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MILLE LACS BAND OF OJIBWE DONATES $42,000 IN SEPTEMBER

2011-10-18T10:19:00.000-07:00

ONAMIA, Minn. – The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe donated $42,384 in monetary and in-kind contributions to a variety of nonprofit organizations and other charitable causes in September.

Each month the Band and its businesses make contributions to community organizations including schools, hospitals, law enforcement agencies, food shelves, and others in Minnesota and nationwide.

In September the Mille Lacs Band donated $1,000 to Brainerd’s Crisis Line and Referral Service to help fund a 24-hour lifeline volunteer program to serve Crow Wing County. The Band also contributed $1,000 to Webb Lake Area First Responders in Spooner, Minnesota, to replace the organization’s defibrillators.

Additionally, the Mille Lacs Band gave $1,000 to Our Place Teen Addictions Recovery Program in Forest Lake to fund programming and support group resources. The Band also donated $800 to the Dakota Wicohan, an organization dedicated to preserving the Dakota language and culture in Morton, Minnesota, to assist with summer camp and after-school activities for native youth.

Other notable contributions include those to Minnesota DARE Inc. for assistance with youth drug prevention, Plymouth’s Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners’ leadership and activity club, Overcomers Outreach Ministries’ recovery center, Moose Lake Area Hockey Association, and the Children’s Hospital Association in Saint Paul.

In September the Band donated to organizations and causes in Aitkin, Anoka, Blue Earth, Carlton, Chisago, Crow Wing, Dakota, Douglas, Freeborn, Hennepin, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, Lake of the Woods, McLeod, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Mower, Olmsted, Pine, Polk, Pope, Ramsey, Renville, Rice, Saint Louis, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley, Stearns, Todd, Wadena, Waseca, Washington, and Wright counties. The Band also donated in Barron, Burnett, Columbia, Eau Claire, and Pierce counties in Wisconsin as well as Floyd County in Iowa.

About the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe is a self-governing, federally recognized Indian tribe located in East Central Minnesota. The Band has more than 4,000 enrolled members, for whom it provides a wide variety of programs and services.

Update on Wisconsin's Iron Mining by Jordan Weinand KBJR News 1

2011-10-03T17:30:00.000-07:00

Updated Oct 3, 2011 at 6:48 PM CDT

NW Wisconsin, (Northlands Newscenter) - Today marks the first day of our week long Community Spotlight on Bayfield, Wisconsin.
A proposed open pit iron ore mine in the Penokee Hills south of Bayfield has many in Northwestern Wisconsin asking for more information

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Bayfield and surrounding areas could benefit from an increase in jobs, but those who oppose the mine say they're concerned for its impact on the environment.

"The waterways are our way of life; hunting, fishing and gathering."

Many members of the Bad River Tribe in Northwestern Wisconsin feel their way of life is threatened by the proposed iron ore mine. And while they and others opposed, understand the economic benefits to the region, they're concerned about long-term damage to the environment.

Tribal leaders recently met with Governor Scott Walker in Madison.

"We had a good initial meeting and I think part of it was we left the door open for having follow ups in terms of what other details they would want to make sure there are clean and effective mines if there was an additional mine in the future."

Bad River Tribal Chair Mike Wiggins said the meeting with the governor gave them the first opportunity to take their message to a larger audience.

"It was just a wonderful opportunity for the tribe in its scarce and limited resources to have a platform to try and assert a voice. A voice that essentially spoke for clean air and clean water."

But other voices are speaking for the economy. They say the region is depressed and unemployment is high. They say a mine could make a huge economic difference to the entire region.

"It could be an economic game changer, at least for a short period of time, in Iron and Ashland Counties. Huge benefits to the creation of jobs and to restaurants and supportive industries."

But the tribe wants to be sure that economic growth doesn't come at the expense of the environment. During their meeting with Governor Walker they presented ten principles they'd like to guide future development.

"We're going to spend more time, getting more details, and trying to figure out if there's a way to do that, not only for the Bad River, but for other tribal governments all throughout the state who have concerns."

The governor promised that a recently formed bipartisan committee will attempt to meet those principles. But that new Senate Mining Committee doesn't include tribal representation.

"The notion that a bipartisan committee is complete as a one side and a two side come together, I would assert that there's a third side and that is the tribes of Wisconsin."

We should point out its not just the tribes who have concerns about the impact of the proposed mine on the environment. Several other groups have formed as well including "Save the Waters Edge" which held a protest gathering this past weekend in the Penokee Hills.

The week old mining committee will need to meet to discuss current laws. The chair of the Committee, Senator Neal Kedzie, hasn't set up anything yet and is working to organize all seven members.

Jordan Weinand
jweinand@northlandsnewscenter.com

Oppidan completes successful multi-tenant building in Twin Ports

2011-09-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

Bed Bath & Beyond, Home Choice, Buffalo Wild Wings
occupy high-traffic retail space in Duluth Minnesota

MINNETONKA, Minn., September 20, 2011 --- After a successful redevelopment by Oppidan Investment Company, a multi-tenant building has now brought three distinct retailers to part of northern Minnesota’s busiest shopping districts. With the recent opening of the first Bed Bath & Beyond in the Twin Ports area, a 36,000 square foot retail building is now once again fully occupied.

“The building looks brand new, Reprise Design worked with us and the City of Duluth to create new and improved architectural elements to the building including new facade, awnings, parking lot lighting, outdoor patio seating, parking lot and a new roof,” said Jay Moore, who was Oppidan’s lead developer on the project. “This is a great example of what Oppidan does best, being able to make an existing facility meet the business needs of three separate retailers.”

The retail building occupied by Bed, Bath & Beyond, Buffalo Wild Wings and Home Choice is located on Miller Trunk Highway, near the intersection of U.S. Highway 53 and State Highway 194, directly across from Miller Hill Mall. The building was originally home to Duluth’s first Gander Mountain store. The highly visible property had been unused since 2005, until Oppidan had the opportunity to redevelop the existing building.

“This was a win-win project for Oppidan and for the shoppers of the region,” said Oppidan president Joe Ryan. “We were able to redevelop a retail space that was unused for a few years, and bring three great businesses to this high-traffic area.”

The Duluth retail location is one of many projects Oppidan has developed across the nation in the past year. The company has also completed facilities for Gander Mountain, Supervalu, Camping World, Orchard Supply Hardware and a number of other major retailers.

About Oppidan Investment

Since 1991, Oppidan Investment Company has been a leader in the merchant real estate development industry because of a simple philosophy established by founder, Joe Ryan: “Deliver value.” Oppidan specializes in assessing, developing and selling properties and has over $1 billion in developed property, in excess of 9 million square feet and 175 successful projects completed to date.

The Battle of Sioux River by Jeff Copenhagen

2011-09-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

The Battle of Sioux River

there was a terrible battle

along the Sioux River years ago

blood ran all the way

to Lake Superior.

one hundred and fifty years later

blood still flows.

these pills will kill me

I know this

they go into an envelope

the word ''powerless'' written on it

given to a man who

asks no questions.

we sit in silence near Siskwit Lake

smoke and watch the water for

signs of life.

there are always signs of life

there are always questions

with no need of answers.

these women these women these women

it doesn't get any easier

I am halfway to fifty

ask a friend who is sixty

when does this stop

when do I get a moments' peace.

he laughs and tells me

you're on your own here brother.

a woman I love and I

have both danced with death.

we know the steps.

they say dance with the one who brought you.

I owe her one more dance

in the summer rain.

this pain, this sadness

all washed away.

step, turn, spin

look up to the sky

my dance card is full.

the bakery down the street

sells these overpriced sandwiches

I buy the turkey avocado

the woman behind the counter is

beautiful, full figured

does this thing with mascara and eye liner

I flirt with her

I don't need to be doing this

with a woman half my age

she doesn't need old bald men

to flirt with her.

neither of us needs this.

gluten free bakery is some serious business.

we both need this.

these are hard won battles.

the blood, if it is meant to

will keep flowing.

--Jeff Copenhagen/Little Way of the North 2011

Iron River Flea Market Book & Craft Sale

2011-09-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

Check out the Flea Market Book & Craft Sale, Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Iron River Community Center 9 a.m. -2 p.m. Sponsored by the Friends of the Evelyn Goldberg Library. Local artists, Crafters and collectors. Tables are $10 each. To reserve tables call Audrey at 715-372-8623. Limited space available.

'Domestic Partnership Registration: Does it Make Sense for You?' By Attorney Richard Lavigne, Main Street Law LLC, Ashland WI 54847

2011-08-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.mainstreetlawllc.com/main-street-blog.html

As of August, 2009, same sex couples in Wisconsin can address some of the disparities in the legal rights afforded to married heterosexual couples by officially registering their relationship as a “domestic partnership” with the office of their local county clerk. The main impact of Wisconsin’s Domestic Partnership Law was to amend a variety of other state laws to grant same sex partners, in certain situations, the same level of recognition and legal authority that have traditionally been provided to heterosexual spouses and family members. Although Wisconsin’s unfortunate constitutional amendment still prevents same sex couples from enjoying the full range of rights and presumptions afforded to legally recognized marriages, the Domestic Partnership Law offers some good reasons to consider officially registering the partnership, not the least of which is that some of the prospective benefits it affords are only available to members of a registered domestic partnership.

Some of the benefits offered by the Domestic Partnership Law include:

1. The right to compensation when your partner is the victim of a crime, and the right to be notified when the offender is released into the community.

2. The right to file suit and receive compensation for the wrongful death of your partner.

3. The privilege to refuse to testify against your partner with respect to any private communication during your domestic relationship.

4. The right to consent to your partner’s admission into a long term care facility and to have private visitation time.

5. The right, under certain circumstances, to disclosure of your partner’s mental health or AODA treatment records.

6. The right to disclosure of your partner’s medical records, so long as your partner has identified you as a person authorized to receive disclosure.

7. The right to family medical leave to care for a seriously partner.

8. The right to receive workers’ compensation or other benefits upon the death of your partner.

The Domestic Partnership Law also addresses some of the property rights issues that same sex couples face upon the death of one partner. For example, it creates a presumption that the listing of both partners on title to property establishes a joint tenancy with title automatically transferring upon death to the surviving spouse. It also grants domestic partners many of the same preferences that a heterosexual spouse would enjoy with respect to the administration of the estate of a deceased partner, including equal treatment when there is no will or when a will unintentionally excludes the surviving partner.

The Domestic Partnership Law is a step in the right direction toward equalizing the treatment of committed couples irrespective of gender, but it still leaves a lot of legal issues unresolved. Even if you register your domestic partnership, you and your partner will still want to strongly consider taking the extra steps necessary to maximize your ability to act on behalf of and in the best interest of the other. Some of the standard estate planning documents that attorneys regularly recommend to married clients are often even more important to same sex couples, including wills, powers of attorney, and medical directives. If you and your partner have significant assets that can’t be cleanly transferred by title or beneficiary designation, such as interests in a business, you will want to consider even more detailed documentation, such as a Domestic Partnership Agreement and possibly a living trust.

UMD Master of Tribal Administration readies for inaugurial year

2011-06-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

More than two years in planning mode, the first-of-its-kind Master of Tribal Administration and Governance (MTAG) degree program at the University of Minnesota Duluth is ready for its inauguration next fall.

American Indian leaders from tribes across the country will have the opportunity to pursue coursework in various classes that include tribal sovereignty, tribal accounting and finance, federal Indian law, leadership and ethics. In addition, tribal language and cultural elements will also be weaved into coursework throughout the program. The UMD Board of Regents approved the program in February, 2010.

“This program will prepare students to apply their skills to manage the daily realities of tribal governance,” said Tadd Johnson, chair of the American Indian Studies Department and MTAG program director at UMD. “There is no program exactly like this. To me this is designed by the tribes.”

What makes this program unique, Johnson explains, it that virtually all of the tribes in Minnesota provided feedback to program coordinators at UMD that emphasizes a “hands-on approach” versus a more traditionally academic theoretical method.

An enrolled member of the Bois Forte

, Johnson worked in Washington D.C. for Sen. Mo Udall (check) and with the Clinton Administration on Indian gaming issues before becoming tribal attorney with the Mill Lac (check)

He is also a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School.

University of Minnesota Duluth graduate and Fond du Lac (check)

Tribe Chairwoman Karen Diver provided input into the process of establishing the program, Johnson said. A graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Public Management (check) at Harvard University, Diver and other tribal leaders persuaded the MTAGH administration to take the exponential approach in designing the degree program.

With tribes positioning themselves to provide a wider range of programs and services for their members, Johnson says the partnership between the tribes as sovereign nations and the university has been one of collaboration.

“The tribes wanted an applied program that dealt with practical things,” Johnson said.

Other leaders agree with the premise.

“We know talented young people who would like to work in tribal government,” said Billie Mason, commissioner of education of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa. “This new degree program will provide the training and development students need to effectively serve their people and build a career.”

The two-year, master’s degree program will begin in late August 2011 and will feature weekly online meetings and face-to-face weekend meetings at the UMD campus every three weeks. The curriculum and schedule will allow students to continue working while pursuing their degree.

The curriculum includes classes on principles of tribal sovereignty, tribal budgets, finance and accounting, principles of tribal management, federal Indian law and leadership and ethics.

Students in the program may already serve as tribal administrators, council members or tribal leaders. The curriculum is based on the roles that tribal administrators, leaders and professionals play in formal and informal situations that support tribal sovereignty and self-determination. Traditional language and culture is an important thread throughout the program.

The two-year program, which begins in Fall 2011, features face-to-face meetings at the UMD campus once every three weeks. Interaction with experts in each area of the curriculum will include special guests as well as UMD faculty, staff and students. The classes at UMD are offered from Friday night until Saturday afternoon. In order to accommodate working professionals and support existing commitments to families and home communities, a portion of the program will be offered online.

"The low-residency schedule was essential to allow American Indian tribal members from throughout the Midwest to attend," Johnson said.

Brian McInnes, assistant professor in the Department of Education, played a significant role by designing the Leadership and Ethics course, which he will teach. UMD is the only university in the country to offer this unique masters program focused on tribal leadership development. Dean Paul Deputy and former Associate Dean Tom Peacock of UMD's College of Education & Human Service Professions played a key role in the early meetings of the concept.

Tribal Collaboration

The program scope was developed by UMD through extensive consultation with tribal governments throughout the Midwest from 2009 through 2010. Johnson and Rick Smith, director of the American Indian Learning Resource Center, spent months meeting with leaders of American Indian tribes.

Continued...

College of Liberal Arts Dean Susan Maher also has been actively involved in the development of this program. She is especially impressed by the support from the American Indian community.

"In October 2010, the 35 tribes of the Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes passed a resolution specifically supporting the program," Maher said. "All of the tribal governments from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa are advocates for this new offering."

Input on Program Development

On Feb. 10, 2011 the University of Minnesota Board of Regents instrumental in the development of MTAG.

On Feb. 10, 2011 the University of Minnesota Board of Regents Many approved of UMD's approach.

Chief Executive Marge Anderson of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe said, "UMD developed this program by asking tribal governments what was needed."

Barb Brodeen, executive director for the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, agreed: "The Bois Forte Band is pleased that the degree program reflects our ideas and wishes."

Assisting the tribes and students was an important goal.

"Many of our talented young people would like to work in Tribal Government," said Billie Mason, commissioner of education of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa. "Thanks to UMD's collaboration with Indian leaders and educators, this new degree program will provide the training and development both current employees and students need to effectively serve their people and build a career."

Smith noted that the elected leaders of tribal governments frequently come from the ranks of the tribal administrators: "UMD may be training some of the next generation of tribal leaders under this program."

Johnson also noted that the collaboration between UMD and tribal governments "will continue in the days and years ahead as the needs of Indian country change."

Continued...

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Most importantly, Johnson believes that an increasing focus on American Indian Studies is vital.

"UMD was one of the first institutions of higher learning in the country to recognize that American Indian studies was a unique discipline," Johnson said. "Since 1972, UMD has taught generations of students the importance of the history, language and culture of Native Americans. Now, we are taking another bold step."

About the Program Director

Tadd Johnson, an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Bois Forte Band is a 1985 graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School. He has served as a tribal administrator, a tribal attorney, a tribal court judge and has taught numerous courses on Federal Indian Law and American Indian History. From 1990-1995, he served as counsel and staff director to the United States House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources in the Office of Indian Affairs

G-Tac postpones mining project in northern Wisconsin

2011-06-22T16:04:00.000-07:00

By Eric Hjerstedt Sharp

OJIBWE TIMES

Critics of the proposed Gogebic Taconite open pit iron mine in Ashland and Iron counties can breathe a little easier ... for a while.

State Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, said Monday he had heard rumors that Gogebic Taconite company officials in Milwaukee had closed the Hurley office and were not proceeding with exploration plans until the Wisconsin legislature rewrites the state’s review process law that could conceivably speed up the state’s permitting requirements for mining.

The Ojibwe Times called immediately called G-Tac’s Hurley office, and although the company’s voice mail system was still working, company officials did not call back prior to press time. However, a Tuesday Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story confirmed that the company would not be proceeding with test drilling that it had recently said it would be starting along an iron ore deposit from Mellen to Upson, roughly following Wisconsin Hwy. 77.

G-TAC official J. Matthew Fifield, told Journal-Sentinel reporter Lee Bergquist that the company “is poised to spend $20 million to $30 million on the next phase of the project - but only if legislation addressing the specific needs of open-pit mining of iron ore is signed into law, he said.

"For us to move forward, we need iron mining laws," Fifield said.

Company officials have claimed the project would employ 700 workers with an average base pay of $60,000. While it had received support from economic development and business groups, the proposed mine didn’t fare as well with environmentalists or Bad River Tribal officials and citizens.

Critics of recent proposed legislation that would speed up the permitting process included Bad River Tribe Chair Mike Wiggins and environmental leaders throughout the state. Wiggins and others criticized the proposed project and permitting process that they say severely threatened ground and surface water surrounding the Bad River that flows into the reservation. They also criticized the proposed permitting legislation that downstate Republicans were drafting in Madison that would take away local governments’ say in determining safe mining standards and other concerns.

Herbster activist Frank Koehn had recently formed a citizens’ group called the Penokee Hills Education Project (PHEP), sponsored by the Mining Impact Coalition of Wisconsin, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization based in Ashland, to address “fast-track proposal(s) to begin iron ore (taconite) mining” in the area (See story, this issue). Members and other environmentalists had planned on attending a meeting tonight at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to discuss the G-Tac project although it was not known if news of the postponement had changed their plans.

“G-Tac tried to change the mining laws to give them unlimited and free access to the waters of the Bad River watershed so they could make billions of dollars,” Koehn said.

Koehn and others are critical that G-Tac had a large amount of input into the process with Republican legislators.

Jauch also criticized the first draft and G-Tac’s dominant role in helping with its drafting. However, Jauch was involved in the rewriting of the bill, and told The Ojibwe Times last month that improvements in the second draft had been made that would give locals more of a say in land use planning.

The draft was never finished, however, and will almost surely not be introduced this session which ends June 30.

“(The) GOP has said it is possible that legislation could be considered in the fall,” Jauch said.

Water Walkers complete journey: Blend waters of the world’s oceans at Bad River

2011-06-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

By Eric Hjerstedt Sharp
OJIBWE TIMES

Odanah ¬– They walked.

The first group started from the west on April 10 in Olympia, Wash., the territory of the Squaxin Island¬-Skokomish. And they headed east. They walked from the east from Machais, Maine, territory of the Passamaquoddy. First Nation people took a train from Churchill, Manitoba to Winnipeg and walked from the north. From the south in Gulfport, Miss., home of the territory of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw, they walked north.

They are the Mother Earth Water Walkers, and in case you haven’t noticed, they are creating quite a media stir in their quest to remind people about the primary importance of water to all people. Camera crews from local, U.S. and Canadian news outlets, print reporters, radio broadcasters and bloggers were among the hundreds of people who headed for the top of Wisconsin last weekend to gather with and welcome the Water Walkers at the Bad River Pow Wow grounds and various other Ojibwe sites in Ashland and Iron counties.

Most of all they have support from people of all colors and creeds along the route. Cars honk and drivers wave in unity to their cause, walkers were quick to point out. As one walker noted: “We all need water; first and foremost.”

Along the way they walked through communities, reservations, cities, farmland and small townships. Each day they walked. “Ni guh Ishi chigay Nibi onji,” they say. (I will do it for the water). Bringing sea water from the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Ocean and Hudson Bay, with a caravan of vehicles to provide safety, food and first aid – not to mention comfort and even music along the way – they trudged through the highway miles each day. The lead women carrying the copper pails of ocean water, the lead men carrying eagle feather staffs, they pushed baby carts and walked hand in hand with the older children. A large number of elders walked, as did walkers they met along the way that could spare a few dozen miles before returning home.

And they walked.

More than 10 million steps in all. Led by Thunder Bay, Ont. Elder Josephine Mandamin, a First Nations water commissioner who has participated in her sixth Water Walk, a graduate of 2003, ’05, ’06, 07 and 2010, Mandamin, 69, is the guiding force and inspiration for all the Water Walkers and their tens of thousands of supporters from around North America and the world. A woman from Belgium heard about the Water Walk over the Internet and flew over the Atlantic just to gather with them at Bad River and hug Josephine.

The event was a social network phenomenon, with thousands of followers on facebook and Twitter, everyone who “followed” them was swamped with “alerts” indicating changes in schedules, real time blogs relating everything from weather conditions to reactions in various communities enroute. “Look for us on facebook,” read a message on a support vehicle parked along U.S. 2; while the groups from the north, west and south walked up Birch Hill to Cedar to meet with the east walkers Saturday.

The walkers from the east who, according to organizers, had stayed in Ironwood, Mich. Friday night before resuming their walk through Iron County. Led by Madeleine T. Huntjens, the group came into Cedar singing. Spirits were high despite the long days of walking, the stiff muscles and the aches and pains each morning. “I woke up with blisters,” said one walker Thursday morning, I feel like a real Water Walker now.”

Mandamin had met up with the large group of walkers from the east, (She had walked with all four groups, for at least 10 days each) and walked with them to Cedar and the ceremony at Three Fires Mide Lodge and Ojibwe Language Immersion Center.

The walkers from the south, led by Sharon Day of Minneapolis, arrived in Lac Courte Oreilles last week, where there were ceremonies at the LCO Powwow grounds. Walkers also celebrated at Fond du Lac Reservation and Duluth, Minn. this past week.

On Tuesday, the women walkers from the north and west attended a public event at Park Point in Duluth. The two groups had met up a day earlier at Fond du Lac for a women’s sweat lodge, one organizer said Monday.

Leading the walk from Duluth to Bad River, Elsie Leoso¬-Corbine, 52, Bad River, took time out from her walk to contact The Ojibwe Times and other area media earlier this week. The message was urgent: People must act now to preserve the integrity of water everywhere.

“(The journey) is bringing awareness about the importance of keeping our water clean for future generations ... for our great, great grandchildren who we will probably never see.”

In Duluth, Mayor Don Ness proclaimed June 7 as Mother Earth Water Walk Day. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker followed suit and signed a proclamation proclaiming the Water Walk Day in Wisconsin for June 11, the day the walkers from the four directions met up.

“The 2011 Mother Earth Water Walk is about future generations and sustainability, organizers claim. “We are conducting the walk to draw attention to the importance of water in sustaining life.”

Leoso-Corbine called this year’s water walk “The Woodstock of environmental issues ...”

It is no coincidence that the Water Walk takes place in the spring, and that women are carrying the water, according to walk organizers. Spring is a time of renewal and women are traditionally the keepers of the water, they said. Men, however, were asked to carry the staff in the long journey from the continent’s oceans.

Coming into LCO last week, Day and other walkers from the south were met with stormy weather, but the clouds passed and the weather warmed just in time for ceremonies at the Honor the Earth Powwow grounds.

Each walker was committed to completing this spiritual journey, but none more committed than Mandamin. A grandmother, Mandamin shares her concern for the waters of the Great Lakes, used by more than 35 million people of Canada and the United States.

Starting out with the Walkers from the west in Olympia, Wash. Led by Dawnis Kennedy, Mandamin walked with them for 10 days beginning on April 9. She then met up with the walkers from Gulfport, Miss. also walking with them for 10 days.

The importance of water to Mandamin? “It’s life,” she said. “Not just for us, but for everybody.”

Mandamin is optimistic about the health of the planet and the opportunity to keep water clean. “Everything is changing,” she said of people’s attitudes. “The spirit is changing everywhere.”

After the four groups of walkers met up, at the Three Fires Midewinin Lodge in Cedar, a few hundred yards away, Saturday, Bad River Elder Eddy Benton led a tobacco prayer for the walkers and the water.

“In this lodge,” Benton said, “we have heard so many stories about our ancestors and your ancestors. And we know that they are your ancestors because you have come to be with us today.

He said the most important thing for native people is to keep their heritage and culture. Next to the sacred fire, with lodge members tossing into it tobacco and cedar needles, he spoke: “Do not forget the people who no longer speak the language … Do not leave them behind … ”

Walker Carol Hopkins also spoke, especially about Mandamin. She said the spirit for the Water Walk came from this lodge when Benton said several decades ago that “Water would someday be worth more than gold,” and also that someday someone would walk around the lakes to focus on the worth of water.

“What are we going to do to take care of this water?,” Hopkins said Benton asked. “Add a price tag (to the water, as he predicted), is going to cause a lot of things to happen. I know it to be true. Who is going to put action to this? And it was our sister Josephine that began the Water Walks.

“Water is not only a natural resource, but it has a spirit,” Hopkins said. “The reason for the eagle staff is to create the path to protect the water. This spirit started here (Cedar) before there was a lodge.”

“Nothing deters her,” Hopkins said of Mandamin. “Nothing gets in her way. It didn’t matter if it was raining. It didn’t matter if we were whining about our blisters. She kept walking. She had knee surgery between water walks, but she kept walking.”

Back at the Bad River Powwow Grounds, several other tribal members spoke, including environmentalists who spoke out against the proposed Gogebic Taconite open pit mine between Upson and Mellen.

Northland College Professor Joe Rose calls Old Odanah home: “I grew up a couple of blocks from here,” he said. “No heat … we got our water from town pumps. It was the best time of my life, and it was good water.

“Now the ground water is so polluted. This proposed mine … it scares the hell out of me. It (the mine) is at the headwaters and it’s all downhill from there. I’ve never seen a clean mining operation and I’ve traveled all over.

“The proposed legislation eliminates the need for local needs to be considered for mining approval. Local approval would no longer be required, and it would allow private wells and surface water to be drawn down. It subjects private land owners to water draw downs and may create an ‘eminent domain’ scenario.”

Bad River Chairman Mike Wiggins, Jr., also spoke at the powwow grounds. He told people it was symbolic that the first draft of the proposed rewrite of the state mining legislation was slated to be in its final form on June 11, but instead June 11 was the day the walkers gathered at Bad River.

“With an open pit mine, there is water pollution,” Wiggins said. “Sulfate pollution is a destroyer of wild rice.” The very same open pit mining that has devastated the Minnesota rice beds was caused by sulfate pollution. With sulfate pollution there is a tremendous amount of mercury that is released … that we see in our fish, in our bodies, that is causing learning disabilities in our children.

“In the Great Lakes, there are already fish advisories. There is a tremendous amount of impacts. Our way of life is threatened. The spiritual connection to the creator: that we are here for a short time and these things are gifts for us.

“We’ve already been eroded here in Indian Country,” Wiggins said. “We’re still grieving that we can’t drink the surface water. It goes hand-in-hand with what’s happening to other indigenous people around the world. When we talk about the water it’s hard to get people to listen.

“In this economy, It’s jobs, jobs, jobs. The timing (of the Water Walk) has been cosmic … that notion that it was meant to happen. The legislation was to have happened on June 11. Since then the legislation has been pulled back. I know that the Water Walkers had a lot to do with that too.

“It all goes kaput if we don’t have water to drink. For Bad River, I want to say thank you … Miigwiich … they were all totally needed. We’re water people. We’re people of the water. We are the wealthiest tribe I’ve ever seen. In our water, in our woods. Ninety percent of our reservation is wilderness.

“We’re interested in staying around for the next 1,000 years,” Wiggins concluded. “When (the mine project proposal) goes away, all the people of northern Wisconsin are going to benefit.

On Sunday, the Water Workers walked their final steps of this journey to Waverly Beach close to where the Bad River empties into Lake Superior. There, the Mandamin and the other elders from the various tribes across North America emptied their copper pails of water from the oceans into Gitchee Gumee.

The public was invited, but like parts of the tobacco ceremony at the Three Fires lodge, the press was asked to not take photos or videos.

The buckets of salt water gathered with waters from Lake Superior. The Mother Earth Water Walk 2011 was completed. The walkers had come full circle. The struggle, however, is not over, and walkers no doubt will be once again be organizing another water walk to focus attention on the importance of water.

An unexpected guest at Park Point Rummage Sale

2011-06-13T16:31:00.001-07:00

http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/home/An-Unexpected-Guest-at-Park-Point-Rummage-Sale-123699904.html

2011-06-13T16:29:00.001-07:00

League of Conservation Voters:

2011-05-25T17:03:00.000-07:00

With the formation of the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, Wisconsin's environment found its political voice." _ Gaylord Nelson, former Senator, Gov. Founder of Earth Day, former Honorary Chair of WLCV.

Live from the Northern Great Lakes XXXXXXX Center

2011-05-25T17:01:00.000-07:00

Regarding the Bill to change the mining bill in Wisconsin: I would be surprised if it's not done by June."_State Rep. Janet Bewley, D-Ashland.

Miners' Mural

2011-04-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

http://minersmemorialmural.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/artist-schedule-painting/#comment-3

Walker Tear Down that Bill !

2011-04-21T14:39:00.001-07:00

Birch-bark letter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch_bark_document)

2011-04-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

Flag of Novia Scotia

2011-04-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

Ojibwe Times: Wiggins delivers State of the Tribes address in Madison

2011-04-16T11:27:00.000-07:00

By Eric Hjerstedt Sharp

MADISON ¬¬– Calling for cooperative environmental stewardship regarding the proposed open pit iron mining adjacent to the Bad River Reservation, Chairman Michael Wiggins, Jr. received praise for his annual State of the Tribes address in at the State Capitol in Madison by both tribal and state legislative leaders Tuesday following the event.

Wiggins speech packed the State Assembly with tribal leaders, government officials and 96 state senate and assembly members following an outdoor ceremony Tuesday morning. Although the Capitol building was still locked down, requiring participants to show their I.D.’s to gain entry, the massive protest crowds that have marked the lawn in recent weeks over Gov. Scott Walker’s collective bargaining policy were not present. Neither was Walker; although Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen and other state officials were inside for the speech.

“Most people will never see where the water they drink comes out of the ground,” Wiggins said. “ … Our lands and water define who we are as Ojibwe people.” Wiggins cited naturalist Sigurd Olson’s book Runes of the North in recognizing the “paradigm shift” in discovering the “wonderment and awe” of the north. Wiggins also proposed a partnership between native and non-native people to help preserve Wisconsin’s unique environment. He said he was “looking forward to more work … more cooperation.”

Stating “they knew we were coming here today,” Wiggins referred to a Madison newspaper’s above-the-fold headline: “Mine seen as economic boon,” as a concern of his with regards to an example of environmental activity of concern of “all people of Wisconsin – tribal and non-tribal.”

Gogebic Taconite is proposing development of an open pit mine just east of the Bad River Reservation in Ashland and Iron counties. Mine owners say the mine would generate as many as 700 jobs, with hundreds more indirectly employed throughout northern Wisconsin.

However, there is criticism by some area residents, such as Nick Vander Puy of La Pointe, who writes about environmental issues from his Superior Broadcast Network. “About the only thing better than Mike Wiggin’s speech would have been to erect a lodge with ironwood poles inside the capital and occupy the site until the mining companies pack up and leave our territory.

“It felt really good hearing Bad River leader Mike Wiggins invite non-Indian support fighting (the mine),” Vander Puy added.

Lac du Flambeau Tribal Chairman Tom Maulson said Tuesday that he also has concerns about the mining in Ashland and Iron counties.

“Why do we have to dig in the ground for minerals that are already out of the ground,” Maulson said. “I’m dead set against mining.”

Wiggins also covered a variety of topics including joint management of tribal and state governance, tourism, land and water stewardship, job training and economic development and law enforcement.

Mic Isham, Lac Courte Oreilles, also praised Wiggins address. Chairman of the Voigt Inter-Tribal Task Force, Isham said after the speech that wildlife and other environmental amenities are what establish “family memories” that make northern Wisconsin attractive.

Wisconsin state Sen. Robert Jauch called Wiggin’s address “a remarkable speech.” He respectively … reminded us that we should honor the earth.”

Ho Chunk President Wilfrid “Willy” Cleveland credited the state’s tribal conference for coming up with the ideas that were incorporated into the annual State of the Tribes Address.

LCO tribal member David Coons said it was “a powerful speech” pointing particularly to the mining and sovereignty issues Wiggins addressed.

Oneida Nation Chairman Rick Hill said the speech covered the important topics of protecting the environment, health care, economic development, education and elder issues.

Eric Hjerstedt Sharp begins career at Ojibwe Times

2011-04-16T11:10:00.001-07:00

Eric Hjerstedt Sharp of Iron River is the new managing editor at the Ojibwe Times. Sharp will share a variety of duties with publisher and editor Joe Morey. He will also be contributing to the Lac du Flambeau Review.

Most recently a staff writer at the Reader Weekly in Duluth, he was also with the Ironwood (Mich.) Daily Globe, and The County Journal in Washburn. Sharp has been a reporter and editor at newspapers in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Colorado. He was also recently an online editor at BusinessNorth in Duluth, Minn.

A freelance writer for such publications as the Reader Weekly, the Rocky Mountain News, Bloomsbury Review, Perfect Duluth Day and others, he also blogs extensively and has written news releases for several area businesses. He has also edited and published five books for various authors, including his own book: Rune Tailings (Sharp Tongue Press, 1995). Besides his editorial duties at the Ojibwe Times, Sharp will be selling and designing advertising copy for both the print and online edition. He will also be involved with the publication’s new social network site: RezLoops.

A multi-generational native of Wisconsin on both sides of his family, his great-grandfather was a logging teamster and farmer in the Cable area. On his mother’s side, an ancestor moved to La Pointe in the 1830s, before Wisconsin was a state. His father is a retired Osteopathic physician and surgeon in Waterloo; while his mother raised, trained and showed Alaskan Malamutes and was for a while was an active real estate broker. She died in 2009 in Iron River.

While at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley where he was graduated from, Sharp played rugby, ski raced and worked for the college newspaper. Following a career as a ski instructor in Colorado, Montana as well as the Midwest, he began writing for newspapers and magazines. He graduated from A.D. Johnston High School in Bessemer, Mich. and got his first job as a ski instructor at nearby Big Powderhorn Mountain.

“It’s great to be working with Joe at the Ojibwe Times, and I am thrilled to be working in this beautiful area where I was brought up,” Sharp said. “I remember coming to Telemark when it was still a downhill ski area, before Indianhead opened, after which time my family skied there. I also remember coming to Turtle-Flambeau Flowage as a Boy Scout, and some of my best memories are of exploring the lake country there and nearby at the family cabin on Pine Lake in Oma.”

In 2008, Sharp enrolled in a graduate-level online class at Harvard University Extension School after receiving a scholarship from Eli Lilly and Company. He hopes to someday continue in the graduate school while researching the side of his family that settled in Massachusetts in the 1600s and later moved to Wisconsin. Most of all, he said, he likes writing about the people and places of the North.

“Everyone has a story to tell. I have never lived in such a diverse and interesting place,” he said.

2011-04-11T12:23:00.001-07:00

Livestream Broadcast Wisconsin State of the Tribes Address
News From Indian Country - Monday, 11 April 2011

Newspaper Rock: Conservatives want to nullify laws, Indians

2011-04-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

Newspaper Rock: Conservatives want to nullify laws, Indians

Lawsuit withdrawn after Minnesota legislature exempts Iron Range Resources from environmental review

2011-03-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

By The Center for Biological Diversity

DULUTH, Minn.— A change in state law exempting Iron Range Resources from Minnesota’s environmental review requirements prompted conservationists today to dismiss their lawsuit against the agency. The lawsuit had been filed to challenge a premature and illegal loan by Iron Range Resources to PolyMet Mining Company, which is pursuing the state’s first open-pit sulfide mine but has not obtained the required environmental approvals. Instead of addressing the problems identified in the lawsuit, the state simply changed the longstanding rules to benefit the mining proposal.

“Passing new legislation that weakens environmental requirements in response to a lawsuit is public policy at its worst,” said Marc Fink, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity.

The lawsuit was filed in January in response to the Iron Range Resources’ approval of a $4 million loan to PolyMet at its December board meeting. State agencies are prohibited by the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act from authorizing loans to projects that are still going through the environmental review process. The purpose is to ensure that there is no bias in favor of proposals prior to the completion of environmental review. In response, the state legislature passed a new law exempting Iron Range Resources from the definition of “government unit” under the statute.

“The new legislation undermines a critical component of environmental review, which is for the state to withhold permits, loans or approvals until it has been determined that a proposal meets the state’s environmental standards,” said Betsy Daub, of Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness.

The exemption of Iron Range Resources from the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act was offered as a floor amendment by Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia when a related bill was being considered by the House of Representatives. No hearings were held on the exemption, there was no public notice, and the effect of the provision was not described fully before passage.

“We are extremely disappointed that the legislature exempted Iron Range Resources from environmental review without any public process,” said Le Lind of Save Lake Superior Association. “The only reason an agency on the Iron Range is being treated differently is to bolster the highly controversial sulfide mine proposals.”

In prior comments, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rated the PolyMet mine proposal as “environmentally unsatisfactory-inadequate” due to unacceptable and long-term water-quality impacts. The tribal cooperating agencies also determined that the proposed mining project would need to treat wastewater for “hundreds or thousands of years” to avoid contamination of nearby surface waters. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is currently working with federal agencies to prepare a supplemental environmental analysis for the proposed PolyMet mine project after the initial draft received critical reviews from other agencies, tribal scientists and the public.

The proposed mine site is located on the Superior National Forest, but PolyMet owns the mineral rights. PolyMet’s proposed mine is not allowed on Superior National Forest lands, which has triggered a proposed land exchange between the Forest Service and PolyMet. The $4 million loan from the Iron Range Resources Board would be used by PolyMet to purchase lands to be exchanged with the Forest Service for the proposed mine site.

The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Save Lake Superior Association, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness and Indigenous Environmental Network.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 320,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

huh?

2011-03-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

from March 22, 2011 DNT, Hiring of police chief questioned, page 1.

"The city manager for Benson, Rob Wolfington, who supervised Crace at the time of the disciplinary actions, called the infractions minor.

"In my judgement, he had not exercised the expected sufficiently high standard of professional conduct and that he had, thereby, failed to maintain the expected and, in my o9pinion, appropriate supervisor-subordinate relationship relative to those particular situation," he said.

HUH ... !

Deed offers publication for investors, emerging businesses

2011-03-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release Contact: Monte Hanson, 651-259-7149

ST. PAUL - A new publication for people who want to learn more about the state's new Angel Tax Credit Program and securities registration is being offered by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

"Minnesota's Angel Tax - Small Corporate Offering Registration (SCOR)" covers eligibility requirements for the angel tax credit, how the credit works and other details. A separate section explains the Small Corporate Offering Registration (SCOR), which can help businesses raise capital by simplifying the securities registration process.

The publication was a collaborative effort of DEED and the Minneapolis-based law firm of Larkin Hoffman.

"Minnesota has a strong tradition of innovation and growth through small firms," said DEED Commissioner Mark Phillips. "The new angel tax credit will offer a substantial incentive to investors and will direct crucial funding to start-up businesses. The section on SCOR will appeal to similar audiences."

DEED launched its Angel Tax Credit Program last July to provide an incentive for investors and funds to put money into emerging companies focused on high technology or new proprietary technology. The program includes a 25 percent individual income tax credit for qualified investors.

In its first six months, the program attracted $28 million in investments for 66 Minnesota businesses and $7 million in tax credits for 258 investors.

"Minnesota's Angel Tax - Small Corporate Offering Registration (SCOR)" is available for no charge in hard copy and on CD by calling DEED's Small Business Assistance Office at 651-259-7476. It is also available for direct download on the DEED website at www.tinyurl.com/angelSCOR.

DEED is the state's principal economic development agency, promoting business recruitment, expansion and retention, workforce development, international trade and community development. For more details about the agency and our services, visit us at www.PositivelyMinnesota.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PositivelyMN.

“Prospects for the Arrowhead: What Do You Want For Your Future?”

2011-03-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Reply |Stern, Laurie to Patty
show details 10:49 AM (2 hours ago)

March 14, 2011
Contact: Laurie Stern
lstern@mpr.org
651-290-1049

MPR News and Northland’s NewsCenter Present
“Prospects for the Arrowhead: What Do You Want For Your Future?”
Tuesday, April 5 at Radisson Harborview

Admission is free and the public is invited to attend

WHAT: MPR News and Northland’s NewsCenter are hosting a community conversation about the economic future of Northeastern Minnesota. An economic evolution is underway in the Arrowhead region. New mining projects, continued development along the North Shore, the growth of health care and increasing numbers of self-employed workers present a fresh generation of choices.
While the economy shows signs of life, the path to prosperity raises tough questions about jobs and quality of life. Host Cathy Wurzer from MPR News and Barbara Reyelts from Northland’s News Center will conduct an invigorating and important discussion.

“Prospects for the Arrowhead” is the third in a series of statewide events to be hosted by MPR News. The events are collaborations between MPR News and greater Minnesota news organizations to explore local issues, and are made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. “Prospects for the Arrowhead” is co-sponsored by Northland’s NewsCenter.

"We are thrilled to work with MPR News to explore the economic options in Northeastern Minnesota,” says Barbara Reyelts, News Manager for Northland’s NewsCenter. “Northeastern Minnesota has unique economic potential and some hard choices to make.”

“Northland’s NewsCenter covers the gamut of economic issues in the Arrowhead,” says Chris Worthington, managing director of MPR News. “We’re looking forward to a lively discussion. We know what happens in the Arrowhead will affect the whole state.”

The media organizations will work together on taped interviews leading up to the event.

WHEN: 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 5. Free pre-event reception begins at 6:00 p.m.
WHERE: Radisson Harborview Great Hall, 505 West Superior Street, Duluth. Parking is free.
TICKETS: Admission is free, but RSVP is requested by going to mprnews.org/arrowhead

Twitter

2011-02-23T09:26:00.001-08:00

Actual Democracy in Bad River by Nick Vander Puy

2011-02-10T10:49:00.001-08:00

Carl Sack to miningmoolah

show details 7:26 PM (17 hours ago)

Next meeting 6 PM February 28 at the Bad River Elder Center, behind the Casino on US 2.

http://ashlandcurrent.com/opinion/11/02/09/anti-mining-meeting-example-actual-democracy

Anti-Mining Meeting Example Of Actual Democracy

Opinion
February 9, 2011 - 4:52am
Guest Opinion

Some of the great things about the anti-mining meeting last week on the Bad River res was that we all had a comfortable place to sit in the circle, the event started with singing, and everybody who wanted to had an opportunity to talk.

A warrior stood by the drum holding the eagle feather staff. There was no overseer/moderator in a tie and suit harrying us and limiting our questions or comments.

The meeting focused on efforts by the Cline Mining group to open a large, metallic sulfide, acid producing, open pit mine in the Penokees, upstream from the reservation sugar bushes, wild rice beds and Chequamegon Bay. The event lasted as long as it needed to.

After the drum opening, elder Joe Rose told a creation story about the responsibility Anishinaabeg have to care for the creation. According to Rose a companion in this quest is Ma’iingun, the wolf, who travelled around Nokomis Aki (Grandmother Earth) with Anishinaabe naming the hills, the mountains, the plants, the rivers and other animals. The original man and the wolf became brothers on this journey, but the time came for them to move down different paths.

The Creator said, “Now you must part. But you are much alike. You will both be feared, misunderstood, and persecuted. You will both be hunted for your hair. What happens to one will happen to the other. You will remain brothers. A day will come when you will re-unite. What happens to one of you will happen to the other.”

One of the women in the circle mentioned a black wolf was found dead earlier this year near Birch Hill off highway two on the reservation. She said a funeral for this creature is necessary.

Several students from Northland College attended. Chuck Whitebird from Odanah mentioned his connection to the struggle on the Keweenaw Peninsula in upper Michigan where the Keweenaw Bay Indian community (KBIC) and allies are fighting to stop Kennecott from constructing a metallic sulfide mine near sacred Migiiziwasin (Eagle Rock). Whitebird explained the word “kennecott” means death in a tribal language.

Serving as an advocate journalist the past 20 years I mentioned how we fought the anti-treaty movement in Wisconsin, during the ‘eighties and ‘nineties and the successful fight against Exxon building an acid producing silver and gold mine less than a mile upstream from the Mole Lake Chippewa community and their sacred wild rice beds.

The Bad River tribal chair Mike Wiggins Jr. sang on the drum. He mentioned he’d be giving the annual State of the Tribes address to the Wisconsin state legislature. He plans to challenge the Wisconsin governor and call upon other tribes throughout Wisconsin and the ceded territory and Canada to assist our fight protecting the earth.

Wiggins mentioned he isn’t in agreement with the chair of the National Congress of American Indians who recently called for an increase in oil and gas extraction from Indian Country. Wiggins challenged the circle to find out more information about who’s the real money behind the Cline Mining Corporation for our next meeting Feb. 28 around 6 p.m. at the Bad River Elder Center behind the casino east of Ashland, off U.S. Highway 2.

According to Saginaw Chippewa member Marty Curry, who lives on Madeline Island, tribes ought to offer conservation jobs, selective timber harvest, habitat improvement, and wild rice re-reseeding to the community. Curry says, “We shouldn’t trade two hundred years of hunting, fishing, basket making, sugar bushing and gathering wild rice for 35 years of mining jobs.”

A fluent elder Tony DePerry, enrolled on the Red Cliff reserve, spoke in ojbiwemowin about the impact of mining and logging practices in the Canadian bush. He mentioned he serves the people as a herbalogist and that he’s wary of modern day pesticide spraying practices in the woods.

The final word of the evening came from Bad River okitchidaa (warrior, protector) Butch Stone from Bad River who said the conversation this evening reminded him about the conversation in the community when the okitichidaa about fifteen years ago blockaded the acid train crossing the reservation which hastened the closing of the White Pine copper mine on Lake Superior.

This opinion piece was written by Nick Vander Puy, of La Pointe.

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Get Ready for new Shoreland Zoning Rules in Wisconsin

2011-01-05T14:23:00.000-08:00

http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/uwexlakes/law/nr115_jan_2010.pdf

http://www.entropicjournal.blogspot.com/

2010-10-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

Entropic Journal

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Greed and Growth

Greed alone does not explain the growth imperative. Given constantly-rising labor productivity (i.e. lower labor inputs per unit output), the only way to stave off rising unemployment is to constantly increase consumption. But does it make any sense to blame productivity? Should we castigate CNC lathes and imprison programmable logic controllers? That would make as much sense as flogging gasoline pumps for failing to display prices which are onerous enough to make “people” conserve. Talk about passing the buck!

No, the growth imperative is the inevitable result of a spiritual deficit: we-the-people do not behave like we want to need human labor. Our actions indicate we’d rather employ fossil fuels and motorized machines and computers than employ human sweat, human craftsmanship, and human cogitation. God help us, we don’t even want to employ our own legs to get from “a” to “b” anymore. Why? Because we can get more for less that way. In fact sometimes it seems like we’re all swept up in a rat-race to get something for nothing.

The crisis which grips us today is not (yet) one of insufficient energy and raw-material inputs for “healthy economic growth”. Nor is it (yet) one of insufficient output of material goods for people in “advanced” economies. Our waistlines and landscapes are stark reminders that we already have far more Doritos and Escalades and McMansions than we “need”.

The crisis is rooted in our failure to choose to need one-another. The crisis is rooted in our willingness to “outsource” responsibility for a fundamental human need: to be needed - to labor and create for a purpose beyond ourselves. The fact that most of us expect “government” and/or “the economy” to shoulder this duty – a duty of brotherhood – is proof of our insanity.

We are damned fools to expect corporations or bankers or the educational system or elected leaders (especially those at higher levels) to do anything about this. They are but symptoms which emerge from the disease.

Posted by HanZiBoi at 10:56 AM 0 comments

Monday, August 23, 2010

Transportation Kinetics

The laws of kinetic energy for a hot gas beautifully describe our default behaviors in the complex network of interconnected “pressure vessels” we call our transportation corridors. Small things that move slowly get whacked by big things that move fast. Either the meek learn to get the hell out of the way; or they get with the program, bulk up, and shift into high gear.

It’s really not much more complicated than that. Not unless significant numbers of “molecules” choose to behave as though they are responsible for the impacts of their momentum on other molecules. And if that happens – Whoa! The changes which occur could begin to seem…well, intentional. As though something like intelligence might be at work. We might even see some respect for the little guy. But more on that later.

First, why do so many molecules want to go somewhere else so often in the first place? Why aren’t they happy being where they already are? And why are so many of the places where they want to go located so far apart? Why isn’t “a” next-door to “b” more often?

Well, that’s easy! The more kinetic energy you pump into the system, the further apart things get pushed!! (Duh.) In fact our transportation network here in the USA is a fantastic system for continuously manufacturing “needs” for more – and bigger – and longer – high-pressure pipes. Which, in turn, continuously manufactures “needs” for more energy, more machinery, more development, and more land. It’s quite the positive-feedback loop: great for investors, businesses, units of government, and employment. Tax revenues grow; the DOT and other bureaucracies swell; and politicians buy votes with the pork they deliver to the Highway Lobby. Meanwhile society can avoid balancing current expenditures with current income. You could base a whole damned economy on it. For a while, anyway.

Back to my point. For various reasons, lots of people think there are serious problems with transportation. So let’s consider some of the “solutions” that are being proposed.

(1) The overwhelming majority seem to think the way to solve the problem is to expand the high-pressure pipe network. Well, “think” isn’t really the right word; it’s their default behavior that does the thinking…and the voting. That’s why their default solution is mostly about accommodating more and more big, fast molecules. True, many people SAY they want the small and the slow to have a fair shake, but they don’t really mean it. Momentum speaks louder than words.

(2) Some people – a distinct minority – believe that if enough low-pressure pipes are added to the network, most of the molecules will have a choice as to which pipes they use: high-pressure pipes if they want to be big and fast, or low-pressure pipes if they want to be small and slow.

It’s a nice idea, but there are serious problems with it. Maybe even insurmountable ones, especially if we are at all serious about the “most” having a “choice”. Why? The existing network consists primarily of high-pressure pipes. Even if we focus on areas where molecules tend to congregate, most are places which are richly interconnected with high-pressure pipes but poorly connected with low-pressure ones. Installing new low-pressure pipes parallel to so many existing high-pressure pipes would cost a fortune. Maybe even an empire.

So who would pay for it? If you consider where the big, fast molecules REALLY like to live (exurbia), you will find damn few low-pressure pipes. Why? Avoiding the costs of low-pressure pipes is one big reason why so many big, fast molecules move there! Not only that, but most of these upwardly-mobile molecules spend most of their time “off the reservation”, congesting high-pressure pipes in places where they don’t BEGIN to pay their fair share. The system is already bankrupt, running on IOUs from children who can’t even vote yet.

Then there is the matter of proximity. Fast molecules couldn't care less about destination “a” being close to “b” – ten or twenty miles seem mighty short when you’re really truckin’ down a high-pressure pipe. But pity the slow molecules! Even if there is a low-pressure pipe running parallel to a high-pressure one (so the slow guys don’t run the risk getting whacked), the TIME it takes can be a killer. Moving slow, it feels like darn near everything is just too far away.

Last, we must not forget that all parallel pipes eventually have to intersect. And it’s a tough engineering challenge to build these intersections so that the small, slow molecules can safely cross the high-pressure pipes. Especially when you have big, fast molecules who don’t much like being restrained. You know, high momentum dudes who behave as though having to wait for slowpokes is…well…an insult! “Move over, a**hole!!” “Get the f**k out of my road!”

(3) A few people have their fingers crossed that the energy supply for the high-momentum molecules will eventually dwindle; the pressure will go down in the high-pressure pipes; and somehow the system will become more “humane” for small, slow guys. Maybe they are right. Probably they are right. It might take a while, though. And it’s sort of weird, expecting pipes to get “humane”. Like “pipes” caused the problem in the first place! Meanwhile, it’s obvious that the energy supply for the big and fast hasn’t run out yet. So many of the folks who are waiting for the dwindling conclude the best they can do right now is to buckle up themselves and their kids inside a big-ish molecule too. OK, one that’s not-so-big…but not-so-small, either! Then if they get whacked by a really big, fast molecule, it won’t be a guaranteed death sentence.

(4..?) Might there be another possibility – one which doesn’t require huge numbers of additional pipes…or…having to run out of energy? Like, what would happen if millions of molecules…just…began to choose to have less momentum more often? Hmm…maybe when we brush our teeth tonight, we could look in the mirror for clues about how to make it happen.

Posted by HanZiBoi at 4:15 PM 3 comments

Friday, August 13, 2010

The Solution to Jobless Growth

The solution to Jobless Growth is:

Growthless Jobs! Now that wasn't so hard, was it? Reverse the words and Presto! The solution to all of our problems.

Really, it makes sense. Consider what we have right now in our economy. Lots of businessmen (and women) who set out with the explicit intention to sell toasters, cars, corn chips, open-heart surgery – stuff like that. Lots of investors with a laser-beam focus on getting Higher Returns. And darn near every consumer bound and determined to get More Stuff for Less.

Given these intentions, what have we got to show for it? Exactly what one would expect: lots of toaster manufacturing; profits on toaster sales; toasters in our basements, in our attics and storage lockers, on our garage sale tables. More toasters than we need…and unemployed people who have good reason to worry about not being needed.

Hmm…no need for so many toasters…not enough need for people who need to be needed. Could it be that our intentions are the problem? More precisely, a LACK of intent? A BIG lack? A black hole, in fact?

Amidst all our intentions to make and sell and profit on and acquire more toasters than we need (along with more than enough other stuff), where is our intention to need people?

Could this have something to do with passing the buck? OK, we all love to blame Government whenever unemployment rears its ugly head. Business executives with factories run by automated machines don't even blink when they scream bloody murder about how Government is preventing them from creating jobs. Even the candidates play along, making all kinds of promises about the jobs THEY are going to “create”…after (of course!) they blame the opposition party for unemployment...and every other ill in the world.

But what if the whole thing was a ruse, a huge lie we tell ourselves in order to avoid yet another Inconvenient Truth? Forget outsourcing toaster-manufacturing, what happens in an economy when darn near everyone "outsources" responsibility for making sure that people who need to be needed…are needed?

The thing that makes it really tough is this: we can get More Stuff for Less – and Higher Returns to boot! – when we outsource employment to fossil fuels, machines, and automation. Year after year, more Productivity, more “saving” labor. What the heck, who needs other human beings these days?

Oops, we still need them to consume the stuff our machines are making. So…is there some way to make machines that consume? THAT would be sweet! Cars that drive themselves to McDonalds and order high-fructose corn syrup (straight up) from serving-robots. That's right, skip the distillery, skip turning most of the corn into cow-manure (another disposal problem!), we're talking about hyper-mobile, perpetually-hungry consumers that wanna LiveGreen GoYellow, baby.

Ye-ha! Kick back and watch the DOW soar! Who knows, with the ethanol subsidy AND “smart” cars ordering corn syrup for themselves at every drive-thru in America, maybe the corn surplus would take care of itself…

Anyway, is a bit of Luddism in order here? As in, enough to make sure that we need one-another? And how about choosing to need our own labor once in a while? Instead of using our legs mostly to press accelerator and brake pedals, what if we used them more often for (Gasp!) self-locomotion? Getting from “a” to “b”?

I got a lot more to say. You want it?

Posted by HanZiBoi at 4:44 PM 2 comments

The Problem of Jobless Growth

First our Leaders told us there were “Green Shoots”. Then they began to tout the Recovery. More recently they have expressed their regrets that the Recovery appears to be Jobless. And now the Recovery itself is floundering.

This is what Business as Usual delivers in 2010: Jobless Growth - when there is any Growth at all.

Meanwhile we all know about Earth’s biophysical limits – and the terrible messes we’ve gotten into by pretending those limits don’t exist. On this (still-) living, richly interconnected planet, economic Growth IS the problem!

So is this a case of “damned if we do, damned if we don’t”? Maybe not. Ready to think out of the box? I mean, REALLY out?

(Hint: sometimes the solution becomes obvious when you look at a problem from another direction. So if the problem is “Jobless Growth”…)

Give up? OK, the answer is...drum roll...

{see next post}

Posted by HanZiBoi at 4:42 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

The Spill and You

The following is a transcript of my comments last evening to the trustees of the Village of Oregon, Wisconsin, USA. Perhaps you, dear reader, might find inspiration in it to get up on your hind legs and say something along these lines to your elected public servants...

If anything is clear to me, it is that if we fail to transform the public conversation about responsibility, we will fail period. We will never know whether seeds such as these will bear fruit if we do not plant them.

I am here this evening to speak with you about choosing a relationship to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Not just as individual citizens, but as trustees, as stewards of the public good.

So how might you choose to relate to the spill?

First, you could choose that there isn’t time to discuss the oil spill right now – you already have your hands full with urgent Village business…like budget shortfalls! As someone who has served on the Board, I would respect this choice. I mean that. But please hear me out anyway; I will give you some specific, practical recommendations in a minute or two.

So what else? You could choose that the spill, bad as it is, has nothing to do with us and how we live here. It’s a free country; it’s a free market; and people have a right to burn as much gas as they want.

You could choose that OK, the spill might have something to do with our way of life here, but it isn’t any of your business (or mine!) to tell people how to live. Who wants to rock the boat?

You could choose that if we don’t burn deepwater oil – heck, oil from anywhere else for that matter…well, someone else will. With a fungible commodity like oil, no consumer is responsible.

You could choose that the spill isn’t our fault because we get most of our oil from Canada…where they are clear-cutting forests, strip-mining tar sands, and burning a lot of natural gas to cook out crude. And you’d be right: about 80% of our motor fuel comes from Canadian tar sands right now.

You could choose to react to news of the spill like millions of busy consumers. “OMG those poor pelicans! Did you see John Steward’s spoof about BP last night? It was hilarious! Anyway, they need to nail the jerks who did this…{look at watch}…Oops, gotta go! Have to run my kid to a soccer game in McFarland… Hmm…where the devil are my car keys?”

You could choose that some “they” out there is to blame for the spill…and that “they” had better punish the bad guys…and make “them” clean up the mess…and do a better job enforcing regulations.

You could choose that advanced technology will provide us with all the clean energy we need. Cool! So all we need to do is sit back, wait, and buy an electric car when they are available.

You could choose that we have no choice but to burn gasoline. By God we need it! End of conversation.

You could choose that OK, we do have some choices here in Oregon about how much gasoline we burn…and yes, we should all do our part!...

…but realistically we don’t have that many options, and realistically, the little bit of oil that we use here (or don’t use) can’t possibly make any difference, so…

…really, what we need is a NATIONAL energy policy; we need higher prices to force people to conserve; obviously the President and Congress need to tackle these big issues. The most important thing for us to do is to elect the right candidates…and support the right legislation.

Here is another possibility. You could choose that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has everything to do with how we have chosen to live here. You could choose that a future without such spills – without raping the landscape – without occupations and wars over oil and other resources – without deprivation and misery visiting upon our children – you could choose that all these things have everything to do with how we choose to live here tomorrow.

You could choose that as citizens we have a duty to act. You could choose that as elected officials you will seek possibilities to learn, participate and be inspired; to inform, advocate, and enact.

I promised specifics:

(1) Commit to bringing commuter transit to Oregon. Put the wheels back on the Oregon-Area Public Transit Committee and get it rolling again. Tell trustee {name of the guy who chairs the moribund committe} that you’re on board. Let the Dane County RTA board know that YOU want to help make commuter transit a reality here. Work with the RTA. Attend its meetings if you can; keep abreast of proceedings in any case. The RTA board is looking for members of an Advisory Committee – especially representatives from outside the current RTA boundaries. How about volunteering?

(2) Tell the citizenry you believe that all of us have a duty to walk lightly on Earth. Tell them you want Oregon to be a community where it is NORMAL for us to walk…and roll about in wheelchairs…and ride bicycles…and push strollers…and pull Radio Fliers – and where it is NORMAL for us to share transit. These things work best when we do them together! That is why it is so important to bring transit service here.

(3) Choose to walk and bike when you “don’t have enough time”…when it is too hot, too cold, too wet, too dark. Choose to walk and bike when the streets are plowed but many sidewalks and bike paths are snow-covered and slippery. Choose to push a stroller to the library (or pull some groceries home in a wagon) when the curb-cuts are plowed shut. Roughly a third of your constituents cannot drive, and most don’t have access to 24/7 chauffeur service. Many motorists who could walk and bike are waiting to be led and inspired. More people than you might suspect are afraid to be alone on our sidewalks and streets. They are hoping and waiting for me…and you…to take the first step. You won’t learn the first thing about getting around in Oregon without a car – from the inside of a windshield. Choose to learn.

Posted by HanZiBoi at 10:11 AM 3 comments

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Productivity Plunges

April 1, 2011 New York, NY

A Bloomberg poll of leading US economists found that 79% were “shocked” or “dismayed” by the recently-readjusted Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that labor productivity in the United States plunged by 13.8% in 2010. Asked how they felt about the corresponding sharp decline in U3 unemployment – from 10.1% to 6.3% - 31% of these economists said improved employment numbers were “welcome”, but 88% considered the correlation (between falling productivity and falling unemployment) “counterintuitive” or “irrelevant”. All agreed that the top priority must be to return to increased productivity and healthy economic growth as rapidly as possible.

In addition to the improved employment situation there were other signs of progress last year. The US trade deficit fell by 18.4% in 2010 as demand for petroleum products and imported consumer goods “fell off a cliff”. Consumption of energy overall, demand for minerals and metals, and purchases of snack food products all showed steep declines, and total vehicle-miles-traveled dropped an astonishing 13.4%. Household debt fell by 15.8% as consumers saved more and spent less.

Climate scientists were delighted to announce that US emissions of greenhouse gasses in 2010 went down by 12.6% - a result which bolsters Stanford University Professor Clausius Carnot’s contention that nuclear and renewable energy sources can provide much larger percentages of US electricity usage when electricity consumption declines. Professor Carnot has generated much controversy – and elicited more than a little scorn from the Wall Street Journal editorial board – for his radical theory that climate change is being driven by “an excess of economic metabolism”.

The good news extends to health as well. “People are happier when they have useful work to do”, noted Dr. Howard Frumkin of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. “Moreover, with the steep reductions in automobile usage and petroleum consumption, more and more people are employing their legs and arms to do physical work. When it becomes normal for people to walk or bike to the grocery store and other nearby destinations, this definitely hurts the auto industry, the oil industry, the roadbuilders, and so on. Hell, it even hurts the health-care industry, because obesity is the primary engine of growth for the medical sector of our economy. So we have this weird situation where the economy is shrinking but people are better off. We’re in uncharted waters.”

But none of America’s most prominent economic thinkers is willing to concede that a mere year’s worth of evidence might disprove long-established economic theory. Thomas Friedman of the New York Times notes, “Everyone knows that the only way to grow the economy is to increase labor productivity – to grow output of goods and services per hour of human labor. And everyone knows that the only way to maintain healthy levels of employment is to increase consumption sufficiently to offset the decreases in employment per unit of output. This is Econ 101, for God’s sake.”

“So even if we presume Earth is flat, how could less employment for fossil fuels and less employment for machines translate into more employment for human beings? This sounds like the ravings of the Luddites; like Marx and his ridiculous ‘crisis of surplus labor’. Well, we are a lot smarter now; smart enough to know that such ideas are pure bunk.”

Posted by HanZiBoi at 11:10 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Non-Violent Transportation

Want more Peace on Earth? And more living Earth available for Peace?

Choose Non-Violent Transportation.

Small. Because the Footprints of human feet and bicycle tires are miniscule relative to the Footprints of cars.

Slow. Make wherever you are...the place where you want to be.

Gentle. Living things which might cross your path have a right not merely to not be harmed by you, but to not be afraid of you.

Posted by HanZiBoi at 8:49 PM 2 comments

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Greed and Growth

► August (3)

Transportation Kinetics

The Solution to Jobless Growth

The Problem of Jobless Growth

► July (1)

The Spill and You

► March (2)

Productivity Plunges

Non-Violent Transportation

► February (2)

I Am Scared

Communities That Walk

► 2009 (13)

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Not in Kansas Anymore

Willful Ignorance

► October (1)

Manufactured Uselessness

► September (1)

Economic Liberty and Moral Chains

► August (1)

Urban? For What Species?

► May (1)

What's at Stake

► April (2)

Fatal Pace

Sinking In

► March (1)

This is Freedom?

► February (2)

The Secret

End of Consumption

► January (2)

Independence vs Splendid Isolation

Missing the Bottom Line

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Rail Efficiencies

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On the Spot

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New World Order

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Technology & Self-Restraint

No Race for Small Footprints

► June (2)

Elephant in the Drop-Off Zone

Election Spin 2008

► May (2)

Habitat Follows Behavior

The Surge

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Mow Is Less

Green Car Checklist

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Global Warming "Religion"?

Kunstler's Nightmare

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BusinessNorth Exclusive: Kayaking grows in popularity

2010-06-16T15:37:00.000-07:00

6/16/2010

by Catherine Conlan

As the summer approaches and temperatures rise, people flock to Lake Superior for cool relief. Increasingly, they’re exploring the big lake on kayaks.

Northland outfitters and retailers don’t have hard numbers, but have observed there’s a steadily rising interest in kayaking.

“Statistics aren’t available, but I can tell you there’s been steady growth,” said Ed Kale, founder of Apostle Island Kayak on Madeline Island. His words were interrupted by a call from Missouri. After telling the customer how to ship a kayak, he confirmed, “It’s getting crazy.”

Larger crafts – sailboats and fishing boats – have always been on Lake Superior, but increasingly, kayak paddlers and kayak beginners are discovering lots to like about the sport. Increased opportunities for people to try it out – such as at festivals or through guided trips – have made kayaking a much more visible and less specialized sport.

“I think the appeal for kayaking is independence,” said Scott Neustel, owner of the Ski Hut in Duluth. “It’s a single craft, kind of like a bicycle. Kayaking is the same way. With canoeing, you always have to find someone else. Kayaking on Lake Superior...it’s quite an experience. You’re just a small speck on the large body of water.”

Lake Superior offers a wide variety of places to kayak and see the shore in a new way.

“On the North Shore, there aren’t too many places to paddle except the shore itself,” Neustel said. “There are a lot of places with sheer cliffs, and those are interesting to paddle – Silver Cliff, Palisade Head, Shovel Point – but you need to be aware that even though you’re close to shore, there’s no place to land. But really, anywhere along the North Shore is interesting, especially near the state parks. You’re not paddling past houses and you’re seeing Lake Superior in its wild state.”

Along the South Shore, Neustel said. “There’s the Apostle Islands and the sea caves, and along the Canadian side of Lake Superior, up by Rossport, Ontario, there are lots of islands. That’s a larger archipelago than the Apostles.”

“The only way to see Madeline Island is by kayak,” Kale asserted. His company offers overnight rentals so people can kayak to other islands and camp.

The rise in kayaking has continued for the last 10 to 15 years, outfitters said, trending with both environmental and health awareness. The Two Harbors Kayak Festival, which offers races and kayaking demos, will celebrate its 13th year in August, “and that event attracts about 500 people to Burlington Bay,” said Neustel, who serves on the event’s board. “It used to be, you’d see a car driving around with a kayak on the top and you knew who it was. Now, you don’t. And in my store, 20 years ago I had five brands of canoes and one brand of kayak. Now it’s the opposite. That’s how much it’s grown.”

It’s a fairly easy sport to learn, outfitters said, and many recommend trying one out at a festival or demo site before buying.

“… you can put (customers) into the most stable boats and then move them up into a less stable boat,” said Andrew Teichmiller, owner of Chequamegon Adventures Co. in Minocqua. “As they get to trying out maybe the third … maybe it’s less stable, but they’ve learned the difference in a short period of time and will feel like it’s the most stable boat.”

Teichmiller said a new recreational kayak can run about $500 to $1,000 with a “really nice” paddle and paddling life jacket.

“You can go nuts and spend thousands, and some people discover that’s what they want to do,” he said, but it’s not necessary. “Another thing about paddle sports is that no gas is required, so after that initial investment, typically most of our customers are in the type of boats where it’s a one-time investment.”

As with canoes or other boats, Teichmiller said, it’s possible to trade up. As long as it’s stored properly, a kayak will last a long time.

For paddling on Lake Superior, Neustel recommended a spray skirt, which is worn around the waist and makes a seal to keep water out of the cockpit; a paddle float; a hand-held bilge pump, and a wet suit.

“On Lake Superior, you need to dress for it,” he said. “If you do fall out, you need to have something that will keep you alive out there until you get back on a kayak.”

As with canoes and other watercraft, kayaks are specialized by size and shape for different types of water. A kayak for an inland lake would be dangerous on Lake Superior.

And while solitude and quiet are big draws for kayakers, paddling on Lake Superior is risky without a partner, outfitters said.

“A lot of people (paddle alone) on inland lakes on a calm quiet evening…but with changing conditions, you need to respect Lake Superior.

“The water is, for me, peace and quiet,” Kale said. “You can get away on the water. It very quickly becomes a life sport.”

What was it like Loving Mailer? Read below:

2010-04-12T14:59:00.000-07:00

Loving Mailer, Mallory, Carole, Phoenix Books, Beverly Hills, Cal. 2009, ISBN - 13- 978-1-60747-715-0, 201 pages.

Carole Mallory provides fresh insight into Norman Mailer the writer and lover in her tell-all memoir being released in April, 2010. Most of all, however, Mallory expels any doubt that she can weave a tale that holds the reader spellbound.
A former airline stewardess, supermodel, actress (The Stepford Wives, Looking for Mr. GoodBar) and celebrity journalist, Mallory reveals herself in this confessional book with an honest and often surprising look at her own and Mailer's sexuality and conversation on the art of writing. A love affair that lasted almost a decade, their story is explicit. Mallory - who is happily married today - recounts her life while being Mailer's mistress and credits him, in large part, with the writer she became.

A self-proclaimed (former) alcoholic, Mallory credits writing as her passion and recounts for the reader the time when sex played an addictive role in her life as well. As she told Larry King in a 1988 interview following publication of her novel "Flash," writing is the fourth step to recovery."

She had stopped drinking before meeting Mailer, and she even tried to get him to quit. Although he doesn't, he becomes her writing mentor.In fact, it was Mailer that convinced her to hone her interviewing skills, which later landed her interviews with Isabella Rossellini, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Lieber and Stroller, Joseph Kennedy II, Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Heller, Erica Jong, Jay McInerney, Chevy Chase, Dudly Moore, Milos Forman, Gore Vidal, James Ivory, Michel Apted, Lord David Puttnam, Julian Lennon, Mrs. Vincent Astor, Jesse Jackson and, of course, Mailer himself, nine times. In addition, her novel "Flash" put her in the limelight around this same time.

"With each interview, my clout as a journalist grew and so was the use Norman Mailer could make of my skills, my connections with garnering publicity, and my place in the journalistic marketplace -- that is the magazine world -- a world unto its own," Mallory writes.

Whether one purchases "Loving Mailer" for the sexual encounters it reveals; or to gain fresh insight into
how writers learn from one another; the book is well worth the read. In this writer's opinion, Mallory is the
more exciting and revealing of the two, which might have been why Harvard University purchased her notes on the love affair for an undisclosed price.

And while sex, and even more so the lovers' interest in writing, are the glue that hold the book together;
it is Mallory herself who steals the show here. Open, tantalizing and refreshingly honest, she's a class act
who holds the reader's attention. Most likely, you'll find you can't put it down and you'll read it in one sitting.

Not only does it give a new perspective to Mailer's writings; but you'll hope Mallory herself comes out soon
with another spellbinding account of her journalistic rise to excellence.

B.R. turns 80 ... (old post but interesting ...

2010-01-27T15:06:00.000-08:00

http://www.evergreenreview.com/105/b_day/b_day1.html

featured in NEW YORK PRESS,

JUNE 5-11, 2002

written by Jim Knipfel

Photos by Regina Cherry

go to ... http://www.evergreenreview.com/105/b_day/b_day1.html for photos
\
article is posted below:
BACK in 1951, a then 29 year old Barney Rosset bought a small publishing concern on Grove St. By the end of that decade, he had firmly established himself as one of the most important and influential men, not only in American publishing, but in terms of American culture as well.He introduced American readers to Beckett, Ionesco, Harold Pinter and Jean Genet. He brought national attention to the Beats long before they were called "Beats." In 1959, he fought for and won the right to publish the long-banned Lady Chatterly's Lover. He did the same for Naked Lunch and about half of everything Henry Miller wrote. Grove's literary journal Evergreen Review (also edited by Rosset) published everyone from Jean-Paul Sartre to Terry Southern. And throughout the 60s, Rosset was even involved in the film distribution business - focusing mostly on then - shocking European, um, "art" films like I Am Curious(Yellow). He was an iconoclast from the start - but he wasn't simply out to shock and disturb people (though he often did). Things that people found shocking at the time were things he recognized as valuable, important and honest works of art - and the passage of time has proven him right.

Rosset has long since sold Grove and moved on to other publishing ventures. These days, he's still editing Evergreen Review Online (http://www.evergreenreview.com), and remains a tireless crusader for First Amendment and free speech issues.

Well, Rosset turned 80 last week, and so a few friends decided to hold a little get-together in his honor at an enormous loft overlooking the intersection of Broadway and Bleecker St.

Not being someone who frequents parties of any kind, I'm afraid I can't very well provide a laundry list of all the luminaries in attendance. The overcrowded room still had that luminary - rich feel about it, though - no denying that. There was a fellow who looked like Norman Mailer but wasn't, and another who looked like George Plimpton and probably was. Photographer Arne Svenson was there, as was John Oakes, of Four Walls Eight Windows. Matt Dillon was there, too, looking mildly uncomfortable. There was some question as to why, exactly, Matt Dillon might be there, until I remembered his Burroughs connection-as well as the fact that he recently recorded an unabridged audio version of On the Road. With only a few exceptions, most everyone in the room seemed close to Rosset, age-wise.

Morgan and I and our friend Gary were there because we are all currently involved in the upcoming DVD release of Quiet Days in Clichy - a 1970 Dutch film (which Rosset had distributed in the States) based on a Henry Miller novel (which Rosset had published). We were going to be filming an interview with Rosset for the DVD a week later, and this was to be our official first introduction.

We worked our way through the crowd to where Rosset stood in the corner, greeting a seemingly endless line of well-wishers. He's a small man, bespectacled, with a great shock of white hair and an enormous - yet still impish-smile. He still seemed to have an awful lot of energy for a man who was turning 80.

Gary introduced us all, explaining who we were and why we were there. "Ahh," Rosset said as he shook our hands, "I've been thinking about this, and it put my whole life into perspective." You could tell from his eyes that he was about to launch into a story. Rosset, along with everything else, is famous for his stories. "The year was 1970," he began. "Fresno, California..." Unfortunately, before he had a chance to continue any further, someone stepped between us, grabbed Rosset's hand and began talking about something else.

The three of us worked our way back through the crowd and took a seat on what turned out to be the world's most comfortable sofa. Then we stayed there a while, wondering if we'd ever find out what happened to Barney Rosset in Fresno, CA, in 1970.

---Jim Knipfel

don’t forget: Ink ‘n Coffee Writers Workshop January 23! Register Now!

2010-01-18T16:16:00.000-08:00

don’t forget: Ink ‘n Coffee Writers Workshop January 23! Register Now!

just a tidbit of useless knowledge, but it may be of interest of writers in Michigan: Judith Guest (Ordinary People) is the great-niece of Edgar A. Guest, who was at one time the Poet Laureate of Michigan and who wrote a poem a day for the Detroit Free Press for forty years.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to perform at Big Top next summer

2010-01-18T11:30:00.000-08:00

Big Top Announces First Show of the Year

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will perform a pair of concerts at Bayfield’s canvas jewel Big Top Chautauqua on July 17th and 18th. Both 7:30pm performances will be recorded by the band for a possible “Live from Big Top” album. Tickets for either the Saturday or Sunday shows are $48/$40/$32.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band formed in Southern California during the spring of 1966 as a scruffy, young jug band. Forty‐two years later, the quartet (Jeff Hanna, Jimmie Fadden, Bob Carpenter and John McEuen) is still going strong.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s self‐titled debut album, released in 1967, included the pop hit “Buy For Me The Rain.” But it was their 5th record, 1970’s Uncle Charlie and His Dog Teddy, that would become the band’s breakthrough project, yielding 3 pop hits including their version of Jerry Jeff Walker's “Mr. Bojangles.” Among the many outstanding tracks on Uncle Charlie was a version of Earl Scruggs’ “Randy Lynn Rag.” That cut set into motion what would become the Will the Circle be Unbroken album, a veritable summit of talent which included NDGB’s heroes: Scruggs, Doc Watson, Merle Travis, Roy Acuff and Mother Maybelle Carter. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Circle... album, a three‐LP set, recorded live in the studio in Nashville over six days in 1971, became a landmark event and a multi‐platinum success. Circle remains such a significant effort, that 30 years later it was one of 50 recordings to be honored and preserved by the Library of Congress.

In the early 80’s, after a few more pop hits, the band returned to Nashville once again and began what would become a highly successful career in mainstream country music. Hits that included “Dance Little Jean,” "Workin' Man", "Long Hard Road", “Baby's Got A Hold On Me” and “Fishin' in the Dark” put them at the top of the country charts for over a decade. In 1989, the group revisited the Circle concept, gathering another impressive roster of performers (including Johnny Cash, EmmyLou Harris, Levon Helm, Chet Atkins, Bruce Hornsby, John Hiatt and Roseanne Cash) for sessions that had a pronounced country‐gospel feel. Circle II would go on to win three Grammy Awards and the Country Music Association Album of the Year. In 2002 Circle III (with many current artists added to the previous cast) received similar accolades and attention, garnering the International Bluegrass Music Association Recorded Event of the Year award as well as leading to a 2005 Grammy for Country Instrumental Performance (with Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Jerry Douglas and the late Vassar Clements).

With a career that spans five decades, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has gone from a hippie jug‐band to pioneers of country rock, and their influence is still being felt today.

Information, schedules and ticket prices are available at www.bigtop.org or by calling 888-BIG-TENT (888–244-8368).

You don't fish for Musky: You HUNT 'em !

2009-10-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

Anglers long to hook a musky. Allusive, sought after and BIG; the muskellunge knows few predators. One of those is man. You fish for walleye, trout and panfish.

You hunt musky.

Once again, fishermen (and fisherwomen) will be competing for up to $5,000 in prizes in the 4th annual Iron River Musky Tournament on the Pike Lake Chain, Oct. 24 and 25. And again, the BATTLE AXE SALOON on the corner of U.S. 2 and Bayfield County B (South) in Iron River will be where the action is ... when you're not out there casting for this rare fish. Position drawing and music at the Battle Axe Saloon from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday.

The catch-n-release, non-transport tournament starts at 7 a.m. Saturday on any Pike Chain lake of your choosing. Judges will be out on the water until 4 p.m.

Food and music at the Battle Axe from 6 p.m. to close Saturday.
Sunday's fishing action continues at 7 a.m. on the Pike Lake Chain until 2 p.m..
Food and awards at the BATTLE AXE from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday.

The 4th Annual Iron River Musky Tournament is sponsored by the Battle Axe Saloon, Woods & Water Outfitters of Iron River and NJ Custom Builders.

American Book Cooperative moves to Main Street West location in Ashland

2009-09-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

The American Book Cooperative will soon be moving to its new location at 3rd Ave. and Main Street West in Ashland.

Conveniently located across the street from Book World on Main Street West, The American Book Cooperative will specialize in antiquated and used books as well as books by local history authors.

It will also have an extensive collection of area poets and playwrights. Besides being a full-service book store, it will also provide a free book search service for customers.

Book dealers including bookshop owners throughout the region are invited to display portions of their collections as a showcase for their shop or private collections.

Besides marketing on the Internet, ABC will advertise in NorthWordNorth, EcoLogic, The Tall Timber Telegraph and other area online and print publications.

Watch NorthWordNorth for updates on the Grand Opening of the American Book Cooperative.

ALL OUR RELATIONS: NATIVE STRUGGLES FOR LAND AND LIFE

2009-08-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

An excerpt from ALL OUR RELATIONS, NATIVE STRUGGLES FOR LAND AND LIFE. LaDuke, Winona, South End Press, Cambridge, Mass.; Honor the Earth, Minneapolis, Minn., ISBN 0-89608-599-6, $16. Page 197.

"Somewhere between the teachings of western science and those of the Native community there is some agreement on the state of the world. Ecosystems are collapsing, species are going extinct, the polar icecaps are melting, and nuclear bombings and accidents have contaminated the land.

According to Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson, 50,000 species are lost every year. Three-quarters of the world's species of birds are declining, and one-quarter of all mammalian species are endangered. Tropical rainforests, freshwater lakes, and coral reefs are at immediate risk, and global warming and climate change will accelerate the rate of biological decline dramatically.

The writing is on the wall, in bold letters. There is no easy answer, and even scientists themselves seem to recognize the necessity of finding new strategies and understandings. In an unusual gathering in late 1998, for instance, NASA scientist met with Indigenous elders to discuss global warming an to hear the elders' suggestions on possible solutions. The response the scientists received may have been only part of what they had hoped for. As one observer summarized, the elders pretty much responded, 'You did it, you fix it.'

In the final analysis, we humans can say whatever we would like -- rationalize, revise statistical observations, extend deadlines, and make accommodations for a perceived 'common good.' But 'natural law,' as one Yakama fisherman and former director of the Columbia Intertribal Fishing Commission Ted Strong explains, 'is a hard and strict taskmaster.' Dump dioxin into the river, and you will inevitably eat or drink it."

Winona LaDuke speaks out for earth at annual Honor the Earth Benefit Birthday Bash

2009-08-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

by Eric Hjerstedt Sharp
editor-publisher
The Tall Timber Telegraph

LA POINTE, Wis. _ "Madeline Island holds a special spiritual significance," said LaDuke at Tom's Burned Down Cafe Thursday night.

Originally called Mooningwanekaaning ("The Home of the Golden Breasted Woodpecker") Madeline Island is the traditional spiritual center of the Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) people. LaDuke chose Tom's Burned Down Cafe in the town of La Pointe as the venue for her 50th birthday bash and the annual benefit for Honor the Earth, a native-directed and controlled organization of which LaDuke is the executive director. Honor the Earth's mission is "to create awareness and support for indigenous environmental issues and leverage needed financial and political resources for the survival of sustainable indigenous communities. Honor the Earth develops these resources by using music, the arts, media and indigenous wisdom to ask people to recognize our joint dependency on the earth and be a voice for those who are not heard," according to the organization's mission statement.

LaDuke and the staff of Honor the Earth urged participants to be aware of local food communities and to follow sustainable paths to help the earth heal after centuries of neglect and resource depletion.

Native rocker Keith Secola on guitar and others joined the celebration at Tom's Burned Down Cafe for an evening of music and dance. Secola was joined by Chequamegon Bay-area musicians including Laughing Fox (Michael "Scooter" Charette, flute), Marky Rossow (Marky Mark sax, banjo and drums) and others at the event.

Photos by Chad Lampson, The Tall Timber Telegraph photographer and technical editor

FLUTIST LAUGHING FOX from Red Cliff, Wis. constructs his own flutes. A poet and artist, he has taught people of all ages.

Winona LaDuke

2009-08-29T11:05:00.001-07:00

It was an honor meeting Winona LaDuke at Tom's Burned Down Cafe at La Pointe, Wis. Thursday night. Shown here signing her book All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life at her birthday party and fundraiser for Honor the Earth.

2009-07-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

This is just a sampling of events THIS weekend in beautiful, bountiful Bayfield Peninsula: compiled by The Tall Timber Telegram, coming soon to a computer near you at www.talltimbertelegram.com

send news and events to: news@talltimbertelegram.com
reserve ad space at ads@talltimbertelegram.com

CORNUCOPIA
TIKI BAR AT VILLAGE INN

July 24 - Andy Noyse
July 25 - 6-9 Russian Church 100th Annv.

(featuring the Balalaika Orchestra)
July 25 - 9-midnight Upnorth Haircut

IRON RIVER

Live Music at Boogies Saloon
Friday, July 24
Busterville plays Rock, Rythm & Blues live at 9:30 p.m.

Live Music at Boogies Saloon
Saturday, July 25
My Device plays Rock live at 9:30 p.m.

Porch Concert Series-White Winter Winery
Sunday, July 26 Spotted Mule, riginal tunes & a few covers for fun.

Held outside rain or shine from 1-4 p.m.

Patrick O'Neill

2009-03-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

Patrick O'Neill is an English professor at Gogebic Community College in Ironwood, Michigan. He read from his newest book Deciduous March 19, 2009 at Nora's Red Carpet Lounge in Hurley, Wisconsin.

He also read from unpublished works.

Patrick O'Neil at Nora's Red Carpet Lounge

2009-03-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

American Life in Poetry: Column 208

2009-03-18T08:29:00.001-07:00

Welcome to American Life in Poetry. For information on permissions and usage, or to download a PDF version of the column, visit www.americanlifeinpoetry.org.

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American Life in Poetry: Column 208

BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006

To have a helpful companion as you travel through life is a marvelous gift. This poem by Gerald Fleming, a long-time teacher in the San Francisco public schools, celebrates just such a relationship.

Long Marriage

You're worried, so you wake her
& you talk into the dark:
Do you think I have cancer, you
say, or Were there worms
in that meat, or Do you think
our son is OK, and it's
wonderful, really--almost
ceremonial as you feel
the vessel of your worry pass
miraculously from you to her--
Gee, the rain sounds so beautiful,
you say--I'm going back to sleep.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright (c)2005 by Gerald Fleming. Reprinted from "Swimmer Climbing onto Shore," by Gerald Fleming, Sixteen Rivers Press, San Francisco, 2005, by permission of the author. Introduction copyright (c) 2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

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American Life in Poetry provides newspapers and online publications with a free weekly column featuring contemporary American poems. The sole mission of this project is to promote poetry: American Life in Poetry seeks to create a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. There are no costs for reprinting the columns; we do require that you register your publication here and that the text of the column be reproduced without alteration.

Ojibewegan:A Community Writing Group

2009-03-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

Ojibewegan:A Community Writing Group

-share family stories and personal journeys

-craft a written record through poetry

-experience the works of contemporary Ojibwe poets

When: Tuedays from 2:00-4:00 p.m. beginning April 14-May 5

Where: Bad River Elderly Nutrition Center

Who: All community members, family and friends are invited

Refreshments will be served. Hope to see you there!

The writing group is FREE
and funded by the Woodrow Hall Jumpstart Award

Group facilitator is Jan Chronister, English instructor at LCOOCC Bad River Outreach Site.Please direct questions to Sandy Corbine at the Bad River Elderly Nutrition Center, (715) 682-7150 or Jan at janchronister@yahoo.com

2009-01-11T09:44:00.000-08:00

"A change in the weather is known to be extreme
But what's the sense of changing horses in midstream?"_Bob Dylan, from "You're a Big Girl Now.

Dylan had a way with words, we all know that, but did he predict climate change?
Probably not consciously, but the evidence that something is changing is quite obvious -- even to the amateur naturalist.

Droughts come and go. Weather warms and cools in cycles. It always has. But obviously something’s happening with the climate .."You don't need a weather man..." as Dylan also sang in a more popular lyric.

Ask anyone who's out in the woods or on the big lake if they've ever seen anything like this: Shoals popping up where you used to sail over with no concerns for your keel. Try to dig lately last summer? Dry dirt (red clay) for several feet down even in the late spring.

Global warming. It’s everywhere. According to climate scientists, last year was the warmest year on average throughout the United States in more than 100 years in 48 states. Furthermore, the last nine years have all compared with last year in average temperature, they just didn’t peak quite as high.

For us lay people, that means it’s hot.

Up until the late 1980s, the record temperature of a high-altitude town in Colorado called Fairplay was 79. The town most recently made famous by South Park is at almost 10,000 feet above sea level. But a few years ago, the high temp topped 80 and above. Since then, the little town atop the Rocky Mountains has experienced several days in the 80s.

As a Scout decades ago, I remember camping up north here and experiencing cool weather every morning during any month of the year. It was never hot, in fact we didn't spend much time in the water -- even in the inland lakes -- because we just didn't need to go in to cool off. It just wasn't that warm.

Ask that old farmer who used to plant cool weather seed crops about the weather. Now he's buying corn seed and planting it, not to eat, but as a cash crop for bio-fuels.

Other seed crops are also being considered to fuel vehicles too, and start-up efforts to develop these innovative alternative fuel centers have been popping up north here for the last few years. A small-scale center is even being considered for the Ashland area.

Whether you call it global warming or climate change or whatever -- predicting the weather has gone mainstream.

Even as early as the 70s, a small group of scientists had been predicting global warming. Few, unfortunately, believed them. Some even considered these people out of touch with reality; the rest ignored their findings and considered the idea that humans could actually change weather patterns significantly as radical or far-fetched.

The reality is, however, that climate change is progressing faster than even many of those scientists thought it would. We’ve all heard reports about melting glaciers and icebergs, but take a look around at our own backyard.

Local indications of climate change are just as convincing.

Right here in Ashland, the pilings of the former oredocks have always stuck out of the water, but more and more of them are becoming visible. The water at the beaches in Lake Superior is bearable during more of the summer,.

Last summer the temperature soared in the 100’s more than a couple times. Many summer evenings, which once were always cool, are often warm. No one used to have air conditioning in the northwoods; now it’s standard in new spec home construction to install central air.

Even the Lake Carriers' Association out of Cleveland blames falling water levels of the Great Lakes, along with a "lack of adequate dredging," as a leading factor as to why shipments of cargo on the Great Lakes fell almost a third from last year at this time. And although that speaks more about the present drought, it could very well indicate a trend, and even worsen if the weather doesn't get back to normal.

Right here in Ashland, the pilings of the former oredocks have always stuck out of the water, but more and more of them are becoming visible.

Today, few well-versed scientists doubt we aren't changing the weather at a very fast rate. The popularity of Al Gore's award-winning movie "An Inconvenient Truth," indicates a popular attraction to the idea that we are indeed warming the planet through emissions of carbon dioxide.

So maybe Dylan was a little ahead of his time. Speaking of Dylan, there’s throwing another birthday bash for him up in Hibbing, Minn. in May again.

World Religions' at Harvard Extension College, its benefits and challenges

2008-12-20T20:28:00.000-08:00

By Eric Hjerstedt Sharp

Last year, my eyes caught an announcement of the Religion Newswriters Association on the newsroom bulletin board at the Daily Globe. Ironwood, Mich., advertising a scholarship through the RNA. It didn’t take me long after reading the requirements and aims to determine I would be applying for the scholarship.

As a reporter, staff writer and editor at various newspapers throughout the Midwestern and Western United State at different times from the 1970s through the present, I had come in contact with various assignments and beats that involved religion in various degrees. From writing obituaries, religious holiday stories and interviewing ministers and priests; I often had the chance to write about the plethora of religious experience in this country.

Even more relevant, was the broad array of stories that involved poverty, politics and other general assignments that had indirect religious overtones. Human interest stories often have religious factors to them.

Religion is a subject that interests me because it underlies human interactions and often mediates social realities. Unfortunately, it also too often perpetuates the status qua as well; such as a justification of slavery or the Trail of Tears the Cherokees endured in the 1830s.

After a look at the RNA Web site, the first challenge at hand was choosing the institution of higher learning I would attend. Already having a bachelor’s of arts from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colo., I determined that I would attend some school that offered graduate level courses. Although not necessary for the general assignment reporter, a master’s degree was something I always wanted but had pretty much ruled out unless I could somehow attend classes after retirement. At 57 years old, I had pretty much been resolved that a graduate degree was not in the cards for this writer. After all, if there is any profession where academics is not stressed it is journalism. At just about every newspaper or publication I had worked at, there was always someone who didn’t even have a bachelor’s degree, and I can’t recall any paper I had worked on where there was someone with a master’s or doctorate.

I determined after talking with staff at RNA that it would be possible to finish many of the requirements of a master’s degree by taking religion classes at virtually any university or college. And even if I didn’t take more than one course, I could determine if a master’s was something I wanted to pursue. Having been away from academics for more than a quarter century, I had little idea if I could withstand the rigors of a graduate level course, much less a graduate program. But I wanted to give it a try.

Since the enrollment in any class was in no way mandatory I decided to challenge myself and I narrowed my search down to two schools: Oxford University and Harvard Extension College, both that were offered an excellent online program. My reasoning was thus: both colleges had long held my respect and awe.

My approach to writing, even journalism, has always been academic. As Philip Graham said, “Journalism is the rough draft to history,” and I have always felt a responsibility to future academics to write not only accurately, but about relevant topics that will have meaning in the not-so-distant and even distant future.

Oxford has always held my highest esteem. The Oxford English Dictionary is my dictionary of choice if I am writing academically or about words. But it was the quality of it wordists that determined Harvard to be my choice.

At Harvard Extension College, I took the same class that was held at Harvard University, and even attended it in real time with my Cambridge, Mass.-classmates.
My avocation since graduating from UNC has been poetry. And as a poet-journalist-event organizer, I have always adhered to Ezra Pound’s proclamation that “Poetry is news that stays news.” Although such notable contemporary poets such as Donald Hall, Kenneth Koch, John Ashbery, Frank O’Hara, Robert Bly and dozens of other went to Harvard, it was my fondness and respect from childhood of the writings of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson that finally attracted me to enroll at the Harvard Extension College.
After all, I could go anywhere and why not challenge myself. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

To say graduate work at Harvard (along with my editorial duties at Daily Globe) for me was grueling would be an understatement … a vast understatement. Fortunately, I have a hard-nosed, gruff, task managing editor at the Globe who I have learned more from in two years than my previous editors throughout my career.
At most of the weeklies I worked at, I was either an associate editor or news editor, so I had it pretty easy … which was not as good for preparation for a hard-hitting newspaper as the Globe. As a junior and senior in high school, I regularly read two newspapers: The Daily Globe and The New York Times at the library at A.D. Johnston High School in Bessemer, six miles east of Ironwood Michigan.
The Globe has always been known for its investigative reporting. The Gogebic Range where it is located is a depressed area once one of the world’s leading iron mining regions. It was connected by dozens of railroad tracks to the iron ore docks in nearby Ashland, Wis., where they are now preparing to tear down the last of the gigantic ore docks that would take the iron out of the range through the Soo Locks on the eastern edge of Lake Superior. From there, it would go either south to the steel mills of Gary south of Chicago or east to Cleveland and Pittsburg or further east out the Saint Lawrence Seaway to China … which is where most of the taconite pellets head these days.
The benefits of my course in World Religions were many. The course covered the world’s religions and spirituality belief systems in 10 short weeks. Since taking the course, I had the opportunity of writing about someone finding a Torah in a warehouse that used to be used in a synagogue in the Ironwood-Hurley area. Being brought up protestant in Wisconsin, my knowledge of Jewish law was very limited. The story would have been too daunting, or I would have failed to see the significance of finding the scroll without the background I gained with my professor and the online class at Harvard.
Religion is an important element in the lives of people of the Gogebic Range. Far from being homogenous, the predominant nationalities are Italians (Roman Catholic) and Finnish (Lutheran). But within 100 miles, there are more than six Ojibwa (Chippewa) Indian Reservations. In addition, there are literally dozens of other nationalities and belief systems; including earth-centered religions, Universalist Unitarians, United Methodist and the other Protestant sects, Mormonism and many of the other denominations and sects. In not so close proximity, but of importance economically and politically; Detroit, of course, one the largest Muslim contingency in the United States exits.
So, yes, the course had an enormous impact on me and was a life-changing event for me. Without reviewing the vast information and knowledge gathered in the short time I was enrolled, I can say it was the most challenging, interesting and compelling course I have ever taken.
The online infrastructure at Harvard is superb. The teleconference each week to the classroom within Harvard Square was outstanding, and with the sound and PowerPoint capabilities of the program, in many ways it was better than being there. Unfortunately, my work schedule prevented me from using -- as much as I would have liked to -- the writer’s workshop and other Harvard amenities I had available at my finger tips.
In addition, financial and health hardships halfway through the course, almost caused me to drop out. I went from a high B during mid terms to a C after finals; but I did pass with a C. Even with the workload at the Globe and the monetary pressures I encountered; I am still am very honored to have participated in the Eli Lilly Scholarship through Religion Newswriters Association. Although my early enthusiasm for possibly entering the graduate program at Harvard has waned, having experienced the absolute brutal academic regimen that it is; I would gladly continue my studies through Religion Newswriters Association.
I would do it a lot differently, though; which is the subject of another essay.

American Life in Poetry:

2008-07-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

Column 173

BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006

Poets are especially good at investing objects with meaning, or in drawing meaning from the things of this world. Here Patrick Phillips of Brooklyn, New York, does a masterful job of comparing a wrecked piano to his feelings.

Piano

Touched by your goodness, I am like
that grand piano we found one night on Willoughby
that someone had smashed and somehow
heaved through an open window.

And you might think by this I mean I'm broken
or abandoned, or unloved. Truth is, I don't
know exactly what I am, any more
than the wreckage in the alley knows
it's a piano, filling with trash and yellow leaves.

Maybe I'm all that's left of what I was.
But touching me, I know, you are the good
breeze blowing across its rusted strings.

What would you call that feeling when the wood,
even with its cracked harp, starts to sing?

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 2008 by Patrick Phillips. Reprinted from his most recent book of poetry, "Boy," University of Georgia Press, 2008, by permission of Patrick Phillips. Introduction copyright (c) 2008 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

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American Life in Poetry provides newspapers and online publications with a free weekly column featuring contemporary American poems. The sole mission of this project is to promote poetry: American Life in Poetry seeks to create a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. There are no costs for reprinting the columns; we do require that you register your publication here and that the text of the column be reproduced without alteration.

2007-11-28T16:19:00.000-08:00

HibbingTown in Minnesota where Robert Zimmerman grew up.s
Bruce Weber's article about Hibbing.
Pictures from Hibbing.
Subject: Re: Jeopardy question
From: Ronnie Schreiber (ronnies@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 00:59:21 GMT
Organization: Netcom
X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent 1.0.82
Joseph Trum (jtrum@mail.utexas.edu) wrote:
>What about today's Jeopardy when there was a question about some museum in
>Hibbing, Minnesota.
Must have been talking about the Greyhound bus museum there. The
Greyhound system was started in Hibbing.
>This question (or should I say answer) was immediately followed by one
>that included the word Subterranean. Coincidence?
Actually, the coincidence goes another way. Hibbing is the site of one
of thelargest iron mines in the world. The entire north side of town
is a huge hole in the ground. Subterranean indeed. Actually between
the Rust mine pit and the mountains of iron tailings surrounding the
town, it's a pretty surreal site. The high school there was built
during the WWI era and is pretty remarkable. It was built by the
mining company when they decided to move the town to make access to
the ore deposits easier. To make up for the inconvenience, they built
what is arguably the most elegant hs in the US. Marble floors, carved
bas relief mouldings and an auditorium as elegant as most cities'
fanciest theatres or orchestra halls. Sadly, however, the tour of the
hs makes no mention of their most famous graduate (nor do they have
any record of which locker was his).
In the high school auditorium I tried to visualize Bobby Zimmerman
pounding out Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis on the piano at talent
shows while the poodle skirt/pat boone set looked on in horror.
It must have been real cold up in the iron range.
It seems as though Hibbing is a bit chagrined by Dylan's origins
there. I think they still don't understand his appeal (or greatness).
The locals seem prouder of local natives Roger Maris and Kevin McHale.
Athletics may be more accessible than poetics.
Expecting Rain
North Country, theThe area Minnesota way, where Bob Dylan grew up. See also Hibbing.
From: Tiernan Henry (HENRY.TIERNAN@UCG.IE)
Subject: nature/nuture
(April 96)
bruce weber did a series of articles in the new york times a couple of years ago, which he filed as he cycled his way from the pacific to the atlantic coasts. one was filed from duluth, and was a delightful pen-portrait of the iron range as seen from a cyclists point of view (ie that the roads are terrible and your ass will be sore for a couple of states), and weber took in hibbing, ely and other range towns. remember, judy garland, roger maris, and kevin mchale are all rangers too.
as is rudy perpich.
track it down in the nytimes records. i have it clipped somewhere, and will post it here next week.
i arrived in duluth, if not quite off the potato boat, not long after leaving ireland. i moved from st. paul to the twin ports in the spring of 1989, and had soon found the house where the zimmermans had lived (on 6th i think, i have photos somewhere). needless to say i was in hibbing as soon as possible, and have more photos of that house. also, for anyone in the region, check out "zimmy's sports bar" -- i kid you not -- and get yerselves a t-shirt, featuring drawings of maris, and high-school-era bob on the front.
friends who worked for mpr played me tapes of interviews with dylan's high-school friends (they were done for a planned, but not developed, story) ad had a great local perspective. (mpr-duluth producer jim neumann did a great piece which may have gotten npr broadcast on bob's 50th birthday, with interviews with john bauldie, some dylan school friends, and a pile of folks drinking in "zimmy's", worth checking out. and not just cause jim is a friend!)
despite what is sometimes printed about it, duluth and hibbing folks are quietly proud of bob, and retain a certain pride that one of their own has done so well. i certainly met few people who bore any illwill towards him, and i met many who did remember him. it is odd how it would crop up; again, my peripheral involvement with mpr-duluth and with the duluth news tribune meant that i met a lot of folks involved in the arts and in politics in the area, and there were a few um-minneapolis friends who were also rangers who remembered him, and who ran into him on occasion. a friend of jim's told me that she knew bob from hibbing, and that they were at the u at roughly the same time. when he was getting ready to leave for new york he told her that he'd see her there sometime. years later, in the 80s, she was in new york and ran into bob on 5th avenue. they chatted about family she said, and that as they parted, he said, "i told you i'd see you in new york".
it is a very tough place to live. not violent tough though. economically the region has never recovered from the downturn in ore demand, and it is a darned cold place to live during the winter, especially so for a paddy used to mild winters. my first winter there, a mild one by local standards, shocked me. it just got colder every day, and everyone else didn't seem to notice. by winter two i was an old hand and when i caught myself remarking that a february day that had reached -10 was "springlike" i knew that i was becoming a neo-ranger.
it is astonishingly beautiful and affective country. the geology alone would make you drool (the canadian shield makes an appearance, and some of the oldest exposed rocks in the us are to be found near duluth), if drooling at geology is your thing (guilty, m'lud). the winter light has a metallic clarity and sharpness that is unlike anything i've seen anyhwere else in the midwest, and the sight and sound of that big lake heaving and stretching is truly wondrous. when the ice cracks and snaps the sound is like gunfire, and the ice reared up and random-packed on the beach looks for all the world like freeze-framed storm waves.
moving north along the shore, the signs of the iron industry -- the huge rusting loaders and docks and the boarded-up buildings -- are a reminder of what came from the mesabi range. cut overland to hibbing and the scar of the mine is colossal. everything is magnetic there.
that country doesn't let you go quickly.
take a trip. go see it in the fall, and go inland and wander the backroads. go in winter and bring yer cross-country skis. watch that sky, that almost tidal lake, the hanging curtains of the northern lights, the reminders of a place where ore older than most of the rest of that big country was extracted to build that new country, and then see if you can rent "highway 61", a delightfully quirky film with some interesting thoughts to share about baby-bob dylan.
if you can't get there don't worry. listen to all those records; it's all over them and shot through them like diamond pipes. drive up i-35 some winter's night well after midnight, heading from the cities to duluth and listen to "shooting star", under a green-lit sky of cascading light.
and see a shooting star.
it's still with me.
tiernan

2007-11-27T16:38:00.000-08:00

Claiming your blog establishes that you are its owner, and allows you to use Technorati services to increase your blog's visibility.

2007-11-27T14:47:00.003-08:00

Information from Lake Superior Writers (This is a group worth joining)

Lake Superior Writers
2008-2010 Duluth Poet Laureate
The Duluth Poet Laureate The 2006-2008 Poet Laureate 2008-2010 Poet Laureate
Application Guidelines Application Q & A More Information Suggested Duties Download Application Form pdf
2008-2010 Application Guidelines
Application and Selection Processes:A Poet Laureate Selection Committee will review all applications and will select the Duluth Poet Laureate, whose term will be for two years from date of appointment. The Selection Committee is composed of representatives from Duluth’s literary community, related business and organizations, local colleges and/or universities, and other individuals interested in the field of poetry. The Duluth Poet Laureate Committee is organized and administered by Lake Superior Writers, a nonprofit organization based in Duluth, Minnesota.
Application Qualifications:1. Must be a legal resident of Minnesota and have lived and/or worked in the Duluth city area for at least five of the last ten years;2. Has made significant contributions to the literary community;3. A willingness and ability to participate in poet laureate responsibilities, and the intent to live in Duluth or the Duluth city area for the duration of the appointment.
A Complete Application Must Contain:1. A completed Duluth Poet Laureate Application Form; signed by the applying poet; 2. A signed cover letter from the applicant (no more than two single-sided pages), stating why you are interested in the post of Duluth Poet Laureate and what activities you are interested in helping organize;3. A brief biography (one page maximum);4. A full or partial list of your published literary work from the last ten years. Please include publishers, dates of publication, and number of pages of each of the works listed, including self-published or vanity publications;5. Ten pages of poems by the applying poet. Each poem must be typed or printed on 8.5” x 11” paper, single-sided, with at least half inch margins and 12 point typeface;6. A VHS tape or DVD of the poet reading one or two of his or her poems is optional. The application process will take place in two parts: 1.) review of submitted materials and selection of finalists and 2.) the opportunity for the finalists to speak with the selection committee.
INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED.
Deadline for Completed Applications: Postmarked by February 15, 2008, or hand-delivered to the Lake Superior Writers office (1301 Rice Lake Road, Suite 132, Duluth) by 4 pm., Monday, February 18, 2008.
Need info? Contact pl@lakesuperiorwriters.org or call 218-722-3094. Please allow 7 - 10 days to receive a reply.
Duluth Poet Laureate Application Q & A
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1. What is a Poet Laureate?Traditionally, the Poet Laureate is an honorary title given to a person who has demonstrated excellence in the literary arts. Currently, there are thirty-seven states states (Minnesota will be the thirty-eighth, in January, 2008), several cities and boroughs that have an official poet laureate. There are now two more Minnesota cities with poet laureates: Winona (James Armstrong) and Red Wing (Robert Hedin).
2. What Does the Poet Laureate Do?The Poet Laureate will work with cultural, educational and other organizations to encourage the public to express their literary creativity, through appearances, readings, workshops, and other public displays of poetry.
3. What is the duration of service for the Duluth Poet Laureate?The Duluth Poet Laureate will serve for two years in that capacity. In the case that the Laureate cannot serve for that duration of time because of extended illness, relocation, job situation, or inability to perform, the selection committee will solicit applications once again from the public. A Poet Laureate may reapply for this position at the end of their term or at any time in the future.
4. Can a poet be nominated by an individual, group of individuals, or an organization or institution?No. Individuals and organizations may encourage and/or support the application of a poet; however, the application form must be signed by the poet and be accompanied by a signed cover letter from the poet, stating why he or she is interested in the post of Duluth Poet Laureate.
5. For qualification purposes, how does the program define the Duluth, Minnesota Area?It is the area that includes Duluth, Hermantown, and Proctor.
6. Are any dates of publication acceptable?No. Only works published within the last ten years will be considered for qualification purposes. As outlined in the program guidelines, a full or partial list of works published in the last ten years must be included with the application. Forthcoming publications will not be considered and should not be included.
7. Are collaborative and/or mixed media works acceptable?Yes. Both collaborative and mixed media works will be considered.
8. Will poems that have been only published online be considered?Yes. Such poems may be included in the application if the publishing site(s) utilizes a competitive review and acceptance process and includes a diverse list of poets, i.e. not restricted to only one poet or poets from a particular group or organization.
More Information about the Poet Laureate
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Deadline for Completed Applications: Postmarked by February 15, 2008, or hand-delivered to the Lake Superior Writers office (1301 Rice Lake Road, Suite 132, Duluth) by 4 pm., Monday, February 18, 2008.
Honorarium for April 2008 - March 2010 term: $3,000
Poet laureate crowning ceremony, April 12, 2008 at the Sacred Heart Music Center.

Suggested Duties the Duluth Poet Laureate
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These are not requirements, but intended to stimulate thought. The poet laureate may choose to devise his or her own initiatives.1. to raise public awareness of poetry through readings, appearances, workshops, and other public displays of poetry.2. to arrange for poet in the school appearances/readings in middle, junior and senior high schools3. to write a monthly poetry column, in which reviews of recent poetry books, individual poems, or other poetry issues are explored. 4. organize poetry workshops at local libraries5. create poems for specific occasions6. help organize an annual city-wide poetry event7. select poems for display on local city buses, billboards and/or on postcards8. be available for a “meal-a-month,” sponsored by a local restaurant
Note: The Poet Laureate may also contract for his services (such as for public and private appearances, poetry readings, teaching residences, speaking engagements, et al.) independent of the oversight and participation of Lake Superior Writers. Compensation will go to the Poet Laureate and should be negotiated with the Poet Laureate directly.
Need info? Contact pl@lakesuperiorwriters.org or call 218-722-3094. Please allow 7 - 10 days to receive a reply.
Lake Superior Writers
1301 Rice Lake Road, Suite 132, Duluth, Minnesota 55811. 218-722-3094 http://www.lakesuperiorwriters.orgwriters@lakesuperiorwriters.org
To send items including calls for submissions, publication announcements, and area literary events, e-mail calendar@lakesuperiorwriters.org
MAP to LSW Office and Meeting Room
Lake Superior Writers is a non-profit corporation with 501(c)3 status.

About the Duluth Poet Laureate
Lake Superior Writers established the position of Duluth Poet Laureate in April, 2006 as a way of honoring our area poets and encouraging the enjoyment of poetry. Duluth was the first city in Minnesota to name a Poet Laureate. There are now two more Minnesota cities with poet laureates: Winona (James Armstrong) and Red Wing (Robert Hedin). LSW and the Duluth Poet Laureate organize and host two to three public events in the Duluth, Minnesota area each year.
The honorary title of Poet Laureate was first used in England during the Middle Ages; it was given to a poet appointed for life. King Henry III appointed a poet laureate and Geoffrey Chaucer was England's Poet Laureate until his death in 1400.
Need info? Contact pl@lakesuperiorwriters.org or call 218-722-3094. Please allow 7 - 10 days to receive a reply.
Duluth Poet Laureate Application

Sponsoring Organizations
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Sponsoring organizations for the 2008-2010 Duluth poet laureate project will be announced soon. Sponsoring organizations for the 2006-2008 Duluth poet laureate project included Lake Superior Writers, the Duluth-Superior Area Community Foundation, the Duluth Public Arts Commission, UMD English Department, UMD Academic Affairs, UMD College of Liberal Arts, the College of St. Scholastica English Department, Lake Superior College, Friends of the Duluth Public Library, Northern Lights Books & Gifts, Arrowhead Reading Council, and Barnes & Noble Booksellers.
For Information
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Need info? Contact pl@lakesuperiorwriters.org or call 218-722-3094. Please allow 7 - 10 days to receive a reply.

Lake Superior Writers
1301 Rice Lake Road, Suite 132, Duluth, Minnesota 55811. 218-722-3094 http://www.lakesuperiorwriters.orgwriters@lakesuperiorwriters.org
To send items including calls for submissions, publication announcements, and area literary events, e-mail calendar@lakesuperiorwriters.org
MAP to LSW Office and Meeting Room
Lake Superior Writers is a non-profit corporation with 501(c)3 status.

2007-11-27T14:47:00.002-08:00

From BusinessNorth.com
Special FocusWriting groups provide authors support
11/19/2007by Julia Durst

(Photo: Author Donna Schilling reviews galley sheets with Tony Dierckins at X-communication.)
From the region’s sparsely populated north woods to Duluth/Superior, many authors work with little contact with their peers.
They have resolved this conundrum by forming community-based writing groups, meeting regularly and providing members a supportive venue for sharing their work with fellow writers. Members benefit from advice, critique and friendship.
Author Donna Schilling attributes much of her success to Lake Superior Writers, a literary nonprofit based in Duluth. Schilling joined the group in 1999, when it had about 20 members. (It’s grown to about 150.)
Schilling began attending one of its genre-specific writing groups and focused on writing her memoirs. With her group’s advice and encouragement she self-published Slices of Life: A Minnesota Memoir in 2006. “Without them, I wouldn’t have had the impetus to do it,” she says.
In her book Schilling recounts the challenges and blessings of her 70-plus years in Minnesota. She worked with Tony Dierckins of X-presso, the self-publishing division of Dierckins’ X-communication publishing house. She raves about his talent, experience, and efficiency in moving her through the formatting, design and proofing processes.
Schilling predicted only her family and friends would enjoy the book. But a favorable book review ignited interest and the author found herself selling at local bookstores. She says she initially was going to have 500 books printed but opted instead for the next step up in the offset printing process, ordering 1000 copies. Slices is for sale on consignment at local independent retailers, including Northern Lights Bookstore and Art Dock. Schilling says an author needs a distributor to sell to national book chains, such as Barnes and Noble.
The author hopes to have her second book out by Christmas. Lake Effect Memories will explore how Lake Superior has influenced the lives of its shoreline inhabitants through stories of Schilling and friends.
Like other longtime members, Schilling has witnessed the transformation of the literary organization from a small writers club to a group with a major community presence. In recent years, Lake Superior Writers has paired with the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra and Northern Prints Gallery for collaborative projects. It led an effort to establish a Duluth poet laureate after Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed a bill that would have established a Minnesota state poet laureate system.
The group also hosted the wildly successful “Festival of Words” last April, featuring National Public Radio host Terry Gross and Duluth’s first poet laureate, Barton Sutter. In October the Duluth-Superior Area Community Foundation recognized the event with a Touchstone Award.
Among its 150 members (who pay a $25 annual fee), many are non-writer supporters of local literature. Schilling sees that enthusiasm in the community. “The arts are up and kicking in Duluth,” she says.
In Wisconsin
The arts also are thriving in northern Wisconsin, which hosts its share of writing groups. According to the Wisconsin Regional Writers’ Association, groups exist in towns as remote as Dresser, Amery and Frederic.
In Solon Springs, the St. Croix Writers Club has been going strong for 17 years. Started by a local Presbyterian pastor, the group initially met at the church. Growth necessitated a move to the Solon Springs Community Center.
Membership fluctuates seasonally, from seven or eight people during winter to more than 40 in summer. The weekly Tuesday morning meetings are totally committed to reading aloud. Writers take a number as they enter; each has six minutes in front of the group. Discussion and socializing follow, usually over lunch at KD’s Family Restaurant.
“Many members come only in summer,” says longtime member Cathy Swanson. “Some come from as far away as Iron River, Two Harbors, Sarona and Shell Lake.”
Publication isn’t the ultimate goal for many of the writers. Some just seek a nonjudgmental, responsive arena in which to read. Members represent a spectrum of political, social and religious viewpoints. The group’s mission is to “encourage and foster creative talent and improve the writing skills of the group.”
Among current and past members who have published, some have seen great success. Swanson says David Schipper, author of the New York Times bestseller Sellout: the Inside Story of President Clinton’s Impeachment, sought feedback from the group. Other well-known members include Mike Savage, founder of Savage Press and Daily Telegram columnist, and the late Tony Jelich, retired game warden and author of “Stop and Smell the Cedars.”
“There is lots of stuff going on out in the country,” Swanson says. “More so than in town.”
One literary club that spans urban and rural areas is the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. Since 1950, the statewide organization has labored to support poets in “perfecting their work” and encouraged the study of poetry in schools. Though the group is divided into eight regional sections, members don’t enjoy the intimacy and immediate feedback of a local close-knit group. While smaller groups nurture talent in a local setting, however, the Fellowship has a broader social purpose: promoting poetry.
It sponsors readings and contests and hosts two annual conferences. In 1999 it initiated the Wisconsin poet laureate project. The group has published a highly anticipated calendar filled with members’ poetry every year since 1986.
“We have a business manager who handles calendar sales, and each year there is a new editor who handles poem selection and publication,” says Jan Chronister of Maple, the Fellowship’s northwest regional vice-president. “Some years, because the job is very demanding, the duties are shared by co-editors.”
Anyone living or summering in Wisconsin can join for an annual cost of $25. Membership includes a quarterly “Museletter” and discounted rates for contests and events. It does not guarantee a coveted spot in the calendar. The 2008 calendar editors Richard Roe and Jeannie Bergmann chose 184 poems out of 366 submissions.
Most Fellowship poets have published work in anthologies or journals or authored their own books. Many have achieved a high degree of career success. “Many of our members have been published by prestigious presses, such as Parallel Press out of UW-Madison,” says Chronister.
“Self-publishing also is prevalent, although — I know I’m biased — most of our members have no trouble finding small presses to publish their work.”
The calendar provides a comprehensive sampling of verse from poets statewide. It is sold on consignment at area bookstores. Chronister delivers the calendars herself, driving to Spooner, Ashland, Duluth and many places in between.
While Schilling and Swanson have found friendship and advice in their groups, Chronister enjoys the perks of a larger organization that promotes and publishes poetry. Authors like Wayne Arntson of Rice Lake crave that support.
“I know of no writers’ group in Rice Lake, but I hope to start one,” Arntson says. The author is at work on a novel. “It’s centered around the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth during World War II. I lived on Park Point during that time.”
He hopes to complete the manuscript in the next few months. Maybe by then he’ll have the advice and support of a peer group as he starts down the path toward publishing.
Superior native Julia Durst is a Duluth-based freelance writer.
Useful Link: Lake Superior Writers

2007-11-27T14:47:00.001-08:00

akela ely has sent you an article from .Doesn't this just take the cake!

design
Courier, DispatchedHow the U.S. State Department put the kibosh on the typewriter font.By Tom VanderbiltPosted Friday, Feb. 20, 2004, at 3:50 PM ET
In late January, an announcement from the U.S. State Department generated certain chatter along the generally indiscernible diplomatic-typographic axis. This was the news that as of Feb 1, the department was ditching Courier New 12 as its official font-in-residence and taking up with Times New Roman 14. Courier 12 had been put to pasture after several decades of honorable service, like an aging, elegant diplomat whose crisp, crem-colored linen suit and genteel demeanor now seem winningly old-fashioned. Times New Roman 14, as the State Department put it, "takes up almost exactly the same area on the page as Courier New 12, while offering a crisper, cleaner, more modern look."
Courier New 12, created in 1955 by IBM, is perhaps the most recognizable typeface of the 20th century—a visual symbol of typewritten bureaucratic anonymity, the widespread dissemination of information (and a classification of documents), stark factuality, and streamlined efficiency. Designed by Howard "Bud" Kettler, a small-town printer and typographer hired by the company to create typefaces for its products, it became the country's reigning typewriter font almost immediately—not only because of IBM's dominance in the industry but because IBM failed to take a proprietary stake in the font. Soon adopted by other typewriter makers, Courier was an early version of shareware.
Compared to previous typewriter fonts, Courier looked streamlined, ational, efficient, a move away from the "Antique" past—the perfect face for IBM. With its "modern, progressive look," Courier exemplified the "trend toward the long, low and extended in an age of ranch houses and stretched-out cars," according to one ad. Kettler was a natural, innovative typographer, as one co-worker recounted: "One thing he did that no other font designer did was to rotate the mock-up page a full 180 degrees. I asked him why he did that. His answer was that he wanted to make sure that no one character stood out." In its prototype phase, Courier was called Messenger. But as Kettler later said in an interview, "A letter can be just an ordinary messenger, or it can be the courier, which radiates dignity, prestige, and stability." Kettler was successful in his mission. By the 1960s, Courier had become the herald of all stripes of dignified officialdom; indeed, it is still de rigueur for filing certain types of legal documents. It is not surprising, as Rick Poynor points out that Courier should play a starring role in Errol Morris' recent documentary The Fog of War about former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Anyone who has done Freedom of Information Act research will inevitably find black marker lines obscuring lines of Courier type.
But today, its design principles are little more than phantom limbs: Like any other typeface, it is whisked from the digital ether without regard for its original use. On the one hand, Courier New is the voice of raw clarity and transparency. It can be absorbed quickly, with little relative effort, which is why it is still the preferred font for screenplay drafts (many film festivals require copies of scripts in Courier 12). On the other hand, precisely because it has become the visual connoter of the kind of government doings executed by McNamara and his ilk, it has come to serve as blunt shorthand for secrecy or for the chilling revelation brought to light. Witness the appearance of Courier (or similar typewriter fonts) i places like the film poster for Costa-Gavras' Z, or the "X" in The X-Files, or any number of History Channel documentaries dealing with espionage.
What is most remarkable of all, of course, is that a typewriter font is still being used at all in a post-typewriter age. In technical terms, Courier New, like all typewriter fonts, is a "monospaced" typeface: Each letter takes up the same amount of space on a line, essential for tabular uniformity as well as, say, replacing an "i" with a "w" during the correcting process (no longer an issue, of course). In the early days of computer printing, courier made the jump simply because of its dominance as the official typewriter font. (One would not expect a visual style built up over a half-century to be eroded overnight, with legal documents suddenly flowering with Palatino or bristling with Big Caslon.) For most of Amerca (and for many fledgling typographers), Courier was the only font they had had access to in their daily lives. In the PC age, it still stands as some kind of ur-font, nervously invoked as default when something goes awry, such as, "Font not found, substituting Courier." In the 1990s, moreover, typographers who were now working in a thoroughly digital medium began crafting rigorous homages to typewriter fonts (e.g., "Trixie"). Rather than functional necessity, these were created as joyful pastiche, possessing a nostalgic, analog power, as well as visual freshness, in a world of frivolous, overexposed LaserWriter fonts (e.g., the dreaded Comic Sans).
Oddly enough, though, the State Department's "more modern" Courier successor, Times New Roman, actually predates the font by more than two decades. Times New Roman was created by the esteemed British typographer Stanley Morison for the Times of London in 1932. Sir Cyril Burt, inhis 1959 work A Psychological Study of Typography, described Times New Roman as "a twentieth century type, equal in merit ... to those of the classical designers of the best periods." As a newspaper font, it was intended to fit more articles and more ads onto costly newsprint while still retaining maximum legibility.
According to Jonathan Hoefler, a New York typographer, the State Department is wrong when it says that Times New Roman 14 "takes up almost exactly the same area on the page as Courier New 12." In fact, it takes up much less space, as he showed me in a comparative sampling. It should be stressed, too, that the State Department is not simply switching type styles but point size. This, as Stanley Morison argued, does not necessarily engender further clarity, however: The larger the type, the fewer letters the eye can absorb at once; the eye has to work more to read than it would at a smaller (but not too small) font. Times New Roman 14 may take up less space than Courier 12 but it is a rather large font. (As Hoefler notes, 14 point is generally reserved for children's books.) Will U.S. diplomacy improve as the visual signal-to-noise ratio along the chain of affairs of state is reduced, or will ambassadors actually suffer from eye-strain as they absorb the larger characters of official correspondence? History, by the way, from Charlemagne to Hitler, shows that government edicts in favor of standardized typefaces are often one of the first steps in creating an empire: Is there something that the State Department isn't telling us?Tom Vanderbilt is the Brooklyn-based author of Survival City: Adventures Among the Ruins of Atomic America and writes for many publications including the New York Times, Nest, the London Review of Books, and I.D. Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2095809/
Copyright 2007 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC

2007-11-27T10:08:00.001-08:00

Dylan Days announces 2008 writing contest
Hibbing Arts Council 11/27/2007
HIBBING, Minn. (Nov. 27, 2007) - The Dylan Days committee is calling for new entries for the 2008 Dylan Days Creative Writing Contest. The contest will accept poetry, short stories and, new for this year, one-act plays. The deadline is Feb. 28, 2008 and instructions for entering online are at www.dylandays.com/writers.htm.
The poetry and short fiction categories return for 2008 with both an open division for all writers and a student division for anyone currently enrolled in high school or an undergraduate college or university. First, second and third place prizes will be awarded in these categories with possible honorable mentions. Winners receive $100, $50 and $25 respectively and publication in the Dylan Days program and journal, "Talkin' Blues." All winners are invited to read their poems or stories at the Dylan Days Literary Showcase on May 24, 2008.
In the new one-act playwright competition, all playwrights enter one division with one winner selected. The winning play will be presented on stage during the 2008 Dylan Days Literary Showcase under the direction of award-winning Hibbing Community College theatre director Michael Ricci.
Playwrights only are asked to mail their entries to Ricci at HCC, 1515 E. 25th St., Hibbing, MN 55746. (Poems and stories must be submitted online).
The Dylan Days Creative Writing contest now enters its seventh year. Last year entries came from writers all over the globe, including all populated continents.
"We've grown a lot, but we still pride ourselves on being an excellent opportunity for up-and coming writers and students," said Aaron Brown, Dylan Days co-chair. "Many writers can claim Dylan Days as their first publication credit. We hope to provide a spark to the great writers and poets of the future."
Dylan Days, running May 22-25, 2008, is an annual event honoring Hibbing's famous son Bob Dylan and the arts community of the Iron Range. Features
include the writing contest and literary showcase, singer/songwriter contest, visual arts contests, youth talent shows, and live music throughout the long weekend. Special events for 2008 include the premiere of a Bob Dylan historical exhibit at Ironworld Discovery Center in nearby Chisholm that documents Dylan's years in Hibbing and the Iron Range's possible influence on his career. More details are available at www.dylandays.com
.
Dylan Days, presented by the nonprofit Hibbing Arts Council, is operated by a volunteer committee.
CONTACT: Aaron J. Brown, Dylan Days media coordinator
218-262-7213 (office) or 218-969-9663 (cell)
aaronbrown@hibbing.edu
Sheraton Duluth Hotel announces

Bessemer Band Shell Benefit

2007-10-20T12:05:00.000-07:00

The Bessemer Band Shell Benefit went off without a hitch. Thanks to my alma mater -- A.D. Johnston H.S. -- for letting us play there.

And thank you Deja Bleu for coming and spending the day.