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Month: April 2008

ANITA LUVERA MAYER – WEAVER AND TEXTILE ARTIST

ANITA LUVERA MAYER – WEAVER AND TEXTILE ARTIST

My sister, Anita Luvera Mayer, of Anacortes, Washington is a talented weaver and textile artist. She has been weaving and working with textiles for over a quarter of a century. She has traveled throughout the United States and Canada as well as around the world giving lectures and conducting workshops. She has published numerous books about her work as well as publishing numerous articles on her work.Two of the most recent books are Clothing From the Hands That Weave and…

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AL McINTOSH EDITOR OF THE ROCK COUNTY STAR HERALD

AL McINTOSH EDITOR OF THE ROCK COUNTY STAR HERALD

If you watched, as I did, Ken Burn’s extraordinary documentary on public television The War you know that he used excerpts of writing from a small town newspaper in Minnesota. The columns that were quoted were narrated by the actor Tom Hanks. The newspaper was the Rock County Star-Herald and the writer was its editor Al McIntosh. The small town paper was published in Luverne, Minnesota. McIntosh was born in 1905 in North Dakota as the son of a pastor…

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“A TIRED AMERICAN SPEAKS OUT” an Editorial by Al McIntosh

“A TIRED AMERICAN SPEAKS OUT” an Editorial by Al McIntosh

I've written about Al Mcintosh, owner and publisher of the Rock County Star Herald whose's writings were featured in Ken Burn's documentary The War. What follows is the editorial by Al McIntosh that made him famous when it was written in 1964 during the turbulent "60's." Newspapers all over the country re-printed it. While written almost a quarter of a century ago. How you react to it is determined by your view of American politics and American life.        …

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FRANK SINATRA AS A TEENAGE REPELLANT

FRANK SINATRA AS A TEENAGE REPELLANT

The news reports a controversy over the use of a device that gives a shrill, piercing noise intended to repel teenage loiters. The $1500 device called the mosquito is bothersome only to children over 12 years of age can be heard by few people beyond the early twenty’s because this age range have sensitive hair cells in their inner ears. Whether you can hear it depends upon how much your hearing has deteriorated. Since being put on the market over…

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EPA SCIENTIST’S REVEAL BUSH ADMINISTRATION POLITICAL PRESSURE

EPA SCIENTIST’S REVEAL BUSH ADMINISTRATION POLITICAL PRESSURE

I have posted many complaints about the Bush administration’s assault on govermental agencies and regulations intended to protect the environment. (See for example: The Bush Administration Tries to Hide the Global Warming Ball Again with a Gag Order 3/9/07) It has done this by appointing people to head agencies controlling regulation of the environment whose assigned role is undermining the regulatory function of the agency. See, for example, post 4/1/07) The Bush white house has also played a significant role…

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THE SCHOONER ALBATROSS & THE TRAGIC WHITE SQUALL

THE SCHOONER ALBATROSS & THE TRAGIC WHITE SQUALL

Jeff Bridges starred in a 1996 movie White Squall, which describes life aboard a ninety two twin masted sailing ship Albatross. The movie is based on a true story of a tragic sinking of the ship. The ship was built in 1920 in Amsterdam as a schooner to serve as a pilot boat in the North Sea. In 1937 it was purchased by the German government and served as a radio station ship for submarines during World War II. In…

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CHARLES ATLAS AND ME

CHARLES ATLAS AND ME

When I was a boy many comics and boys magazines had an ad for Charles Atlas. Charles Atlas was a classically built strong man. The ads usually were a series of comic like drawings showing a skinny young man at the beach with his girl friend, but having sand kicked in his face and being bullied by a bigger young man. The drawings showed him buying the Charles Atlas body building book of instructions and taking his revenge next time…

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Friendship

Friendship

A friend sent me this poem. He said it was an old Irish poem, but I don’t know if that is accurate or not. I don’t know the author of the poem, but I thought it had a very inspiring message about friendship If one day you feel like crying…Call me.I don’t promise that I will make you laugh,But I can cry with you If one day you want to run away–Don’t be afraid to call me.I don’t promise to…

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SUPER CRUNCHERS & WASHING YOUR HANDS

SUPER CRUNCHERS & WASHING YOUR HANDS

I’m reading a box recommended by a friend: Super Crunchers written by Ian Ayres which deals with statistical analysis and numbers. In it he discusses Austrian physician Ignaz Semmelweis who noted, in the 1840’s, that at Vienna General Hospital maternity patients were much more likely to die when treated by doctors who had recently left the autopsy room. He concluded that there was a connection even though germs were unknown. He did a detailed statistical study of the situation. His…

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SOME THOUGHTS FOR A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD BOY

SOME THOUGHTS FOR A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD BOY

I was asked by parents to write something about life to their thirteen year old boy. It was hard to know what I should emphasize out of all the years of learning and reading. I decided to stick to the simple basics. It isn’t very profound, but here it is for what it is worth: The most important thing to know about yourself is that your life is divided into in separate aspects. These include (1) our health and fitness,…

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