text:
Monthly Archives: December 2009

Raphael Vineayrds 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Grand Cru

This wine was given to me when I visited Raphael back in the summer, and it took me this long to open the bottle.  Richard Olsen-Harbich gave this to me on my way out.  I have been meaning to open … Continue reading

Posted in Long Island | 2 Comments

Wine Blogging Wednesday #64 “Viognier & Chrsitmas Cards””

When this Wine Blogging Wednesday was announced by Jeff “El Jefe” Stai from Twisted Oaks Winery, I was excited.  Here is what our mission was: This month’s theme naturally involves the holidays, but as you might expect there is a little … Continue reading

Posted in Long Island, Notes, Pindar, Wine Blogging Wednesday | 1 Comment

What to get that wine lover…at the last minute

Are you still running around trying to get a few last minuet gifts?   Not sure, what size Uncle Jack is, forgot what color AUnt Suzie hates,  or you just don’t know what to get your brother.  Well, this  gift is … Continue reading

Posted in Long Island | Leave a comment

Shinn Estate Vineyards 2005 Nine Barrels Reserve Merlot

Recently I was elected to the Position of President of the Medford Chamber of Commerce.  I was asked on twitter what my celebratory wine would be.  I really had to think.  It was easy to go to a desert wine after the meeting.  … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Channing Daughters 2008 “Ramato”

Channing Daughters, located on the south fork of Long Island in the town of Bridgehampton.   It is usually overlooked by me because it is on the “other fork”.   In fact I have a tendency to ignore the vineyards and wineries of … Continue reading

Posted in Channing Daughters, Long Island, Orange Wine, Pinot Grigio | 3 Comments

Martha Clara 2008 Gewurztraminer Short Sip

Gewürztraminer is one of my favorite white grape.  I love the spicy element and the honey like aroma that comes from this wine.  I also love it when it is in a desert wine.  It is a very difficult wine … Continue reading

Posted in Long Island | 2 Comments

There has been alot happening…Mr. President & Daddy!

in my world.  So much so that I have not been able to keep you updated on my wine undertakings.  But rest assured, I am making my way back…in the meanwhile here are the things that I have been undertaking … Continue reading

Posted in Long Island | 2 Comments

A visit with Scarola Vineyards own Frank Scarola

A few weeks ago,  I spent some time out in wine country, visiting a few vineyards tasting some new releases and enjoying the bounty that the North Fork has to offer. One such place I had scheduled to visit was … Continue reading

Posted in Long Island, Scarola Vineyards, Winery Visit | 1 Comment

Shinn Estate Vineyards 2007 “Rebellion” Estate Merlot

Rebellion, according to Wikipedia, “is a refusal of obedience or order”. Rebellion according to this bottle is, grapes that wildly fermented with indigenous yeast. This is a natural type of wine.  Nothing added (except sulphur at the crush pad organic nutrients during … Continue reading

Posted in Long Island, Merlot, Shinn Estate Vieyard | Leave a comment


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

WARC-Type: response

text:
Posts Tagged 'Simon Wren-Lewis'

Forget the Monetary Base and Just Pay Attention to the Price Level

Kudos to David Beckworth for eliciting a welcome concession or clarification from Paul Krugman that monetary policy is not necessarily ineffectual at the zero lower bound. The clarification is welcome because Krugman and Simon Wren Lewis seemed to be making a big deal about insisting that monetary policy at the zero lower bound is useless if it affects only the current, but not the future, money supply, and touting the discovery as if it were a point that was not already well understood.

Now it’s true that Krugman is entitled to take credit for having come up with an elegant way of showing the difference between a permanent and a temporary increase in the monetary base, but it’s a point that, WADR, was understood even before Krugman. See, for example, the discussion in chapter 5 of Jack Hirshleifer’s textbook on capital theory (published in 1970), Investment, Interest and Capital, showing that the Fisher equation follows straightforwardly in an intertemporal equilibrium model, so that the nominal interest rate can be decomposed into a real component and an expected-inflation component. If holding money is costless, then the nominal rate of interest cannot be negative, and expected deflation cannot exceed the equilibrium real rate of interest. This implies that, at the zero lower bound, the current price level cannot be raised without raising the future price level proportionately. That is all Krugman was saying in asserting that monetary policy is ineffective at the zero lower bound, even though he couched the analysis in terms of the current and future money supplies rather than in terms of the current and future price levels. But the entire argument is implicit in the Fisher equation. And contrary to Krugman, the IS-LM model (with which I am certainly willing to coexist) offers no unique insight into this proposition; it would be remarkable if it did, because the IS-LM model in essence is a static model that has to be re-engineered to be used in an intertemporal setting.

Here is how Hirshleifer concludes his discussion:

The simple two-period model of choice between dated consumptive goods and dated real liquidities has been shown to be sufficiently comprehensive as to display both the quantity theorists’ and the Keynesian theorists’ predicted results consequent upon “changes in the money supply.” The seeming contradiction is resolved by noting that one result or the other follows, or possibly some mixture of the two, depending upon the precise meaning of the phrase “changes in the quantity of money.” More exactly, the result follows from the assumption made about changes in the time-distributed endowments of money and consumption goods.  pp. 150-51

Another passage from Hirshleifer is also worth quoting:

Imagine a financial “panic.” Current money is very scarce relative to future money – and so monetary interest rates are very high. The monetary authorities might then provide an increment [to the money stock] while announcing that an equal aggregate amount of money would be retired at some date thereafter. Such a change making current money relatively more plentiful (or less scarce) than before in comparison with future money, would clearly tend to reduce the monetary rate of interest. (p. 149)

In this passage Hirshleifer accurately describes the objective of Fed policy since the crisis: provide as much liquidity as needed to prevent a panic, but without even trying to generate a substantial increase in aggregate demand by increasing inflation or expected inflation. The refusal to increase aggregate demand was implicit in the Fed’s refusal to increase its inflation target.

However, I do want to make explicit a point of disagreement between me and Hirshleifer, Krugman and Beckworth. The point is more conceptual than analytical, by which I mean that although the analysis of monetary policy can formally be carried out either in terms of current and future money supplies, as Hirshleifer, Krugman and Beckworth do, or in terms of price levels, as I prefer to do so in terms of price levels. For one thing, reasoning in terms of price levels immediately puts you in the framework of the Fisher equation, while thinking in terms of current and future money supplies puts you in the framework of the quantity theory, which I always prefer to avoid.

The problem with the quantity theory framework is that it assumes that quantity of money is a policy variable over which a monetary authority can exercise effective control, a mistake — imprinted in our economic intuition by two or three centuries of quantity-theorizing, regrettably reinforced in the second-half of the twentieth century by the preposterous theoretical detour of monomaniacal Friedmanian Monetarism, as if there were no such thing as an identification problem. Thus, to analyze monetary policy by doing thought experiments that change the quantity of money is likely to mislead or confuse.

I can’t think of an effective monetary policy that was ever implemented by targeting a monetary aggregate. The optimal time path of a monetary aggregate can never be specified in advance, so that trying to target any monetary aggregate will inevitably fail, thereby undermining the credibility of the monetary authority. Effective monetary policies have instead tried to target some nominal price while allowing monetary aggregates to adjust automatically given that price. Sometimes the price being targeted has been the conversion price of money into a real asset, as was the case under the gold standard, or an exchange rate between one currency and another, as the Swiss National Bank is now doing with the franc/euro exchange rate. Monetary policies aimed at stabilizing a single price are easy to implement and can therefore be highly credible, but they are vulnerable to sudden changes with highly deflationary or inflationary implications. Nineteenth century bimetallism was an attempt to avoid or at least mitigate such risks. We now prefer inflation targeting, but we have learned (or at least we should have) from the Fed’s focus on inflation in 2008 that inflation targeting can also lead to disastrous consequences.

I emphasize the distinction between targeting monetary aggregates and targeting the price level, because David Beckworth in his post is so focused on showing 1) that the expansion of the Fed’s balance sheet under QE has been temoprary and 2) that to have been effective in raising aggregate demand at the zero lower bound, the increase in the monetary base needed to be permanent. And I say: both of the facts cited by David are implied by the fact that the Fed did not raise its inflation target or, preferably, replace its inflation target with a sufficiently high price-level target. With a higher inflation target or a suitable price-level target, the monetary base would have taken care of itself.

PS If your name is Scott Sumner, you have my permission to insert “NGDP” wherever “price level” appears in this post.

Explaining the Hegemony of New Classical Economics

Simon Wren-Lewis, Robert Waldmann, and Paul Krugman have all recently devoted additional space to explaining – ruefully, for the most part – how it came about that New Classical Economics took over mainstream macroeconomics just about half a century after the Keynesian Revolution. And Mark Thoma got them all started by a complaint about the sorry state of modern macroeconomics and its failure to prevent or to cure the Little Depression.

Wren-Lewis believes that the main problem with modern macro is too much of a good thing, the good thing being microfoundations. Those microfoundations, in Wren-Lewis’s rendering, filled certain gaps in the ad hoc Keynesian expenditure functions. Although the gaps were not as serious as the New Classical School believed, adding an explicit model of intertemporal expenditure plans derived from optimization conditions and rational expectations, was, in Wren-Lewis’s estimation, an improvement on the old Keynesian theory. The improvements could have been easily assimilated into the old Keynesian theory, but weren’t because New Classicals wanted to junk, not improve, the received Keynesian theory.

Wren-Lewis believes that it is actually possible for the progeny of Keynes and the progeny of Fisher to coexist harmoniously, and despite his discomfort with the anti-Keynesian bias of modern macroeconomics, he views the current macroeconomic research program as progressive. By progressive, I interpret him to mean that macroeconomics is still generating new theoretical problems to investigate, and that attempts to solve those problems are producing a stream of interesting and useful publications – interesting and useful, that is, to other economists doing macroeconomic research. Whether the problems and their solutions are useful to anyone else is perhaps not quite so clear. But even if interest in modern macroeconomics is largely confined to practitioners of modern macroeconomics, that fact alone would not conclusively show that the research program in which they are engaged is not progressive, the progressiveness of the research program requiring no more than a sufficient number of self-selecting econ grad students, and a willingness of university departments and sources of research funding to cater to the idiosyncratic tastes of modern macroeconomists.

Robert Waldmann, unsurprisingly, takes a rather less charitable view of modern macroeconomics, focusing on its failure to discover any new, previously unknown, empirical facts about macroeconomic, or to better explain known facts than do alternative models, e.g., by more accurately predicting observed macro time-series data. By that, admittedly, demanding criterion, Waldmann finds nothing progressive in the modern macroeconomics research program.

Paul Krugman weighed in by emphasizing not only the ideological agenda behind the New Classical Revolution, but the self-interest of those involved:

Well, while the explicit message of such manifestos is intellectual – this is the only valid way to do macroeconomics – there’s also an implicit message: from now on, only my students and disciples will get jobs at good schools and publish in major journals/ And that, to an important extent, is exactly what happened; Ken Rogoff wrote about the “scars of not being able to publish stick-price papers during the years of new classical repression.” As time went on and members of the clique made up an ever-growing share of senior faculty and journal editors, the clique’s dominance became self-perpetuating – and impervious to intellectual failure.

I don’t disagree that there has been intellectual repression, and that this has made professional advancement difficult for those who don’t subscribe to the reigning macroeconomic orthodoxy, but I think that the story is more complicated than Krugman suggests. The reason I say that is because I cannot believe that the top-ranking economics departments at schools like MIT, Harvard, UC Berkeley, Princeton, and Penn, and other supposed bastions of saltwater thinking have bought into the underlying New Classical ideology. Nevertheless, microfounded DSGE models have become de rigueur for any serious academic macroeconomic theorizing, not only in the Journal of Political Economy (Chicago), but in the Quarterly Journal of Economics (Harvard), the Review of Economics and Statistics (MIT), and the American Economic Review. New Keynesians, like Simon Wren-Lewis, have made their peace with the new order, and old Keynesians have been relegated to the periphery, unable to publish in the journals that matter without observing the generally accepted (even by those who don’t subscribe to New Classical ideology) conventions of proper macroeconomic discourse.

So I don’t think that Krugman’s ideology plus self-interest story fully explains how the New Classical hegemony was achieved. What I think is missing from his story is the spurious methodological requirement of microfoundations foisted on macroeconomists in the course of the 1970s. I have discussed microfoundations in a number of earlier posts (here, here, here, here, and here) so I will try, possibly in vain, not to repeat myself too much.

The importance and desirability of microfoundations were never questioned. What, after all, was the neoclassical synthesis, if not an attempt, partly successful and partly unsuccessful, to integrate monetary theory with value theory, or macroeconomics with microeconomics? But in the early 1970s the focus of attempts, notably in the 1970 Phelps volume, to provide microfoundations changed from embedding the Keynesian system in a general-equilibrium framework, as Patinkin had done, to providing an explicit microeconomic rationale for the Keynesian idea that the labor market could not be cleared via wage adjustments.

In chapter 19 of the General Theory, Keynes struggled to come up with a convincing general explanation for the failure of nominal-wage reductions to clear the labor market. Instead, he offered an assortment of seemingly ad hoc arguments about why nominal-wage adjustments would not succeed in reducing unemployment, enabling all workers willing to work at the prevailing wage to find employment at that wage. This forced Keynesians into the awkward position of relying on an argument — wages tend to be sticky, especially in the downward direction — that was not really different from one used by the “Classical Economists” excoriated by Keynes to explain high unemployment: that rigidities in the price system – often politically imposed rigidities – prevented wage and price adjustments from equilibrating demand with supply in the textbook fashion.

These early attempts at providing microfoundations were largely exercises in applied price theory, explaining why self-interested behavior by rational workers and employers lacking perfect information about all potential jobs and all potential workers would not result in immediate price adjustments that would enable all workers to find employment at a uniform market-clearing wage. Although these largely search-theoretic models led to a more sophisticated and nuanced understanding of labor-market dynamics than economists had previously had, the models ultimately did not provide a fully satisfactory account of cyclical unemployment. But the goal of microfoundations was to explain a certain set of phenomena in the labor market that had not been seriously investigated, in the hope that price and wage stickiness could be analyzed as an economic phenomenon rather than being arbitrarily introduced into models as an ad hoc, albeit seemingly plausible, assumption.

But instead of pursuing microfoundations as an explanatory strategy, the New Classicals chose to impose it as a methodological prerequisite. A macroeconomic model was inadmissible unless it could be explicitly and formally derived from the optimizing choices of fully rational agents. Instead of trying to enrich and potentially transform the Keynesian model with a deeper analysis and understanding of the incentives and constraints under which workers and employers make decisions, the New Classicals used microfoundations as a methodological tool by which to delegitimize Keynesian models, those models being insufficiently or improperly microfounded. Instead of using microfoundations as a method by which to make macroeconomic models conform more closely to the imperfect and limited informational resources available to actual employers deciding to hire or fire employees, and actual workers deciding to accept or reject employment opportunities, the New Classicals chose to use microfoundations as a methodological justification for the extreme unrealism of the rational-expectations assumption, portraying it as nothing more than the consistent application of the rationality postulate underlying standard neoclassical price theory.

For the New Classicals, microfoundations became a reductionist crusade. There is only one kind of economics, and it is not macroeconomics. Even the idea that there could be a conceptual distinction between micro and macroeconomics was unacceptable to Robert Lucas, just as the idea that there is, or could be, a mind not reducible to the brain is unacceptable to some deranged neuroscientists. No science, not even chemistry, has been reduced to physics. Were it ever to be accomplished, the reduction of chemistry to physics would be a great scientific achievement. Some parts of chemistry have been reduced to physics, which is a good thing, especially when doing so actually enhances our understanding of the chemical process and results in an improved, or more exact, restatement of the relevant chemical laws. But it would be absurd and preposterous simply to reject, on supposed methodological principle, those parts of chemistry that have not been reduced to physics. And how much more absurd would it be to reject higher-level sciences, like biology and ecology, for no other reason than that they have not been reduced to physics.

But reductionism is what modern macroeconomics, under the New Classical hegemony, insists on. No exceptions allowed; don’t even ask. Meekly and unreflectively, modern macroeconomics has succumbed to the absurd and arrogant methodological authoritarianism of the New Classical Revolution. What an embarrassment.

UPDATE (11:43 AM EDST): I made some minor editorial revisions to eliminate some grammatical errors and misplaced or superfluous words.

About Me

David Glasner
Washington, DC

I am an economist in the Washington DC area. My research and writing has been mostly on monetary economics and policy and the history of economics. In my book Free Banking and Monetary Reform, I argued for a non-Monetarist non-Keynesian approach to monetary policy, based on a theory of a competitive supply of money. Over the years, I have become increasingly impressed by the similarities between my approach and that of R. G. Hawtrey and hope to bring Hawtrey's unduly neglected contributions to the attention of a wider audience.

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,975 other followers

Follow Uneasy Money on WordPress.com

warcinfo:
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2019-13
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for March 2019
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-143-92-167.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.15 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 0.11-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

text:
The saintly life of St. Maria Goretti

Today marks the beautiful feast of St. Maria Goretti, patron saint of teenage girls, rape victims, and chastity.

Maria was canonized in 1950 after having died at age 12 in 1902. Born in Italy, she was working in the fields when a young man in the neighborhood, Alessandro, pursued her and made advancements on her.

She refused with all her might. Angered after she fled him once, Alessandro stabbed her seventeen times. She died the next day after enduring a night of tortuous pain.

Somewhere during the last hours of her life, she offered forgiveness to the man who had done this unthinkable crime.

It was years later before Alessandro finally repented. Moved by the holiness, selflessness, charity, and forgiveness of Maria, he converted to faith in the One in whom she believed.

Alessandro attended the canonization of St. Maria Goretti in 1950 a firm believer in Christ, a fully contrite murderer, and a proud member of the Catholic Church.

Today is a fitting day to pray for any young women we know. Let us entrust them to the care of St. Maria Goretti.


text:
BTC: $3,959.57 -1.42%
ETH: $134.38 -1.60%
XRP: $0.30396 -1.61%
MARKETCAP: $137,640,058,054
24H VOL: $32,622,494,146
BTC: 51%

Bitcoin Association Goes Live, But Actually Promotes Bitcoin SV

Bitcoin (2)

A new Bitcoin home page is now on the web. The Bitcoin Association has been launched as a rebranding of its precursor, the bComm Association. However, the group by any name has very close ties to Bitcoin SV, and the end result is a website that represents Bitcoin much less than one might expect it to. From Twitter:

Bitcoin vs. Bitcoin SV

Despite what its name might suggest, the Bitcoin Association is actually exclusively concerned with Bitcoin SV (BSV), an altcoin that was created during last year’s contentious Bitcoin Cash hard fork. That said, Bitcoin Cash itself is controversial, and there are now three different factions fighting to be recognized as—and look like—the real Bitcoin.

Of course, to those who support Bitcoin SV, the resemblance is well-deserved. Bitcoin SV’s entire existence rests on the hotly contested idea that it represents the original vision of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. This idea has also influenced the coin’s marketing in the past: in January, Bitcoin SV abandoned its distinctive dragon logo and took on a trademark very similar to Bitcoin’s own logo.

The real issue, however, is that easily conflated coins could mislead new Bitcoin investors. Although Bitcoin SV has its share of supporters, it isn’t equivalent to Bitcoin as far as investment or real-world usage is concerned. Exchanges like Coinbase are still warming up to Bitcoin SV slowly, and relatively few locations accept the coin as payment.

The Real Bitcoin

Although the Bitcoin Association’s bait-and-switch promotion of Bitcoin SV may seem questionable, has also employed a similar technique. currently recommends Bitcoin Cash (BCH) over Bitcoin during its buying process, which has generated plenty of controversy.

Meanwhile, really is dedicated to Bitcoin (BTC)—or Bitcoin Core, as it is commonly called. The site also acknowledges that it is not “Bitcoin’s official website,” and that it has changed ownership over the years. It even states that nobody can officially represent Bitcoin, although that is unlikely to put an end to the debate.

It seems that, since “Bitcoin” is not trademarked, different groups can obtain Bitcoin-related names and websites quite easily. Incidentally, someone has just snagged from Google’s new top-level domain, meaning that another Bitcoin site could soon be unleashed upon the world—assuming that someone bought the domain with the intent to use it, that is.

Join the NEW Unhashed Telegram or Follow Unhashed on Twitter for the Latest Cryptocurrency News Updates!

Bitcoin Bitcoin $3,959.57 -1.42%
Ethereum Ethereum $134.38 -1.60%
XRP XRP $0.30 -1.61%
Litecoin Litecoin $59.47 -0.60%
EOS EOS $3.66 +0.41%

Subscribe for the latest cryptocurrency news

Please enter a valid email address.
Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.

More Crypto News

Best Tether Wallets in 2019

January 14, 2019

Tether (USDT), the world’s most popular stablecoin, is designed to give users the stability of…

The 5 Best Stellar Wallets In 2019

January 3, 2019

Stellar and its XLM token were first launched in 2014 by Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb.…

Best Bitcoin Cash Wallets in 2019: Picking a Bitcoin Cash Wallet for Your Needs

December 6, 2018

Bitcoin Cash (BCH), the controversial project forked from the original Bitcoin client, is now the…

Subscribe for the latest cryptocurrency news

Please enter a valid email address.
Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.
Scroll Up


text:
UK Visa Update

June 4, 2009 by
Filed under Study Abroad

Message from the BC – 4 June 2009

The PBS Tier 4 visa application system was launched at the end of March. We have worked closely with the visa section in providing the new information and guidelines to agents and students, but we are unfortunately faced with a disproportionately high rejection rate for visa applications.

We have dealt with this case as promptly as possible with the visa section at the British Embassy. Here are the immediate first steps we are taking to try and solve this problem:

1. Checklist for a visa letter

As the main reason given for visa rejection is the visa letter itself, the visa section has prepared for us a checklist for the provision of a visa letter with information on specific errors which have occurred. Please see the two files attached for further information. The key message from the visa section is that documents all need to be in order and meet the clear criteria. The Embassy is no longer allowed to use discretion in making decisions. If the documents do not provide the exact information needed then the application will be rejected.

2. Pre-sessional courses

For Thai students going to study for a pre-sessional course and who have had their visas rejected due to the wrong visa letter being submitted by UK institutions, we understand that it will be too late for them to re-apply and wait for another two weeks for the visa.

On discussion with the visa section, it is recommended that the students re-apply immediately. The visa section has agreed with the British Council in Thailand to process these applications quickly if the students mention to the VFS the dates for the beginning of the course, and ask VFS to attach a note to their second application stating the immediacy of the course date.

IELTS Listening Tip

June 4, 2009 by
Filed under IELTS

IELTS Listening Tip: Practice

The IELTS Listening test comes first, and many candidates find it a hard, sometime even discouraging, way to get started. The IELTS Listening task tests a diverse range of skills.

There are many ways to prepare for this portion of the IELTS exam. For starters, there are many practice tapes and CD sets on the commercial market. While all of them are helpful to some degree, the one thing you can be sure of is that none of them will be the IELTS Listening test you take.
The good news is that the best ways to practice IELTS Listening skills are available free
or at low cost. They’re also more fun. They are radio, TV, and movies!
If you have access to an English-language radio or TV station, listen to it as often as
possible. The benefits are many….

Get this whole IELTS  Tip and many more for free here

Dissertation Thesis Help

June 3, 2009 by
Filed under Online Study Aids

Complete your dissertation with the professional help and assistance of UniRoute.

Did you know that the number-one reason students fail their Master’s degree is because they do not complete their dissertation?

Is dissertation writing an obstacle for you?
Have you chosen your topic? Is it ‘do-able’?
Are you frightened of undertaking a quantitative study?
Are you frustrated with your supervisor?
Do you need assistance with your review of the literature?

Maybe you’re sitting and staring at your dissertation in bewilderment. Or are you just wondering how and where to begin? Perhaps you’re just in need of a touch of inspiration, or you simply require support to make your dissertation exceptional.

Whatever your circumstances – UniRoute can help

Working with UniRoute – What we will do:

– Help you understand the purpose of a dissertation, the importance of working effectively with your supervisor and the challenge of managing your study time effectively
– Help you to select a suitable topic, with due attention to methodology and related theory
– Assist you with structuring and writing up the dissertation effectively, thinking critically and writing with accuracy and style
– Ensure that your data analysis is carried out correctly, using a suitable methodology
Proofread your work

What we won’t do:
– Write your dissertation for you!

Please contact UniRoute to discuss your individual requirements.

UK immigration process for student Visas

May 26, 2009 by
Filed under Study Abroad

These notes are provided for information only

The new rules will apply to any application for a student visa or student visa extension which is received on or after 31 March 2009.

New rules for Adult Student visas (for applications on/after 31 March 2009)
Accreditation [=checking that the quality of the education and facilities provided by a school is above a minimum standard]
You can only study at a school, college or university whose quality has been accredited by one of these approved agencies:
British Council (through Accreditation UK): accredits English language schools. See:
BAC (the British Accreditation Council): accredits private schools which do not mainly teach English language courses. See:
ASIC (the Accreditation Service for International Colleges): accredits private schools. See:
Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills): accredits mainly schools which are paid for using UK government money (where many British students will also be studying). See:

The school also needs to have a UK Border Agency Sponsors’ Licence. If the Home Office takes away this licence from a school it will not be able to recruit any new international students from outside the EU (so it may close).
A list of licensed schools will be published on the website of the Home Office’s UK Border Agency:

[previously it was possible to obtain a visa for a school which was not accredited but which appeared on The Register of Education and Training Providers, a list maintained by the DIUS]

Course level and type
Your course must be at a certain level (for lower level courses you can only apply for a Student Visitor visa):

– For English courses it must be at least at “pre-intermediate” level (the easiest of the 5 Cambridge ESOL exams, the Key English Test (KET), is at this level)
[The formal requirement is that it is at Level A2 or above in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:]

– For non-English courses it must be at least at the level studied at British schools after the age of 16 (for example: A Levels, AS Levels, Scottish Highers, NVQs, university level).
[The formal requirement is that it is at Level 3 or above in the National Qualifications Framework:]

– If a course includes job placements, at least 50% of the course must be study, and a maximum 50% can be work

[previously it was possible to get a student visa even for low level courses, or for courses that were mainly work-based]

You will need to show that you have enough money available to cover either the full length of the course (for courses which last under 9 months) or which cover the first 9 months of a course which is for more than 9 months. The minimum amount of money you need is enough for:
– any unpaid tuition/course fees for the first year of study, plus the following maintenance funds (this is the money you need for your living expenses):
– if you are studying in London: maintenance funds of £800 per month [£7,200 for a course of 9 months or more], plus maintenance funds of £535 per month [£4,815 for a course of 9 months or more] for each dependent (usually a husband, wife or child) you bring with you to the UK. You are studying in “London” if at least half of your study time is in one of these boroughs (the white area in the map below): Camden, City of London, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, Westminster.
– if you are studying outside London: maintenance funds of £600 per month [£5,400 for a course of 9 months or more], plus maintenance funds of about £400 per month [£3,600 for a course of 9 months or more] for each dependent (usually a husband, wife or child) you bring with you to the UK
You will need to show that you have the necessary amount of money in your account during the 28 days before you make your application. Your account balance must have been above the necessary level on every single day during that period
[previously minimum amount of money was not fixed, although it needed to be enough to support yourself without any help from the UK government]
Visa application process
You will be able to check for yourself if you have enough “points” to be able to get a student visa (to avoid wasting your time and money making an unsuccessful application).
You will need to obtain your student visa before arriving in the UK.
You will need to give your fingerprints and to obtain a biometric identity card.
You need to obtain a visa letter from your place of study
[ in future you will need to obtain a document called a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from your school, for which you will pay £10 – this has not yet been introduced ]
You will need to pay a student visa application fee
Attendance reporting
Your school will check if you are attending classes, and may report you to the Home Office’s UK Border Agency if you are not going to school (normally you will be reported after an unauthorised absence of two weeks, or 10 missed “contact points”)
[ after the “Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies” scheme has been introduced, your school must report your absence to the Home Office ]
[previously a school did not have to have a formal process to check and report attendance]
Changing schools
If you wish to change your school within the UK, you will need to inform the Home Office’s UK Border Agency before you change. If the new course finishes after your current visa expires, you will need to apply for an extension.
[ in future you will need to obtain a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from your new school – this has not yet been introduced ]
[previously it was possible to change school without informing the Home Office, although students were supposed to inform the Home Office about such changes]
Extending a student visa while in the UK
The period for a student visa will depend on the course length. The new course must start no more than 1 month after the expiry date of your previous visa. You will need to show you have money for tuition fees for the first year of your course, and also that you have maintenance funds for at least 2 months (based on the minimum amounts shown above – ie at least £1,600 if you are studying in London, or £1,200 if you are studying outside London, plus extra if you have dependents).
You will need to obtain a biometric identity card if you don’t already have one.

Free IELTS Quiz

May 25, 2009 by
Filed under IELTS, Learn English

Are you ready for the IELTS Maximiser?

UniRoute’s online IELTS preparation teaches you the techniques, twists and tips and tricks you need to know to do really well in the IELTS test.

However, prior to taking the course you should make sure that your level of English is sufficient!

By taking the quiz, you can get a nearly instantaneous indication of whether your reading skills are adequate for you to undertake our IELTS preparation course and do well in the IELTS exam.

The IELTS quiz is short reading about English author Charles Dickens. The questions about it are very much like the kinds of questions IELTS uses in the Reading task portion of its exam.

Because that preparation course involves a great deal of reading, explaining all aspects of the IELTS exam, you will have to do a lot of reading to get the most out of the e-learning course. Good luck to you!

Click here to start the free IELTS Quiz

« Previous PageNext Page »


text:
Ivanka Trump Executive Keynotes Brenau’s Second Women’s Leadership Program March 20

Those who attend Brenau’s special March 20 program about how women can carve out the lives they want to lead will hear from an executive in one of America’s best-known brands, co-head of a North Georgia media organization, lawyers, educators, a key player in one of the world’s largest charitable organizations and an executive in an online human resources firm.

That is the lineup for the second Brenau Women’s Leadership Colloquium on Friday, March 20, from 1:30-4:30 p.m.at the John S. Burd Center for the Performing Arts, 429 Academy St., in Gainesville. The program is free and open to the public, but attendees should pre-register to guarantee seating. A reception follows the program.

The keynote speaker is Marissa Kraxberger, the creative vice president for Ivanka Trump’s growing fashion enterprise and author of “Lady & Prince,” www.ladyandprince.com, where she blogs about her life as a working mom in the fashion industry, raising kids in the city and her travel adventures. In her work she oversees the entire Ivanka Trump brand identity, which includes defining the voice of the brand, the overall creative and editorial direction of www.IvankaTrump.com, strategy and execution of the company’s social media presence and managing an in-house creative team. She has had a diverse career in design, art direction and brand development for high-profile fashion and lifestyle brands including Diane von Furstenberg, Kate Spade New York and Oscar de la Renta.

Read the full article at http://www.brenau.edu/news/kraxberger-keynotes-wlc-march-20/
Read speaker bios and register for the event at http://www.brenau.edu/about/leadershipcolloquium/


text:
Mark Boal calls ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ a story of a ‘Western woman who defeated al-Qaeda’

11.25.12 6 years ago 9 Comments

WEST HOLLYWOOD – “Zero Dark Thirty,” Kathryn Bigelow’s follow up to her Oscar-winning thriller “The Hurt Locker,” made its formal screening debut in both New York and Los Angeles on Sunday, but the West Coast audience had the pleasure of a formal discussion with the director and some of her cast members immediately following.

A systematic account of the CIA’s efforts to capture Osama bin Laden after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, “Thirty” tells its story through the eyes of Maya (Jessica Chastain), an operative who becomes increasingly determined to find the al-Qaeda leader.  It was not an easy road for the world’s intelligence organizations and Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal have no qualms about depicting the water-boarding or other interrogation techniques used to try and retrieve information from accused terrorist captives. The filmmakers let the audience cast their own opinions on whether the techniques worked or not, but Bigelow’s most impressive accomplishment is the build up and depiction of the attack on bin Laden’s compound.  Like “Argo,” Bigelow and editors William Goldenberg (“Heat”) and Dylan Tichenor (“There Will Be Blood”) generate genuine tension for an outcome a majority of the audience is already aware of. Considering the pressure on Bigelow to follow up “Hurt Locker,” what she pulls off with this political powder keg is nothing sort of remarkable. “Thirty” is clearly one of the best films of the year and should easily make this pundit’s top 10 list next month.
Bigelow is assisted on “Thirty” by a focused performance from Chastain who easily depicts the growing weight of responsibility that falls on Maya’s shoulders.  Anyone hoping to dismiss her character or turn as a ripoff of “Homeland’s” Carrie Mathison will be very disappointed. Jason Clarke (“Lawless,” “The Chicago Code”) gets the second-most screen time and his off kilter agent doing his best to hold on to his humanity after years of interrogation torture is good stuff.  It’s a great moment for Clarke, but he’s unlikely to find himself invited to the Oscars for it. Unknown actor Reda Kateb is absolutely superb as the initial captive being interrogated by Clarke’s character. Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle, James Gandolfini and Chris Pratt are standouts among the rest of the 120-person speaking cast.

After two standing ovations, one for Bigelow and the other for Chastain, the duo were joined by Boal, Clarke, Ehle and Edgar Martinez for what turned out to be an entertaining 40-minute Q&A.

Like a number of other awards season contenders this year, “Zero Dark Thirty” barely made it to the finish line in time. Bigelow admitted she walked out of the final mix just four days before. Both she and Boal had been working on an Osama bin Laden film for some time, but it wasn’t the hunt many thought it was before the terrorist’s death changed things over a year and a half ago.

“We were working on a project about the failed hunt for Osama bin Laden in 2001, where basically he was last seen in the Tora Bora mountain range in Afghanistan,” Bigelow reveals. “We were working with a group of Delta operators who were in the mountain range at the time and they lost him as he went down that corridor to Pakistan.  Mark was working on that screenplay and about at 10 o’clock at night on May 1, 2011, we realized we could no longer make a movie about the failed hunt for Osama bin Laden.”

For Boal, who won an original screenplay Oscar for “Hurt Locker,” the project was something he was already heavily invested in.  As he notes, “I’d been going around saying they were never going to get bin Laden for about three years so it was…it was a very emotional moment not for any professional reason, but just personally.  We were all sort of married to the material at that point and I think we both decided to try and hop on this news story and so, that’s what we did. We started researching the intelligence hunt that lead to bin Laden’s eventual demise and really we tried to capture the history the best we could in the context of the drama. But, hopefully, [also] capture this moment in American life and make something that because it’s su h a heavy topic in a way and hopefully stands up to the test of time. So, five or 10 years from now they could look back on this and say, ‘Hey, they more or less got this right.’

Boal was also very aware that if they didn’t act quickly, competing TV movies and other film projects could beat them to the punch.

“We kind of felt like we had paid our dues on this subject and [wanted] our chance to have it pay off. So, for the last year we have all been working really long hours to get this done,” Boal says. “And also make sure it wasn’t just a history lesson. That’s what I think the actors did so amazingly – find the moments of human passion and human pain within this larger skeletal frame.”

It became clear that casting the role of Maya was going to be essential for the picture. Bigelow first caught wind of Chastain’s talents after she screened a rough cut of Ralph Fiennes’ underrated adaptation of “Coriolanus.” She was Bigelow’s first choice, but there was a scheduling issue, but, as the director notes, “Thank god the movie gods and the good graces of Universal were able to move another production she was already committed to.  I’m extremely graceful.”

The always charming and honest Chastain was working on a project in Toronto when she was first approached about “Thirty” by producer Megan Ellison, who also shepherded another Chastain picture, “Lawless.”  The next thing Chastain knew she was cold-called by Bigelow herself, a woman she says has “always been a big hero of mine.”

“I’m listening to my phone and I’m listening to this message and I just freaked out,” Chastain says. “I then calmed myself down [and in a formal and calm British voice] ‘Yes Kathryn, it would be a joy to read the script.’ (Laughs.) And there was a very secretive way to read the script. You had to check in on a website and it felt like you were on a secret mission.  And I remember I was half-way through and I had to go to another meeting.  And I got in my car and I realized I was in character and driving like I was in a spy movie. (Laughs.) That’s when I realized the part was mine and all other actors beware, I must play it.”

Maya is an expert in the Islamic world where the hunt for Bin Laden takes place and that means dialogue full of Arabic names and references that any Western actor would need a lot of training for. Chastain admits there was no way she was ready to film the day after she was cast. In fact, she describes “Thirty” as the “most difficult thing I’ve ever done.”

“I was cast in December and that’s when the training started which was not light, easy information. A lot of facts I don’t necessarily know in my vegan, hippie self,” Chastain jokes. “And we were in rehearsal in Jordan and I was very lucky to get awards attention for ‘The Help’ and I came back for the Oscars and the next day at noon I got on a plane. The day before I was in a dress with my grandmother at the Oscars and then I was on a 25-hour flight to Chandigarh, India. We land and I made a joke, ‘OK, when do we start guys?’ And Mark says, ‘OK, come to set.’ (Laughs.) And the next thing I knew I was in a market.”

“Thirty” is based on a lot of first hand accounts and there was a woman Chastain portrays who was key in finding bin Laden. However, unlike the now long retired Tony Mendez from “Argo,” it will likely be decades until you learn her or any of the other agents’ real names.

“All of the people who are depicted are based on real people,” Boal says. “That being said, it’s not a documentary. It’s not word for word. But, hopefully it captures the spirit and it I think tracks pretty closely to what is known of the intelligence hunt and reveals some things that might have been misunderstood. And, most of all, because so much of this stuff is done in the shadows, unless you’ve read every single book and read every single article this is the first time it’s been pulled all together and brought to the screen. A lot of it was informed by real life, but we couldn’t ask CIA agents to give us their identities. They are still working, by the way.”

And of course, the follow-up question has to be: have these real CIA agents seen the movie yet?

Boal smiles and says, “This is probably the first audience that has seen the movie, but knowing how they work I really can’t say. (Laughs.)”

On a serious note, though, Boal made a striking observation about what surprised him the most researching this story.  And it’s one reason why bringing this tale to the screen under the talented eyes of a visionary such as Bigelow was so important.

“The thing that surprised me the most was the role of women in this story,” Boal says. “Maybe I just grew up reading too much Bond, but I just didn’t know that was part of the deal. I think it’s ironic that al-Qaeda, that for the leader of al-Qaeda was in some sense defeated by the spectre that they feared most, right? A liberated, Western woman.”

And no matter what the box office or awards season response to “Thirty” turns out to be, the fact the film will spread that message throughout the world may be its greatest achievement.

“Zero Dark Thirty” opens in limited release on Dec. 19 and nationwide on Jan 11.

Around The Web


text:
The FAA May Finally Let You Use Your Laptop And/Or Tablet During Takeoff And Landing

Senior Contributor

The FAA’s rules on electronic devices on airplanes are, for lack of a better word, stupid. They belong in the dustbin of history next to people arguing that driving forty miles per hour was impossible because your face would peel off. And it might begin going away, FINALLY, as soon as this year.

The New York Times has the less-than-surprising story:

One member of the group and an official of the F.A.A., both of whom asked for anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly about internal discussions, said the agency was under tremendous pressure to let people use reading devices on planes, or to provide solid scientific evidence why they cannot.

To cut the FAA some slack, this rule was put on the books because of a rather reasonable standing policy of “Better safe than sorry.” There’s been very little scientific research to demonstrate what effect, if any, tablets and laptops may have on avionics devices, but the idea that they might have an effect in the first place tends to make the agency decide that, yeah, maybe it’s stupid and stuff, but potentially risking a few hundred lives so you can play Temple Run is not cool. That said, finding the policy annoying is both sane and reasonable, and thus the FAA will likely begin loosening the rules.

The good and/or bad news, depending on how you feel about overhearing other people’s conversations, is that cell phones are still banned. To change that law, you need to go through the FCC.

Maybe let’s leave that one alone.

Around The Web

UPROXX Travel Instagram


text:
Short Notice 7 Night Western Caribbean Cruise out of Galveston, Texas!

Enjoy complimentary stateroom or exclusive casino discounted rate for this Western Caribbean Cruise out of Galveston!

Offer Details

Short Notice sailing cruising out of Galveston, Texas!

Pick your date below and start packing for this new exciting getaway to the Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean in partnership with URComped just released these cruise promotion for qualified players.

Enjoy complimentary stateroom or discounted stateroom to explore the Western Caribbean with a wide selection of itineraries out of Galveston, Texas!

If you are interested in this offer and would like to see if you qualify and/or view final pricing:
Click "Claim Offer" Now!'

Scroll down to view available sailings

Explore the Western Caribbean

Go snorkeling at Roatan in Honduras, relax and swim at the or explore the coral reef offshore or Maya ruins in the jungle and cave tubing in Belize’s Nohoch Chen rainforest, catamaraning in Costa Maya, Cozumel.

Royal Caribbean's Life on Board

Royal Caribbean's popular signature steakhouse, featuring grade-A premium cuts of steak cooked to your specifications, plus fresh seafood, hearty side dishes and signature desserts in an upscale, contemporary setting.

Extensive menus for your breakfast, lunch, and dinner needs are offered daily in this dining room.

This seaside café offers buffet-style breakfasts and lunches. In the evenings, the café's casual atmosphere is complemented by a changing menu and restaurant-style service.

Spa and Beauty

The Spa

The full-service spa offers a beauty salon and spa treatments, including massage, manicures and seaweed body wraps.

On-board Activities

Blips, bleeps, clangs and cheers. Play to win in a classic arcade atmosphere with timeless games like Pacman and table hockey, plus the latest - Guitar Hero, Fast and Furious Drift and more.

Peace, quiet, and your next great read – find it all at the well-stocked library, featuring a variety of genres, plus tables for cards and board games. Everything's complimentary for your enjoyment.

Enjoy the glitz, glamour, and special effects of Broadway or Las Vegas.

Casino Royale

The glittering casino features electronic slot machines, video poker, blackjack, craps, roulette and Caribbean stud poker.

Night Life

This nautically themed bar is the perfect spot to enjoy a drink with friends.

A Royal Caribbean signature. Perched high above the ocean, this comfortable lounge offers spectacular vistas by day and turns into a lively dance club at night.

Upgrade Prices are Per Person

Available Sailings

Sailing From Port of Galveston

How to Get Comped

To request a URComped offer, follow the steps below:

  • Click 'Claim Offer'
  • Login or Create free URComped account to complete trip request*
  • We may ask for additional information, if needed, to pre-qualify you against the requirements set by the casino for this offer.
  • Trip request is then submitted to casino for final approval.
*Players requesting their first URComped trip will be required to upload images of valid casino offers to pre - qualify. The URComped team is excited to work with you!
Fine Print

Rated play from previous trips with this casino, any of the casino’s affiliated brands, or from previous URComped trip(s) will initially be used to determine if a player qualifies for this offer.

If there is no tracked play history with the casino or URComped to consider, qualification for this offer will be evaluated based on one or more of the following:

  • Images of complimentary cruise offers directly from the cruise line’s casino department.
  • Comp cruise certificates offered from land-based casinos. *An invitation to a certificate event at a casino can be accepted in lieu of the actual certificate.
  • Images of complimentary room + free play offers from land-based casinos.
  • Play history provided by Player’s casino host

URComped can generally pre-qualify players based on offer images within 2 business days (and often within a couple of hours).

Not everyone that requests an offer will qualify. The qualification criteria for this offer is set by the casino, not URComped. All requests are subject to final approval by the casino.

All offers are based on availability and subject to change without notice.


text:
At the heart of English folk.
News from the Education department at the
English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS)
View this email in your browser
Education News

Black Sailors and Sea Shanties - new folk song resource for Black History Month

Black History Month
We are happy to announce that we have created our first learning resource in celebration of Black History Month.

The resource comprises downloadable teachers’ notes and accompanying vocal and instrumental sound files freely available via our Resource Bank. It is designed to support learning in the Key Stage 3 curriculum and is based around three sea shanties associated with black sailors from as far afield as South America and the USA as well as Britain. The resource features arrangements and recordings from artists Adriano Adewale and Hazel Askew and was created by staff from EFDSS Education team and Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.
Find out more | Explore the resource

An Introduction to Folk Song in England – one-day course

Folk Song in England
This term we are welcoming back internationally published folklorist Steve Roud and Vaughan Williams Library and Archive Director Laura Smyth for An Introduction to Folk Song in England. The popular introductory level day will explore the history of English folk song and will take place on Sunday 16 October at Cecil Sharp House.
Topics will include: the many possible definitions of ‘folk’, the songs themselves, the singers, places and times for singing, sources from which people learned songs, folksong collectors, scholars and the beginnings of the post-War revival.

Past participants said:

"Excellent quality, engaging."

"A really great introduction to the subject!"

Find out more and enrol

October half term courses for young people

October half term courses
Enrolments are now open for our popular October half term folk music courses for children and young people.

Find out more and enrol.

Film of EFDSS youth dance commission for U.Dance 2016

We are happy to share a new film featuring Life Remixed, an ‘electric’ youth dance piece, fusing folk and hip hop performed by youth dancers from the North West. Created by Folk Dance Remixed, the piece was commissioned by EFDSS in partnership with North West Dance for U.Dance 2016 in Salford.

Watch the film

EFDSS presenting at Musicians’ Union Teachers’ CPD Weekend

Professional Development Weekend
Friday 28 & Saturday 29 October,
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance

On the Saturday, EFDSS will be leading a session on Folk Music Ensembles in Schools and Beyond which introduces folk music in schools and informal settings, with a focus on the London Youth Folk Ensemble and the new National Youth Folk Ensemble launching in October 2016 under the guidance of artistic director Sam Sweeney.

Find out more and book

Coming up...

Folk Educators Group
Folk Educators Group – next practitioner development day
21 November, DanceXchange, Birmingham,

Hosted by DanceXchange and co-chaired by Jan Reynolds (Folk 3D) and Pam Bishop (The Traditional Arts Team).

Find out more and join

From our friends

BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award 2017
BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award 2017

The Young Folk Award is Radio 2’s annual search for the UK’s most promising players of folk music, looking for musicians, singers and songwriters who play folk, roots or acoustic music of any kind. The contest is open to soloists, duos and groups aged between 16 and 21.

Find out more

Copyright © 2016 English Folk Dance and Song Society, All rights reserved.

Photo credits
Folk Song in England by Tomoko Kinoshita
Folk Educators Group by Rachel Elliott
October half term coureses by Roswitha Chesher

Our mailing address is:
English Folk Dance and Song Society
Cecil Sharp House
2 Regent's Park Road
London, NW1 7AY
United Kingdom

EFDSS logo

unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences


text:
State Bank of India

New York, NY
List of only branch of State Bank of India in New York, New York
Click on the branch name to get more information about the branch.
No Branch Name Address
1 State Bank Of India 460 Park Avenue, New York, NY - 10022
Here is the list of all branches of State Bank of India across US.

Branch Locations Map

Check locations of all 1 branches of State Bank of India in New York on Google Map.
Location Map - State Bank Of India of State Bank of India in New York

About State Bank of India

Head Office Address460 Park Avenue, New York, NY-10022
Established Date1955-07-05 00:00:00
Number of Domestic Offices1
Total assets$ 9,421,474
Total deposits$ 7,241,092
Net income$ -
Equity capital$ -
FDIC Certificate33682
Bank Charter ClassOther Insured Institutions
Major banks in
New York
Abacus Federal Savings Bank
Alma Bank
Alpine Capital Bank
Amalgamated Bank
Apple Bank for Savings
Astoria Bank
Atlantic Trust Company
Banco Popular North America
Bank Hapoalim B.M.
Bank Leumi USA
Bank of America
Bank of Baroda
Bank of China
Bank of Hope
Bank of India
Bank of the Ozarks
Bank of the West
Bessemer Trust Company
BNY Mellon
Capital One
Carver Federal Savings Bank
Cathay Bank
Centennial Bank
Chinatown Federal Savings Bank
City National Bank
City National Bank of New Jersey
ConnectOne Bank
Country Bank
Delta National Bank and Trust Company
Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas
East West Bank
Emigrant Bank
Emigrant Mercantile Bank
Empire National Bank
Fieldpoint Private Bank & Trust
First American International Bank
First Republic Bank
Flushing Bank
Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust Co.
Global Bank
Goldman Sachs Bank USA
Habib American Bank
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China USA
Interaudi Bank
Investors Bank
Israel Discount Bank of New York
JPMorgan Chase Bank
KEB Hana Bank USA
Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company
Maspeth Federal Savings and Loan Association
Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company
Metropolitan Commercial Bank
Mizuho Bank (USA)
Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. USA
Modern Bank
MUFG Union Bank
New Millennium Bank
New York Commercial Bank
Noah Bank
NorthEast Community Bank
Northfield Bank
People's United Bank
PNC Bank
Ponce De Leon Federal Bank
Ridgewood Savings Bank
Safra National Bank of New York
Santander Bank
Savoy Bank
Shinhan Bank America
Signature Bank
Spring Bank
State Bank of India
Sterling National Bank
TD Bank
The Bank of East Asia Ltd.
The Bank of New York Mellon
The Berkshire Bank
The Bridgehampton National Bank
The First National Bank of Long Island
The Northern Trust Company
United Orient Bank
Valley National Bank
Wells Fargo Bank
Wilmington Trust
Woori America Bank


text:
Are You Living in Provo and Struggling with Back Pain?

If you have tried everything to get rid of back pain and nothing seems to work, come to us for Chiropractic Care. We know that there are short-term reliefs such as bed rest, epidural steroids, and maybe even surgery – but we want to give you long-term success to help you reduce the chances of feeling that pain ever again. Our non-surgical chiropractic service will help to alleviate back pain and help to control it.

Our chiropractor clinic is experienced in treating back pain and have seen many patients over the years who have gone home feeling better. We understand everyone’s experience is different, which is why our back pain treatment targets each patient’s specific areas of pain.

More information on Chiropractic Treatment for Back Pain

Common Back Conditions

Cervical Spine, Thoracic Spine, Lumbar Spine

  • Disc Herniation
  • Post-Surgical Pain Syndrome
  • Scoliosis
  • Sprain/Strain
  • Spinal Stenosis

What Does the Process of Receiving Back Pain Chiropractic Treatment Look Like?

Our in-office and at-home staff does their very best to give you a comfortable and caring environment. After assessing areas of pain, we will review your evaluation for the type of chiropractic care you will receive and your estimated recovery times. We will make sure you understand that treatment for back pain will not cure your condition, but instead help you to control it.

We will work with you throughout your treatment to get you back to feeling confident and stronger. We understand that certain conditions will stay with you, and this is why it is our goal to do what we can to relieve as much pain as possible.

Benefits of Working with a Chiropractor After an Accident?

There are many benefits of working with a chiropractor – for one, improving your overall health. Less pain results in a more comfortable lifestyle. Our professional chiropractors have worked with many different patients with various conditions of back pain. Our chiropractors will create your own personalized treatment plan that is most effective for your condition. Chiropractic care for back pain has been proven to be one of the most effective treatments to reduce back pain.

We know how much back pain can take a toll on your life and daily activities and promise to do our best to help you get rid of it. We are the team you can trust and we will work with you until you feel confident and comfortable. Your journey to wellness can begin today by giving us a call and scheduling a consultation!


text:
6 ways to bring variety to scripture study

(Photo courtesy Mormon Newsroom.)

(Photo courtesy Mormon Newsroom.)

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the importance of personal scripture study cannot be—and seldom is—understated.

“Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high,” Elder Richard G. Scott taught. “They can become the key to opening the channel to communion with our Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.”

But because Church members study the scriptures so often, the task can become tedious over time. Here are six strategies to bring variety to personal study.

1. Study a person

The scriptures — especially the Bible and Book of Mormon—are largely character-driven narratives. The lives of people whose experiences are recorded in the scriptures can teach Church members how to live the gospel in various circumstances.

If reading straight through the scriptures is getting tiresome, choose a specific person to follow. (Try, for example, Ammon, Corianton, Joseph in Egypt, or John the Beloved). Find every reference to this person and draw a timeline of his life. Note how his life changed and his faith grew stronger.

2. Study a lesson

Find out which lessons will be taught in church on coming Sundays and study them. Read all the referenced scriptures and answer the questions in the study guides. This is an excellent way to prepare for class discussions and to study the scriptures topically.

3. Study a general conference talk

The words of living prophets are modern-day scripture. Studying from recent general conference addresses can be a good way to bring variety to scripture study—especially if you go to the end notes and study the referenced scriptures.

“Study the word of God in the scriptures and the words of the living prophets,” Elder Richard G. Scott taught. “We talk to God through prayer. He most often communicates back to us through His written word.”

4. Use LDS.org as a study aid

LDS.org is rich with study aids, including Gospel Topics and Church curriculum. Enrich your study by discovering these resources and using them as companions to the standard works.

5. Read the scriptures in a different format

Sometimes simply reading a different copy of the scriptures can change the way you see them. Reading from a replica of the original Book of Mormon—which had no verses and was printed with long paragraphs—can bring new insights. Or, simply reading from an unmarked copy can invite new revelation. If you usually read the scriptures on a tablet, try reading a printed copy (or vice versa).

“Once in a while I invest in a new copy of the Book of Mormon,” Sister Julie B. Beck said. “When I start reading that new book, I make notes in the margins so I have a record of what I am learning as I study. To help me remember what I am learning, I draw lines to connect ideas. I shade verses and underline key words. When I find ideas that relate to each other, I make a scripture chain to link those ideas. I like to think of my scriptures as a workbook, so sometimes I record where I was when I gained an insight or the name of the person who taught me. That way the experience is refreshed in my memory when I read that passage again.”

6. Memorize scriptures

If scripture study has become routine and you can’t remember what you studied a few hours later, perhaps memorizing verses would be helpful. Doing so will help you retain what you study and allow you to have the scriptures in your mind when you need them.

“Great power can come from memorizing scriptures,” Elder Richard G. Scott taught on another occasion. “To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change.”

Breanna Olaveson worked in the magazine industry before taking her writing from full-time to nap time with the birth of her first daughter. Her work has appeared in the Ensign, Liahona and New Era magazines, as well as Utah Valley Magazine, Utah Valley BusinessQ, Utah Valley Bride and the Provo Daily Herald. She lives in Utah county with her husband and three children. She blogs at www.breannaolaveson.com.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


text:
Summer for everyone: Central Valley

The Dry Bar Comedy keeps humor clean at its Friday and Saturday night shows.

“I’m bored.”

Those are the most dreaded words a parent can hear from non-pupilous children during the 99 days of summer. Put away the sigh and the eyeroll (we’re talking about yours) and check out 47 ideas divided geographically. No matter which part of the county you sip lemonade, you’ll have new ideas at your fingertips.

Keep It Clean

Make it funny, keep it clean.

Those are the rules at Dry Bar Comedy club in Provo. Opened by the owners of VidAngel, Dry Bar Comedy is the home for the hosting and filming of live, clean stand-up comedy specials. Utah Valley locals are just lucky enough to be part of the energetic audience with shows in downtown Provo on Fridays and Saturdays.

Two comedians with reputations for generally family-friendly content perform at each show and are flown in from all areas of the country. #nofilter

When: Fridays & Saturdays

Walkin’ the Block

Downtown Provo has been an important economic, spiritual and governmental hub in the state of Utah since Brother Brigham was running the show. Today, the geographic center has changed in looks but not in importance. With the dedication of the LDS Church’s temple on the corner of University and Center came a refreshment of downtown drawing visitors from far and wide, thirsty and hungry, young and old, loud and soft.

When: Ongoing

River Running

υυWhat’s the point of living close to the beautiful Provo River if we don’t use it? From mild to wild, High Country Adventure provides a simple, safe, beautiful Provo Canyon trip. The adventure company also provides ziplining, fishing, floating, rafting and everything Provo River related.

When: Ongoing

Personal Pinterest Passport

Okay … maybe this county-wide event doesn’t take place exclusively in the central part of Utah Valley, but a large number of the homes featured in the Utah Valley Parade of Homes this year are in the hot areas of Orem and Vineyard.

Visitors can put on booties and walk through 30 homes, built by 28 of the area’s top builders in this annual tradition put on by the Utah Valley Home Builders Association. It’s the perfect place to find a dream home (and builder) or find the perfect decorating idea.

When: June 8-24

The Rooftop Concert Series rocks out in downtown Provo the first Friday of the month throughout the summer. (Photo by Justin Hackworth)

Splish Splash

No Utah summer would be complete without slip-and-slide time at Seven Peaks Resort. The resort has been renovated and renewed for 2017, including private cabanas, park-wide lounge chair seating, extended weekend hours and merchandise available for purchase from the best beach brands. Stay all day and feed the family at Bistro 72, Woody’s Resort Grill or Roxberry.

When: Ongoing

Everything Is Awesome

LEGOLAND might be in southern California, but Utah Valley kids (and kids at heart) can work on their “master builder” skills at the Brick Slopes event held at the UCCU Center at UVU. BrickSlopes is an annual LEGO Fan Event organized by the SBC Corporation and features hundreds of LEGO displays created by more than 60 adults and teens from around the United States. The event has welcomed more than 25,000 visitors during the past three years and grows bigger each year.

When: June 23-24

Rock the Night Away

What happens when your Rooftop Concert Series gets so popular you can’t have it on a rooftop anymore? You keep the name and move it to the Nu Skin Plaza in downtown Provo (100 West and Center Street).

Provo is enjoying a renaissance, and the Rooftop Concert Series is Florence. It’s at the center of building the reputation of local musicians and downtown Provo as a place worthy of a precious Friday night.

If you’re going to go, arrive early (“doors” open at 6 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. shows). Get ready to enjoy serious social synergy.

And great music.

When: First Friday of every month

Open-air Broadway show goers at the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre in Orem, Utah enjoy an amazing natural backdrop to go along with professional-level theater sets and performances.

Water Wonderful World

Featuring a demonstration garden highlighting water efficient plants, the Central Utah Gardens in Orem focuses on educating the public on responsible water use. After all, we live in a desert.

The Gardens hosts a variety of classes for adults and children. However, there are also “just for fun” events. For example, Aug. 14 features an “Evening with a Magician” with Jason Carling of the Utah Valley Magic Academy.

When: Ongoing

The Hill(sides) Are Alive with the Sound of Music

Since 1933, the SCERA in Orem has been offering an artistic flair to the Wasatch Front. And even with all the amenities and classes associated with the SCERA, the true summertime favorite is the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre. The 2017 outdoor season features a wide range of one-night events, including performances by Air Supply (May 29) and The Drifters (Aug. 28).

However, it is the musicals that highlight every summer. The 2017 lineup includes outdoor performances of Hairspray (June 9 to June 24), Seussical: The Musical (July 7 to July 22) and Brigadoon (Aug. 4 to Aug. 19).

So, pull up a chair — or bring a blanket — and enjoy entertainment under the stars.

When: Ongoing

Boys of Summer

Starting June 19, the boys of summer return to Orem and keep the summer filled with the smell of peanuts and Cracker Jacks. The Orem Owlz pitch a local opportunity to take the kids out to the ballgame and see the stars before they’re majors.

Plus, Brent Brown Ballpark includes one of the most beautiful backdrops in professional baseball.

When: Ongoing

Shore-ly a Good Time

Get on Center Street in Provo and head west. Keep going until you hit the shores of the largest freshwater lake in Utah — Utah Lake. Camp and then wake up to a wonderful day of boating, sailing or fishing — all within minutes of home.

When: Ongoing

Work of Heart

The BYU Museum of Art is one of the most well-attended art museums in the Mountain West. Children may especially like “Playground.” British photographer James Mollison, inspired by his own childhood experience, took photographs of school playgrounds around the world. The exhibit is open now and runs through July 8.

When: Ongoing

Utah Lake has a variety of water activities.

Mountains Majesty

The winter wonderland known as Sundance Mountain Resort remains spectacular through the summer, too. Trade in the slopes for theater (“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” runs from July 20 to August 12), ziplining or a kids camp.

 At the very least, enjoy a nice mountain drive minutes from home and enjoy lunch at the Foundry Grill. Ongoing

When: Ongoing

The Rocket’s Red Glare

Little Big Town will be performing in our little big town at the Stadium of Fire in the culmination of America’s Freedom Festival, Provo’s premier summertime event. LaVell Edwards Stadium swells in a patriotic tribute every summer, and somehow the weather is always perfect.

Besides the concert and fireworks show at the stadium, the Freedom Festival also includes the Balloon Fest, Freedom Run and the Grand Parade.

When: July 1

Glass Is in Session

After 12 years in the making — and being featured on the cover of our November/December 2016 issue — the Roots of Knowledge exhibit is open to the public in the Ira A. and Mary Lou Fulton Library at UVU.

Bring the family and find the hidden artistic — and historical — treasures in the display.

When: Ongoing

Keep up with what events are happening in Utah Valley with our once a month “UV To Do” email. Sign up below!

Greg Bennett

Greg Bennett is an editor and writer with Bennett Communications. His primary responsibilities are with Utah Valley Magazine and the company's custom publications division. He's the father of four children and has been married to his wife, Adria, for 19 years. Contact Greg at

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


text:
The slow road
through climate change

Breakthroughs in big data, alternative fuels and energy storage offer hope for a sustainable future. But the real challenge is social and political – not technical.

Sarah Burch

Scarcely a day passes that doesn’t bring with it some news of a climate change catastrophe, green-technology game changer or contentious policy proposal. Pervasive floods covered one third of Bangladesh while 27 trillion tons of water were dumped on Texas and Louisiana in 2017. Elon Musk offered to restore power to Puerto Rico using Tesla batteries and solar power. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed to phasing out coal in Canada but approved the twinning of the Trans Mountain Pipeline.

The push and pull of these contradictory trends comes at a time of great change for humanity. Everywhere we look, society is being reordered. Economies are modernizing. We’re becoming more global and more urban while information and ideas are exchanged without friction. New technology is arriving every day that stretches our imagination. For many people, managing all of this change can be overwhelming – especially when a changing climate literally means disaster for many people.

Technologies to reduce emissions have existed for decades

One way we cope with these unsettling changes is to hope that some of the miraculous new technology arriving at our fingertips daily will pull humanity away from the brink of climate disaster at the last minute. Recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, alternative fuels, energy storage and big data offer some hope that a sustainable low-carbon pathway is possible. But many of the technologies needed to dramatically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and pursue a sustainable future have existed for decades. It’s also clear that, despite major new climate policy proposals, Canada is not on track to meet its much-heralded commitments under the Paris climate agreement. Why has the uptake been so desperately slow? Why are experiments in low-carbon communities so scattered, disconnected and often incremental?

Research on the transition to sustainable communities (neighbourhoods and urban spaces that aren’t just low carbon, but also economically prosperous, socially just and ecologically rich) suggests that three crucial factors are at play.

Multiple yellow bikes arranged in a row

Although it’s common to yearn for technical solutions to environmental problems (shared autonomous electric vehicles, aircraft fuelled by algae), the transition to sustainable communities is largely a social and political challenge, not a technical one. Why do so many Canadians jump in their cars instead of hopping on bikes or taking a stroll? Owning a car, and the prestige and convenience that comes with it, may be deeply linked to our identity, our self worth and sense of independence.

The Dutch example

This is of course not true everywhere in the world: to be Dutch, for instance, is to cycle. Between 35 and 45 per cent of Dutch citizens say that cycling is their primary mode of transportation (compared to only about seven per cent of Canadians – even when walking is combined with cycling). But ’twas it always thus in Amsterdam? It was only in the 1970s that a strong public push to get out of cars and onto bikes started to pervade the national conversation in the Netherlands, mostly in response to car-related child deaths – not environmental concerns. This demand was met with ever-improving cycling infrastructure, facilitated by dense urban design and accelerated by social pressure, which has resulted in the remarkable cycling culture we see today. In other words, the technology always existed, but facilitating its use was a social and political decision, and required a deeper shift in values and cultures. A culture shift is possible.

The other reason we might choose a car over active or mass transportation is rather more out of the control of individual Canadians. The shape and function of our cities forces us to choose particular modes of transportation: if bike lanes are non-existent or unsafe, if we have to travel 40 kilometres from our home to our work, if mass transit is unreliable or uncomfortable, we’re left trapped in old patterns of behaviour. In other words, our cities create inertia that locks us into highcarbon, unsustainable lifestyles – even when the technologies exist that could free us.

Crucial role of a compelling vision

The final ingredient of a transformation toward sustainability that is often ignored in favour of the endless search for technological innovation is the crucial role of a compelling, inclusive and desirable vision of what a sustainable future might look like. Should a sustainable neighbourhood in Toronto look and feel the same as Inuvik? Clearly not. There are three dimensions to this vision that research has shown will be more likely to trigger action: the inclusion of different voices (all genders, ages, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, for instance) in the creation of the vision; the use of imagery, story-telling and games to communicate and shape this vision; and a focus on the interplay or synergies among multiple values that we hold dear (equity, justice, environmental integrity, good jobs, affordable housing, public health) rather than a narrow preoccupation with just one.

We know that existential fear is more likely to create paralysis and apathy, while a story about opportunity and the potential for a better life, in which we see our own voice and values, opens up possibilities. The search for climate change solutions reveals a powerful opportunity to pursue the more holistic and transformative challenge of sustainability. Although new and emerging technologies will inevitably be a part of this transition, it is a deeper conversation about what we value that will accelerate change.

Find out more about how Waterloo is creating a sustainable future.


text:
Welcome to the IDI Assessment Website
If you have been asked to complete the IDI Assessment, log in with your assigned username and password. You will then be asked to select your desired language before beginning the Assessment. For questions regarding logging in or completing the IDI Assessment, please contact your organization or the Qualified Administrator that provided the IDI Assessment to you.

For Qualified Administrators and Enterprise Account authorized users, log in with your account username and password. If you cannot remember your username or password, click Forgot Username/Password

The Intercultural Development Inventory® (IDI®) is a statistically reliable, cross-culturally valid measure of intercultural competence owned and copyrighted by Mitchell R. Hammer, Ph.D. The IDI v3 is rigorously back translated into other languages, and is widely used in corporate, government, military, not-for-profit organizations and educational institutions (e.g., K-12; universities) throughout the world.e world.

To learn more about the Intercultural Development Inventory or to receive technical assistance with the online IDI assessment, please contact:

Website: http://idiinventory.com
Contact Us
log in
  Forgot Username/Password.
(ver 4.8.12 - 180718)


text:
Anthony Gismondi: Good things happening in the Okanagan

Weekly column, weekend wine picks, recipe and wine match from Vancouver Sun wine expert Anthony Gismondi.

The Okanagan Valley is the heart of B.C. wine country. PNG

Share Adjust Comment Print

Some observations after 10 days in the Okanagan Valley.

First, if you need a job you could be working the first day you arrive in the area. If you have any hospitality or wine experience, you could probably write your own ticket. Accommodations are another story; like Vancouver and Whistler, they are tight and getting tighter.

A new and much welcomed addition to the hotel scene are some sensational rooms at The Penticton Lakeside Resort. The all-wood building that was built in the front parking lot is now open. The rooms are beautiful, the views north, west, and south are even better, and the balconies, complete with lounge chairs, are roomy. The casino is gone, the rest of the hotel has been renovated, and the place has a better vibe.

The Okanagan dining scene continues to improve each year, especially at the wineries. Two evenings spent at The Vanilla Pod (Poplar Grove Winery) with chef Bruno Terroso were close to perfection on the patio. Mussels and clams and a bottle of Poplar Grove 2016 Rosé will get you off to great start, after that you are on your own — but be sure to ask about the house made pasta special for the evening.

Up the road at Hillside Winery and Bistro the upper deck looks out across the lake toward Summerland. Chef Brent Pillon is all about local, and winemaker Kathy Malone is all about the Naramata Bench. The all-day share plates are perfect for a quick drop in. Look for Roast Chicken Panzanella Salad and accompany that with a bottle of Hillside 2016 Unoaked Pinot Gris before the summer is gone.

Pizza ovens are a vineyard no-brainer. Comforting and almost impossible to screw-up when they come from a stone oven, pizzas make every wine taste better. You can nosh on warm pizza at Orofino in the Similkameen, Ex Nihilo and The Chase Wines in Lake Country, and JoieFarm on the Naramata Bench.

Speaking of pizza, chef Jeff van Geest and general manger Manny Ferreira are the veteran duo behind Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek, where the pizza is a can’t-miss choice. But the gem here is the locally-farmed Arctic char, said to be still moving when it arrives at the kitchen. There is a fine selection of Tinhorn Creek wines, including older vintages, and a solid beer list for those hot afternoons.

I spent a morning, too, at Martin’s Lane Winery in West Kelowna, another member of the growing Von Mandl Family Estates, that include Mission Hill, CedarCreek, Checkmate Winery and various vineyards. Owner Anthony von Mandl named Martin’s Lane after his father, and has built one of the most remarkable winery facilities I have seen anywhere in the world, and I‘ve visited hundreds of them worldwide. The winery is not open to the public and will likely only be available by appointment, but we will have more to come on this property shortly, including its tight-knit line-up of Pinot Noir and Riesling labels. This place is special.

CheckMate’s planned pop-up tasting room should be open soon. Vancouver

Speaking of VMF Estates, Checkmate is getting a pop-up tasting room designed by architect Tom Kundig (Mission Hill and Martin’s Lane). The umbrellas were going in last week and it should ready to go shortly. The all-glass tasting room and storefront on the Golden Mile Bench has a spectacular 270-degree view of the south Okanagan, allowing you to see all the vineyards whose fruit ends up in the Checkmate wines.

Finally, I visited Terravista Vineyards in Naramata, where I spent 90 minutes in the tasting room without seeing a single visitor. Strange when you consider that, label-for-label, it may be the single best small producer in the valley.

Weekend wine picks

Quails’ Gate Chasselas-Pinot Blanc-Pinot Gris 2016, Okanagan Valley$17.49 | 88/100

UPC: 778856115055

Now a classic, this aromatic blend of Chasselas, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris has returned to its bright, light and fresh form in 2016, and it’s delicious. Fine tangerine, Asian pear, yellow apple and a nip of zesty spice marks a snappy finish. Light bodied and brunch ready you can pour this all summer on the patio.

Blasted Church Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Okanagan Valley

$24 | 89/100

UPC: 626990253211

This is the best we have tasted from Blasted Church’s Sauvignon portfolio. The nose is a mix of grassy grapefruit, melon rind, floral notes. The attack is similar with a subtle undertone of sweetness and pink grapefruit with grassy/nettle, ripe passion fruit flavours. A solid effort that would be perfect with West Coast mussels. Private wine shops.

Freemark Abbey Chardonnay 2015, Napa Valley, California, United States

$35 | 91/100

UPC: 015917026999

Expect an expressive ripe, fruity nose of pineapple, guava and peach reflecting a mix of cooler sites including Coombsville, Howell Mountain, Carneros, and Suscol Creek. The palate is fresh with a linear tone and a complex, spicy nutmeg underbelly with creamy pear, citrus, green apple. The wood and lees is subtle but present with 67 per cent of the wine barrel fermented and no malolactic fermentation.  A solid, fair-priced California Chardonnay. Perfect for a lobster dish.

Cims del Montsant Carignan-Grenache 2012, Montsant, Catalunya, Spain

$14.99 | 88/100

UPC: 8437013573030

Monsant is a stone’s throw (or is that a piece of llicorella?) from nearby and highly heralded Priorat region. Cims is a mix of Carignan and Garnacha planted at a dizzying 530 meters above sea level. Expect a rich, round, sunbaked red full of black cherries, intense wild blackberries and tempered by a plummy licorice finish. The tannins remain youthful and gritty, calling for grilled sausages or venison. We love the value here, and you can age this wine too. A BCLDB exclusive means its everywhere and cheap – the monopoly has its privileges.

La Vieille Ferme Côtes du Ventoux Rouge Rhone Valley, France

$18.99 (1500ml) | 87/100

UPC: 631470000018

They say that magnum (1500ml) bottles are in, but were they ever out? Here’s a barbecue red that will turn heads all night because it’s fun to drink and the bottle is, well, big. A Ventoux red, it slides down with ease mixing Carignan, Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah. Fresh and juicy, with light tannins it is a grilled beef slayer — and it is under screw cap. Best of all is the price in magnum at $18.99, or $9.50 per bottle. Back up the truck.

Roasted and grilled pork ribs with quince glaze

Grill Smoke BBQ is an instructive volume with a wealth of recipes for those seeking the kiss of smoke. British chef and author Ben Tish developed this unique collection of breakfast, tapas and mains as head chef at London’s highly-regarded, Spanish-influenced restaurant Ember Yard, though he has since left. You’ll need a lump of oak or beech hardwood.

3 lbs (1.4 kg) pork ribs

1 ½ tbsp (22.5 mL) coarse sea salt

10 black peppercorns

3 bay leaves

7 oz (200 mL) quince paste, a.k.a. membrillo

1/4 cup (60 mL) white balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup (60 mL) dark brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Place ribs in a large roasting pan and add 3 quarts (3 L) water. Stir in salt, peppercorns and bay leaves. Cover with foil, transfer to oven and cook until ribs are soft and tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the ribs from pan and leave to cool for an hour. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over low heat, combine quince paste, vinegar and sugar with 1¼ cups (310 mL) water and stir until quince paste has completely melted.

Preheat barbecue and prepare for direct and indirect cooking. Place wood onto charcoal to start smoking. Brush ribs with glaze and place over direct heat. Cook for 2 minutes on each side before moving ribs to the indirect heat zone and basting with glaze. Close lid and continue to cook ribs, turning and basting them every 3 minutes or so, until they are glazed and lightly charred with a good crust.

Makes 4 servings.

Wine match

Barbecued ribs with a sweet glaze may have you thinking red, but in the summer, Riesling is a more effective pairing.

Quails’ Gate Dry Riesling 2016, Okanagan Valley, $15.99

Expect a fresh, green, lime/apple affair lined with orange flecks with a dry, mineral bite to cut into the ribs.

Upper Bench Limited Release Riesling 2016, Okanagan Valley, $23

A linear aromatic white with ripe pear, green apple, white peach and pink grapefruit that will tame the strong flavours of this dish.

CLICK HERE to report a typo.

Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email

    This Week's Flyers

    We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.


text:
Weekend concert picks: Dan Mangan's Smorgasbord, Robert Plant, Record Store Day

Share Adjust Comment Print

Dan Mangan

Plenty of goings-on this weekend including Dan Mangan‘s Smorgasbord featuring Veda Hille, Aidan Knight, Charles Demers and a host of other guests including Mayor Gregor Robertson at St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church on Saturday night. Tickets, if there are any left, are $20 at eventbrite.com, with proceeds going to charity. And in case you missed it, I recently caught up with Mangan to talk about the making of his third album, which will come out in the fall.

Sunday, former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant is playing a sold-out show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre supporting his latest effort Band of Joy, which features such stellar talent as Patty Griffin, among others. Should be amazing.

Finally, the focal point of the weekend has to be Record Store Day on Saturday, a worldwide event that celebrates independent music stores and all things vinyl. There are a bunch of things happening surrounding the event including a 15-plus band showcase at Neptoon Records including Red Cedar, Piggy, The Fiends and more, Zulu will have performances by No Gold and Yukon Blonde, and Highlife Records has Paul Pigat and Wyckham Porteous playing a few tunes.

Of course, there will also be plenty going on at all your other favourites: Red CatScrape, Scratch, Dandelion, AudiopileZoo Zhop and Vinyl Records, so why don’t you drop by and scoop up one of the many limited-edition releases made available only for Record Store Day 2011?

Not sure what you should really be looking for? Paste recently listed 30 of their best picks, and it’s a pretty good place to start.

(Correction from earlier post: The Devon Clifford Tribute takes place Wednesday, April 20th at the Biltmore Cabaret).

Follow Francois Marchand and get the latest music news updates from The Vancouver Sun on Twitter: @AwesomeSoundVS.

    This Week's Flyers

    Leave a Reply

    Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

    WordPress.com Logo

    You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

    Google photo

    You are commenting using your Google account. Log Out /  Change )

    Twitter picture

    You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

    Facebook photo

    You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

    Connecting to %s


text:
Gloria indeed!

My challenge for December is to post every day – among other posts – links to uplifting stories and videos, be it music or news that makes us smile for a while. Enjoy, comment, like and share. If you have a personal, or local story to share, e-mail

I don’t think it’s any surprise that I love Christmas and Christmas music. This is simply beautiful.

Tagged as: , ,

Categorised in: Holidays, Inspiration, Joy in the Morning

Joy in the Morning, Words of Hope and Encouragement, a tiny tome 31 pages long. Click on the Shop tab and download today for .99. Dismiss

%d bloggers like this:


text:
Healthcare Marketing in Knoxville, TN

Knoxville Office

200 Prosperity Road
Knoxville, TN 37923

About Vanguard

Vanguard Communications is a healthcare marketing and practice improvement firm based in Denver, Colorado, with locations in San Jose, CA, Jacksonville, FL, and Knoxville, TN. Vanguard’s flagship program MedMarketLink provides marketing strategy specifically designed for healthcare providers to increase new patients. Vanguard guarantees a 15-30 percent increase in new patients within the first year, or they’ll work for free.

Vanguard’s most recent service line, MedAmorphosis, is a process improvement program that creates efficiencies and reduces waste, ultimately making practices more profitable, with happier providers, staff and patients.

To learn more about how MedMarketLink and MedAmorpohosis can help your practice thrive, schedule an intro call.

Schedule a call