Before we get to today’s mailbag, I’d like to offer congratulations… to me, for my excellence in nouveau journalism and “off the record” declaration manipulation. The controversy I ignited yesterday has set off a worldwide media shitstorm and quadrupled our readership, just as I expected it would. Yes, I am often humbled by my own aptitude. Thank you for asking.

Now, the more astute of you (that is, the 1/8 of you that stuck around after being insulted) surely noticed yesterday when I claimed that thriving in today’s webworld came down to two things: being controversial, and being first. The former I tackled with great aplomb yesterday, deftly drawing attention to this site, and by proxy, myself. And while you might think drawing attention to myself comes quite naturally, it’s actually something I have to work at, as attention typically finds me. I rarely need to entice it.

As for the latter… the “being first” part, well, today I tackle that one. I apologize ahead of time for the concussion it’s about to receive. So I’d like to present for you, dear readers, a worldwide exclusive. I’ve managed to obtain a very rough, initial copy of the statement to be made by Mad Adam combating the allegations heaped upon him by a highly reputable news outlet. It reads as follows:

Mad Adam would like to issue the following statement/retort/apology in response to Ed Honcho’s unwarranted, insensitive, but largely true statement about Mad Adam being a fan of Owl City.

I have let my musical tastes down, and I regret those lyrical transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values of musical awesomeness and the musical tips my fans deserve. I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my earnest appreciation of Owl City’s blend of electronica and emo-pop behind closed doors with my collection of death metal which I am listening to non-stop in order to purge myself of this sudden urge of effeminate music. Those feelings should be shared by me, Slayer, Sepultura, Motorhead and Pantera alone.

I will strive to be a better person and the music connoisseur that my fans deserve. For all those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.

That’s some grade A, top notch, news-breaking right there. Prepare youselves for the onslaught of coverage.

Now, to the mailbox… and just look at that queue! World Cup fever is rampant. I realized we were short on the vaccine, and what little could be found was quickly bogarted by the elderly, but I had no idea it would spread so quickly. Some suggested home remedies: shots of Scotch, preferrably of the single malt variety, self-breema, and plenty of Ed Honcho. That should do the trick (or, you know, make it much worse… whatever).

Q: So how about that Group C? England vs. the U.S. right off the bat. What do you make of it?

- Ollie Lattler, Bahanna, Ohio

A: I can scarcely contain myself. As a fan of either side, this is a dream pairing. The two countries are inextricably linked… The American Revolution. Beckham/Donovan. Love Actually. The Industrial Revolution. The Beatles and Rolling Stones. Jimi Hendrix and the Kings of Leon. New York. New London. New England. World War II. The London Monarchs. DC United. Malcolm Glazer. Randy Lerner. Border Collies. Laurence Olivier. Julie Andrews. The Sandwich. Hamburgers. BP. Thomas Paine. Benedict Arnold. In the Loop. There’s just so much shared history, it makes great copy for people like me.

Now, as for the people that run the two squads, I get the feeling they would have rather avoided each other, especially in the first round. The first game can set the tone for the whole tournament (see U.S., 2006). Lose, and you’re fighting for your life. Though these fears were certainly assuaged somewhat by the rest of the draw, which went decidedly in England and America’s favor.

Prediction? Of course you want to know. I have a knack for this sort of thing. But it’s too early… we don’t even know who will make the final squads yet. Injuries could come into play (especially on the American side of things), and a bad run of form could affect confidence. That being said, I’m no ninny (yeah, that’s right… I said ninny), so I’ll make an early call, but I reserve the right to reverse course should circumstances change. England wins, 2-1. An early goal from Rooney opens the game up, and England tacks on a second through a long-range effort by Capello favorite James Milner. The Yanks come out strong in the second half and draw one back through international specialist Jozy Altidore, but can’t find a second as the Three Lions hold on. But both countries make it through the group stage, with England finishing first and the U.S. second.

Q: A couple of strong groups this time around. Which one do you think is the group of death?

- Kirby Chadwick, Neston, Cheshire West and Chester, England

A: While there are a couple of strong groups, Group G clearly qualifies as the group of death. And if I’m not mistaken (and I rarely am), there’s pretty much universal agreement on that one. South America’s best team (Brazil), Africa’s best team (Ivory Coast), one of Europe’s best, with one of the world’s best players (Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo), and an unknown Asian squad (North Korea) that by all accounts is better than anyone is giving them credit for (and, of course, there’s that fear that if you beat them, you have to deal with the wrath of ‘ol inappropriate sunglasses himself). That’s not a group I’d want to try and advance out of.

Q: How lucky is France? First they make it in when they shouldn’t have, then they get drawn into a group with South Africa. Does Raymond Domenech have dirty photos of Blatter?

- Nigel Meehan, St. Austell, Cornwall, England

A: And don’t forget, Nigel, that FIFA decided to seed the remaining teams during World Cup qualifying playoffs, giving France a reportedly easier path to the tournament (as it turned out, of course, they struggled mightily against Ireland… but they couldn’t draw Portugal, or Russia). It certainly does seem like France is being given every advantage… which is why they’ll blow it. Sports Karma works in funny ways. It seems like they’ve got an easy path through the group stage, but they’ve got some serious sports Karma working against them. If they were drawn into a tougher group, they could fall back on “well, we got screwed during the draw”. Now when they fail it will be catastrophic… true punishment for their transgressions. And they will fail, book it. Mexico and South Africa will advance out of Group A.

Q: So you seem to know what you’re talking about… who are some underdogs we should be on the lookout for?

- Conrad Messner, Conway, Arkansas

A: I seem to know what I’m talking about? I’m gonna have to object to your use of the word seem here, Conrad. I know what I’m talking about. I’ll put my prognistications up against the most successful of pundits and I’ll overwhelm them. Of this much I can assure you.

Now, as for your question… Ivory Coast are a squad that could do some real damage, though they were unfortunate to be drawn into the group of death. They’ve got a proven goal-scorer in Didier Drogba, and are easily Africa’s finest. South Africa have played poorly in qualifying (though thankfully for them, they didn’t have to qualify as host), but the host nation always does well in World Cups. And though the Bafana Bafana look like one of the weakest hosts in recent memory, they looked very much the same in the lead up to the Confederation’s Cup, yet advanced to the semifinal and almost knocked off Spain. Home field advantage is very much in play. Paraguay were one of the best teams in South America during qualifying and have been blessed with a favorable group, so they should make it past the group stage, and from there, anything is possible. Chile have plenty of talent, and if they can put it together, can make plenty of noise. They have great success at the youth level.

Q: Let’s have it then. Give us your predictions. Keep in mind, I’ll be placing copious amounts of money on these games based on your forecast, and will come looking for you should things go awry.

- “Ray Benson”, Purfleet, Essex, England

A: Manly though I am, normally this sort of “encouragement” gives me pause (and by pause I mean induces vomiting and the shakes, and maybe I piss my pants a little). Such is my confidence here, though, that I’m blocking out all those instincts and plowing ahead. Here’s what I got:

• Group A… Winner: Mexico. Runner-up: South Africa
• Group B… Winner: Argentina. Runner-up: Greece
• Group C… Winner: England. Runner-up: U.S.A.
• Group D… Winner: Germany. Runner-up: Serbia
• Group E… Winner: Denmark. Runner-up: The Netherlands
• Group F… Winner: Italy. Runner-up: Paraguay
• Group G… Winner: Brazil. Runner-up: Ivory Coast
• Group H… Winner: Spain. Runner-up: Chile

Second Round:

• Greece over Mexico
• England over Serbia
• South Africa over Argentina
• Germany over U.S.A.
• Paraguay over Denmark
• Brazil over Chile
• Italy over The Netherlands
• Spain over Ivory Coast

Quarterfinals

• England over Greece
• Germany over South Africa
• Paraguay over Brazil
• Italy over Spain

Semifinals

• England over Paraguay
• Germany over Italy

Finals

• Germany over England

So there you have it. The Germans are your 2010 World Cup Champions. Now, normally they say these things aren’t played on paper… but in this case, it is (well, on liquid crystals, as it were). There’s no reason to hold the thing now, as I’ve told you how it’s going to go. Feel free to make money on it if you wish, just know that you must donate 75% to the Ed Honcho Fund, which goes to a great cause. Me.

Q: Clearly, your affinity for soccer makes you an effeminate man.

- Levi Henderson, Pecos, Texas

A: See, this is the type of attitude… this is why you’re looked at like a bunch of backwards… you don’t know what you’re talking about!… Smithers, bring me a tissue. This mailbag is over, yo.

You may have seen in an earlier post a photo and a reference to our (9 years new) barn. This barn is exceptional in many respects. It is 2,400 sq ft, in two storeys meaning, of course, that the two floors are 1,200 sq ft each. The exterior is of vertical pine above, and native, hand-laid stone below. There are 4 doors. The ground floor has two automatic garage doors — basically fiberglass doors, covered with a wood exterior — and a man-door, with a sliding bolt. On the right side of the barn, there is a ramp leading to the fourth door — an oversized door, easily capable of allowing ingress of a large boat or tractor or RV or what-have-you. This door, too, has an electric opener. Needless to say, the second story floor is stout enough to carry anything you could get up the ramp and into the barn. There is also, of course, an interior 4-ft wide stairway between the two floors. The second storey floor is wood; the first floor is concrete. It is not at all difficult to put several cars or pick-ups and/or a boat or trailer upstairs. Below, there are two bays, but a huge amount of space for tools, etc, on either side. There are twelve double-hung windows in the barn, making it light and airy. Added to the two-car garage, there is room for six or more vehicles. Alternatively, the second floor could easily be partitioned to accommodate assorted animals, large or small. Or an old-fashioned hoe-down!

This is what any New England old-timer would unhesitatingly call a PROPER BARN. Indeed, when meeting people for the first time, they invariably say: “Oh, yours is the house with the superb stone barn!” And indeed it is.

And after admiring the barn, be sure to visit our web site: nhhilltopcolonial.com

The Movie Fresh attracts 106 people in small town
Good food, an idea whose time has come
By Randall Richards

Joel Salatin, Organic Farmer, Visionary

The small town of  New London, New Hampshire, saw one-hundred and six people turn out  for the screening of the new movie Fresh, an uplifting documentary about the local organic food movement in the U.S.  The event was co-sponsored by the New London chapter of the Weston A Price Foundation, and  Mountain Spirit Institute on Saturday November 21st.  In addition to the showing,  local vendors and food producers were invited to display, who had tables with samples and brochures, where the audience could browse and learn about the good and local food available in their community.  A brief “Q&A” discussion followed the film,  and door prizes were raffled off, including a loaf of great tasting bread by Lane Nevins and Meryl Mekeel of Workingman’s Bread Company, and natural meats raised by Ed and Nita Erickson of Battles Farm. Other vendors attending were Star Lake Farm, Sun Hill Farm,  Hazzard Acres,  Spring Ledge Farm and Dan Wolfe of Elizabeth’s Organic Eggs.

Battles Farm - Local Food Producers, Bradford, NH

The film covered the unhealthy state of the modern industrial farming and food machines controlled by a few large firms such as ADM.  Segments of the movie covered large industrial feedlots in the Midwest, chicken farms in the southeast and large commercial “mono-crop” growing operations of corn and soy in the Midwest . Bovine growth hormones and genetically modified crops were covered.  Also covered however, were success stories of organic farms that are to be the model of a new generation of sustainable farming.  Joel Salatin’s PolyFace farm (Farm of Many Faces) was one of the operations featured in the film.

After the movie Mountain Spirit Founder, Randall Richards said of Lane Nevin’s efforts to bake local bread, “His idea to start this business is coming  just at the right time. People are crying out for local alternatives to the “3000 mile loaf of bread” coming from California. Plus,” He added,” Lane makes a good loaf of bread!”

Event organizer Linda Howes (CN, HHP, CBE), owner of Nourishing Wellness is a long-time health advocate in the area, and has worked as a food nutritionist and health councilor for many years in the New London area. She has a solid following at her practice. She maintains an office in this small town, and was pleased by the turnout.

Proctor & Gamble Exec. turned farmer, Will Allen

The movie Fresh is not being shown in theaters. In keeping with the spirit of the movie, people may purchase screening rights and charge for showing the movie in their local town hall or library meeting spaces. If you would like more information about showing Fresh, click here. If you would like information on how this successful event was planned in our community, please  click on the contact link in this blog.

Also special thanks goes to Amanda Richards for co-organizing this event.

“This night will feature a collective of artists from Boston, Providence, and New London. Many different styles and mediums will grace the walls of MUSE on saturday night so please.. Do yourselves a favor and come check us out…” (from MuseNewLondon.com)

“Catch Us If U Can 2″ art show
opening Saturday, November 21st 2009
(show runs until EARLY JANUARY)

Muse Gallery
102 Golden St.
New London CT

with artists:
Rob V. Guess
Greg Pennisten
Alone One
Adam O’Day
Liz Purcell
Drop One

..and make friends with Muse on MySpace.

In an effort to reach out to our larger community and make a difference, our friends at Gay Visalia presents their first annual Holiday Toy Drive. This year they are supporting Child Welfare Services (CWS) and their “Brighten a Child’s Winter Sky” program. There are many, many children who are in the system that deserve to have a happy holiday season. Please help them in putting smiles on those innocent little faces. Please open your hearts to those children who might not otherwise have a reason to be joyous.

You may visit the CWS website (click link here) to learn more about their program and also to get gift ideas. You can select an age group and even buy for individual children if you wish. Otherwise, we really need toys for ages 5+, boys and girls. Let’s not forget about those teens either! Gift cards are accepted and would make an easy purchase for you. Also, if you don’t have time to go out and buy something Brooke will accept cash donations and do the shopping herself.

You may drop off your UNWRAPPED toys at Lawrence Tractor Co. in Visalia or at Brooke’s house (address upon request) Also, if you are a business owner or individual who would like to provide a drop off location please contact Brooke so she can let people know (thank you!). If you work or go to school you can always have co-workers and friends get involved too.

GayVisalia would love to collect 200 toys, please help them reach that goal! The toy drive will last through December 10th. GayVisalia will be dropping off their collection on CWS’s deadline of December 11th. Those wonderful social workers will then have the pain staking task of wrapping them all but then the emotional satisfaction of delivering them and seeing happy little faces.

Thank you all in advance for your participation! Thank you for making a difference in our society. This will be the first of many outreach activities GayVisalia will be hosting. Change is on the horizon and it’s up to us to make that change. A better world is everyone’s responsibility. We can do a lot of good while trying to sway mindsets. After all, the quickest way to an adversaries mind is through his heart. Let’s love them to death!

~Peace be with you all~ Brooke  GayVisalia.com

As the Senate takes up health care reform, we’re sure to be treated to yet more scenes of our elected officials bending over backwards to kiss the gold-plated butts of the pharmaceutical and insurance industries. So far, just about every new turn in the health care battle is confirming what many have known for some time: The U.S. health care system is run largely for the benefit of these corporate giants, rather than of the American people, and no piece of legislation is likely to change that fact.

But to fully appreciate the license these industries have been given to run roughshod over the public interest, you have to take a trip to Connecticut. The state is a longtime home base for the insurance industry, with 72 companies and the nation’s highest concentrion of insurance jobs. It also has more than its share of drug and biotech companies. (What luck then, for these industries, that the man who appears to hold a swing vote on health care reform is their own Senator Joe Lieberman, who has enjoyed enormous financial support from the insurance companies and a pretty penny from Big Pharma, as well.) 

While Connecticut may be loyal to its health care companies, the opposite is certainly not true. This week the giant drugmaker Pfizer sent shock waves across the state when it announced its decision to shut down its huge research facility in New London. While some workers will be transferred to a facility in a nearby town, the closure represents a devastating loss of industry and tax base for this working-class coastal city. It also marks the disintegration of an elaborate publically financed urban development scheme that began a decade ago.

After the closure of a  naval installation in the mid-1990s left New London in desperate straits, Pfizer swept in with promises to revitalize the city with a state-of-the-art R & D headquarters. To serve the company’s interests, the state government decided to use eminent domain to seize private property, uproot residents, and destroy a neighborhood in order to revamp the surrounding area. The state’s won the right to do so in a landmark Supreme Court case. But it built nothing on the vacated land. And now Pfizer, as the Wall Street Journal put it, has decided to “bug out.” One local resident told the New York Times, “They stole our home for economic development. It was all for Pfizer, and now they get up and walk away.”

Here’s how Jeff Benedict, a Connecticut lawyer and author of a book on the land grab, described the situation an op-ed in the Hartford Courant:

Consider the bitter pill that Pfizer Inc. slipped New London this week. Barely a decade after constructing a $300 million research and development headquarters in the city, the pharmaceutical giant announced it was shutting down the facility. Just like that, New London will lose 1,400 jobs and become home to a gigantic, vacant office park that sprawls over a 24-acre campus.

Never mind that an entire residential neighborhood was bulldozed by New London to change the look of a 90-acre landscape around the Pfizer campus. And never mind that along the way the city used eminent domain to drive out homeowners and then fought a costly eight-year legal battle against holdouts Susette Kelo and her neighbors that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Fifth Amendment has always allowed government to take private property for public use. But in its most universally despised decision in decades, the court upheld the takings in New London by equating public benefits — the promise of increased tax revenues and new jobs — with public use.

In other words, the potential of a massive redevelopment scheme anchored by the arrival of Pfizer’s facility justified evicting homeowners who stood in the way of progress. There’s just one stubborn fact: It’s been four years since the infamous Kelo ruling and the city hasn’t gotten a thing built on the 90 acres it now controls.

After all the shouting, the developer ran out of money and the city has zero prospective replacements. Barren weed fields are all that exist where homes once stood.

According to the Times, Pfizer said it was pulling out of New London and consolidating its operations as a “cost-cutting measure.” As the AP reported last month, Pfizer has managed to boost its profits this year despite the recession by ”slashing costs on everything from manufacturing and marketing to research and development” and cutting 6,500 jobs. In the immediate future, AP notes:

Pfizer will keep cutting costs, now that it has completed the biggest drug industry deal of the year. The $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth last Thursday cements Pfizer’s position atop the industry, and the combined company is expected to eliminate nearly 20,000 jobs by the time integration is complete.

Let’s put all this “cost cutting” in further context. Pfizer’s profits in 2008 were $8.1 billion. The drugmaker ranked 11th on the Fortune 500’s list of most profitable companies, and also made Fortune’s list of “biggest winners,” described as “20 firms [that] managed to make money…even as the economy crumbled.” Wyeth’s 2008 profits were over $4 billion, so the acquisition is guaranteed to keep Pfizer in gravy, despite the $2.3 billion in criminal penalties it recently agreed to pay for illegally promiting off-label use of its drugs, in the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the U.S. Justice Department. Residents of New London and other locales abandoned by the company may also be interested to know that Pfizer CEO Jeff Kindler’s 2008 compensation came to a cool $14.8 million–up 17 percent from the year before.

In other words, Pfizer’s determination to slash costs and eliminate thousands of jobs in the midst of a recession is motivated by nothing but sheer greed. This is business as usual for the pharmaceutical companies, which exist to serve the interests of their executives and shareholders, not the public–and will be just as ruthless as we allow them to be. 

Yet this lesson seems to have bypassed many of our elected officials, who persist in pretending that the drug companies can be their ”partners” in health care reform, rather than their adversaries. In the rest of the industrialized world, they seem to have grasped the notion that it’s the government’s job to make sure the private health care industry doesn’t gouge the public. These governments do their job by imposing stiff regulation on these companies, far beyond anything that we will see in the current health reform.

Here, the drug companies are so used to getting their way that they are indignant when anyone in government finds the gumption to stand up to them at all. This morning, the LA Times reports that Big Pharma is protesting parts of the House reform bill, which it sees as violating the secret deal it made last summer with the White House. The paper reports that “senior administration officials, including White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, are warning members of Congress not to antagonize the deep-pocketed industry at a time when a major victory appears to be within reach, according to Democratic aides.”

Although they will probably get their way in the end, the drug companies are pissed off at the Democrats because they think they’ve been double-crossed. It’s a feeling that that’s no doubt well known to the residents of New London, Connecticut.

The first Toronto Zombie Walk had seven people, we had about 10 or so in New London on Friday the 13th. Perhaps in a few years we’ll consume all of New England…one can hope, right? We made the Day and I know there are more pictures out there somewhere, and a video of some form as I saw at least one walking corpse toting a camcorder for most of the night.
Some Zombification pics for your perusal.

Full gallery here

From the “Gee, It Seemed Like A Good Idea” Department…

One of the top stories of the past week was Pfizer’s announcement that it was leaving New London, just 8 years after its grand arrival.

How do you think Susette Kelo and the others who lost their homes feel now?

Kelo in 2005 at her former home.

The pain of eminent domain.  To the U.S. Supreme Court and back.  All for nothing.

Dear J-

I see that Pfizer has spurned New London, Connecticut, for sunnier pastures; though companies have been merging and moving for years, this interests me because New London wooed Pfizer by using eminent domain to move folks out of their homes in order to create a parcel of land for Pfizer to step in.  That same eminent domain case ended up going to the Supreme Court, where it was narrowly ruled legal, touching off a wave of panic around the country as visions of the government moving grandma in order to gain revenue.

That Pfizer would later spurn New London should come as no great shock; companies, like professional sports franchises, have shown no great loyalty, and why should they?  The business of business  is making money, ultimately, and they’ll go to the places with the least costs for them; it’s why we have very few US-flagged cargo ships (do we have any or are they all registered in Panama?).  It would be interesting to see the fate of those city officials who approved the eminent domain plan, though — voters have long memories, and the one place where companies have no voice is at the polls (then again, they do have product representatives, corporate lawyers, and lobbyists, so they’re not completely powerless).

Recently various local government entities have approved large developments (Quarry Falls, Rancho Guejito, Merriam Mountains — okay, Guejito is just a rumor, but a particularly horrifying one); the math certainly seems easy enough:  more taxpayers in expensive new homes means more revenues, but that strikes me as curiously short-sighted, like people who buy thirsty cars and complain about high gas prices — what do we do about the infrastructure needs and traffic woes?  As individual consumers we weigh multiple factors and decide, based on those reasons that are important to us:  price, economy, reliability, style, maintenance; and yet as governments we seem enslaved to the quick fix — does that make sense?

Mike

A while ago, ladies and gentlemen, I wrote a piece revisiting the “Kelo vs. City of New London” Supreme Court case.  In this case, you might recall, Susette Kelo and a group of neighbors took the government of New London all the way through the court system, from a lower local court all the way to the Supreme Court, invoking the Fifth Amendment in pushing the case that New London violated the Constitution by taking their property through the power of “eminent domain” to hand it over to drug giant Pfizer in the name of “public use” (the company planned to develop new facilities on the land which they claimed would create jobs and revitalize the area and its economy).

By a majority of five, the Supreme Court ruled in the favor of New London, saying in effect that the federal, state, and local governments can go and seize land from anybody to give it to, say, corporations to do as they wish with, thinking that doing show will be to the public benefit of the citizens due to all of the jobs and government revenues that could be generated from it. 

I’ve said in my first post on this that as recently as September 2009, the land where Susett Kelo used to live has become nothing more than an empty lot.  Recently, this news came out about the confiscated land:

“

I will appear at the Groton Public Library in Groton, CT on Monday, November 16th at 7:00 pm as a participant in Local Authors Night 2009.  Please come out for the event.  Authors have a ten minute window to discuss their books/writing, and there will be books for sale (they make great holiday gifts!).

Hope to see you there.  Don’t be shy — come up and say hello!

I don’t think it’s that I procrastinate, it’s just that there’s so many things clamoring for my attention that this blog keeps getting pushed further and further away.  I don’t like that, but I’m not sure what to do about it.  Writing, weddings, visitors, writing, yard work, writing, elderly pet issues, writing….  Guess all I can do is the best I can at the time, no matter what that is.

Of interest (well, at least to me and I hope to you as well):

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-3859-Hartford-Books-Examiner~y2009m11d9-Darling-Wendy

This is an interview of yours truly conducted by John Valeri.  John came to my reading/signing reception at Burgundy Books and asked to do an interview.  Of course I said yes!  He made it so easy — online questions and, best of all, INTERESTING questions.  Not the usual “Where do your ideas come from?”  At any rate, hope you enjoy reading it.

Updates:

No word so far on WEATHERCOCK, which has been offered in an exclusive to an agent in NYC.  I’ll keep you posted.

CALL OF BLOOD keeps laughing at me, but I will overcome!

And on that happy note….

"Fresh" Screening, in NH, USA

Mountain Spirit Institute is co-sponsoring the screening of the movie Fresh in New London, NH on Saturday November 21, at 7PM at the Whipple Auditorium on Main Street.

Says MSI director Randall Richards, “We saw the oportunity to get involved and help with the screening of this movie. We’re providing some desktop layout skills, and equipment for the showing.

Marketing and Development director Amanda Richards,  had heard about the movie Food.Inc, and having just arrived from New Zealand, had been concerned about what she was seeing in the U.S. food supply. When she heard that Linda Howes, CN, HHP, CBE was preparing to show the  movie Fresh, she decided to get involved. Howes is the local chapter representative of the Weston A Price Foundation and owner of Nourishing Wellness, in New London, NH.

The movie takes a critical look at what Americans are putting in their mouths, and how they can improve the choices they making in food purchases, including organic and locally grown foods.

The producers of the movie state, “FRESH is more than a movie, it’s a gateway to action. Our aim is to help grow FRESH food, ideas, and become active participant in an exciting, vibrant, and fast-growing movement.”

The movie will not be shown in regular cinemas. The producers of the movie feel going locally at the grass roots level is more in keeping with the spirit of the movie. If you’re interested in learning more about puchasing the movie rights to show the movie in your own locale, or to see the trailer, check out Freshthemovie.com If you’d like more information on the upcoming screening in New Hampshire, USA, please contact us.

New London is in the New York Times Travel Section!

Chipmunk vs. Peanut.

The latest style in pants.

A report on Women in the Armed Services and PTSD.

Port Mortuary’s Pull

Fertility Rates are Falling

War Games: Russia and NATO

Why leaves fall off of trees.

Coffee Bean and A Carbon Atom (scale)

Clinton’s tour did not go well in Pakistan and Israel.

A Day in the life of an Armadillo. Cool report on the Museum of Animal Perspectives (link here)

Political Battle in Upstate New York

source: http://i.imgur.com/tiFE6.jpg

source: http://i.imgur.com/d8Qi8.jpg

source: http://i.imgur.com/fXbrC.jpg

source: http://i.imgur.com/EMKdt.jpg

bears playing hockey. i know. 

a few things:

• new london = in new york times travel section. SEE?? I TOLD YOU SO.   in the article, they mention ATICC, which is currently selling my stuff. so, if that’s not reason alone to go visit, check out the rest of the NYT article and find something else that does.  then, do it.
• or, if that’s not possible, you can just go to my etsy site.  i’m trying to get some stuff done to add to it in time for holidayzzzzz.
• i’m currently in portland, OR.  i needed to take a break. it’s been great. i’ll give more updates when i return (if i return……AND DON’T STAY HERE FOREVER!!!!)

Years ago, the city of New London, situated in Connecticut, was in serious dire straights.  It has suffered through decades, that’s right folks, decades with a falling local economy.  Things were so bad that in the year 1990, a state agency in Connecticut bestowed on the city the dubious distinction of “distressed municipality”.  Not helping the situation much was that in 1996, the Federal Government had closed the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, located in the Fort Trumbull area in the city.  This move, of course, lead to 1,500 pink slips and 1,500 jobless and most likely upset people, which most likely in turn influenced the unemployment rate in a city which then had a mere 24,000 residents, which grew to be double that of the state by 1998.

Then, in the year 2000, things seemed to be looking bright for New London for the first time in quite a while.  You see, a non-profit economic development entity in New London,  the New London Development Corporation (NLDC), along with giant pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc., had developed a plan to build a Pfizer research facility on 90 acres of land in Fort Trumbull.  Here, from the Supreme Court opinion on the case, was the point of this plan:

“ The NLDC intended the development plan to capitalize on the arrival of the Pfizer facility and the new commerce it was expected to attract. In addition to creating jobs, generating tax revenue, and helping to ‘build momentum for the revitalization of downtown New London,’ id., at 92, the plan was also designed to make the City more attractive and to create leisure and recreational opportunities on the waterfront and in the park.”

Sounds nice and rosy, right?  It certainly did to the city council of New London, who approved of the plan.  And so, the city authorized the NLDC to go ahead and purchase all of the land necessary for the project.  It was able to successfully purchase most of the land needed, but then there came a problem in getting the rest of the land.

Actually, it was several problems, including one Susett Kelo, along with others such as Wilhelmina Dery and her Husband Charles.  In all, there nine “problems”; nine landowners that didn’t want to relinquish their land to the local government for the development project. 

So, what were the city, the NLDC, and Pfizer to do?  Well, the local government did authorize the NLDC to make use of the power of “eminent domain,” when government takes land from an individual for public use.  And the NLDC, not wanting anything or anyone standing in their way, made use of the power and condemned the 15 properties in total owned by these nine “problems” to be confiscated without the owners’ consent.

The nine “problems”, however, when learning of the news that they were going to have their properties confiscated by the government to give to a pharmaceutical company (in the name of economic revitalization and development), had an idea of their own:  To take the government to court.

The case was first brought up before the New London Superior Court in December 2000, with the nine “problems”, which were now nine petitioners, arguing that the city’s move to take their properties violates the “Takings Clause” of the Fifth Amendement of the Constitution (which places limits on the power of ”eminent domain”), and the Fourteenth Amendment (which under Section 1 of this Amendment, these limitations are placed on U.S. state and local governments).  They said, basically, that the city was misinterpreting the meaning of “public use” as defined in the Fifth Amendment.

After a bench trial that took 7 days, the Superior Court decided to stop the city from taking some of the properties, but not all of them.  And so with that, the case went to the Connecticut Supreme Court, and, before you know it, it ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The case was argued by the two parties before the court on February 22, 2005, in front of only seven of the nine justices, as the Chief Justice at the time, William Rehnquist, was recovering from medical treatment, and Justice John Paul Stevens was unable to get to Washington at the time.  Then, on June 23, 2005, the Court came up with its decision: in a 5-4 vote, the Court sided with the city of New London in its perverse interpretation of “public use” as defined by the Constitution, saying that taking the land from these “problems” and handing it over to Pfizer will benefit the public with new jobs, higher tax revenues, and revitalization of the area.  

I say that this interpretation and, by extension, the Court majority’s decision is perverse because, as the Court minority has written in its dissent, this basically amounts to a reverse Robin Hood scenario, were either the federal, state, or local government can go and take its citizens’ private property (citizens who are most likely poor, since after all, the government would claim that their taking of the property would be in the name of economic and social revitalization, implying that the poor are causing economic and social decay), and hand it over to large corporations.  Now, if someone in a powerful position in government wants to help out his corporate buddies, they can now arrange to take the private property of citizens through “eminent domain” and claim their doing it because of “economic and social revitalization and development.”  And it will all be legal and okay, because the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, said so.

You want to know what happened to that plan by New London after the Supreme Court’s decision?  Well, as of now, the place where Susette Kelo’s home once stood is a empty lot, and all of those promised jobs and tax revenues haven’t materialized.

“Economic and social revitalization and development” eh?

-D.R.L.

Community Real Estate is about quality real estate in the United States. The country is full of spectacular attractions. A popular attraction in the country is the Dallas World Aquarium. It is an aquarium and zoo located in West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, Texas. The zoo helps conservation and education by housing many animals that are threatened or endangered as part of a cooperative breeding program with other zoos in the US and the world. Community Real Estate is a classy place to find the real estate you desire. The level hosts aquarium featuring fish, anemones, coral, jellyfish, etc from around the world. The 10 main tanks boast of the aquatic life of: Japan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, British Columbia, Bahamas, Fiji, Palau, Southern Australia, Lord Howe Island, and the Solomon Islands. Other tanks on display include a big tank with a tunnel where one can observe sharks and manta rays swimming 180 degrees around the viewer and a large vivarium featuring manatees, arapaima, giant catfish, and scarlet ibis’. Along with aquatic animals, the zoo also features an impressive collection of plants, birds, and animals including snakes, frogs, tarantulas, jaguars, monkeys, bats, and the only publicly displayed three-toed sloth in the US. Homes for Sale  is your guide to select the ideal home.

God, what a boring blog title.  Oh, well; one can’t be erudite all the time.  <grin>

First bit of news is that I had a FABULOUS reception/reading at Burgundy Books in East Haddam, CT on Saturday, October 24 at 2:00 pm.  Linda, Chuck and  Morgan of BB really pulled out all of the stops for me and I can’t thank them enough.  What a great time!  Not only did we have a good-sized crowd, but many of those who showed up were people I either didn’t know (new contacts — yea!) or people I hadn’t seen in a long time (reconnecting — yea!).  One of my visitors I hadn’t seen since 1975 and had no idea she was coming, so that was a HUGE thrill!  (Thanks, L!)  At any rate, we had a great time hob-nobbing about books and such and they were an extremely attentive audience when it came to the reading (“Darling Wendy,” the title story from the collection).  Best of all, when it came to questions afterward, they offered up some really interesting and thought-provoking comments.  All in all, a wonderful time!

Second (though by no means SECONDARY) — the query has been sent off!  Only to one agent, as an exclusive, but I am hopeful.  I’ll keep you posted.

And now it’s time to dust off “Call of Blood” and get back to work gutting the orignal manuscript and seeing what I can make of it.  Where’s that razorblade……???

Come say hello at Burgundy Books in East Haddam, CT at 2:00 pm today!  The nice folks at Burgundy are hosting a reception/reading/book signing for yours truly and I am VERY excited!  Looks like it’s going to be a good time with lots of good food and drink, and lots of people who are interested in books.  Hope to see you all there!

Had a GREAT radio show with Barry Eva on BlogTalkRadio’s “A Book and a Chat with…”  I’ve never had 30 minutes go by so quickly, and the response to the show so far has been terrific (two sales in as many days; that’s good!)

The synopsis — I’m thrilled/relieved to say — is DONE!  The query letter — ditto!  As soon as I have a minute to breathe, I will send out a packet to the first agent on my list.  Wish me luck!!

Last night the West DePere Phantoms were not going to be denied.  In overcoming a stiff challenge from the New London Bulldogs, they accomplished something historic in the Bay – 4 straight titles.

Image via Wisconsin High School Helmets (www.mghelmets.com)

By a unanimous show of hands — four fingers extended, thumb tucked behind — the West De Pere players signaled their historic accomplishment in a post-game celebration Thursday.

The Phantoms beat New London 22-8 in a regular-season finale to become the first team in 40 years of Bay Conference football to win four straight league titles.

“I’m a senior, so 4-for-4 is just a great feeling,” defensive tackle Nick Delaney said.

West De Pere survived its stiffest challenge in an eight-game winning streak to share this year’s Bay title with Seymour and Shawano. All had 7-1 conference records.

What did Coach T think of the historic accomplishment?

“They can’t ever take it away,” 35th-year Phantoms coach Bill Turnquist said. “It’s a lot of satisfaction for West De Pere.”

“Our kids played with their backs against the wall the whole season,” Turnquist said. “They had to improve and be sharp all of the way down the line.”

There was doubt this feat could be accomplished after a stunning OT loss to the Seymour Thunder in week 1.  But the team responded to what may have been a wake-up call.  The team not only won every remaining game, it outscored opponents 351-95.

The New London game was a stiff challenge though, especially when the Bulldogs scored 1st.  But it lit a fire under the Phantoms who responded.

“That might have helped us,” said West De Pere quarterback Michael Linssen, who threw for three touchdowns. “Our whole team was dead in the beginning. That gave us a lot of energy and a lot of fire to go out there and do something.”

Linssen needed only three plays in the Phantoms’ first series to counter the score, hooking up with Travis Mason down the middle of the field for a 60-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 8-7.

Linssen lofted a perfect ball to Mason in the back corner of the end zone on third-and-goal from the Bulldogs’ 8-yard line early in the second quarter for a 13-8 advantage.

Then came the turning point following a Linssen interception.

New London took over at its 2 late in the first half, but Delaney stuffed Anderson in the end zone for a safety that bumped the Phantoms lead to 15-8.

“It pumped up the whole team,” Delaney said. “I feel like it was a turning point in the game for me; it got me jacked up.”

Zak Rottier returned the ensuing free kick 34 yards to the New London 35, and West De Pere cashed in right before halftime with an 11-yard touchdown throw from Linssen to Jay Tollefson.

This was a night to lean on that aggressive defense as the Phantoms’ ground game was stifled by the Bulldogs, which rose to the challenge.

An aggressive Phantoms defense twice kept New London from scoring in the red zone after its initial score.

West De Pere also picked off two passes by Hass, who was 13 of 29 for 222 yards. (Source: Bay football: Phantoms’ title string reaches 4 – Green Bay Press-Gazette)

Congratulations to the now 13-time Bay Conference champion West DePere Phantoms.

Next up: the playoffs and hopefully a state title run.

Had a WONDERFUL time tonight chatting with Barry Eva on BlogTalkRadio’s “A Book and a Chat with…” (the ‘with’ being ME!).  Barry was a terrific host, put me at ease at once, and it was exactly like sharing a bit of conversation over a cuppa or two.  Barry, thanks again for having me as your guest.

For those who missed the show, you can access it at BlogTalkRadio.com.

Next up:  my reading/talking/book signing reception at Burgundy Books in East Haddam, CT this Saturday, 10/24 at 2:00 pm.  Come on down for some fun!

On the work side — the synopsis is nearly finished and I’ve begun work on the first agent letter (meaning, of course, that each agent letter is individually written because, you know, no two agents are alike).  Wish me luck!

The market is still very active during this picturesque fall in the Sunapee Region. Currently 40 listings have gone under agreement this month and there are a total of 67 homes under contract in the area!

Recently we put together a video to showcase what we love about the Lake Sunapee Region and why we chose to work and live in this beautiful area.

Our company recently worked on producing a video to try to capture the Lake Sunapee Region and what makes it so special for those of us who live, work, or vacation here. Please check it out below and let me know what you think!

Thank you for your contributions to this awesome video.

• Will Hurley from Outspokin
• Marcie Vierzen & Amy Witner from Artisans
• Jay Gambel from Mount Sunapee
• Ron Brown from Banks Gallery