David Vaught Flying his BIG CUB

Everyone loves a Cub. Versatile, predictable, easy, classic.. all bundled up into 1 word – FUN

David Vaught is modeler and part-time R/C Hobby Author. He’s reviewing the BH Models Cub for an upcoming Model Airplane News Magazine review. I got this brief teaser from him today!

“Had the photo shoot today.  Awesome to say the least.  That Magnum 120 4-stroke is a beast and flew the Cub very well.  Just an all around great day of flying and photography.  I will get this submitted to the Magazine Editors ASAP.

Thanks for your support.  Happy Holidays.
David”

If you want to check out the Cub, click HERE

Look for the review in Model Airplane News! Coming Soon!

This is a great article by Joeseph Busenitz of 9Marks ministry about The Masters Seminary, the history, the mission and why it differs from other seminaries.

TMS being a church based seminary was one of the reasons I chose this seminary.

LINK: http://www.9marks.org/CC/article/0,,PTID314526|CHID598014|CIID2463328,00.html

Dopo tre anni riparte dal Piper l’avventura live del cantautore romano

Appuntamento al Piper Club domani alle 23 per tutti gli amanti della musica di Niccolò Fabi, che torna dopo tre anni sulle scene con Solo un uomo, sesto album in studio. Una svolta intimista, disco importante che lo stesso cantautore ha definito “un nuovo inizio, una nuova vita”, e che vede il passaggio, dopo una lunga e proficua collaborazione, dalla Virgin alla Universal.  Per celebrare i tredici anni di carriera ed i quarant’anni di età, Niccolò Fabi ha scelto un tour ridotto all’essenziale, con una formazione di quattro elementi: Gabriele Lazzarotti al basso, Fabio Rondanini alla batteria e Andrea Di Cesare al violino, per creare un dialogo ancora più stretto e diretto con il suo affezionato pubblico. L’album, uscito lo scorso maggio e molto apprezzato da esperti del settore e non, era stato presentato sinora soltanto con piccoli showcase, e da domani sera invece toccherà anche le principali città italiane. A sottolineare il costante impegno di Niccolò per il sociale e per i popoli in difficoltà, in molte delle città scelte per il tour, verrà proiettato in alcuni atenei universitari un documentario di sensibilizzazione realizzato con l’ong Medici con l’Africa Cuamm, al quale Fabi ha partecipato personalmente negli scorsi mesi, visitando i luoghi dell’Uganda dove si stanno realizzando i progetti dell’associazione. L’impegno umanitario rafforza ancora di più il valore dell’album stesso, che sin dal titolo vuole affermare il valore dell’uguaglianza e dell’origine comune di tutti gli esseri umani. In occasione della data romana, ad accompagnare l’artista sul palco ci sarà in primis l’amico e collega Roberto Angelini- che ha cointerpretato il secondo singolo Aliante, scritto con Pino Marino e presentato proprio in questi giorni- e poi altri ospiti segreti che si avvicenderanno nel corso della serata.  Per approfondimenti e prevendite vi rimandiamo al sito: http://www.piperclub.it/

www.niccolofabi.it

www.myspace.com/niccolofabimusic

Right now I am sitting in the lounge room of my folks house, with my 2 nephews (10 & 6) watching Sponge-Bob Square Pants. Well really they are watching and I am typing this.

After being locked up in a room for 3 weeks studying up to 11 hours a day, I am starting to feel like a normal person again. I have nothing much planned for the next few weeks other than a bunch of socialising.

Something I do like to do in my holidays is to read. Of course I have a couple of hundred pages of Calvin to read before college goes back next year, plus some summer Greek translation. But it is nice to have time to read something just because I want to. Here is a pile of books I’m hoping to get through before Christmas.

I have also added When I don’t desire God: How to fight for Joy by John Piper to the pile. I’m also looking for a cheap copy of Did I kiss marriage Goodbye? by Carolyn McCulley, but they may have to wait until after Christmas.

I’m trying to decide which book to start with. I have read half of Death by Love, which is good but not great so I think it can wait until the end (sorry Pastor Mark!). I’ve also started Shades of Sheol, which I am really enjoying even though I’m only in chapter 2. Having said that I promised someone I would read The Blue Parakeet so I will probably try an knock that over before reading any more of the others.

In fact I may go and start that now.

I heart holidays *big smiley face*

Farewell Borders and Thank You…

I awoke, showered, cleaned up, packed up, had breakfast and while eating saw my Palin Power button on YNN Rochester. Click this link and go to 2:04 in the 3:33(a providential, lucky number of mine) video:

After breakfast and before my flight, I had to do one more thing. I went to Borders, drank a white mocha latte, then walked to the area where Governor Palin was signing…and went to the space she occupied and spent a few minutes there. I saw a couple of copies behind me near the floor were a little disarrayed. I knelt down, made them correct, left the space, came back again, left, came back a third time, then left — forever. I drove slowly out of the lot, then picked up speed after Borders was out of sight.

Slipping the Surly Bonds…

I was seated in 1A of the US Airways Dash 8 100. I shut the iPhone off after a strategy-related email exchange with Fay, Editor and Publisher of the Sarah Palin Information Blog and an author on Accomplishments. We departed Runway 22 and arced to the left. I found the mall right out the window where Borders is. Just as I bid farewell silently, the plane slipped into the overcast and re-emerged a few seconds later…..

Glory

When the light from the sun strikes an airplane, if you are sitting on the side opposite the sun and are flying over an under-cast, you will see a circular rainbow. The phenomenon is called a glory. Immediately after crossing the cloud layer, the shadow of the plane was encircled in a glory. Soon, the shadow disappeared, but the glory remained moving ahead of then behind the left propeller.

Aerial Tour

As the trip progressed, the solid under-cast went broken, then scattered. We broke out of the clouds in an area unfamiliar to me. Finally, I saw water…then a city below and to the left…Stamford, CT….what was about to unfold would be one of the most beautiful flights of my life. With Stamford to our left, we turned westward and followed the coast of Connecticut and Westchester. I saw Mamaroneck. Again, I remembered some of the Edison sites I’ve worked at over the years….I remembered another Sarah….my great aunt, Sarah Hackman who died in 2005. She lived in Tuckahoe, and her daughter Barbara had special needs, being crippled from Polio (this was in the pre-vaccine days).

We crossed the Bronx with Westchester now to our north. My mother’s Yonkers home would be off the right wing. I saw the George Washington Bridge and the plane turned left. More Edison sites, both Yankee stadiums. I could see clearly the de-construction of the former Yankee Stadium…we crossed into Manhattan. I figured we were going to turn left over 125th St. and land on Runway 13. We were not….we flew right over Central Park and through Midtown. All the skyscrapers below passed in striking detail. I saw Harper Collins at 10 E. 53rd St, and all the familiar landmarks: Met Life, Empire State, NY Life — Con Ed Headquarters, Zeckendorf Towers…the Federal Building, I sat spell-bound as my life’s memories flooded through….I could see Queens and Brooklyn clearly….

We continued over NY Harbor…as all the familiar Edison sites passed by. The Verrazano Bridge came into view…we were overflying Staten Island!!!! My home! I saw the rented house Elsy and I spent our first four Staten Island years in….but there was more to come…we flew all the way down to Great Kills tracking the Island’s core. I saw the little pizzeria where I have my second job. We took a descending left turn, out over Lower NY Bay and another descending left to parallel Staten Island’s south shore. Now…our approach to LGA was underway.

I could see the Bayonne Bridge on the other side and could see the general area where my house is. Once again, the Verrazano Bridge and we tracked through Brooklyn, passing the accursed BQE and the streets I dodged through just two days before. I saw Daisy’s Diner…were a fellow customer and I talk politics and Governor Palin each time I’m there. We flew right over the apartment Elsy and I rented in the first four years of our marriage. My childhood home in Flushing NY was off the right wing. We landed on Runway 4 and as we pulled into the terminal area, all of Flushing was in my direct view.

By juxtaposition, Governor Palin touched every aspect of my life.

In these six posts, you may wonder why I would include material that on the surface has absolutely nothing to do with Governor Palin or Going Rogue.

So…what does this all have to do with her? Everything. Simply go to the bottom of Page 8 in Governor Palin’s book.

All will be revealed.

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY Part I — Journey

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY Part II — Camping

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY, Part III — Ready

Going Rogue, Rochester, NY: Part IV — Books Signed

Going Rogue, Rochester, NY: Part V — Egg Attack

No Better Than the Book Burners of Old

The impact of the egg striking the stack of books resounded like a gunshot in the nearly empty Borders. I was behind the display stack talking with Kristina,  Kate and Rachelle. JD had already gone home. Adrienne and I had our backs turned. Adrienne was right next to the display stack, which was in the center of the store as you walked in the front door.

Following the sound, I heard a voice proclaim, “Sorry I didn’t hit you Sarah!” The egg thrower then sauntered out of the store as if victory was his. I ran toward the stack and saw several books covered in yolk and egg white. Adrienne’s outfit was splattered too…collateral damage from his attack.

I screamed out to the Borders staff…”get him…he destroyed several of Sarah’s books, and Adrienne’s been hit!” The staff told me they’d take care of it…don’t get involved! I waited…and I took pictures of the damage:

Photography by Ron Devito: Close-up. Yellow on the second book in the stack is egg yolk.

Photography by Ron Devito: Target of hate.

Photography by Ron Devito: Note the wet spot on the carpet and the egg shells. These books were located behind Governor Palin’s display.

Throw the Book at Him?

The egg thrower was caught and arrested. He came to realize that his form of “political protest” did not exactly serve him well. Borders chose not to prosecute him, because he opted to pay for all the destroyed copies of Going Rogue. In essence, this brilliant Obama Kool Aid drinker now bought the largest number of copies of Going Rogue for a single customer in the entire day!

Also ironic and providential: Governor Palin was accused of trying to ban books as Mayor of Wasilla…except for one minor detail: the books she was accused of trying to ban did not even exist at the time. But, book banning is a lie Obama’s followers continue to perpetuate. Adrienne Ross risked her job to protest a display at her school perpetuating this falsehood.

Ironic that this man wanted to not just ban…but destroy Governor Palin’s book.…and since he indicated that the egg was intended for Governor Palin herself, I was loudly pushing for him to be prosecuted…but Borders accepted reimbursement. Now it was up to Adrienne.

Mercy and Forgiveness? Or Pursue a Pyrrhic Victory?

The arresting officer told Adrienne, she had a choice to make. Prosecute him for criminal mischief and harassment; which meant she would have to stay the night, then drive four hours from her home each way to be present at his trial…or have him released.

I was pushing for prosecution. Kristina and Kate calmed me down and told me to defer to Adrienne — it was after all her decision to make….and they were right. It was her decision.

Adrienne chose the path of mercy and declined to press charges. She did not pursue him for the soiled outfit…she wanted nothing more to do with him…rightfully so.

Farewell Dinner

Our tired band of Rogues went to Uno’s right across from Borders to have our farewell dinner. We discussed the incident…the pros and cons of prosecution. For a few minutes, we wondered if the right thing was done not pressing charges. “Sorry, I didn’t hit you, Sarah” played in my head over and over again like a broken record. Could he be motivated to attempt to harm her in some way later on? Would Borders’ and Adrienne’s act of mercy embolden him? Conversely, what was to be gained by Adrienne prosecuting him for harassment? To appear before a judge and say “this man harassed me as a byproduct of destroying several copies of Going Rogue”? With the primary case disposed of, there really was little point in pursuing it further.

Finally, the conversation shifted to more joyful subject matter — some related to Governor Palin, some of it not. We enjoyed our meals and conversation.

It was nearly midnight. We all exchanged hugs and the band of Rogues broke up. Having Gone Rogue, now it was time to Go Home.

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY Part I — Journey

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY Part II — Camping

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY, Part III — Ready

Going Rogue, Rochester, NY: Part IV — Books Signed

Going Rogue, Rochester, NY: Part V — Egg Attack

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY, Part VI — Going Home 

Entertainment Tonight and Hamburg TV Station

I did a media interview with Entertainment Tonight. The reporter was very friendly. He asked me to explain why I supported Governor Palin — and why I would wait over 24 hours to see her. “I support her Reagan Conservatism, her positions on the Second Amendment and oil drilling. I admire her 17 years of executive experience and Transformational Leadership. We have not seen a leader like this in 150 years.” Do you want her to to run for President in 2012?, he asked. “YES! I believe she was summoned to carry Reagan’s torch. But I will support her no matter the path she chooses,” I said. We agreed to do a second interview after the signing. The first interview was completed at 1516 EST. My second interview with Entertainment Tonight took place at 1759 EST.

The same questions were asked in my interview with the Hamburg, Germany with my responses mirroring what was said to Entertainment Tonight. The Hamburg interview was completed at 1656 EST.

Ron Devito Going Rogue with Governor Palin

Finally, the time had come. I deposited my jacket and gift card on the table. I threw Adrienne a salute and passed her the books to give to Governor Palin. It was Saturday, November 21, 2009 at the seventeenth hour and the fortieth minute.

“Governor Palin…Sarah….it’s nice to see you again.” We locked eyes…she shook my hand, said “Hi, what’s your name.” “I’m Ron Devito, from Staten Island. You signed my heart in Pennsylvania.” She smiled…I could tell she remembered. “I like your buttons,” she said. But…I saw her looking at the Palin Power button, I had been selling. Pointing to the button, I said, “Today, I prototyped this one. And I will be giving it to you in the gift box. It is yours.” “Thank you,” Governor Palin said. It was time to leave….I turned back….”It was nice to see you again” — followed by a pregnant pause — “my President.” She ended the conversation with a final thank you and I took my signed books.

There was no time for personalization, and for collectors, non-personalized signed books are worth more money (mine is NOT for sale at any price). My fleeting time with Governor Palin went by faster than a Concorde flying overhead at Mach 2.2. 

When SarahPAC photographer Shealah Craighead releases the photos, I will acquire. She may or may not grant me permission to post, but I will ask.

I went to the main shopping area, finished off the gift card and took what was now Governor Palin’s property off my heart, put it in with the card, sealed it and left it and went outside to work the crowd, and wait for my colleagues….

Photography: Ron Devito. Trig Paxton Van Palin. Photo re-touched to remove red-eye.

Photography: Ron Devito. Sally Heath, with whom I shook hands and had two brief conversations. When I told her I’m from Staten Island, her eyes lit up. “We worked on Fresh Kills.” “I know…it’s only 8 miles from my house.” We exchanged some pleasantries, and then I said, “Your daughter is going to make history.”

Photography: Ron Devito. Chuck and Sally Heath announce to the overflow crowd that Governor Palin will sign their books. Mrs. Heath hugs a supporter. Photo re-touched to remove red-eye.

From the Outside Looking In

Having had my books signed and awaiting my colleagues…we were going to eat dinner together after the signing, I took some potshots with the camera of Governor Palin signing books….

Photography: Ron Devito. A shot of Governor Palin with the back of her head facing the window. Piper Palin is to her right.

Photography Ron Devito. Profile view of Governor Palin.

Photography: Ron Devito. A blurred view, but one where Governor Palin’s face is visible.

From Going Bust to Going Rogue

As the evening progressed, jubilant supporters emerged with their signed books. One small boy was ecstatic: “she touched me! She actually touched me.” The little child wasn’t expecting Governor Palin to shake his hand. JD Merkel returned after the Heaths’ announcements. I told him to get on that line NOW….his book was going to be signed….JD went Rogue, not Bust after all….

Farewell

Governor Palin and her staff left through the back of the store, they same way they entered. I ran to try to see her along with the crowd, but only saw the motorcade pull away. The store re-opened, the crowd dispersed, and I went to meet with my colleagues. We were all exhausted and hungry. Governor Palin had been gone 15 minutes, when an ugly act of hatred unfolded….an act reminiscent of the days not of banning books, but of burning them…

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY Part I — Journey

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY Part II — Camping

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY, Part III — Ready

Going Rogue, Rochester, NY: Part IV — Books Signed

Going Rogue, Rochester, NY: Part V — Egg Attack

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY, Part VI — Going Home 

Reveille

After cleaning up and showering and getting dressed, I checked my iPhone. Governor Palin had published a Facebook Post regarding health care. It was not covered. I launched into action, got the item on Accomplishments, did my Buzz, Digg, Fark, and Delicious, and put aside the laptop.

Not wanting to wait for the condensation to clear off my car, I wiped the driver’s side mirror with my hand, turned on the rear defroster and drove with the windows down in the freezing cold. Borders is only two miles from the Day’s Inn Henrietta, and my bee-line got me there in two minutes.

I greeted Amy, Ed, Barb and the others. I went back to working the crowd with the business cards and buttons. I met Kristina, Kate, and Rachelle. Within the hour, the rest of my buttons were sold or given to those promised. All I had left was Adrienne’s and mine. Another generous soul brought coffee, bagels, and donuts. It was like a huge tailgate party — just as Governor Palin would Tweet in reference to her next stop. Like earlier, I whiled away the rest of the time reading Going Rogue — continuing to laugh or cry as the story continued to unfold. The time to 0900 — the opening of Borders — flew. I made it to page 105 and stopped.

Wristband Secured…

I got my Blue A wristband and immediately went outside and put on my right wrist. I wanted it there along with the red shirt I now wore — for Reagan Conservatism. I met Adrienne and gave her the promised button. Now, only the one over my heart remained….

Houston, We Have a Problem….

I alternately went in and out of Borders holing up in the cafe and returning to the camp post just outside the door. While talking with Kristina, her sister Kate, and Rachelle, we heard a commotion outside.

Apparently, the store did not get all 1,000 wristbands. They got 500. The second group of 500 were angry. But they got stickers…they became the overflow group. If Governor Palin had the time after the first 500, the overflow would be taken in. JD Merkel, Rochester Organizer, 2012 Draft Sarah Committee was in that second group. He resigned his fate to Going Bust….

Adrienne and the store’s staff had to deal with the crowd. Everyone calmed down, but I did not find her to be in an enviable position at that moment….Adrienne handled it like a skilled professional — as if she had been doing this all her life.

The Final Hours

The final hours were spent continuing to read Going Rogue, charging devices, going in and out of the store and learning about the structure of the event. A gift box was placed. I took out a business card and chicken-scrawled a message of support. But going into that box, it would get lost.

So, I opted for a greeting card and wrote my message. I emailed a trusted colleague for review. She loved it. I left the card envelope unsealed….The content of my message will remain private; however, I will state that it is based very strongly on the bottom half of Page 8 of Going Rogue.

A Sarah Palin look-alike — Sharon from PA — came in. I posed with her:

Then, Adrienne, Kristina, Kate, and myself posed at the book signing table.

 Adrienne Ross

Front: Kate Lazzaro. Rear: Kristina Lazzaro

Ron Devito

The time drew nigh…We all left the bookstore and assumed our new positions to the left of the door…

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY Part I — Journey

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY Part II — Camping

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY, Part III — Ready

Going Rogue, Rochester, NY: Part IV — Books Signed

Going Rogue, Rochester, NY: Part V — Egg Attack

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY, Part VI — Going Home 

Lake Ontario

After over an hour of fooling around with my wife Elsy’s five-year-old laptop with a broken PCLinuxOS implementation (Synaptic will not update), I settled on leaving Accomplishments, and the promotion/news announcement sites up and leaving my other accounts alone. They would just have to wait until I got home.

Being near Lake Ontario and having some time to kill, I wanted to see my other love — the water. So, I hopped in the car and made the 30-mile one-way trip. I questioned my sanity for doing this after spending the morning battling traffic, but the road was open, drivers were mostly courteous and I was seeing something new and exciting. Ominous cumulonimbus clouds were forming to the north. Bad weather appeared to be approaching.

The area fronting Lake Ontario was all private property, so I could not venture out. Karl Strohmeyer called me. One of my two copies of Going Rogue that were to be signed was destined for him. We discussed how he wanted it personalized — if Governor Palin was going to — and just generally shot the breeze about politics. I met Karl in Scraton, PA in the final 72 hours campaigning for the McCain-Palin ticket — not with my own party, the GOP, but with Democrats for McCain.

Base Camp…

By 1600, I was back at Borders. I stopped in for a pretzel and a beverage, checked email, and charged the iPhone. No one had been camping outside like in other venues. Rochester, being rather liberal, I figured turnout would be lighter. I would go back to my hotel room, then check Borders every few hours. I emailed Kristina, Rachelle, and JD Merkel the non-news. Adrienne had secured a position as part of Governor Palin’s event team for the day, a job should would perform with expert professionalism, so I did not bother her with my updates.

At 1645, I met Amy, who had set up a chair and a gentleman named Ed who set up one behind her. Camping had begun!!! I sent a text message to my colleagues and told them to get here NOW! Then, I introduced myself, got my bag and set up behind them as number 3. Barb was number 4. Amy was generous and let me borrow a camping chair (yeah, I did not think to take one of those). I did bring a NASA foil emergency blanket. While it was effective at protecting the front of me, the wind whipped from behind. I needed more protection. I asked Amy and Ed to stand guard and ran to Dick’s Sporting Goods to get a cheap sleeping bag.

I did not drive. I ran across. The cold wind whipped my legs. In my business casual pants minus thermals, I might as well have been naked. I started to second-guess myself. The bag cost almost as much as the room for night — a hotel room I would now not be using. I questioned my own sanity. I had never done this before. Was I now some kind of groupie? Returning the bag and opting for the critter comforts of the hotel room was tempting. But I would not dare! Not being number three on that line! I wanted the front spot? I wanted to be here? I spent this effort to have these books signed? Well…I got re-focused! I had work to do….

Time to Hustle…

As campers began to secure their positions, I went to work, handing out business cards promoting Accomplishments. I also had pinned to me a button I created with the help of a colleague. I ordered 10 and the batch was not in front of my house; so I raised Cain and a replacement was sent to the hotel. Meanwhile, the original batch turned up the night before I left. So, I now had 20. The mission: test-market this logo. If people liked it and bought it, my online store would be promoted and I’d start selling. If there was little interest, I’d abandon the effort.

I had a happy problem: I sold almost the entire batch of 3.5-inch buttons at $6 each before the night was over. I had to save Adrienne’s, Kristina’s, Rachelle’s, and mine. So, I started hand-writing the name of my new store on the back of the blog business cards. North Star Promotions was born…

The atmosphere was very festive….and the generosity exchanged among strangers was amazing. One man brought in a big Sicilian Pepperoni pie. Starving, I dived into that box, and being the chow hound that I am, six slices were gone in no time. I offered to pay for what I took. He wanted a Palin Power button instead. Done deal.

And, so I worked the crowd, passing out cards, belting out SA-RAH! chants, just because. Barb told me about her Thompson Contender with interchangeable barrels. Another lady I met was a huntress. The 9/12 Project was there. A Gadsden flag was erected on a column of Borders.

And to while away the hours, I continued reading Going Rogue, but I had a problem….every other paragraph I had to stop. I was either laughing with Governor Palin or found myself on the brink of openly crying as the story of her life unfolded word for word.

Barb, Amy and I reached an agreement. They would watch my chair. I would go back to the hotel room, and come back in the morning. After we got our wristbands, they would sleep in their cars, and I would watch their setups.

I went back, tried to call my wife, but could not get through. I emailed her my position report, and went to sleep. Amy and Barb said I could be back by 0700. But there was no way I was going to come back that late….

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY Part I — Journey

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY Part II — Camping

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY, Part III — Ready

Going Rogue, Rochester, NY: Part IV — Books Signed

Going Rogue, Rochester, NY: Part V — Egg Attack

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY, Part VI — Going Home 

I have this crazy idea…

Accomplishments author Adrienne Ross (the editor and publisher of Motivation: Truth and a Board Member, Media Director, and NY State Organizer for the 2012 Draft Sarah Committee). and myself were exchanging some text messages a couple of weeks ago. “I have this really crazy idea,” I wrote. I figured she was going to write back, “Again?” But, Adrienne was too kind for that. I went on…”You live upstate…Kristina Lazzaro (editor and publisher of: Inspiration Sarah, and the Buffalo, NY Organizer for the 2012 Draft Sarah Committee, and Accomplishments author) lives upstate….Governor Palin’s going to be in NY…you going to see her?” Of course they were…I went to Google Maps on my iPhone and banged in the address of the Borders store in Henrietta, NY, where she was to sign the books. It would be a 340-mile trip one way. Nearly seven hours driving. I calculated gasoline costs and figured I might be better using Amtrak or even flying up.

My head was spinning. Adrienne is not one to tell others what to do, and always emphasizes that ultimately, the decision on anything is yours to make. But, she looked at my texts and and listened on the phone as I egged myself on. “I want to do this…let me get back to you when I have the logistics worked out….”

I plowed my 2007 Honda Pilot through the streets of Brooklyn and Queens from 0700 to 0900 the morning of Friday, November 20, 2009. I had some “Sarah music” going, but then switched to my “flying music” — the switch would prove to be very providential. Driving like a fighter pilot hopped up on caffeine and sugar, the morning’s trip devolved into desperate race against time to make it from Staten Island to LGA. I had opted to fly, because the traveling time would be much less and the costs not much more than driving up all the way. But, now I was angry and giving new meaning to the term “road rage.”. Here I was two hours in and now in danger of missing my flight. I could have been out of the Island through NJ, and back into NY…almost a third of the way to Rochester by now I thought….

Finally, I made the parking lot, dumped the truck (literally), grabbed my iPhone with the car charger still attached and my bags and lit out of there in the shuttle. It wasn’t till after I checked in that I realized I left my iPod in the truck, and a nice leather bomber jacket. I had no outer jacket for Rochester! Both my uncle and a trusted colleague said that Governor Palin should see the jacket on me.

Darn it! I haven’t even left the city and already I was well on the way not to Going Rouge — but to Going Bust! I choked breakfast down, and I started on the unsigned reading copy, leaving the two treasure copies to be signed well alone in the suitcase.

Governor Palin’s first words immediately soothed my frazzled nerves. I read on.

I nearly started blubbering when I came to the bottom of page eight. There, she told a story of something so providential in her life — and mine — something that was the basis of a rally sign I made 13 months ago…something that was the basis of a video I made a month after that…something that would be the basis of message I left in her gift box….something that would define this entire trip.

A surge of joy swept through me when I saw the Piedmont Dash-8 100 sitting on the apron. Being an IFR private pilot, I am most familiar with Cessna 172s, but the last time I had flown in a turboprop was 1992 when I went to visit my uncle who lived in Meadville, PA at the time.

I was amazed at the power of the turbo-props as my body snapped back into the seat on takeoff and the the aircraft lifted off with an amazing rate of climb. I love those snap-backs. They’re a big hoot. We arced over western Queens and I could see the Con Ed sites that have been my home for nearly 10 years now. We flew to the east of both the old and new Yankee Stadiums, past my mother’s house in Yonkers, and entered a thin overcast, which became an under-cast. Memories of all the places I’d been in the area flowed through…already Governor Palin was touching every aspect of my life by juxtaposition.

My flight instructor, Don Eck has logged thousands of hours for Piedmont. Some people fear turboprops. I love them. You get a greater feeling of flight in them. Flying lower and slower, you get to see the landscape below in greater detail. The windows are larger and you feel a closer connection with the sky as you are flung through the proverbial footless halls of air…while some found the loud drone of the spinning props annoying, it was music to my ears.

The combination of reading Governor Palin’s words and the flight itself mollified me. I concluded that there was a reason I left the jacket and the iPod behind…and as the trip progressed, I would learn that my conclusion was right. I put the book away and kept my face pressed to the window for the duration of the flight.

The under-cast became broken and we slipped through the layer, the plane gently bouncing as it entered the clouds — a normal occurrence. I didn’t know it then, but the Borders Governor Palin would be signing at was directly to my left and in plain view….

We touched down in Rochester, and I grabbed my gear and went to the car rental. Discover card declined… after I had paid it a few days ago to make room. Here we go again…Going Bust. I went for the debit card and accepted the $300 hold. Ugh. It worked. Success! The black 2008 Hyundai Tiburon became my Sarah-Mobile. I stopped down to see the bookstore, then went to Burlington Coat Factory and picked a warm hunting jacket for $20, and checked into the hotel to start up the Accomplishments command and control center.

I was here and established. I was ready to Go Rogue….

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY Part I — Journey

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY Part II — Camping

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY, Part III — Ready

Going Rogue, Rochester, NY: Part IV — Books Signed

Going Rogue, Rochester, NY: Part V — Egg Attack

Going Rogue: Rochester, NY, Part VI — Going Home 

Not Piper’s, but Uncle John’s and my birthday week.  John hit the big 40 and I turned 37.  John and Lauren came up for the weekend to celebrate and see Piper.  We celebrated the birthdays by going Go-Kart racing.  We also had visits from Lynn and “Uncle” Matt this week.  Piper hit eight and a half pounds this week and is smiling more (and starting to sleep a little more!).  Here are some pics from the week:

“… E’ solo uomo quello di cui parlo,

del suo interno come del suo intorno.

Di quando scivola su se stesso,

di quando scrive come adesso.

Sulle sue guance il vento fresco

della vetta della conquista.

Sotto le unghie ha la terra di quando striscia…”

Quelli che leggete sono i primi versi della canzone di Niccolò Fabi, “Solo un uomo”, brano che dà anche il titolo all’ultimo disco di inediti pubblicato lo scorso maggio dal cantautore romano, il quale mercoledì prossimo inizierà finalmente il suo nuovo tour invernale dopo la serie di showcase acustici che lo hanno visto protagonista la scorsa primavera.

Un tour, quello di Niccolò, che partirà proprio da Roma, sua città natale, e più precisamente da un luogo storico per la tradizione musicale capitolina, vale a dire il “Piper”, posto davvero di “culto” negli anni ‘60 (basti pensare ai concerti che band come Who e Pink Floyd vi tennero all’interno). “Piper” che fu inoltre un simbolo importante anche per le prime contestazioni di quel periodo storico delicato, nel quale le molte barriere furono abbattute e altrettante mode vennero contemporaneamente lanciate.

Con il tempo ovviamente le cose sono cambiate, ed oggi il celebre locale di Via Tagliamento è forse meno rinomato per i suoi concerti a discapito della sua nomina di discoteca “in”, e questo è sicuramente un peccato.

Ritornando però al nostro discorso su Niccolò Fabi c’è da dire che quella del prossimo 25 novembre sarà solo la prima data di un lungo tour che lo porterà in giro per l’Italia sicuramente fino al mese di marzo (in attesa della possibile aggiunta di nuove date), dove il pubblico potrà ascoltare, oltre ai brani del suo ultimo disco, anche gran parte del suo repertorio.

Sulle scene dal 1997, anno in cui uscì il suo  primo album “Il giardiniere”, il signor Fabi ne ha fatta di strada, crescendo di disco in disco, ed arrivando ad una maturità sempre più evidente soprattutto a partire da “La cura del tempo” che nel 2003 gli portò tanti bei riscontri da parte della critica.

Non va dimenticato, cronologicamente parlando, il lavoro successivo (predecessore ideale di “Solo un uomo”), “Novo Mesto”, uscito tre anni fa e che l’artista registrò con la proprio band negli innevati scenari dell’omonima città slovena. In questi ultimi due anni poi Niccolò Fabi si è dedicato a progetti importanti come la produzione del documentario “Live in Sudan”, racconto di un viaggio e di un concerto di beneficenza effettuato nel paese africano, e soprattutto del progetto “Violenza 124″ di cui abbiamo già abbondantemente parlato nel mese precedente a proposito dei Mokadelic, che vi sono stati coinvolti.

Infine arriviamo al 2009, anno in cui egli pubblica “Solo un uomo”, sicuramente uno dei più interessanti lavori discografici italiani dell’anno, concepito e nato nel suo studio romano senza la pressione di alcuna casa discografica (l’accordo con la Universal è arrivato quando l’album era terminato), cosa che ha dato alle dieci canzoni che lo compongono “un’identità ed un suono vicini alla mia musicalità come mai successo in precedenza”  (sue testuali parole presenti nel bootleg). Un disco dove le tematiche sfiorano il privato in brani come “Attesa e inaspettata” piuttosto che “La promessa”, caratterizzati da splendide code musicali, senza però perdere di vista il mondo circostante che ben viene “fotografato” nel brano emblematico “Parole che fanno bene”.

Numerose inoltre le collaborazioni al suo interno: da Enrico Gabrielli, passando per Roberto Dell’Era, sino ad arrivare  al violinista Rodrigo D’Erasmo e al cantautore Pino Marino che firma il testo del suo nuovo singolo “Aliante”, in uscita proprio in questi giorni.

La particolarità di questa nuova avventura “on the road” è data dal fatto che sui vari palchi che il cantautore calcherà vi saranno, di concerto in concerto, ospiti diversi i quali con i loro apporti daranno quel qualcosa in più alla bellissima musica di Niccolò: per le date di Roma e Milano ci sarà Roberto Angelini alla lap steel guitar, mentre in altre occasioni egli avrà al suo fianco gli Gnu Quartet. Tuttavia non mancherà la formazione di base preferita dall’artista, che da tempo lo accompagna, costituita da Fabio Rondanini (batterista di Angelini stesso e che abbiamo già incontrato parlando del progetto dei Calibro 35) alla batteria e alle percussioni, Andrea Di Cesare al violino, Gabriele Lazzarotti al basso e Lorenzo Corti alle chitarre elettriche ed acustiche.

Per conoscere nel dettaglio tutte le date del tour, vi rimandiamo al suo sito, completo anche di biografia, foto, discografia e tanto altro www.niccolofabi.it

Ad inizio articolo potete vedere il videoclip del brano che dà il titolo al disco, “scartato” dalla giuria sanremese di quest’anno per la sua “eccessiva malinconia” (pensate un po’…), ed arrivato in semifinale per il concorso “Premio Miglior Videoclip Italiano 2009″.

Alessandro Basile

If you would give his ‘argument’ to someone who was from the Reformed tradition then I think they would be able to make it better than he does…

I am torn when I read him. He really has important things to say and we should listen. But it is the way that he says it. The way his writing sounds keeps him from being heard by the people he wants to hear him.

The continual shots at the ‘old perspective’ and the newness that he trumps is embraced more by the neophilia of young wannabe church planters with shallow theology than by those who stand on the shoulders of Luther and Calvin. It is frustrating.

We can and should talk about the corporate reality of salvation, our solidarity with Christ, the Abrahamic promise in reading Paul, and the Spirit in salvation without lumping it into ‘New Persepctivish’ thinking. That is the real danger here. The ’spit out the bones’ analogy hardly works because most people don’t want that many bones in their mouths to begin with. We’ll throw it all away and label it ‘bad.’ But, despite the sound of demeaning geocentric illustrations and the like, we still should spend the extra energy needed to hear.

Monday Night RAW

El pasado programa de Monday Night RAW, con Rowdy Roddy Piper, emitido desde el Madison Square Garden, tuvo un buen de rating 3.5, superando el 3.1 de la semana pasada la primera hora fue de 4.92 millones de televidentes & la segunda con 5.18 millones

Por cierto: ¿Por qué en la transmisión de Televisa cortaron  prácticamente todos los segmentos de Rowdy Pipper?

Urs brachte gestern ein kleines Update für das Piper J3 Cub NC487W “Roadrunner” Repaint heraus. Es korrigiert eine Kleinigkeit im VC.

Den Download gibt es hier

Enjoy!

Thus far it seems that the overall feeling on Palin’s book is that it is a weakly voiced, whiny 400-pages of buck passing and finger pointing for her follies and short comings in the run for vice president as well as a self-flagellating recount of her life and family. I have not read it, probably never will unless it is lent to me by someone because I refuse to support her financially and idealistically. I have read a half dozen book reviews and heard her claims on the Newsweek’s ‘sexist’ cover that ran a photo of her taken for a shoot for a running magazine. In a time where she is presumably setting herself up to run for office in 2012 she has penned, or most likely ghost-written, an apparently petty and scathing editorial on those around her for her failings instead of taking responsibility for her lack of basic governing common knowledge and being ill-prepared for the investigative light that comes with the campaign for the high office that she sought.

In many reviews it is said that the book lacks the voice of a ‘leader’. The words are devoid of an overall message of power, strength, conviction, and accountability. She often slams the ‘liberal media’, though she has never shunned the coverage, and her secret desire to get one reporting team ‘slimy’ and dirty, which didn’t happen during a photo op fishing trip she went on with the crew. She felt slighted by those that made her over, and controlled her during the campaign, though this is what campaign managers and PR people get paid to do. She points out many short falls in the campaign in her eyes and speaks at length about the Katie Couric interview debacle that she wasn’t ready for. (That question on ‘what books do you read’ was a serious doozy for her I am sure.) She claims she was misinformed on Couric’s interviewing prowess. Misinformed? It’s Katie Couric, if you have owned a TV in the last 15 years then you should know that that chick swings for the fences in an ‘exclusive interview’ event like yours. Grow a pair, you are mildly educated on the topics you should know so much about, and Couric shoveled her way past your thin vail of a hockey-mom persona to find that there was little behind the mask. You got nailed, as Colbert would say, deal with it.

Whatever the book may be to those that read it, it seems that all is coming to fruition that I predicted so long ago. It will be a best seller, no question, and it will make her a media starlet again, for good or ill. Palin will take the place of the Jon&Kate fiasco on the tabloids, get serious interviews, like the one she had with Oprah pre-book release. She is doing her book tour, which will be a soft pedaling affair where most talk will be of how great her hardcore fans think she is, and how the media is so mean, when it should be her chance to push policy and talk shop, instilling confidence in her as a potential leader. Though this tour and public appearances would be a great chance for her to further her political career and talk policy and begin campaigning as a candidate for 2012 it will probably turn in to a whiny bitch session from stop to stop and TV appearance to TV appearance. Little will be spoken of that isn’t juicy, salacious, and an excuse for her performance and recent activities and this will be a huge mistake on her part if this isn’t taken advantage of as a chance to rally the ‘rogues’ out there that love her no matter what she says.

Sarah is all over the place, and one place she is not happy with being is on the cover of Newsweek. Sure enough, here comes the liberal media with it’s ‘sexist’ cover photo of her in thigh long running shorts, stockings, running shoes, and a long sleeve fleece zipped all the way up. Yes this ‘sexist’ cover showing less skin than a 1940’s ladies one piece bathing suit is a take from a shoot she did for some running magazine with the tag line ‘how do you fix a problem like Sara Palin’, or something to that effect. She claims that this photo is offensive and is sexist. Yes, this photo (a poorly lit and shot photo, the shadows behind her are an egregious slap in the face of exposure compensation and lighting proficiency, a flat lighting ratio, et al, a bad photo) that she volunteered to be in for a running magazine is now sexist on the cover of Newsweek. I don’t see how it wasn’t sexist in one magazine and then sexist in another. Apparently it objectifies her as a sexy woman and this takes away from her as a political figure somehow, as if the McCain team didn’t play her attractive looks and the republicans didn’t get a hard on with her as a poster child, gimme a break. How can you pose for a photo and then complain when a magazine legally obtains the rights to it for publication? It is such a cliched, poorly shot photo, do you see the American flag she leaning on? She prostitutes the word and idea of ‘American’ and ‘patriot’ to the point that the whole concept loses is power and meaning, so really the only thing the photo can be accused of, besides being bad, is that it is a tasteless pander to prostituting the honor and respect we should have for America and truly patriotic people, not those that whore the word out for political gain.

So what is next? Well, she should appear on Larry King Live soon, before he dies. I would say Letterman, but she probably won’t do that after his whole blackmail/affair debacle a while back, so I am betting the Jay Leno Show would like to ‘get’ her. She will make a cameo appearance on Saturday Night Live, possibly this week. I would love to see her on The Daily Show, but that won’t happen, maybe Colbert, but unlikely, and I think she might make a Meet The Press appearance. Palin will hammer the media as they cover her and blast her critics who say she needs to come to terms with her delusions of grandeur and get back in to small politics if she wants to ever make a run at the highest office. There are those that feel she is just not ready for the big show, maybe in 20 years, when age softens her looks as well as hopefully gives her wisdom, she can come in and take a more measured and experienced approach; that is, if she gets back in to smaller state offices now. Her proponents will trumpet the same old line of how great she is, how strong, how smart, and ignore every fact that points to the contrary; and this is who this book is written for, those that she the world through a Palin-made filter.

Sara Palin’s first book should have been a trumpet to call her troops and instill the thrill of victory in to their hearts for 2012. The book cover to cover could have a clarification and idealogical manifesto for the new Republican Party that needed to emerge for victory and a better America. She could have silenced all her critics with a el written and tough out socially conscious piece, and like a Phoenix she could have rose from the ashes of her shortfalls and very public embarrassments. She could have spun a tale of love and devotion in her family, explained away the pregnancy and all that stuff about marital problems, et al. It should have been a speech like something out of 300 that gave you goosebumps and made you just want to kick a door in to see how it felt. Her words, or someone else carefully shaping her words, should have cut to the core of her constituents and should have shed a light on the system she was going so ‘rogue’ from, creating a firestorm of support that would rocket her to near mythical proportions in the coming years. Instead she penned 400-pages of her boring, quaint life growing up and came to the summation that: A) Katie Couric is a bitch; B) Washington D.C. is a cross between ‘sodom and the frozen circle of hell’; and C) that her wardrobe stylist, Lisa A. Kline, was the torpedo that sank the McCain dreamboat to the White House and ruined her beyond repair. Yeah, it was the stylist’s fault. Bra-fucking-vo, Palin, your legacy is intact.

Thomas Pliscjke: Kalte Krieger

Nach “Die Zwerge von Amboss” und “Die Ordenskrieger von Goldberg” gibt es nun einen weiteren Roman des Hamburgers Thomas Plischke im Piper-Verlag: “Kalte Krieger”.

Im Verlagstext heißt es dazu:

“In Portland verschwindet eine junge Frau spurlos, Menschen erfrieren im Hochsommer – als die Psychologiestudentin Amy Marsden dort ihr Pflichtpraktikum absolvieren will, gerät sie in eine Verschwörung von unüberschaubarem Ausmaß. Gemeinsam mit dem Psychologen Michael Beaumont findet sie heraus, dass sie über besondere Fähigkeiten verfügt. Denn es gibt sie wirklich: Menschen mit Superkräften! Und sie leben mitten unter uns. Amy muss sich entscheiden, ob sie auf der Seite der Guten oder der Bösen stehen will.

Der fesselnde neue Thriller von Thomas Plischke.”

Der Roman soll offiziell am 21.11.2009 erscheinen. Wer schon mal hineinschnuppern will, findet hier eine packende Leseprobe: Lesen.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul…”  -Psalm 19:7

“Even on days when every cinder in our soul feels cold, if we crawl to the Word of God and cry out for ears to hear, the cold ashes will be lifted and the tiny spark of life will be fanned.  For ‘the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.’”  -John Piper

[via GirlTalk's post "For Our Profit"]

I am so interested in the American tour that Sarah Palin will be promoting this week for her book Going Rogue: An American Life. I think there is something we all can learn from this. If anything, it is a media spectacle unlike anything ever seen before: Sarah Palin, the former Governor of Alaska, who makes history as the first female Vice Presidential candidate for the Republican Party, dishes her perspective on the inside story behind the McCain campaign. While I haven’t read the book myself, (I plan on buying a copy soon,) it will be interesting to see how this all plays out in the end and how it will bode for the future of national and global politics, if at all.

Friday night was low key since we had a race Saturday morning.

Riker and mike ran the Tuckahoe 5k on Saturday morning; we were the 1^st stroller to cross the finish line; and even though it was rainy and muddy we finished in 20:30.

Saturday evening the Loughs and O’Connell’s came over, the kids had the run of the house (neve, olivia, and riker) while the parents caught up.  It’s so great they’re finally able to play together, but the liked pipers swings the most.

Sunday morning we met the carriers at Great Falls Park; it was 70 degrees and packed.  The kids had a great time hiking and climbing on rocks.  The Petersons and Campbell came over Sunday afternoon; riker loved seeing friends all weekend.

Since I can’t do a Piper Picture of the Day any more, it’s now the Weekly Pictures of Piper.  Here are some from this week.  Vicki reportedly saw Piper smile at the book she was reading (Buddhism for Mothers for her book club), so hopefully, she’ll start smiling at us one of these days.  At the visit with the lactation consultant this past week, after squinting at the scale and rounding up, Piper was a solid 8 lbs.  Piper had her second play date, this time with a much older man (18 months), the son of one of the mother’s in the Mothers’ Club who brought us a dinner.  Piper also asked us to taker her to the TV store yesterday, as she wants to be sure she’ll be able to watch SpongeBob and the Teletubbies in HD when the time comes…

New image in the autumn leaves photoshop contest

Thanks to eirian-stock.deviantart.com …
Piper and guitarist photoshop picture

Das Fantasy-Frühjahr 2010 von Piper interpretiert wie üblich den Fantasy-Begriff sehr weit. Das heißt, Mystery wie “Mr. Monster” von Dan Wells gehört ebenso dazu wie Science-Fiction von Marliese Arold. Bei den wirklichen Fantasy-Romanen fällt auf, dass vor allem Fortsetzungen im Programm stehen. Michael Peinkofer darf weiter zaubern, Tobias Meißner seine Dämonen auf die Welt loslassen und Brandon Sanderson für Robert Jordan am Rad der Zeit drehen.

Piper holt aber einen neuen russischen Autor ins Programm. Alexey Pehov stammt aus Moskau und soll neben Sergej Lukianenko der erfolgreichste Phantastik-Autor Russlands sein. “Schattenwanderer” lautet der Titel seines ersten Romans, der auf Deutsch erscheint.

Ach ja, nach der Vampir-Welle soll die Zombie-Welle die Büchertische überspülen. Thomas Plischke und “Die Zombies” treten bei Piper in dieser Kategorie an. Ob sie den gleichen Sexappeal erreichen wie die Blutsauger?

So bleibt am Ende in Erinnerung, dass das Frühjahr mit Piper ein wenig heitzlos wird – denn einen Roman von Markus Heitz sucht man vergeblich im Programm, was zu seinen Plänen passt.