Sometimes it's nice to get flowers for no reason at all
21 February 2014
Architectural Wonders ~ Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House
It was designed and built between 1908 and 1910 by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and is renowned as the greatest example of the Prairie School style, the first architectural style that was uniquely American.
The house was designated a National Historic Landmark on November 27, 1963 and was on the very first National Register of Historic Places list of October 15, 1966.
The term was coined by architectural critics and historians (not by Wright) who noticed how the buildings and their various components owed their design influence to the landscape and plant life of the midwest prairie of the United States.
Typical of Wright's Prairie houses, he designed not only the house, but all of the interiors, the windows, lighting, rugs, furniture and textiles.
As Wright wrote in 1910, "it is quite impossible to consider the building one thing and its furnishings another. ... They are all mere structural details of its character and completeness."
For more information on the history of the Robie House
20 February 2014
poem - checking out the handiwork
The Bricklayer sat by his wall
checking on his own handiwork
finding a flaw
.jpg)
that no one but he
(or another bricklayer)
would ever notice
checking on his own handiwork
finding a flaw
.jpg)
(or another bricklayer)
would ever notice
That imperfection
Had little to do
with the skill of his craft
and more to do
with the pride of perfect labors
when one can walk away from
Content in its completeness.
This made him feel
The work unfinished
His mission not accomplished
Yet the homeowner who hired him
was in a rush
“Don’t touch a thing!
Looks good to me!”
ushering the tradesman away
with a check
and his own consternation
Little did it matter to him –
when
30 years later
Building still erect
every time he passed by
he could see
what he could not aright
And it made him sad.
Beat Generation
He was a football star at Lowell High School and upon graduation in 1939 was awarded a scholarship to Columbia University. However, after an injury sidelined him on the football team, Kerouac grew unhappy with Columbia and dropped out of school.
During this period in New York City, Kerouac became friends with the poet Allen Ginsberg and the novelist William S. Burroughs, as well as Herbert Huncke and others who would be associated with the “Beat Generation.”
Read more at the Wikipedia bio of Jack Kerouac
photograph of Jack Kerouac in Tangier in 1957, by William Burroughs. Photograph from Taking Shots: The Photography of William S Burroughs’ is at The Photographers’ Gallery until 30 March 2014. The associated book is published by Prestel.
Treasonous Bastids
The billionaire industrialists and their political operatives strive to ensure the anonymity of the wealthy conservatives who fund their sprawling political operation—which funneled more than $400 million into the 2012 elections—and to keep their plans private. Attendees of these summits are warned that the seminars, where the Kochs and their allies hatch strategies for electing Republicans and advancing conservative initiatives on the state and national levels, are strictly confidential.
They are cautioned to keep a close eye on their meeting notes and materials. But last week, following the Kochs' first donor gathering of 2014, one attendee left behind a sensitive document at the Renaissance Esmeralda resort outside of Palm Springs, California, where the Kochs and their comrades had spent three days focused on winning the 2014 midterm elections and more. The document lists VIP donors—including John Schnatter, the founder of the Papa John's pizza chain—who were scheduled for one-on-one meetings with representatives of the political, corporate, and philanthropic wings of Kochworld.
Read more at Mother Jones http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/02/koch-brothers-palm-springs-donor-list
DONORS:
Carl Berg: Ranking No. 308 on the Forbes 400, Berg is a Silicon Valley real estate titan with an estimated fortune of $1.1 billion.
Ronnie Cameron: He runs agribusiness giant Mountaire Corporation. During a meeting of the Kochs' donor network in 2011, Charles Koch recognized Cameron (and other donors) for donating at least $1 million to their cause.
Charles Chandler: Based in the Kochs' hometown of Wichita, Kansas, Chandler is the CEO of Intrust Bank.
John Childs: He runs the Boston-based private equity firm J.W. Childs & Associates.
Jamie Coulter: Haling from Wichita, Coulter is the former CEO of the Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon restaurant chain.
Bob and Steve Fettig: The Fettigs run the metal fabrication company Tankcraft, based in Darien, Wisconsin. Steve is the company's CFO; Bob is CEO.
Richard and Leslie Gilliam: Richard founded Virginia-based coal mining company Cumberland Resources Corporation, which he sold to Massey Energy for nearly a billion dollars in 2010.
Ken Griffin: A major conservative donor, the Chicago-based businessman founded the hedge fund Citadel and is worth an estimated $4.4 billion.
John Griffin: He's the founder of Blue Ridge Capital, a New York hedge fund.
Dick Haworth: He's the chairman emeritus of Holland, Michigan-based office furniture company Haworth.
Richard "Ric" Kayne: He's the founder and chairman of Los Angeles-based investment firm Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors.
Dan Kirby: He's president of Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Kirby Financial.
Fred Klipsch: He's the chairman of Klipsch Group, a speaker and headphone manufacturer.
Frank Kozel: He's the principal of Pittsburgh-based Keystone Energy Oil & Gas Inc.
Francis "Franc" Lee: He's the president and CEO of Flowood, Mississippi-based lender First Tower, LLC.
Robert "Bob" Luddy: He's president of CativeAire Systems Inc. in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Hugh Maclellan: He's the executive chairman of Chattanooga, Tennessee's Maclellan Foundation, which make grants to Christian causes.
Cecil O'Brate: He's the CEO of Garden City, Kansas-based Palmer Manufacturing & Tank.
Verl Purdy: He's the chairman and CEO of Charlotte, North Carolina-based AGDATA Inc.
Tom Rastin: He's a director and vice chairman of the Mount Vernon, Ohio-based Ariel Foundation, started by his wife, Karen Buchwald Wright, the CEO of Ariel Corporation. Rastin is the company's vice president of engineering, sales, and marketing.
George Records: A member of the Hoover Institution's board of overseers, Records is the retired chairman of Oklahoma City's Midland Group.
Robert Rowling: Ranking No. 93 on the Forbes 400 with an estimated fortune of $4.9 billion, Rowling is the cofounder of TRT Holdings, which owns Gold's Gym and Omni Hotels.
John Schnatter: He's the founder and CEO of Papa John's International.
Tina and Craig Snider: They are the children of Ed Snider, a founding contributor of the Ayn Rand Institute and chairman of Comcast Spectacor, a sports and entertainment company that owns the Philadelphia Flyers.
Dian Stai: Based in Texas, Stai cofounded Owen Healthcare Inc. with her late husband. She's a top conservative donor who gave $125,000 to the pro-Mitt Romney super-PAC Restore Our Future during the 2012 election cycle.
Jim Stephenson: He's the president and CEO of Georgia-based Yancey Bros. Co., "which provides Caterpillar, AGCO, and Blue Bird Bus Co. products and services throughout the state of Georgia." Stephenson is also an Americans for Prosperity board member.
Jim Von Ehr: He's the CEO and founder of Richardson, Texas-based Zyvex Labs.
Debra Waller: Since 2001, she's been the chairman and CEO of Jockey International Inc.
Lew Ward: He's the founder of Oklahoma-based Ward Petroleum Corporation.
Dick Weiss: He's the Core Equity senior portfolio manager at Wells Capital Management.
Karen Wright: She's the founder and CEO of the Ariel Foundation, a private philanthropy group based in Mount Vernon, Ohio. She's also CEO of the Ariel Corporation, a natural gas compression company.
*Mother Jones was unable to confirm the identities of some donors on the list, including Steve Clark, Paul Foster, George Gibbs, George Jenkins, Jerry Hayden, Kent McCarthy, Andrew Miller, Ted Saunders, Tom Smith, Jaime Snider, and Dean Williams.
International Events - Kiev on Fire
World History: Norweigan Teachers Stood Up Against NAZIs
World history lesson against hatred
On Feb. 20, 1942 the vast majority of teachers in German-occupied Norway refused to comply with the forced Nazification of the school system.
The government had ordered display of the portrait of German-installed Minister President Vidkun Quisling (formerly head of the Norwegian fascist party) in all classrooms, revision of the curriculum and textbooks to reflect Nazi ideology, and teaching of German to replace English as their second language.
The teachers organized and 12,000 of 14,000 nationwide wrote the same letter on this day to the education department refusing membership in the newly formed Nazi teachers’ association.
Two days later clergy throughout the country read a manifesto against Nazi control of the schools. (Description from PeaceButtons.info) Read more: Non-violent protests in World War Two
Also read about Reidar Dittmann who was imprisoned for his role as a student who resisted the Nazis.
Photo: 500 teachers from all over Norway were sent to Kirkenes in 1942 after refusing to teach the Nazi curriculum, read more at The Zinn Education Project. Contributing Source info: The Zinn Education Project - "Teaching a people's history"; the Peace Pledge Union - the oldest secular pacifist organisation in Britain.; Minnesota Public Broadcasting.
News clips
[FROM REUTERS] Workers at VW's factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, last Friday voted against representation by the United Auto Workers union (UAW), rejecting efforts by VW representatives to set up a German-style works council at the plant.
German workers enjoy considerable influence over company decisions under the legally enshrined "co-determination" principle which is anathema to many politicians in the U.S. who see organized labor as a threat to profits and job growth. Chattanooga is VW's only factory in the U.S. and one of the company's few in the world without a works council. "I can imagine fairly well that another VW factory in the United States, provided that one more should still be set up there, does not necessarily have to be assigned to the south again," said Bernd Osterloh, head of VW's works council. "If co-determination isn't guaranteed in the first place, we as workers will hardly be able to vote in favor" of potentially building another plant in the U.S. south, Osterloh, who is also on VW's supervisory board, said.
Osterloh's comments were published on Wednesday in German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. A spokesman at the Wolfsburg-based works council confirmed the remarks.
"The conservative politicians stirred up massive, anti-union sentiments," Osterloh said. "It's possible that the conclusion will be drawn that this interference amounted to unfair labor praxis."
Republican U.S. Senator Bob Corker, a staunch opponent of unionization, said last Wednesday after the first day of voting that VW would award the factory another model if the UAW was rejected.
A dramatic uptick in earthquakes has been shaking central Oklahoma this year, continuing a recent trend of unusually high earthquake activity in the state and leading scientists to speculate about a possible link to oil and gas production there.
The map on the right side of this page is of earthquakes recorded by the US Geological Survey (USGS) in the past thirty days (each quake is marked by a dot on the map), Oklahoma is a clear hot spot.
Nicholas van der Elst, a post-doctorate research fellow at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, says the “most reasonable hypothesis” to explain Oklahoma’s spike in earthquakes is they’ve been triggered by injection wells used for oil and gas production. “The burden of proof is on well operators to prove that the earthquakes are not caused by their wells.”
In fact, there have been more than 500 earthquakes in Oklahoma this year and 150 last week.
For all my friends who shelled $130K [USD] (you know who you are) unfortunately the last laugh is on you. It seems the engine can catch fire.
The 911 GT3 can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 3.3 seconds, with a top speed of 195 miles per hour.
The problem affects 785 GT3 cars from the 2014 model year, including 408 in the U.S.
The car maker is contacting the owners of the 911 GT3s directly and offering to pick up the vehicles so that it can inspect the engines at a dealership. [FROM CNN Money]
IMAGE SOURCES: (1) Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga,Tennessee: Reuters/Christopher Aluka Berry (2) USA Earthquake map: US Geological Survey (3) Yellow Porsche - Ingo Wagner AP Image Bank
Ansel Adams Birthday today
Ansel Adams, Photographer, ConservationistHere's a link to a Wikipedia biographical sketch of Ansel Adams, and a link to an official The Ansel Adams Gallery"“At one with the power of the American landscape, and renowned for the patient skill and timeless beauty of his work, photographer Ansel Adams has been a visionary in his efforts to preserve this country’s wild and scenic areas, both on film and on Earth. Drawn to the beauty of nature’s monuments, he is regarded by environmentalists as a monument himself, and by photographers as a national institution. It is through his foresight and fortitude that so much of America has been saved for future Americans.”"
President James E. Carter Presenting Ansel Adams with the Presidential Medal of Freedom
You might also check out the PBS Image gallery of Ansel Adams Photos
IMAGE SOURCE: Photo of Ansel Adams on his wonderful wood-paneled station wagon found at D K Hummel's blog From A Certain Point of View
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