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Austin Dillon, who is one of the young up-and-coming NASCAR drivers, made a pit stop in Bluffton Monday afternoon at Steffen Oil to fill his rental car up with some ethanol fuel as part of a tour of different ethanol stations and refineries.

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Tuesday, 30 November, 1999, 16:41 GMT
Victory's sting-in-the-tail for Mahathir
Mahatir Mohamed and his deputy Dr Mahathir celebrates his resounding victory

By South East Asia correspondent Simon Ingram

Supporters of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad have been celebrating his election victory at his party's headquarters in central Kuala Lumpur.

They cheered and sang late into the night, as well they might. Outwardly they have every reason for jubilation.

Clearly the Barisan Nasional (National Front) is still the party of choice of the people of Malaysia
Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysian Prime Minister
Results from Monday's parliamentary and state assembly elections showed his ruling National Front coalition had won 148 of the 193 seats in parliament.

It was a better result than it achieved in the 1995 election, and exceeded the two-thirds majority that permits the ruling coalition almost untrammelled legislative power.

"Clearly the Barisan Nasional (National Front) is still the party of choice of the people of Malaysia," declared a beaming Dr Mahathir.

A year or so ago, the veteran leader seemed to have been fatally undermined as the capital was rocked by the worst unrest in decades, triggered by the dismissal of his popular former deputy, Anwar Ibrahim.

Vicious campaign

His victory would seem to have decisively proved his enemies wrong, and demonstrated that even after a period of severe political and economic instability, Malaysians are still willing to put their trust in the country's combative and idiosyncratic leader.

In a short but often vicious campaign, the Front had remorselessly, many would say unfairly, attacked its opponents, warning that a vote for the opposition Alternative Front coalition was a vote for instability, economic decline and, even, the establishment of an Iranian-style Islamic state.

election posters The National Front played on fears of instability
That line of attack - however exaggerated - was particularly effective among the large ethnic Chinese community, where many already had misgivings about the alliance that the predominantly-Chinese Democratic Action Party (DAP) had formed with the Islamist Pas party.

The DAP did manage to secure an extra parliamentary seat, but saw its leader, Lim Kit Siang, and his deputy both defeated in their individual constituency races, as the Chinese vote swung into line behind the National Front.

Pas, however, has emerged as the big winner from this election, almost quadrupling its presence in parliament to 27 seats, and - perhaps more significantly - seizing control of the provincial assembly in the northern state of Terengganu, to add to its existing stronghold in Kelantan.

Pas makes gains

The party also made significant inroads in other parts of the crucial northern-Malay heartland, underlining the extent of disillusionment in the Malay community with the prime minister, largely because of his handling of the Anwar Ibrahim issue.

But the wave of pro-Anwar and anti-government protests that threatened to sweep Dr Mahathir away 12 months ago did not translate into significant gains by the party that the unrest spawned.

Despite the success of Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, in the constituency where her jailed husband was MP for 16 years, her Keadilan party saw its hopes of becoming a major political force largely dashed.

While its calls for greater democracy and a free judiciary earned it a significant share of the popular vote in Kuala Lumpur and other areas, under Malaysia's first-past-the-post electoral system, that support eventually translated into just five parliamentary seats.

Not that Dr Mahathir's worries are over. He still faces a crucial leadership contest within his own Umno party in the middle of next year, and the loss of Malay support will raise searching questions over the direction that it has taken.

There's speculation that Umno will take on a new pro-Islamist policy emphasis in order to counteract Pas' grassroots appeal.

That possibility - and the increasingly urgent need to find a successor to the 73-year-old prime minister - suggests Malaysia's political uncertainties are far from over.

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15 Nov 99 |  Asia-Pacific
Malaysia's snap election: Special report
29 Nov 99 |  Asia-Pacific
Eyewitness: Malaysia's day of decision
29 Nov 99 |  Asia-Pacific
In pictures: Malaysian elections
29 Nov 99 |  Asia-Pacific
Mahathir appeals to younger generation
10 Nov 99 |  Asia-Pacific
Profile: Malaysia's strongman Mahathir

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Page last updated at 14:49 GMT, Friday, 4 July 2008 15:49 UK

McGovern to write new BBC drama

Jimmy McGovern
McGovern has worked on drama series Cracker, The Street and The Lakes

Award-winning TV writer Jimmy McGovern is to write a new drama for BBC One, partly inspired by the Ingrid Bergman film The Yellow Rolls Royce.

McGovern will write five 45-minute episodes for the series, currently given the working title Moving On.

Each episode will take place in a house and involve a family or individual moving in or out.

The Liverpool-based drama will be screened over a single week on BBC One next year.

Known for writing gritty, post-watershed dramas based around hard-hitting social issues, McGovern's past credits include Cracker, The Street and The Lakes.

The BBC said Moving On would also explore contemporary issues facing Britain.

"I want BBC Daytime to be topical and to grab people's attention, so a drama from someone of Jimmy's calibre and credibility fits the bill perfectly," said Liam Keelan, controller for BBC Daytime.

Jimmy McGovern said: "Our aim is to produce riveting drama to an extremely high standard.

"Part of the attraction is that we'll be making the programmes in Liverpool, our home town, a city full of talent. I can't wait to get started".

Bergman's 1964 film The Yellow Rolls Royce, also starring Rex Harrison and Shirley MacLaine, featured three stories of people who had all owned the same car at one point in their lives.

Cracker writer attacks ITV drama
10 Mar 06 |  Entertainment
Lakes complaints rejected
24 Jun 99 |  Entertainment

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Page last updated at 11:04 GMT, Monday, 19 January 2009

Fossil illuminates jaw evolution

By Tanya Syed
BBC News

Fossil fish from Herefordshire, UK
The 415-million-year-old-fossil was excavated from Herefordshire, UK

A fossil fish is shedding light on the evolution of jawed vertebrates.

It is one of the earliest known jawed fish in the fossil record, a scientist from Uppsala University, Sweden, reports in the journal Nature.

The specimen is the first example of a well-preserved braincase of a group of extinct fish called acanthodians from the Paleozoic era.

The fossil fish was unearthed in Herefordshire, UK, in the 1940s and is an estimated 415 million years old.

The study was led by Martin Brazeau from Uppsala University in Sweden.

This is really what braincases of early sharks and armoured fish looked like.
Dr. Martin Brazeau, Uppsala University, Sweden

"Because of their superficially shark-like and bony fish-like appearance, acanthodians have played an important role in trying to elucidate the origins of modern jawed vertebrates," he told BBC News.

Different proportions

The fossil's dimensions differ from typical Acanthodes fossils in two important ways, Dr Brazeau explains.

The front of the preserved head is short while the back end is long.

"This is really what braincases of early sharks and armoured fish looked like," he says.

"When we look at early bony fishes, the back end of the braincase is very short and the front end is long - which is what Acanthodes were like."

"This figures in nicely with the emerging idea that acanthodians don't form a group of fishes that are all closely related to each other. Some of these fossils are primitive sharks while others are primitive bony fishes."

The study also suggests that some acanthodians are ancestors to all modern jawed vertebrates.

"We've already got scores of known acanthodians, but braincases are known in only one of these, belonging to the Acanthodes genus.

"Fitting them into the picture of early jawed vertebrate evolution has been extremely difficult because of the lack of data."

"Previously, we've had to operate on an assumption that the braincase of the Acanthodes fossil was stereotypical for all the other acanthodians."

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Last Updated: Friday February 10 2006 17:57 GMT

Lizo's sneak preview of the Goblet of Fire DVD

A scene from Goblet of Fire
Newsround's Lizo Mzimba got a sneak preview of all the extras on the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire DVD.

He cast his expert Potter eye over the new interviews, behind-the-scenes snippets and interactive content.

Here's what he thought.

The DVD extras have come a long way since Philosopher's Stone (Sorcerer's Stone in the USA). Film by film we've seen more of what goes on behind the camera on a Potter movie. And Goblet of Fire goes further than any of the previous movies.

Highlights include the inspired choice of writer/director Richard Curtis to interview Dan, Emma and Rupert; the Meet the Champions section with Clemence, Stan and Robert; and the section dealing with the film's climax - the return of He Who Must Not Be Named.

Lowlights include no JK Rowling - by her own admission, finishing writing this book was one of her most challenging experiences. It would have been wonderful to hear from her about this film version. And there's no director commentary from Mike Newell.

The Extra Scenes

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry
Mostly the deleted scenes are bits trimmed from the cinema release - Harry trying to catch Cho on a staircase, Snape and Karkaroff arguing while Snape blasts students - out of carriages not bushes - who are getting too friendly at the Yule Ball. A creepy conversation between Crouch and Moody.

And there's the full version of Do The Hippogriff, fine if that's your thing. And also a return of the School Song. Potter purists will want the scenes for completeness' sake, for others it's easy to see why they never made the final cut - they don't further the plot particularly and things often have to go for time or pacing.

Conversations with the Cast

One of the highlights of the disc. Richard Curtis questions, quizzes and cracks jokes with Dan, Emma and Rupert. And, thankfully, the Talking Head from Azkaban is a long distant memory.

There's the usual insights into working with the director, Mike Newell. But fans are after unusual nuggets - and we find out what the strangest question from a fan Dan has ever had is, 'Is it true that slugs are bigger in Britain?' And the boys talk about whose house they'd like to be Portkeyed into. For Rupert, a keen golfer, it's Tiger Woods'. For Dan, he can't decide between Natalie Portman's house and Scarlet Johansson's.

The First Task

One of the special effects highlights is the dragon. Here we hear from the FX team how they managed the complex 140 or so shots.

The Second Task

The Weasley twins
Producer David Heyman calls this one of the movie's biggest challenges. Dan spent a total of 41 hours and 38 minutes filming underwater for the film. This section explains how they managed this part of the film.

The Third Task

The most interesting of the task featurettes, the film-makers explain the psychological nature of the maze. And how the mix of real and CGI helped them provide one of the film's most spectacular set pieces.

The cast talk about the making of the movie and what it's like being part of the Potter experience. They also pay tribute to director Mike Newell and how he brings a real sense of British boarding schools to the movie.

As a director, he gets extremely involved with the action. Getting excited, jumping up and down with the cast, or even rolling around on the floor with Oliver Phelps, showing the Weasley twins what he wants their fight to be like. This section is a good chance to hear from cast members other than the main three.

Meet The Champions

Malfoy and chums
My favourite feature, a day in the life of the three champions - Clemence, Stan and Robert. Starting at 6.30am it follows them from breakfast at Leavesden Studios, through make-up and costume and onto sets.

On this particular day they're all doing different scenes. Robert is being repeatedly killed, Stan is being followed by girls and Clemence is walking down a corridor. What this section does is, for the first time, show us around the parts of the studio that we never see on film.

And it also gives a brief moment of glory to some of the hardest working people on the sets - the ADs (assistant directors) as they do their best to make sure that the cast is all in the right place at the right time in the right costume and saying the right lines.

Preparing for the Yule Ball

In true Strictly Come Dancing style, the cast spend weeks rehearsing for the Yule Ball. Some are better than others. But there's also the chance to let their hair down as a band belts out the wizarding hit Do The Hippogriff. Many fans will love the different designs that Emma's costume went through.

He Who Must Not Be Named

Fleur Delacour
This scene was the climax of the film, and the film-makers talk about the decisions they made, especially with regard to Voldemort's eyes and nose. Ralph Fiennes, who admits he didn't know too much about the books before being approached for the film, explains his insight into Voldemort's character. Even when you're watching him being filmed from a distance, he's phenomenally scary.

This is the most comprehensive set of DVD extras yet for a Potter film. With sections covering each of the movie's set pieces. Fans will be delighted by the variety of material that the second disc contains, with more than an hour and a half of features.

It would have been nice to have some commentaries, input with JK Rowling and something about the search for Cho Chang and how Katie Leung was chosen from 5,000 other girls. Oh well, maybe next time we'll have that commentary with the director and JK Rowling and a section called Looking For Luna!


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Last Updated: Wednesday, 4 July 2007, 08:52 GMT 09:52 UK
Maddy targets Twenty20 World Cup
By Andrew McKenzie

Darren Maddy
Maddy's Bears are unbeaten in the Twenty20 Cup this season
Warwickshire skipper Darren Maddy has set his sights on a place in England's Twenty20 World Cup squad.

Maddy has earned a reputation as one of the best exponents of the game and has not given up on a first appearance for England since 2000.

"It's a game I've done really well in in the past few years," the 33-year-old batsman told BBC Sport.

"To play any form of international cricket should be every cricketer's goal and I'm no different."

Maddy's last game in England colours was a one-day international against Zimbabwe over seven years ago, when he scored a half century but was not picked again.

He has played just eight one-day games and three Tests for his country but the introduction of Twenty20 has revitalised his international hopes.

Maddy was a key part of the Leicestershire side that won the Twenty20 Cup in 2004 and 2006 and he has taken up where he left off after moving to Warwickshire this season.

Under his captaincy the Bears have already booked a place in the quarter-finals after five wins in six games (their other game was rained off).

And his form has led to suggestions he should be drafted into England's squad for the inaugural World Cup in South Africa in September.

Maddy added: "I'm not under any illusions just because I've played well in the past I should be an automatic choice, but certainly I feel if I can do well I'll be considered and thought about.

"I'm fully aware I need to win more games and get bigger scores and help Warwickshire have a good run in this competition to be considered."

A lot of the England players have not played much Twenty20 so they have probably not grasped the concept of the game

Darren Maddy
England have lost four out of six of their international Twenty20 games and have so far resisted the calls to bring in specialists at the shorter form of the game.

Maddy has had no contact with any of the England coaching set-up about a potential call-up, but he remains optimistic of being in the selectors' thoughts.

He said: "Hopefully I can have a good Twenty20 series and get my name up there.

"I don't think their minds are on the Twenty20 World Cup and you can't really blame them - they have a lot to work on.

"There is a lot of cricket to be played and a lot of good Twenty20 batsmen. It is about picking the batsmen who are best in form and do best at this form of the game.

"I understand why they stuck with the same side against the West Indies recently because of the one-day series starting immediately after - they wanted to get their squad together.

"They picked the best team in their opinion and they feel the best players are the best to play in any form and there is a lot of truth in that.

"Unfortunately I think a lot of the England players have not played much Twenty20 so they have probably not grasped the concept of the game.

"Because of the heavy schedule for international players they miss out on a lot of the domestic competition which is a shame but I'm sure they'd be equally good at it.

"It is a different game. There are a lot of similarities but it different at the same time.

"But they are our best one-day players and that is who the selectors have trusted."

West Indies in England 2007
08 Jan 07 |  Cricket
West Indies legends
14 May 07 |  Cricket
Bears move into Twenty20 quarters
02 Jul 07 |  Counties
Maddy knock sets up Bears victory
26 Jun 07 |  Counties
Maddy inspires Foxes to Cup glory
12 Aug 06 |  Counties
England 'need Twenty20 experts'
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Harlequins 53-15 Gloucester

Harlequins (24) 53
Tries: Gray, Robson, Monye 3, Lowe 2 Cons: Clegg 6 Pens: Clegg 2
Gloucester (3) 15
Tries: Trinder, Molenaar Cons: Robinson Pens: Robinson

Ugo Monye
Harlequins winger Ugo Monye crossed for tries both sides of half time

An Ugo Monye hat-trick saw Harlequins end Gloucester's 11-match unbeaten run with a crushing 53-15 win to keep their own Premiership play-off hopes alive.

Quins forwards battered their way to a 24-3 half-time lead with tries from Joe Gray, George Robson and Monye, added to nine points from Rory Clegg's boot.

Monye and George Lowe added two tries each after the break.

Henry Trinder pulled a try back for Gloucester before Tim Molenaar scored in the last play of the match.

Gloucester showed signs of a hangover from last weekend's LV= Cup win as they started sluggishly.

Quins appeared to still be smarting from their last-gasp defeat by Newcastle in that competition's semi-final two weeks ago as they set about their task in belligerent fashion.

The hosts began at a furious pace with Nick Easter and Danny Care, back from England duty, at the heart of everything they did well.

Gloucester's handling on the floor earned Clegg his first shot at goal which he sailed home for a 3-0 Quins lead with 10 minutes gone.

The Cherry and Whites then lost try machine Charlie Sharples on 12 minutes when he was twisted in a tackle and had to be replaced by Jonny May.

The hosts made it clear they were intent on taking the game to Gloucester up front, where there was plenty of niggle off the ball, and earned dividends from attacking narrow channels.

Gloucester, who had made wholesale changes to their pack from Sunday, struggled with the intensity.

The breakthrough came after continuous pressure ended in Gray's try, after good work down the blindside, as the Quins hooker steamrollered Robinson from two metres out.

Clegg added the conversion to make it 10-0 with 25 minutes gone.

Robinson soon pulled three points back for Gloucester with a penalty from the Quins' 22.

But the kick only inspired Harlequins to come back harder and quick phases saw first Robson and then Monye cross out wide in quick succession.

After the break an unchanged Gloucester side were soon under pressure again and Clegg extended the home side's lead with another penalty.

Monye sprinted clear in the 50th minute to claim his brace, which Clegg converted, before Lowe went in for his first 10 minutes later.

Gloucester did bring on fresh legs and it was substitute Trinder who pulled one back for Gloucester, but Quins hit back through winger Lowe and Monye once again.

Molenaar touched down in the dying seconds but Robinson missed the conversion to cap a desolate afternoon for the West Country club.

Harlequins director of rugby Conor O'Shea:
"It came from a combination of a lot of hurt we felt from a couple of weeks ago and the run we have been having.

"Anybody that was down here and watched the Newcastle game in the LV= Cup would have seen some fantastic rugby but we just didn't finish.

"At times we probably played better rugby in that game than we did today.

"And with Gloucester you are bound to have a comedown of some sorts when you win a bit of silverware and then they were hit by a team that had a lot of pain, a lot of hurt.

Gloucester head coach Bryan Redpath:
"We were dreadful. I think Quins had more energy than us, that was pretty obvious.

"I thought they looked a bit more energised than we did but, on the whole, I thought we were dreadful.

"We fell off tackles today that we hadn't fallen off previously and made it pretty easy to score against us on certain occasions.

"In the first half the game was gone at 24-3 because we never controlled any field position or possession.

"It happened we have got to get on with it and deal with it."

Harlequins: Brown; Camacho, Lowe, Turner-Hall, Monye; Clegg, Care; Marler, Gray, Andress; Kohn, Robshaw; Fa'asavalu, Robson, Easter.

Replacements: Williams for Brown (71), Urdapilleta for Turner-Hall (58), Moore for Care (67), Jones for Marler (55), Brooker for Gray (55), Lambert for Andress (55), Vallejos for Kohn (58), Skinner for Robshaw (64).

Gloucester: Burns; Sharples, Molenaar, Fuimaono-Sapolu, Voyce; Robinson, R Lawson; Dickinson, S Lawson, Doran-Jones; James, Attwood; Strokosch, Qera, Narraway.

Replacements: May for Sharples (13), Trinder for Fuimaono-Sapolu (51), Pasqualin for R. Lawson (73), Thomas for Dickinson (60), Azam for S. Lawson (56), Harden for Doran-Jones (51), Brown for Attwood (67), Cox for Qera (56).

Sin Bin: James (58).

Att: 14,282

Ref: JP Doyle (RFU).

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Harlequins 20-21 Newcastle
11 Mar 11 |  English
Gloucester 34-7 Newcastle
20 Mar 11 |  Rugby Union

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Vladimir Komarov: The Unsung Space Hero

There is a new book coming out next month detailing the life and times of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. He was aboard Vostok 1 when it made its historic spaceflight on April 12, 1961. The book is entitled Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin, and it’s generating a bit of buzz not for its purported subject — Gagarin himself — but for the account of another doomed spaceflight in 1967 that claimed the life of Gagarin’s good friend and fellow cosmonaut, Vladimir Komarov. It’s a truly heartbreaking tale.

Gallery: Celebrating Yuri’s Night

Robert Krulwich helpfully provides the highlights of the account given by authors Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony, who claim to have based their version of events on details provided by a former KGB officer named Venymin Ivanovich Russayev, and the investigation of a reporter for Pravda named Yaroslav Golovanov. [UPDATE: Krulwich wrote a second post highlighting several questions raised by space historians about the accuracy of Starman and the sources the authors relied upon for their book. He is investigating further. Follow Krulwich Wonders for further updates.] If those sources are to be believed, here’s what happened:

Once upon a time, there were two Russian cosmonauts, Yuri and Vladimir, who happened to be good friends. One day, USSR leader Leonid Brezhnev decided it would be a nifty idea to show those Americans how space flight is done by staging a mid-space rendezvous between two Soviet spaceships.

Soyuz I would carry one cosmonaut into near-Earth orbit, and then a second spacecraft would be launched with another cosmonaut aboard. Those two men would then switch places and the first cosmonaut would return to Earth in the second spaceship. What could possibly go wrong?

In a word, everything.

Suicide Mission

Various technicians inspected Soyuz I prior to launch and found a whopping 203 structural problems; clearly, the mission should be postponed, since any cosmonaut who launched aboard the spacecraft would be unlikely to return alive. And who should be chosen to be that ill-fated cosmonaut, but Vladimir. His friend Yuri would be his alternate.

Not wanting to see his good friend die, Yuri penned a 10-page memo for Brezhnev and gave it to a pal in the KGB to forward. Yuri was a national treasure, a bona fide celebrity by then; surely those in power would listen to his concerns.

But the memo never got to Brezhnev. Nobody wanted to be the messenger of bad news, you see. As Krulwich notes, “Everyone who saw that memo… was demoted, fired, or sent to diplomatic Siberia.” That included the KGB agent (Russayev) who tried to forward Yuri’s memo.

According to Russayev, he asked Vladimir why he simply didn’t refuse to fly the mission, and Vladimir answered truthfully: because if he backed out, his alternate would be the one to launch into near-certain death, and that alternate was his good friend Yuri. “He’ll die instead of me,” he said. “We’ve got to take care of him.” And knowing he was sealing his own fate, Vladimir burst into tears.

Pause a moment and ask yourself: what would you have done? Would you save your own skin and back out of the mission, even though it meant your good friend would likely die in your stead? Could you live with the guilt if you did so? Or would you do what Vladimir did, and sacrifice yourself for your friend?

“Crying With Rage”

Apparently Yuri showed up on that fateful day, April 23, 1967, and demanded to be suited up for the flight instead of his friend, but he was refused. The launch proceeded as planned, with Vladimir on board. And the multiple malfunctions, indeed, proved fatal. As Krulwich writes:

“So there’s a cosmonaut up in space, circling the globe, convinced he will never make it back to Earth; he’s on the phone with Alexsei Kosygin — then a high official of the Soviet Union — who is crying because he, too, thinks the cosmonaut will die. The space vehicle is shoddily constructed, running dangerously low on fuel; its parachutes — though no one knows this — won’t work, and the cosmonaut… is about to, literally, crash full speed into Earth, his body turning molten on impact. As he heads to his doom, US listening posts in Turkey hear him crying with rage, cursing the people who had put him inside a botched spaceship.”

All that was left of Vladimir Komarov was a chipped heel bone and a misshapen molten lump of remains; nonetheless, the state funeral featured an open casket (see photo).

Purportedly, Yuri Gagarin was consumed with guilt over what had happened to his friend, since he hadn’t been able to persuade Brezhnev to postpone the mission. There is a rumor that when Yuri finally did come face to face with Brezhnev, he threw a drink in his face. One can only hope this is true.

The worst part of the story is that Vladimir’s sacrifice was in vain. One year later, Yuri was on a routine training flight with another flight instructor when their MIG crashed near the town of Kirzhach. Both men died.

There are any number of theories about what went wrong, but conspiracy theorists have bandied about the possibility that the crash wasn’t exactly an accident. Perhaps Yuri Gagarin, despite his national hero status, had started to make a few too many waves. We’ll probably never know the truth; the Kremlin refused to open a new investigation in April 2007.

RELATED: YuriGagarin50: Discovery News Goes to Parliament

Look, space flight is dangerous even today; the various space shuttle tragedies attest to that. It was even more dangerous during the 1960s. The same year Vladimir plummeted to his death, three American astronauts perished when an Apollo capsule caught fire (Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee). Krulwich rightly points out that in 1969, then-President Nixon had a speech all prepared in the event that the Apollo 11 astronauts were stranded on the moon, slowly suffocating to death as their life support systems failed.

But ask any astronaut why they do it, and they’ll likely tell you it’s worth the risk — because there’s nothing more amazing than being in space, looking back at the home planet, and marveling, as Yuri Gagarin did on his historic flight, “The Earth is blue… How wonderful. It is amazing.”

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So, where did ICANN fail the IANA RFP?

Updated The most significant Internet governance news this week has been the US government canceling the rebidding process for the crucial IANA contract because no one had met its contract criteria.

The impact of this news was immediately felt by ICANN, holder of the IANA contract. It meant that, despite having run the technical services that IANA represents for more than a decade, it had failed to meet the criteria to retain it.

Ironically, ICANN was given a six-month extension on the contract until the NTIA/USG has a chance to rerun the process. But the news led immediately to two big questions:

  1. Did anyone but ICANN apply?
  2. Why did ICANN's application fail?

We have spent the past two days trying to find out the answers to both - something made significantly harder by the fact that ICANN doesn't want to talk about it and currently claims it is not able to release any information about its bid; and the NTIA feels constrained by Federal procurement rules to say anything.

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Local businessman plans to buy community center

By Jacob Allen
The Williamston Post

Timothy Baise, who has lived in Williamston for nearly 20 years, stands in front of the Williamston Community Center. Baise hopes to have a purchase agreement finalized with the city in the next few weeks.

The Williamston Community Center is in the process of being purchased by local businessman Timothy Baise, according to city officials and Baise. Baise has been a resident of Williamston for nearly 20 years. The community center, located at 201 School St., is currently owned by the city. A deal is in the works to sell the historical building within the next few weeks. If delays occur, the hope is the building will be Baise’s by June 1 at the latest.

The city of Williamston is going to sell the building, which currently holds the library, food bank and senior center, to Baise for around $200,000, according to City Manager Alan Dolley. Repairs alone, ignoring any renovation, would cost Baise around $500,000. The major repairs that must be done include replacing the leaky roof, fixing the water damaged ceilings and walls and repairing the boiler system. The boiler system is the building’s current heating system, but is nearly 60 years old. The system currently has no air handler or dryer, which has allowed moisture in the lines, causing a breakdown. Most of the thermostats and actuators are stuck open or shut causing some rooms to be either extremely hot or extremely cold with very little regulation capabilities.
$ money graphic
“We are selling it for financial reasons. The city is putting anywhere between $60,000 to $100,000 a year into just utilities and general maintenance, this doesn’t include long-term maintenance issues,” said Alan Dolley, the city manager of three years. “Long-term maintenance issues include the leaking roof. A new roof on that building could be $200,000 to $300,000. It’s those types of things that the city just doesn’t have the money for.”

Councilman James DeForest is working with the city manager, attorney and Timothy Baise on a purchase agreement.

“It (the community center) is a drain on our limited financial resources and that’s why we are looking to sell the building,” said DeForest in an email.

The potential of the building has allowed Baise to see past the issues. He already has a plan for what he wants to do with the three-story brick structure.

“It (the community center) will make for a really good focal point for the city. It is a big building and it’s going to have lots of uses. Lots of people are going to use it from the library, to senior center, to retail to charity events. I think it’s going to be pretty cool and an opportunity for the whole community to get involved and do something a little bit bigger than what it has done in the past.”

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Williamston hosts loving homes for the elderly

By Bryce Airgood
The Williamston Post

Alternative homes in Williamston infographic

Gary Wilson is a resident of Haven of Rest. He enjoys living there because he says he is a youngster and can help out the other residents. Wilson is 64.

LeeAnn Williams poses by the new fireplace that was installed in Haven of Rest.

Agnes Dexter, a resident at Crosaires, feels she fits in with the other residents there age-wise.

“We’re all getting close to the same category – 90 and beyond,” she said.

In the past couple years, Ingham County and surrounding counties have had a substantial increase in seniors. A person who is 60 and older is considered an older adult or senior according to the Tri-County Office on Aging.

“Between 2000 and 2010 there was a 20,000 number increase in the number of seniors in these counties,” said LeeAnna Olson, community relations and grants specialist for the Tri-County Office on Aging, Lansing office. “And it’s only going to increase. That’s a guarantee as the baby boomers age.”

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City treasurer goes on maternity leave

By Julie Dunmire
The Williamston Post

The City Council voted to cover the maternity leave of City Treasurer Rachel Piner.

“Basically, we have really good staff here at city hall,” said Piner. “Being able to go and be home is very important to me, because the competent staff here can take care of things when I’m gone.

Since another person left their treasury position, her absence is all the more important to fill, according to the city manager.

Mayor Noah Belanger says that the fulfillment of this position is important, so everything can continue to run smoothly.

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City sets plans for summer construction

By Jacob Allen
The Williamston Post

The process has been ongoing and the complaints have been heard for a long time, but plans have been set to fix the stretch of road from the North Putnam Street intersection to West Church Street. City Councilman of four years Kent Hall said, “It is the street we hear the most complaints about. I am glad we are getting it fixed.”

The request for approval to seek bids for the West Church Street project was pitched by Scott DeVries at the City Council meeting on April 13. DeVries has been the city engineer and director of public works for five years and persuaded the council to unanimously approve the request.

DeVries explained that the engineering company finished its surveying and design process, thus the time has come to move forward with the project. The water main in front of the Brookshire Inn, small pieces of the sanitary sewer and asphalt from the North Putnam Street intersection to the water main connection on West Church Street will be replaced.

The project has two options, according to DeVries. The first is to remove a few inches of the road, placing asphalt on top of that. The second, more complete option is to entirely reconstruct the base of the road. This would mean digging deep into the ground and would extend the surface life of the road by five to 10 years. The board choose option number two.

“It is only about 100 or so yards long that is just absolutely terrible. The city engineer says the pipes underneath are worse than the road, so that’s why we voted for the major overhaul,” said Councilman James DeForest, who has been on the council since 2011. “It is not just a break off the top and repave a couple of inches like we did on South Putnam two summers ago. We will take care of the whole darn thing.”

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Williamston Public Schools millage to be on May 5 ballot

By Meagan Beck
The Williamston Post

On May 5, Williamston voters can expect to see the the school district asking them to pass measures which would allow it to renew their 18-mill operating levies.

If the tax dollars are lost, the school district warns that a major budget crisis will occur.

The 18 mills is about 8 percent of the district annual budget – or $1.3 million.

A flier from the district says voting against the millage would result in cuts of about $712 per student.

The state already provides $6,414 per student but according to the flier, the cuts would be “devastating to our schools.”

The 18-mill levy was approved in 1994 and renewing it would continue taxing local businesses on their property and not homeowners.

If passed, the renewal will last for 20 years.

Williamston Theatre hopes to draw new audiences

The four cast members of the Williamston Theatre’s production of Sirens stand in front of the ticket office. On the left is Mark Schenfisch followed by John Seibert, Terry Heck and Katie Noyes

By Jacob Allen
The Williamston Post

The Williamston Theatre’s production of Sirens began March 26 and will run through April 26. The play is written by Deborah Laufer and is directed by Tony Caselli. Sirens is a collaboration with the Michigan State University Department of Theatre and has two students in the cast.

The theater is located in downtown Williamston and was founded in 2005 by John Lepard, Christine Purchis, Emily Sutton-Smith and Tony Caselli. According to Caselli, who has been directing plays for 19 years, the theater is a not-for-profit organization. All the actors are paid. Half of the theater’s budget comes from ticket sales, acting classes and concessions, while the other half comes from grants, donations and sponsorships. The theater produces about seven plays a year.

Sirens is about a couple who have been married for 20 years, are having a difficult time in their marriage and have seen some of the passion turn into a relaxed comfort. The husband is trying to find his passion for his wife and his enthusiasm as an artist on their silver wedding anniversary. They embark on a cruise in the Mediterranean for the occasion. The production involves a cast of four actors and a crew of two backstage members, six designers, one stage manager and the director.

The theater’s website summarizes the play as such, “out of a contemporary love story that grapples with the terrors of middle age, and the torture of creative failure, comes a mystical expedition to find home.” Director Caselli has a different take on what the play is all about.

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Williamston Red Cedar Garden Club looks forward to Arbor Day

By Teresa Fata
The Williamston Post

Flower bed planted by the Williamston Red Cedar Garden Club in downtown Williamston

As spring blooms in Williamston, members of the Williamston Red Cedar Garden Club are getting ready for the events that the new season will bring.

Roxanne Houghton, the garden club president, has many goals and objectives that demonstrate the passion of members.

“(We want) to stimulate the love and knowledge of nature among amateurs; aid in the protection of native trees, plants, and birds; encourage home gardening and promote civic beautification; and aid one another in garden planting,” said Houghton.
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Kids find Easter eggs for a good cause at Crosaires

By Bryce Airgood
The Williamston Post

One Friday evening at Crosaires, a group of about 20 people could be seen wandering around the lawn. In their wake they left a multitude of brightly colored Easter eggs.

Frawley places an egg. After she would find a spot with them she would try to make them look more natural by covering them with bark.

Saturday, April 4 was Crosaires second annual Easter egg hunt. Crosaires is an aging-in-community residence and provides assisted living for the elderly. Todd Walter is the owner and is the one who first came up with the idea for the hunt.

“It’s a donation based Easter egg hunt,” said Walter. “We identify a need in the community and see if we can help out.”

This year the community cause was the Defreese family, whose home burned down in March. All $828 raised from the Easter egg hunt along with donations made later went to the family.

The original advertisement said there was going to be 500 eggs at the hunt, but that wasn’t the final count. Crosaires ended up getting caught up in the excitement and decided to get a couple more.

Noah Pfeifle was one of the excited participants in the Easter egg hunt.

“What’s another 100 eggs?” Walter joked about buying them for the hunt. “Then there was 1,000.”

Among those 1,000 hidden eggs were eight golden ones. These eggs were special, as the child who found them would be given a gift certificate for a local business. Walter specially hid the golden eggs the morning of the event.

About a month went into the preparation for the hunt said Walter. The staff and residents would have stuffing parties where they would fill the eggs with candy. One resident, Lois McCorvie, even helped hide the eggs the night before.

Staff members and children of residents also helped hide the eggs. Celeste Frawley, whose father moved into Crosaires on March 15, took special care in her hiding spots.

Dexter at her observation point for the event. Although she only watched in the beginning, she eventually joined her family outside.

“I usually like to look for something that has a natural look,” she said. “Like it looks like a tulip growing.”

Although there wasn’t an official count, Walter and his wife guessed there were more than 200 people at the egg hunt. There were even some unusual guests according to Agnes Dexter, an elder at Crosaires. She spotted them in the morning around a half-hour before the event.

“I was going to tell Todd that deer came to his Easter egg hunt,” said Dexter. “But they came too early so they had to leave.”

Walter poses with the jar used in the jelly bean toss.

Along with the search for Easter eggs, there was also the attraction of a jelly bean toss. For a dollar a child could get five beans which they could try to toss in a jar. Depending on how old the child was determined how close they got to be to the jar. Every time a jelly bean landed in the jar, the child would get their name put in a drawing for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Toys “R” Us. The winner was Noah Dunckel, age 9.

Walter said that the Easter egg hunt was very successful, and all but one resident participated in the event.

City Council discusses updates to McCormick Park

Community Development Director Scott DeVries and Police Chief Bob Young had no news to report during their staff reports at the March 23 city council meeting

By Jacob Allen
The Williamston Post

The Williamston City Council discussed updating McCormick Park’s wooden play structure at its March 23 meeting. The park is at the corner of Putnam and High streets. The city plans on working with the Williamston Sunrise Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club of Williamston and the Williamston Area Beautification Fund to pay for the project.

According to Scott DeVries, community development director of five years, in order to get the best results the city and the nonprofit organizations will bring in a company that specializes in children’s playgrounds. The company is called Leathers & Associates and according to their website they concentrate on custom designed outdoor play spaces that reflect the imagination of children.

DeVries said Leathers & Associates will be coming to do an overall safety inspection of the structure, which was originally built in 1996. The company will discuss adding new apparatuses to replace broken pieces. It will also give options for new concepts that could be added to the playground.

To help offset the costs of bringing in Leathers & Associates, the Williamston Area Beautification Fund plans on holding a raffle fundraiser. According to Earl Wolf, chairman of the Williamston Parks and Recreation Commission for five years, this idea came from local parents. They needed a nonprofit organization to be a part of the raffle to get a license according to state law. This is where the Williamston Area Beautification Fund came in. During Monday’s meeting the council approved the fund as a legitimate group, moving the raffle effort forward. The next and final step will be to submit an application for the raffle to the state.

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Chamber talks hospice at networking lunch

By Bryce Airgood
The Williamston Post

When Heather Vida tells people about the organization she works for, they back away from her or look uneasy. Vida is the director of fund development at Hospice of Lansing.

Heather and Ted

Vida and her friend Ted pose for a picture. Ted was there to advertise for the Teddy Bear Tea event.

The Williamston Area Chamber of Commerce had Vida as its guest speaker on March 26 at the Brookshire Inn & Golf Club. She describes her everyday job as being a “professional beggar.”

“Fundraising is fundraising, but you’ve got to know the jargon,” she said. “I bridge the gap for what we get reimbursed versus the actual price of what we do.”

Her role at the lunch was that of informant and fundraiser. She gave her presentation at the request of Barbara Burke, executive director of the Williamston Area Chamber of Commerce. Vida had told Burke that if there was ever an opening for a speaker at the monthly lunch to let her know.

“Hospice is very misunderstood,” said Vida. “I always embrace opportunities to share information with people.”

Vida giving part of her hospice presentation.

Among the information Vida shared was her experience with Hospice, as both her aunt and grandparents used its services. She described one particular incident where Hospice intervened in a family dispute. Vida’s mother and aunt had been fighting about the fact that Vida’s aunt wasn’t eating. So the Hospice worker sat Vida and her mother down for a “frank conversation.”

“A Pop-Tart isn’t going to make a difference,” Vida recalled the worker saying. “She’s not dying because she’s not eating. She’s not eating because she’s dying.”

The presentation was serious in nature, but Vida did try to lighten it up at the end with the statistic that the world death rate is still a steady 100 percent.

The presentation seemed well received by the audience, and attracted some people to attend the lunch. Bonnie Krauss, owner of Williamston Inn, said that the Hospice presentation is what made her come.

“My father-in-law might need it down the road,” she said. “Who knows?”

While some were there to learn more, others just had their beliefs concreted.

Beary Friendly

Burke snapping a picture of Vida, Ted and Chief Ambassador Casey Brockway.

“(I) admired hospice, thought it was a great program,” said Burke. “She (Heather) reinforced what I already thought.”

There was also an unusual character spotted at the lunch. He was large, fluffy and named Ted. He was also a teddy bear.

“He’s our photo opportunity guy,” said Vida, who brought the bear.

Ted, and his brother Bill, are two teddy bears hospice is using to advertise for their upcoming event Teddy Bear Tea. Hospice is partnering with Impression 5 Science Center to hold the event to benefit Hospice of Lansing. The event is $7 to attend and will be held at Impression 5 Science Center April 26 from noon to 5 p.m.


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Book Review: Solar Dance, by Modris Eksteins

More from Special to National Post

Solar Dance: Genius, Forgery and the Crisis of Truth in the Modern Age
By Modris Eksteins
Knopf Canada
341 pp; $35

Reviewed by Jeet Heer

Prudent parents who worry about their children taking up artistic careers should avoid reading biographies of Vincent Van Gogh, which will only serve to tie knots in their stomachs. Although the 19th-century Dutch post-Impressionist immeasurably widened the range of human perception with his vibrantly otherworldly colours and quivering thickly hewn brush strokes, only one of Van Gogh’s paintings found a buyer in his lifetime. Van Gogh’s often shaky handle on reality was rattled by his destitution and neglect, which contributed to his suicide at age 37 in 1890. Yet today only the world’s wealthiest people can afford to buy a Van Gogh. In 1990, Portrait of Dr. Gachet, painted in the last year of the artist’s life, sold to a Japanese businessman for US$82.5-million (or more than $144-million in current terms).

The chasm separating Van Gogh’s earthly penury from the posthumous valuation of his work has led more than one painter to conclude that the one sure way to make money is to forge the work of a deceased master. Wyndham Lewis, the great modernist painter and writer, pursued this idea in his 1937 novel The Revenge for Love, which tells the story of an impoverished artist who is reduced to earning money by producing fake Van Goghs.

The painter discovers that “the trick” of mimicking the Dutch genius involves learning a few “formulas,” including painting the pupils of the eyes “as a nest of concentric wedges of greens, reds, blues and yellows, with their apex turned inwards.” Interestingly, The Revenge for Love connects forged paintings to political concerns, finding parallels between the rise of anti-democratic ideologies in the 1930s, particularly those on the left, and the dishonesty in the art world.

Strangely enough, Modris Eksteins does not discuss The Revenge for Love in his brilliant new book Solar Dance: Genius, Forgery and the Crisis of Truth in the Modern Age. This is an odd omission because Eckstein’s deeply researched historical study tells the story of the Van Gogh forgeries that flooded the German art market in the 1920s and the way that the counterfeiting of masterpieces was part and parcel of a larger cultural breakdown that destroyed German democracy, all themes that can be usefully linked to the Lewis novel. The pertinence of The Revenge for Love is tragically ironic because of Lewis’s own sorry record as a fascist sympathizer, something he would later regret and apologize for.

The neglect of Lewis is all the more surprising because Eksteins is among the most erudite and perspicacious of scholars. In explaining the forgeries of the 1920s, he gives us an eye-opening and wide-ranging history of the Van Gogh cult, finding unexpected evidence of the painter’s spectral influence in everything from a novel written by Joseph Goebbels to the childhood of the scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Although Eckstein’s encyclopedic cultural knowledge allows him to roam through many continents and decades, Solar Dance is anchored by the story of Otto Wacker, a shadowy art dealer who amazed collectors and curators of the Weimar Germany by bringing to the market a stockpile of previously unknown Van Goghs. Questioned about the provenance of his mysterious Van Gogh booty, Wacker spun out a colourful yarn about a Russian exile and an oath of secrecy.

A prototypical young man from the provinces in the tradition of Julien Sorel or Jay Gatsby, Wacker was a slippery character with no official background in art and a checkered history as a dancer and habitant of Berlin’s sexual and social underworld. An offspring of a resourceful working-class family that made its money on the outskirts of polite society, Wacker managed through sheer brazen guile to get some of the world’s top Van Gogh experts to certify to the authenticity of his collection. Even when the grand poohbahs of the gallery scene started questioning how so many Van Goghs could suddenly have appeared out of nowhere, Wacker still had his defenders even as he stood trial for his alleged fraud.

The story of Wacker’s unlikely rise and equally quick unravelling makes for compulsive reading, made especially gripping by Eksteins’ sure-handed unfolding of the narrative. A crackerjack archival researcher, Eckstein brings to life not just Wacker but the world that created him and allowed him to briefly thrive. It’s that larger world of early-20th-century European culture, wracked as it was by war and the rise of totalitarianism, that is Eksteins’ real concern. For him, both the lionization of Van Gogh and the forgeries that flourished in the art market are symptomatic of a larger cultural sickness, one that has serious implications for both the past and present.

Eksteins is a major historian and Solar Dance, like everything he writes, deserves a wide and attentive readership. Having said that, I have serious reservations about some of the lessons Eksteins draws from the tale he has so expertly reconstructed, so I want to record a few respectful demurrals and provisos.

The best way to describe Eksteins is to say that he has an associative mind, one that is happy to make connections but doesn’t always bother to prove causation. In his memoir Walking Since Daybreak, he admits to having “doubts about causality and continuity in history.” What this means is that he finds it fruitful not to say that X caused Y but rather that X and Y have deep affinities with each other.

The many parallels Ecksteins draws are often suggestive but also sometimes strain credibility, as when he compares the film director Fritz Lang to Adolph Hitler: “Fritz Lang’s and Adolph Hitler’s first love was painting. Lang personally sold painted postcards in Paris before the war; Hitler did the same in Vienna and Munich. Both became decorated war heroes. After the war, both turned to film. The difference was that Lang stood behind, and Hitler in front of, the camera.” This type of facile comparison can be made about any two disparate figures. What would we say if someone wrote, “Queen Victoria and Jack the Ripper both knew how to get attention and dominate the headlines. They shared a hatred of prostitution. Queen Victoria opposed sex workers by upholding the laws of her nation while Jack the Ripper took the route of killing them.”

A cultural conservative in the European tradition, Eksteins takes a dim view of modern art, seeing it as emblematic of disorder, madness, despair, an idolatry that replaces religion with the cult of the artist, sensationalism and the loss of faith in older and more humane traditions. The son of a Baptist minister, Eksteins has retained some of the severe skepticism many low church Christians have to aesthetic experiences. This dour view of modernism leads Eksteins to over-emphasize the parallels between the art world and noxious political movements like Nazism. There is a smidgen of truth to Eksteins’ perspective: Some of the great modernists did flirt with the darker forces of European politics, Wyndham Lewis being a prime example. But it’s also the case that the Nazis viewed modernism as “degenerate” art and celebrated nostalgic kitsch, very different in spirit and form from the abrasive and challenging works of the great moderns.

More to the point, modernism shouldn’t be caricatured simply as art that wallows in doom and gloom. Many of the great modernists, Van Gogh being chief among them, brought joy to the world by creating works of unprecedented daring, colour, innovation and vitality. Our humanity is enlivened and deepened by Van Gogh’s work, a fact that you can only get a glimmer of in Eksteins’ generally doleful book.

Solar Dance is perhaps best read in conjunction with Hugh Kenner’s classic 1968 book The Counterfeiters, which also examines the connection between modernism and forgery. Unlike Eksteins, Kenner celebrates the modernists for their inventive exuberance and sees the impulse to forge as a strategy for keeping alive human agency in the age of mechanical reproduction. Kenner’s book also contains a fine discussion of Lewis’ The Revenge for Love that Ecksteins would have benefitted from. Taken together, Eksteins and Kenner nicely balance each other out and both are essential guides to the great art of the last two centuries.

• Jeet Heer is co-editor of the forthcoming book “Too Asian?”: Racism, Privilege, and Post-Secondary Education.

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This has 'the fingerprints of al-Qaeda': Masked gunmen assassinate U.S. embassy security chief in Yemen

More from Reuters

Protesters flee as police open file into the air to disperse them outside the U.S. embassy in Sanaa in this September 13, 2012 file photo.

Qassem Aqlan, U.S. embassy security officer, assassinated in Yemen

Masked gunmen killed a Yemeni security official at the U.S. Embassy in a drive-by shooting in the capital Sanaa on Thursday, a security source said, the latest in a wave of assassinations in the Arab state where Washington is battling al-Qaeda militants.

The attackers on a motorcycle opened fire on a car carrying Qassem Aqlan — who headed an embassy security team and had been working there for nearly 20 years — in the centre of Yemen’s capital, the source told Reuters.

“This [assassination] operation has the fingerprints of al-Qaeda, which carried out similar operations before,” said the source who asked not to be named.

The Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and other militant groups strengthened their grip on parts of the country during an uprising that ousted veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh in February.

There have been a number of assassinations attempts, some of them successful, on security officials and politicians since Yemen’s army drove Islamist fighters out of several southern towns earlier this year.

Two weeks ago, a top intelligence official, Col. Abdullah al-Ashwal, was also killed in a drive-by shooting in Sanaa.

Washington, wary of the growing power of al-Qaeda, has stepped up drone strikes on suspected militant positions, with the backing of Saleh’s successor, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Men armed with machine guns and rockets attacked a security checkpoint in Yemen’s southern city of al-Dalea late on Wednesday, injuring two policemen, a local official said on Thursday.

The attackers, whose affiliation was not immediately clear, fled the scene, the official said.

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Why Alex Anthopoulos feels ‘guilty’ about the Blue Jays’ season

More from Bruce Arthur | @bruce_arthur

Toronto Blue Jay GM Alex Anthopoulos  says the season's issues can be traced back to the pitching rotation.

TORONTO — This year, Alex Anthopoulos has seen more Blue Jays hats and shirts and jerseys when he’s driving to work, when he’s walking around. Maybe he’s just noticing them more now, he wonders; no, there are more of them, he thinks. People cared. That’s what gets him, when you get down to it.

“It should kill me,” says the 36-year-old general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, at the end of a second consecutive disastrous season. “It should beat me up. You don’t play well, you deserve it. I could go into how awful it is, and it is, but it’s just taxing. Because you care so much. And it’s not just expectations, but it’s guilt, to be honest with you.

“It’s more the fans, and it sounds corny, and they’ll be rolling their eyes and saying, ‘Save it.’ But you know there’s those people who are supporting and following and there’s an element of pride for them too, and we’re not delivering. So you have this vibrant, passionate fan base, and we didn’t deliver for them. And that’s awful. That’s my responsibility.”

So what now, is the question. This big blue machine was a mess from the start; guys got hurt, guys started slow, guys threw the ball around like it was a live salamander. The problems were everywhere, and the division was the usual gladiator academy, and the result is a team that’s been in last place since R.A. Dickey’s first knuckleball floated off his fingertips, not quite right.

It’s been a disaster, and it feels like there are so many things to fix. But Anthopoulos keeps coming back to two things: the pitchers, and the doctors. Fix those, he figures, and maybe the machine works.

“All those other deficiencies — you can win with those,” says Anthopoulos. “Not to say that they don’t need to be improved, but we had two pretty good winning stretches, and when we won 10 of 13, we pitched. When we won 11 in a row, we pitched. The problem is we need to do it in more than a 25-game span. That rotation has to be consistent. That’s the rock, and that’s the foundation, of any good team.”

And that’s the problem. Josh Johnson imploded, and Brandon Morrow got hurt, and R.A. Dickey got just hurt enough that his knuckleball slowed and floated too often, and J.A. Happ got beaned, and there was no margin for error. The rotation was worse than Houston’s, which takes some doing. It was worse than just about everyone’s. That’s the first thing to fix, and the hardest thing to fix.

“If R.A. Dickey is way better next year, if Buehrle is Buehrle — I know I’m saying if a lot, but I think that’s the position we’re in,” Anthopoulos says.

So if the rotation is strong — easier said than done — I think everything else follows suit

The candidates are Morrow (who may still need surgery to alleviate a compressed radial nerve), then maybe someone acquired in a trade (Anthopoulos still dislikes free agency), then maybe a body or two or three from the grab bag of Drew Hutchison, Kyle Drabek, Todd Redmond, Esmil Rogers, and minor-league guys Marcus Stroman and Sean Nolin. It beats relying on Chien Ming-Wang and Ramon Ortiz, but it’s not a sure thing.

“So if the rotation is strong — easier said than done — I think everything else follows suit, because you’ve got the bullpen, and some dynamic, special bats that some of those other teams don’t have,” Anthopoulos said. “I know people are going to say [the defence needs work, but] defensively if you’re running out [Brett] Lawrie, [Jose] Reyes, [Ryan] Goins or a plus-defender at second, Colby [Rasmus], [Jose] Bautista … and so on …

“We’re back to an extent that the rotation’s the issue, so absolutely we’re back. But we have bodies now. The question is do we have impact starters, and starters who can impact us in the American League East.”

If, if, if. Anthopoulos is back where this team used to live, in a way. He is starting from a better position, with heavier expectations, but it’s a lot like when the Jays needed a lot of coin flips to come up heads.

Mike Carlson/The Associated Press

And Anthopoulos still believes he can deliver. He has to; it’s part of the job. He has gone over his moves from last season, examined them, good and bad; he knows a good decision can be luck as much as anything, so it’s good to know what’s what. Josh Johnson passed all his medical tests before the trade. Dickey (and Lawrie) got hurt at the World Baseball Classic, and Dickey’s velocity and control have returned to normal as the season has gone on. Reyes’s legs held up for 45 games on the home turf, except for that one bizarre slide, which happened in Kansas City anyway. Nobody figured Melky Cabrera would have a benign tumour wrapped up in his spine.

“I still think the process, actually, was right. The thought process was right,” Anthopoulos says. “In this job, you know there are decisions that don’t work out. We wanted to take a step forward and win and be a contending team and be a playoff team, and that hasn’t happened at all this year. And I can’t tell you at all that we can’t be that team next year.

“I think in the long run, if the process is right, you’re going to make 20, 30, 40 decisions over time, and you know you’re not going to go 40 for 40. But if the process is right, in the long run, I think you will come out ahead.

“Now, especially with what happened last year, I’m not going to blow smoke or anything like that. When you have a year like we had this year, people want to be skeptical or doubt, and that comes with the territory. I just don’t feel like it does anybody any good to say, let us convince you. Because we’ll find out when the season comes.”

Yes, we will. Anthopoulos has come a long way in a short time — wunderkind GM, patient foundation builder, big-table poker player, and all it got him this season was six months of watching this flaming car roll into a ditch and never get out. He’s not thinking about his job status, because it does him no good. He’s thinking about pitching and doctors, and trying again.

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Kanye West closes out Pan Am Games — until faulty microphone doesn’t let him finish

West tried in vain for a period of time to overcome the error, before tossing his mic high into the air and letting it smash while he stalked offstage

‘It’s time to make it crystal clear': Potential Toronto Olympic bid drowns out Pan Am Games on closing day

The Pan Am Games drew to a close Sunday in Toronto, but the focus was instead put on a potential bid for the city to host the 2024 Olympic Games

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The Pan Am Games had largely been written off before they began. Nobody wanted them or seemed to care. And then the circus arrived, and the noise drew attention


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UM Alumnus Jay Levy Leads Pisgah High School Students to State’s Top Test Scores

Jay Levy interacts with students in his classroom at Pisgah High School. UM photo by Andrew Abernathy.

OXFORD, Miss. – Coming from a family of teachers, Jay Levy had no doubt about what he wanted to do in life. His determination was so great that a paralyzing car accident couldn’t shake his resolve to become an English teacher.

The accident, during Levy’s junior year of college, left the 2011 University of Mississippi graduate in a wheelchair. But it hasn’t stopped him from achieving his goals or helping his students set new standards.

In his first year of teaching, Levy led his 53 students at Pisgah High School in Brandon to a 98.1 percent pass rate on the English II Subject Area Testing Program. Their scores blew away the Rankin County School District average of 80 percent and the state average of 73 percent, according to new data from the Mississippi Department of Education.

In fact, the Pisgah students’ pass rate is the highest in Mississippi, an honor not often associated with Title I schools, where more than 50 percent of students receive free or reduced lunches and many come from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

“Many people expect our students to perform low on tests,” Levy said. “I don’t adhere to any of those thoughts. At Ole Miss, they were adamant that all students can learn. That’s probably the most important thing I took away from college, and I try to apply that to my own classroom.”With the latest scores, Pisgah High School ranks 47th out of 250 Mississippi schools. The district also ranks 22nd out of 133 districts for the 2011 school year. Pisgah principal Norman Session said that thanks to teachers such as Levy, student achievement is on the rise. Historically, the English II exam has been the most challenging exam for students at Pisgah High School, he said.

Video by Mary Stanton

“Jay handles all aspects of the classroom with professionalism and maturity beyond his years,” Session said. “Over the years, I’ve had more students fail the English II exam than any other. For Jay to produce these results is incredible, especially in his first year. I swear he’s just a natural born teacher.”

As a classroom leader, Levy introduces himself to students on the first day of a new school year with a Power Point presentation about himself. He explains his accident and why he is in a wheelchair, emphasizing that a safety belt can save lives. He’d forgotten to buckle up before the accident, which led to the neck injury that left him paralyzed from the knees down.

Despite his new physical challenges, Levy still graduated on time, taking 21 hours a semester, and completed his student teaching at Lafayette High School in a wheelchair.

“The car wreck was a turning point because life as I knew it would be totally different from then on,” Levy said. “Could I still be a teacher? Would my instruction still be as effective? I grieved a lot until one day, I had a revelation. I was going to go back to school. I was going to be a teacher. I didn’t let it stop me. Now my students don’t even notice I’m in a wheelchair.”

To help his students gain a deeper appreciation for literature ranging from Shakespeare to his favorite novel, John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” Levy searches for ways to relate the material to students’ lives. Projects can range from writing narratives from the perspectives of characters in books to creating Facebook pages for Romeo, Juliet and whole cast of classic characters.

“It’s a way to trick the students into a deeper level of learning,” Levy said. “When you can get them to write from different perspectives within a story, you’re getting them to use a higher level of intellect than just reciting the plot.”

A Madison native, Levy enrolled at Ole Miss in 2007. The UM School of Education is the state’s largest teacher training institution, producing nearly a quarter of Mississippi’s new teacher education graduates each year.

Levy studied secondary education, gaining many insights from Rosemary Oliphant-Ingham, professor of teacher education. In his classroom, Levy still uses one of his mentor’s techniques: At the beginning of every class, he goes around the room and asks students to name the best thing about their day, to create a sense of community.

“Jay was always a very upbeat and positive young man,” Oliphant-Ingham said. “He always made sure he got all the information in class to be the best teacher he could be, and his students’ scores reflect that. He never let his disability come into play and he was a great example that a disability doesn’t mean you cannot accomplish as much as anyone.”

Describing himself as his “own worst critic” during his first year, Levy wasn’t sure if his teaching methods were effective or if he was covering everything correctly. However, when the test results came back with a near-perfect pass rate, he was humbled. He was named teacher of the year at Pisgah in May.

“I’m honored for everything that’s happened,” Levy said. “I hope my students remember their 10th-grade English teacher. I want them to learn about the figurative language and classic literature that we cover but I also want them to take to heart the life lesson that when life throws you lemons sometimes you just have to catch them, squeeze them and make lemonade.”


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The High Tea Company is bringing back the stylish gathering of high tea time. Originally started in the 1830s, high tea is a time for friends to gather and enjoy light food and a selection of teas.

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By Aspiranet
Aspiranet’s Transitional Housing Program offers extended foster care services for youth emancipated from foster care
By Bridge Communities
November 2012 marks the kick off of Bridge Communities' 25th anniversary celebratory year. The celebration began at Sleep Out Saturday and continue with events, programs and stories about Bridge Communities' transitional housing program.
By Consortium Media Services
PODS Moving and Storage of Fresno and 98.9 Soft Rock Radio are partnering for Aspiranet, one of California’s largest providers of transitional foster care programs, to host a donation drive for teens transitioning out of foster care on Oct. 1.

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Carpet of Sand

two pairs of feet on sand

My whole life is about writing stories. Everything I see or do or think is a part of my work. "Carpet of Sand" came to me one morning when I woke up in our small trailer. We had been living there for six months or so, and, as with any home in Tucson, everything was covered with a thick layer of dust. I could see it in the air, particles floating on currents as I breathed, when I moved. I was overcome momentarily with a feeling of helplessness against the elements, and wanted to transfer this feeling to the page.

My objective in "Carpet of Sand" was to present the idea of becoming one with the desert. I wanted to explore the feelings of being in a foreign place over a period of time, and of finally giving in to the demands of time and the land.

Over the course of the project, this theme of alienation has become stronger because I moved far from home. I consider myself a southwestern writer, and this story in particular emphasizes my own bonds with, and struggles against, my homeland. Moving to State College has taught me that many people have never seen the desert. I hope this story captures some of the magnificence of the desert, and adds to an understanding of the west in general.

I began work on this piece two summers ago. Living in the desert, I spent time looking and remembering, trying to capture the landscape in my mind and transcribe it. This act of research continues as I attempt to recall more details through memory and photographs.

"Carpet of Sand" is my attempt to blend my own life with an imagined experience. Many of the details are real, from the description of the barbed wire fence, to getting stuck on top of the waterfall (except it was my father who threatened to leave me there, and I was only 12). My approach to fiction is very much a mixture of life and imagination. For me, the line between fiction and non-fiction is thin, if not non-existent. In The Art of Fiction, Henry James describes this blend, this crossing over of imagination and reality, as follows:

The power to guess the unseen from the seen, to trace the implication of things, to judge the whole piece by the pattern, the condition of feeling life, in general, so completely that you are well on your way to knowing any particular corner of it—this cluster of gifts may almost be said to constitute experience . If experience consists of impressions, it may be said that impressions are experience.

"Carpet of Sand" has been rewritten three times. The original version began with Jolene waking up (the most stereotypical way to begin a story). I had to search for Jolene's history and motivations, in other words I needed to answer the question, "Why today? Why does Jolene lose it today?" The time scale was also off for her walk; it seemed as if she only walked for an hour but she was gone all day. And finally, some of my language was sentimental. Sentiment is good. Sentimental is not.

Stories are never really finished. I can always find a better word, a new way of looking at it. Characters change and grow as I write, sometimes outgrowing the beginnings of their stories. This story represents a stylistic change in my writing. It is the first story I wrote that emphasized setting. I tend to skip over descriptions when I read, hungry for action. This is evident in some of my earlier work, where I had to go back and add a landscape. In "Carpet of Sand," however, the landscape functions as a character, demanding more attention. I feel it is one of my stronger pieces, and that it accomplishes my goal of representing desert life. I am one step closer to finding my voice as an author, that elusive piece of story that is mine alone.

Kat Kleman Davis is an M.F.A. student in English, College of the Liberal Arts. Her advisers are Bill Cobb (814-863-9583; and Charlotte Holmes (865-9126;, both associate professors of English, 116 Burrowes Bldg., University Park PA 16802. This essay is excerpted from her poster presentation at the 2001 Graduate Exhibition.

An Excerpt from "A Carpet of Sand"

Last Updated January 01, 2002


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Cricket Launches Groove Android Phone with Muve Music

The smartphone is now available for $130/€100 outright

US-based carrier Cricket has just announced the immediate availability of the budget-friendly Groove smartphone.

Dubbed, 'Groove from Cricket' the handset comes with support for carrier's Muve Music service and can be purchased starting today via Cricket brick and mortar stores, retailers and online.

According to Cricket, the Groove smartphone is up for sale for a suggested retail price of $130/€100 outright and can be paired with any of the carrier's unlimited music, data, talk and text Android service plans starting at $50/€40 per month.

With Muve Music, Cricket subscribers will have access to unlimited downloads of their preferred music. In addition, they will have access to exclusive artist commentary, music and video through the Muve Music's monthly artist programs.

As we already mentioned, the Groove is powered by Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system, and is likely to stay on this version of the platform until it gets discontinued, due to low hardware configuration.

In this regard, 'Groove from Cricket' is equipped with an 800 MHz single-core processor, 512MB of RAM and 1GB of internal memory, which can be further expanded up to 32GB.

The device is built by Chinese handset maker ZTE and sports a decent 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen display, along with a 1500mAh Li-Ion battery.

On the back, the smartphone packs a 3.2 megapixel photo snapper with LED flash and video recording, while in the front there's a secondary VGA camera for video calls.

Cricket claims the Groove “offers impressive design and is loaded with features not commonly found in a smartphone at this price,” so it's up to Android fans to decide if it's worth it or not.

“Cricket's customers will be excited to experience the Groove with Muve Music, WiFi, tethering, and two cameras. The Groove is the perfect stocking stuffer smartphone or gift companion phone with the features holiday shoppers need to delight their family and friends,” said Matt Stoiber, senior vice president of devices for Cricket.

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Topic: Architecture and Planning Library

Centennial of Battle Hall Features Celebration and Exhibit

Nov. 7, 2011

Event: The Centennial Celebration for historic Battle Hall on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. The event is free and open to the public.

When: 5-8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 11.

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Library Web Site Documents Dallas Architect's Legacy

Dec. 11, 2008

The Architecture and Planning Library at The University of Texas at Austin has launched a Web site that will serve as the authoritative resource for information about an acclaimed Dallas architect and his work.

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Libby Trial: Chris' Big-House Bubba Fantasy

Has Chris Matthews watched one too many episodes of "Oz," the hyper-graphic HBO original series about prison life?

Discussing the Scooter Libby trial on the 7 PM ET edition of this evening's Hardball, Chris spun a sanguine scenario in which Libby, facing the prospect of a long prison sentence in a vulnerable environment, might turn on Vice-President Cheney.

Matthews: "If Scooter's convicted, if you're looking at the number of counts facing him. If that jury really does go to town -- and I hope they're not watching -- and hits him with four or five counts, they add up to big time in some federal penitentiary, not necessarily Allenwood [known as the country club of federal prisons]. Someplace where a guy like Scooter Libby would not be very protected from the fellow prisoners. If he faces 20 years somewhere in maximum security, he's going to think again about his situation, isn't he?"

View video here.

Former special prosecutor Sol Wisenberg dashed Chris' Big House fantasies. "I don't think so. He's not going to face 20 years. It's going to be a guideline sentence, it's probably going to be two to three years, something like that."

Chris tried to keep hope alive: "with all these counts facing him?"

Wisenberg: "Doesn't matter in the guideline system. They cumulate the counts. He'll probably be in a minimum-security camp."

Matthews had to face the disappointing reality: "So he'll be playing tennis somewhere."

Wisenberg drove a final stake into Chris' fondest hopes: "Yeah. I don't think he's going to be the kind of person who's going to flip anyway."

Contact Mark at
Mark Finkelstein
Mark Finkelstein
Mark Finkelstein is a contributing editor for NewsBusters.


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Reading While Eating for December 2: Cheating Hearts and Cheesy Movies

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Tourists walk along a section of the Great Wall shrouded in mist at Simatai, located in the outskirts of Beijing December 1, 2010.

REUTERS/David Gray

Thursday’s links get sporty, then get even.

Jewish Jingles: Sure, there’s Adam Sandler’s silly tune. But are there any other Hanukkah songs that are actually good? (The Atlantic)

Philandering Philosophy: Why are there so many athlete-infidelity stories in the press these days? Some experts say the obvious — athletes, told they’re talented their whole lives, think they deserve to cheat. (ESPN)

Crazy Couple: Get to know Randi and Evi Quaid, known as a Hollywood twosome on the run from the law. They swear a group of Hollywood murderers are after them. NewsFeed thinks they need a reality check. (Vanity Fair)

Mobile Music: Your neighborhood garage band doesn’t even need a camcorder to make a great music video. Check out 10 great music videos shot only on an iPhone. (Mashable)

Reel Revenge: How do you really tell off a cheating ex? Mess with her Netflix recommendations. (The Daily What)

Pigskin Photos: Football season is heating up. To get your fix before the weekend, check out these stunning in-game photos. (LIFE)

Elsewhere on Read and listen to TIME’s exclusive interview with WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange.

Must See: The hottest movie ticket this year? Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus, featuring Jaleel White of Steve Urkel fame. (via Vulture)

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Former Obama Ambassador Joins 2012 Presidential Race

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NEW JERSEY — Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, who served as an Ambassador for the Obama administration, announced his candidacy for president of the United States today in Liberty State Park, N.J., the same location Ronald Reagan announced his candidacy in 1980.

“For the first time in our history, we are passing down to the next generation a country that is less powerful, less compassionate, less competitive and less confident than the one we got,”  Huntsman said. “This, ladies and gentlemen, is totally unacceptable and totally un-American.”

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Despite working in the Obama administration, Huntsman says he and the president have “a difference of opinion on how to help the country [they] both love.”

President Obama‘s chief campaign strategist David Axelrod said that he was “surprised” by Huntsman’s bid for president, but added he certainly takes his candidacy seriously.

The Huffington Post Reports:

In large part, Huntsman has attempted to distance himself from the president amid recent speculation about his plans for 2012. Obama, however, has made light of the prospect that his former ambassador could run against him in the next election cycle.

“I’m sure the fact that him having worked so well with me will be a great asset in any Republican primary,” the president joked earlier this year.

In an email to his supporters Huntsman addressed his presidential aspiration.

“I’ve recently had the honor of serving as U.S. Ambassador to China. That view of America from 10,000 miles away is a picture of liberty, opportunity and justice; people secure in their rights and in love with their freedom, who’ve done more good for more people than any other nation in history,” he said.

“Perhaps our strength at home has waned, but that perspective from afar has helped me see a path back to greatness.”

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Murphysboro, Illinois Newspaper Archives (1923 - 1949)

Explore Murphysboro History and Genealogy from the World's Leading Online Newspaper Resource!

Let us help you discover the stories of the past! The goal of Newspaper Archives is to make your genealogical journey as straightforward as possible. Our user-friendly interface allows genealogists to search for documentation by the city, making it a powerful resource to sift through this massive collection of more than 2 billion newspaper records to locate details for family trees. Access Murphysboro newspaper archives to discover details of your ancestors’ past. The Murphysboro archives range from 1923 to 1949, cataloging an array of stories about the local community and those who lived within it. Start exploring this invaluable information today and learn more about the lives of your ancestors

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Research your ancestors and family tree, historical events, famous people and so much more!

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Explore Murphysboro, Illinois Historical Newspapers Archives

Find historical Murphysboro records using Newspaper Archives. Offering an impressive display of genealogical pages, Newspaper Archives provides a remarkable and convenient way to piece together family trees. Connect the dots by discovering what important life events took place in this specific community, such as births, marriages and deaths. Pick your way through the public records of Murphysboro to find copies of announcements, obituaries, military records, published historical photos and more! Whether you already know that your ancestors were from Murphysboro, or you are stumbling across this area in your research, Newspaper Archives is an invaluable tool – key for educating yourself and your loved ones about your genealogy! Start browsing the archives today! What will you discover?

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1923 World Series

1923 World Series Program

1923 World Series Program

After 22 seasons of play, the New York Yankees won their first World Series title in 1923 under manager Miller Huggins. The Yankees won the American League pennant in 1923 with a 98-54 record, 16 games ahead of the second place team Detroit Tigers. The Yankees were led of course by the Bambino, Babe Ruth. Ruth slugged 41 Homeruns in 1923. The league average was 55 HRs per TEAM! Ruth also batted .393 with 131 RBIs. Ruth was aided by Wally Pipp who hit .304, Bob Meusel who hit .313 and Whiey Witt who hit .314. Sad Sam Jones led the Yankees in Pitching with 21 wins, Bullet Joe Bush has 19 wins, Herb Pennock had 19 wins, Waite Hoyt had 17 wins and Bob Shawkey had 16 wins.

The Yankees would face their rivals from across the Harlem River and National League Pennant winners, the New York Giants led by manager John McGraw. The Yankees and Giants had shared the Polo Grounds for several years but after the Yankees started getting higher attendance at their games, the Giants asked them to move. They built their new stadium in the Bronx, across the Harlem River from the Polo Gounds. 1923 was the inaugural season for Yankee Stadium. The Yankees and Giants had met in the previous 2 World Series in 1921 and 1922 with the Giants winning both Series.

1923 World Series - The Polo Grounds
The New York Giants won the first game of the 1923 World Series at Yankee Stadium by a score of 5-4. The Yankees took a 3-0 lead into the 3rd inning but the Giants scored 4 runs in the top of the 3rd to take the lead. The score remained that way until the bottom of the 7th when Joe Dugan tripled to score Joe Bush. With the score tied 4-4, the Giants scored in the top of the ninth when Casey Stengel hit an inside the park home run to center field. The Yankees failed to score in the bottom of the 9th to make the final score Giants 5, Yankees 4. The Winning pitcher was Rosy Ryan and the loser was Joe Bush. Casey Stengel hit the only HR of the game.

Game 2 of the 1923 World Series was played at the Polo Grounds. Both teams scored a run in the 2nd inning. Aaron Ward hit a Home Run for the Yankees and I. Meusel followed up with a home run himself in the bottom of the inning for the Giants. Babe Ruth Homered in the Top of the 4th for the Yankees and Wally Pipp scored later in the inning off a single from Everett Scott. Babe Ruth homered again in the top of the 5th inning to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead. The Giants scored 1 run in the bottom of the 6th inning when Groh Scored off a single by R. Youngs to make the score 4-2. That is how the scored ended with the Yankees winning by a score of 4-2. Pitcher Herb Pennock got the win for the Yankees and Hugh McQuillan took the loss. Babe Ruth hit 2 HRs, Aaron Ward hit one and Meusel hit one for the Giants.

The Giants won game 3 of the 1923 World Series at Yankees Stadium by a score of 1-0. Casey Stengel hit a solo Home Run off of pitcher Sad Sam Jones in the top of the 7th inning to give the Giants a 1-0 lead that would hold up to give the Giants a 2-1 series lead. Art Nehf pitched a 4 hit shut out for the Giants to take the win and Sam Jones gave up only that 1 run but it was enough to cost him and the Yankees the game.

Game 4 of the 1923 World Series was back at the Polo Grounds where the Yankees jumped out on the Giants early when they scored 6 runs in the top of the 2nd inning. They added single runs in the top of the 3rd and 4th inning to take a commanding 8-0 lead. They would hold on to win the game by a score of 8-4. The winning pitcher was Bob Shawkey and the loser was Jack Scott. Herb Pennock got the save. Ross Youngs of the Giants hit the only home run of the game.

With the Series tied at 2 a piece, the teams returned to Yankee Stadium for game 5. The Yankees scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 1st and 4 more in the bottom of the 2nd to take a commanding 7-0 lead. They would hold on to win the game by a final score of 8-1. The Winning pitcher as Bullet Joe Bush and loser was Jack Bentley. Joe Dugan of the Yankees hit the only Home Run of the game.

The teams returned to the Polo Grounds for game 6 of the 1923 World Series with the Yankees up 3 games to 2. Both teams scored in the 1st inning. Babe Ruth hit a home Run in the fist inning and the Giants responded when Russ Youngs singled in Heinie Groh. The Giants scored single runs in the 4th, 5th and 6th inning to take a 4-1 lead but the Yankees responded in the top of 8th inning by scoring 5 runs. The Giants could do no more damage and the Yankees took the game 6-4 and the Series 4-2.

In the end, the Yankees solid pitching and timely hitting was just too much for the rivals from across the river. The New York Yankees had won their first World Series but it was only the beginning for this storied franchise.

1923 World Series

Fans Entering the gates at Yankee Stadium for the 1923 World Series

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John Singer SARGENT | Sir Frank Swettenham

SARGENT, John Singer
Italy 1856 – England 1925
France and USA 1874-90, England from 1890, with regular visits to France, Italy and USA
Sir Frank Swettenham 1904
oil on canvas
259.0 (h) x 143.0 (w) cm
Singapore History Museum

Frank Athelstane Swettenham (1850–1946) was an outstandingly able and effective colonial administrator, ending his career as Governor of the Straits Colony and High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States. In this portrait, commissioned by the Straits Association in commemoration of Swettenham’s service, Sargent presented his subject as a proud and powerful consul. Sargent’s attention to the finery of his subject’s clothes and possessions draws attention to his position as a colonial administrator.

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Wolf Portrait

Category: Nature

Photo and caption by Jesse Schpakowski

I was out one evening when I came across two wolves. The one wolf kept his distance and the other smaller wolf was very curious, he approached me and stayed with me for a little while. It was the most amazing wildlife encounter I have ever had. Here is a portrait of that wolf from that evening.

Location: Spray Lakes, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada

More Nature Entries »

  1. Catch of the Day

    By Brenda Stevens

  2. Floating on Calm Water

    By Gian Luigi Fornari Lanzetti

  3. Green Rice Paddies of Ubud

    By Chris Fries