News for today's 2018: 09/25/13

TWO TOP BARRIERS TO SHARING THE GOOD NEWS

11:23 PM Tukiyooo 0

<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here’s a paradox for you. I believe (that doesn’t mean I opine, that I think this is probably right – it means this s a conviction on which I base my life, this the basket in which I place my existential chips) – I believe evangelism is the most important thing we are on this earth to do. But I don’t worry much about the church folks who are against evangelism, hate the word, and oppose all our efforts to do it. The reason I don’t mind them is that those folks are often the best evangelists; while the ones who claim to support evangelism are actually gatekeepers excluding people from the church. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I want to name the major obstacles to evangelism, the barriers to doing the first thing Jesus told his disciples to do, proclaim the good news. People opposed to evangelism are not the problem. We have far larger obstacles.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are plenty of good methods for evangelism, effective, proven methods. But churches use them only a little if at all. They don’t use them because the congregations are not spiritually evangelistic. Even if the staff used the proven methods, they wouldn’t work unless the congregation is authentically evangelistic. So the barriers to evangelism are really spiritual issues inside each congregation. These barriers are killers for many congregations, but only minor problems in others. It’s a matter of degree and we can work on the degree.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THE WRONG MOTIVATION.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The biggest barrier to evangelism is the wrong motivation, which results in something that pretends to be evangelism but is actually just a sales pitch. It comes from this: “I just wish we could get some more people in the church.” “I wish we had more young families.” “What we need is more children in the church so we can have a Sunday School.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Those natural and common attitudes – I hear those things said in our churches all the time! – are poison to evangelism. Why? Because they aspire to lasso poor innocent people who are minding their own business, reading the newspaper on Sunday morning while eating bagels and drinking coffee, and drag them into our churches to meet our needs. We need them to prop up our institution, which we are afraid is going to die out from under us. So we solicit people to join us to meet our needs. In other words, we want to use them for our own ends. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">People are pretty smart. They don’t like being used. And they can smell manipulation. If we are after pledge units, a treasurer, or someone to chair building and grounds, then secular folks will run the other way and rightly so. That is not evangelism. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Evangelism is possible only if two things come together. And if they come together evangelism is inevitable. First, we have to have Jesus in our hearts. We symbolize that in the Eucharist when the people who will administer the sacrament receiving it first .We cannot give what we have not first received. If we don’t have a genuine relationship with God the Son who cares for us, redeems us, and shows us the path to joy, then we have nothing to offer anyone else. If we don’t have a relationship with Jesus that makes us want to share him with others, then we are dead in the water. So the starting point is our own spirituality, our own discovery of mercy and blessing. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Second, we have to have the other person in our hearts. If we don’t care about the well being of the other person, then we won’t share our spiritual treasure with them. We will be trying to get something from them instead. But when we have the other person in our hearts and we have Jesus in our hearts, they can’t help but meet.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I had the privilege of addressing the House of Bishops this month about several things going on in Nevada, including our stewardship and evangelism. This is part of what I said:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“A few years ago I was visiting congregations. I asked them, ‘What is the mission here?’ .The most common answer by far was ‘survival.’ That is a self-defeating mission if ever there was one. Jesus said, ‘He who seeks to save his life will lose it.’ That seemed to be true for congregations who were trying to survive.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are other things we could be concerned about. Our suicide rate is double the national average. Our death rate from alcoholic liver disease is 1.7 times the national average.  We lead the nation in women killed in domestic violence. Las Vegas has more sexually trafficked minors than Bangkok. Our high school graduation rate is the worst in the nation. Some of us have begun to wonder if perhaps Jesus cares about those things. And if Jesus cares, maybe it’s our business to care too. That would be a different sense of mission . . .. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The final piece of the shift that I am beginning to see is Evangelism. There are two challenges. One is our methodology. The other is our motivation. As long as Evangelism is about our survival or vitality, it is self-serving, not Christ-serving. We are working to take the focus off a nostalgic wish that we had more young families. Instead, we hope to ask who are our neighbors and what do they need? Why are they committing suicide, drinking themselves to death, killing their spouses, dropping out of middle school? And what can we do about it?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus may not be all they need. But Jesus is the first thing they need.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We are hoping for an authentic Evangelism that shares the love of Jesus<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">mediated by an accepting supportive faith community.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The motivation leads inexorably to the plan. We invite the people we care about into a community that will heal them with the love of Jesus. That will include one part God talk to nine parts godly action. But it will include both.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NOT OUR SORT DEAR<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Episcopal congregations are not noted for being welcoming. There is a reason they call us “the frozen chosen.” But we actually do a decent job of welcoming, even inviting, people who are like us. “Like us” means different things in different congregations. But the dynamic is the same. If new people visiting a congregation are, in whatever way the congregation feels (often unconsciously) is important, the newcomers will feel welcome and “fit right in.” But newcomers who are different are not recognized.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One of our congregations has complained to me for years that they have no young adults. They are in fact an aging congregation. But I have never, not once, been to a service there that did not include young adults. I have generally not seen anyone acknowledge their presence. We sometimes seem to be downright blind and deaf to the presence of folks who are different. Congregations that claim to want children in general are sometimes hostile to families who actually dare to bring children to church – especially if the children are the wrong color.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It isn’t just the church. It’s human nature. They even have a term for it in marketing, “the congruity heuristic.” It means “birds of a feather flock together.” It is human nature. To do evangelism we have to overcome human nature with Christ nature. We have to drop the criteria that St. Paul would call “merely human” for another common criteria, our common brokenness and need for Jesus. In an AA meeting, there will be all sorts of people who differ in every way, but they all struggle with addiction. Christians all struggle with sin, mortality, and being cut off from others. We find forgiveness, life, and communion in Jesus mediated by a caring, supportive community. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This takes a constant intentionality. It takes alertness. Our limited efforts to publicize our churches tend to be aimed at people like ourselves. I even hear churches say they are focused on attracting people who are already Episcopalians. Episcopalians who are not in church probably don’t want to be. They have probably been effectively inoculated against the gospel. What about all those people who don’t know Jesus from Spiderman? Nevada is full of genuinely lost, alienated, lonely, despairing people – who just don’t fit our demographic. They are our mission field. They are the sheep of our pasture, the people God has placed in our hand. They are the ones who need what we have. And if we truly have it, we cannot help but share it. If we are not compelled to share it, then we don’t’ have it. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Obviously, we overcome these barriers often enough to celebrate. I have seen some real openness to others, some real sharing of Christ, and some willingness to see the congregational make up change in many of our parishes. I celebrate that. We all should celebrate it. But the obstacles are always there and always need to be remembered so we can keep our witness to the good news of God in Christ Jesus strong, authentic, and transformative. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

TWO TOP BARRIERS TO SHARING THE GOOD NEWS

0 0 1 1281 7308 Episcopal Diocese of Nevada 60 17 8572 14.0 96 800x600 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE …

A wonderful infographic on student workflow using Google Drive

11:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

google Infographics A wonderful infographic on student workflow using Google Drive

This infographic was created by http://oakdome.com/ and I was delighted to see they give one permission to reproduce it on their own site as long as it refers back to them. Thank you! This was created specifically for iPads but it mostly relates to t…

Jeff Daniels: 'Dumb and Dumber 2' will make toilet scene look lame

10:54 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><script type="text/javascript"></script><script src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/">http://www.ontheredcarpet.com</a><br /><br /></div><object height="268" id="otvPlayer" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/static/flash/embeddedPlayer/swf/otvEmLoader.swf?version=fw1000&station=§ion=otrc&mediaId=9259043&parentId=9259125&cdnRoot=http://cdn.abclocal.go.com&webRoot=http://www.ontheredcarpet.com&configPath=/shared/util/&site=" ></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><param name="allowNetworking" value="all"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed id="otvPlayer" width="400" height="268" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all" allowfullscreen="true" src="http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/static/flash/embeddedPlayer/swf/otvEmLoader.swf?version=fw1000&station=§ion=otrc&mediaId=9259043&parentId=9259125&cdnRoot=http://cdn.abclocal.go.com&webRoot=http://www.ontheredcarpet.com&configPath=/shared/util/&site="></embed></object>  <br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;">Jeff Daniels teased a few details about the "Dumb and Dumber" sequel after winning an Emmy on Sunday, Sept. 22.</div><div class="storyModule" id="relatedNews" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(217, 217, 217); color: #333333; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; margin: 10px 10px 10px 0px; max-width: 298px; min-width: 298px; overflow: hidden; width: 298px;"><h2 style="color: #111111; font-size: 24px; line-height: 30px; margin: 10px;"><span style="color: #b70b0b;">Related</span> News</h2><h3 style="clear: both; color: black; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 10px;">Photos:</h3><div class="photoItem" style="clear: both; height: 83px; margin: 0px 10px; max-height: 83px; min-height: 83px; width: 278px;"><a href="http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/photos/Emmy-Awards-2013:-Best-moments-from-the-show-Photos/9257951" style="color: #336699; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Neil Patrick Harris speaks onstage at the 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards, held at the Nokia Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013, in Los Angeles." height="53" src="http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/images/otrc/2010/photos/9257989_94x53.jpg" style="border: none; float: left; height: 53px; margin-right: 10px; width: 94px;" width="94" /></a><br /><div class="photoItemCaption" style="float: right; margin-top: -5px; padding: 0px; width: 170px;"><a href="http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/photos/Emmy-Awards-2013:-Best-moments-from-the-show-Photos/9257951" style="color: #336699; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Emmy Awards 2013: Best moments</a></div></div><div class="photoItem" style="clear: both; height: 83px; margin: 0px 10px; max-height: 83px; min-height: 83px; width: 278px;"><a href="http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/photos/Emmy-Awards-2013:-Best-Red-Carpet-Looks-Photos/9257579" style="color: #336699; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Heidi Klum arrives at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards at Nokia Theatre on Sunday Sept. 22, 2013, in Los Angeles." height="53" src="http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/images/otrc/2010/photos/9257749_94x53.jpg" style="border: none; float: left; height: 53px; margin-right: 10px; width: 94px;" width="94" /></a><br /><div class="photoItemCaption" style="float: right; margin-top: -5px; padding: 0px; width: 170px;"><a href="http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/photos/Emmy-Awards-2013:-Best-Red-Carpet-Looks-Photos/9257579" style="color: #336699; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Emmy Awards 2013 - Best red carpet looks</a></div></div><h3 style="clear: both; color: black; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 10px;">Stories:</h3><ul style="list-style-image: url(http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/static/otrc/art/arw_rt_red.png); margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 10px;"><li><a href="http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/Emmys-2013:-Jeff-Daniels-of-The-Newsroom-wins-Best-Drama-Actor/9257850" style="color: #336699; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Emmys 2013: Jeff Daniels of 'The Newsroom' wins Best Drama Actor</a></li><li><a href="http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/Aaron-Sorkin-reveals-Newsroom-plots-at-PaleyFest-Video/9024838" style="color: #336699; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Aaron Sorkin reveals 'Newsroom' plots at PaleyFest (Video)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/Aaron-Sorkin:-Im-incapable-of-writing-something-that-is-too-smart-for-anybody/8712858" style="color: #336699; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Aaron Sorkin: I'm incapable of writing something that is too smart for anybody</a></li></ul></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;">The 58-year-old actor <a href="http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/Emmys-2013:-Jeff-Daniels-of-The-Newsroom-wins-Best-Drama-Actor/9257850" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;" title="Emmys 2013: Jeff Daniels of 'The Newsroom' wins Best Drama Actor">took home an Emmy for his work on "The Newsroom"</a> and revealed while talking to the press backstage after his big win that he was "gonna party 'til dawn and then I'm gonna get on a plane and go to Atlanta and start shooting 'Dumb and Dumber 2.'"</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;">"The intellectual free-fall from Will McAvoy to Harry Dunne ... imagine if you will," he joked, talking about his intelligent "Newsroom" character and his not-so-smart "Dumb and Dumber" character. Watch a video of his backstage interview in the video above.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;">He later added about shooting the film, "There are some things we're going to do in 'Dumb and Dumber 2' that make the toilet scene look lame ... pales in comparison. I can't divulge what, just that they've topped it."</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;">Peter Farrelly, who wrote and directed the original film with his brother Bobby Farrelly, <a href="https://twitter.com/farrellybros/status/382130604612931584" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;" title="Farrelly Brothers Twitter">tweeted on the brothers' shared Twitter account</a> on Monday, Sept. 23, "The first shot of #DumbTo is officially in the can! P."</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;">The original film was released in 1994 and showed Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and best friend Harry (Daniels) going off on a cross-country adventure to deliver a suitcase and win the heart of Mary Swanson (played by Carrey's ex-wife Lauren Holly). The two grown men lacked any form of common sense and get mixed up in a kidnapping plot.</div></div></div>

Jeff Daniels: 'Dumb and Dumber 2' will make toilet scene look lame Jeff Daniels: 'Dumb and Dumber 2' will make toilet scene look lame

http://www.ontheredcarpet.com Jeff Daniels teased a few details about the "Dumb and Dumber" sequel after winning an Emmy on Sunday, Sept. 22.Related NewsPhotos:Emmy Awards 2013: Best momentsEmmy Awards 2013 - Best red carpet looksStories:Emmys 2013:…

Rihanna & Teyana Taylor Engage In Twitter Beef

10:49 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/<br /><h1 itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #f03e36; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 6px; min-height: 52px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 380px;">Rihanna & Teyana Taylor Engage In Twitter Beef</h1><div><img src="http://thumbs.hh.ulximg.com/public/article/600_1380053467_1f58eb0d274ddf472f8478e58cec88bd.jpg" /></div><div><div class="summary" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rihanna threw shade at Teyana Taylor in an Instagram post, and was later called out by the singer on Twitter.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="text-word" href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/Rihanna/profile/" style="border: 0px; color: #8222aa; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Rihanna</a>'s Instagram<a href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/rihanna-s-instagram-photo-leads-to-two-arrests-in-thailand-news.7345.html" style="border: 0px; color: #8222aa; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"> landed two young men in jail</a> only a few days ago, and the singer has already managed to create controversy over another post-- though this time intentionally. </div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It all started a couple weeks back, when <a class="text-word" href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/TeyanaTaylor/profile/" style="border: 0px; color: #8222aa; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Teyana Taylor</a> posted an IG video on her own account singing Anita Baker's "Caught In The Rapture". Then last night, <a class="text-word" href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/Rihanna/profile/" style="border: 0px; color: #8222aa; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Rihanna</a> posted a video of her male hair stylist singing the song, mockingly dressed up as the singer.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Teyana picked up on the shade, and has since been going at <a class="text-word" href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/Rihanna/profile/" style="border: 0px; color: #8222aa; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Rihanna</a> on Twitter, as well as exchanging tweets with RiRi's friend Melissa Forde. </div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Update</strong>: <a class="text-word" href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/Rihanna/profile/" style="border: 0px; color: #8222aa; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Rihanna</a> has now changed her Twitter header to Teyana and her own networths side by side. View it in the gallery above.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Update 2</strong>: Teyana has responded by changing her header to an even more distasteful image. See it in the gallery above.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></div></div>

Rihanna & Teyana Taylor Engage In Twitter Beef Rihanna & Teyana Taylor Engage In Twitter Beef

http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/Rihanna & Teyana Taylor Engage In Twitter BeefRihanna threw shade at Teyana Taylor in an Instagram post, and was later called out by the singer on Twitter.Rihanna's Instagram landed two young men in jail only a few days ag…

Food Network Chefs Ranked by Sense of Humor

9:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal">Hola Foodies! In case you were wondering, I continue to be obsessed with Food Network and all their celebrity chefs. Many of them do so many things that drive me crazy, but I’ve complained about that enough. Today I’m going to do something different. I’m going to rank some of the Food Network Chefs from WORST to BEST sense of humor<span style="color: red;">*</span>. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We’ll start with the obviously humorless…<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- Rachael Ray:</b> There are people out there who claim that Rachael is a delightful and funny person. I think they’re lying. She is completely and totally devoid of any sense of humor (or human decency) at all. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- Melissa d’Arabian:</b> In addition to being the biggest fraud on Food Network, this chick is a completely humorless prig. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- Geoffrey Zakarian:</b> This guy wouldn’t know funny if it popped him on the nose after pointing to his tie. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- Giada de Laurentiis:</b> She is entirely too shallow, too much of a snob and takes herself way too seriously to have any real sense of humor. She might smile real pretty and pretend, but on the inside she’s burning w/ anger over anything that might seem funny to others. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyh6LB0tcLdKlzWZ_WQTSmSMbz3AKXx1WeUcIvzGTVPftlBlPy3AmXKaLjyuruyRy8i3YnvARq4gTA6eJI6fIRH866FUBQtPjNBdg2vTGTOFiE7NBnPBzA2mQm43PmiGDmGiU9SuIjeWGf/s1600/Giada+De+Laurentiis+Boobs+Cleavage+Hot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyh6LB0tcLdKlzWZ_WQTSmSMbz3AKXx1WeUcIvzGTVPftlBlPy3AmXKaLjyuruyRy8i3YnvARq4gTA6eJI6fIRH866FUBQtPjNBdg2vTGTOFiE7NBnPBzA2mQm43PmiGDmGiU9SuIjeWGf/s1600/Giada+De+Laurentiis+Boobs+Cleavage+Hot.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- Tyler Florence:</b> Another one who takes himself a little too seriously to be able to just kick back and have a few laughs with the boys. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- Bobby Flay: </b>Surprisingly, Bobby does have a bit of sense of humor. Most of comes from arrogance and his raging ego, but it shows up sometimes. He is more humble than he used to be though. I’ll admit that. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Guy Fieri:</b> Despite his out of control douche-baggery does like to have a good time and laugh.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- Jeff Mauro: </b>The Sandwich King seems like a pretty affable guy who, unlike Tyler Florence, probably can and does sit around and yuk it up. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- Alton Brown:</b> He’s a pretty funny, nerdy guy who seems have something of a sense of humor. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- Sunny Anderson:</b> Another nice and friendly person who is probably fairly funny and seems like she’d be cool to hang with. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- Ree Drummond:</b> The Pioneer Woman is hard to figure out, but I think she’s probably pretty darn funny. She is also welcome to cook the main course at any big party or function I’m ever attending. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- Ina Garten:</b> This may come as a surprise to you people, but Ina has an excellent sense of humor. It’s just as awkward as her limited social skills, but it’s there and it’s golden. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- The Neely’s:</b> Pat and Gina Neely love to eat BBQ, drink beer, party and laugh. Awesome people! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- Sandra Lee:</b> Anyone who drinks and parties as much as Sandra is going have a great sense of humor. Just don’t let her make the Kwanzaa Cake. Or the Hanukkah Cake. Or probably the Christmas Cake. Actually, just have her bartend. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoaYkE83u9InHOsjDS7vRi7zR4PJiL0nQ7VHTYE5xNiSjTPPT20IQ0BzASaSYxwGj9L8HD94Envxoopj08uQgMrUprY3DAW67kYUjcjS55S6EAqKAGPQ89LBTItUDsSWV5CUkkjFaOnqlq/s1600/Sandra+Lee+Boobs+Cleavage+Hot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoaYkE83u9InHOsjDS7vRi7zR4PJiL0nQ7VHTYE5xNiSjTPPT20IQ0BzASaSYxwGj9L8HD94Envxoopj08uQgMrUprY3DAW67kYUjcjS55S6EAqKAGPQ89LBTItUDsSWV5CUkkjFaOnqlq/s1600/Sandra+Lee+Boobs+Cleavage+Hot.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- Anne Burrell:</b> Maybe a little raunchy for some folks, but Anne loves to laugh and have a good time. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- Trisha Yearwood:</b> All redneck women are funny as hell and Trisha is no exception. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>- Duff Goldman:</b> A genuinely funny guy and is probably the most real person of anyone at the Food Network. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red;">*</span>Obviously, if <b>Paula Deen</b> and/or <b>Emeril Lagasse</b> were still at Food Network they would be listed as the two funniest people with the best senses of humor BY FAR!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:Jayman3768@gmail.com">Jayman3768@gmail.com</a><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/jayman68" target="_blank">Facebook</a><br /><a href="http://www.twitter.com/jayman_iws" target="_blank">@Jayman_IWS</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div>

Food Network Chefs Ranked by Sense of Humor

Hola Foodies! In case you were wondering, I continue to be obsessed with Food Network and all their celebrity chefs. Many of them do so many things that drive me crazy, but I’ve complained about that enough. Today I’m going to do something different.…

Nonfinancial Corporations Sector: Hours Worked

8:10 PM Tukiyooo 0

Nonfinancial Corporations Sector: Hours Worked

Click to enlarge.Source Data:St. Louis Fed: Nonfinancial Corporations Sector: Hours Worked…

A Blast from the Past

6:30 PM Tukiyooo 0

A Blast from the Past

It was January 1999 when I started A Weekly Dose of Architecture, when very few web pages on architecture existed. One page that started a year earlier—and I was amazed to still find online, given that its last revision was May 20, 2000—was The Front…

Household Net Worth vs. Total Credit Market Debt Owed

6:30 PM Tukiyooo 0

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8shxvkn85xBs0ikkWkA8pafOEOwYCla9WXjBEqbidEKHzeEhPNsJizFsTmgmHEr_DPNVWj3IltGabJ2xnrdxzWSLfG1DC5uK808DeVsVsOzS4uihBfh00VY2XTpoTADcmF51qQOoyrY/s1600/Household+Net+Worth+vs.+Total+Credit+Market+Debt+Owed.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8shxvkn85xBs0ikkWkA8pafOEOwYCla9WXjBEqbidEKHzeEhPNsJizFsTmgmHEr_DPNVWj3IltGabJ2xnrdxzWSLfG1DC5uK808DeVsVsOzS4uihBfh00VY2XTpoTADcmF51qQOoyrY/s320/Household+Net+Worth+vs.+Total+Credit+Market+Debt+Owed.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br /><b>What pessimists see:</b><br /><br />1. We're in a long-term linear trend channel heading to zero.<br />2. We're at the top of the trend channel again (last seen in 2006:Q1 and 2000:Q1).<br /><br /><b>What optimists see:</b><br /><br />3. Yes, but net worth can't fall below zero. The downward trend is therefore guaranteed to fail someday!<br /><br />It's nice to see both camps in complete agreement here, lol. Sigh.<br /><br /><b>See Also:</b><br /><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2010/06/sarcasm-disclaimer.html">Sarcasm Disclaimer</a><br /><br /><b>Source Data:</b><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=mLB">St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart</a>

Household Net Worth vs. Total Credit Market Debt Owed

Click to enlarge.What pessimists see:1. We're in a long-term linear trend channel heading to zero.2. We're at the top of the trend channel again (last seen in 2006:Q1 and 2000:Q1).What optimists see:3. Yes, but net worth can't fall below zero. The do…

Two Fold Foods Review!

2:44 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lately I've been on a smoothie kick and have been blending up my own at home which is more healthier.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I add all kinds of toppings on top whether it's a Graham cracker or granola!</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There's something about granola that I love it goes great on anything!</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.twofoldfoods.com/">Two Fold foods</a> sent me samples of their scrumptious granolas and savory nuts for a review !</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What I love about their products is that they don't have any names in them that are hard to pronounce like some on the labels of our favorite foods.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They make their granola in small batches with the finest ingredients such as:</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Coconut</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Black pepper</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cashews</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Quinoa</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And so on</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Classic granola:</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DkFdvBrbNqI/UkNTiHvnmnI/AAAAAAAAJ24/MUjKl5yD5Nw/s1600/13+-+1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DkFdvBrbNqI/UkNTiHvnmnI/AAAAAAAAJ24/MUjKl5yD5Nw/s320/13+-+1" width="320" /></span></i></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I thought that this was just a plain old boring granola until I tasted coconut! With the delicious sweet taste of cinnamon and vanilla along with the nuttiness of the nuts the coconut flakes really kick it up a notch adding flavor! Worked perfectly on my breakfast consisting of a banana cheesecake smoothie! A little crunch was just what I needed on top!</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Savory nuts:</span></i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e9leBVNd6os/UkioLJEOLYI/AAAAAAAAKAU/L1_hBd7t9UE/s1600/13+-+1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e9leBVNd6os/UkioLJEOLYI/AAAAAAAAKAU/L1_hBd7t9UE/s320/13+-+1" width="320" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4KdqTdRrO8s/UkNTiHOS6gI/AAAAAAAAJ28/cNFztXxHeNU/s1600/13+-+2" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4KdqTdRrO8s/UkNTiHOS6gI/AAAAAAAAJ28/cNFztXxHeNU/s320/13+-+2" width="320" /></a></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Great tasting and works well on a salad, on some ice cream, or  in a smoothie !</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Quinoa granola:</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DXo3gRAd9Ck/UkNTiOwMbZI/AAAAAAAAJ2s/00BTlBOZjag/s1600/13+-+3" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DXo3gRAd9Ck/UkNTiOwMbZI/AAAAAAAAJ2s/00BTlBOZjag/s320/13+-+3" width="320" /></span></i></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now this is superfood right here! Packed with walnuts, cashews and pecans with a dusting of unsweetened coconut! Amazingly good in yogurt! </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Links:</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Website: </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.twofoldfoods.com/"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">http://www.twofoldfoods.com</span></i></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Facebook:</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/twofoldfoods">https://www.facebook.com/twofoldfoods</a></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Twitter:</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/twofoldfoods">https://twitter.com/twofoldfoods</a></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>

Two Fold Foods Review!

Lately I've been on a smoothie kick and have been blending up my own at home which is more healthier.I add all kinds of toppings on top whether it's a Graham cracker or granola!There's something about granola that I love it goes great on anything!Two…

Household Net Worth vs. Disposable Personal Income

2:36 PM Tukiyooo 0

Household Net Worth vs. Disposable Personal Income

Click to enlarge.Despair.com: MeetingsNone of us is as dumb as all of us.Source Data:St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart…

Federal contract workers strike in DC for 5th time

2:03 PM Tukiyooo 0

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVv8Ey7Q4aDi4h1ZzFgQd1IY4Oez0vcCuMWiWlQ_0E39KexcV9JCJ7lTEQ1d044afW2_0TWZs7fnnMEDYYshheTjhRAT-mVF6fWBKR2tILyLJ3dEUEtJFqrBPWkpgOggn1EQSEOg0zX4Tk/s1600/march+good+jobs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVv8Ey7Q4aDi4h1ZzFgQd1IY4Oez0vcCuMWiWlQ_0E39KexcV9JCJ7lTEQ1d044afW2_0TWZs7fnnMEDYYshheTjhRAT-mVF6fWBKR2tILyLJ3dEUEtJFqrBPWkpgOggn1EQSEOg0zX4Tk/s400/march+good+jobs.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marching down Pennsylvania Ave. today.</td></tr></tbody></table>Cleaning and concession workers went on strike today in Washington, D.C., demanding an end to wage theft and retaliation for trying to form a union. Organizers said it was the biggest one-day strike yet.<br /><br />The striking workers serve food or clean Union Station, Smithsonian Museums and the Ronald Reagan Building and Old Post Office -- all owned by the federal government. This is the fifth one-day walkout since May by employees of federal government contractors.  Their actions already spurred a Department of Labor investigation into their allegations of wage theft, and outspoken support from 17 progressive members of Congress.<br /><br />Today they rallied at Freedom Plaza, then marched to the White House where six workers delivered petitions signed by 250,000 people. The <a href="http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Political-Action-Legislation/Low-Wage-Federal-Contract-Workers-to-Strike-Today">petitions</a> asked for an executive order requiring federal contractors be given preference for providing decent pay and benefits.<br /><br />Paying workers more money wouldn't cost taxpayers a dime more, according to a <a href="http://www.demos.org/news/time-roll-back-760k-contractor-salary-cap" rel="nofollow">Demos</a> report released today. The think tank figures that capping contractor executive salaries at $230,700 a year -- Vice President Joe Biden's salary -- that would <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/09/25/2677071/federal-contracts-send-billions-of-dollars-to-ceos-but-pay-workers-a-poverty-wage/" rel="nofollow">save as much as $7.65 billion annually</a>.<br /><br />In the past month, <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/08/LA-port-drivers-strike-electrifies-workers.html" rel="nofollow">port truck drivers</a> hoping to join the <a href="http://teamster.org/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters</a> walked off the job; so did<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/29/fast-food-workers-strike-for-higher-pay-in-nearly-60-cities/2726815/" rel="nofollow"> fast-food workers in 60 cities</a>, and 68 people were arrested across the country in nonviolent protests of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/05/walmart-protesters-arrested_n_3873791.html" rel="nofollow">Walmart's retaliation against workers</a>. Josh Eidelson at <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/09/24/federal_workers_to_strike_march_on_white_house_wednesday/singleton/" rel="nofollow">Salon</a> reports on the growing support for one-day strikes.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Their effort exemplifies twin trends in the modern, embattled labor movement. First, <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/08/29/largest_fast_food_strike_ever_today_50_cities_will_be_affected/">the rise</a> of one-day, non-union strikes by minorities of the workforce, designed to embarrass bosses and engage co-workers and the public. And second, new campaigns that sidestep workers’ legal employer — whether a fast food franchisee, a warehouse company hired by Wal-Mart, or a federal contractor — and instead attempt to squeeze the “<a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/07/22/guest_workers_may_foretell_grim_future_of_american_labor_partner/">real boss</a>”: the fast food corporation, the retail giant or the president of the United States...</blockquote>President Obama has signed an executive order that bans federal contractors from billing the government for union busters.<br /><br />Find out more at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GoodJobsNation?ref=br_tf" rel="nofollow">Good Jobs Nation Facebook page</a>. <br /><br />

federal contractor employees low-wage workers strike Federal contract workers strike in DC for 5th time

Marching down Pennsylvania Ave. today.Cleaning and concession workers went on strike today in Washington, D.C., demanding an end to wage theft and retaliation for trying to form a union. Organizers said it was the biggest one-day strike yet.The strik…

This is what we union THUGGs do at Farm Aid

12:10 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEe3cjnTTuBdJ6bAwB43CpAt8RLWTYJuJAUSr2US1k6L8lq_PWGMBegtzsVEkfjIBjUcP7LiTm0GhI4Y6KUv61nBNbAcxzNmmV-KiT4kRbtuZrnFChoOa1VZIqGepk_ovymf9YusozJwg7/s1600/Local+294+group+shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEe3cjnTTuBdJ6bAwB43CpAt8RLWTYJuJAUSr2US1k6L8lq_PWGMBegtzsVEkfjIBjUcP7LiTm0GhI4Y6KUv61nBNbAcxzNmmV-KiT4kRbtuZrnFChoOa1VZIqGepk_ovymf9YusozJwg7/s400/Local+294+group+shot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption">Local 294 members enjoying the show while Jack Johnson was joined by Willie's Son Lukas Nelson.<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table>We volunteer to transport equipment and musicians to and from the concert.<br /><br />For the past two decades, Teamsters have volunteered at <a href="http://www.farmaid.org/site/c.qlI5IhNVJsE/b.2723605/k.C7B8/Concert.htm" rel="nofollow">Farm Aid concerts</a>, providing transportation for the artists and equipment, and for any other requests that come up. This year, members of <a href="http://www.teamsterslocal294.org/">Teamsters Local 294</a>, led by President John Bulgaro, in Albany did the honors for the 11-hour festival on Saturday.<br /><br />“Who knows the local area better than local drivers?” said John Hasley, a retired Teamster carhauler and member of <a href="http://teamstersonline.com/forums/illinois-teamsters-locals/29868-teamsters-local-710-a.html" rel="nofollow">Teamsters Local 710</a> in the Chicago area and Teamsters Local 299 in Detroit. Hasley has attended 16 Farm Aid concerts. He takes the photos of Teamsters volunteering at the event and, of course, the performers.<br /><br />“This year was excellent and the venue was extraordinary,” Hasley said of Saratoga Springs, New York. “The highlight was 94-year-old Pete Seeger’s performance.”<br /><br />The annual <a href="http://www.farmaid.org/site/c.qlI5IhNVJsE/b.2723595/k.EE67/Family_Farmers_Good_Food_A_Better_America.htm">Farm Aid</a> concert has raised $43 million to help family farmers. This year's concert in upstate New York  featured the three founders of Farm Aid -- Neil Young, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp -- along with board member Dave Matthews. According to the <a href="http://www.farmaid.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=qlI5IhNVJsE&b=2792875&ct=13315251&notoc=1" rel="nofollow">Farm Aid press statement</a>, they:<br /><div><blockquote class="tr_bq">...emphasized the critical responsibility of businesses, policymakers — and everyone who eats — to help grow the Good Food Movement. More than 25,000 fans attended the sold-out event, hosted at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) in Saratoga Springs, N. Y. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"Every time we eat, we determine the direction of our food system," said Nelson, president and founder of Farm Aid. "Farmers are doing their part. When we all stand with them and do our part, we can bring about change that's good for all of us."</blockquote><div><div><a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/neil-young-covers-tim-hardins-reason-to-believe-at-farm-aid-20130923" rel="nofollow">Rolling Stone</a> reported: </div><blockquote class="tr_bq">Farm Aid was founded in 1985 by Willie Nelson after he heard Bob Dylan's impromptu comment at Live Aid that some of the money raised should be used to help farmers pay their mortgages. The line incensed Live Aid co-founder Bob Geldof (who felt it was off-message and trivial when compared to the famine in Ethiopia), but Nelson felt differently; just a few months later, he held the first Farm Aid in Champaign, Illinois. </blockquote><div>Watch Neil Young's performance of "Reason To Believe" <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/neil-young-covers-tim-hardins-reason-to-believe-at-farm-aid-20130923">here</a>, Pete Seeger sing "This Land Is Your Land" <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/neil-young-dave-matthews-jack-johnson-triumph-at-soggy-farm-aid-20130922">here</a> and John Mellencamp sing "Jack and Diane" <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gllba3woY9k&list=SPNVdgfOEXnVpf5l47WdOvI48kCubWNXmx" rel="nofollow">here</a>. (Or watch Farm Aid's whole youtube channel <a href="http://www.youtube.com/farmaid" rel="nofollow">here</a>.)<br /><br />And remember, "THUGGs" stands for Those Helpful Union Guys and Gals.<br /><br /></div></div></div>

Farm Aid thuggs This is what we union THUGGs do at Farm Aid

Local 294 members enjoying the show while Jack Johnson was joined by Willie's Son Lukas Nelson. We volunteer to transport equipment and musicians to and from the concert.For the past two decades, Teamsters have volunteered at Farm Aid concerts, provi…

Angel, Irish And Wirecutter At The Beach, The Early Years

11:26 AM Tukiyooo 0

Angel, Irish And Wirecutter At The Beach, The Early Years

Shameless little tart, ain't she?…

Susan Murphy — MacArthur Foundation

11:14 AM Tukiyooo 0

<base href="data:"><div style="text-align: left; "><p style="color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; ">Susan Murphy is a statistician developing new methodologies to evaluate courses of treatment for individuals coping with chronic or relapsing disorders such as depression or substance abuse. In contrast to the treatment of acute illness, where clinicians make a single decision about treatment, doctors treating chronic ailments make a sequence of decisions over time about the best therapeutic approach based on the current state of a patient, the stage of the disease, and the individual's response to prior treatments.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Murphy has developed a formal model of this decision-making process and an innovative design for clinical trials that allow researchers to test the efficacy of adaptive interventions. While the standard clinical trial paradigm simply tests and compares "one shot" treatments in a defined population, Murphy's Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial (SMART) is a means for learning how best to dynamically adapt treatment to each individual's response over time. Using SMART, clinicians assess and modify patients' treatments during the trial, an approach with potential applications in the treatment of a range of chronic diseases—such as ADHD, alcoholism, drug addiction, HIV/AIDS, and cardiovascular disease—that involve therapies that are regularly reconsidered and replaced as the disease progresses.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">As Murphy continues to refine adaptive interventions, she is working to increase opportunities for implementation in clinical settings through collaborations with medical researchers, clinicians, and computer scientists focused on sequential decision making. By translating statistical theory into powerful tools for evaluating and tailoring complex medical therapies, Murphy is poised to have a significant impact on the field of personalized medicine, an area of great activity in biomedical research today.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; ">Susan Murphy received a B.S. (1980) from Louisiana State University and a Ph.D. (1989) from the University of North Carolina. She was affiliated with Pennsylvania State University (1989–1997) prior to her appointment to the faculty of the <a href="http://www.lsa.umich.edu/stats/people/faculty/ci.murphysusana_ci.detail" style="color: rgb(0, 155, 219); text-decoration: none; ">University of Michigan</a>, where she is currently the H. E. Robbins Professor of Statistics, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry, and a research professor in the Institute for Social Research. She is also a principal investigator at the <a href="http://methodology.psu.edu/people/smurphy" style="color: rgb(0, 155, 219); text-decoration: none; ">Methodology Center</a> of Pennsylvania State University.</p></div><a href="http://www.macfound.org/fellows/898/">http://www.macfound.org/fellows/898/</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

Susan Murphy — MacArthur Foundation

Susan Murphy is a statistician developing new methodologies to evaluate courses of treatment for individuals coping with chronic or relapsing disorders such as depression or substance abuse. In contrast to the treatment of acute illness, where clinic…

Julie Livingston — MacArthur Foundation

11:12 AM Tukiyooo 0

<base href="data:"><div style="text-align: left; "><p style="color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Julie Livingston is a medical historian who combines archival research with ethnography to explore the care and treatment of individuals suffering from chronic illnesses and debilitating ailments in Botswana, a middle-income country with a system of universal health care. Drawing on her interdisciplinary training in anthropology and public health, Livingston augments the history of medicine with a history of emotions, spotlighting the bodily vulnerability of populations facing the challenges of twenty-first-century political and economic development.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Her descriptions of the adaptive responses of caregivers and communities in <a href="http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/product_info.php?products_id=22226" style="color: rgb(0, 155, 219); text-decoration: none; "><em style="font-style: italic; ">Debility and the Moral Imagination in Botswana</em></a> (2005) illuminates how traditional healing and caregiving practices have been reshaped and reconfigured by regional political and economic dislocation and Western biomedical ideas and techniques. In <em style="font-style: italic; "><a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/Improvising-Medicine/" style="color: rgb(0, 155, 219); text-decoration: none; ">Improvising Medicine: An African Oncology Ward in an Emerging Cancer Epidemic</a> </em>(2012), Livingston tracks Botswana's rapidly emerging cancer epidemic by documenting the daily medical ordeals of patients and caregivers in the country's public oncology ward. On this stage, European and African doctors and African nurses improvise with patients and their relatives to treat horrific wounds, manage acute pain, and mediate terminal illness in the face of language barriers, cultural differences, inadequate staffing, obsolete equipment and technologies, and limited supplies of critical resources.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">By unflinchingly detailing an over-extended medical infrastructure and the families and health care providers who navigate it, Livingston exposes the limits of biomedicine and the unlikelihood that technology alone will fix health issues in Africa or anywhere else. Such in-depth examination of physical impairment and terminal disability is challenging global health partners to address a very real but largely ignored crisis of care in Africa, and Livingston is poised to begin a new project about suicide in New York City that promises additional fresh and enduring insights into pressing public health concerns.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; ">Julie Livingston received a B.A. (1989) from Tufts University, an M.A. (1992) and M.P.H. (1993) from Boston University, and a Ph.D. (2001) from Emory University. She was affiliated with the Federated History Department of the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University, Newark (2002–2003), before joining the faculty of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, in 2003, where she is a professor in the Department of History. She is the co-editor of <em style="font-style: italic; ">Three Shots at Prevention: The HPV Vaccine and the Politics of Medicine's Simple Solutions</em> (2010), as well as numerous articles and book chapters.</p></div><a href="http://www.macfound.org/fellows/895/">http://www.macfound.org/fellows/895/</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

Julie Livingston — MacArthur Foundation

Julie Livingston is a medical historian who combines archival research with ethnography to explore the care and treatment of individuals suffering from chronic illnesses and debilitating ailments in Botswana, a middle-income country with a system of …

Jeffrey Brenner — MacArthur Foundation

11:10 AM Tukiyooo 0

<base href="data:"><div style="font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; ">J<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; ">effrey Brenner is a primary care physician creating a health care delivery model to meet the medical and social service needs of the most vulnerable citizens in impoverished communities. Determined to improve the lives of the sickest residents of Camden, New Jersey—one of America's poorest cities—Brenner constructed a searchable database and geographic mapping of discharge data from all patients at Camden's hospitals and discovered that a very small number of patients consumed a large share of the overall costs of health care and social supports.</span></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">To address this issue, Brenner established the <a href="http://www.camdenhealth.org/" style="color: rgb(0, 155, 219); text-decoration: none; ">Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers</a>, bringing together doctors in community-based private practices, frontline hospital staff, and social workers across the city to participate in a strategy of comprehensive preventive and primary care. He designed a system that delivers daily information about hospitalizations to the Coalition and members of Care Management Teams. Each team is made up of a registered nurse, one or two licensed practical nurses, a health coach, and a social worker to support and help coordinate care for patients with complex medical, and often social, issues.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Brenner has demonstrated that using this model of cooperative care—identifying and visiting high-risk patients, earning their trust, offering access to clinical services, heading off medical complications before they occur, addressing social needs before they become medical problems—can reduce repeated emergency room visits and hospitalizations and lower health care costs. Currently working with ten communities across the country, including Allentown, Pennsylvania; Aurora, Colorado; Kansas City, Missouri; and San Diego, California, on developing sustainable and accountable care systems based on the Camden model, Brenner's collaborative approach to health care delivery is an important contribution to the national conversation on health care reform.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Jeffrey Brenner received a B.S. (1990) from Vassar College and an M.D. (1995) from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and he completed his residency in family medicine at the Swedish Health Center in Seattle, Washington (1995–1998). In addition to serving as executive director of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers since its founding in 2003, Brenner is the medical director of the <a href="http://blogs.cooperhealth.org/foundation/2013/04/urban-health-institute-receives-1m-nicholson-foundation-grant/" style="color: rgb(0, 155, 219); text-decoration: none; ">Urban Health Institute</a> at the Cooper University Healthcare and on the faculty of the Cooper Medical School at Rowan University.</p><a href="http://www.macfound.org/fellows/886/">http://www.macfound.org/fellows/886/</a><div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div></div>

Jeffrey Brenner — MacArthur Foundation

Jeffrey Brenner is a primary care physician creating a health care delivery model to meet the medical and social service needs of the most vulnerable citizens in impoverished communities. Determined to improve the lives of the sickest residents of Ca…

Blue Ridge Heritage: Polly -- growing up in the shadow of Shenandoah National Park

11:06 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA26jEw1B1nJ6ThYfFtXYZK-aJ81v6NDVqrg8G2GgzyLL-YrKvU6iAY0s1MBzC9SDuWd_XKtglvqcCSdbTJl63CmZ_UYh2Gdj5UKW3Rv_24blAYXSjcsUZ7SpfycAC0aRqMrK84Gz72xRp/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA26jEw1B1nJ6ThYfFtXYZK-aJ81v6NDVqrg8G2GgzyLL-YrKvU6iAY0s1MBzC9SDuWd_XKtglvqcCSdbTJl63CmZ_UYh2Gdj5UKW3Rv_24blAYXSjcsUZ7SpfycAC0aRqMrK84Gz72xRp/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Polly looks from Big Meadows Lodge over the valley where she grew up</i>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJ9jL6yXvdJa8xx1s0otoLOLmqYNAK6t5a3xy6o_3yfoOdYquWvYVWzSX2Qh8GR2_JsWAVMKSnn_3GD4ZROW_AmXzLMFSnBMUX1psiT2E5l099p497oym6-KE_0JhaqaPoYz4vVLinCBb/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJ9jL6yXvdJa8xx1s0otoLOLmqYNAK6t5a3xy6o_3yfoOdYquWvYVWzSX2Qh8GR2_JsWAVMKSnn_3GD4ZROW_AmXzLMFSnBMUX1psiT2E5l099p497oym6-KE_0JhaqaPoYz4vVLinCBb/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>It was hazy on the warm September day that we visited Shenandoah National Park.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdtiZpKwrH6uMdiQQCHY2pJFm-LGWnEKRAuw9_0sasM0Bdmsef4pb1rcVE0Qsc65GD2PAFco1H5yrts-WMQSUWGQlRWs3XZX5qjTlsC3uwsVQhz_1FUt48kDL6mv-QJXXl8VhkHEGG9JKp/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdtiZpKwrH6uMdiQQCHY2pJFm-LGWnEKRAuw9_0sasM0Bdmsef4pb1rcVE0Qsc65GD2PAFco1H5yrts-WMQSUWGQlRWs3XZX5qjTlsC3uwsVQhz_1FUt48kDL6mv-QJXXl8VhkHEGG9JKp/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The Great Room of Big Meadows Lodge.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGyaoFGMoMWienCVp6cJ7RnhPPeQOvvGaSFZqwD5u9ES83DyS7oG1mUFfibVjoksm-MYAIh06B_G-O6YBNX6Lvss2KBRuiKTBxHzv5eA5w1_Ev_fqX1Eo1VyZt9ShlTQsvT8rx4pP_oPKK/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGyaoFGMoMWienCVp6cJ7RnhPPeQOvvGaSFZqwD5u9ES83DyS7oG1mUFfibVjoksm-MYAIh06B_G-O6YBNX6Lvss2KBRuiKTBxHzv5eA5w1_Ev_fqX1Eo1VyZt9ShlTQsvT8rx4pP_oPKK/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT9Srbh8zuyuP56XvOTotlkcJUmBJJOOjbbUTvb7MeC0zatnWSWDKWyg3KhyPYGa_NevemgodPeSGKClk2NrSj1qVQ2b-X7YSmi13DAJqLM9rD6EuRArhQXw4mLiAY2ac_NAW0NwKLVi_o/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT9Srbh8zuyuP56XvOTotlkcJUmBJJOOjbbUTvb7MeC0zatnWSWDKWyg3KhyPYGa_NevemgodPeSGKClk2NrSj1qVQ2b-X7YSmi13DAJqLM9rD6EuRArhQXw4mLiAY2ac_NAW0NwKLVi_o/s400/5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The terrace overlooks the Page Valley and is a good place to sit and enjoy mountain breezes.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEionN6aFEsQ37FtdrNAmmO8M7dPuP1CDOSPm8K5v50n9iNprJcZlowK5_k7k3hQ4FmlFsX0eBPYT5n5-RDbCC0yY20cxTKeWz5QhGBMqrrmyZyT5jU4Xx1T12hnb7lBMhOB11MvF49I-vNc/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEionN6aFEsQ37FtdrNAmmO8M7dPuP1CDOSPm8K5v50n9iNprJcZlowK5_k7k3hQ4FmlFsX0eBPYT5n5-RDbCC0yY20cxTKeWz5QhGBMqrrmyZyT5jU4Xx1T12hnb7lBMhOB11MvF49I-vNc/s400/6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglWj1DruNzI3iSsAMlow7JCbUdFYwSIhDjksZ0iAq53Uuzk3QlSpQLY9hCFWWQ8sX6zFlYx027y-0_CWcJPoq4yy3R7b-2MQ145ERrERO7Z9KpBxUmcII1XCBCU2fmmFhkNKs9PGvwxrYS/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglWj1DruNzI3iSsAMlow7JCbUdFYwSIhDjksZ0iAq53Uuzk3QlSpQLY9hCFWWQ8sX6zFlYx027y-0_CWcJPoq4yy3R7b-2MQ145ERrERO7Z9KpBxUmcII1XCBCU2fmmFhkNKs9PGvwxrYS/s400/7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgRGtghpw8AvTtPMVng_oK_e9NWoVF00ner-byif_WB4JD2TFK2VoQ0Pbh6VFJU21vusw3yDiQlSH9vsARx5TODDE-9j_16-tbAmyPdy9_G_pxhVRMw8HxhJcFV8uixyvd0XpRYC1aJIHu/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgRGtghpw8AvTtPMVng_oK_e9NWoVF00ner-byif_WB4JD2TFK2VoQ0Pbh6VFJU21vusw3yDiQlSH9vsARx5TODDE-9j_16-tbAmyPdy9_G_pxhVRMw8HxhJcFV8uixyvd0XpRYC1aJIHu/s400/8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The dining room doors were open to let cooling mountain breezes in while we ate lunch.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSE8p3yPm7bHiOkABEOYDiPm6ES_dpSUU1hrBCOgBO4Ud2N-1-0pdjJDVYmN9-oi21NQaZb8OIictTrwG9wNQ6FFgIu1EkFHXO0Q01mRXAxFapwxRxZ7KSfW5KX8FzfxI3QiGkR4OmDpTQ/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSE8p3yPm7bHiOkABEOYDiPm6ES_dpSUU1hrBCOgBO4Ud2N-1-0pdjJDVYmN9-oi21NQaZb8OIictTrwG9wNQ6FFgIu1EkFHXO0Q01mRXAxFapwxRxZ7KSfW5KX8FzfxI3QiGkR4OmDpTQ/s400/9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The white oak basket making class was meeting as we ate lunch. The next class is Thursday, September 26, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., as local basket artisan Clyde Jenkins shares his talent of basket making with techniques handed down through the generations. Beginners to intermediate, price of $50 per person includes all materials to make one basket. Reservations suggested. 877.847-1919. Here's the listing of <a href="http://www.goshenandoah.com/Calendar.aspx">other activities</a> at Big Meadows and Skyland.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAcBRSLm_ph_z2mBkXB7BtKccC3XzkhrRhgEjFrvjAFICx1tiHambljjiJ0Legv8hPKbMUhEN2GiUIEh6kVEQlgGoUagAShEtb8Rhcmf2pgPsEIDQiyUvkeGeezEJtFOQjpxq2QDxsXGr/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAcBRSLm_ph_z2mBkXB7BtKccC3XzkhrRhgEjFrvjAFICx1tiHambljjiJ0Legv8hPKbMUhEN2GiUIEh6kVEQlgGoUagAShEtb8Rhcmf2pgPsEIDQiyUvkeGeezEJtFOQjpxq2QDxsXGr/s400/10.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The heat from this fireplace feels good on cold days.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0D7dLx2GL7QjpcK1bEF-ejS29fAuEhJjHtnHgxJupcCxSftJn1PeqnsSZ1FPb4tpCk8gFupD4ZhWuypslH3lDBr9zD7CPgBrvOouKh8Im6lqaoyhlkOl_DclTERUrSCz2pJFoWHWo0WdO/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0D7dLx2GL7QjpcK1bEF-ejS29fAuEhJjHtnHgxJupcCxSftJn1PeqnsSZ1FPb4tpCk8gFupD4ZhWuypslH3lDBr9zD7CPgBrvOouKh8Im6lqaoyhlkOl_DclTERUrSCz2pJFoWHWo0WdO/s400/11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GcO5BtRehpUHlCNupF9imeuRVTN6sGbCPHYJpp2CEH44FiWUE6hQSPnoBDvN2bGGJHmB_Cma0ZYv-EU6u-k78xpZRG8ov5sgGJc3SyHfH9RoYOfOdmCVM6Nw_7KMywiMBYJUp58dg6UM/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GcO5BtRehpUHlCNupF9imeuRVTN6sGbCPHYJpp2CEH44FiWUE6hQSPnoBDvN2bGGJHmB_Cma0ZYv-EU6u-k78xpZRG8ov5sgGJc3SyHfH9RoYOfOdmCVM6Nw_7KMywiMBYJUp58dg6UM/s400/12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkU28cLNHPIhwV_2SBfwzHFisjd7dhk3Ve3cMz4RHATWWxyT-MPKX3DXCtst08yG3OHMwbkjyPmkkRoO9-I4MVAG1lWb5VPz_l-n1bY1hMZH-3eIMJlxdFfd3Sb3aOkrPUy4_8nlJeiIM/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkU28cLNHPIhwV_2SBfwzHFisjd7dhk3Ve3cMz4RHATWWxyT-MPKX3DXCtst08yG3OHMwbkjyPmkkRoO9-I4MVAG1lWb5VPz_l-n1bY1hMZH-3eIMJlxdFfd3Sb3aOkrPUy4_8nlJeiIM/s400/13.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The gift shop sells local wines, post cards, SNP clothing, snacks, Christmas ornaments, and more.</i></div><br />I once said of <a href="http://swacgirl.blogspot.com/2008/06/talking-over-iced-tea-with-living.html">Paul Galanti</a> that I was talking over iced tea with living history. Recently I broke bread <i>and</i> had iced tea with a walking, talking pint-sized history book.<br /><br />Polly Yager Campbell is a bundle of energy in a small package, and she's no  pushover. Youthful for her age with a memory as sharp as a tack, she knows the  land around Shenandoah National Park like the back of her hand. She should. She  grew up at the foot of the mountain beneath Big Meadows Lodge in Page County.  She is a Virginian from a long line of Virginians. The Yager family migrated to  Virginia in 1717 and settled in "Germanna Colony," an area on the eastern side of  the Blue Ridge Mountains. <br /><br />On an exceptionally warm day for September 12th, Polly and I met in Elkton, and drove up Rt. 33 to Skyline Drive. Our destination was lunch at <a href="http://www.goshenandoah.com/Big-Meadows-Lodge.aspx">Big Meadows Lodge</a>. <br /><br />At Milespost 51, we turned left at the field known as Big Meadows and  slowly drove the one mile to the lodge's parking lot, scanning the woods and  open areas for wildlife and commenting on the lush green of trees and grasses  after an exceptionally wet summer. Perhaps it was the warm  temperatures that day but we saw no wildlife in the usual places other than  birds. <br /><br />There were a few mid-week visitors. We walked across the parking lot to the lodge that was build in 1939 from stones carved and transported from Massanutten Mountain, a lodge Polly's father helped build in the 1930s. In 1997, this mountain getaway was added to the National Register of Historic Places.<br /><br />Polly and I made our way through the lobby area to the Great Room, pausing to look out the large ceiling-to-floor windows overlooking the valley, and then stepped outside onto the flagstone terrace that extends along the entire length of the valley side of the building.<br /><br />A haze caused by the late summer heat partially hid the Page Valley below as Polly and I stood at the terrace railing and gazed over the tree tops, searching for landmarks. Polly smiled as a memory came to mind and shared that, as a child, she could look up the mountain at night and see the lights from the Lodge. Wow, I thought ... can you imagine growing up and being able to see Big Meadows Lodge?<br /><br />The cool mountain breeze rustled her hair as she stared into the valley  thinking about her childhood on land in Page County that had been in the Yager family for five generations. As she shared  more memories, I couldn't help but wish there was a way to record her thoughts. They are a part of her ... but they are also a part of the history of  Virginia, the park, and the mountains. <br /><br />She spoke of her family -- father, grandfather, mother, grandmother, and  siblings. She talked about tragic events and family members who had passed on.  She remembered the seasons -- October is her favorite time of the year and the  month of her birth -- and being caught in a big snowstorm once while at Skyland  with her husband, eventually escaping before they became snowed in.<br /><br />She talked of traveling the back mountain roads, and told about a time  when her uncle had driven to pick up her dad at Big  Meadows. They met a truck approaching from the opposite  direction in the middle of the narrow, steep road and, when they tried to pass, their car hit the soft, unstable shoulder,  causing the vehicle to tumble over the side of the mountain. Polly was  inside with her mother and siblings. With a quiet chuckle, she said two little  saplings stopped the free-fall or they would have gone all the way to the  bottom. She was calm in the retelling ... no, no one was seriously hurt, she  said, although they were shaken and bruised when the backseat came loose, as the  car rolled over, and all the tools fell on their heads.   She was holding her baby sister on her lap, and her arms were still wrapped tightly around her when the car came to a stop, and she was able to climb  out. Her mother had a broken arm. So there were occasions  when vehicles went over the mountainsides, I asked. Oh, yes, she replied, and it  sounded like something that was more common than not.<br /><br />I could have stood at that railing all day and listened but, after a while, we went inside and walked around the Great Room of the Main Lodge with its rustic chestnut wall paneling and beams, huge stone fireplace, and the bank of paned ceiling-to-floor windows overlooking the Page Valley. Chestnut trees, valued by early settlers for their durability and used for all the wooden interiors of the main lodge, were plentiful in 1939 but, due to disease, are practically extinct these days.<br /><br />Polly's eyes took it all in, sweeping across the room, perhaps remembering her dad in that place looking at his handiwork of decorative chestnut touches or special add-ons. Perhaps she was remembering as a child climbing into one of the rockers that faced the windows overlooking the terrace. Perhaps she was just lost in thought. Only one patron was in the room with his laptop taking advantage of the WiFi, a nod toward the realization that, while visitors enjoy the mountain isolation, they still like their modern electronics.<br /><br />On to the Spotswood dining room, named for Governor Alexander Spottswood who led his Knights of the Golden Horseshoe to explore the area in 1716, a large space with walls of windows, chestnut wood paneling, a huge stone fireplace, and tables with ladder-back chairs that added to the rustic feel. A friendly young man seated us at a window table overlooking the terrace and Polly's valley. Perfect! The breeze coming through the screen door had the faint scent of the outdoors, green like the mountains.<br /><br />We sat across from one another and ordered our meal and then, over glasses of iced tea, the conversation turned to politics. Polly has crossed paths with too many politicians to count so there we were, two political junkies, veterans at the game, eagerly discussing the people, places, and activities of politics at all levels.<br /><br />There was a lot to talk about since we had both been Republican volunteers  and members together on the State Central Committee. A long-time volunteer in  statewide politics, Polly's blue eyes teared up at the memory of the  changes in the party; and her service of 44 years as Secretary of the  Republican Party. She also served as Young Republican representative for several years before her  election as Secretary. It is evident from talking to her that she is profoundly proud of the  commitment of her time and means to the building of the Republican Party and  honored by the opportunity to have served and be touched by so many lives. <br /><br />And then her eyes flashed as she recalled more than 50 years of hard work that included countless Republican losses in the early years, remembering when the Democratic candidates would win yet another election and call out to the defeated Republicans, "When you going to give up?" Polly would respond, "There's another election next year." Then she and her colleagues would go back to the drawing board, help recruit more candidates, roll up their sleeves, and get back to work.<br /><br />She paused ... and then smiled at the thought of the jubilant victory in 1970  when <a href="http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Holton_A_Linwood_1923-#start_entry" target="_blank">Linwood  Holton</a> -- whom she knows and calls Lin -- became the first Republican  governor in Virginia in 100 years. That's a long, dry run, and the win whetted  Republican appetites for more. It was the beginning of the Republican comeback  in Virginia after years of dominance by the Democratic Byrd machine. Those not  familiar with Governor Holton may be familiar with his son-in-law ... former Governor and  now U.S. Senator Tim Kaine.<br /><br />Polly talked of attending the first ever Republican Advance, as well as  subsequent ones, at Ingleside Resort in Augusta County, of seeing George H.W.  Bush there when he was running for president, and seeing his sons, George and  Jeb, while working of their father's campaign. She smiled at the thought ... they  were called the Bushie Boys, she said. We discovered we're both Bush family admirers.<br /><br />I soaked in every word as she shared historical political facts, my brain  absorbing it like a sponge. Back in the Byrd days, Republicans were scarce.  Polly's family was Republican, and it sometimes affected jobs. Her father was a carpenter, self taught, and worked for the construction  company that built Big Meadows and Skyland Lodge. He also helped build the  Byrd Visitor Center at the entrance to Big Meadows, a job he was working on in  1965 when, at the age of 59, he died of a heart attack. <br /><br />I shared with Polly that my parents had honeymooned at Big Meadows so, in a  sense, our parents' paths had crossed in that historic, rustic resort. Since she had grown up living  there, I was all ears, listening, asking questions, and imagining what it must  have been like to have Shenandoah National Park right outside your door.<br /><br />For employees of the park who live in the Page Valley, there is a gated  gravel road that climbs up the mountain to Skyline Drive just south of Big  Meadows. Nowadays, only those with a key can access that shortcut but when Polly  was a little girl it was still a public road that ran beside her house. In 1936  when she was about five or six years old, she and her family walked the five miles up that  mountain road to attend the dedication of  Shenandoah National Park. The ceremony, attended by President Franklin Roosevelt  as well as other dignitaries and many visitors and locals, took place in the big meadow. She  didn't know it then but President Roosevelt was the first of many high-ranking  politicians she would rub elbows with in her lifetime.<br /><br />Spending time with Polly was a reminder of how much things have changed during her 50 years in politics -- from not winning, to  that first taste of sweet victory, to today. She was a Republican pioneer at a time when the GOP began  to effectively chisel into the long time Democratically-controlled government.<br /><br />We finished our lunch, took one last stroll  around the lodge, and finally headed to the car to  begin the journey down the Drive and back to Elkton. I left richer for having  heard history on several levels, and grateful to know Polly a little  better through her window on the world. Her memories are rich and laced with  historical facts. They need to be mined -- recorded and heard -- before that generation  is gone. <br /><br />Polly and I have a date for lunch at Skyland in October. I can't  wait....

Blue Ridge Heritage: Polly -- growing up in the shadow of Shenandoah National Park

Big Meadows Lodge Blue Ridge Mountains Franklin Roosevelt Germanna Colony National Register of Historic Places Page County Polly Yager Campbell Shenandoah National Park Skyland Lodge Skyline Drive Blue Ridge Heritage: Polly -- growing up in the shadow of Shenandoah National Park

Polly looks from Big Meadows Lodge over the valley where she grew up.It was hazy on the warm September day that we visited Shenandoah National Park.The Great Room of Big Meadows Lodge.The terrace overlooks the Page Valley and is a good place to sit a…