La stampa inglese ha data la notizia che i tre candidati alle elezioni politiche UK hanno acconsentito a partecipare a una serie di dirette televisive in cui si confronteranno due alla volta seguendo una variante britannica del rituale dibattito televisivo delle campagne presidenziali americane.

Sebbene i meccanismi di funzionamento del parlamento britannico già obblighino (o consentano, a seconda dei punti di vista) i leader dei tre partiti principali, Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem, a confrontarsi faccia a faccia durante i dibattiti parlamentari, nessuno di loro aveva mai accettato di fare la stessa cosa di fronte alle telecamere. Questa riluttanza deve essere attribuita più ad una mancanza di confidenza con il mezzo televisivo e alla paura di commettere un errore determinante per gli esiti delle elezioni che alla scarsa fiducia nell’imparzialità del broadcaster.

Nonostante le accuse di essere eccessivamente cauta e moderata, la BBC è infatti riuscita a mantenere una posizione politica neutrale al punto da essere considerata una cartina tornasole delle inclinazioni politiche delle altre televisioni nazionali non a pagamento.  L’indipendenza dei suoi giornalisti si manifesta anche nel loro diritto, oltre che capacità di fare domande scomode a tutti. Celebre è l’intervista di Jeremy Paxman, conduttore di Newsnight, il telegiornale serale e di approfondimento di BBC2, a Michael Howard pochi giorni dopo la sua rimozione come Ministro dell’Interno nel 1997 (dopo poche settimane sarebbe cominciata l’era Blair). Nell’intervista, Paxman, irritato dalla reticenza delle risposte di Howard ad una domanda precisa, ripete per 14 volte, quella stessa domanda ad un sempre più imbarazzato Howard, la cui reputazione subì quella sera un danno permanente.

Io già da adesso preparo i popcorn e mi tengo libera per qualche serata in cui varrà forse la pena affittare un televisore.

E comunque c’è sempre la possibilità di affidare tutto a Simon Cowell che da tempo vorrebbe fare una versione politica di X Factor, o forse addirittura rimpiazzare le elezioni con il televoto.

Secondo me poi  Morgan sarebbe bravissimo come allenatore canoro di Bersani. Bersani che vuol fare solo i Casadei e Morgan che lo supplica di provare almeno un’Avvelenata. Imperdibile. Io intanto mi procuro due o tre simcard e penso a come taroccare il voto, pardon, le elezioni.

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Dr. Howard Gardner, peneliti dari Harvard, pencetus teori Multiple Intelligence
mengajukan 8 jenis kecerdasan yang meliputi :
Cerdas Bahasa : cerdas dalam mengolah kata
Cerdas Gambar: memiliki imajinasi tinggi
Cerdas Musik :peka terhadap suara dan irama
Cerdas Tubuh : trampil dalam mengolah tubuh dan gerak
Cerdas Matematika dan Logika: cerdas dalam sains dan berhitung
Cerdas Sosial :kemampuan tinggi dalam membaca pikiran dan perasaan orang lain
Cerdas Diri : menyadari kekuatan dan kelemahan diri
Cerdas Alam : peka terhadap alam sekitar
Cerdas Spiritual :menyadari makna eksistensi diri dalam hubungannya dengan pencipta
alam semesta.
Delapan kecerdasan atau yang lebih dikenal istilah kecerdasan jamak/majemuk
(multiple intelligences) ini merupakan pengembangan dari kecerdasan otak, emosional
dan spiritual. Kecerdasan jamak/majemuk pada saat ada yang menggolongkan dalam
delapan jenis yaitu: kecerdasan linguistik, logika-matematika, spasial, kinestetik tubuh,
musikal, interpersonal, intrapersonal dan naturalis.
Kecerdasan majemuk tersebut
1. Kecerdasan linguistik mencakup kemampuan membaca, menulis, berbicara dan
mengerti urutan serta artinya. Juga kemampuan merefleksikan pikiran dan
perasaan dalam kata-kata.
2. Logika matematika berhubungan dengan kemampuan menganalisa sebab-akibat
dan pemikiran deduktif-induktif. Mencakup kemampuan melakukan perhitungan
matematika dan penggunaan sistem bilangan abstrak.
3. Kecerdasan gerak merupakan kemampuan mengekspresikan ide dan perasaan
dalam gerakan tubuh. Kecerdasan ini dimiliki penari dan atlet, atau orang-orang
yang menggunakan koordinasi tubuhnya, dan mampu mengontrol gerakangerakannya
itu.
4. Kecerdasan spasial umumnya dimiliki oleh para pelukis, pemahat, arsitek, dan
pilot. Kecerdasan ini melibatkan imajinasi aktif yang membuat seseorang mampu
mempersepsikan warna, garis dan luas serta menetapkan arah dengan tepat.
5. Kecerdasan musik melibatkan sensivitas terhadap bunyi dan ritme, serta
digunakan untuk mengenali, meniru, menghasilkan maupun menciptakan musik.
6. Kecerdasan interpersonal adalah kemampuan seseorang untuk berelasi dan
berkomunikasi, serta memahami maksud orang lain.
7. Kecerdasan intrapersonal merupakan kemampuan seseorang untuk mengenali
dan mengembangkan potensi, serta mengekspresikan dirinya.
8. Kecerdasan naturalis adalah kemampuan untuk mengenali dan memahami sifatsifat
alam. Kecerdasan ini dibutuhkan oleh ahli biologi, ahli binatang, ahli
tanaman maupun petani.
Selama ini, yang namanya “kecerdasan” senantiasa dikonotasikan dengan
Kecerdasan Intelektual” atau yang lazim dikenal sebagai IQ saja (Intelligence Quotient).
Namun pada saat ini, anggapan bahwa kecerdasan manusia hanya tertumpu pada
dimensi intelektual saja sudah tidak berlaku lagi. Selain IQ, manusia juga masih memiliki
dimensi kecerdasan lainnya, diantaranya yaitu : Kecerdasan Emosional atau EQ
(Emotional Quotient) dan Kecerdasan Spiritual atau SQ (Spiritual Quotient).
Memasuki abad 21, legenda IQ (Intelligence Quotient) sebagai satu-satunya
tolok ukur kecerdasan yang juga sering dijadikan parameter keberhasilan manusia,
digugurkan oleh munculnya konsep Kecerdasan Emosional atau EQ (Emotional
Quotient) dan Kecerdasan Spiritual atau SQ (Spiritual Quotient). Kecerdasan perawat
ternyata lebih luas dari anggapan yang dianut selama ini. Kecerdasan perawat
bukanlah merupakan suatu hal yang bersifat dimensi tunggal semata, yang hanya bisa
diukur dari satu sisi dimensi saja (dimensi IQ). Kesuksesan perawat dan juga
kebahagiaannya, ternyata lebih terkait dengan beberapa jenis kecerdasan selain IQ.
Menurut hasil penelitian, setidaknya 75% kesuksesan manusia lebih ditentukan oleh
kecerdasan emosionalnya (EQ) dan hanya 4% – 20% yang ditentukan oleh kecerdasan
intelektualnya (IQ).
Gay Hendrick, PhD dan Kate Ludeman, PhD, keduanya konsultan manajemen
senior, mengadakan sebuah penelitian pada 800-an manajer perusahaan yang mereka
tangani selama 25 tahun. Dari hasil penelitian disimpulkan, bahwa para pemimpin yang
sukses ternyata lebih mengamalkan nilai-nilai rohaniah atau nilai-nilai sufistik ketimbang
pengedepankan sisi intelektual semata. Menggunakan ungkapan Howard Gardner,
kecerdasan emosi terdiri dari beberapa kecakapan, diantaranya : intrapersonal
intelligence dan interpersonal intellegence. Intrapersonal intelligence merupakan
kecakapan mengenali perasaan kita sendiri yang terdiri dari:
Pertama; kesadaran diri meliputi : keadaan emosi diri, penilaian pribadi dan percaya diri.
Kedua; pengaturan diri meliputi : pengendalian diri, dapat dipercaya, waspada adaptif
dan inovatif.
Ketiga; motivasi meliputi : dorongan berprestasi, komitmen, inisiatif dan optimis.
Sedangkan interpersonal intelligence merupakan kecakapan berhubungan
dengan orang lain yang terdiri dari :
Pertama; empati meliputi : memahami orang lain, pelayanan, mengembangkan orang
lain, mengatasi keragaman dan kesadaran politis
Kedua; ketrampilan sosial meliputi : pengaruh, komunikasi, kepemimpinan, katalisator
perubahan, manajemen konflik, pengikat jaringan, kolaborasi dan koperasi serta kerja
team.Sumber http://www.mail archive.com/formiskat@groups.plnkalbar.co.id/msg00083.
Studi terhadap orang-orang yang sangat sukses menujukkan bahwa mereka
juga memiliki ciri-ciri lain yang menonjol. Pertama, mereka mempunyai mimpi yang
besar, tujuan yang jelas, dan teguh memegang mimpinya tersebut. Kedua, mereka tidak
bekerja sendirian, mereka mampu memanfaatkan kekuatan yang ada di dalam dirinya
maupun di sekeliling dirinya. Jadi, mereka mengembangkan dua kecerdasan lainnya
sebagai pelengkap dari IQ-EQ-SQ. Mereka mengembangkan kecerdasan yang disebut
Kecerdasan Aspirasi (Aspiration Intelligence), dan Kecerdasan Kekuatan (Power
Intelligence). Ternyata para orang sukses mengembangkan lima kecerdasan dengan
seimbang! Kelima kecerdasan ini kita sebut Kecerdasan SEPIA (Spiritual – Emotional -
Power – Intellectual – Aspiration).
Agar sukses dan bahagia, perawat memerlukan pengembangan kelima
kecerdasannya. Sukses disini dalam arti yang luas, menyangkut finansial, bisnis, karir,
keluarga, kesehatan, pengembangan diri, kebahagiaan, dan semua tujuan yang
berharga bagi manusia. Kelima kecerdasan ini merupakan refleksi dari karakter dan
kompetensi. Kecerdasan aspirasi (Aspiration), spiritual (Spiritual) dan emosional
(Emotional) mewakili karakter (Character). Sedangkan kecerdasan intelektual
(Intelectual) dan pengelolaan-kekuatan (Power) mewakili kompetensi (Competence).
Hubungan keseluruhan kecerdasan tersebut dijelaskan melalui pendekatan gambar
Matahari SEPIA sebagai berikut :

Di tengah bulatan matahari adalah keseimbangan karakter dan kompetensi yang
dilambangkan dengan C-C (Character-Competence) dalam bentuk lingkaran Yin-Yang.
Kekuatan karakter terpancar melalui tiga kecerdasan yaitu aspirasi (A), spiritual (S), dan
emosi (E). Sedangkan kekuatan kompetensi terpancar melalui dua kecerdasan yaitu
intelektual (I) dan pengelolaan-kekuatan (P).

Alam diciptakan dalam keseimbangan. Demikian pula kecerdasan perawat perlu
dikelola secara seimbang. Mengelola hanya kemampuan intelektual saja tidaklah
seimbang. Demikian pula bila hanya fokus pada nilai spiritual, tidak juga seimbang.
Keseluruhan kecerdasan SEPIA perlu dikelola, dikembangkan, dan dimanfaatkan
secara seimbang. Menjadi selaras dan seimbang adalah kunci menuju bahagia dan
sukses.

Ada kalimat yang sangat menarik yang dikemukakan oleh Patricia Patton,
seorang konsultan profesional sekaligus penulis buku, sebagai berikut: It took a heart,
soul and brains to lead a people…..

Dari kalimat tersebut di atas terlihat dengan jelas bahwa seorang perawat
haruslah memiliki perasaan, keutuhan jiwa dan kemampuan intelektual. Dengan
perkataan lain, “modal” yang harus dimiliki oleh seorang perawat tidak hanya
intektualitas semata, namun harus didukung oleh kecerdasan emosional (emotional
intelligence), komitmen pribadi dan integritas yang sangat dibutuhkan untuk mengatasi
berbagai tantangan. Seringkali kegagalan dialami karena secara emosional seorang
perawat tidak mau atau tidak dapat memahami dirinya sendiri dan orang lain. Sehingga
keputusan yang diambil bukanlah a heartfelt decision, yang mempertimbangkan
martabat manusia dan menguntungkan institusi, melainkan cenderung egois, selfcentered
yang berorientasi pada kepentingan pribadi dan kelompok/golongannya
sehingga akibatnya adalah seperti yang dialami oleh kebanyakan institusi di Indonesia
yang high profile but low profit ! . sumber:MatahariSEPIA tersedia dalam

http://sepia.blogsome.com/sepia/

C. APAKAH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ITU ?
Kecerdasan emosional adalah kemampuan untuk mengenali, mengekspresikan,
dan mengelola emosi, baik emosi dirinya sendiri maupun emosi orang lain, dengan
tindakan konstruktif, yang berupaya bekerja sama sebagai tim yang mengacu pada
produktivitas dan bukan pada konflik. Sumber:Ge Mozaik, tersedia dalam
http://ganeca.blogspirit.com. Juni 2005.

Kecerdasan emosional yaitu kemampuan mengenali emosi diri, kemampuan
mengelola emosi, kemampuan memotivasi diri, kemampuan mengenali emosi orang lain
dan kemampuan membina hubungan. Sumber: Seto Mulyadi dalam

http://www.pelita.or.id/baca.php?id=16965

Kecerdasan emosional mencakup pengendalian diri, semangat, dan ketekunan,
serta kemampuan untuk memotivasi diri sendiri dan bertahan menghadapi frustrasi,
kesanggupan untuk mengendalikan dorongan hati dan emosi, tidak melebih-lebihkan
kesenangan, mengatur suasana hati dan menjaga agar beban stress tidak
melumpuhkan kemampuan berpikir, untuk membaca perasaan terdalam orang lain
(empati) dan berdoa, untuk memelihara hubungan dengan sebaik-baiknya, kemampuan
untuk menyelesaikan konflik, serta untuk memimpin. Sumber : Johanes Pap, EQ dalam
Kepemimpinan melalui http//www: Team e-psikologi.

Kecerdasan emosional adalah kemampuan seseorang mengendalikan emosinya
saat menghadapi situasi yang menyenangkan maupun menyakitkan. Orang yang
memiliki kecerdasan emosional tinggi, mampu mengendalikan emosinya dalam
berkomunikasi. Sumber: Jabatan Tinggi EQ Rendah tersedia dalam

http://blogs.netindonesia.net/sarah/

Kecerdasan emosional adalah kemampuan mengenali emosi diri merupakan
kemampuan seseorang dalam mengenali perasaannya sendiri sewaktu perasaan atau
emosi itu muncul, dan ia mampu mengenali emosinya sendiri apabila ia memiliki
kepekaan yang tinggi atas perasaan mereka yang sesungguhnya dan kemudian
mengambil keputusan-keputusan secara mantap. Dalam hal ini, sikap yang diambil
dalam menentukan berbagai pilihan seperti memilih sekolah, sahabat, profesi sampai
kepada pemilihan pasangan hidup.

Kemampuan mengelola emosi merupakan kemampuan seseorang untuk
mengendalikan perasaannya sendiri sehingga tidak meledak dan akhirnya dapat
mempengaruhi perilakunya secara wajar. Misalnya seseorang yang sedang marah
maka kemarahan itu tetap dapat dikendalikan secara baik tanpa harus menimbulkan
akibat yang akhirnya disesali di kemudian hari. Sumber:Aspek-aspek Kecerdasan
Emosi, tersedia dalam http://www.depdiknas.go.id/Jurnal/30/.

Secara sederhana emotional intelligence adalah kemampuan merasakan. Dan
cara meningkatkan ini adalah dengan berpraktik. Kalau kita ingin merasakan manisnya
gula, ya lidah kita harus mencicipi beberapa butir gula. EQ kita tidak akan meningkat
kalau hanya melihat gula dan kemudian memikirkan tentang manisnya gula. Masalah
berpraktik atau berlatih secara nyata ini akan terlihat urgen manakala kita harus
merasakan penderitaan orang lain. Sumber : emosi dan pembelajaran, tersedia dalam

http://www.mizan.com/portal/template/BacaArtikel/kodeart/930

Goleman menjelaskan bahwa kecerdasan emosi (Emotional Intellegence) adalah
kemampuan untuk mengenali perasaan kita sendiri dan kemampuan mengelola emosi
dengan baik pada diri sendiri dan dalam hubungan dengan orang lain. Sumber :

http://www.mail-archive.com/formiskat@groups.plnkalbar.co.id/msg00083.html.

kemampuan seorang perawat untuk bisa menghargai dirinya sendiri maupun diri
orang lain, memahami perasaan terdalam orang-orang di sekelilingnya, mengikuti
aturan-aturan yang berlaku. Semua ini termasuk kunci keberhasilan bagi seorang
perawat di masa depan. sumber : http://www.pelita.or.id/baca.php?id=16965

EQ yang tinggi akan membantu seorang perawat dalam membangun relasi
sosial dalam lingkungan keluarga, kantor, bisnis, maupun sosial. Bagi seorang perawat,
kecerdasan emosional merupakan syarat mutlak. Lagi-lagi amat disayangkan,
pendidikan kita miskin konsep dalam membantu mengembangkan EQ, bagi siswa
maupun mahasiswa. Pelatihan EQ ini amat penting guna menumbuhkan iklim dialogis,
demokratis, dan partisipatif karena semua menuntut adanya kedewasaan emosional
dalam memahami dan menerima perbedaan. Pluralitas etnis, agama, dan budaya akan
menjadi sumber konflik laten jika tidak disertai tumbuhnya budaya dialogis dan sikap
empati.

A fair number of financial related posts on this site will come from the advice given by these two financial giants. Both of them have nationally syndicated radio programs. Both of them have downloadable podcasts. And, both of them have a metric f-ton of listeners tuning in every day to hear their advice. Unfortunately, both of them have quite different philosophies and advice.  So which of them is better or worse, and why? I will review the pros and cons of both in this breakdown.

PHILOSOPHICAL DIFFERENCES

Dave Ramsey touts his financial system as a “Bible-based” system and as such he believes the Biblical model is to owe no man anything (despite the fact that the Bible has lots of rules on lending and borrowing).  In other words, Dave Ramsey preaches that you should ALWAYS pay for things in cash and if you don’t have the cash, you can’t afford it, PERIOD! In general I find this a very sound principal and for that I still like listening to Dave’s show.

Because Dave does not believe in debt, you would never ask Dave for advice on how to raise your credit score (because a credit score is only good for borrowing money) or how to consolodate debt into a lower interest rate loan or get a lower interest rate on your car or home loan. Dave is 100% about becoming debt free and I will admit, that would be an amazing feeling, so again, Dave’s show appeals to me.

Unfortunately, Dave’s advice for almost all difficult financial situations is “get a second job.” If you already have two jobs his advice is similar, “get a third job.”  Oh, and also you should eat only two things until you are out of debt, “Rice and beans and beans and rice.”.

Another annoying trait is that Dave views most Americans as lazy and a bunch of whiners (he says it all the time). Dave’s advice is tough love advice, “Get another job, eat beans and rice, and quit you whining until you get out of debt and can afford fun things again.”

On the opposite side of the coin, Clark Howard believes in the credit score and tells you how to improve it so you qualify for better rates and better deals. In some cases Clark even ENCOURAGES the use of credit cards (but in a fiscally responsible manner).  Clark has a serious problem with debit cards however, which he calls “piece of trash, fake Visa and fake Mastercards” which he says does not offer the same protection and benefits of real credit cards.

Dave Ramsey’s focus is on getting you OUT of debt and his mantra is that “the paid-off home mortgage has replaced the BMW as the status symbol of choice.” Clark Howard’s focus is on using credit wisely and helping you “save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off.”  While Dave would ask that you have ZERO debt (with the possible exception of your mortgage), Clark would recommend that you have no more than 25% of your credit limit used at all times to maximize your credit score.

On a typical Dave show you will hear how to make and stick to a budget and what to do with large windfalls (i.e. Do you pay off your house or invest in your kids college fund?). Callers mostly call in to brag about becoming debt free using Dave’s techniques or to ask why his system isnt working for them (which the answer usually is that they haven’t gotten a second or third job yet or started eating rice and beans). On a typical Clark show you will hear how big banks and cell phone companies are ripping off Americans for billions of their hard earned cash and what you can do to avoid playing into their traps.  You will also hear safe ways to invest your money and pay for our children’s education.

DEMEANOR AND DELIVERY

As different as their philosophies are, so are their demeanors.

Dave is a southern gentleman with a deep southern drawl and a steady, deliberate cadence. Every woman he adresses as “darlin’ ” and with men he just gets down to “brass tacks.” Dave sounds gentle (when he’s not telling you to stop you whining) and when he insults you he does it with a chuckle so you feel like he is just giving you friendly advice (being tough, but not too tough). Personally, I find his tone extremely condescending and he comes off entirely arrogant. If you dont get that impression from him then you will get a lot more out of his program.

Dave’s target audience is church folk and you can tell he makes big money selling his program (which he calls Financial Peace University) to local churches that either buy his video series or hire him for live events. You can tell Dave is a salesman and he uses his radio show to sell you more of his products and enroll you in his many courses to teach you how to handle your money. When he gives away one of his books, it’s because the book is a vehicle for promoting how you really should sign up for his classes.  Even his marital advice for new couples is to sign up together for his financial courses.  Everything with Dave is about buying his programs, books, seminars, courses, etc.

Perhaps the most annoying thing about Dave is his consistantly unchanging (and phoney sounding) response to “how are you doing?” Dave ALWAYS responds with, “Man, I’m better than I deserve.” After hearing that a few hundred times it loses some of the cuteness – trust me! What’s worse is his callers who feel compelled to respond with the same exact phrase when he asks them. I almost can’t listen any more due to this one issue alone.

Clark on the other hand sounds a little like he’s been sucking helium for a while.  He is almost “cute and cuddly” in his demeanor and sounds like he wants to be everyone’s best friend.  While Clark does have books and gives speeches for money, Clark rarely “advertises” himself and when he does, you can feel that he is genuinely uncomfortable doing it.  Clark’s annoying tag line to callers is “how can I be of service to you today?” and while it is said far too often, it still doesn’t grate on my nerves yet like “Man, I’m better than I deserve.”  Clark seems to genuinely view his show as a service (not as a promotional vehicle) and for that it makes listening to his show more enjoyable.

THE BEST CHOICE

The best choice for you might depend on your financial situation and focus.

If you are deep in debt and stressed out about all the bill collectors calling you, Dave’s show is probably right for you.  Dave reminds you daily of how good it will feel to finally be debt free and never have those annoying calls ever again.  It can be truly inspiring.  Listening to testimonials of others who have climbed out of debt and experienced the joy of being debt free can also be very inspiring.

If you are doing “ok” financially but would like to save more and find ways to make your dollar go even further, than Clark is probably right for you.  He is more entertaining to listen to and has way less of an ego.

Personally, I listen to both of them. I download Clark Howard’s radio show and listen to it on the way to work and sometimes at work on my iphone.  Dave I listen to on the way home because he is on live during my evening commute.  I have learned things from BOTH of them and while I prefer Clark, they both have things to offer. This blog will feature some of  my favorite tips I pick up from listening to both of their shows.

“The Gorilla Experiment” or “The Athens Recurrence”

December 7th, 2009

I wasn’t blogging about The Big Bang Theory when the show began, so I’ve never really commented on its titling structure. Each episode becomes a theory, which is totally logical and has resulted in some titles that make episodes seem momentous and potentially life-changing (even if they rarely are). Something like “The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis,” though, really captures what makes that episode work, and especially captures Sheldon’s character and the value the show places on him.

That’s interesting with “The Athens Recurrence” (Edit: which apparently was a title that got changed to “The Gorilla Experiment,” which makes this paragraph either irrelevant OR potentially indicative of why it was changed) is that it simultaneously points out how recurrence is both an overwhelmingly positive thing in this universe (which is almost always improved when supporting characters recur and provide a sense of seriality) and a persistent problem (in that the same storylines keep recurring without any real sense that the show is changing). And while I’ve accepted that the former isn’t going to happen, and that the latter is inherent to the show’s setup, there are some times when the show pushes my button by teasing the former but ultimately accepting the latter.

If I had to place this episode within that paradigm, it’s ultimately a wash. I like that we’re seeing a recurring character like Bernadette sticking around, but at the same time the storyline ends up being distinctly unpleasant. And while I thought Sheldon and Penny’s storyline was as charming as their interactions always are, there was an inherent long-term question (basically, why Penny still feels insecure about her intelligence in her relationship with Leonard, and how it feels to have him so quickly latch onto Bernadette) that gets entirely glossed over. It made for an episode that’s great as a logline, but was actually more of a mixed bag than I would have expected.

I’ve often been criticized for being too easy on Sheldon, as some have argued (sometimes successfully) that my love for the character wrongly becomes love for the person, who at times is legitimately mean and in some cases justifiably spurned by his friends. However, I think that bugs me about Leonard in this episode is that he was pretty terrible to Howard and yet wasn’t a fun character in the least. When Sheldon’s mean, there is at least our perverse entertainment from observing his hilarious antics. When it’s Leonard who fails to realize that Howard (who has never had a girlfriend) would be concerned about Leonard striking up a friendship with his girlfriend, and it’s Leonard who sends her a text message that clearly outs Howard as insecure and jealous, I find no enjoyment whatsoever. In fact, I actively dislike the character, which is something beyond the ambivalence that I usually feel for the guy.

It’s not that Howard is perfect, as before he got a girlfriend I’d have gladly allowed any character to ridicule him or “textblock” him at every turn. However, he’s finally found some sort of a chance at happiness, and I find Bernadette to be a charming addition to his life and the cast. However, for Leonard not to see that Howard is extremely happy to be in a relationship, and to not be able to read the signs of Howard struggling to stay afloat in his new relationship, plays with one of the show’s most problematic paradoxes: for a show about really smart people, sometimes they act extremely dumb. And it’s one thing when it’s them getting caught up in geeky activities or something similar, where everyone has their off moments. However, Leonard is no Sheldon when it comes to reading social situations, and to have him act that ignorant (and in some ways as mean-spirited as Sheldon, such as when he stands there being snippy during their heartwarming conversation) only made the character that much less appealing.

I’m not of the mind that Penny and Leonard are entirely devoid of chemistry, but the show’s biggest problem is that we have been given no reason to root for their relationship. And, even in this episode, Leonard completely ignores his relationship with Penny when considering his friendship with Bernadette – at no moment does he stop to consider what this could appear to be, and we’re missing that scene where Leonard learns a lesson or where something of meaning comes from his behaviour. At least with Sheldon, there is a sense that his social inhibitions keep him from learning from his mistakes, but Leonard was just being stubborn and ignorant, and there’s nothing funny or entertaining about that.

And to be entirely fair to the show, it’s not like Penny’s efforts to save the relationship (by learning about physics so that she could, like Bernadette, discuss Leonard’s project) are any more romantic. There’s an underlying message that Penny is doing this because she has no chemistry with Leonard (nothing to talk about, no way for her to be part of his life), and yet the show largely ignores it to turn this into an issue more of pride than of love. She is tired of feeling stupid, and she goes to Sheldon hoping for a quick fix to what is a much deeper problem that learning a few sentences about Leonard’s project being reductive of existing research is not going to solve. The fact that the episode never has them reconcile, or even acknowledge that they were in a fight for the entire episode, makes it all feel the relationship only exists so that the characters have reasons to participate in storylines with other characters.

And yes, I complain less when that storyline becomes “Project Gorilla,” and features both Jim Parsons hilariously failing to teach physics and Kaley Cuoco humorously failing to understand physics. The show can’t go wrong with this recurring pair in terms of comic elements, and their lectures were easily the highlight of the episode. However, there’s still this sense that the scenes are hiding something deeper, avoiding the actual ramifications of their lesson (that Penny doesn’t feel connected to Leonard) and then never really putting them together. I like that the lessons change neither Sheldon (who is still a terrible teacher, and who only teaches Penny something that degrades Leonard’s research) nor Penny (who undermines her physics discussion with the only thing she remembered from the lecture, that fig newtons were named after a town in Massachusetts and not Newton the scientist), but I don’t like that Penny’s act seems to have no impact on Leonard and is literally just played as a joke. It’s not ultimately a laughing matter.

When there’s jokes at the beginning of an episode, like Penny’s hilarious rundown of the reasons that Sheldon sits where he does on the couch (to the letter), they’re cute and clever. However, when you get to the end of the episode, you want to feel like the jokes have built up to some sort of a conclusion. And while I’ve accepted that each season won’t have that impact, I at least expect individual stories to feel like they reach a climax and get some sort of “acknowledgement denouement” that forces the character to think for just a second about what happened in the episode. I might have my issues with shows that tack on a cheesy moral onto the final scenes (See: Modern Family), but at least it shows some sense that the characters remember the twenty minutes of tonight’s episodes if not the 50 episodes that aired previously.

Cultural Observations

• The show could have spent an entire episode on Sheldon dealing with two girls being in the apartment, which isn’t new (it happened with Stephanie/Penny) but always brings out some of Sheldon’s best qualities.
• However, sorry show – Bazinga is not happening. Drop it and move on.
• The show is becoming a major place for geek product placement: Nintendo puts Mario Kart out there (with the footage and everything), and apparently ThinkGEEK sent the show one of its Tantaun Sleeping sleeping bags, likely in order to try to get it onto the show.
• I know it was inevitable, but I really could have gone without Howard’s mother being part of his relationship with Bernadette. It was cute when it was just Howard being awkward and always introducing her as “My Girlfriend, Bernadette,” but it became less engaging when his shrill mother entered into the picture.

The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs has received several calls from residents over the past week asking if it is legal for landlords to provide space heaters as the only source of heat. While using space heaters in and of itself is obviously not illegal, the District does not allow them to be the sole source of heat – they were not designed to be.

Without too much code/legal jargon, DCRA interprets the 2006 International Property Maintenance Code and 14 DC MR code is that when the space heater is turned off, the building heating facilities must maintain the minimum prescriptive temperature 68 degrees or 70 degrees. (IPMC 68 degrees F, 14 DCMR 501.2, 70 Degrees F). Here’s the code:

HEATING FACILITIES
602.1 Facilities required. Heating facilities shall be provided in structures as required by this section.602.2 Residential occupancies. Dwellings shall be provided with heating facilities capable of maintaining a room temperature of 68°F (20°C) in all habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilet rooms based on the winter outdoor design temperature for the locality indicated in AppendixD of the International Plumbing Code. Cooking appliances shall not be used to provide space heating to meet the requirements of this section.

Space heaters are not designed, per their listing, to be capable of maintaining room temperature in a dwelling. Space heaters are not to be confused with permanent wall mounted electric baseboard heating, when installed with a thermostat, and according to code, is accepted means of heat. So essentially, using a space heater to be the main source of heat is not that much different than using your stove in terms of how we enforce the law.

Many municipalities outright amend their codes to state “Space heaters shall not provide the minimum heat requirements in a dwelling…”. We rely on the interpretation of heating facilities, and that space heaters are not designed to heat an entire dwelling unit.

If you live in a rental unit using only space heaters this winter, we highly reccomend you contact your landlord and explain this to them. If they are not responsive, call 202-442-9557 or email us and schedule an inspection ASAP. 

Here are some other Winter Heating Safety Tips:

Electric Space Heaters
Keep space heaters 3 feet form furniture, bedding, clothing, walls or other things that burn. Use only heaters that have been tested and approved by U.L. or another respected testing lab. Make sure your space heater has an automatic shut-off feature for tip-overs. Do not use heaters that have worn or frayed cords or plugs. Use electrical outlets conservatively. Remember that overloaded circuits can cause fires. Never use kerosene heaters inside a house.

Fireplace & Woodstoves
Have your chimney inspected by a professional annually and have it cleaned as needed. Always use a fire screen. Spark arresters are required. Never leave children unattended around a fireplace or woodstove. Be sure the fore is out before going to bed or away from the house. Never burn trash, Christmas paper or trees in your fireplace or woodstove. When cleaning out the ashes, place them into metal containers only, and dampen slightly. Never store discarded ashes inside or adjacent your home. Woodstoves require a 36″ clearance form combustible surfaces. Woodstoves should be U.L. approved and installed pursuant to all applicable codes.

Electric Blankets
Follow manufacture guidelines regarding proper use, maintenance and replacement. Never leave the blanket on high for any exceeded period. Never bunch or wad the blanket up, or fold it in a heap. Turning you blanket off when you turn your alarm off is a simple, safe habit. Upon rising, smooth the blanket out flat to avoid concentrating the heat. Small children, invalids or the elderly should never use electric blankets because these persons have decreased abilities to sense high heat.

Kitchen Stoves & Ovens
Never use kitchen burners or the oven as heating devices. Remember that an electric burner, left on for extended periods, can reach a temperature of 1000 degrees, and can cause adjacent walls to ignite.

Tips Courtesy of Pierce Township, Ohio.

You were right and I was wrong.

Not all of you. But people like Joe Cambria, Kirk Fletcher, Sinclair Davidson, Jim Fryar, Tim Andrews and Michael Sutcliffe were right all along. You warned me about the ALP. You said the days of Hawke/Keating/Walsh were over. I didn’t listen. Mea culpa, mea culpa.

Before the last 2007 election I suggested that Rudd would be a dull but safe Prime Minister who wouldn’t do much, and so would be fairly harmless. And there were people like Tanner and Emerson in the background to keep the party sane. These weren’t particularly high expectations… but they have turned out to be a massive over-estimate of the quality of the Rudd government. He has been a huge disappointment.

In partial defence, I think one reason for Rudd being particularly bad was the global financial crisis (which few people saw coming) and his populist response. Our PM seems like an empty vessel who knows nothing about economics and doesn’t want to know. Perhaps Rudd cares about and understands foreign policy… but I don’t think he cares about or understands economics. And it shows. With little understanding or concern, the only guide to his behaviour was politics, and so we were left with a very dumb stimulus package that totally fails the economics test but passed the populist test. John Howard (or Peter Costello, or Brendan Nelson, or Malcolm Turnbull, or Tony Abbott) would have done a much better job.

But it’s worse than that. With or without the GFC, there is no excuse for the National Broadband Network, or for the proposed internet censorship, or increasing union power and labour market regulation. Denying a special deal for asylum seekers is just weird, and the whole episode was a triumph of politics over policy. As was the pointless 2020 summit. Cass has just drawn my attention to their continued refusal to recognise same-sex unions. Of course, the ETS is horrible policy, and will be the 4th biggest commonwealth tax after income, company and GST. Not to mention other climate regulations and subsidies. And the Rudd government continues to deny private property rights to aboriginals while wasting millions on a non-existent home building project. Then there is the super-nanny state project under the guise of preventative health. Even foreign policy has been a failure, with inconsistent treatment of foreign investment and mixed messages to China. As Sinclair Davidson put it so well… the only real successes from this government has been that they followed through on Howard’s small tax cut and they finally abandoned the idiotic grocery-choice and fuel-choice projects.

I was a vocal critic of the Howard government regarding foreign policy, civil liberties, high tax take, ID card, middle-class welfare, ETS, and lack of liberal reform. I think those criticisms still hold.

However, what I previously failed to stress was that the ALP also supported all of these positions. I didn’t think about it too much at the time, but the policy cowardice showed by the Labor Party while in opposition was an early indicator that they would be a populist and unprincipled government in power. I have absolutely no faith that Rudd is trying to introduce the best policy. The party seems to be run entirely on spin and illusion.

So once again I am changing my major but this time I know this is where I wanna be.

Musical Theater.

It embodies everything I want to do with my life.

The only thing is that little thing that ruined my life freshman year is back………….fear.

I fuckin hate that bitch.

She always seems to creep back into my life at the most vital times.

Bottom line is I need to get into this program……………….or I just won’t be in school……..it’s just that serious.

This is all I see myself doing.

At least right now it is……….So I’m gonna be confident and go for it.

Fuck fear.

• Estate : Vaux (Orrick)
• Networth : $33,087
• Jobs : Bran – Musician , Abagael – Medical Midwife
• Names : Bran (age: 31), Abagael (age: 30)
  • Adam (age:10)
  • Rowan (age:8 )
  • Sawyer (age: 7)
• Tax’s – $360
  • 2 Adults ($150)
  • 3 Children ($20)
• Mortgage – $15,000
  • $750

Bran and Abagael have just moved into their new house with their sons, at the beginning of the round the house is sparcely furnished but an unexpected chance card soon fixes that. the money from the windfall is actually enough to completely pay off their mortgage but selfishly knowing that Christopher/Orrick are going to struggle paying their own mortgage taken out to expand their estate i only pay off some of it allowing Bran to continue paying a mortgage and use the rest to dec out their house fully including adding a purely decorative stables and horse paddock.

The move was a very good thing as a whole for the howards, not only did they move to an estate with a lower tax rate but the move into the slightly smaller house and therefore lower mortgage has taken them from barely surviving to reasonably comfortable.

the rest of the round passes smoothly Bran and Abagael show no interest in having more children and for a nice change the ACR doesn’t make it happen anyway.

The Immigrant Ancestor of the WORTHINGTON FAMILY in MARYLAND came to the Province in 1664. We know nothing of the circumstances that brought fourteen-year-old JOHN WORTHINGTON to these shores. We know nothing factual of the next fourteen years of his life. We do know that in 1678 he was a member of the Anne Arundel County unit of Militia that “went out against the Nanticoke Indians.” In 1686 he purchased a property on the north side of the Severn River, on the Broad Neck Peninsula, from Colonel NICHOLAS GREENBURY. He was to “hold” this property for the remainder of his life. When he died, he was buried upon that property. His tombstone can be found today, not with his interred body, but in the Churchyard of Saint Anne’s Church in ANNAPOLIS. A year or so after he purchased this property, he married SARAH HOWARD, daughter of MATTHEW and SARAH (nee DORSEY) HOWARD. The baptisms of their six children are found in the records of WESTMINSTER PARISH. These children were:

i: JOHN WORTHINGTON Born 1689 He married (1) HELEN HAMMOND, and

(2) COMFORT

ii: THOMAS WORTHINGTON Born 1691 He married ELIZABETH RIDGELY.

iii: WILLIAM WORTHINGTON Born 1694 He married SARAH HOMEWOOD.

iv: SARAH WORTHINGTON Born 1696 She married NICHOLAS RIDGELY.

v: CHARLES WORTHINGTON Born 1699 He died in infancy.

Vi: CHARLES WORTHINGTON Born 1701 He married (1) HAMUTEL HAMMOND, and (2) SARAH CHEW

Captain JOHN WORTHINGTON was an Officer in the Troop of Horse in the Militia. He also served as the Coroner of Anne Arundel County. In 1692 he was appointed an Associate Justice of the County. In 1699 he served in the Legislative Assembly. He was most prominent in military and political affairs of the county. His advice and counsel were often sought by his peers. Captain JOHN WORTHINGTON died on 9 APRIL 1701. He was, as we have noted, buried upon his “plantation” near the present day Naval Academy.

Soon after the birth of her sixth child, “the Widow” SARAH (nee HOWARD) WORTHINGTON married JOHN BRICE. She had three other children from this second marriage. JOHN BRICE died in 1713. She died in 1726.

This Genealogical Sketch written by WILLIAM D. MOUNTAIN, a member of the Anne Arundel and Carroll County Genealogical Societies, at the expressed request of FRANCES EPLER-BRENGLE, Editor of the WORTHINGTON DESCENDANTS and herself a descendant of that CHARLES WORTHINGTON, child “vi” above.

Like any other Americans, the family living in the big white house on Pennsylvania avenue has traditions surrounding the holiday season as well. Sit back, and get comfortable, while we explore how Presidents have celebrated Christmas from President George Washington to President Barack Obama.

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. ~ President Calvin Coolidge

History of Christmas at the White House (1789-1849)

President George Washington and First Lady Martha (1789-1797)
President John Adams and First Lady Abigale (1797-1801)
President Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)
President James Madison (1809-1817)
President James Monroe and First Lady Elizabeth (1817-1825)
President John Quincy Adams and First Lady Louisa (1825-1829)
President Andrew Jackson and First Lady Rachel (1829-1837)
President Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)
President William Henry Harrison and First Lady Anna (1841-1841)
President John Tyler and First Ladies Lettitia and Julia (1841-1845)
President James K. Polk and First Lady Sarah (1845-1849)
President Zachary Taylor and First Lady Margaret (1849-1850)

History of Christmas at the White House (1850-1901)

President Millard Fillmore and First Ladies Abigail and Caroline (1850-1853)
President Franklin Pierce and First Lady Jane (1853-1857)
President James Buchanan (1857-1861)
President Abraham Lincoln and First Lady Mary (1861-1865)
President Andrew Johnson and First Lady Elizabeth (1865-1869)
President Ulysses S. Grant and First Lady Julia (1869-1877)
President Rutherford B. Hayes and First Lady Lucy (1877-1881)
President James A. Garfield and First Lady Lucretia (1881-1881)
President Chester A. Arthur and First Lady Ellen (1881-1885)
President Grover Cleveland and First Lady Francis (1885-1889, (1893-1897)
President Benjamin Harrison and First Lady Caroline and Mary (1889-1893)
President William McKinley and First Lady Ida (1897-1901)

History of Christmas at the White House (1901-1953)

President Theodore Roosevelt and First Ladies Alice and Edith (1901-1909)
President William Howard Taft and First Lady Helen (1909-1913)
President Woodrow Wilson and First Ladies Ellen and Edith (1913-1921)
President Warren G. Harding and First Lady Florence (1921-1923)
President Calvin Coolidge and First Lady Grace (1923-1929)
President Herbert Hoover and First Lady Lou (1929-1933)
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor (1933-1945)
President Harry S. Truman and First Lady Bess (1945-1953)

History of Christmas at the White House (1953-1977)

President Dwight Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower (1953-1961)
President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (1961-1963)
President Lyndon Johnson and First Lady Claudia (Lady Bird) (1963-1969)
President Richard Nixon and First Lady Patricia (1969-1974)
President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty (1974-1977)

History of Christmas at the White House (1977-2009)

President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalyn Carter (1977-1981)
President Ronald Regan and First Lady Nancy (1981-1989)
President George HW Bush and First Lady Barbara (1989-1993)
President William J. Clinton and First Lady Hillary (1993-2001)
President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush (2001-2008)
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama (2009- )

Back to Happy Holidays Main Page

President Theodore Roosevelt and First Ladies Alice and Edith 1901-1909

As the youngest man ever to take the oath of office, Theodore Roosevelt came to the White House with a large, vivacious young family. With him were his wife, Edith, and his six children aged three through seventeen. While there is no record of the 26th President sending any official White House Christmas cards, there is much written about how the Roosevelts would spend their holiday celebrations.

President Roosevelt posing for a portrait photograph with the entire Roosevelt clan

2004 American President Collection Theodore Roosevelt Ornament

An ornament featuring former US President Theodore Roosevelt is hung on the official White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room in 2008

1902 Washington Post illustration depicting the famous “Teddy Bear” incident, coining the term for the popular Christmas gift

Teddy Roosevelt Visiting Neighbors on Christmas 1917

President William Howard Taft and First Lady Helen 1909-1913

On the subject of William Howard Taft and Christmas, more than a few presidential historians have likened the large, jovial Taft to a Santa Claus-like figure. Few would deny that the burly Ohioan was a warm, generous and good man, but it was this very nature which made him a relatively ineffectual politician and led to a mostly forgettable presidency, which avoided any major catastrophies, other than the political ones inflicted on Taft’s party and his electoral career.

During his time in office, Taft’s famously generous nature was apparent in the scope and number of Christmas gifts he sent out. The president believed more in the act of giving than in the essential value of the gifts themselves. As did not limit his gifts to family and friends, his Christmas list often climbed into the hundreds. He would send out presidential Christmas cards to accompany the gifts. Oftentimes, his aides would have to scramble to acquire more White House cards as the list grew to ungainly lengths. Mr. Taft would usually devote several days of his own time to going Christmas shopping from store-to-store.

Flyer from the Election of 1908. Taft defeated opponent William Jennings Bryan in the election shortly before Christmas.

The Taft’s were also the initial First Family to display the White House Christmas tree and hold the presidential Christmas party in the Blue Room, a location previously considered sacred to official entertaining.

President Woodrow Wilson and First Ladies Ellen and Edith 1913-1921

Woodrow Wilson had the first Christmas tree put up and decorated in the White House when he was President of the United States. Wilson was accustomed to having gatherings with the attendance of many intellectuals and family. As President he also wanted to have a national Christmas tree lighting ceremony and in 1913, the first year the president was in office, he was able to have a celebration with a Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Christmas Eve at the Capital.

President Wilson and second wife Edith Galt, whom he married around Christmas of 1915

The White House also had its first Christmas tree that year, although it did not become a national tradition until Calvin Coolidge became president and First Lady Grace Coolidge gave permission to put a tree on the Ellipse.

President Wilson asked that a community Christmas tree be placed at the Capitol in 1913, requesting a national tree lighting event to be started. A U.S. Marine Band, 1,000 singers, and a costumed group re-enacted the Nativity on Christmas Eve. Wilson also planted an elm tree outside the North Portico of the White House a few days before Christmas to symbolize peace and serenity. A night view of this tree would become a watercolor done by Robert H. Laessig that graced the 1966 White House Christmas cards of President Lyndon Johnson.

President Warren G. Harding and First Lady Florence 1921-1923

Warren G. Harding would only live to see two Christmas seasons after being elected the 29th President of the United States. President and Mrs. Harding were able to escape the stresses of Washington D.C. and their political and social obligations their first Christmas in the white house by traveling to North Carolina during the holidays.

President Harding passed away suddenly several months after celebrating what was to be his second and last Presidential Christmas in 1922. Unfortunately, Harding’s marital indiscretions were not his only shortcomings, many of which did not come to light until after he passed away.
The President sent a gift to his sister, Abigail, a former school teacher of one of Harding’s several known mistresses. Accompanying the gift was a Presidential Christmas card of sorts, a handwritten note on White House stationery. Dated December 23, 1922, the letter read:

Dear Sister Abigail, Enclosed find a little Christmas gift, a token of a brother’s loving regard. I shall think of you at Xmas time, and I shall have a real regret that I can not celebrate in the atmosphere of home and amid the surroundings of family and friends. My love and good wishes to you. Yours affectionately, Warren G. Harding

President Harding buying seals for his White House Christmas cards from a young girl with tuberculosis in 1923

In the year of his death Harding was photographed buying Christmas seals from a young girl suffering with tuberculosis. The President would reach his untimely death prior to the holidays that year and would not be able to use the Christmas seals he had purchased for his official White House Christmas cards. Harding and John F. Kennedy are the only two presidents to have predeceased their fathers.

President Calvin Coolidge and First Lady Grace 1923-1929

As the 30th President of the United States, Calvin Coolidge was the first to truly extend a White House Christmas celebration to the American people. During his first Christmas in the White house in 1923, he initiated the tradition of the National Community Christmas Tree. A 48-foot Balsam Fir from his native state of Vermont was erected on The Ellipse, and an electric button enabled the President to light the tree on demand for the first ever National Community Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.

During the summer of 1924, Coolidge’s youngest son, Calvin, Jr., died of staphylococcus septicemia, an event that was said to have changed “Silent Cal” forever. That same year, the White House received a record setting 12,000 Christmas cards from the American public.

The Coolidge's 1927 Christmas tree

In 1925 after the National Community Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, 2,000 people were welcomed to the White House grounds for caroling led by the choir from the President’s church. And on New Year’s Day, almost 4,000 people were invited to line up and shake the hands of the President and First Lady.

“Silent Cal” received his nickname from his stoic and serious demeanor. But in 1926, after receiving so many heartfelt gifts and Christmas cards from the American people, Coolidge was so emotionally affected that he gave a gift of a gold coin to all of the White House officials and staff members.

The Coolidges - 1927 signed Christmas message

In 1928, Coolidge decided not to run for re-election, making this his last Christmas in the White House. At the National Community Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, Coolidge spoke to the large crowd of spectators and to the American people listening on their radios, “In token of the good-will and happiness of the holiday season and as an expression of the best wishes of the United States toward a Community Christmas Tree, in behalf of the city of Washington, I now turn on the current which will illuminate this tree.”

President Herbert Hoover and First Lady Lou 1929-1933

Herbert Hoover took office as the 31st President of the United States in March of 1929. Several months later on Tuesday, October 29, the stock market crashed triggering the onset of the Great Depression. Americans were reluctant to spend money on holiday gifts and Christmas cards, but this didn’t stop the President and First Lady Lou Henry from doing so. The First Lady had an impressive collection of old photographs of the White House and gave five different etchings of these photographs to over 200 White House staff members. Some were mounted and personalized with the greeting, “Best Wishes of Herbert Hoover and Lou Henry Hoover.” Additionally, President Hoover gave his personal staff a photo of himself on his horse, Billy, at his Rapidan Camp in Shenandoah Nation Park, Virginia.

The Hoovers - Christmas notecards from 1929

The Hoovers carried on the tradition set by the Coolidges of lighting the National Christmas Tree. The original living Norway spruce donated to Coolidge in 1924 by the AFA (American Forestry Association) had to be replaced due to wear and tear from decorating and trimming. Another living Norway spruce was donated by the AFA from Amawalk Nursery in Westchester County, New York and planted in Sherman Plaza. During the tree lighting ceremony, the President addressed the crowd and the listeners on their radios, “I want to have the privilege of wishing you all, and all the unseen audiences, a merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.”

Aftermath of the Christmas Eve fire in the old West Wing, 1929

Additionally, each gift was accompanied by an engraved card with a personalized greeting that read, “The President and Mrs. Hoover take Christmas pleasure in presenting this historic bit of pinewood with their greetings.” Mrs. Hoover also had framed photograph prints distributed to additional staff members and aides.

The Hoovers - 1932 Christmas card featuring side-by-side photographs of the executive couple

In 1932, for the Hoovers last Christmas at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, they gave a gift of a leather folder that included photographs of the President and a separate photograph of the First Lady with two White House police dogs. A personal note accompanied the folder that read, “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Herbert Hoover and from Lou Henry Hoover and Weegie and Pat 1932 – 33.”

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor 1933-1945

Franklin Delano Roosevelt began his first term as the 32nd President of the United States in 1933. That year, the White House received a record 40,000 Christmas and holiday cards from the American public; the number was so large that a staff had to be hired to handle the influx of mail. The Roosevelts sent Christmas cards to close family and friends. The card they ordered was single-sided and featured an etching of the White House, hand engraved by A.B. Tolly. That same year marked the 10th anniversary of the lighting of the National Christmas Tree. 5,000 people attended the ceremony, during which Roosevelt gave the longest speech to date. Roosevelt’s speech established the tradition of the president speaking directly to the American people during the tree lighting ceremony.

2004 American President Collection Franklin D. Roosevelt Ornament

Tensions overseas continued to augment with the onset of the following year. Nazi forces invaded Czechoslovakia and Poland, and Germany created an alliance with Italy. France and Great Britain also created an alliance and declared war on Germany while the Soviets signed an armistice with Japan and removed all military support from China.

The Roosevelts - Christmas Card from 1935

In 1935, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt purchased gifts for White House staff members from Val-Kill Industries, a workshop she established with several lady friends to help low-income families supplement earnings by crafting furniture and metalware. Each pewter gift was accompanied by a single-sided Christmas card that featured a photograph of the President and First Lady. The White House that year received over 6,000 Christmas cards, and the Roosevelts sent out 400 Christmas cards to family and friends.

The following year, the First Lady again purchased metal gifts from The Forge for the White House staff. The card design featured a lithograph of a bucolic red farmhouse and barn flanked by two evergreen trees. At the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, 3,000 people were present to hear FDR’s annual speech, in which he discussed Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and Scrooge’s renewed sense of self from the lessons he learned. With the reforms set into motion from the President’s First New Deal, the economy was on an up swing for the first time since the onset of the depression years.

1940 Christmas gift from the President was a key chain depicting his beloved Scottish terrier, Fala.

Once America was officially at war, the Treasury Department began promoting and encouraging Americans to purchase defense bonds and stamps. Appropriate for the occasion, the Roosevelts’ Christmas gift to their White House staff was a black leather stamp album. A copy of the previous year’s Christmas speeches by Churchill and the President were given to cabinet members, heads of the executive office, family, and friends.

FDR enjoyed receiving Christmas cards as much as he enjoyed sending them. He established his own private collection of Christmas cards, and by 1940, the collection contained over 3,000 designs. The National Christmas Tree was decorated sans lights that year because electric lights were being rationed while America was at war.

For the 1943 holiday season, it was recommended that the National Community Christmas Tree not be resurrected because of the continuation of war time rationing of electricity and other commodity resources. First Lady Roosevelt insisted that the tree lighting ceremony take place because it was the one thing that Americans needed during the war-causing lackluster holiday season. And so the 20th annual National Community Christmas Tree was decorated with ornaments made by children in local schools, but similar to the year prior, the tree was without lights.

1944 Christmas gift from the President - a copy of his D-Day Prayer

The Roosevelts spent Christmas at their home in Hyde Park again. FDR delivered his Christmas message to the American people and the troops overseas via radio broadcast from his personal library.

In April of 1945, the President left for his retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia, where he sought comfort for his paralysis in the town’s warmed mineral springs. He died on April 12 at the age of 63. Although the war wasn’t over, peace was very near thanks to his efforts.

President Harry S. Truman and First Lady Bess 1945-1953

Harry S. Truman had been Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Vice President for only 82 days before Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945. Just weeks after Truman took over the Executive office as the 33rd President of the United States, the Allied forces defeated the Axis Powers and World War II came to an end. May 8 was declared as V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day), which was also Truman’s 61st birthday. Writing to his mother, he remarked, “Isn’t that some birthday present?” He held a press conference announcing the victories in Germany and Italy and the end of World War II. For Christmas that year, he gave each White House staff member a scroll of his speech from the news conference. He also sent out official White House Christmas cards, which featured a lithograph design of holly and berries along with a standard gold imprint. The back of the envelope was also imprinted in gold with the Presidential Seal.

Official 1946 White House Christmas cards from the President and First Lady

1948 Christmas gift to the White House Staff invoking the sentiments of the President

For the 1949 Christmas gift to their White House staff (or rather the Blair House staff), the Trumans gave a leather key holder. Each holder contained a snap closure and was imprinted with a brief Christmas greeting. To a small few of the President’s closest executive team members, he gave the same paperweight from the year prior, and to his Cabinet members, he gave the bound book, Selected Speeches and Statements on Foreign Affairs by Harry S. Truman.

Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the south lawn of the White House in 1947

Christmas gift print from Truman to his staff given in 1952

2004 American President Collection Harry S. Truman Ornament

Harry S. Truman went back to Independence, Missouri in January of 1953 to enjoy a simpler life that didn’t involve the heaviness of politics he experienced while in Washington.

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Intro for eventuelle nye lesere:

Den Høye Fotografs filmiske julekalender avholdes for tredje år på rad! Ideen er at jeg teller ned de beste filmene jeg har sett på kino i 2009, en ny film for hver dag, med den beste filmen som avslutning på julaften. Som tidligere holdes det en konkurranse der jeg inviterer DEG til å tippe de fire øverste plassene. Fristen er gått ut.

Deltakere:

Ottar Karsten Hostesaft: Slumdog Millionaire, Inglourious Basterds, The Hangover (5) og District 9 (6).

Stein Galen: Inglourious Basterds, Slumdog Millionaire, “ukjent festivalfilm” (8) og A Serious Man (11).

Audun: Slumdog Millionaire, Inglourious Basterds, It Might Get Loud og District 9 (6).

Tre dager igjen til jul, og vi får den fjerde beste filmen 2009:

4. Frost/Nixon

Regi: Ron Howard

Manus: Peter Morgan, basert på sitt eget teaterstykke.

Med: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell, Kevin Bacon, Matthew Macfadyen, Oliver Platt og Rebecca Hall.

Land: USA/Storbritannia/Frankrike

Spilletid: 122 min

Premiere: 13.02.09

Ron Howard burde være et navn mange kjenner igjen. Han har de siste årene nærmest spesialisert seg på drama fra virkeligheten som så blir nominert til Oscar. A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man, Apollo 13. Alle med høy kvalitet og kanskje litt lite originalitet. Men gjennomførte filmer. Han har også hatt vekslende hell med thrillere som Ransom og The Da Vinci Code.

Richard Nixon gikk av som president i 1974, og slapp på mange måter unna hele Watergate-spørsmålet da han ble benådet av arvtageren Ford. David Frost er en talkshow-programleder fra England som satser alle pengene han har (og en del han ikke har) på å få lage et eksklusivt intervju med Nixon om hele karrieren hans. Når tilbudet blir stort nok, og fordi Nixon regner Frost for å være en lettvekter, går avtalen i boks.

Dette er min type film. Jeg har utrolig sansen for drama basert på ekte hendelser. Ron Howard har blitt litt av en “go-to”-type når det gjelder disse filmene, siden han har laget flere veldig gode de siste årene. Teknisk er også denne i aller øverste kvalitet. Ingenting å utsette på kinematografien, lyssetting, lyd, osv.

“There’s something hideous growing on your neck. Oh, it’s just your head. Never mind.”

Skuespillet bærer såklart filmen, og om Langella kanskje ikke helt har det fysiske utseendet som Nixon, så er stemmen veldig bra, og han selger hele rollen utrolig bra. Michael Sheen, som du kanskje så som Tony Blair i The Queen, har nok en litt enklere rolle, men han takler fint å bli satt opp mot Langella, og holder like høyt nivå. Så har vi også et veldig bra støttende cast, med Rockwell og Bacon som de som står frem som de beste.

Det som imponerer meg mest er likevel hvor spennende denne filmen er, spesielt mot slutten av intervjuene. Selv om jeg visste utfallet til en viss grad, selv om jeg selvfølgelig er klar over at det er en film, så var det en sitrende spenning fra nesten hvert spørsmål og hvert svar. Det er det som er tegnet på et skikkelig godt laget drama, når du har levd deg helt inn i filmen. Det er noe av det beste en kan oppnå som publikummer.

Frost/Nixon ble nominert til 5 Oscar-priser, i kategoriene Beste film, Beste regi, Beste mannlige hovedrolle (Langella), Beste manus basert på tidligere publisert materiale og Beste klipp.Jeg har allerede anskaffet meg denne på dvd, og selv om den kanskje ikke hadde helt samme feelingen som da jeg så den på kino, så er det fremdeles en av årets beste filmer, og vel verdt en titt!

Dom:

DHF: 9/10

IMDb.com: 7.9/10 (30 162 stemmer)

Dagbladet: Terningkast 5

VG: Terningkast 5

Legg gjerne igjen en kommentar! Takk for i dag, ha en trivelig dag!

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So now Howard Dean and Markos, at the Daily Kos, want to kill Obamacare. It seems that, without a public option, they no longer are concerned with helping all those poor folks dying because of a lack of insurance. I never believed they gave a damn about those people, but I’m glad they could confirm it for me. For the far left, it was never about reform and improving access. Instead, it was all about bigger government and more control over people’s lives.

If Howard Dean really cared about people, he’d call for the current bill to be rewritten, rather than scrapped, so that it reflects the free market reforms that have been put forward by many opposed to Obamacare. Those reforms would pass and they wouldn’t benefit the insurance companies, unlike the current bill which mandates coverage. Even if Dean didn’t believe those free market reforms would help, they certainly wouldn’t hurt. Unlike Obamacare, allowing insurance to be sold across state lines, encouraging health savings accounts and allowing employees to take their plans with them when they change jobs, would not negatively impact coverage or add to the deficit.

Unfortunately for the American people, progressives don’t really care about the poor and uninsured. Sadly, they’re only interested in using those people in order to guilt you into supporting a bill that you know is bad policy. It’s not unlike the left and their exploitation of the troops during the Iraq War. They didn’t really care about bringing the troops home, but they did want to use the deaths of troops to attack Bush; that stopped being an issue for them once a Democrat started sending those soldiers to war. Now the left is exploiting the uninsured in attempt to win another political victory. This is a chance to use the left’s words against them to push real free market reforms that might actually help reduce costs. If they don’t pass those free market reforms, but do pass an insurance mandate, it’s clear that their concern for the uninsured is just as disingenuous as their concern for the troops.

Cross-Posted at The Anticrat
Cross-Posted at Feed Your ADHD

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After exhausting the works of authours like China Mieville, H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, I’ve been poking around the fantasy/sci-fi section and trying to find something new and enjoyable to read. I haven’t actively read the genre since I was about 15, and going back to it now after having read some really solid writing is, well, painful. There are plenty of crappy published writers out there, but once they can hide their inability to build character or atmosphere behind dragons, magic and poorly (or overly) constructed worlds, it just gets worst. Then add onto that the desperate attempt to take advantage of a trendy sub-genre, and it all goes to hell.

Currently I’m trying to get into Stephen Hunt’s “The Court Of The Air” which seemed like a decent little steampunk novel. But I’m quickly discovering that, like many other “Steampunk” novels (or art, really), it feels the need to scream STEAMPUNK at the top of it’s lungs. I don’t need a new piece of steampunk technology described to me in every scene. If I go a page without seeing the words brass, steam or punchcard, I won’t feel like you’re letting the Steampunk genre down. On top of that, so many of the concepts and ideas (especially the way he includes magic, political mutilation and lobster people) are seeming so artlessly ripped off from Perdido Street Station it’s actually making me cringe a little.

So if anyone knows any good sci-fi/fantasy that’s actually well written and contains something resembling subtlety, please let me know.

Are your grantees spending too little on overhead? Or are they under-reporting how much they actually spend on such expenses? Chances are, both, according to the Bridgespan Group. In an article in the Fall Stanford Social Innovation Review, the nonprofit consulting firm’s Ann Goggins Gregory and Don Howard write that nonprofits under-spend and under-report operating expenses because they feel anti-overhead pressure, especially from funders. Although nonprofits need to be more assertive in reporting how much it costs to run their organizations, Gregory and Howard say that funders should take the initiative to stem what they call a “vicious cycle” that is “slowly starving” nonprofits. Based on Bridgespan’s research, foundations generally only allow overhead or indirect expenses to total 10 percent to 15 percent of each grant, when the true cost percentage is likely to be twice that. And this compares to an average for-profit rate around 25 percent of total expenses. In fact, the authors cite a survey reporting that most funders realize their overhead allocations don’t adequately cover grantees’ needs, but they proceed as usual anyway. The authors call for a coordinated, sector-wide effort to put pressure on foundations to curb their unrealistic expectations about overhead.

Beyond confirming a wealth of prior research that finds an unhealthy obsession with low overhead costs in the sector, this article underscores the general need for foundations to be more actively engaged in candid and realistic discussions with their grantees. There is a crucial need for more general operating grants, especially given the difficulty many nonprofits are having staying afloat during the recession.  However, this need for general operating support will not fade as the economy recovers.

–Jane Wales

I have been thinking about this topic for a while now and have decided to put it out there for discussion. HBCU’s provide a terrific experience to students and those of us who attended them have tremendous pride in our beloved institutions (Morehouse, Spelman, Hampton, Howard, FAMU, CAU, Southern, Xavier, Tuskegee, etc). Overall, I enjoyed my HBCU experience as a student and like many, there are 3 generations of Morehouse and Spelman graduates in my family. However, now that I’m getting established into my Career (I work in online recruitment) I am starting to question whether or not it is still worth it for youth to attend HBCU’s vs. other PWI’s in their respective states. My grandparents went to Morehouse/Spelman because in the 1930’s and 40’s it made absolute sense. Better experience and less racism is a no brainer. But today we have options.

If I had an 18 year old child today and we were considering schools, I would likely push harder for a state school with low tuition (Georgia State is my local example) or any similar school where you may live. This has nothing to do with the HBCU experience- like I said, attending an HBCU is great for exposure, education from an African American perspective, parties, etc. This is strictly related to the bottom line – financial investment and realistic opportunities gained from it. As an example, the full time tuition for Morehouse and Spelman for an on campus student is in excess of $30k per year now. Hampton University’s tuition costs range from $24k-32k depending on the program you select. Clark Atlanta University and Howard University appear to be a bit more reasonable at $16k-$18k. Regardless, this is a huge investment to attend schools that sometimes can lack a lot of majors and academic programs and have less campus resources than alternative PWI’s.

PWI’s (like Georgia State in this example) offer tons of available majors and academic programs and the tuition is a fraction of the cost of HBCU’s such as one the one’s I mentioned above (free if you have HOPE Scholarship). So I’m wondering….why would someone spend $30k/year for 4 years just to get a $30k-40k entry level job, when they could go to a PWI for minimal debt and get the same job in better financial shape? Or perhaps a better job since they have more major selections? Has anyone else thought of this or had this discussion with the administrations? HBCU’s were founded to help African Americans better educate themselves and improve their quality of life, but I’m starting to think they also put us in worse financial shape and for many that is a tough way to begin a career and could set some people up for a lot of financial difficulties.

I came across this after my homegirl Indigo told me to Check out this article on this dude that we used to go to school with.  Apparently, earlier this fall, he kidnapped his own nephew and it made the seattle news.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/61602337.html?tab=video

I met dude on my way out back in the Howard days when he was an upstart young’n gaining popularity on the campus fast as a spoken word phenom when that was all the rage. Correction, my first introduction to the artist formerly known as De Gruve, was at some kind of panel that was going on in Cramton auditorium where Mos Def was speaking. During a question and answer segment De Gruve busts out with a bunch of questions and makes it a point to mention that he had just got past security who minutes ago told him he couldn’t get in the back way to talk to Mos Def.

Now I liked old boy cause he almost reminded me of young me once he calmed down the next year. We even did a showcase together paying homage to Russell Simmons (Word to Onyi!). He even did a Dope track with the boy Brandon Carter as he started to try his hand at rapping.

He seemed pretty sane to me, but still it seemed I couldn’t avoid hearing these urban legend tales once I left school about the kid jumping off the deep end. NO, I mean LITERALLY Jumping!!

There’s a reservoir near one of the dorms on Howard’s campus, and allegedly, word is that son took a dive in one day!

My ex would tell me these stories of his changes, and Brandon swore by them. I guess things just caught up with the kid. Maybe he’s a Genius, cause I do remember son being Pretty nice with the Word game, but they say Genius and Crazy are hand in hand.

Glad this story has a somewhat happy turnout, but who would know that ol’ boy would turn out to be “Mentally Ill” and “Dangerous”.

This is like When I saw my dad’s Cousin on America’s Most Wanted back in the 80’s.

Oy Vey!

Here’s the full link to the news story.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/61602337.html

And the end result

http://www.thenewstribune.com/292/story/895039.html

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The Baltimore Sun has reported that Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, and Howard Counties have agreed to a regional cooperative initiative, called the Maryland Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (MD WARN) .  The agreement addresses logistical and legal concerns (such as liability) when one jurisdiction comes to the aid of another during a water emergency.  An excerpt from the Sun article:

When millions of gallons of water erupted in mid-September from a ruptured 72-inch water main flooding dozens of Dundalk homes, Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith got help quickly from state and local officials all over Central Maryland.

“You need everybody in these situations,” he said Tuesday, standing between large utility vehicles in a Howard County public works yard with county executives Ken Ulman, Anne Arundel’s John R. Leopold, and Harford’s David Craig.

With a written agreement among the four county executives who represent about a quarter of Maryland’s population, help will be automatic and fast when water or wastewater pipes fail. Best of all, the agreement costs the participants nothing.

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Where we thought we have the freedom to express our thought, the shackles of conventional wisdom have already limited the discourse from within us. These rules have dominated the mainstream worldview and any dissent from these rules are met with either disrepute or ridicule. Being a proponent of freedom of expression and speech, I believe in order for us to really experience democracy (informed citizenry), we need to confront these shackles and undermine their control over us.

Howard Zinn (1990), a historian, playwright and social activist, says, “We grow up in a society where our choice of ideas is limited and where certain ideas dominate: We hear them from our parents, in the schools, in the churches, in the newspapers, and on radio and television” (p. 3). Some of these examples are listed below (Zinn, 1990, p. 3-4):

• Be realistic; this is the way things are; there’s no point thinking about how things should be
• People who teach or write or report the news should be objective; they should not try to advance their own opinions
• There are unjust wars, but also just wars
• If you disobey the law, even for a good cause, you should accept your punishment
• If you work hard enough, you’ll make a good living. If you are poor, you have only yourself to blame
• Freedom of speech is desirable, but not when it threatens national security
• Racial equality is desirable, but we’ve gone far enough in that direction
• Our Constitution is our greatest guarantee of liberty and justice
• The united States must intervene from time to time in various parts of the world with military power to stop communism and promote democracy
• If you want to get things changed, the only way is to go through the proper channels
• We need nuclear weapons to prevent war
• There is much injustice in the world but there is nothing that ordinary people, without wealth or power, can do about it