Christina Perri ‘Safe Haven’ Interview- New Album Coming!

Published on Feb 6, 2013

Earlier I posted about Little Rock native David Hodges co-writing with Christina Perri on the song “For a thousand years” that was used in the Twilight movies and now their song “Arms” is being used for the trailer for the movie “Safe Haven.” I have posted several videos concerning this song and by the way my wife and I loved the movie SAFE HAVEN.

Below is a blog post by David Hodges from 2011 concerning this song.

Colbie Caillat has drafted the songwriting and production services of David Hodges for her upcoming fourth studio album, which serves as the follow-up to 2011’s “All of You” [Universal Music Group / Republic Records].

Hodges is responsible for helming tracks including” The Woman I Love” by Jason Mraz [Warner Music Group / Atlantic Records] and “See You Again” by Carrie Underwood [Sony Music Entertainment / Arista Records].

He also contributed to the latest albums by Dia Frampton [Universal Music Group / Republic Records], Christina Perri [Warner Music Group / Atlantic Records], David Cook [Sony Music Entertainment / RCA Records] and Lauren Alaina [Universal Music Group / Mercury Records].

Meanwhile, the still-untitled project by Caillat will boast further alliances from Kara DioGuardi (Britney Spears, Christina Milian), Jason Reeves (Katharine McPhee, Casey Abrams) and Toby Gad (Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepsen).

Avril Lavigne has confirmed the title of her new single.

The Canadian singer/songwriter will release “Here’s to Never Growing Up” as the lead single from her upcoming as-yet-untitled fifth album, due later this year via Sony Music Entertainment / Epic Records.

The track was co-written by David Hodges, whose credits include “This Time” by Celine Dion [Sony Music Entertainment / Columbia Records], “Crush” by David Archuleta [Sony Music Entertainment / Jive Records] and “Because of You” by Kelly Clarkson [Sony Music Entertainment / RCA Records].

Production duties were handled by Boys Like Girls frontman Martin Johnson, who is also responsible for singles “Put Your Hearts Up” by Ariana Grande [Universal Music Group / Republic Records] and “Why Don’t You Love Me” by Hot Chelle Rae [Sony Music Entertainment / RCA Records].

The new collection by Avril Lavigne serves as the follow-up to 2011’s “Goodbye Lullaby.” That release debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart and delivered singles “What the Hell,” “Smile” and “Wish You Were Here.”

Hodges wasn’t crazy about the separatists’ message, at least as perceived by English speakers like him: that Anglophones weren’t welcome in Quebec.

So he wrote the bilingual Notre Home (“Our Home”).

“A lot of people are getting discouraged,” Hodges told the CBC in September 2012. “They feel like the language laws are going to be enforced a lot more and it’s going to push the English[-speaking] people outside and not consider Quebec our home.”

The message of Notre Home, said Hodges, is: “We are here, this is our home, we have an identity, we are people.”

Since then, Quebec’s separatist government has pushed ahead on the language front. It has introduced a bill that would, among other things, strip as many as 90 towns of their bilingual status—meaning they would only be permitted to communicate with residents in French.

Tensions are rising, just as they did last time Quebecers battled over language. It’s not a surprise that Notre Home has become popular.

The idea of Notre Home was to make English-speakers feel at home in Quebec. So it has come as a shock to many Quebecers that the separatist government has deciding to bankroll performances of the song. The government is underwriting a tour of Hodges and his band.

“We want to give the signal [that] you’re here to stay,” said Jean-François Lisée, Quebec’s minister responsible for the province’s English speaking community, at last week’s official announcement. “We want you to be here to stay.”

Lisée later told the CBC he was impressed by the song’s video, which shows young Montrealers of all colors playing together in a park.

“When they showed it to me,” said Lisée, “I thought that was a great way to anyone who would doubt it that Anglo-Quebecers are here at home for ever.”

But as far as many Anglophones are concerned, Lisée is just the good cop, the rest of the Parti Québécois being the not so pleasant cops. Lisée himself admits that after he wins the trust of English speakers, it’ll time to talk language reform.

“Once we are secure in the fact that we’re all Quebecers, we’re going to have a number of issues that we should deal with,” says Lisée. He says it’s important that Anglophones “not believe that every issue is an attack on … identity.”

In other words, there’ll be a new language law reinforcing French coming down the pike. And many English speakers aren’t going to like it.

One mayor of small town that currently sends out a bilingual newsletter to its residents isn’t impressed.

“Instead of composing a song,” he told TV channel CTV, “maybe they could let us communicate with our Anglophone community in our newsletter.”

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If there’s an artist out there today not afraid to rock their Christmas spirit, it’s Christina Perri. The talented singer-songwriter, known for her hit songs “Jar of Hearts” and “A Thousand Years,” unveiled her new Christmas EP, A Very Merry Perri Christmas, this past October. Produced by David Hodges, the six-track EP features some of Perri’s very favorite Christmas songs, including The Carpenters’ “Merry Christmas Darling.” She also tackled the daunting task of penning an original Christmas song, “Something About December.”

I had the opportunity to speak with Perri about her new EP. She talked about her love of the holidays and Christmas music and why she wanted to make this record. Additionally, she shared how she came to select the songs for the EP, the origin of the its title , and how she plans to celebrate Christmas this year.

You recently had a pretty exciting couple of months out on tour with Jason Mraz. How was that whole experience?

That was, gosh, the best two months so far of my life. I’m pretty sure I can safely say that. Everything has been really wonderful the past 27 months. Everything kind of started and one thing keeps topping the next, and it was so nice to kind of go out with the end of my album cycle with a bang. Really with Jason and just this incredible tour, playing in venues I’ve only ever dreamt of playing in and dueting with him every night, it was just pure magic. I’ll never forget it, that’s for sure.

You’ve said that Christmas is a huge part of your family. Is that what inspired you to record A Very Merry Perri Christmas?

Yes, my first memory of singing, in general, was of a Christmas song. And then listening to Christmas music was really the first music I was ever connected to. Personally, I’ve always wanted to do something like this, and I’m sure I would have, just dependent upon how many people would hear it or not. I would have definitely made something like this no matter what. I think it’s really inevitable for me, because I have such a passion for Christmas and Christmas music. I feel like I couldn’t go any longer without doing this. This was the perfect year for me to bridge album one and album two. It just came down to really good timing, and then we got together in July and turned the studio into a winter wonderland and went for it.

Growing up, was there a favorite Christmas album of yours that you listened to every year?

My favorite Christmas music is definitely The Carpenters. “Merry Christmas Darling” is my number one favorite Christmas song, so that was the first song I knew I had to do. That was the easiest to choose. But definitely the whole album, the Carpenters’ Christmas album, that’s my favorite.

Being that you have such a passion for Christmas, are you someone that listens to Christmas music throughout the year? 

Yes, definitely. It’s funny, it was, in disguise, the brightest thing to happen for me this April when I was deciding on doing an original Christmas song. I was kind of fearful of it, because you really only have two chances—to make a classic, or to just make the worst Christmas song ever. There’s really no in between. I was nervous about it, and I found myself in Singapore in April and really homesick and non-stop not sleeping. It was really a tough run and missing my family, so I listened to some Christmas music, because that’s what brings me home. That’s what makes me feel better, because it reminds me of home.

And all of a sudden, this idea kind of came to me, like, “Oh my gosh!” We go looking for Christmas when really it’s just inside of us, no matter where we are, in Singapore or wherever, if we can’t be with our family, we actually can. So, that’s kind of what then fueled my original Christmas song, “Something About December.” And that’s the idea I came up with. The whole thing, you know, Christmas music is just kind of special to me at any time of year.

Was writing “Something About December” more of a challenge for you to write than writing a regular, non-holiday type of song?

Well, it’s totally different. I feel like writing a Christmas song, I can relate to writing a Twilight song. I just love them both so much. I will be the human to write those types of songs. If you asked me to write a song about cars or a very political song, I wouldn’t go there as easily. I would have to try really hard. I feel like this was just right up my alley, you know? It felt very natural to me to write a Christmas song, but at the same time I had to really put all sorts of pressure aside and just let the creativity flow and see what came out. Also, I had to make it personal. I had to write about me and my Christmases. I’m not a vampire, so I didn’t write about me in the Twilight song, but I imagined being [one of] them. That’s sort of my approach to songwriting, other than just writing my typical little love song. I feel like the Christmas song was just so natural.

You mentioned that you decorated your studio for the recording of the EP. Did working in your winter wonderland help keep everyone in the Christmas spirit?

Yeah. It’s funny, my brother and I, he’s on the EP, he wrote “Something About December” with me, and he’s my best friend, we have all the same Christmas memories, so it was great having him there. It really helped with my Christmas spirit. He and I together, I feel like we’re like Elf. We’re the most Christmas-spirited humans and everyone makes fun of us all year round. We didn’t need that much help, but the band and crew and the producer—everybody needed to get into it.

We really decorated everything the best we could. We had a Christmas tree and snow and Santa hats—we even had a Christmas toilet. And it was just the most little Christmas week we possibly could have had. Everybody got so into it, so it was really, really helpful. I’m super, super proud of the final result. I feel like we all, musically, did our best.

Did you go into the studio with a list of songs that you thought you might like to do and narrow it down, or did you pre-pick the songs for the album and just go for it?

I picked these songs before we went into the studio, just because we have to learn the songs and do a little bit of prep before we hit the record button. So, the songs had to be chosen. I probably picked them maybe two weeks before we started recording, and then we had the time to rehearse and stuff. Like I said, it was just simple really for me to pick these songs, because aside from having 300 Christmas songs in my iTunes, I feel like these were just my favorites. They all rose to the top, and it was really easy to pick them. We did six covers, including the bonus track for Target, plus one original. It was really planned out.

Like you mentioned, “Merry Christmas Darling” was at the top of the list for you to do, but with all of the songs on the EP being your favorites, how did you narrow down which of them to include?

Yeah, “Merry Christmas Darling” is my favorite. That was a “duh” moment. “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” is my second favorite. I’m the biggest Beatles fan on the planet, and I couldn’t not have that song on my Christmas EP. The band and I already knew it, because we cover it around Christmas time. I had some of my friends come in and do background vocals. We had planned to make that a really fun one.

And then “Please Come Home For Christmas” is super bluesy, and arrangement-wise I married the Charles Brown original version with The Eagles’ version and then we did our own thing. That was just super fun to do a blues song. I wanted to really do a variety of songs, vocally, on this EP.

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” I wanted a standard and to pick one of the classics that Frank Sinatra made famous. I went for that one, because I did a snippet of that last Christmas as a ‘Merry Christmas’ to the fans and stuff. Everyone loved it so much; I promised I would do the whole thing. So, that was kind of a no-brainer.

“Ave Maria” was hands down the most challenging thing I’ve ever done in my life, vocally. But, I wanted that. I wanted to challenge myself. That song, I didn’t even tell everyone we were going to do, because I didn’t know if I could actually do it. So we kept it a secret to see what it’s going to be like. I ended up doing my own version of it, and I wanted to do that for my family, since it’s their favorite. It’s also just a very classic Christmas song. I know we had to keep it really simple and pretty. I don’t know if you know, but I had vocal chord surgery a year ago, so I wanted this Christmas EP to really show how incredibly healed I am. I’m singing with vocal chords that are just better than they were before. I wanted to really push myself, and I’m really, really proud of the vocal performances on all these songs.

“Let It Snow (Acoustic)” came much later when Target asked for a bonus track. We did that on tour, upstairs at a venue in Saratoga Springs, New York. We flipped over a couch and made it into a vocal booth and did it literally backstage and very live. My guitar player Johnny and I [recorded] it very quickly.

And then there’s “Something About December,” which I told you about. It’s my little original that just means the world to me.

I have to admit that I’m kind of sitting here in shock, because I wasn’t aware that you had vocal surgery. You would never be able to tell, because you sound fantastic on this EP.

Thank you. I worked so hard on recovering. Like I said, I was really proud.

How did you get your talented friends (Michelle Branch, Bushwalla, Boys Like Girls’ Martin Johnson) involved to lend their voices for “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”?

I sent around an email, maybe a couple weeks before, to about 30 people who I love in the music business and who are my friends and singers and Christmas lovers. I sent out an invitation and unfortunately, the timing, everyone was really on tour. I think there were about 12 of us that were there that day. I’m so grateful that everybody showed up, and it was kind of just a very free-for-all thing. Like, “Hey, come if you like this song, come sing oohs and ahhs, and have some fun and wear a Santa hat. It’ll be a good time.” My friends showed up and it was really good.

I want to ask you about the title of the EP, because A Very Merry Perri Christmas, reminds me of the Christmas specials that air during the holiday season. Was that the sentiment you were aiming for?

I will say that the title was the first thing I knew. My brother and I kind of jokingly always talked about having a Christmas special on TV, like Sonny and Cher, and we called it A Very Merry Perri Christmas. We literally came up with that years ago. When I decided to do a Christmas EP, it was like, “Oh gosh…well, duh.” Especially, since my brother’s featured so much on the EP, it felt like a Perri thing.

The music video for “Something Like December” will be sentimental in that sense also. The theme of it sounding that way, you’re dead on. That’s exactly what we [joked about], you know, 10 years ago, but it was really fun to now actually make this and call it that.

What are your plans for Christmas this year?

My Christmas plans are just to see my family. It’s so funny, I feel like the little boy in Home Alone. I just want my family for Christmas this year. I’ve been gone just for so long and I miss them and I’m super homesick. I want just an old fashioned Perri Christmas.

My brother’s coming in and we’re actually doing the Today Show that Christmas week. We’re going to do the song, “Something About December” on the show, so that’s going to be pretty special. Then we’re gonna head from New York to go over to Philly, which is where I’m from, and spend Christmas together, me and Pistachio, my little pup, and my whole family. I’m just really looking forward to them and all the food.

That’s great! So before we wrap up, how is 2013 looking for you right now, music-wise?

Yeah, oh my gosh, my whole second album will be first in 2013. I plan on it being a really special year, because I’ve just spent 27 months on one album cycle, then I’ve got this little three-month time period to regroup and organize and write and get everything ready for album two. And then I join the circus again. It can’t ever be the same, it should only be bigger and better, and so next year should be pretty awesome. I look forward to everything that’s gonna come.

—

On Friday, December 21, tune into the Today Show to see Christina Perri perform songs off her A Very Merry Perri Christmas EP, which is available now.

For more information on the artist, please visit her official website.

Photo credit: Francois Bertheir

Originally posted on Blogcritics.

I look forward to seeing some of you in my Comp II class next semester.

Your Portfolio is due SUN DEC 09 at noon.
It will contain four items:

1. Your Self-Reflective Statement
2. Your Critical Engagement Essay
3. Your Letter Rewrite, Editorial Rewrite, or Op-Ed (choose one)
4. Your Letter Rewrite, Editorial Rewrite, or Op-Ed (choose one more)

You may—and should—revise your essays one last time before you move them into your portfolio, and any time up to the noon Sunday deadline. How your Portfolio looks at the deadline will determine your Portfolio grade.

To build your Portfolio, simply categorize it in your name under the portfolio list.

1. Use the procedure we used in class to get your Self-Reflective Statement template into the Portfolio.
2. Open your essay in Edit mode. Proofread and make revisions.
3. Before clicking Update, fill the checkbox next to your name in the Portfolio section of the Categories list.
4. DO NOT click the category A12: Portfolio. That’s just for the assignment post.
5. Click Update.
6. Even after it’s in your Portfolio, you can continue to edit until the deadline.

Your Portfolio determines 75% of your course grade.

• I will read the entire portfolio and give it a single grade.
• All other coursework grades for essays and assignments will be weighted at 25%.
• WED DEC 12, during regular class meeting times, we’ll discuss your overall grades in brief one-on-one grade conferences.

Questions?

If you have any lingering questions or concerns, it is now your responsibility to ask by email or by dropping a comment into the Reply field below this post.

FORMAL EXPLANATION FOR THE SELF-REFLECTIVE STATEMENT
Your Guide to the First-Year Writing Program devotes a very large section to a full description of the Self-Reflective Statement, its purpose, its goals, and methods for completing a successful Statement. Read it before you begin and refer to it throughout the process.

FORMAT
1. You may cut-and-paste the format below (begin below the line) to produce your own version of the Self-Reflective Statement complete with all the necessary question numbers and placeholder text.

2. Post your SRS as a new blog post titled “Statement—Your Name.” Place it in the Portfolio and Self-Reflective Statement categories.

___________cut and paste below this line____________________

GOAL 1: I used a multi-stage process for my writing and took into consideration feedback from my instructor, classmates, and other readers.
Insert here a 100-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, see your Guide. Cite specific examples from your essays, please.

GOAL 2: I consistently made choices based on my audience, my purpose, and my reason for writing.
Insert here a 100-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, see your Guide. Cite specific examples from your essays, please.

GOAL 3: I used my writing not just to communicate information, but to create and shape ideas.
Insert here a 100-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, see your Guide. Cite specific examples from your essays, please.

GOAL 4: I use Standard Written English always, but adapt my tone to suit my audience and purpose.
Insert here a 100-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, see your Guide. Cite specific examples from your essays, please.

GOAL 5: I synthesized my own experience with new insights and information from a range of outside sources to produce new material.
Insert here a 100-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, see your Guide. Cite specific examples from your essays, please.

GOAL 6: I understand and practice the principles of academic honesty.
Insert here a 100-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, see your Guide. Cite specific examples from your essays, please.

GOAL 7: I understand and adhere to my ethical responsibilities as a writer.
Insert here a 100-word explanation of how you met the goal. For a fuller description of the Goal, see your Guide. Cite specific examples from your essays, please.

___________cut and paste above this line____________________

PREPARING FOR THE STATEMENT
WED NOV 28, we looked at a document called Course Goals for the Self-Reflective Statement, (links below) designed to help you recognize the sorts of skills the Writing Arts Department wants to see reflected in your work, and wants you to identify as aspects of your writing in which you have improved.

Compare this document to your own writing to find examples of your own good work, or as a guide to help your rewrite your essays one last time before you include them in your Portfolio.

LINKS TO THE GUIDE
Course Goals for SR Statement MS Word Version
Course Goals for SR Statement PDF Version

LINK TO A SAMPLE SELF-REFLECTIVE STATEMENT
Joe Mleczko (you may remember meeting him the first week of class) wrote a good Self-Reflective Statement last year for this class. He also earned one of the few As awarded to that class, so he’s a good model to follow. Once you link to his SRS, you can browse the statements of other students from the same class as well by clicking the Self-Reflective Statement link in the sidebar of “The Last Newspaper.”
Joe Mleczko’s SRS from Fall 2011

ADDING THE SRS TO YOUR PORTFOLIO

1. Create a new post titled “Statement—Your Name”
2. Cut and paste the template from this post into yours.
3. Select the A11: Self-Reflective Statement category, and Your Name (from the Portfolio List!).
4. Publish. Then update with actual text to replace the boilerplate text in the template.
5. Link your self-reflective comments to your own essays when you cite them specifically (as demonstrated in the Sample SRS) to prove your case that you achieved the course goals.

Make no mistake. Your primary goal in writing to the Editor is to get your letter into print. However admirable, justifiable, informative, persuasive, essential, timely, motivational, and undeniable your argument on your topic, the world will never move an inch in the direction you want to urge it if you don’t get into print. You move the world only if you get published.

Editors don’t publish what’s right; they publish what’s partisan, decisive, and clear. They want a reaction from every reader: enthusiastic support and vehement opposition serve their needs equally well. Balance, equanimity, and vagueness don’t benefit them at all.

A good letter divides readers in half: 50% think “Yes, I agree. Tell me more so I can argue this topic better with my idiot neighbors.” The other 50% think, “That’s crazy. I don’t know how to refute this argument, but it is contrary to firmly held beliefs I can’t exactly justify.”

If you can deliver a letter that splits readers in half by advocating a controversial point of view with enough logic to thwart easy refutation, you’ll get your message to the public.

Include What Editors Want

Read enough Letters to the Editor and you’ll begin to recognize the components editors must prize. While it is true your letter may be “edited for space” (or for content), the editors will not rewrite, and will certainly not expand, your letter to fulfill their requirements. If you leave out an essential component, you won’t get into print.

10 Essential Components: Don’t send your letter until it contains:

• A Citation. Here you reference the article, editorial, or letter that prompted your letter.
• An Objection. Here you indicate what the original source got wrong.
• A Clarification. Here you correct the record to demonstrate your credibility.
• Your Credentials. Here you identify the constituency that gives you “standing.”
• A Premise. Here you introduce an important argument of essential concern to readers.
• Support. Here you offer the evidence to bolster the reasonableness of your premise.
• The Truth. Here you draw the inevitable conclusion of your argument.
• A Hopeful Proposal. Here you make it clear that all is not yet lost.
• The Rhetorical Flourish. Here you invoke a universal value to underlie your demand.
• The Call to Action. Here you compel readers to call, donate, petition, vote, or boycott.

The Ten Components

The Citation

Editors won’t publish your press release as a Letter to the Editor. You need to respond to something specific you have seen recently in your target publication. Name the article you read or the letter or editorial you’re responding to. Say, for example:

• Emily Reuman’s letter of September 11 was quite passionate on the subject of fracking.
• Emily Reuman oversimplified fracking in her 9/11/12 article, “What the Frack?”
• Your September 11 editorial on fracking contained several inaccuracies.

An Objection

You won’t get published by agreeing with everything you read. That article has already sold as many papers as it can. You need to engage another audience of readers by disagreeing.

• The study she referred to has been thoroughly repudiated by better science.
• She draws an unsupportable conclusion from her evidence that chemicals are used.
• Her purchased opinions are funded by the petrochemical extraction industry.

A Clarification

Your command of just one impressive detail on the topic will establish your credibility as a substantial person who has taken the time to understand the complexities of the subject.

• Federal law requires the state Department of Environmental Protection to comply.
• Not all, but a substantial portion (25%) of the chemicals used are known carcinogens.
• Every(!) municipality near fracking has suffered water supply degradation.

Your Credentials

You don’t write letters to the editor randomly; instead, you’re a person with a stake in this argument who feels passionately that it will harm your quality of life and your neighbors’.

• As a mother of small children who depend on the local water supply . . . .
• My membership in Rowan’s Environmental Coalition has made me suspicious . . . .
• As an environmental science major, I have studied in depth the water supply . . . .

A Premise

You’re not just writing to correct an error; that would be handled as “A Correction,” which wouldn’t benefit you at all. Instead, you have an argument of your own to make.

• As usual, our state government favors immediate benefit to long-term advantage . . . .
• Willful ignorance of science is the only explanation for this dangerous behavior . . . .
• Powerful oil and gas company lobbies have bought the votes of legislators . . . .

Support

Briefly provide the most compelling fact in favor of your argument. Too much detail is death.

• In mid-term elections 28% of campaign contributions came from energy companies . . . .
• This is the governor who also told us asbestos couldn’t cause cancer . . . .
• Every legislator who opposed tougher environmental regulations was re-elected . . . .

The Truth

Also known as the Conclusion, this is the categorical statement that you would want to be the headline on the front page, if Letters to the Editor appeared there.

• If it continues, fracking will kill more Americans than automobile exhaust . . . .
• Unchecked, fracking will pollute more water than industrial river dumping . . . .
• Fracking will create a few billionaires and kill several million children . . . .

A Hopeful Proposal

Offer hope that a concerted effort on the part of a large enough group of readers can still forestall the inevitable march of capital to amass great fortunes while raping the planet.

• The governor does not appear invulnerable to reasonable personal appeals . . . .
• Many legislators owe their seats to “green” interests. We have their ear . . . .
• The recent storm has made even skeptical New Jerseyans alert to global warming . . . .

The Rhetorical Flourish

This is your chance to shamelessly play that little violin that might tug at the heartstrings of readers who value the future, their grandchildren, and our lovely blue planet.

• We owe it to ourselves, but mostly to our grandchildren, to arrest this outrage . . . .
• For once we have a chance to stop green Earth’s rapists from plundering her . . . .
• Unless you want your townhouse in Philadelphia to suddenly become beachfront . . . .

A Call to Action

Here you presume that your work has been successful and that readers await your clarion call for affirmative action to promote the agenda you so clearly and rightly support.

• The governor will succumb to industry pressure unless we speak out . . . .
• Our petition has the support of key legislators who could block this outrage . . . .
• Trenton needs to know that we understand this issue and vote . . . .

A Sample Letter to the Editor

Can You Identify the Ten Components of a Successful LTE?

To the Editor,

Emily Reuman’s self-serving article of September 11, “Fracking to End the Recession,” was rife with economic and factual inaccuracies. While there is no doubt that fracking will create a few energy industry millionaires and provide jobs for deserving citizens, it will also foul the water of millions who gain no immediate benefit from drilling for gas beneath their aquifers; and when the jobs are gone, the water will be irretrievably useless forever.

At Rowan University’s Environmental Action League (REAL), I’ve studied the irreversible environmental catastrophes caused by injecting a lethal cocktail of 600 chemicals under pressure into groundwater to release natural gas. We’ve already poisoned the air in search of cheap fuel; we can’t afford to foul the ground as well. Energy companies are notorious for exploiting the cheapest, easiest, most accessible energy sources to maximize profits no matter how it savages our beloved planet. We can’t afford to let them do it again by fracking the very land beneath our feet. Already we’ve seen groundwaters contaminated so fully that our Pennsylvania neighbors cannot drink the water they get from their land. In too many cases, the water they draw from their wells is actually flammable!

The energy industry’s interest in natural gas doesn’t promote energy independence: it’s a money grab plain and simple, with the obvious collusion of our elected officials in their back pockets.

Our only hope to avert catastrophe is to shine a light on the devastation fracking will cause our communities. For what it’s worth, we still have power as voters to hold government accountable. If we’re silent, they’ll surely follow the money. But if we send a clear message that their jobs are at stake, for example by signing the petition to ban fracking in New Jersey, we might still secure a healthy and sustainable future for our children.

In short, to receive feedback for this essay, you’ll have to ask. I’ll provide comments in the order in which they’re received, but, to be fair to Section 21, I’ll alternate between the two sections (comments for the first requester in 34, then for the first requester in 21, and so on).

There will be no Rewrite assignment or deadline for the Op-Ed. Your only opportunity to receive a second, better grade for your Op-Ed will be to improve it when you move it into your portfolio.

To request feedback, drop a comment into the Reply field of your own Op-Ed. Notice in the sidebar, there are already more than 10 requests from Section 34.

Your Critical Engagement essay will be persuasive like your Op-Ed and will require 5 cited sources. The new components of this final essay of the semester will be the Works Cited and the inclusion of the primary or first-person source material you will gather from experts on the topic of your choice.

DEVELOP A SUBTOPIC.
You will assign yourself a narrow subtopic suggested by the broad general topic of Superstorm Sandy. You might choose to write about:

• The contribution of global warming to the “perfect storm” conditions that gave rise to Sandy
• The contribution of sea-level rise to the devastating flood conditions along the Jersey shore
• Whether lessons learned from Katrina improved our readiness to confront the devastation of strong winds and floods
• The catastrophic effects of floodwater and downed wires on utility generation
• Challenges faced by relief organizations, and the public’s frustration both for contributors and intended recipients
• Whether it’s responsible to rebuild in increasingly hazardous areas
• The increasingly risky prospects of insuring properties likely to suffer devastation
• The opportunity to respond as a nation with a massive job-creating infrastructure development program
• The question of whether Sandy was technically (legally) a hurricane, a flood, or a tropical storm. Billions of insurance dollars depend on the choice of terms.

These are just recommendations! You’re not obligated to use them; in fact, I’ll be happier if you develop your own. (Consider finding a primary source BEFORE you finalize your topic: the source may guide you to a subtopic you never would have thought of.)

CRAFT A CONTROVERSIAL ARGUMENT.
Clearly, these are just topics, not thesis statements. Whether you elect one of the above for guidance or develop your own narrow topic, you’ll need to create a controversial argument to defend a thesis likely to divide readers roughly in half, 50% in favor of and 50% in opposition to your position.

DO PRIMARY RESEARCH.
In addition to reading published materials, you’ll conduct your own primary research into your topic. If you have first-hand knowledge of the storm’s impact, you may bring that to the project and speak in first person. You may interview relief workers, insurance agents, first responders, cleanup crews, utility executives, anyone to whom you have or can gain access to provide direct quotations or insight. Emails are a perfectly acceptable way to gather your material; you’re not obligated to do in-person interviews. As another example, you might also engage the author of a blog in an exchange of comments to gather material.

ASSIGNMENT

1. Write an argument essay with a very specific and controversial thesis on a very specific topic suggested by Superstorm Sandy.

2. Adopt the tone and formality level of the opinion columns published every day in the New York Times. Since your essay will include primary research, you may use the first person singular. (You may refer to yourself as “I.”)

3. Your essay will specifically cite 5 or more sources and provide hyperlinks to the originals whether you quote them, paraphrase them, or summarize them. You’ll also cite your own original research (most likely without a hyperlink).

4. At least two of the sources you cite will come from the Rowan Library database. If you can find all five sources at the library, making your Works Cited will be much easier. Otherwise, you’ll have to generate your own citations in MLA format.

5. I don’t enforce word counts, but the department makes clear this is to be a substantial essay, larger in scope and longer than anything else you’ve written this semester so far.

6. Make your thesis controversial, uncommon or surprising. Plan to be challenged by at least half of your readers.

7. Produce a Works Cited in MLA format for the 5 (or more) sources you cite by name in your essay. With a simple tool, articles discovered through the library database will generate their own MLA citations for your use.

8. Post your Editorial to the blog by NOON, SUN DEC 02.

9. Title your essay: Your Name Engagement Essay

10. Post your essay to the A10: Critical Engagement Essay.

11. Early Feedback
As always, if you post early and I have the time, I will provide early feedback you can use to improve your draft before receiving your only grade.

GRADE DETAILS

• DUE SUN DEC 02, 2012 before NOON.
• You will receive only one grade for this essay. There will be no Rewrite grade. Make this one count.
• You are required to include the Critical Engagement Essay in your portfolio. Therefore, it will be graded in the Portfolio Essay category.
• Customary late penalties. (0-24 hours 10%) (24-48 hours 20%) (48+ hours, 0 grade)

The issue of violence against women is being tackled head-on in Georgia with members of the national Rugby team putting their weight behind a United Nations initiative designed to rid the country of this scourge.

According to the UN, one in 11 married women in Georgia has been subjected to physical violence – more than one-third of those severely – and often by their husbands during their pregnancy. UN Women has been supporting efforts to address gender-based violence through outreach campaigns, as well as helping to improve services and support.

A partnership between UN Women and the Georgian Rugby Union has recently fired the national imagination, particularly that of sports-inclined Georgians, through an innovative advocacy campaign.

Over the past year, national players have spoken out and declared their zero tolerance for domestic violence on TV talk shows and public service announcements through the media and at rugby games. They have distributed t-shirts emblazoned with “Let women’s abusers come and scrum with us!” and, in partnership with UNICEF, they have visited and spoken with young inmates in a Tbilisi correctional facility about gender-based violence. The idea has been to take critical messages to men and boys about stereotypes and ending violence against women, from the male sports stars that they most respect.

Georgian Rugby Union Development Officer and former national team player Nodar Andguladze said: “There can be no better way to promote behavioural changes in youth and men than using sports and famous sportsmen as role models. Our primary goal is to get more men on board in this campaign against domestic violence.”

For more information go to www.fira-aer-rugby.com

North America/Caribbean

Two Rugby stalwarts have been singled out for special honours in Bermuda with official letters of appreciation being sent from the Commissioner of the Bermuda Police Service to Youth Development Officer Patrick Callow and John Layfield.

The commissioner highlighted their hard work in making a difference in their community through Rugby, changing for the better the lives of many young people. Layfield, who is a former WWE wrestler, was instrumental in coordinating the partnerships and resources required for Bermuda to implement the Beyond Rugby programme for the country’s less-advantaged youth. Callow delivers the programme several days a week, with transport and nourishment being provided by sponsors and other fundraising.

Not content with their latest recognition, Layfield is raising more funds through his Seven Summits Challenge, which will see him climb seven of the highest mountains in the world. He just conquered Mount Kilimanjaro in October, and before the end of 2012 he’ll tackle Mount Acocongua, the highest peak in South America.

Asia

The Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union has applied to the Guinness Book of Records following last month’s highly successful Mini Rugby Carnival held in Colombo. Organised under the patronage of His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa, himself a keen Rugby follower, some 3,780 children participated in the event, which could be a world record.

Meanwhile, the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) annual awards ceremony will be held this month in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The awards will be announced during ARFU’s annual general meeting, which will be held in the city on 17-18 November. Among the other awards, this year will include a new gong, the ARFU Carlson Lin Match Officiating Award. This award will be presented for services to match officiating in the Asia region and is presented in memory of the popular and much-missed Lin, the IRB’s 2009 Development Award winner from Chinese Taipei, who contributed enormously to referee development in Asia and who sadly passed away in December 2011.

Find out more about Rugby in Asia at www.arfu.com

South America

Last month was the 40th anniversary of the plane crash that took the lives of 29 people, including several players from a Uruguayan Rugby club, with an emotional event being held to remember the victims.

On October 13, 1972, a chartered flight carrying 45 people crashed into the Andes with many managing to survive the initial impact. It took more than two months for the group to be rescued by which time only 16 survivors remained. It became known as the Miracle in the Andes (El Milagro de los Andes).

For more information on South American Rugby go to www.consur.org.

Africa

With South Africa on the road in Europe during the month of November, fans of the international Game within the Confédération Africaine de Rugby (CAR) region can still get their fix with a three-team international Rugby tournament being hosted by Namibia.

The Springboks will play against Ireland in Dublin, Scotland in Edinburgh and England in London in matches that will surely capture the imagination of all fans of African Rugby. But near-neighbour Namibia will also be facing a significant challenge as it welcomes Zimbabwe and Spain to Windhoek for the short tournament from November 10-17.

Popular South African referee Jason Jaftha, who has previously officiated on the HSBC Sevens World Series , will take charge of his first full international during the tournament.

Meanwhile, there are a number of important training dates in the CAR diary during November with the IRB Level 3 coaches course (part two) taking place in Stellenbosch from November 20-23 as well as some other coaching, refereeing and educators courses being held in Kenya, Tunisia and Senegal.

For information about African Rugby go to www.confederation-africaine-rugby.com

Oceania

Forming part of the Pacific in Union Programme, the first Inter-Schools Pacific in Union Festival will take place at Bava Park, Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea on November 24. All seven of the pilot schools that have been participating in the programme will be taking part in the festival, attracting more than 2,500 players and around 500 teachers.

The Pacific in Union Programme is a partnership between the Australian Rugby Union, International Rugby Board and the Australian Sports Commission, funded by AusAID. The Pacific in Union is a classroom and field-based curriculum designed to improve communities and increase the number of boys and girls playing Rugby.

For information about Oceania Rugby go to www.oceaniarugby.com

Immunity from late penalties
I completely understand the impact of Sandy on many of your home towns and families. If the storm delayed your Op-Ed essay, I will certainly not penalize you for posting late. To gain immunity from Late Penalties, just self-report at the top of your post that the storm delayed your publishing. (If you’ve already published, but late, Edit your post similarly.)

Current status of received posts/not received posts
I can only find posts that are correctly organized in the A09: Op-Ed Essay category. I’m completely willing to accept essays late in Sandy’s aftermath; I’m using this list to keep track for myself. As of 6AM TUE NOV 06, I don’t find posts in the A09 category for:

Mackenzie Leeds, Abigail Voynow, David Manzo, David Turner, Evan Quagliato, Joey Devino, Kayla Torres, Kyle Davidson, Matt Ford, Nick Bishop, Olivia Graham, Piers Rim, Rob Altieri, Stephen Shockley, Taylor Brody.

____________________________________________________________

Storm Update TUE OCT 30.

Many of you are probably experiencing power outages and will be unable to read this post even if you did have an interest in seeking it. When you do have power and your internet connection restored, please don’t worry about your essay deadline.

My thanks and admiration go to those who have already posted (14 of you so far!); for the rest of you, post when you can. I look forward to seeing most of you on Wednesday.
[Obviously, I did not see you on Wednesday.]

_____________________________________________________________

The original post from SUN OCT 28:

Hey, class! Is there anything better in life than a snow day? (That’s a rhetorical question. No. There is nothing in life better than a snow day.)

Classes at Rowan have been cancelled for MON OCT 29 and TUE OCT 30.
[Obviously, additional cancellations followed]

Nature has sent us something we should revel in. It may make life difficult for a day or two, but it could also provide a delightful diversion from the ordinary. Let’s embrace it.

With your permission, I would like to extend the deadline for your Op-Ed essay to NOON TUE OCT 30. You may not need this courtesy; on the other hand, many of you are learning from me that your thesis is a waste of time, and you may want a day or two to recover from that news. I’ll happily help you rebound from that shock over the next couple of days (electricity and internet connections permitting), especially if you’re proactive and ask for assistance.

Your first draft grade is important (and permanent), so I want you to have the time to post something meaningful, non-trivial.

If you haven’t already, please also read the post, “If Your Thesis is that Jerry Sandusky is Guilty.”

POST A REPLY PLEASE.
I’d appreciate knowing that you’ve read this post and understand about the extension. Please comment below to confirm that you understand about the cancellation of classes, the extension of the deadline, and your approval of the choice I’ve made. See you Wednesday!

It’s not in any way controversial, except to Jerry Sandusky. Op-Eds vary widely but they do share the common characteristic that they adopt an unexpected or idiosyncratic point of view or at the very least they find a unique way to illustrate or conceptualize common knowledge.

You don’t have to say Jerry Sandusky is innocent or the victim of a conspiracy to make me happy, far from it. But it doesn’t make much of an essay to say: the evidence is overwhelming; everybody agrees; there’s really no question left to decide; the verdict was correct; case closed. No reader other than Dotty Sandusky needs to be convinced of any of this.

So, what can you do with your material?

• Admit there’s nothing left to prove and deal with it

The dilemma could be resolved with a great deal of style, I guess, if you can pull it off. You could offer to provide a public service to the “only person in America who still believes in Jerry Sandusky,” for example, making it clear you’re addressing Jerry indirectly. Then one by one you could refute the flimsy claims that might be made in his defense, whatever those may be. That there was a conspiracy. Or that he was merely horsing around. Or that nobody who cared so much for kids could harm one. The approach could be entertaining.

• Find an angle that still has some ambiguity in it

Somewhere in your sources you’ll find a small but essential claim that does allow for several interpretations. Focus on the testimony of a single child perhaps, as a chilling example of how devious a kindly gentleman can be, or as a warning to all readers that nobody should be trusted as far as Sandusky was trusted. Or focus on the creepy case of Sandusky’s adopted child, who found the nerve to step forward with his own tale of abuse and is now accused by his parents of being part of a conspiracy. Or focus on the ways in which the Freeh indictment might have gone too far. It certainly sounded very opinionated, so was all that attitude actually warranted by the early evidence?

• Offer a proposal to avoid similar situations in the future

The Times editorial itself does this in its final paragraphs, which redeem it as a piece of opinion writing instead of just a factual report. Their take is that Penn State is already denying that their football-is-everything culture contributed to the horror of the Second Mile scandal, and further denying that the school and the football program are in need of a radical shakeup.

• Find an explanation for an aspect of the case that hasn’t yet been well explained.

For anyone who might be interested, England is just this week undergoing a shock as more than 300 people have come forward to make accusations of abuse against a very popular TV performer named Jimmy Savile, who died last year. Apparently only Savile’s death made his accusers feel comfortable enough to come forward with their stories. At least 300 victims over decades (not to mention his actions were investigated half a dozen times but never prosecuted) and he never was arrested! You’ll find articles in the Times on this current scandal. There’s certainly something to the thesis that powerful people can find victims to abuse who will keep their mouths shut.

Do you see what I’m getting at? Before the trial, a piece speculating whether Mr. Sandusky would be found guilty or not might have been intriguing. But after his conviction, your “thesis” that he deserved to be convicted seems to have been settled before you arrived.

It will take some very fancy writing to disguise the fact that you’re trying to prove the earth is round.

The compilation boasts tracks from all of Clarkson’s studio albums released up to 2011: “Thankful” (2003), “Breakaway” (2004), “My December” (2007), “All I Ever Wanted” (2009) and “Stronger” (2011), as well as three newly recorded songs in the shape of “Catch My Breath,” “People Like Us” and “Don’t Rush.”

Throughout her recording career, Clarkson has collaborated with producers Martin “Max Martin” Sandberg (Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears), Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald (Bonnie McKee, Kelly Rowland), Rhett Lawrence (Nick Lachey, Jessica Simpson), Greg Kurstin (Lily Rose Cooper, Sophie Ellis Bextor), David Hodges (Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne), Ben Moody (Lindsay Lohan, Chris Daughtry), David Kahne (Lana Del Rey, Regina Spektor), Ryan “Alias” Tedder (Natasha Bedingfield, Adele Adkins), Brian Kennedy (Jesse McCartney, Ciara Harris), Dante Jones (Pia Toscano, Chris Brown), John Shanks (Michelle Branch, Leona Lewis) and Raine Maida (Carrie Underwood, David Cook)

Songwriters include Kara DioGuardi (Enrique Iglesias, Beyonce Knowles), Claude Kelly (Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton), Jorgen Elofsson (Agnes Carlsson, Paloma Faith), Ali Tamposi (Hilary Duff, Eva Simons), David Gamson (Adam Lambert, Diana Vickers), Ester Dean (Keyshia Cole, Mary J. Blige), Matthew Gerrard (Delta Goodrem, Miley Cyrus), Chantal Kreviazuk (Gwen Stefani, The Veronicas), Michael Busbee (Alesha Dixon, Chris Rene) and Katy Perry (Selena Gomez & The Scene, Lesley Roy).

Kelly Clarkson – Greatest Hits: Chapter One [Official Tracklisting]

“Since U Been Gone”

“My Life Would Suck Without You”

“Miss Independent”

“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”

“Behind These Hazel Eyes”

“Because of You”

“Never Again”

“Already Gone”

“Mr. Know It All”

“Breakaway”

“Don’t You Wanna Stay” (Jason Alden featuring Kelly Clarkson)

“Walk Away”

“Catch My Breath”

“People Like Us”

“Don’t Rush” (featuring Vince Gill)

“A Moment Like This”

“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” (iTunes Session Version)

“Dark Side” (International Edition)

“The Trouble with Love Is” (International Edition)

“I Do Not Hook Up” (International Edition)

“Beautiful Disaster” [Live] (International Edition)

All wars require a definitive trigger event in order to come to fruition. Subsequently, at the  beginning of all wars lies a governmental apparatus which seeks to justify the outbreak of hostilities. Due to horrific nature of war, all governments feel the need to convince, conscript and control its population in order fulfill its need for war.

Over 2500 years ago, Sun Tzu, renowned author of the Art of War, stated that war is only a means to an end. A false flag attack upon the inhabitants of Chicago will likely prove to be the means to commence the World War III. and impose a draconian version of martial law which will be carried out upon the American people with extreme prejudice with the roll out of FEMA camp re-education centers. World War III, itself, will provide the means to restore the Federal Reserve Petrodollar as the sole reserve currency needed to purchase oil by the nations of the world.

Why is the United States so hell bent on starting World War III?  As I reported earlier this week, Iran is selling oil for Gold to India, China and Russia. This is a dramatic departure from past practice in which all of the nations of the world must first purchase Petrodollars from the Federal Reserve before purchasing oil. This practice provides the only form of backing that our dollar enjoys and to remove this backing would result in the total collapse of the dollar and the Federal Reserve. Specifically, Iran and its three powerful oil customers are threatening to bring down the dollar and the American and European economies. Further, the Chinese and the Russians have threatened war if the United States attacks Iran in attempt to reverse the gold for oil deal.

America has positioned naval warships, in record numbers, in the Gulf region in order to launch military strikes upon Syria and Iran in conjunction with Israeli forces. Insider sources are reporting that U.S. forces are on high alert as a pretext to antagonize the Iranians into an aggressive action which will be used to justify the coming war. If U.S. forces are not able to provoke Iran into committing a Gulf of Tonkin event, the American public should be aware of at least one, if not more, stunning false flag events which will be used to justify the coming war and the imposition of martial law.

The American people are war weary and our banker-hijacked government will likely need to “control” the likely backlash many Americans will display in protest of going to war with Iran. Martial law preparations are clearly under way as it painfully obvious that the Department of Homeland Security has ramped up its operation for this likely scenario. A false flag attack upon Chicago will provide the justification to impose martial law and DHS is prepared to meet any public resistance with deadly force. This notion is bolstered by the fact that DHS has purchased hundreds of hardened concrete pillboxes which is also accompanied by the purchase of 1.6 billion rounds of high grade ammunition.  We already know that the Fort Carson based Russians troops are training with American weapons and ammunition in large numbers at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs. Are the dots beginning to connect? A false flag operation is in the works and it martial law was beta tested in May at the NATO summit as South Chicago.

What does it say when an American president is preparing to go to war with Russia over the sanctity of the Petrodollar, while at the same time, preparing use Russian troops to subjugate an American public’s backlash about the coming war? It says Obama is a traitor to this country and Obama clearly has the past connections to validate his Benedict Arnold pedigree as you will soon discover.

For individuals who think a false flag upon Chicago sounds crazy, ask yourself why Rahm Emanuel, most likely a Mossad agent, would leave a high level cabinet post in the Obama Administration and step down to the relative lowly position of being a mayor of city? The simple and obvious answer is that this foreign asset was put in place to carry out the task over overseeing a false flag event, so big, so devastating, that the Obama Administration will have their pretext to execute martial law in order to stem the wave of massive protests which will surely accompany the globalist plans to have the United States commence a war in the Middle East.

Do you remember reading the accounts of how Israel told their workers to not go to the World Trade Center on 9/11? It is apparent that a similar warning has already been issued to key people from Chicago so that they can stay out of harm’s way.  And along these lines, does anyone else find it interesting that President Obama is not planning to ever return to his former hometown of Chicago? In case you have not heard, Obama is in the middle of securing a residence in Hawaii while disposing of his Hyde Park properties. Additionally, the News Director of The Common Sense Show with Dave Hodges revealed to a national listening audience the presence of 400,000 FEMA coffins being stored in nearby Gary, Indiana, despite protestations from the local city council. To accurately add fuel to this false flag fire, there were plans in place for a mass evacuation of downtown Chicago in reaction to possible riots which might have taken place from May 20-21, 2012 at the NATO Summit. Local officials were asked to make plans in order to assist Chicago residents in the event of a mass exit from Chicago. This Chicago NATO Summit was merely a Beta test for the real event.One doesn’t have to have a doctorate in history to recall Operation Northwoods, Abel Danger and the relationship to 911. And one doesn’t have to be a Jeopardy contestant to remember the London terrorist drills that coincided with the London subway bombings. And don’t forget, the same exact events transpired a short time later in Spain! Prudent Americans may wish to eliminate Chicago as vacation destination anytime soon where it appears likely that the Windy City will be the next Oklahoma City event as evidenced by the massive purchase of Ammonium Nitrate by DHS which is the same explosive utilized in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Hmmm, I wonder if Obama has bothered to inform his fellow Hyde Park residents, Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, that their homes will soon be going up in smoke? You remember Bill and Bernardine don’t you? The Weatherman Underground? You know, the 1960′s radical group of rich, red-diaper babies who perpetrated dozens of bombings of public buildings which led to the death of a San Francisco police officer for which these two thugs were never prosecuted and were eventually pardoned for all other crimes committed while participating in some of the worse domestic terrorism that this country has ever witnessed. Surely, you now remember Bill and Bernardine as they were the ones who launched the political career of Barry Sotero (AKA Barak Obama), in their Hyde Park living room at the dawn of Barry’s political career while running for the State Senate in Illinois.  This is the same Bill and Bernardine who was under investigation by the FBI and specifically by FBI informant, Larry Grathwohl. While appearing on The Common Sense Show, Grathwohl revealed he had previously penetrated the inner circle of the Weatherman, on behalf of the FBI, and was exposed to some stunning revelations by Dohrn and Ayers as they announced plans to institute a methodical and systematic, long term communist takeover of the government. When the takeover was complete, Grathwohl reported that Ayers stated that 50 million Americans would have to be sent to re-education camps and an estimated 25 million Americans would have to murdered in order to stop the counter revolution which would follow their communist takeover. The American people are now at the precipice of this long planned takeover. Not only were Bill and Bernardine Obama’s handlers, the Ayers family was intermarried into the family of Valerie Jarrett’s, senior White House advisor to President Obama.

America, you have been sold out!

By connecting all of the aforementioned dots, a clear picture of the interrelationship between a false flag event in Chicago and the resulting martial law imposition designed to suppress dissent against the coming world war for the purpose of eliminating the gold for oil deal begins to crystallize and the road to war with Iran runs through Chicago.

A recent music video Five Knights Productions (www.fiveknightsproductions.com) has done (directed by Ben McKinnon, and a project I was a crew member of) will be screened and performed by the very talented artists David Hodges and Stefanie Parnell at the UN’s International Peace Day concert event!
The music video is meant to raise awareness about domestic violence towards youth and is supported by the NATIONAL COALITION AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (1-800-799-7233) http://www.ncadv.org/ and KIDS HELP PHONE (1-800-668-6868) http://www.kidshelpphone.ca.

Be sure to check out the screening of the event to see their performance!

I am so proud to have been a part of such an inspiring and moving project!
Check out the video!

Montreal rapper David hodges is taking a stand! Pairing up with super talented female artist, Stefanie Parnell, the duo released their latest song and video sending a strong message to viewers. Domestic violence is everywhere, but for the most part, we don’t see it happen because for most victims, it’s kept as “Secrets.” This new song can really help people realize what may go on at home when nobody is around to see it. So help share this video to spread awareness, send a positive message to victims of domestic violence and help them speak up. Both David Hodges and Stefanie Parnell ask that if you know anyone who is being abused, or you are, please contact one of these organizations. They are prepared to help, protect you and help find answers to stop the abuse you are experiencing.

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (1-800-799-7233) - www.ncadv.org

Kid Help Phone (1-800-668-6868) - www.kidshelpphone.ca

Have a moon morning and a starry night.

Have a lovely, sunflower weekend.

Day 9, 25-7-2012 – In my hotel room, Washington DC, (Late updating)

This is yet again a late updating, which is much due to the fact that the day was simply exhausting. It was to be our last day at the Freer and Seckler and thus filled with many things to do and see. At 10 in the morning, we simply headed off to our first workshop of the day, with Jeffrey Smith. He is one of the most sweetest man that I have ever come across, and it has to be said, that this was one of the most useful workshops that we have attended so far. The main reason for this was most probably the hands-on experience that we got in the workshop. With Jeffrey we had the chance to explore this software which is called the TMS – The Museum System. And this is a fantastic system. It is easy, the interface is clean and with so much detail. Me and Jeffrey had a chance to talk for a while, in which we discussed the need to sometimes understand that certain things are beyond our control and that we can’t be perfect. After the class, it was once again, maybe for the last time, off to the cafeteria of the Energy Department…. sigh.. I will miss all that food. 

After lunch, we had a meeting with the Archivist, David Hodges, who was an amazing guy. And was sweet enough to show us some fantatsic stuff that they have in their Arhives. This included a Palm Leaf manuscript, which one guy from our group even got around to translating.

After this, we all went to pursue our appointments, mine with Kelly Swain, the exhibit coordinator. She is one of the most sweetest lady and I have a whole new level of respect for her…. the lady gave me a free gift. What do you expect then?

She showed me the exhibit “Shipwrecked” that I was much interested in seeing, since she had talked about it in her presentation. I have to say it was a totally different thing from what I have seen in the Smithsonian Museums.

After our classes, we decided to head towards Pentagon City. IT was a really cool place and some of the shops were not so bad. I had a good time there.

And do you know that DC is beautiful at night?

This is the Writing Final Exam. For tonight’s exam, you’ll write one well-organized 5-paragraph (or longer) essay to answer ONE of the following questions.

• QUESTION A. The Alabama Immigration Law is considered the toughest in the nation. Other states are watching closely to see if Alabama benefits or suffers from the law’s most radical provisions. Based on Alabama’s early experiences, the court challenges, and the reactions of some businesses and citizens, do you think other states will adopt laws similar to Alabama’s?
• QUESTION B. Many laws have unintended consequences; i.e., they result in changes the authors of the law did not predict and might not approve. Certainly the reluctance of businesses to build new plants or open new businesses in Alabama was not what legislators wanted when they passed the Immigration Law. What other unintended consequences might result from the provisions that make life difficult for illegal immigrants?
• QUESTION C. It’s not hard to understand the dilemma Alabama’s lawmakers face. They claim the United States government does not do enough to control the flow of illegal immigrants into their state. At the same time, federal law obligates Alabama to provide a free public education to every school age child who lives in the state. The state economy does not have extra money to spend educating children for families who have come here illegally. Should Alabama be obligated to educate non-citizens? Is there another solution to this problem?

1. Make two (2) citations from the Source Material Reading. One must be from the primary reading “Chilling Effect of Alabama’s Immigration Law.” The other must be from one of tonight’s short readings: “The Price of Intolerance,” or “Part of Alabama Immigration Law Blocked.”
2. They can be any combination of direct quotation, indirect quotation, paraphrase, or summary; but at least once you must name the author, the title, and the publication of the source material article.
3. Express your opinion clearly. You may use the first person (I or we) if you wish.
4. Be persuasive. Answers to essay questions are ARGUMENTS. Be sure to adopt a clear position, support it with evidence, and draw a clear conclusion.

• If something needs to be done, say what needs to be done.
• If your answer is “Under certain circumstances yes, under other circumstances no,” explain the circumstances.
• If the “status quo” is working fine, explain why the results of the current situation are as you wish them to be.