Ithaca just to see one painting.  (I probably would never have gone to Lincoln, NE to see Arch Hotel, so that was another bonus.)

Stuart Davis, Place des Vosges No. 2, 1928
Stuart Davis, Arch Hotel, 1929

The major paintings were all there.  For some reason, The Mellow Pad (owned by the Brooklyn Museum) didn't grab me as much as Report from Rockport (owned by the Met), perhaps because it felt like marginally more controlled chaos.

Stuart Davis, Report from Rockport, 1940

The Whitney itself owns two of the more important paintings in the show -- Owh! in San Pao and The Paris Bit.

Stuart Davis, Owh! in San Pao, 1951

Stuart Davis, The Paris Bit, 1959

I was impressed that they had managed to borrow Stuart Davis paintings from the Art Institute of Chicago, and even the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid.  The latter museum had requested that no photos be taken of their painting (Pochade), not that this stopped most visitors and the guards seemed fairly indifferent, but I will respect their wishes here.  I actually bought Pochade on a refrigerator magnet on my trip to Madrid, though I haven't been able to turn that up.  One day...

In terms of paintings that were completely unfamiliar to me, I think my favorite was For Internal Use Only from the Wake Forest University museum in Winston-Salem.

Stuart Davis, For Internal Use Only, 1944-45

One thing that I particularly liked about the second part of the exhibit is that it focused on the serial nature of Davis's art -- how he kept returning to compositions and reorganizing them and changing the color scheme.  I could only fit three of four into this photo (along with the disembodied arm of another art tourist).

The exhibit ended appropriately enough with Fin, which was Davis's last painting (itself in a somewhat incomplete state with masking tape still on the canvas).  I thought it was quite a privilege to see this in person, since it is in a private collection and is only loaned out on very special occasions.

Stuart Davis, Fin, 1962-64

As I mentioned before, the exhibit has closed in New York and will be reopening fairly soon at the National Gallery in D.C.  I hope to make it down there, but that is by no means guaranteed.

At the gift shop, I didn't pick up the catalog (In Full Swing), mostly because I have so many other ones covering his work, though it does look like a pretty decent one, and if I ever see one at a super discount, I'll probably bite.  I did get a small pin inspired by his art, and I probably should have gotten some hipster socks, but I passed.  (Maybe just as well, given how much I ended up having to carry back from Chicago.)  I was kind of astonished that they had quite a few copies of the Archibald Motley catalog that had gone out of print, so I went back and forth and finally grabbed one.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was part of an unannounced sale.  Score!

All in all, it was a very enjoyable visit, though a bit exhausting overall.  I made it back to the hotel and read a bit and got ready for another half day in New York.

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4D/3N Backpacking Bromo & Ijen Without A Tour (Part 3) : Surabaya – Banyuwangi Economy Class Train Ride

It was in rustic East Java, Indonesia where I had my very first long distance train ride, clocking up a total of 12 hours travelling on rickety steel tracks, through the East Java countryside – chugging through timeless villages, endless paddy fields and lush green forests, over rivers, unexpected ravines and steep cliffs, and more!

It is an enlightening experience fondly imprinted in my heart. The idea of taking the train comes from the initiative to save some travelling time and also, to travel in comfort and safety. It is a safer mode of travelling, not necessarily the cheapest, but definitely safe for two zesty girls backpacking on their own to Mount Bromo and Ijen Crater in East Java, Indonesia. 🙂

Easy Breezy, Ticket Story

My sister and I arrived at Surabaya Gubeng Train Station, via Prima Taxi from Juanda International Airport. Read my taxi ride experience and find out the fare here. We then made our way to the ticket counter to purchase our train tickets. For your info, there are two ways to purchase the train tickets:

  • On-the-spot at the ticket counter when you arrive OR
  • Online via Ticket.com for foreigners (accepts overseas credit cards)
  • Online via Kereta-api.co.id for Indonesians (accepts only Indonesian credit cards)

Those with reservations or online bookings may proceed to Counter a.k.a Loket 1 and 2 to collect their tickets, while Loket 3 and 4 (Go Show) are for the rest. Do keep in mind that we need to present our passport to purchase the tickets. Do not hesitate to drop by the Customer Service counter located on the right side of the station entrance to find out the train schedules, ticket fare, etc. 😉

We effortlessly bought Sri Tanjung/174 train tickets @ 13:40 hours, travelling from Surabaya (SUB) to Karangasem (KNE) @ Banyuwangi, bypassing Probolinggo station along the way. The train tickets cost Rp. 140,000 per person @ Economy Class.

We then made our way into the train station. The officer-on-duty checked our tickets and directed us to the left side of the train station where we patiently waited for our train to arrive. There are several cafes, shops and kiosks selling food and drinks, as well as adequate seats for waiting passengers. The toilets are not properly ventilated, but clean.

The entrance to Surabaya Gubeng train station
A typical scene at Surabaya Gubeng train station
Ticketing counter at Surabaya Gubeng train station
Travellers waiting for their turn at the customer service centre, Surabaya Gubeng train station
The train tracks at Surabaya Gubeng train station

All Aboard The Iron Horse!

Our Surabaya – Banyuwangi train arrived on time, at Jalur a.k.a Track No.3. We boarded the train and got comfortable on our cushioned seats. Like travelling in an aeroplane, the seats are numbered. 🙂 At the ring of the bell, the train took off in a slow and steady motion, picking up speed as we bid farewell to Surabaya Gubeng Train Station. Thus, we began our 7-hour journey through the scenic East Java countryside.

Lady Luck was with us that day for we had the entire seats to ourselves and the entire carriage to only a handful of us – locals and foreign travellers. It was after all, the low season for travelling to Mount Bromo and Ijen Crater which we deliberately chose to travel. Each set of seats came with a standard 2-pin power sockets to charge our electronics on the go. The carriage was fully air-conditioned, clean and comfortable. There is sufficient luggage space above us to keep our bags and belongings.

Every now and then, the train attendants will drop by to offer us a selection of hot/cold drinks such as aqua, coffee, tea, orange juice, or carbonated drinks, and food such as fried rice and pop mie a.k.a instant cup noodles. We had the fried rice for Rp.17,000 per packet. The fried rice was plain and had tiny bits and pieces of chicken/hotdog, a fried egg and prawn crackers. It tasted economic. 😛

A sample of the Indonesian train tickets at Surabaya Gubeng train station
Economy seats on board the Sri Tanjung/174 coach
Standard 2-pin power sockets in the Sri Tanjung/174 coach to charge our electronics on the go
Banyuwangi – Yogyakarta train routes
The passengers on-board the Sri Tanjung/174 coach to Banyuwangi Baru (Ketapang harbour to Bali)

When Nature Calls…

When you got to go, you just got to go! 😀 Paying a visit to the unisex toilet was a hilariously eye-opening experience for my sister and me. It was not the tiny cubicle or the squat toilet that made us giggle, it was the fact that the toilet window was not positioned high enough that when you are not careful, someone out there might get a sneak peek of you with your pants down. 😛

Balancing yourself while answering nature’s call on a moving train requires the concentration of a meditating monk! However, rest assured that the toilet is fitted with strategically positioned handles to help you keep your balance.

Note: Do keep the carriage’s sliding door closed at all times to prevent the stench from the toilet from polluting the air in the carriage. The automatic air freshener dispenser in every carriage helps to freshen up the air a little – getting rid of lingering body odour, musky sweat smell and other unpleasant odours.

Porong train station
A train ride offers a glimpse into the East Java countryside
A train crossing in East Java
We passed by lush greenery and vast paddy fields throughout the East Java countryside
Pasuran train station
A train station in East Java
Diligent maintenance personnels checking the train tracks regularly made us feel at ease
Probolinggo train station, we’ll see you soon!

Scenic Time Lapse – Of Paddy Fields, Rustic Villages, Greenery and the Beautiful Sunset

I must admit, travelling on the train through the quiet, scenic countryside put me in deep thoughts as I ponder on life – its marvels and its mysteries. Flashes of memories came running back to me, of my previous travels and all. Green paddy fields/terraces stretched as far as the eyes can see reminded me of enchanting Bali.

Our journey took us through timeless villages, lush green forests and fertile plantations. We crossed rivers, ravines and steep cliffs too! What a magnificent sight it was! 🙂 And as we travelled through time and place, the sky changed colours from bright blue, off white, dark orange and subsequently, pitch black as the sun sets in the background.

From there onwards, we see nothing but flashes of lights in the horizon. It was not long before my sister and I dozed off peacefully, serenaded by the lullaby of the chugging train and heavy rain. There was nothing that worried us, no one that bothered us. Everything was calm, peaceful and quiet.

Cruising at high speed on the railway tracks in East Java
Sunset in the horizon, East Java
The sky changed colours from bright blue, off white, dark orange and subsequently, pitch black as the sun sets in the background…

Up next: A Night at Kg. Osing Inn and Ijen Crater’s Blue Fire Midnight Tour!

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Two village girls dressed up in traditional clothes and modern high heels walking through the streets of Budesti.  Romania, Budesti, Maramures County. Tim Dirven.

Reposted fromthetemple thetemple viabirke birke

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Charles Cavanah enlisted as a private May 13, 1862 in Company B, 21st Battalion, Georgia Cavalry at Savannah and was inducted by Capt. Banks. He later transferred to Co. E of the 21st. When the 7th Regiment, Georgia Cavalry was formed on February 13, 1864, Charles was transferred to Company F of the 7th.

Pvt. Cavanah was listed as present until late April 1864 when he was listed as AWOL. At this time the 7th was preparing to go to Northern Virginia and Charles, like most men went to see their families before departing. The only other time he was absent he became sick in October '64 and was sent to a hospital in Raleigh, N.C.

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Thursday, June 30, 2011

Edscape 2011: Innovation Now

Last fall I hosted a conference at my school that turned out to be a great success.  The idea was to create an event at a high school like no other in the area where passionate presenters and a major conference feel would have attendees leave inspired to initiate innovative change in their instructional practices.    Building upon last year's event I am proud to officially announce Edscape 2011 will be taking place at New Milford High School on Saturday October 15, 2011.  The site just went live this week so there will be many exciting updates in the near future.  For those that attended last year our goal is to provide an even better learning experience!
Edscape 2011 is a conference intended to bring together passionate educators who firmly believe that innovation is essential to increasing student engagement and achievement. Innovation begins with a desire to change. Edscape 2011 will provide attendees with the inspiration, strategies, and the confidence to actively pursue a transformation in teaching and learning practices.
The theme of this year’s conference is “Innovation Now”.  We will explore how learning environments can be established to promote critical thought, inquiry, problem solving, and creativity. Attendees will leave with a greater sense of how to authentically engage all learners through meaningful and relevant instruction.
The 2011 Eduscape Conference will feature presentations and workshops by innovative educators who believe that change is essential to meet the diverse needs of all learners in the 21st Century. They will share best practices, success stories, applicable strategies, and pedagogical techniques that address the following:
  • Meaningful, cost-effective professional growth opportunities to improve teaching and learning.
  • Effective technology integration as a means to promote student creativity, apply knowledge, and increase engagement in the classroom.
  • Design of authentic learning experiences to enhance critical thought, inquiry, problem-solving, and relevancy in the classroom.
  • Essential leadership practices to articulate a vision for school improvement and begin the implementation process.

Highlights for Attendees
  • Learning about exciting, free Web 2.0 tools
  • Hearing from esteemed educators who are innovating now
  • Leaving with an array of applicable strategies and ideas to being the change process
  • Complimentary breakfast and lunch
  • Networking opportunities
  • Sharing of best practices by other school districts, teachers, and administrators
  • Opportunity for hands-on experiences with innovative digital tools

One major change this year is the $35 registration fee.  As many of you might recall last year's event was free.  The problem with this was that 575 people registered, extra food was ordered, and then 100 people didn't show up.  With all this being said I can guarantee that $35 is a steal considering we will still have a vetted keynote, exceptional presenters, giveaways, an interactive innovation learning lab, and delicious food (breakfast/lunch) just like last year.  We will be accepting proposals to present up until July 15, 2011.  If you have procrastinated now is the time to submit.  You can access the form to submit a proposal here.  Stay tuned for hotel information, updated sponsors, and other exciting events associated with Edscape 2011.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Curriculum 2.0

I came across this interesting video this morning entitled "Curriculum 2.0".  Check it out below:

This video, as well as the information found at the Curriculum 2.0 wiki, reinforces what I and many others believe, that technology is just one of many tools to assist in engaging students in the 21st Century.  As technology and access to information continue to evolve at a rapid pace my question is when will we see curricula in schools shift accordingly?

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Summer Learning Loss: A National Dilemma

As the summer break quickly approaches in the Northeast I have come across various articles focusing on summer learning loss and the negative impact that time off has on students.  In 2010 Time Magazine published an article that clearly articulated The Case Against Summer Vacation.  Even though there is a great deal of research on the loss of learning that occurs during the summer I am perplexed by the fact that many schools and parents are not doing more to prevent this.  Here is a video that shares some stark statistics as well as a few great strategies that parents can utilize at home.

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As a district we have always assigned summer readings (view this years assignment here).  This year we are taking it a step further as we have developed assignments in both Language Arts and Mathematics to lessen the summer slide while retaining a focus on specific skills and concepts learned throughout the past school year.  The math assignments developed by my teachers can be found on our Math Department web page.  When I reminded the students of their summer assignments at our academic awards ceremony yesterday many parents in attendance began to clap and cheer.  This provided some nice validation in terms of our shift towards implementing summer learning assignments.

As a result of a recent $10,000 donation to New Milford High School all students in grades 9-11 have access to Study Island in mathematics and language arts for the next three years.  Certain 12th grade AP students will also have access in the following AP courses: Chemistry, Biology, U.S. History, Calculus AB, English Language & Composition, and English Literature & Composition. The expectation going forward is that teachers will develop standards-based assignments for all students to sharpen and retain skills, review concepts, and get a taste for the content to be learned in upcoming courses.

I am really interested to learn what other schools and educators are doing with their students over the summer to reduce and/or prevent learning loss.  More importantly, how do we construct meaningful, relevant, engaging assignments that the students will want to complete? We all can agree that this is a major problem across our country that the traditional school calendar of 180 days has created for us.   If you have developed successful programs, projects, or assignments PLEASE SHARE!  In the meantime here are some articles that I have come across that present some great strategies for reducing summer learning loss:

Preventing the Summer Slide with DIY Tech and Science Projects

Using the Calendar gap to Narrow the Achievement Gap

Preventing the Summer Slide in Reading

National Summer Learning Association

Preventing the Summer Slide in Math Skills

50 Websites and Apps to Keep Students Learning Over the Summer

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Learning Shouldn't Stop When the Last Bell Rings

A few months back Verizon Wireless visited New Milford High School and we had a fantastic meeting. The end result was the formation of a pilot program where students and a teacher would be given a tablet device and then be tasked with developing a plan to extend learning beyond the school day. About a week later the devices arrived at my office. Each of the ten tablets (5 iPads and 5 Samsung Galaxy tabs) came with 3G access for the duration of the pilot program.

For the pilot group I selected nine students that were currently enrolled in Virtual High School courses as I felt that these students would provide the best possible feedback. I then reached out to Jeff Fiscina, one of my tech savvy math teachers, who was to provide a perspective as to how teachers could develop assignments to be completed outside of school and tailored to these devices. Jeff and I then created a Google Group called the “Tablet Ten” to collect information on how the tablets were being used to extend learning beyond the school day, provide feedback, and eventually develop a plan for Verizon Wireless.

Needless to say, the students and Jeff were extremely excited when they received their tablets. On the day that I distributed them I had students at my office door by 6:50 AM. After signing an acceptable use and liability form, each student was challenged to utilize their respective device to improve learning and achievement. As we near the end of the pilot program, I wanted to share some of the student reflections and ways in which they have been using the tablets outside of school. Here are some of their thoughts:

Anita wrote:
My iPad was surprisingly most useful with the defaulted notes application. Since it is the end of the year, I was running short of notebook paper and I actually took notes in English, biology, and Spanish in my Notes app. In biology, we had to read a book online. The iPad helped because I had Internet access and could read the book from my iPad if I didn’t have access to a computer. If I had to look up a word that I did not know, I could quickly go onto my Merriam Webster Dictionary application. I downloaded an application called “free graphing symbolic calculator” which actually helped me more in AP Calculus than my actual calculator. Since an iPad is touch screen, you can pan and zoom as much as you like and control different parts of the graph. I have the “Periodic Table of the Elements” application, which helped me in chemistry. After the AP chemistry test, we started organic chemistry. I downloaded the “organic chemistry essentials” application to help me with new concepts, such as biomolecules and synthesis strategy. My CNN application kept me updated, and I was actually more comfortable using that application rather than the Internet or watching the news. The graphics were very sophisticated and the application was easy to use.

Shanen wrote:
What I love about the tablet is how simple, yet useful, it is. I use the tablet for a variety of things such as keeping myself organized with lists and notes, quickly searching something up on the internet, keeping up with current events, easy references using the periodic table and the dictionary, and more. I also have a couple of apps that supplement the learning done in class through amazing pictures, news articles and even actual magazine clippings. Having the calendar is great because it keeps me organized and helps me to plan what I have to do accordingly. One of the greatest features is simply the notepad that is already installed on the iPad. I keep a “to do” list, prom expenses list, a 'do now' so I don't have to carry around an extra notebook for biology, and more. Also, I use the mail app to check my college mail, yahoo and Gmail accounts and even to converse with Mrs. Keesing about my VHS project. Speaking of VHS and the independent learning opportunity project, I found this app called 'CNET Exposure' which is pretty much an exhibition of professional photographer's photos and the techniques and inspirations behind each photo; this app is especially important to me because my VHS course is called photography as a means of personal expression, and it is good to be exposed to different photographers' shots. As I stated earlier, having reference apps such as the periodic table and dictionary/thesaurus are great because you can access them quickly. One reference app I downloaded is called elementals, and even though it is pretty much an interactive periodic table, it is even better because the interface is fun, yet very informative and you can even understand the periodic trend of atomic radius better. I also downloaded an sat vocabulary app and a geography quizzes app to brush up on knowledge. Apps such as the Discovery Channel app, National Geographic magazine and VideoScience are great apps to supplement the learning done in AP biology and chemistry classes because there are a lot of articles and pictures that make our classes much more real and purposeful. As a student hoping to enter the medical field one day, I found myself in the 'medical' category of the app store. Here I found a couple of apps that were really interesting such as the MCAT Question a Day which was interesting because I answered a couple of questions and to my surprise I knew the answers from my chemistry and biology classes. I also found an upper respiratory virtual lab, which is pretty much a virtual walk through of your upper respiratory system. As Mr. Fiscina said, the 3D brain was pretty cool, but I also found another app called 3D medical images. This app has some of the coolest pictures ever, even if you don't want to go into medicine. Lastly, there are a bunch of anatomy apps and a dictionary for general diseases and syndromes called Eponym.

Alvin wrote:
The Samsung Galaxy tablet is very convenient when it comes to note taking. Sometimes, I've typed my notes on the tab instead of writing them down on paper. This is convenient because I don't have to worry about loose papers. Everything is organized and structured into one application. If there's anything I need to look up, I can use the 3G connection to Google my query right from my desk. ThinkingSpace is a brainstorming application that allows me to list my ideas in a web. I used it recently to organize my thoughts into a research paper. It's a great app for planning and studying purposes as well. I'm thinking of using it to outline study guides for any tests that I may have. ThinkFree Office is an app for the Android tab that acts as a word processor. Whenever I'm away from home but I want to get work done, I activate the app and continue typing up any documents. The app also works well with Google Docs, so I can make sure that my work is saved online if I need to work on it from a computer. ES File Explorer is a great app for managing my files on the tabs. I can manage downloaded content right from the file explorer, which is really convenient if I want to clean up the memory. Another useful app I have used is Google Sky, which maps the positions of objects in the sky according to my location. This application was particularly useful in my VHS Astronomy Course, as I could locate stars and planets from my tab even when the skies were cloudy.

Mr. Jeff Fiscina wrote:
I have downloaded many apps that assist with notetaking, document sharing, and organization. Dropbox can be used to send documents to one another to share assignments, tests, projects, and other assessments. Any kind of pad or note taking app is great for organizing all your notes into one place, and saving on paper. You never have to worry about not having a pen, running out of paper, or losing something. It’s all right there for you to keep in one space. Organizational apps, such as Stickyboard, keep you organized as a person. You can make post it notes for yourself, reminders of dates, tests, and meetings, and lots of other stuff. I downloaded an app called SAT from and it has videos on anything you can think of in math. Very basic, short, and to the point. It’s great for extra help outside the class such as reviewing for tests and doing homework. Another app I downloaded was color effects which takes your pictures and makes you redecorate them in color and black and white and is great for art projects. Other apps I downloaded included 3D Brain in order to help in science/pyschology to identify parts of the brain, CNN which can keep you up to date with current affairs in social studies, and Free Translator or foreign language.

How do you see 3G tablet devices extending learning beyond the classroom?

Monday, June 6, 2011

Perspectives - Looking Back...Thinking Forward

The following is a summary by New Milford High School teacher Colleen Tambuscio on this year's Holocaust Study Tour.  The post speaks for itself in terms of the impact this authentic learning experience has on our students as well as people all over the world.

The Holocaust Study Tour always provides new and exciting learning opportunities because, although there is an itinerary, the schedule flexes as new educational experiences arise. However, this year, our group expanded to 22 students, the largest ever. While learning about the history of the Holocaust, we became more than just a group of students and teachers. We became a family.

One of the many highlights was the opportunity to meet Eva Vavrencka, the daughter of Felicitas (Lici) Wolf Garda. Lici was the sister of Otto Wolf in theDiary of Otto Wolf (required reading prior to the trip). We are so grateful that Eva, who has never spoken in public about her family's history, was willing to meet with us at our hotel in Prague. We discovered many new aspects of the story including that Otto's diary was smuggled out of Czechoslovakia and brought to America in the 1970's by Lici's half brother, Thomas Mandl. Eva was able to give us insight into Lici's post-Holocaust life, and we are incredibly grateful to Eva for bringing this history from Salvaged Pages to life.

As always, Pavel Stransky continues to inspire us each year telling his story and guiding us to Theresienstadt, the camp where he and his wife, Vera, were interned before being sent to Auschwitz. As Pavel talked to our students, all 22 pairs of eyes were riveted to his face. Pavel, now 90 years old, compassionately and bravely tells of his time in both Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. Tears flowed down the faces of our 22 teenage children, who are now barely younger than Pavel was when the Holocaust began. All day our students approached Pavel and gave him hugs, posed for pictures and asked questions. We are thankful for Pavel’s friendship and the important historical and personal lessons he gives us.

This year the Olomouc Jewish Community invited us to celebrate the Passover Seder with them. Welcomed by Petr and his grandfather, Milos Dobry, our own Sarah Schrenzel sang the four questions in Hebrew. What an incredible evening: first listening to Milos tell his story of surviving Auschwitz; then celebrating what, for many of us, was our first Passover Seder; and finally, being able to share in this experience with the Jewish Community of Olomouc, which includes many of the Holocaust survivors that we interviewed during last year’s Holocaust Study Tour. How thankful we are that the Olomouc Jewish Community is helping us next year with our dedication at Trsice.

A new facet to our relationship with the community of Trsice was the presentation of a special pin by Colonel Zuffa-Kunci of the Czechoslovak Legions in Olomouc, to our group’s leader Colleen Tambuscio, in recognition of the special relationship which has developed between the Czech people in the Olomouc region and American students through the Holocaust Study Tour program. We have been working with the local community to further commemorate this story by building a memorial to mark the site of the underground hideouts in which the villagers of Trsice hid the Wolf family for three years during the Holocaust.

The most unexpected learning opportunity occurred inside the villa of Amon Goeth, commandant of Plaszow Concentration Camp, where Spielberg filmed parts of Schindler's List. After visiting the area of the camp where today lay the ruins of the Jewish Burial Hall and a memorial to Sarah Schenirer (this is the area of the camp that the HST 2009 participants cleaned up), we walked to the villa of Amon Goeth. While looking at the house from the street, we saw a gentleman come out of the doorway and wave us up the walkway. We, of course, approached the house with Shalmi, our historian for the trip, and Ewa, our Polish guide, and immediately took him up on his offer to come inside. This was an incredible chance meeting that demonstrates the importance of experiential learning and its possibility for rare opportunities that become profound teachable moments.

New this year was our overnight hotel stay at Auschwitz--actually in the town Osweicim. We entered the town, passing by Auschwitz I, which is now a museum, and also passing through Auschwitz III, the industrial complexes of Monowitz and Buna. The hotel and town center are just down the street. It is impossible to believe that anyone who lived here during World War II can say they didn't know what was happening in these camps. By the time our group reached Auschwitz, we had bonded completely. Before dinner, we debriefed about our visit in Trsice, and ended the session with a giant family hug.

Each night we ended our day of learning with journaling and discussion, and of course, the blog. Our blog has taken on an important, impactful role in the Holocaust Study Tour. Not only is the blog a way for us to focus and communicate what we are learning as we travel, it is has tremendous impact on student learning. Each night we choose students to post their reactions to the day, using their reflections from their journals. Our followers post comments, and students react and really process their learning.

The Holocaust Study Tour is unlike classroom learning not only because students experience the history through firsthand encounters, but also because they learn that history is dynamic, and that as time passes, we unearth more of the history. History is not just about the pages in a textbook. History is the story of real, living people, like Pavel Stransky, Mrs. Ohera, and Eva Vavrencka. The history lessons will continue to impact all of us who journeyed together in our Holocaust Study Tour 2011 family.


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Schedules Results Home Pages Hall-of-Fames Main Pages

June 17-19, 2005
Bill English Memorial
(Open Dbls & Div II Dbls)
Balloon Inn
Arvada, Colorado

Here are the results of the Bill English Memorial Tournament at the Balloon Inn in Arvada CO.

Open Division:
1st - Rick Boyer & Char Waugaman
2nd - Morey Balins & Gwyn Orsi

Division II:
1st - Candy Lepore & Barb Kenney
2nd - Mike Richardson & Mike Tramutolo

Results provided by Char

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Newsletters Colorado Leagues Colorado Shuffleboard Tournament Results Colorado Schedule Home Page Contact Us Colorado Hall of Fame


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