tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7541250912875893492024-03-12T21:14:27.568-05:00Just Call Me Frank: Our Endeavour at Being FrankWe are one, We are many, We are Just Call Me Frank.
Candid, adjudicating, philosophy wielding, life journaling, mental health advocating, writing and art therapy enthusiasts, lovers of learning; adventurers with a finger on all the buttons.
Writing to survive and thrive.Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.comBlogger873125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-41028928562836998252019-12-09T21:19:00.001-06:002020-02-22T17:20:51.947-06:00The Last Blog Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQ_0ZyHqFKRGn9PP3dHTnu-CioBhF7Ph6ZX-W2au0O9h-2JU_rn5LXjs55KU7m2Tga2my1pm6i9AEpDscss3vQvh0eJjPQ3kG9fmvvxNLP8h2KtmO1c1WX4i4i3kpEf7byM8YWt6N2Zg/s1600/190-1900889_picture-library-butterflies-clipart.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1124" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQ_0ZyHqFKRGn9PP3dHTnu-CioBhF7Ph6ZX-W2au0O9h-2JU_rn5LXjs55KU7m2Tga2my1pm6i9AEpDscss3vQvh0eJjPQ3kG9fmvvxNLP8h2KtmO1c1WX4i4i3kpEf7byM8YWt6N2Zg/s200/190-1900889_picture-library-butterflies-clipart.png" width="140" /></a></div>
The time has come to officially retire this blog.<br />
It will remain, as is, but there will no longer be new entries.<br />
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This blog, started nearly 10 years ago, born out of a need to write for therapeutic purposes...even if at the birth of it that wasn't clear. It evolved into an important outlet to finally deal with lifelong abuse, trauma, and metal health issues.<br />
Over the past few years I haven't written anything new of note (<i>mostly about dead pets and physical health issues</i>), not wanting to harm the people currently in my life, using <a href="https://twitter.com/JustCallMeFrank" target="_blank">my Twitter account</a> as my primary outlet for life's many frustrations. As such, this blog went into stasis, the stories of the past several years tucked away for much further in the future, perhaps for an alternative format.<br />
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In the meantime this particular space has ran its course. It connected me with myself in very important ways, and with people all over the world, creating a web of supportive amazing people, all of which have healed me as much as I think I can be healed. And I can only hope I have been able to do the fraction of the same for them.<br />
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It's time for a new journey, a whole new adventure.<br />
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As many of the followers of Twitter have noticed, I have been living in tandem between the Midwest and Los Angeles for about two years now. After much consideration I have decided to start trying to relocate permanently. I don't know how long it's going to take, because I'm attempting to change careers (<i>which actually has nothing to do with the new exciting project I'll tell you about next</i>). Despite allegedly low unemployment, and "great economy", the opportunities that are currently available, in the Midwest as well as Los Angeles, are primarily low wage jobs, and resume submissions for moderate wage employment so far has gone ignored. After talking to many people in the same situation, I will tell you this: it's not a good atmosphere in which to be seeking employment. I never imagined it would be this difficult even with two degrees and years and years of experience. But I digress.<br />
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Living in Los Angeles has been an amazing opportunity and experience. I have not felt this at home or as happy, as I am when I am in California, in at least 8 years, despite the shitty and disappointing people I have come to meet and move on from.<br />
The amazing people I now have in my life in Los Angeles, as well as those who have stuck with me online, have helped give me the strength and courage to take the next steps to this new adventure.<br />
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I have decided to develop an online community of, and for, people who desire to improve their lives and health through the Keto/low-carb lifestyle - one I have lived for nearly 16 years now and which has utterly changed my life.<br />
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Additionally, I am making strides to start a cooking show hopefully to be broadcast on YouTube, <i>finally </i>utilizing my culinary arts degree and cooking skills again in a fun and positive way, to help people learn about cooking from a keto and low carb perspective.<br />
More on that...<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B503eEHHa70/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">⚠ A personal low-carb/keto success story ⚠ - In January 2004 I saw these before pictures and I could not believe my eyes. I had no idea I had gotten that fat. It was a wake up call. I immediately went on Atkins and within 9 months lost almost 100 lbs. It was a life changer. Over the years the weight fluctuated up and down, but I was always able to keep off the first 70 lbs. Due to health issues, stress, and anxiety over the last 2 years it started to swing up again and became difficult to drop the sudden weight gain. So to try something new, I turned to Keto. It felt even better than Atkins. And I ended up losing that extra weight, plus 20 more lbs than the initial 100 all those years before. 120 lbs! And it's still dropping! - This 16 year weight loss journey is now near a fully sustainable end. Always a heavy kid, there's no memory of ever being this lightweight...I probably haven't weighed this little since being TEN YEARS OLD. At 5'11½" 155 lbs is very healthy and people have said the weight loss should stop. Size S tops are too big and I'm now buying pants in sizes 0-4 (varied depending on manufacturer/cut). - I see so many people struggling with health issues due to excess fat and obesity and feel that with the right inspiration and support they could turn their life around. [I have perfect blood work/cholesterol/ blood pressure] - That's why I plan to start a YouTube Keto/Low Carb cooking channel with easy alternatives to traditional SAD (Standard American Diet) meals. And why I created @FUKetoKlub, to help coach, guide & support those on their own weight loss journey. I don't know where any this will end up. My weight loss journey is over, and this is going to be a whole new journey. - So if you're interested in advice, resources, tips, seeking people who understand what you're going through, or want to inspire others with your success, you've got a place with the member of @FUKetoKlub. You can find the group on FB, as well as all over social media where we'll share our stories, pass on & provide resources across multiple platforms, and build a supportive community with connections to ensure a lifetime of health and success. - Thank you for reading! 😊</a></div>
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A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/the_real_just_call_me_frank/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Frankie</a> (@the_real_just_call_me_frank) on <time datetime="2019-12-08T21:10:55+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Dec 8, 2019 at 1:10pm PST</time></div>
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This new adventure requires new platform presences to honor this new chapter.</div>
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You can find all of the connections to this project - <b>Frankie's United Keto Klub</b> - in the following places:</div>
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<b>Social Media:</b></h3>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="16" data-original-width="16" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidcIIjXyB-ChsyX3qBtxr8_MLiF8TQtwaF-zL3iBhbzZZLSVvEcPaRL01wUC0fHmCz-me_-ugr1e-w5oy5ts5p7YbPdYHJr7XUs8S63hpeaV0aKkA3UWUsHPglzlOCdLMvsWmv4qUS-80/s1600/instagram+svg+vector+icon-16px.png" /> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/the_real_just_call_me_frank/" target="_blank">@FUKetoKlub</a></div>
<img border="0" data-original-height="16" data-original-width="16" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLzG9n1oQz18S4t-fdEdHjqdgSHims-nDB3MpsHwrxouVfOH_zlAztuB1JJ4O09zfTQoCFBciAM9IjnFFZuq2dIwFid6NQeyJWRTpIqnmHiklDmpt400Pc1jk2PR-CickhPhwgfKADOo/s1600/twitter+icon-16px.png" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/FUKetoKlub" target="_blank">@FUKetoKlub </a> <br />
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<img border="0" data-original-height="16" data-original-width="16" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7hwkh8vNZNw2LGVzauNe2j2i0l7yCygO8bZlbmuzHEwLpFq9opyImWx2CMhgK9VOyoDtI37YjHQuxY5M8AdnKakldgK8RUZ70OlzgvqcPmVoAJuYxxVGZLDJSJwd-U7Xtn0uV4PzIDgQ/s1600/facebook+icon-16px.png" /> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FuKetoKlub" target="_blank">@FUKetoKlub</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhI4G49IRf5m8a9yfNO0NJhJaEygrR8asE2r7rniacs0PQhgih7eACWlD0dtjU19eRSku8eBu-0lrZ_uwVyQm9wYcMxx-3VvTwA9WydMzihcX9KiqYe8yDE1SgcNAoXztoYz6SBTEh4M/s1600/information%252C+internet%252C+search%252C+web%252C+website%252C+world%252C+www+svg+vector+icon-64px.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="15" data-original-width="49" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhI4G49IRf5m8a9yfNO0NJhJaEygrR8asE2r7rniacs0PQhgih7eACWlD0dtjU19eRSku8eBu-0lrZ_uwVyQm9wYcMxx-3VvTwA9WydMzihcX9KiqYe8yDE1SgcNAoXztoYz6SBTEh4M/s1600/information%252C+internet%252C+search%252C+web%252C+website%252C+world%252C+www+svg+vector+icon-64px.png" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Website Coming Soon with video, testimonials, information, and blog content!</b><br />(Have a keto/low-carb lifestyle success story to share?<br />Come on over to any of the social media links and let's chat!)</i></div>
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<b>The Facebook Support Community:</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/586728682117305/" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="1600" height="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnkpal8INpw4tAvhwzfpUZ_aJ03Mmsv6cLvvosvywZ0FxZ6cbNtGXXbYMDSuCO3hFjt_jB6vBXnCHUNmUlDCPfB0MGBLszlCdjc3iF8Uy7l8xC29vkONSjiCSRj6RdLRTPjquxANA46E/s200/FUKK_Full_Blktxt.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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All keto/low-carb cooking related content here:</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.cookingwithfrankie.com/">www.cookingwithfrankie.com</a></span><br />
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<i>and</i></div>
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more content here - including ridiculous videos as I attempt to learn to be comfortable in front of a video camera (update: I think I'm comfortable now?)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIoe0FeCUotxNG1mXz6NaLC4ZvRz7xF2LVDZQ5XLblj56NYlkmy_-lMwvWVvtUova0r3bglOGf7l6I8mbq8-VNreYpQ6xuEunsifgg7kM8XKgIy2pxwm40a-ZdvytFY46LSAWDEd1LsU/s1600/icons8-expand-arrow-64.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="64" data-original-width="64" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIoe0FeCUotxNG1mXz6NaLC4ZvRz7xF2LVDZQ5XLblj56NYlkmy_-lMwvWVvtUova0r3bglOGf7l6I8mbq8-VNreYpQ6xuEunsifgg7kM8XKgIy2pxwm40a-ZdvytFY46LSAWDEd1LsU/s1600/icons8-expand-arrow-64.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/the_real_just_call_me_frank/">www.instagram.com/the_real_just_call_me_frank</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Update! </span><span style="font-size: large;">I can now be found on YouTube, here:<br /> </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwOukmlWEameW6DxRi_koZw?view_as=subscriber">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwOukmlWEameW6DxRi_koZw?view_as=subscriber</a></h4>
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So that's it. This is the end.</div>
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Thank you to everybody who has contributed to this blog over the years as guest contributors. You have been amazing.</div>
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Thank you all, dear readers, for the continued support and for continuing to come back to read everything here, some of which has been weird to read.</div>
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As the banner of this blog states. This was Our Endeavour at Being Frank. And we are now fully her.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO7XCJJOp_kn4jGNpjN-pV9cMJW4oOqVzoEb9168YJlSlG-z_P8-rrcuN_qcv5iYZrrSrtWJQHkRaxFvSgRQnlqGZIkveilQhLnVBiXIXQfb4WqTIxYKUvAeVxcLMIF2MYYzAWpyRME2Y/s1600/FrankieSig.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="653" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO7XCJJOp_kn4jGNpjN-pV9cMJW4oOqVzoEb9168YJlSlG-z_P8-rrcuN_qcv5iYZrrSrtWJQHkRaxFvSgRQnlqGZIkveilQhLnVBiXIXQfb4WqTIxYKUvAeVxcLMIF2MYYzAWpyRME2Y/s200/FrankieSig.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-63265313684129082672019-09-12T21:56:00.000-05:002019-09-13T12:58:45.541-05:00The Story of Hobbes[This will be another post where much less We is used in lieu of more I. {Sorry Rachel.]<br />
<br />
<br />
It's been a long time. Almost two years. Despite a whole load of things that have happened over the last few years, it remains prudent to keep them private...for awhile.<br />
<br />
However, there are some things that don't require as much discretion.<br />
<br />
This is one of them.<br />
<br />
You're not supposed to have favorite pets. Just like you're not supposed to have favorite children (should you have them).<br />
<br />
But it happens. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEcIptt2fatyuGarTsJbIAljzprKa_Uw5c1Sx8E5gxce-t-p2pJVTp9ssDYTPGCk8eLF_QWf0v6R_Oip0E-lDmQKP2f-bCAerfakWq3YrTY_ESU1VvibH_8WsTjUzhp0J9VsQkO19Cco/s1600/FB_IMG_1495049117865.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEcIptt2fatyuGarTsJbIAljzprKa_Uw5c1Sx8E5gxce-t-p2pJVTp9ssDYTPGCk8eLF_QWf0v6R_Oip0E-lDmQKP2f-bCAerfakWq3YrTY_ESU1VvibH_8WsTjUzhp0J9VsQkO19Cco/s200/FB_IMG_1495049117865.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Juniper & Hobbes, 2008 </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Hobbes (and his adopted brother Juniper) came into my life in the Spring of 2008. They were kittens from a shelter in Canada.<br />
<br />
I had just bought my first house, and had only planned on getting one - because every home needs a cat. The cat I had selected was Juniper because he seemed the most friendly. Later it became evident that he was friendly because I had been eating potato chips before going into the shelter and he loved the salt on my fingers. Still he was beautiful, so I chose him. While scoping out the kittens the man I was dating at the time fell for one of the scrappy ugly loud cats,who was pacing back and forth across his shoulders screeching, and I couldn't say no. So I got them both.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZD6SYv12UxSy3Tr9Bb0wbE-X-MhhPWt1KARa7JxMjtlwyHu9ADIMKhC9CUTd8QxOzDBYB9t0UtBcLJknIneM2wgdt5bP91m2yVZ-f-e0y-a5tNjEkvbrcs6WddV9TmbFmnmmDzdQ_9U/s1600/IMG_20170404_165252_306.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZD6SYv12UxSy3Tr9Bb0wbE-X-MhhPWt1KARa7JxMjtlwyHu9ADIMKhC9CUTd8QxOzDBYB9t0UtBcLJknIneM2wgdt5bP91m2yVZ-f-e0y-a5tNjEkvbrcs6WddV9TmbFmnmmDzdQ_9U/s200/IMG_20170404_165252_306.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OD0wj8K2rWHS9aG8HY-fv5bykMOzeotLiJn4l1lVH0kwifFJbN7FbO46qQspKr3NMygg_gsAKnr8TvODePJRndwgHPU0Q0cmZpfZ2n5kQAhOjth6jk4TmDBO7xM_o_51g_JvD45gIB0/s1600/n723875604_1546469_4498.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OD0wj8K2rWHS9aG8HY-fv5bykMOzeotLiJn4l1lVH0kwifFJbN7FbO46qQspKr3NMygg_gsAKnr8TvODePJRndwgHPU0Q0cmZpfZ2n5kQAhOjth6jk4TmDBO7xM_o_51g_JvD45gIB0/s200/n723875604_1546469_4498.jpg" /></a>Turns out the cat I never wanted would be the one I couldn't imagine life without. <br />
<br />
In his first week Hobbes got sick. I was having a low-key house party and so I cradled him in my arms all night, walking among my guests. I believe that it bonded us in a unique way.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjePPmTp65nL_AIfIAfrmG92GulbT2siVznocR8ilyPQ32gUlfUXvghi_qlUs0yNW1o53DKjnKlIJyDKtMeSyB4hSsZ7cxGyN_zgXQkBLtGrU8wvqXdUlkVJpYBaGOK6It6OlYJXW6jAW8/s1600/20140220_110410.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjePPmTp65nL_AIfIAfrmG92GulbT2siVznocR8ilyPQ32gUlfUXvghi_qlUs0yNW1o53DKjnKlIJyDKtMeSyB4hSsZ7cxGyN_zgXQkBLtGrU8wvqXdUlkVJpYBaGOK6It6OlYJXW6jAW8/s200/20140220_110410.jpg" /></a>A year or so later I rented out my house and moved Hobbes and Juniper from a big three bedroom two-story to a one bedroom apartment...where, depending on who you ask, I lost my mind, had a mental breakdown, or found myself (or, myselves, as the case may be).</div>
<div>
<br />
In that apartment I crumbled. For the better part of 7 months I experienced severe mental health issues. I was "a bit" out of control, having fits of panic, at one point laying on my kitchen floor screaming and crying because I thought was going insane. I would hardly sleep. I drank a lot and would pass out on the living room floor. I would be short with the cats, yelling at them when they would meow incessantly while I was trying to write (<a href="https://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/p/the-stories-of-us-grouping-of-all.html">entries for this very blog</a>). It was a painful time. For half the year in that apartment I was a bad cat mommy. I don't recall how often the litter box got changed, or how frequently the water got replenished or the dish got washed or if I kept them fed. I do know that Juniper and Hobbes deserved so much better. But we survived together.<br />
<br />
In October of 2011 we packed up and moved back to the states due to some work permit issues. Ultimately I ended up living with The Mother for about a year and a half.<br />
<br />
She took care of the cats when I went to England for a couple of months. In that time she got them declawed - if they were going to stay in her house this was part of her conditions.<br />
<br />
Juniper and Hobbes had new buddies to play with, as Mother had her own cats and was taking care of my cat Louis (named after the vampire from 'Interview with a Vampire'), whom I had relinquished to her when I moved to Canada nearly 8 years earlier. We survived.<br />
<br />
Finally, in spring of 2013 I bought a house in the Midwest of the United States. A small two-story with a basement and plenty of room for the cats. They made the house home.<br />
<br />
They had very different personalities, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/juniperofinstagram/" target="_blank">Juniper</a> - the cat I had chosen from the shelter so many years </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMYKVwXJTtgG-aAFAiZITO86zA0liM1IzzNAxAyImSUegTmO8egMo-QonsyinLgBDSqMeO2PSd7G0aT38ndvr57yrFSoxQxf3aFFIGpQf9jtC7EE-Xd7FLS-HMwhVnCKmv-05MmQwBFME/s1600/PhotoGrid_1513302837597.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMYKVwXJTtgG-aAFAiZITO86zA0liM1IzzNAxAyImSUegTmO8egMo-QonsyinLgBDSqMeO2PSd7G0aT38ndvr57yrFSoxQxf3aFFIGpQf9jtC7EE-Xd7FLS-HMwhVnCKmv-05MmQwBFME/s200/PhotoGrid_1513302837597.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">Christmas, 2017</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/juniperofinstagram/"></a><br />
<div>
ago - was a loner. A beautiful loner with wonky back legs, neurological issues, and abandonment trauma from when he was a kitten, which is common with cats separated from their mothers too early. He wasn't my favorite. But I loved him dearly. And so did Hobbes.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BrULKGPg3i_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">Juniper passed away this past December</a>, 2018, dying while I was on one of my regular trips to Los Angeles. He had been sick for awhile, fluid had built up in his lungs. We caught it early and they were able to remove some of the liquid which provided him a few final months of love, cuddles, and treats. He was 10 years old and left behind his brother Hobbes, who was the same age, and his two new siblings - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/whiskeytherescuecat/">Whiskey</a>, 3 years old at the time, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/baxtertherescuecat/">Baxter</a>,1 year old at the time (two accidental rescues).<br />
<br />
Hobbes and I grew increasingly close over the years. He would sit on my lap and push himself into my arms when I was playing video games and I would happily give in.</div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCwY35W-bxE3PeXz48bVB6H9J5uwFB3J40DhlULgfq1JBRJBT8UZP9fPZewzMaMD6NJnHeyN5M3QNOzqwY8M3_TTpLEFE3Fd3wJkCxO-CUJjT-ujxTYNzkIezcEDjcx0m5xV8hUpOS1k/s1600/IMG_20181016_230224_735.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCwY35W-bxE3PeXz48bVB6H9J5uwFB3J40DhlULgfq1JBRJBT8UZP9fPZewzMaMD6NJnHeyN5M3QNOzqwY8M3_TTpLEFE3Fd3wJkCxO-CUJjT-ujxTYNzkIezcEDjcx0m5xV8hUpOS1k/s320/IMG_20181016_230224_735.jpg" width="256" /></a>He would sit in my lap and look up at me in the most lovingly way. Some have said his love for me was unusual (some might use the term creepy), as they'd watch as he would slowly reach is soft paw up to my face as if he wanted to stroke my cheek, and then he would try to coax my face towards him so he could lick and nip at my nose. Kitty kisses<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
When I would get out of the shower he would be sitting on the seat of the toilet waiting. As I would dry myself off he would reach for my wet hair and lick the water from it - sometimes he would chew a small, but thick, bundle of it off, but it was hard to be angry about it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PSqoFKLEMwX-6wnOD2_xCnUru-4GgOH4pFx9fUPXQ5zQQZnKsEpbUZ5D3BQOz1_iLGWssy9SViqu3rz9xOIWSFUzzOG7uOLqfBu9npTaqCKeqPlfToi4QCtWlaO3phW4d7lbnaBhlNg/s1600/IMG_20181208_002039.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PSqoFKLEMwX-6wnOD2_xCnUru-4GgOH4pFx9fUPXQ5zQQZnKsEpbUZ5D3BQOz1_iLGWssy9SViqu3rz9xOIWSFUzzOG7uOLqfBu9npTaqCKeqPlfToi4QCtWlaO3phW4d7lbnaBhlNg/s200/IMG_20181208_002039.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGbuSSyU50WKgSiI-fqJD5DZQgnfZOqTVYkx_cZUZq_SRhFz4P6W6m7G8tdWv7M1qkkvQR_LTW7Kbh8p4jtPOKRux9C9zJkMD1ZO7VpbbcjyOdk5wE8iJ3mQqYYyJT51VgmlVnlQWRrTU/s1600/IMG_20180713_210708.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGbuSSyU50WKgSiI-fqJD5DZQgnfZOqTVYkx_cZUZq_SRhFz4P6W6m7G8tdWv7M1qkkvQR_LTW7Kbh8p4jtPOKRux9C9zJkMD1ZO7VpbbcjyOdk5wE8iJ3mQqYYyJT51VgmlVnlQWRrTU/s200/IMG_20180713_210708.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs9Wds-OcPSIMn217icgndUNvI63RDb23SfjTxpes_awAPjRqSN5ZVWbr0cvvV9ixeykm19ouTVy5g5JLA_n-AwUkD-0y1Q_3HZUcU3Xe_rwMh2YuoBYh07D5eSvyD6t4X16ZVwQXHLXw/s1600/IMG_20180118_224219.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs9Wds-OcPSIMn217icgndUNvI63RDb23SfjTxpes_awAPjRqSN5ZVWbr0cvvV9ixeykm19ouTVy5g5JLA_n-AwUkD-0y1Q_3HZUcU3Xe_rwMh2YuoBYh07D5eSvyD6t4X16ZVwQXHLXw/s200/IMG_20180118_224219.jpg" /></a><br />
Anytime I was using the washroom he would put his front paws on my knees and pull my face down to his with his paw for kisses.<br />
<br />
When I would mow the lawn he'd sit in the dining room window and watch me, and when I'd have to stop nearby it to empty the bagger I'd talk to him and pet at him through the screen.<br />
<br />
Whenever I would fill my water bottles for work with ice from the outside of the fridge he'd reach up, stretching against the refrigerator, and meow. He loved filtered water and ice in his water dish. <br />
<br />
Some have remarked in the past that he had a very unique personality compared to other cats.<br />
<br />
He loved me unconditionally. He was the only living thing that has ever made me feel unquestionably loved. I don't care how crazy that sounds.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
~ ~ ~</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
When I came home from Los Angeles last Wednesday and did my check-in with each of the cats he was the last to check, mostly because he didn't come to greet me at the door as usual.<br />
<br />
I wasn't in the door more than 10-15 minutes before I was out the door with him, in the car on the way to the emergency vet, terrified. There was definitely something wrong with him. He had fallen sick during the day and was lethargic and despondent and his mouth smelled horrible and it was sticky.<br />
I lost it.<br />
I was crying, panicking, growing more fearful. I was sure he was going to die in my arms on the 40 minute drive to the nearest emergency vet (the nearest vet in general).<br />
I was holding him, kissing his ears and singing him nonsense songs, covering him in snot and tears as I told him what an amazing companion he is.<br />
I thought he was going to die in my arms on that interstate.</div>
<div>
<br />
Instead he died in my arms in a private room at the emergency vet clinic about 24 hours later. </div>
<div>
<br />
~ ~ ~<br />
<br />
I jumped out of the car and handed them my baby. My love. And they whisked him away to immediately administer an IV of liquids and stabilize him. Through the tears I tried to decide if I would opt for CPR if they had to revive him, or choose DNR. I went for the CPR, which later I would learn in most cases is probably not the best idea anyway.<br />
<br />
It wasn't long before they decided they would have to keep him for at least two days. He had arrived dehydrated, body temperature dropping. His blood work did not look promising.</div>
<div>
His creatine levels were at 11. The high end of the acceptable range is 2.4.<br />
His globulin readings were also high. <br />
He was in kidney failure.<br />
And on top of that he was suffering from a fatty liver.<br />
They kept him overnight, texting an update before bed, and one in the morning.<br />
<br />
The following day I had to work but was able to plan to see him in the afternoon.<br />
They sent me to a private room to spend time with Hobbes when I got there.<br />
But before they brought him in I was greeted by the vet. <br />
<br />
He proceeded to tell me that Hobbes had gotten even worse. For the past two hours they had him in an oxygen tent because his breathing had gotten shallow.<br />
He said he wasn't going to recover. There wasn't even a chance.<br />
Through my shattering heart and tears and wailing I told him we should end his suffering.<br />
They brought him, wrapped in a blanket, and placed him in my arms. They said I could have 5 minutes with him. 10 minutes tops.<br />
<br />
He immediately reached one of his soft paws up to my face, and as it dropped down he began gasping for air. Before the nurse even left the room I called to her and asked her to bring the shot. He continued to gasp for air in my arms as I sobbed and told him how much I love him, how lucky I was to have had him, how amazing he is.<br />
<br />
They gave him the shot and his body started to relaxed against me..<br />
<br />
I sat there for about a half an hour cradling my dead cat, the love of my life, in my arms. Kissing his soft ears, covering him in tears.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpq8SZRfBvafBWr002LSjS8hmfsu8pdHRM4mtBlNywUD2LvhaCeeIeJYGwJ5jP1ZYjCC5A-ekLpwbgVbG0uX1_2_BUXrxBmvBqDmBkNx3w_CYavG1GnXAqkJOhqovDAxaS1lI3kRbl168/s1600/PicsArt_09-12-09.45.51.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpq8SZRfBvafBWr002LSjS8hmfsu8pdHRM4mtBlNywUD2LvhaCeeIeJYGwJ5jP1ZYjCC5A-ekLpwbgVbG0uX1_2_BUXrxBmvBqDmBkNx3w_CYavG1GnXAqkJOhqovDAxaS1lI3kRbl168/s200/PicsArt_09-12-09.45.51.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">His ashes joined Juniper's today, along with an imprint of one of his paws, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">and several prints on paper of his little toe beans.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I thought I had several more years with Hobbes. All the cats I had known, which is numerous, up to Juniper, had lived to be around 18 years old. I thought Juniper's death was a fluke, a rare occurrence. Hobbes was going to live forever.<br />
<br />
I was, and still am, in shock.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzUkBTv3LonFlxhMf1nA0JfkRlAwZEsNTQh617bspXJkMwn5R-FBJqncPqHKMuYgvJlGJ_Exkm3QXl-j4R7du4Leky0Pvpgsrvs_9vUqy8eERM-o-e5zlntE6uWs9b8jF1YB_mjCw-hk0/s1600/IMG_20180518_222100.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzUkBTv3LonFlxhMf1nA0JfkRlAwZEsNTQh617bspXJkMwn5R-FBJqncPqHKMuYgvJlGJ_Exkm3QXl-j4R7du4Leky0Pvpgsrvs_9vUqy8eERM-o-e5zlntE6uWs9b8jF1YB_mjCw-hk0/s200/IMG_20180518_222100.jpg" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
That this light in my life is gone forever. Now when I do all of the things around the house that he used to be a part of there's an emptiness. When ice comes tumbling from the ice maker, it's almost unbearable. It took me days to use it. He will never sleep in the crook of my arm, or be my little spoon again.<br />
<br />
When I was done mowing the lawn last weekend I sobbed in the shower and then passed out on the bed. I miss him so much. His funny little face and his weird little ways. <br />
<br />
And it was all preventable.<br />
<br />
~ ~ ~<br />
<br />
I use an app called<a href="https://petdesk.com/"> Pet Desk</a>. It's a communication app between you and your vet. On it you can review things like medication information and blood test results.<br />
<br />
This past April I had taken Hobbes and Whiskey to get their teeth cleaned and opted for the blood tests - a very important thing to do before an older pet ,or a pet with health issues, goes into surgery. The primary concern for everyone was Whiskey because he's Feline Leukemia (FeLV) positive, so his immune system is compromised which makes him susceptible to infections.<br />
<br />
I am in the habit of taking notes when the vet or the technicians call, so I have notes related to that time period - none of which reference Hobbes or the test readings that are now clearly warning signs. When I was prompted to go back and review his blood test results from April I was alarmed and angered to learn that at that time his creatine levels (a key reading for kidney function) were already at 2.8, a full .8 higher than Whiskey's 2.0 which they felt warranted a discussion. But they never mentioned Hobbes'.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UwjJwVguN2uBIyjVNI5UPE6qKTly-HqIs8kScg8Wvoky-bUyXHZH-32arLhwmdaXdWTOGMcGG_84uip0t1L89D4CbGKtM6apOxumdVPUiGuvDL81pgZNa3-yRIiSghZz7XZGn_rSc3I/s1600/IMG_20170316_174235270.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UwjJwVguN2uBIyjVNI5UPE6qKTly-HqIs8kScg8Wvoky-bUyXHZH-32arLhwmdaXdWTOGMcGG_84uip0t1L89D4CbGKtM6apOxumdVPUiGuvDL81pgZNa3-yRIiSghZz7XZGn_rSc3I/s320/IMG_20170316_174235270.jpg" /></a><br />
As a matter of fact there were a couple of blood markers that were a bit concerning that nobody felt the need to address; a point that I have already brought up with my vet when I discussed what had happened, demanding an apology from the person responsible. I got the apology a day later, but it was weak and ineffectual. I have since had to take another cat in (Baxter, he's mostly fine) to the vet and I stayed an extra half an hour until his blood tests were complete so the vet was forced to go over them with me. I have told them that in the future when I get blood work done for my cats (of which there are now 4) at their establishment that I would be waiting the half an hour for the results fin order to have a face-to-face discussion about the readings. With as much money as I have poured into that place, in the several thousands this year, I am now going to make them work for it. Because there is nothing more heartbreaking than someone/something you love dying too soon because of the negligence of a professional.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRntRY_nZLvRFNrndHXM4s23qj8AJAWKBeVxbeDro55cRqWwQdlHFYZOKKD2L0cqLS8EC69EfqgbX0clybwaXMizbTJgD5x1jTFkI3QuXDL2ZtrxRnELHwgjU-zKbk0ZRSGjr_sLHTB_k/s1600/IMG_20170318_205558_314.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRntRY_nZLvRFNrndHXM4s23qj8AJAWKBeVxbeDro55cRqWwQdlHFYZOKKD2L0cqLS8EC69EfqgbX0clybwaXMizbTJgD5x1jTFkI3QuXDL2ZtrxRnELHwgjU-zKbk0ZRSGjr_sLHTB_k/s200/IMG_20170318_205558_314.jpg" /></a></div>
In the end I decided to write this blog post because<br />
a) This event needed to be documented, because Hobbes was a very important part of my life.<br />
b) As stupid as it sounds I was having a difficult time participating in social media or post about this, save a private post on FB, or anything, because the crushing heartache broke me. I also could not withstand one single assclown who would try to demean my grief if I posted about what I was feeling. Social Media is a different place these days.<br />
c) I wanted this story out here in the ether so that it may prompt other pet owners to be more proactive in the care of their own pets by using tools like <a href="https://petdesk.com/">Pet Desk</a>, by reviewing test results and researching what they may indicate. <br />
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I was lucky to have adopted two kittens (Cori and Siri) at the end of May (<i>who were sick when I adopted them</i>) which prompted skipping my Los Angeles trips for the summer so I could be with them for the first few months, which meant I got to spend a lot of quality time with Hobbes.<br />
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I had often talked to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/hobbesofinstagram/">Hobbes</a> (<i>as a crazy cat lady does</i>) after Juniper passed about how I didn't want him to die while I was away. That it would be devastating. I know it's a long time from now, I would say, but please don't go when I'm not here. <br />
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He died in my arms at 4:45pm CST on September 5th 2019, while I kissed his soft ears and cried into his loving face.<br />
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He had waited for me. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Selected photos from the thousands that exist...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLE8950hpgU1Ni1YqGQIwKGzel05PMd-nPV_fYMrCkyJYuhELveOFn5DCYQOZ3z8mLCmrmCMpakuqQk8ZTWUB3rNwY7sV8ckMR5oXUHMrku7sPulr-kFFNWMMUQQmy4AsCnuPGW_wURJY/s1600/20130704_230100.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLE8950hpgU1Ni1YqGQIwKGzel05PMd-nPV_fYMrCkyJYuhELveOFn5DCYQOZ3z8mLCmrmCMpakuqQk8ZTWUB3rNwY7sV8ckMR5oXUHMrku7sPulr-kFFNWMMUQQmy4AsCnuPGW_wURJY/s200/20130704_230100.jpg" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-CscB33J-phbPaO1DNUqRNoYGBdoXI05GamlFsXQ84d5AKqZ9gPSAIzmLo9sfQHHHcCMSHKC2-yqWXU4qUzVAhTtZUb2fINmV5MNl3eWvzsbsYY70NmoCrEwCOQUj266reYKHXD2Inso/s1600/IMG_20170702_185213026.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-CscB33J-phbPaO1DNUqRNoYGBdoXI05GamlFsXQ84d5AKqZ9gPSAIzmLo9sfQHHHcCMSHKC2-yqWXU4qUzVAhTtZUb2fINmV5MNl3eWvzsbsYY70NmoCrEwCOQUj266reYKHXD2Inso/s200/IMG_20170702_185213026.jpg" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrUWNKzZ3Lkk3NXy93OLN804nqHEA4JPy_FcjLGTFJoic0LHF8vc-YYruKzdpzOc05MUp0eROQUTx4SMJUsqe59sbjMn-bVpV_wJJ3LnEHI4t-Z-ispmAukmuCDoRnQoT4hIq7t1vtFQ/s1600/20130720_204015.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrUWNKzZ3Lkk3NXy93OLN804nqHEA4JPy_FcjLGTFJoic0LHF8vc-YYruKzdpzOc05MUp0eROQUTx4SMJUsqe59sbjMn-bVpV_wJJ3LnEHI4t-Z-ispmAukmuCDoRnQoT4hIq7t1vtFQ/s200/20130720_204015.jpg" /></a></div>
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Always helping with projects</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijII-3pQTGpLJGTGkOPtsRSHRd59kSfdxcsDpPW96aVeum1wTU8Gcdub2prEuBWCASVrDlEO8yOOo-rBWW67Xkn6C-_hnhnLv9Dc5cVUOppJaH_VqmazugdS5SQtn9tBsgAlz-tf5hAIw/s1600/20130802_172647.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijII-3pQTGpLJGTGkOPtsRSHRd59kSfdxcsDpPW96aVeum1wTU8Gcdub2prEuBWCASVrDlEO8yOOo-rBWW67Xkn6C-_hnhnLv9Dc5cVUOppJaH_VqmazugdS5SQtn9tBsgAlz-tf5hAIw/s200/20130802_172647.jpg" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivY-9zAKJ_p1fJl6fGXx4lncHQ81Qo0CitMLBZgp0-9icB6i7hbsF8C4_FNGXn-BFVx8XkKcXrVfX9BKyH9UwOCB9iryioSP0owGR4-zzf0xgSlArJdr2_zhdIkUOzkZCApdJQbPafDqk/s1600/00100dPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190608004451910_COVER.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivY-9zAKJ_p1fJl6fGXx4lncHQ81Qo0CitMLBZgp0-9icB6i7hbsF8C4_FNGXn-BFVx8XkKcXrVfX9BKyH9UwOCB9iryioSP0owGR4-zzf0xgSlArJdr2_zhdIkUOzkZCApdJQbPafDqk/s200/00100dPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190608004451910_COVER.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5COsF8eMLeoxm17R10xlkeS_k26ZM_AeGqmog_ZxOgp-F3Z1LRhqrdbrcZjufUP7JAYbEB67JdClChPPkd-2-onqjo3poyNvlGmOL42pUQLbfSskTBddMvd7KGLpmjZ0rxzUo0NsIYN0/s1600/IMG_20181003_193547_147.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5COsF8eMLeoxm17R10xlkeS_k26ZM_AeGqmog_ZxOgp-F3Z1LRhqrdbrcZjufUP7JAYbEB67JdClChPPkd-2-onqjo3poyNvlGmOL42pUQLbfSskTBddMvd7KGLpmjZ0rxzUo0NsIYN0/s200/IMG_20181003_193547_147.jpg" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoG9tg69RWuuRVlJ-St_4xxsWhwBeDocq_w_caOl62Eb6GMXWD5aWQ66wTAWPOro_ZU4cKG-8ycugIeWZxBHiXCKJO0NyC9qsXLJnaJ4qA-Kw8DETSZw4JATVN56MEpAxgwtumSGFAJwU/s1600/image000000_08.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoG9tg69RWuuRVlJ-St_4xxsWhwBeDocq_w_caOl62Eb6GMXWD5aWQ66wTAWPOro_ZU4cKG-8ycugIeWZxBHiXCKJO0NyC9qsXLJnaJ4qA-Kw8DETSZw4JATVN56MEpAxgwtumSGFAJwU/s200/image000000_08.jpg" /></a></div>
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Hobbes & Baxter, 2019</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLz3Mq38YtTrLio02EQipnyZ_BrtckfjbGhHv3RVzutFE4kc7M-Cu32jougknSqMZZzCZOdZoZTmkTAVI2PfAeX4YCtyxqTSImc4mEmpq7-cmjxWsf6ey3pk2d6UqdbZ6zMwpMiI0P61s/s1600/20141220_174457.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLz3Mq38YtTrLio02EQipnyZ_BrtckfjbGhHv3RVzutFE4kc7M-Cu32jougknSqMZZzCZOdZoZTmkTAVI2PfAeX4YCtyxqTSImc4mEmpq7-cmjxWsf6ey3pk2d6UqdbZ6zMwpMiI0P61s/s320/20141220_174457.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzES1NlLJJPCBBcmDjLT_6TIhliSgz4OlTsgos-9CwFO0Pbih-iX3hcS9KRF76E7X9p_SGWNGG8YSsCCoTrGRvyVUQbp18lkY3bo9A-Rk92Qa7sa5_DRGzd-nKFcjD4yaawpqUrfmnPWI/s1600/IMG_20170408_020958_953.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzES1NlLJJPCBBcmDjLT_6TIhliSgz4OlTsgos-9CwFO0Pbih-iX3hcS9KRF76E7X9p_SGWNGG8YSsCCoTrGRvyVUQbp18lkY3bo9A-Rk92Qa7sa5_DRGzd-nKFcjD4yaawpqUrfmnPWI/s200/IMG_20170408_020958_953.jpg" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKYCAN_YhSVCY7e8dnAblSSRzGECgJXxVlBVM_iuBUkA5L5OyatkHbK2HKXITln_gCE_-ZY74RQEe05mgHZYd_kyRdFpIAImo-ANwX5HGRTY1mirqqCR6JRobt0_VLDQctQG5hmXn8As/s1600/IMG_20170503_200607104.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKYCAN_YhSVCY7e8dnAblSSRzGECgJXxVlBVM_iuBUkA5L5OyatkHbK2HKXITln_gCE_-ZY74RQEe05mgHZYd_kyRdFpIAImo-ANwX5HGRTY1mirqqCR6JRobt0_VLDQctQG5hmXn8As/s200/IMG_20170503_200607104.jpg" /></a></div>
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Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-43987554996881706882017-08-11T20:27:00.002-05:002017-08-11T22:01:53.821-05:00The Thing Living Inside Frankie<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzUg9_rNb_Aik65UhyphenhyphenIAcfGn-NAoDBtDw4szzEyMxKr6ha1rK-fJC0T7GNsU_WRcMhTnDuEW-mUCwx-RMK-xvsgNLOMUoEYlRiOZI0NeZ-sPTvU9P0rQPfpQ4R_7VhqnMncH2AURSKz8Y/s1600/monster-602548_960_720.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="699" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzUg9_rNb_Aik65UhyphenhyphenIAcfGn-NAoDBtDw4szzEyMxKr6ha1rK-fJC0T7GNsU_WRcMhTnDuEW-mUCwx-RMK-xvsgNLOMUoEYlRiOZI0NeZ-sPTvU9P0rQPfpQ4R_7VhqnMncH2AURSKz8Y/s200/monster-602548_960_720.png" width="193" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://pixabay.com/p-602548/?no_redirect" target="_blank">Image Source</a></td></tr>
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To preface, "The Thing" is not a baby.<br />
One hundred percent NOT a baby.<br />
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Now that that's out of the way, we can move on.<br />
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For the sake of easier reading there will be times were the writing of this post is in first person, and times when we flip to us/we when it seems appropriate. This is one of the rare occasions in the many years of writing that there has been swapping, or even use of "I".<br />
If you don't know who "We" are, and are actually curious, there is <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/p/the-stories-of-us-grouping-of-all.html" target="_blank">an archive of writing available at your disposal right here on the blog</a> (tip: click the hyperlink).<br />
The reason for this, as stated, is ease of reading, because it's about a very important topic.<br />
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Some people may have noticed in the last couple of months references to a physical health issue in some of our Tweets, ranging to vague to specific. Until we had as much information as possible it seemed prudent to hold back on writing about it.<br />
Part of the reason for writing about it is that when there first started to be issues we would Google them, find threads, forums, groups, where people would be describing the exact same symptoms we had. Some men, some women, people of all ages. Yet they never returned to say what happened when they [finally] went to the doctor. People would just add to their threads saying they had the same issues. It was frustrating. Not that the internet could have done a proper job of diagnosing the issue anyway. Still, when a person is at wits end trying to get a ballpark estimate on the possible health problem...forums seemed to offer no help.<br />
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The symptoms in question were really noticed, fully, at the end of January of this year. They included: <i>extreme fatigue, dizziness, pain in the right abdomen just beneath the rib cage, and in the matter of about 4 weeks a 15 pound weight gain</i>.<br />
Aside from insurance issues, the other barrier to seeing a doctor immediately was that that's not really how we were raised. On the farm you generally didn't go to the doctor unless you were losing a serious amount of blood, or an appendage. The only times we really recall being in a doctors office are when we had allergy testing (at about the age of 6), when we ran our thumb through a table saw (at about 13. It was the cool thing to do.) and then after <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2011/03/collision-other-girls-terrible-car.html" target="_blank">the car accident</a>. So if you're not feeling well...well that's no reason to go to the doctor, sillypants. So we mostly dismissed it. Came up with other reasons for feeling the way we felt.<br />
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The first thing people should know is that I work hard to maintain what little healthy physique this body displays. Aside from [what some feel massive] steady/unchanging amount of alcohol consumption, the diet is stable. A lot of fresh fruits and vegetables (and in the summer garden fresh from our own garden), whole foods, fresh meat products, minimal junk food or processed foods, mostly home-cooked (gotta use that culinary arts degree for <i>something</i>), low-carb (no white bread, no pasta, minimal rice, etc). Lots of fucking apples, cabbages, tomatoes, and the like. Like everyday. I also regularly workout 4-5 times a week for 45-90 minutes at a time (depending on if it's a Kettlebell day). And as stated, no change in alcohol consumption.<br />
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So this 15 pounds was a concern, especially when paired with the other symptoms. Call it a perk of being obsessed with paying attention to one's body and how it functions.<br />
Turns out it was a good thing.<br />
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We had inquired with a woman at the gym sometimes in April, who is there pretty often, as we are, about tips to kick that stubborn weight issue. This was before any doctor appointment.<br />
One of the first things she asked was about age, and then immediately attributed it to that. "Yeah. I know. The metabolism slows down the older a woman gets. But 15 pounds in a matter of weeks?". She wasn't overly helpful, but it wasn't shocking. We were just sort of querying all manner of sources. Plus, in that early stage of the end of February/beginning of March we hadn't really put the other symptoms together with this issue. Even by April there was only a vague feeling that they may be connected. Truth be told they all <i>did </i>just seemed things that happen when you get old (aside from the pain). And most people backed up that theory with their perspective on it.<br />
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We knew we'd eventually have to go the doctor. The problem with the pain increased, the exhaustion made going to the gym a tortuous chore and in addition to it all we were feeling depressed (<i>but, not in a way we recognized well. A new feeling of depression, somewhat linked to other personal issues, but it felt different</i>). I would have went to the doctor sooner, but our household found ourselves without health insurance this year until May, so it was a waiting game.<br />
June 2nd we posted to a select group of FB friends: <br />
"We don't usually go hypochondriac...but...for the past 6 months (the earliest we can recall) we've been having intermittent pain in part of our abdomen (right where the kidneys and liver reside)..."<br />
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June 14th we finally made it to the doctor appointment we had scheduled shortly after that night.<br />
They did a complete physical, blood work up and gynecological exam. Ran through all the usual questions. Inquired about different things in life (changes, stress in a relationship, etc). The doctor didn't bat an eye at the alcohol consumption reported; and yes, we are pathologically honest with our doctors about how much we drink. Nothing good comes from keeping stuff from your doctor, especially in cases like this. We gave the most complete details on our health, right down to bowel movements and other strange aches, because by this time we had done enough researching trying to figure out what was wrong it was determined that if could be nearly anything, and it might take one overlooked symptom to be the link to the diagnosis.<br />
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The physical went fine. Nothing found. The gynecological exam and pap came back clean. The blood work came back the same day and we passed with flying colors - except for a pretty giant Vitamin D deficiency that is common in places where half the year people don't expose their skin to the sun. Take Vitamin D, people. It has so many physical and mental health benefits. So many people experiencing depression and mood issues could benefit from Vitamin D over some pharmacrap. Look it up. Vitamins are important, especially ones hard come by. The weird depressed feeling we had improved pretty significantly after a few weeks of Vitamin D - plus they come in fun gummies. It's like having candy for breakfast!<br />
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But I digress.<br />
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The day after the doctor appointment we ran a local 10K feeling confident about our health - despite the lingering pain: the enzyme panel that measures kidney, pancreas, and more importantly, liver function, was all normal. A fact that anybody we told, who knows how much we drink, felt hard pressed to believe. They'd kind of cock their head to the side and exclaim "Realllyyy...??"<br />
"Yes. Really.", we'd reply derisively.<br />
The red and white blood count was "on fleek" (hahah. How dare you use that in your writing!).<br />
No cholesterol issues, and to that point no high blood pressure. It really made us feel like going back to the doctor, who questioned our healthy lifestyle, and sticking our finger in his face.<br />
It should be noted, also, that when I discussed that 15 pound weight gain with the doctor he said the same thing as everyone else: "Your metabolism slows down as you get older." To which I replied: "But 15 pounds in just a few weeks? By that measure I'll be 300 pounds by winter." He then agreed, yes, it <i>is </i>unlikely to be due to old age. Fucking doctors, man. The doubt about what you're saying, about your own body and lifestyle. Like they know more about the body and life you live in.<br />
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The blood work was excellent, so the doctor scheduled an ultrasound to try to get to the bottom of the symptoms, especially that pain.<br />
June 28th we were getting our very first ultrasound.<br />
They warm the jelly and it feels like some gently cumming on you, and then they play in it with their special wand. When done you're handed a washcloth to clean it all off with, like that charming young man you once met.<br />
Not even gonna apologize for that graphic interpretation.<br />
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It was about a week before they got back with the results.<br />
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Did you know theses days you can see almost everything most health providers post to your chart, almost right away via an online app/portal? It's really cool. Unless you get those results at midnight in the middle of Fourth of July weekend.<br />
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There were all sorts of measurements for organs, and then just "gallbladder appears normal". It was midnight, we were at a campground, so we spent the rest of the evening looking up the normal measurements for organs: Liver, common bile duct, right kidney (no mention of the left; what is a renal pelvis?!), pancreas (wait, what does "focal hypoechoic area mean?!). Some of the measurements seemed an issue.<br />
<b>"Further evaluation is recommended. MR or CT would be helpful"</b><br />
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Great. We got this just after midnight on Saturday. There was no one to call until Tuesday.<br />
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When we finally got to talk to a nurse she relayed the doctor's message that he'd like to order a CT (or CAT) scan.<br />
<br />
July 7th we were sitting in a waiting room full of old OLD people in the cancer center of one of the large local-ish clinics drinking measured amounts of oral contrast mixed with water. It was really a pretty quick procedure after the two hours of drinking the mixture, and of course we made jokes with the nurse the whole time.<br />
<br />
"You're going to feel like you peed yourself when I inject the contrast into your veins", she said right before the final scan.<br />
Seconds after it was injected we told her "Oh my god. I'm not entirely sure I HAVE'T peed myself". Laughs all around.<br />
<br />
It wasn't too long before the results came in. One of the perks to living in a low-population area is the speedy response to medical testing, I guess.<br />
<br />
This one dropped a few things off the search list. The liver was fine (again, people were shocked). Unremarkable, as a matter of fact. The spleen and adrenals. Everything...but the pancreas.<br />
They wanted to double check the ultrasound with an MRI. We could hear the sounds of cash registers and emptying coffers.<br />
But. What is this? At the bottom of the report. This is something new.<br />
<br />
<b>"In the left pelvis there is a complex primary cystic mass which measures 7.2 x 10.6 cm. This contains internal septations, which are partially calcified. A more solid component is present along the more anterior and inferior margin. This appears to originate from the right ovary. The left ovary is unremarkable." </b>and then in the recap: <b>"Complex right adnexal mass which appears to be ovarian in origin. This contains both cystic and solid components. GYN consult is recommended.</b><br />
<br />
Hmmm.<br />
<br />
They scheduled the MRI for the pancreas issue.<br />
<br />
Our favourite <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2011/12/remembering-grandpa.html" target="_blank">grandfather passed in December of 2009 of pancreatic cancer</a>, so this put a little scare in some people. Father was going to be in the area, so he volunteered to be there for us the day of the MRI. We had had MRIs before for spinal issues, so it wasn't anything new. We knew pancreatic cancer to be a cruel, but swift, cancer. But the day came, it was mostly uneventful. A nice time to spend with Father, over cookies and coffee at a local cafe, catching up on life a little.<br />
<br />
In the meantime the nurse called to schedule an appointment with a the gynecological specialist. It wouldn't be until August 1st because we were heading out of town for a 10 vacation in Canada soon, a yearly pilgrimage to the city we love so much (that so many people dislike) for the annual <a href="http://fringefestivals.com/" target="_blank">Fringe Fest</a> and to spend time with Fabulous People (or at least the last remaining of the happy troupe from way back in the day). and to go to hot yoga, and day drink.<br />
<br />
The MRI came back, for the first time we had to call and ask about why it hadn't been put in our chart yet. The nurse said that the MRI came back fine, nothing much of note (though when we looked at it it said there were two small lesions on the liver. Should probably keep an eye on that), but to be sure not to miss that appointment with the specialist next month. Later we got a call from the other nurse saying everything on the MRI was fine so there was no need to see the doctor. We pressed her, saying that's not what we were told that same morning by Nurse A. She looked further and said, oh, yes, absolutely go to that appointment.<br />
How irritating. If I hadn't taken it upon myself to inquire about the results earlier that day all I would have had is this woman saying everything is fine, go about your life.<br />
This is why you should ALWAYS be proactive in your healthcare. Make calls. Ask questions. All of the questions. Ask them twice. Just because they have the education and the degrees doesn't mean they are perfect. Don't be a statistic of negligence.<br />
<br />
Fast forward to August 1st. The day after my 38th birthday.<br />
<br />
The nurse takes me into the examination room and gets all of the particulars (she clearly has no idea why I'm there). When she gets to the alcohol consumption portion and I throw the number (in mL) her pen stops.<br />
"Wow! That's a lot!" she exclaims.<br />
"Yes. I know." I reply flatly.<br />
"Do...do you think you have a problem?" She asks. She is the first doctor to ever ask that. And we do, in fact, have fairly regular doctor appointments. Every two years at least. Little does she know, up until recently, the amount of alcohol she was struggling to understand was just from two to three nights of weekend drinking.<br />
"No. I don't think I have a problem." I say.<br />
"Can you face the day without a drink?" she asks, searching for an obvious sign of alcoholism.<br />
"Absolutely. As a matter of fact I wake up every morning thinking 'I don't think I'll need a drink today'. And then life happens. A day happens."<br />
I follow it up with pointing out the geographical region she shares in living with us, and saying it's not unusual given the specific coordinates.<br />
<br />
She gets all the info she needs, leaves the room and the doctor comes in.<br />
<br />
She asks some cursory questions before getting to the meat of it. Checks the vitals, asking about reported symptoms, asking about symptoms I hadn't mentioned because they have become such a part of my life. Backpain? Sure. I broke my back and have a degenerative spinal issue, I say. Though later I'll realize that, while I try to maintain the pain with exercise, diet, and alcohol, I had found myself reaching for the Ibuprofen the last few months, just thinking I'd been overdoing the Kettlebell workouts, or perhaps pulled something.<br />
Digestive issues? She asks.<br />
That's a hard one too. At a young age, before it was really a thing, Mother had us get allergy testing, for whatever reason, so we know have allergies to corn, wheat...pretty much every grain but rice. And a lot of other things to boot.<br />
And because we've been fairly successful at maintaining weight after that <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/p/franks-100-pound-weight-loss-story.html" target="_blank">one hundred pound weight loss</a>, all thanks to a low-carb Atkins-type diet, which requires keen observation of your body's reaction to certain foods as you add them in, we know that the times when we splurge with a burger, or a bit of pasta, our digestive system...well...it ain't pretty. But sometimes nothing happens. It's literally a crap shoot. But since we've had this issue forever, the slight increase of problems turned out to be a symptom.<br />
Symptom after symptom, she kept asking questions. Do you find yourself feeling fuller faster than usual lately? Who knows? I don't eat much to begin with, not really. But I could always eat. (Being vigilant about diet, and having a historically poor relationship with food, means sometimes you don't know if you're actually hungry or not. But that's another issue, and is more nuanced that we have time for here).<br />
She said that next she'd do a pelvic exam, and then we'd talk about "why you're here".<br />
She was totally burying the lead.<br />
<br />
She finished up the pelvic exam. "Everything appears to be normal", she says.<br />
Duh. We just had an exam less than two months ago.<br />
<br />
She sits at her little desk, while we sit on the examining table, naked from the waist down, a little paper sheet over our lap.<br />
<br />
She turns to me and says "So, you're here today because they have found a sizable cyst on your ovary. About 10cm across." She forms her hand in an weird circle, shows me, and says "it's about the size of a babies head".<br />
<br />
Now. I'm not sure why this was a surprise, other than, despite reading it in the CAT scan report we didn't really think about it the measurement/size.<br />
First, it's in cm. And we are American. What is a cm, even? (Joking. Yes, we know what a cm is, even it's harder to visualize than an inch).<br />
Second, the couple of times we thought about it we pictured some web-like structure. Not a fucking large grapefruit lodged in our pelvis.<br />
So when she said "It's about the size of a babies head", my hand flew to my mouth and I shouted "Are you fucking kidding!?"<br />
She thought that was funny. She probably doesn't have many cussing mouthy patients.<br />
"Like, a baby-baby head, or like, a fetus-baby head?", we asked.<br />
"Baby-baby." she replied.<br />
<br />
Time and details kind of got weird and sometimes ffuzzy at that point. She started talking about it's complexities, that they were going to have to do surgery to take the cyst out (only 5-10% of cysts require removal [<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span>]</b>), and also take the ovary and the fallopian tube (1/3 of our reproductive system) and how they weren't necessarily sure what ovary it was attached to because when a female lies down the ovaries sort of tuck together towards the back.<br />
<br />
"As long as you take the right one", we joked.<br />
"I'll be sure to take the one with the baby head attached!", she joked back.<br />
We were immensely happy that she had such a good sense of humor.<br />
Good character and a sense of humor is what you want from the person who is going to slice into you with sharp instruments.<br />
<br />
She immediately sent us for (more) blood work, this time to test for cancer markers (the CA125 marker, specifically, and one other we don't recall), and another ultrasound. This time with a focus on The Thing, because the The Thing wasn't a consideration in the first ultrasound. As an aside they did find two small fibroids, one measuring about 1cm in size. Which are just more small tumors, but completely normal. One thing I learned from research is that cysts in the reproductive organs are highly common, and the only time they become a problem is when they don't eventually pass through during a menstruation, in which case they turn into something like The Thing, and can become cancerous.<br />
<br />
So that's that, essentially.<br />
<br />
There will one of three surgical outcomes.<br />
1) laparoscopy - that's the nice one. A couple of small cuts WITH LASERS (haha! fiber optic instruments, really, but still), and then they inflate the area so they can put a balloon around The Thing, and then extract it. This is the preferred method with the shortest amount of recovery time, and no overnight hospital stay.<br />
2) laparotomy - this involves a larger linear cut. They'll "open us up", and extract it that way. Bigger cut. Overnight stay in the hospital. Bigger scar. Longer recovery. Less desired. (I'm only booking off ten days for recovery)<br />
3) they make the first incision and see some crazy unexpected shit in there so they close it back up and reschedule the operation with a special specialist/surgeon.<br />
<br />
We literally won't know which will happen until we wake up from surgery and see what happened. That sucks.<br />
<br />
Aside from the general anxiety about going under for surgery, which was scheduled for the earliest date that fit both my work schedule, the recovery time required, and the surgeons schedule [<b>September 7th</b>]- it's our first time.<br />
To cope with the uncertainty we've just been making jokes (it's our go-to mechanism) about how we never planned on using the ovaries anyway, and other such things. Sure, it's scary. But I have people to deal with that (see, that's a DID/MPD joke 😄)<br />
<br />
To get a better idea of how big it is I took the dimensions provided by the last ultrasound and carved a model out of an overgrown zucchini because we had been having a difficult time envisioning it, like really putting context to The Thing.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_1uLWWmfn2lCwHMRQnDp7VB2H67_ZzwjK2lSq472A_SgmqirsiJxnoP7nRbPpNgC0QwN_twLUfh5REzu-BwkoJXf8G04hJ5ASGauxsUmGhcUMwoKDiHRCFHnM3BawaVqh2WJzVM4240/s1600/IMG_20170809_193016932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_1uLWWmfn2lCwHMRQnDp7VB2H67_ZzwjK2lSq472A_SgmqirsiJxnoP7nRbPpNgC0QwN_twLUfh5REzu-BwkoJXf8G04hJ5ASGauxsUmGhcUMwoKDiHRCFHnM3BawaVqh2WJzVM4240/s200/IMG_20170809_193016932.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBST5j-uz5qeO5Oe5lpZCoJmC2ncbFndFnQJywgW11xHv9xZGv4S74ew6GvMMpSv5I666IGJjgzhcz-WBVUFIKG0oP7Uc0RG_v3IZNGGuFsXiwd-hrOsBY_YshMqXMu6FRSQEo_44fUM/s1600/IMG_20170809_193025682.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBST5j-uz5qeO5Oe5lpZCoJmC2ncbFndFnQJywgW11xHv9xZGv4S74ew6GvMMpSv5I666IGJjgzhcz-WBVUFIKG0oP7Uc0RG_v3IZNGGuFsXiwd-hrOsBY_YshMqXMu6FRSQEo_44fUM/s200/IMG_20170809_193025682.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
Fun. Hey? That's roughly the size (it's a couple mm under, but you get the picture) illustrated in the photo. The coffee cup is to provide scale.<br />
<br />
So, in addition to the unease about the surgery itself, there's also the risk of it being malignant (cancerous), which is more common with complex masses like The Thing. Guess we can't ever do anything the simple way.<br />
When they handed us the pamphlet "So You Have An Ovarian Cyst" (just kidding, that's not what it's titled), we flipped through it on the back inside panel was the Warning Signs of Cancer of the Ovary.<br />
Checking off the symptoms we have:<br />
<img alt="Check mark symbol" ms.cmpgrp="content" ms.interactiontype="500" ms.pgarea="Body" src="https://support.content.office.net/en-us/media/72f91ba6-4711-46d2-9fd9-b916f57de227.gif" style="background-color: white; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Helvetica Neue", "BBAlpha Sans", "S60 Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; max-width: 100%;" title="Check mark symbol" /> bloating<br />
<img alt="Check mark symbol" ms.cmpgrp="content" ms.interactiontype="500" ms.pgarea="Body" src="https://support.content.office.net/en-us/media/72f91ba6-4711-46d2-9fd9-b916f57de227.gif" style="background-color: white; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Helvetica Neue", "BBAlpha Sans", "S60 Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; max-width: 100%;" title="Check mark symbol" /> pelvic or abdominal pain<br />
<img alt="Check mark symbol" ms.cmpgrp="content" ms.interactiontype="500" ms.pgarea="Body" src="https://support.content.office.net/en-us/media/72f91ba6-4711-46d2-9fd9-b916f57de227.gif" style="background-color: white; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Helvetica Neue", "BBAlpha Sans", "S60 Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; max-width: 100%;" title="Check mark symbol" /> back pain<br />
<img alt="Check mark symbol" ms.cmpgrp="content" ms.interactiontype="500" ms.pgarea="Body" src="https://support.content.office.net/en-us/media/72f91ba6-4711-46d2-9fd9-b916f57de227.gif" style="background-color: white; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Helvetica Neue", "BBAlpha Sans", "S60 Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; max-width: 100%;" title="Check mark symbol" /> enlargement or swelling of the abdomen<br />
<img alt="Check mark symbol" ms.cmpgrp="content" ms.interactiontype="500" ms.pgarea="Body" src="https://support.content.office.net/en-us/media/72f91ba6-4711-46d2-9fd9-b916f57de227.gif" style="background-color: white; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Helvetica Neue", "BBAlpha Sans", "S60 Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; max-width: 100%;" title="Check mark symbol" /> constipation<br />
<img alt="Check mark symbol" ms.cmpgrp="content" ms.interactiontype="500" ms.pgarea="Body" src="https://support.content.office.net/en-us/media/72f91ba6-4711-46d2-9fd9-b916f57de227.gif" style="background-color: white; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Helvetica Neue", "BBAlpha Sans", "S60 Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; max-width: 100%;" title="Check mark symbol" /> feeling tired<br />
6 out of the 10. Not a great score, really.<br />
13-21% of cysts that require surgical removal turn out to be cancerous [<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>1</b></span>]<br />
<br />
The real concern at the moment is that that giant sack of crap will burst and flood our body will all sorts of madness. This has translated into augmenting our gym activities a bit, and taking a rest from running for while. Which is slightly miserable, but better than being poisoned by The Thing.<br />
<br />
But here's where we buried the lead just a little.<br />
This afternoon I called to inquire as to the status of the blood work they took back on August 1st and it came back clear! Which, in and of itself, isn't a definitive "No cancer" - <i>that'll be determined when the cut the bugger up</i> - but it's a happy hurdle for sure. *releases the balloons*<br />
<br />
<b>At the end of it, this tale is meant to raise a little awareness of:</b><br />
a) of how easy it is to miss a cyst in a routine pelvic exam. It was literally undetected in June during a the pelvic exam. The doctor thought the pain was going to be an issue with the gallbladder.<br />
b) how easy it is to dismiss symptoms as something else, or not necessarily take a slight increase in severity seriously because you're just used to living with it.<br />
c) how you should never let someone tell you the symptoms you are experiencing are because YOU'RE FUCKING OLD.<br />
d) how you should pay attention to your body. Get to know it. Intimately.<br />
That 15 pound weight loss didn't really translate into a big increase in clothing size. We never would have taken anything seriously if it wasn't for how much we pay attention to our body.<br />
<br />
Get to know your body, because if you can catch an issue in time then you could save your own life.<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading!<br />
____________________<br />
[1] Office of Women's Health, US Department of Health and Human Services <a href="https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/ovarian-cysts">https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/ovarian-cysts</a><br />
____________________<br />
<br />
As an aside. If you made it this far. Here's one thing. And this is not to pick on any one person. It's literally been loads of people doing it.<br />
When someone tells you about such a situation, the last things they <i>may</i> want to hear is: how you had a friend who had one and she's okay now, or how much they're going to beat this, or any other such thing. It minimizes the seriousness. It's a lot like saying so-and-so has depression too, and they are fine. Other people experiencing the same thing is not always a comfort to the person experiencing the thing. In this case, you know who hasn't said anything? People who know people who have died from something like this, or in the case of people with mental health issues, all the very negative statistics.<br />
People DIE from ovarian cancer.<br />
According to the American Cancer Society it's the fifth most popular way to die of cancer.<br />
While we are no way panicking about the situation, we have to be realistic, not foolishly optimistic. Because the best preparation for anything, is preparation for everything.<br />
<br />Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-78032713806314840132017-07-07T21:03:00.002-05:002017-07-07T21:26:47.292-05:00Brief Healthcare Rant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhcTeyZXJvp8ZE9hOgEG92ReHRTNDVnBvJw7i6xLHX85mGzAlka2YOv8_ZflUwIcdfUME1RvdVGMnIkirZG_uRL-2w7rcBaItcNWForiq420fdC957lJS63dp8kKFRhonMceclp1NBVag/s1600/expensivehealthcare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="1200" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhcTeyZXJvp8ZE9hOgEG92ReHRTNDVnBvJw7i6xLHX85mGzAlka2YOv8_ZflUwIcdfUME1RvdVGMnIkirZG_uRL-2w7rcBaItcNWForiq420fdC957lJS63dp8kKFRhonMceclp1NBVag/s200/expensivehealthcare.jpg" width="200"></a></div>
<br>
This will be brief. Promise.<br>
<br>
This year will mark the first year we've had to face "modern day" insurance (much has changes over the last 13+ years).<br>
<br>
And this is the first year since the ACA that we have moved from the Marketplace (Affordable Health Care system) to employer-based insurance. And just in time. Or so it seemed?<br>
<br>
For those who are unfamiliar with having to use insurance for something other than a yearly physical (generally covered at no cost, in the case of many insurance plans), a deductible is a none-issue...until you have to get blood tests following that exam (<i>to the tune of $500+, not covered by insurance unless you have already reached your deductible</i>).<br>
<br>
$500+. "No big deal".<br>
<br>
But then, because you had some symptoms - in this case unexplainable abdominal pain, a sudden unexplainable weight gain of 15 pounds in a matter of a couple of weeks that persists for several months, even though you have changed nothing about your diet and exercise regimen, excessive unusual fatigue and dizziness...<br>
<br>
Welcome to an ultra$ound. $$<br>
<br>
And then the ultrasound results lead to a CAT $can. $$$<br>
<br>
(still holding out on that it's nothing - this isn't about our health issues, today)<br>
<br>
And then those three components lead to meeting your deductible.<br>The deductible is more than 10% of the net (post-tax, or take hoe pay) income of the employee who carries the plan (in this case, The Husband). It may even be more than 10% of the total household income.<br>[NEWSFLASH: not all households are two-income, and not all two-income households make a decent living wage despite the two income <- but this should not be shocking too you].<br>
<br>In this particular case it's the BEST plan the employer has to offer (and the employer is a multi-national company), and it still costs the household $480 a month just for the privilege of meeting the deductible.<br>
It's likely that this is a standard situation. (Though, admittedly, there has been no personal research on the matter outside of discussions with friends and acquaintances, because this isn't a research piece as some of the posts and research papers on this blog are).<br>
<br>
This household is fortunate in its financial position thanks to various situations, so while it may be an inconvenience at this point, it is in no way a disaster. No pity needed. Promise. 100%<br>
<br>
However. Not being the types to be so narcissistic as to only think about personal plights...we can't help but be concerned....dumbfounded...astonished...that even in the case of a top plan, that any middle/middle-low/low class American can even manage sparing 10% of their income that is already stretched thin by all measures of modern life: people who have car loans, house payments, student debt, <i>children. </i>How the actual fuck are they managing any of it.<br>
<br>
Yes. Once the deductible is met then the costs decrease...until the deductible resets. And then you're dropping that 10+% all over again. And endless pit.<br>
<br>
The healthcare system in this country is ridiculous. Criminal. <b><i>It is not a pro-life system</i></b>, it is a <u>pro-profit system</u>. It is greedy and it is disgusting. And it makes us yearn for the years under the Canadian Healthcare system, as it does make The Husband yearn for his entire life under the NHS of the UK.<br>
<br>
Profits before people.<br>
<br>
Whatever happens with the Affordable Healthcare Act under the current administration is NOT going to alleviate the problem. By all honest reviews, both from accountable and responsible and <i>trustworthy</i> people on the left <i>and</i> right, it will exacerbate the problems that already exist, both within and outside of the marketplace. It will be worse than it was leading up to the ACA. It will be a disaster.<br>
<br>
Not looking forward to that. And neither should be any reasonable and intelligent person.<br>
<br>
</rant><div><br></div><div>Psst...</div><div>We were actually brief!</div><div>Nailed it. 👊🏻</div><div>
<br></div>Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-16670432512098869982017-04-22T17:19:00.004-05:002017-04-22T17:37:16.950-05:00Frankie Goes To Vegas: The Rockabilly EditionThis was the fourth trip to Las Vegas over the past just about 10 years, <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2016/05/frankie-goes-to-vegas.html" target="_blank">the second in just two</a>, and marks the first that was for an actual event, and not just Vegas for the sake of Vegas.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gQi_sEs5TcZGvbFA7dq8s97k05HW1U6DMGsLbmwBK5SxCRwgfflwEOBaewUO5ZsIjiL2myUaeE9a7qZmbZ0XOB6b7MxPNTd4UuAsS_2m3bIWWmWnq2AjQ8BX1FRIywt3M-9Z_54Eijo/s1600/Rockabilly+Weekend+Car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gQi_sEs5TcZGvbFA7dq8s97k05HW1U6DMGsLbmwBK5SxCRwgfflwEOBaewUO5ZsIjiL2myUaeE9a7qZmbZ0XOB6b7MxPNTd4UuAsS_2m3bIWWmWnq2AjQ8BX1FRIywt3M-9Z_54Eijo/s400/Rockabilly+Weekend+Car.jpg" title="The Official Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend Cruiser" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Official Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend Cruiser</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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That event was <a href="http://www.vivalasvegas.net/" target="_blank">Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend</a>, the longest running music festival in Vegas, where every cool cat - who loves to brandish a pompadour, or a greased doo, a fedora (or Trilby) [hat] or a porkpie [hat]; a wallet with a big chain and cuffed jeans with a white t-shirt, or big collared dress shirts, sports jackets with textured lapels and cuff-links, or bowling shirts (<i>think Charlie Sheen in 'Two and a Half Men' with pinup ladies or tiki themed imagery</i>); and pointed dress shoes, or saddle shoes, or suede loafers, even stylized cowboy boots - can just chill and hang loose. Viva is where gals who love anything decorated with skulls, little black sparrows, boat ankers, tiki themes, poodles, and don't forget the cherries...or the polka dots. Sweet Baby Jesus, the polka dots; from tight pinup dresses - pencil, wiggle, bell - with slits up to there; and then there's cardigans and big skirts, tight off the shoulder tops, corsets with hot pants, tiny shorts; and petticoats and garters (<i>all manner of structural undergarments</i>) with outrageous high heeled shoes, understated flats, or saddles for her...topping it all off with big hair, all colors, pin-curls, bouffants and victory rolls achieving impressive volume, Betty bangs, ponytails sitting high and proud, all coiffed to perfection with bows, or without, maybe spiked with giant flowers, sheer hair-scarfs (<i>that also work as a neck adornment in a pinch, and also a ponytail adornment</i>), perhaps a snood - and the makeup. Oh the makeup. Don't get us started (yet) on the makeup...all come together in one glorious show of fashion, and style.</div>
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It's Rockabilly, meets Psychobilly, meets Greaser, meets Pinup, meets "50s Housewife"...meets anything goes; it's <i>Grease </i>and <i>Crybaby</i> and <i>Rebel Without A Cause, </i>with a splash of <i>Pleasantville</i>, all coming to life under the hot April Vegas sun.</div>
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(<i>Want to know more about the styles? Check out <a href="http://vintagedancer.com/category/1950s/" target="_blank">Vintage Dancer</a>, What IS Rockabilly? <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockabilly" target="_blank">Wiki It Here</a></i>)</div>
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<br /></div>
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Not hip enough to dress up? Don't wanna be a hep cat? Squares are welcome too.<br />
After all, everybody who has invested hundreds, even thousands, of dollars, not to mention massive amounts of time, need and want an audience.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhea0dcxvceg8UG8aGsbQLqDU6lJhmQce4uD58YxswOdj2hre7NSdXF-zV3onxBRKHLASTtV6Oqkbgn6NSYfeJc5_M3H9YM0YES3ZRpEp9PSuAYQ_C_tcG8fVHeIYYtkacVjLdUaCcvbVk/s1600/VLV20_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhea0dcxvceg8UG8aGsbQLqDU6lJhmQce4uD58YxswOdj2hre7NSdXF-zV3onxBRKHLASTtV6Oqkbgn6NSYfeJc5_M3H9YM0YES3ZRpEp9PSuAYQ_C_tcG8fVHeIYYtkacVjLdUaCcvbVk/s320/VLV20_web.jpg" width="207" /></a>This year marked the 20th anniversary of the event and It. Was. Massive.</div>
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Massive because not only has it has grown in popularity (people literally come from all over the world to attend), but also massive because, according to Tom Ingram, the diligent gentleman who started the event and keeps it thriving, along with a modest office staff, <i><span style="color: #990000;"><b>this year there was measurable wristband fraud</b></span></i>. This means some group of assholes made counterfeit wristbands and attended events, events that are limited to a set number of attendees to prevent burdensome lines and overwhelming crowds. And the crowds were indeed overwhelming. And the lines, burdensome.</div>
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<br />
A little about wristbands. Wristbands are what those who purchase High-Roller Tickets wear, at $140 (US) a pop, in order to have unfettered access to all events, which includes, but is not limited to: all music acts - music acts that come from around the globe, first access to vendors - who also come from all corners, the car show, the burlesque shows - this year included much coveted tickets to see <a href="http://www.dita.net/" target="_blank">Dita Von Teese</a> perform (<i>some people started waiting for the tickets, which didn't become available on the day of access until 9am, as early as 4am</i>), workshops and classes - such as hair and makeup, and dance, and the pool parties and swimsuit contests. You get the picture. High-Roller Tickets are the bees knees. And some utter tits went ahead and tainted the event. It definitely had an impact on us and the gentleman that accompanied us to the event. But it was still one of the best experiences, non-event activities included, in a long time.</div>
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Now a direction shift...</div>
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You can't talk Vegas without covering some basics.<br />
<br /></div>
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<b>Accommodations</b>. The event takes place at The Orleans (just off strip). We didn't stay there because the rooms set aside for attendees booked fast and we didn't even plan on going to Viva until mid-September. The week Viva #20 started they opened up room booking for next year's Viva #21. While people were definitely able to snag rooms even the week of the event, it was more of a gamble than some would probably like. We opted for the Tropicana, it was not only retro, staying within the general 50s theme of the weekend, but also not that far away (though definitely not walk-able).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YzRPAGXcpIg/WPuqTK096PI/AAAAAAAAlto/Iy96y5oXQCc5OMVOAAxnHSYDjPkQuq8cQCPcB/s1600/IMG_20170417_085146134-EFFECTS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YzRPAGXcpIg/WPuqTK096PI/AAAAAAAAlto/Iy96y5oXQCc5OMVOAAxnHSYDjPkQuq8cQCPcB/s320/IMG_20170417_085146134-EFFECTS.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
A word about the Tropicana. The weeks leading up to it meant obsessively reading reviews, both because of excitement and being weary of an older hotel in Vegas and wanting to see what people were saying about their stays. Previous Vegas trips had us staying at the MGM (twice) and the Aria, both generally solid quality establishments.<br />
People seemed to be complaining a lot about the Tropicana, but personally it was better than last year at the MGM - we'd take this year's room over last year's MGM room in a dice roll. The room was spacious and looked true to the picture (A King bungalow room with a balcony). The view was great. </div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwnWczKR5zUk4t8wnAkIdrX6K6VhrTLi16jkK400rgmNTp3m6ushk7GwH7Fr_m0JmDa07045hM3qkUAp-KxAsDtE42uzEwPTo8t0cKz0JvVHYWqztCObDvEv-8poBvulkbnBW3U-wDQA/s1600/IMG_20170413_014923_605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwnWczKR5zUk4t8wnAkIdrX6K6VhrTLi16jkK400rgmNTp3m6ushk7GwH7Fr_m0JmDa07045hM3qkUAp-KxAsDtE42uzEwPTo8t0cKz0JvVHYWqztCObDvEv-8poBvulkbnBW3U-wDQA/s200/IMG_20170413_014923_605.jpg" title="Evening view from the balcony of a Tropicana bungalow room" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evening view from the balcony of<br />
a Tropicana bungalow room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was clean and in better condition than one would expect, given that the room isn't in the part of the hotel that they have upgraded.<br />
People just bitch too fucking much.<br />
Look. If you go to Vegas and are shocked and upset that there is no coffee maker or refrigerator in the room, to the level you are going to complain in a review, you are not thinking logically about where you are. A Vegas hotel isn't like other hotels, first of all, they usually try to make themselves as self contained as possible and strive for profits. Of course they aren't going to have these items (unless you get a room at a higher price point) - they want you to use the coffee shop that pays them to be there, and the food courts and restaurants that also pay fees to be in their establishment. They want you down on the floor listening to the slots and the excitement, not hold up in your room drinking your disgusting self-brewed coffee (<i>P.S. They don't clean those machines in hotels very often, if ever. Enjoy your moldy poor quality coffee, you fucking cheapskate</i>) eating leftovers from Denny's. Because, look, if you're concerned about there not being a fridge and a coffee maker in your Vegas hotel room and feel the need to post a negative review because of it...let's be honest, you're probably the kind of person patronizing a fucking [international] chain restaurant like Denny's, on the Vegas Strip.<br />
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We digress.<br />
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The Tropicana was a solid pick. Yes, the halls smelled of stale cigarettes, but most everything does in Vegas unless it's a few years new or they are pumping perfume through the building (like at the Aria).</div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2So6PJD2VFBEJSRxOGKn27aD6JmHkBXu2wXd1kvN_G8KVnNQ2e8fZ8cp8UeBQEbyF1gB46Q1TdEsjrit0KpY8yAsFw4obMycsl_lug7ZOhxM_54whOd-TKxA2-x-xFWN_1PDQl-xtgEE/s1600/IMG_20170413_094651_808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2So6PJD2VFBEJSRxOGKn27aD6JmHkBXu2wXd1kvN_G8KVnNQ2e8fZ8cp8UeBQEbyF1gB46Q1TdEsjrit0KpY8yAsFw4obMycsl_lug7ZOhxM_54whOd-TKxA2-x-xFWN_1PDQl-xtgEE/s200/IMG_20170413_094651_808.jpg" title="The Slut from Eggslut" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Slut from Eggslut</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>Food. </b>That being said. The Tropicana does not offer much, compared to other properties, in the way of food. Not that we tried anything, opting for coffee on the go.</div>
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We tried <b><a href="http://www.eggslut.com/" target="_blank">Eggslut</a> at the Cosmopolitan.</b> The Slu<span style="font-family: inherit;">t (a <span style="background-color: white;">cage-free coddled egg on top of a smooth potato purée, poached in a glass jar, topped with gray salt and chives, served with slices of baguette) was delicious. Smooth, creamy, and full of what you need after a night (or day) of drinking: carbs, protein, and fat.</span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_Z9wVVA_Bto3udtjFkoVx2NPctj8pHsjY_0rLbPEAdwjIb-nt2xUBUyAFEgSGnJP3folY8jr429r4UKrgtJJTydBzzB-NDo1IgESYk8raNDeFQwGoQ8ra7j5b8y9bSvulRRlHOepJOc/s1600/IMG_20170415_104646_887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_Z9wVVA_Bto3udtjFkoVx2NPctj8pHsjY_0rLbPEAdwjIb-nt2xUBUyAFEgSGnJP3folY8jr429r4UKrgtJJTydBzzB-NDo1IgESYk8raNDeFQwGoQ8ra7j5b8y9bSvulRRlHOepJOc/s200/IMG_20170415_104646_887.jpg" title="Croque Madam from Payard" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Croque Madam from Payard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">We'll be honest, like with hydration (outside of the obvious alcohol), we failed to eat as much as we should (<i>more about that soon</i>). We did have breakfast another day, at <b><a href="https://www.caesars.com/caesars-palace/restaurants/payard-pastisserie#.WPugftLyuMo" target="_blank">Payard Patisserie & Bistro in Caesars Palace</a> </b>where we enjoyed Croque Madams (s</span></span>moked ham, rich and creamy Béchamel sauce, Swiss cheese topped with a sunny-side up egg, and oven roasted tomato and mixed green salad) and shared a house smoked salmon plate. All very fresh and tasty.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Then of course there was brunch at <b><a href="https://www.mandalaybay.com/en/restaurants/bayside-buffet.html" target="_blank">Mandalay Bay's Bayside Buffet</a></b>. Always a solid choice both when considering price and quality.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdJw1MD0rMUfLo15Y3epvBwqgafk94g2gir40m1hvQGStTumObxViAXGXqTNWI9pS3kUp65swqU5JqeTz-13eRnUygnq8aZrgAcIedRMOF63AOBTfxLUEBGss_ajb7GltWkE_Tg-FvIE/s1600/IMG_20170413_160309_664.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdJw1MD0rMUfLo15Y3epvBwqgafk94g2gir40m1hvQGStTumObxViAXGXqTNWI9pS3kUp65swqU5JqeTz-13eRnUygnq8aZrgAcIedRMOF63AOBTfxLUEBGss_ajb7GltWkE_Tg-FvIE/s200/IMG_20170413_160309_664.jpg" width="200" /></a>The <a href="http://www.orleanscasino.com/dine/the-prime-rib-loft" target="_blank"><b>Prime Rib Loft at The Orleans</b></a> was surprisingly good for a restaurant that hadn't made the itinerary, or even showed up in any of the hours of reviews and lists that were poured over prior to the trip (try the Tempura Vegetables).<br />
Also good at The Orleans was <a href="http://www.orleanscasino.com/dine/big-als-oyster-bar" target="_blank"><b>Big Al's Oyster Bar</b></a> where we split a dozen delicious oysters on the half shell with our traveling companion and had an oyster shooter.<br />
If you find yourself at The Orleans during meal time for whatever reason, both of these are worth a try.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The <i>best</i> meal, however, was at <a href="https://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/restaurants/wicked-spoon" target="_blank"><b>Wicked Spoon in the Cosmopolitan</b></a>. True to fashion we arrived late. At 9:15 pm. A mere 45 minutes before they started pulling the food (<i>more time is optimal when buffeting, don't you think?</i>), so it was an plate-filling and eating bonanza. Not only that, but all parties involved realized that they had not eaten at all that day so as we piled food onto plates, hoofing them back to the table one by one, as the minutes counted down, the server pulled up another table on which we could place our bounty. Ultimately we got a little of everything we desired. Some dishes left us wanting more, and more time. Not a single thing was disappointing.</div>
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While the price tag is a little steep, this buffet is <i>definitely </i>worth it for true foodies. Forget the "famed" buffet at the Bellagio, while it is a very good choice for the meat and potatoes crowd, Wicked Spoon is a culinary adventure. And isn't that what you're in Vegas for? Adventure?</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ73r7ZYmGXJqw5hj5HLLa-4Cll2N49BF_G67xYo6MKgK0DXcWjJi6MLP-7tj18rGeA6zRIJvKVcm5BeUbaxnQUWNwbB1OafrrZkk2cRZFLsatk-VmxMTfcp9C9vXkonYh-F7WJ__-ALY/s1600/IMG_20170414_221122_620.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ73r7ZYmGXJqw5hj5HLLa-4Cll2N49BF_G67xYo6MKgK0DXcWjJi6MLP-7tj18rGeA6zRIJvKVcm5BeUbaxnQUWNwbB1OafrrZkk2cRZFLsatk-VmxMTfcp9C9vXkonYh-F7WJ__-ALY/s400/IMG_20170414_221122_620.jpg" title="So Much Food at the Wicked Spoon" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So Much Food at the Wicked Spoon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Okay, so now were down to the tips. <insert just the tip joke here></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5o0vGH5j1k/WPupOXwvYYI/AAAAAAAAltQ/-xfZCTTuIYomverRuaZVQSPmt0IdxxjowCPcB/s1600/IMG_20170422_140041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5o0vGH5j1k/WPupOXwvYYI/AAAAAAAAltQ/-xfZCTTuIYomverRuaZVQSPmt0IdxxjowCPcB/s200/IMG_20170422_140041.jpg" title="6.5" Demonia PIXIE-17 Platform Spike Heart Vegan Leather Heels" width="162" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6.5" Demonia PIXIE-17<br />
Platform Spike Heart<br />
Vegan Leather Heels</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
<b>Tips. </b>Our tips on <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2016/05/frankie-goes-to-vegas.html" target="_blank">Vegas in last year's blog post </a>involved a lot of info about footwear choice. So obviously we didn't follow our own advice and instead, because of all the fabulous new shoes...like this pair of Demonias, got creative with workarounds on how to wear uncomfortable virgin shoes.<br />
While the pair pictured may look like hell. They were not as uncomfortable as the pair of 5" Pleaser SEDUCE-17 Peep Toe Ankle Wrap Sandal (black with red pipping). While sexy when standing and sitting (or, you know, on your back, probably) walking in them is akin to what a dying Savanna animal must look like, and feel like.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So we used a combination of gel inserts, <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Dr Scholl's Active Series Blister Defense Anti-Friction Stick (wicked product!), not wearing the same pair of heels twice in a row, wishing for a bone-saw, and at one point, for the second time in life, ending up barefoot on hot Vegas pavement.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;">Would we do it all again, footwear wise? You bet your sweet ass (though a cute pair of slides might make it into the mix for next time). Why? If you do it right you only end up with a few blisters by the end if that, unless you are used to this kind of footwear, and sore feet...and honestly your feet will be sore anyway. Plus, you'll look great (pack a pair of slides in your purse just in case).</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Also, we broke our ride-share cherry and used Lyft everywhere possible, which was really a foot saver, and we loved it. The people were interesting and diverse, they were quick and friendly. After taking a cab a time or two, because the data connection in certain parts of The Orleans is complete crap and therefore the app has a difficult time connecting, it was clear that it's not all that much cheaper than the traditional cab - unless you get a promo deal like we did. More convenient? Definitely. Will we use Lyft for future vacations? Absolutely.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #cc0000;">FINAL TIP AND THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT.</span></u></b></div>
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Always hydrate with water. Pure as fresh as you can get water. You're in the fucking desert.</div>
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We failed big time on this.</div>
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And eat.<br />
You're not a super hero. You're not a camel. You can get sick and die.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Not only did we fail when it came to hydration and steady nutrition. We failed at taking OTC allergy mediation. How? Here is the equation:<br />
<br />
Lack of Sleep + Alcohol + Dehydration + Malnutrition + 4 Claritins in less than 4 hours [<b>apparently you're not supposed to take more than 1 in a 24 hour period </b>and it actually says, when you Google Claritin, to<b> "Avoid [alcohol]. Very serious interactions can occur" </b>They are right]<b> </b>now mix all of that with sensory overload = will completely wreck you mentally.<br />
<br /></div>
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Like brain melting, in a bad way.</div>
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Like an anxiety attack on crack.</div>
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Like you're crying uncontrollably, freaking our your (blessing of a) travel companion. And you are uncertain why this is happening.</div>
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And if you're dumb (*looks in mirror*), and don't realize that you are experiencing a twisted equation of doom and perhaps a mild overdose of OTC medication...you will be all the more terrified about what is happening.</div>
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Yeah. We should have read the package. But we were drunk and just on the cusp of an anxiety episode already (big crowds, too many people, lots of lights, noise, for too long of a time - we don't get out much).<br />
Who wants to be all responsible and logical when dehydrated, starving, tired, drunk and overwhelmed. Pshaw.<br />
<br /></div>
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OKAY. Enough of recounting that harrowing experience. Onward and upward!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><b>Two final FUN things</b>...maybe three</i>: <b>Fremont Experience</b>, which in the past 10 years has transformed Fremont into...a lesser experience for someone who yearns for the days they could still find a smoke filled casino with old school Vegas slots. They have taken all the seedy out and have replaced it with more of what you're used to seeing on the Strip. Meh.</div>
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Still not terrible though, especially if you venture off and are lucky enough to get some photo shots of the old old <i>old </i>hotel properties turned guerilla art installations that are soon to be no longer for this world. </div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmjXS1G6yznUXhwC1JN-Jfi-EsRP5yuJQifWidYT_xkUzx4KKUZjcL2p4vCqx9unZEucM26LoyRIwoGUmgSVN3Y6U1kS8K0ijleAMIuEVcgkzjh2J-sFkKBoWiU1GkYaGgxvb4hcjx868/s1600/IMG_20170416_153710797.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmjXS1G6yznUXhwC1JN-Jfi-EsRP5yuJQifWidYT_xkUzx4KKUZjcL2p4vCqx9unZEucM26LoyRIwoGUmgSVN3Y6U1kS8K0ijleAMIuEVcgkzjh2J-sFkKBoWiU1GkYaGgxvb4hcjx868/s200/IMG_20170416_153710797.jpg" title="Oh Snap at Oak & Ivy" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh Snap at Oak & Ivy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOphHPctfohCu28u5pWAbbyUkamN2v8GEWm9OQkn2PeYyhC7UQXPTjoztmz4pnK-_Cy2HOnNhhEYP1P92vFzHQ1lVaoMZEyXCJJSaspxDCZdm21LvuGRO4U7xUA81Fjva1oR2beQiVk8/s1600/IMG_20170416_165033_884.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOphHPctfohCu28u5pWAbbyUkamN2v8GEWm9OQkn2PeYyhC7UQXPTjoztmz4pnK-_Cy2HOnNhhEYP1P92vFzHQ1lVaoMZEyXCJJSaspxDCZdm21LvuGRO4U7xUA81Fjva1oR2beQiVk8/s200/IMG_20170416_165033_884.jpg" title="Fly Me To The Moon from Therapy Bar" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fly Me To The Moon at Therapy</td></tr>
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<b>Bars to Try: </b></div>
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<a href="http://oakandivy.com/" target="_blank"><b>Oak & Ivy</b></a>, a craft whiskey and cocktail bar at the Container Park down the street from Fremont Experience</div>
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<a href="http://www.therapylv.com/" target="_blank"><b>Therapy</b></a> right off Fremont Experience (have a Fly Me to the Moon)</div>
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<a href="https://parkonfremont.com/" target="_blank"><b>Park on Fremont</b></a>, a gastopub across the street from Fremont Experience (their bathrooms/decor are very cool. Try a drink called Pillow Talk)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj17Sn4_wfIpyjFWL1aAm7yonpWIQwf9OLYaqf00az_hCA-n5BUHzAQCUrTgxUEslkeeLiKHjMtJ0of1OEFfL4NFKk_mhKZIArNU4OpU04sK0olYcxQt5zewd-EnnoUOXX7cumlXP2MJCs/s1600/IMG_20170414_200311_649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj17Sn4_wfIpyjFWL1aAm7yonpWIQwf9OLYaqf00az_hCA-n5BUHzAQCUrTgxUEslkeeLiKHjMtJ0of1OEFfL4NFKk_mhKZIArNU4OpU04sK0olYcxQt5zewd-EnnoUOXX7cumlXP2MJCs/s320/IMG_20170414_200311_649.jpg" title="Cigar and Whiskey at Davidoff" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cigar and Whiskey at Davidoff</td></tr>
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Also worth a stop, back on the Strip, is <a href="http://davidoffcigarbarlv.com/" target="_blank"><b>Davidoff of Geneva</b></a> for cigars and whiskey on a Vegas patio. If you're into that kind of thing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDwKjbmIe0rWsQX4HOUDXuFLSLUMtkgBsgIizigEA0_VhuVbDzwo4x5BjwvkHaN35sXw3I8wakQwC6yYTDHyUP2RGTKQ9H_UuuoVjcpWfjLZoaE5yEr2R5jV8TN4wLW59H-DpyL_Sq6aM/s1600/IMG_20170412_230055_698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDwKjbmIe0rWsQX4HOUDXuFLSLUMtkgBsgIizigEA0_VhuVbDzwo4x5BjwvkHaN35sXw3I8wakQwC6yYTDHyUP2RGTKQ9H_UuuoVjcpWfjLZoaE5yEr2R5jV8TN4wLW59H-DpyL_Sq6aM/s200/IMG_20170412_230055_698.jpg" title="Souvenir cup from Frankie's Tiki Room" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Souvenir cup from <br />
Frankie's Tiki Room</td></tr>
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<br />
And don't forget about <a href="http://frankiestikiroom.com/" target="_blank"><b>Frankie's Tiki Room</b></a>, a quick Lyft ride from the strip and definitely the most authentic Tiki bar we've been to. Plus we got this wicked souvenir cup (which contained a drink called the Bearded Clam!<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Now Back to VLV The Rockabilly Festival!</span></i></b></div>
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It was stellar.<br />
There was so much to do and we only scratched the surface. It's clear why people come back year after year.<br />
The music was great, we didn't catch as much as would have been preferred, but we did catch the sets of two of the important ones and got to listen to the sultry voice of <b>Ms. Brenda Lee</b>, and the rockin' stylings of <b>Reverend Horton Heat</b> (there was video, but Blogger is being a douche - needless to say, their performances were magical).<br />
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There were a handful of performers we caught a song or two from just by default of milling from room to room on the second floor of The Orleans, yet none of them were among the handful that was put into the itinerary...But there's always next year.</div>
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The pool party, while a brief visit, was a fun place to gaze upon the flesh of all assortments of people <br />
while listening to yet more rockabilly music. This year they had a pool party each day, adding to the <br />
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big one they have always had on the last day (Sunday)...which the lines were too long for this year. We never did get to brandish our high waist two-piece with the bottoms that had little white skulls on black background, paired with a red bikini top. But there's always next year. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJy8Bd9x7A5wQ03rsW27Abqo99piZhWpBP2DA8EaVT11g-Uhtv43X6wz3YQTUU6CnP6Pfi6tt0RcrqIwx9c6Ei0t84uq0t93Ja1_GZKegNTQYhoiT8MxATdKV3S44Wi7gtjUCesSNNSA/s1600/IMG_20170414_144214_740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJy8Bd9x7A5wQ03rsW27Abqo99piZhWpBP2DA8EaVT11g-Uhtv43X6wz3YQTUU6CnP6Pfi6tt0RcrqIwx9c6Ei0t84uq0t93Ja1_GZKegNTQYhoiT8MxATdKV3S44Wi7gtjUCesSNNSA/s200/IMG_20170414_144214_740.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit goes to travel companion,<br />
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/synthesis/" target="_blank">Instagrams @synthesis</a></td></tr>
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Being part of breaking the Guinness World Record for The Most People Jive Dancing on a Dance Floor at Once was an obvious highlight. However, a truly excruciating experience if you didn't eat and find yourself hungry, are a smoker, or have to pee. The first thing we heard as we walked through the door, after registering, and joining the growing crowd, was "If you have to pee you're screwed. Grab a garbage can if you have to"...because once you're in, you're in, as per official World Record Rules. But once the dance starts, and you get your rhythm (and you must, because you cannot stop, you</div>
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cannot improvise, it has to be pure jive for 5 straight minutes), it's amazing. And when you can finally stop and it's announced that it's official, you were just one of 520 people to become part of record breaking history, it's exciting.<br />
It even gave pause to a hardcore smoker who had been trapped in that ballroom for hours itching for a smoke (that was not us!🙂)</div>
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="536" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FDoTheJive%2Fposts%2F1322186994534601&width=500" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="500"></iframe><br /></div>
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Unfortunately we didn't get to go to any of the record hops (aka sock hops) and dance more, an activity we were very much looking forward to...But there's always next year.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7XQkhf1PRK05-0ATFqxzw6u35FhIuZgWSDDS4WycaZhxgjn-wXkLyxeEVtRHMdCmNLQ4Fnf6slKWAHj0W4ahIION-RfbHM6-LNooPW7X4ZcyJbd2Xr8gKs47dSPG4MO76s9xkHm7vOZs/s1600/IMG_20170418_085453_959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7XQkhf1PRK05-0ATFqxzw6u35FhIuZgWSDDS4WycaZhxgjn-wXkLyxeEVtRHMdCmNLQ4Fnf6slKWAHj0W4ahIION-RfbHM6-LNooPW7X4ZcyJbd2Xr8gKs47dSPG4MO76s9xkHm7vOZs/s200/IMG_20170418_085453_959.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit goes to travel companion,<br />
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/synthesis/" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">Instagrams @synthesis</a></td></tr>
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Then there's the car show, beautiful restored and maintained cars, shinny colors and chrome with fun hood ornaments and pin-stripping, just radiating under the hot sun. We managed to only see about 1/5th of the cars, if that, whole sections went unexplored (it was hot, shoes needed to be removed, bobby socks needed to found in vendor tents)...But there's always next year.</div>
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Do you see a theme yet?<br />
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And finally, we splurged and got our hair done up by Vegas' <b>Heads Will Roll Beauty Salon</b> on Saturday. Best money spent on hair ever. Highly recommend these ladies for any event. Will certainly be returning next year, maybe for two appointments...</div>
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So, that's the latest trip. And that's Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend. There are probably some things missing.<br />
We got the clothes and the shoes and the makeup...all ready to try it again next year.</div>
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<b>Makeup</b><br />
<b>This is all the way down here and out of the way because it's for a very select audience.</b><br />
<b>Okay ladies (and some gentlemen)</b> here are some products we found useful in trying to create vintage makeup look, accessible, and at a low price for a starter. Things we never dreamt of purchasing and using, some are going to be incorporated into any day looks.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Rimmel London Scandal Eye Gel Eyeliner - good for a thick cat eye, or wing</li>
<li>e.l.f. Eyeliner pen (super inexpensive from Target) - good for a thin wing</li>
<li>Benefit Cosmetics Roller Lash Super Curling & Lifting Mascara (available in a mini travel size)</li>
<li>**Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer - GAME CHANGER. Never used primer before. Love this product. It does unbelievable things.</li>
<li>**Ulta Matte Makeup Setting Spray - there are probably better products, but this is a first for this kind of product and it's pretty impressive if you need your makeup to get you through long days.</li>
<li>Ulta Contour Kit - also a first. It's pretty cool. And inexpensive if you want to play with contouring. </li>
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If you're looking for clothes, Amazon. So inexpensive. Lots to choose from in everything from a Small to a 2-3XL. Use search words like pinup, rockabilly, and retro. Also there are loads of other retailers at your fingertips with the same words in a Google search, providers of lush dresses in the hundreds of dollars range. Totally worth looking at for the lust factor.</div>
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Same goes for shoes, especially for you larger footed ladies...they have a good selection for size 11-12. But also don't ignore merchants online who cater to cross-dressers and the transgender community!</div>
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Hopefully some of this has been useful. Feel free to leave comments, questions, suggestions.</div>
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If you see spelling or grammar errors please contact us directly on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/justcallmefrank?lang=en" target="_blank">@JustCallMeFrank </a>or Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JustCallMeFrank" target="_blank">Frank E Ly</a></div>
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As always, harassing and rude comments will be removed at the discretion of this writer. So be an adult.</div>
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Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-79096780928036437412017-02-02T18:44:00.001-06:002017-02-04T11:22:33.501-06:00Briefly Deconstructing the Snowflake<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/476114991836747700/" target="_blank">Image Source Link</a></td></tr>
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Looking back on the last year, there was definitely topics to write about, from mental health, to communication, to relationships, to politics (and everything beneath that umbrella)...but the topics never made it to ink and paper, virtual or otherwise.<br>
<br>
Let's call it getting into the groove of self-employment post graduation (<i>a year and a half in and loving it</i>), and travel (<i>shout out to all the great people we saw last year</i>), and gardening (<i>year three was a mild success</i>), plus working on finishing up the <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2015/12/goodbye-2015-on-to-2016-better-smarter.html" target="_blank">Lady Cave</a> (<i>still not complete, more to come on that</i>), and let's be honest...just too much election...too much bullshit...too much real shit...too much.<br>
<br>
But it's 2017 now.<br>
<br>
It's still too much. Too much too fast. Watching the very fabric of this county being ripped apart at the well-stitched seams; and if you have no idea what is going on because you only watch local news, read local papers and/or pay attention to very specific news outlets, then Google search: Trump with any number of the following key terms [and click the 'News' tab] - Mexico, Australia, Taiwan, China, UK, Exports Mexico, Exports Russia, Muslims, Travel Ban, Immigration, Johnson Amendment. Constitution, First Amendment, Press Suppression, Reproductive Rights, Education...the list could literally go on and on.<br>
<i>Note</i>: do the search in an incognito [Google] Chrome search window (Ctrl+Shift+N) this way it will ensure it's giving you a more "pure" search not based on your search and user history. Also, none of these searches will impact your future searches via your Google account.<br>
<br>
It's not even like when you have a shirt that has a loose thread that you constantly pull at, that you forget about every once and awhile, and eventually your procrastinating ass clips and double stitches the breach; this is full-on pull the seam ripper from the sewing box and dismantle the shirt stuff.<br>
It makes a rational person shudder. Especially a rational person who has a clear understanding of history, and how abuses of power in the wrong hands can destroy countries. For more on that please see <i>every superpower that crumbled in the entire history of recorded human history</i>...<br>
<br>
Anyway. On the the Snowflake.<br>
<br>
This past week it became necessary to explain to one of our old political science professors (<i>a professor we do occasional work for, and also go visit to hash out politics with every couple of months</i>) what a Snowflake it. Trying to use all the words possible to get the point across, he finally got it when the words "sensitive libtard" tumbled from these lips - a detestable infantile word used by the Right when they are all out of constructive debate tactics, or they just want to be bullies. (For more on the horrors of being a libtard read this guest blog post: <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2012/11/im-libtard-apparently-guest-blogger.html" target="_blank">'I'm a "Libtard", Apparently'</a>.)<br>
<br>
Having had to explain such a politically potent slur to a political science educator became just another weird teaching a teacher moment - shouldn't he know these things? - like when we brought him an argument, backed by data, about how '<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/504974.Culture_War_The_Myth" target="_blank">Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America</a>' was outdated and incorrect, and he then decided to stop using it as a teaching tool, because it was indeed incorrect. This was almost exactly <i>two years</i> ago. Not a minute too late. Right?<br>
People never stop learning, no matter who they are or how old they are.<br>
Okay. <i>Some</i> people definitely stop learning. But that's a choice.<br>
<br>
<b>So what is a Snowflake, really?</b><br>
There are plenty of variations of the definition, but it generally comes back to the "Libtard" paradigm.<br>
A "Snowflake" is someone who is "easily" insulted, or takes offence.<br>
[<i>Older uses of the word have more to do with someone somehow insinuating that they are unique or special. This is not that kind of snowflake. This is the snowflake that has been appropriated by the Alt-Right/White Nationalists/White Supremacists/Neo-Nazis/Right/GOP/Republicans</i>]<br>
Delving further, a Snowflake is someone who is insulted, disgusted, offended, and angered (<i>proponents of the word would say easily</i>) by things such as racism, bigotry, sexism, bullying, "alternative facts", inequality, making fun of handicapped people, targeting people for abuse based on gender, sex, sexual orientation, <b>*</b>religious discrimination, (<i>calm down Christians, you're never being unfairly targeted or discriminated against in the USA, your privilege is well in tact, check it</i>), anti-intellectualism, the death of democracy, ruining/destroying the planet, this country becoming a crumbled mass of fallout debris, etc. You get the picture. They care about stuff, and people.<br>
These people will usually be vocal, via social media outlets - though surely there have been snowflakes at protests, and on TV, and Radio, and in the newspapers.<br>
Snowflakes will express their concerns about how they feel and what they think, which makes them a target of the Alt-Right/White Nationalists/White Supremacists/Neo-Nazis/Right/GOP/Republicans who, in turn, upon confrontation, or just in passing, will spew any manner of derogatory terms (<i>in addition to "libtard", or calling someone "whinny", See Also: "cuck", though this one is usually directed at conservatives who the alt-right white supremacists find weak and ineffectual</i>), either before, during, or after a digital debate in which they have lost footing and/or have nothing of factual value to offer. Need proof? You simply need to read the replies below Tweets and Facebook posts.<br>
<br>
Essentially a Snowflake, in this definition then, is a person who cares about other people's freedom, other people's happiness, the environment, culture, education...usually from an educated standpoint, who generally wants to be respectful to people and their many differences.<br>
What a terrible person, right? Like, who wants to care about those things?<br>
Other people?<br>
Be a good person?<br>
Shit, man.<br>
Money.<br>
Money is all that matters. Money and controlling a woman's reproductive rights, amiright. Fuck the environment. Clean water? That's what filters are for. Fuck the future of the children. They'll live in glass domes or some shit some dumb scientist came up with. *snorts* Science dumb. Book learnin' is for pussies. *high fives grunting friend* Go God (but, like, only the Christian one).<br>
<br>
This is not to say said Snowflakes are perfect, and never name call (<i>or blatantly make fun of the lesser developed homo sapiens</i>), but it usually takes some pressure to push them, despite their "delicate snowflake nature". They'll crack once in awhile. Melt? Shit. That analogy doesn't work so well.<br>
In any case, it's pretty sad and pathetic that people have to deal with bullies because they are nice and caring, and want the best for the country, and it's pretty sad that this bullying is a national phenomenon in such a way that one of the bullies is ruining the country.<br>
That wasn't a spelling error.<br>
<br>
Just remember, all you active and would be bullies: One snowflake behind a screen may be an easy target. But the snowflakes of the USA are getting pretty agitated.<br>
You know what happens though, when you have a bunch of snowflakes whipped into a frenzy?<br>
A goddamn blizzard.<br>
And take it from someone who lives in the American Midwest. Blizzards kill.<br>
<br>
As an aside, there is nothing more "delicate" and "snowflake"-like about a man, or his followers, who attacks every person who criticizes them or their actions from a place of caring and concern, brandishing facts - you know, the <i>real </i>kind - or threatens those who don't do as they say.<br>
That is authoritarianism, and fascism, and definitely <i>not </i>democracy.<br>
<br>
So there you have it. A brief deconstruction of the Snowflake.<br>
<br>
Thanks for reading. Hopefully this'll be the year of getting back into writing. :-)<br>
<br>
Time for some whiskey.<br>
<br>
[*Religion is a private matter, and a choice, and as such it should be practiced in the home, in ones private life, not forced upon other people, not used to discriminate in public businesses and services.<br>
You don't have to let the person that is not living their life to your religious value into your home. You can even keep your kids from dating them. You certainly don't have to have sexual relations with them, or perform their abortions, or dress like them.<br>
You can choose not to patron <i>their</i> businesses/services...those things are your <i>private</i> life.<br>
<b>When you negatively impact the way other people live their lives, by creating laws to prevent them from doing so, you are doing nothing more than enforcing a kind of "Sharia Law" - laws derived from religious "tradition" - on society.]</b><br>
<b><br></b>
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">PLEASE NOTE</span>: Comments of a harassing, ignorant, and bullying nature will be removed. Ain't nobody got time for your motherfucking hate.</b><br>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">For more political-type essays/writings from this blog:</span></b><br>
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<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2013/11/patriotism-and-religion-in-persisting.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Patriotism and Religion in Persisting Social Stratification: The Evolution of Knowledge - A University Essay</span></a></h3>
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<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2014/11/cyberbullying-hate-speech-and-democracy.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Cyberbullying, Hate Speech and Democracy - A University Essay</span></a></h3>
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<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2013/12/in-defense-of-fair-living-wage.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">In Defense of a Fair Living Wage - A University Essay</span></a></h3>
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<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2016/03/voting-against-undesirables-guest-blog.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Voting Against the "Undesirables" - A Guest Blog Post</span></a></h3>
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<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2012/09/from-lab-to-field-and-on-your-knees.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">From Lab To Field, And On Your Knees</span></a></h3>
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<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2015/08/so-you-care-about-human-life-abortion.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">So You Care About Human Life? An Abortion Rant</span></a></h3>
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<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2013/03/big-fat-hypocritical-protest.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Big Fat Hypocritical Protest</span></a></h3>
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<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2012/08/political-debate-sins-of-another.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Political Debate: The Sins of Another</span></a></h3>
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<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2012/07/worshipping-at-flagpole-of-false-idol.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Worshiping At The Flagpole of a False Idol</span></a></h3>
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<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2012/07/guns-guns-gunsand-freedom_20.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Guns, Guns, Guns...and Freedom</span></a></h3>
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<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-new-discrimination-because-freedom.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The New Discrimination: Because Freedom Is Only For Straight People</span></a></h3>
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<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2012/05/on-topic-of-same-sex-marriage.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">On The Topic Of Same-sex Marriage</span></a></h3>
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<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2012/09/225-years-laterget-to-know-your-fathers.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">225 Years Later...Get To Know Your Fathers</span></a></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2012/09/lets-talk-about-policy-framework-baby.html" target="_blank">Let's Talk About Policy Framework, Baby</a></span></h3>
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<br>Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-87270987703007248632016-08-25T17:54:00.000-05:002016-08-25T17:54:07.695-05:00Being Brief<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cyWbWcQ6dOIWDuRYaJUSJa4usAfDmxnVdlBjf2PyctYmBj8SRBSbzokJ6er7rb_ltXILvf9WFCjXKhyphenhyphenqSjh5Hb1xpTN8mVkmjEnpGUk-8OsibkHNQkKU_qcZCW2MFXQ4Ws6Wfw7iIoc/s1600/briefcloud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cyWbWcQ6dOIWDuRYaJUSJa4usAfDmxnVdlBjf2PyctYmBj8SRBSbzokJ6er7rb_ltXILvf9WFCjXKhyphenhyphenqSjh5Hb1xpTN8mVkmjEnpGUk-8OsibkHNQkKU_qcZCW2MFXQ4Ws6Wfw7iIoc/s200/briefcloud.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The thing about people, friends, significant others, and family members knowing where to find your blog is that over time it really limits what you can write about. Unless you're a complete and utter asshole, that is. So it forces abstract and brief commentary and statuses, here, there, in all the usual places ... nothing coming together to form anything tangible for anyone to fully understand.<br />
<br />
We're currently trying to figure out a way to return to therapeutic blogging, the kind we used to do, because it was a helpful tool in the past. As we slide into familiar old patterns we're mentally clawing and grasping for that old life saver.<br />
The stress and anxiety mounts. It's been so long since we've been able to really write.<br />
<br />
Hopefully it will break soon.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-16216697063831666352016-07-23T22:09:00.001-05:002016-07-23T23:57:56.886-05:00Flowers Beneath Your Touch <p dir="ltr">When it takes years to understand the significance of what it means when you find pure pleasure in gently running your fingers against soft, wet, beautiful flowers after a rain, when you've had "too much to drink"...knowing the petals of those flowers bring you nearly as much joy on a hot and dry day as they do in that moment following a downpour.<br>
And he doesn't drink much anymore, but he says when he did he ran his fingers over the rough terrain of unyielding stone walls, waking up the next day, his fingernails ragged. No flowers there.<br>
Though you know what waking up with bloodied ragged fingers feels like...it's evident that he has never seen the same flowers that blush beneath your fingers in those beautiful moments, that are  just as beautiful on hot dry days. Beautiful beneath your touch. <br>
There grows a vast empty terrain between those kinds of worlds.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The end.</p>
Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-7333668549657200462016-07-05T18:26:00.001-05:002016-07-05T18:26:32.056-05:00Snapshot of an Average Life<p dir="ltr">So we're driving down the back road, and about 20 miles from home we see a car alongside the road, facing the other direction, an old classic, a tan Mercury Comet with collectors plates, hood up, an old man sort of ambling around it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">As we pass he sort of waves his hand, low, near his hip. It was difficult to tell if he was waving us off or not.  We drove on, glancing in the review mirror as he got into the front seat of his car...</p>
<p dir="ltr">It's hot out. 80°F. The hottest part of the day.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It wasn't long before we started to slow down...</p>
<p dir="ltr">"You know, he's pretty old. He probably doesn't have a cell phone."</p>
<p dir="ltr">"It's really hot out. He could be out here a long time if we don't turn back."</p>
<p dir="ltr">"It's dangerous to offer roadside assistance when you're all by yourself."</p>
<p dir="ltr">"He's, like, really old. No way is he a threat."</p>
<p dir="ltr">"We don't need more bad karma."</p>
<p dir="ltr">"This is going to be annoying."</p>
<p dir="ltr">"Let's just keep going."</p>
<p dir="ltr">We turn the car around and go back to help.<br>
He was immediately thankful we stopped, as he walked towards us, rambling about his car, and whatever it was that had caused it to come to rest on the gravel and tall grass of shoulder of the road.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Sure enough, no phone, he doesn't even have his son's number, he thinks our cell phone is a phonebook...all things we discovered as it became clear this man had no concept of personal space as we stood wedged between the car door, the opening, and him...inches from us, creeping closer and closer as he tries to see the screen of the cellphone we're holding, his every pore exuding the smell of aging flesh, dirty pennies, and empty Rolaid bottles.<br>
Just like grandpa used to smell. The pervy one who used to pat us on the bottom well into our late teens and early adulthood, skirting the lines of appropriate familial affection.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We stood there for what felt like forever, sun beating down, the smell of him assaulting our nasal passages, while we tried to use Google to find his son's phone number, an impossible task - because No, cellphones are not phonebooks - and search the number of the gas station in the small nearly town (more of a cluster of houses than anything), the name of which has changed hands in his lifetime, probably before the Internet was even a thing. Just standing there at the shoulder of the road while he spit out names of people he figured we should know and be able to contact. Because in his time everybody knew everybody and guess that means so should we, even though we've only lived in the area a few years. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Finally we asked him where he lives, to discover it's barely two miles. We offer him a ride home - he doesn't have AAA, and the area tow truck driver was not available - and at this point we can't just leave him there, he's easily in his late 80s, and we needed him to get out of our personal space.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We got him in the car and drove off to his house. When we got there he offered us a few dollars, which we obviously declined, and told us how lucky it was that he broke down where he did, and I passed when I did, because he could have been out there until dark for all he knew. </p>
<p dir="ltr">He made it home safe, and our karma remains stable.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But now all we can smell in the car, on our clothes, lingering on our skin, inside our nose, is dirty pennies and Rolaids married to the smell of slow fleshy decay.</p>
<p dir="ltr">There is no moral to this story, no real point.<br>
It's just a brief snapshot, a retelling of an average mundane <u>day</u> in our life. <br>
And a good opportunity to write a little, and put something to "paper" again. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Although, for anyone with an aging parent or grandparent who missed the window of keeping up with the rapid evolution of {communication} technology - you know the ones, they're still carrying a checkbook - make sure they are carrying important phone numbers with them at all times (like in their checkbooks).<br>
Their memories may be poor, and it may be very frightening for them to fully depend on a stranger who stops for other strangers on the side of old county highways...even if it is a fairly attractive young lady who looks harmless enough...</p>
Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-14619770710667424352016-05-30T22:45:00.001-05:002016-05-30T22:45:07.031-05:00A Garden Meditation <p dir="ltr">Today, while weeding the garden, fingers and toes deep in the moist dirt, pulling up the offensive greenery, we could feel the impending thunderstorm in the air. The heaviness, the humidity...just a matter of time. Summer is here, and with it, the glorious thunder and lightning. </p>
<p dir="ltr">And suddenly we thought of Skittles (aka Nettie, aka Annette Ford) and the last time we saw her, when she came to visit for several days, mere months before she passed, when we ran from a prairie storm, and then we chased it with a vehicle, trying to see all the lightening possible, laughing about it all. </p>
<p dir="ltr">It has take this long to fully realize how rare a friend like that is, especially as years pass and age takes its toll; and how it's unlikely we'll ever have a friend like her again. Not that the loss of her wasn't deeply personal, but for so long we'd focused simply on how unfair her passing was, for her family, her husband, her child...she was so young, and the passing [still] unexplained.<br>
Now, three quarters of a year later, we're reflecting on it in different ways...now that we're feeling more fully equipped to deal with it in a healthy way.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And from it, this garden mediation, simply came this. </p>
<p dir="ltr">It's a damn shame that it grows so increasingly difficult to find friends who will laugh wildly with you, running from a storm, and then try to catch that same storm with you.<br>
A damn shame that society just isn't equipped anymore, doesn't create or foster the existence of those people as much as it should.<br>
But maybe it never did? Maybe those kinds of people are the true unicorns. And you're lucky to have found a unicorn.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And then, sometimes, life will just take them away.</p>
Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-7900999313335101622016-05-09T18:38:00.000-05:002016-05-09T18:42:26.916-05:00Frankie Goes to Vegas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl3mPTc-QAOv3z8HJYHlzi7xspOswR-eouw1cXbn1BF22QHe1zZqEBOCn-NfkVkx6XbI439qIZyNXolLUbYZZaxkt_EIgaZcajicwTFj-AiaAxjAuLrPa-xtZQV9FAbho9bBi30AwdGrE/s1600/Welcome_to_Las_Vegas_sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl3mPTc-QAOv3z8HJYHlzi7xspOswR-eouw1cXbn1BF22QHe1zZqEBOCn-NfkVkx6XbI439qIZyNXolLUbYZZaxkt_EIgaZcajicwTFj-AiaAxjAuLrPa-xtZQV9FAbho9bBi30AwdGrE/s640/Welcome_to_Las_Vegas_sign.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
While we have plenty of travel journals from over the past several years (<i>for those posts go here: <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/p/travel.html">http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/p/travel.html</a></i>), this is less a travel journal entry, and more of a tips for doing Vegas.<br />
This was the third trip to Las Vegas in the past 8 years, which gives a bit of credibility to what we're about to say.<br />
The first trip was a week long, the second was 3 days, and this one was 3 and a half days.<br />
Each trip was a bit different, the first two were with a group of friends (Canadians) - the base participants of which were the same both times. We were trained in the skills of chilling and vacationing by a very adept group of individuals, and shepherded on our first trip by a seasoned Vegas traveler. We'll call the culmination of both of these trips 'Trip A' because they shared so many similarities.<br />
<br />
This third trip, however, was with James (The Husband). James isn't much of a drinker (<i>he had a beer, one liquor drink, and a couple of glasses of champagne the entire trip. He did manage to drink almost a whole bottle of vanilla vodka over the course of the weekend, but you'd never know it</i>). Nor is he much of a gambler.<br />
Or a person who likes to be around more than a few people.<br />
Also. He's British...the kind with underlying ginger (<i>red-haired</i>) characteristics (<i>read: pasty</i>)...so you can imagine how much he likes to sit in the sun (<i>not at all, generally</i>).<br />
He DOES like to eat though, and so that's what he would probably say is his favourite thing about Vegas.<br />
It goes without saying that the third trip was the least favourite from a "personal" perspective. Which is okay. It was a bit of a work-related venture, after all.<br />
We'll call this Trip B.<br />
<br />
The following is going to be a breakdown, from snout to tail, so to speak, from choosing when to go, to booking your flight and hotel, to leaving Vegas.<br />
<br />
The Husband's main tip would be, this being <i>his</i> fist time: If you can, go to Vegas with someone who has been there before.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDfaLitl7RLTBF5E_L-X9F-3MQbxpY9R8DQGCiUmkyyve23K78uLMlN0fDzonodeepQt_XloVaQIXA4WHOKq3A_lZVaO2UyjxLbyuoXG34DlL-nU65c3JK3LvPl0Dq8bpEm3jU7lR-nI/s1600/IMG_20160508_112419771_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDfaLitl7RLTBF5E_L-X9F-3MQbxpY9R8DQGCiUmkyyve23K78uLMlN0fDzonodeepQt_XloVaQIXA4WHOKq3A_lZVaO2UyjxLbyuoXG34DlL-nU65c3JK3LvPl0Dq8bpEm3jU7lR-nI/s640/IMG_20160508_112419771_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Las Vegas Boulevard, May 8, 2016 (c) Frank et al</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">WHO TO GO WITH</span></b><br />
Friends. Go with friends. *raises hands towards the sky* Go with a lot of friends.<br />
The more the better. Go with people you can mix and match, swap off a few hours with different ones. <i>Especially if you are going for more than three days.</i> More than three days with the same three people, who you're probably sharing a room with...is <i>too much.</i><br />
Limit the amount of couples in the group, too. Especially if you know that at least one of them is prone to fighting with each other no matter where they are.<br />
So <b>make it a friends trip, leave the other halves, the "better halves", at home</b>. The combination of sexes is not as important (<i>but obviously being the only girl, or only guy, on a group Vegas vacation can have its disadvantages</i>).<br />
<br />
UNLESS you're the type of person who doesn't like to party, drink, take part in some shenanigans, maybe do something out of the ordinary, etc. Maybe you just want to see a show, look at some lights, have a nice meal, and be in bed by 10. If that's the case go with someone like you. Seriously. You're not fun.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">WHEN TO GO</span></b><br />
First, you want to <b>go between Memorial Day and Labor Day</b>. You just do. The weather the rest of the time isn't as stable. Yes. It's going to be hot, and probably dry those three month - but hot and dry Vegas is better than hot and wet Vegas, and it's leaps and bounds better than cool and wet Vegas.<br />
Trip A (both) was during July-August - the time of year it's highly unlikely to rain more than a short sun shower and you can fry an egg on the sidewalk. You have to enter every casino along the strip just to get a hit of air conditioning (<i>and maybe a fresh drink</i>), or a shop along the way to get a can of something alcoholic and cold to drink (<i>you can drink on the sidewalks in Vegas</i>). You sweat just thinking about stepping outdoors and nobody wants to wear much clothing. It may sound terrible, but it's not. Terrible is wearing a short dress and open heels in chilly weather walking through puddles of water - as was the case with Trip B. Or wearing a light jacket. Or not going to Vegas in the summer.<br />
<br />
Now. If you plan to venture outside of Vegas (<i>something we have yet to do - but plan to</i>) then you <i>may</i> be interested in going any of the other 9 months of the year - because hiking in the desert when it's pushing 120 degrees Fahrenheit (<i>that's 50 degrees Celsius to the rest of the World</i>) is probably going to suck cactus balls.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><b>DATES TO AVOID</b>: </i>Chinese New Year Weekend, Presidents’ Day Weekend, St. Patrick’s Day Weekend, Easter Weekend, Mother's Day Weekend, Memorial Day Weekend, Father's Day Weekend, Fourth of July Weekend, Mother's Day Weekend,<i> </i>Labor Day Weekend, Mexican Independence Day Weekend (September), Columbus Day Weekend, Thanksgiving Weekend, Christmas Holiday, New Years Eve & Day </blockquote>
So why avoid these dates? Do you like spending more money than you have to?<br />
*See <b>THE FLIGHT (AND HOTEL)</b>, and <b>THE FOOD</b> for more information about that.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">THE FLIGHT (AND HOTEL)</span></b><br />
For Trip A the flights were booked as a package with the hotel. You can find these types of trips all over online. The best for this, as far as we've seen, is Allegiant Airlines. They are a "small airline" with many direct flights all over the country. All three trips have been taken with this airline. They seem to have the best prices. For instance, Trip B was easily $400 cheaper per person than other flights during the same time frame, from airports near us. However, Allegiant has very specific days they fly to Las Vegas - Thursdays and Sundays - so you may feel pegged into a shorter trip than you want to take if you, say, want to stay five days.<br />
<b>***Be Aware</b>: with airlines like Allegiant you will be nickle and dim'ed:<br />
A personal item (<i>like a purse or backpack)</i> is free, a carry-on is $35+, a checked bag is $50+ [<i>under 40 lbs</i>]; if you book with a credit card you pay a couple dollars extra; want to make sure you sit next to your travel partnerI(s)? Pick your seats...but that'll cost you. Want them to print your boarding pass? That'll cost you, so print your own.<br />
Once you're on the flight nothing is free - no little bag of pretzels or a water. You're not allowed to bring your own little bottles of alcohol anymore (<i>it's against federal regulations now and results in a $3000 fine</i>) but if you had a small 3 oz flask you could probably get away with buying a can of soda and discretely topping it up with the good stuff rather than pay $7 for an airplane version.<br />
It all adds up.<br />
As far as flights are concerned, always, <i>always, </i>shop around. And if you can be flexible with your dates you'll be better off and save some cash.<br />
<br />
Trip B was booked separate, with flight via Allegiant and hotel, because it seemed like we'd save about $30-50 a night, via Hotels.com. <i>It was not worth it</i>. Normally Hotels.com is the go-to pet favourite for all things accommodations. Up until Trip B it has been a great source for hotel savings everywhere we've went. Not so much for Vegas.<br />
<br />
Having previously stayed at the MGM (<i>for a week the first trip to Vegas</i>) it wasn't too disappointing when James asked to stay there (<i>because it's "the movie hotel"</i>) - even though we'd have rather stayed at The Aria because we'd stayed there the last time, it has more of a central location, and it's still pretty new, for about the same price. However, the MGM <i>is</i> a decent hotel as far as the comfort of the casino floor goes and the general ambiance. And the room there for Trip A was amazing, large, spacious, big comfortable bed, ample bathroom facility. Inside and out it was a great accommodation.<br />
<br />
Turns out, however, it was disappointing.<br />
For Trip B, the Hotel.com booking, we were what can only described as "banished" to the West Wing. This is clearly the older wing of the hotel - blocked off for discount travelers no doubt - but you don't know it until about halfway down the <i>very</i> long hall corridor when suddenly the wide hallway, with its tasteful wallpaper and carpet, narrow, and the hall gets a little darker, and the carpet not so fresh and clean in appearance or quality, and it's clear you're in some sort of discount hotel/motel alternate universe portal of punishment; and if you read reviews on Hotel.com, which we didn't bother to do until post-stay, as a guest of this wing you will <i>not </i>be the only one feeling that somehow...you should have taken them up on their "$30 a night upgrade" at the front desk check-in. And question why they hate you for coming to Vegas and wanting to save some benjamins.<br />
<br />
That being said...<b>GO BACK AND GET AN UPGRADE IF YOU END UP IN A PART OF THE HOTEL, OR A ROOM, YOU DON'T LIKE.</b><br />
The room was pretty bad. Very visible signs of age; the shower leaked all over the floor; the water in the sink never got cold and was just sorta of weird tasting; the lighting throughout the room, including the vanity, was terrible (t<i>errible mirrors and lighting are not a girl's friend in Vegas!</i>); the toilet didn't really flush so great; the bedding and bed wasn't that comfortable (compared to that of Trip A), the air conditioning unit was loud; there were no common amenities you'd find in a hotel room like a fridge, microwave or coffee maker; the room was small and the hallway was noisy. The halls were loud - every time someone in the vicinity was entering or leaving their room it made it sound like someone was at your door - hearing people talking in the hall at all hours, however, is just par for the Las Vegas course.<br />
<br />
So, we actually did <i>not</i> get an upgrade due to budget constraints. If it had been less of a work related trip, at a less than financially ideal time for The Husband (<i>who was basically tagging along</i>), then it would have been a mistake not to take the upgrade. You win some. You lose some. Next time we're skipping Hotels.com all together and booking an airport/hotel package, or directly with the hotel (<i>which, by the way, sometimes comes with hotel credits and perks that you will not find booking through a budget travel site</i>).<br />
<br />
If you're going to do Vegas...DO VEGAS. It's not the time for a cheap hotel special like if you're going to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore, or to gaze on a big ball of twine or a world's largest whatever.<br />
<br />
*Previously mentioned <i><b>Dates to Avoid </b>-</i> Flights are a bit more expensive than the rest of the optimal time to visit Vegas, and the Hotels are also more expensive. Especially if you're staying near the venue where there's an event...<br />
<br />
<b>Other events to be aware of:</b> <a href="http://www.lasvegas-entertainment-guide.com/las-vegas-boxing-schedule.html" target="_blank">Boxing matches, UFC fights,</a> and other big sporting events. The price of your hotel may be increased significantly.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><u>Hidden Fees:</u> </b> Otherwise known as Resort Fees, these fees are <i>not</i> included in your online quotes or in your package booking the majority of the time and, depending on the hotel, can be upward of $30 per room per night. Which means if you're staying for three nights add $100+ more dollars to your estimate costs. These fees are to cover things like wi-fi access (<i>this day and age that's an increasingly bullshit charge</i>), access to the fitness center and a free newspaper. These depend on the hotel/casino and are unusually in fine print somewhere on their website.<br />
<br />
<b><u>SHUTTLE SERVICE:</u></b><br />
Don't take a cab. <b>Either take a shuttle or a (stretch) limo</b>. Trip A involved taking a limo, which is inexpensive when the cost is split among a group of friends, and it is a wicked cool way to roll up to a hotel casino. Plus you can start drinking right away <i>in a limo</i>. It's just far superior.<br />
The shuttle is okay. You may think that $15-18 (<i>depending on if you pre-reserve the tickets</i>) per person sounds like a lot because the airport is not that far from the strip, but with traffic it can cost a lot, and you'll have to (<i>unless you're a dick)</i> tip your cabby more than you trip a shuttle driver.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">PACKING</span></b><br />
Some of these will be super obvious, but they warrant going over.<br />
Top down - and these are a minimum. How many of each is up to you and your airline baggage restrictions:<br />
1. A hat of some sort if you plan to be outdoors - that goes for men <i>and </i>women.<br />
2. A top for each weather incident: tank, short sleeve, and a long sleeve (especially if you're going in a "colder" month).<br />
3. A pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, a skirt and a dress.<br />
4. Swimsuit - someting you are comfortable wearing before a buffet, and something you're comfortable wearing two buffets in.<br />
5. Footwear<br />
<b>Shoes. SHOES. Ladies. Listen. You may think those 4 inch, 6 inch, whatever "whore" heels, you wanna strut your sexy badass stuff around The Vegas Strip on will be just fine for a night...but unless you are used to living in those torture decks break in something that's sturdy, comfortable, <i>and</i> sexy to wear with your dresses for your nights on the town.</b><br />
Every single trip we have done this wrong. No more wrong that this most recent trip when the only comfortable pair of shoes we had was a pair of HokaOne running shoes we brought for using in the fitness center. Shoes that we've been running in for months. You get the smelly picture.<br />
So choose wisely.<br />
And men. You want a couple of pairs of shoes too.<br />
At the very least you should all, men and women, have at least one pair of comfortable sandals - both for walking and for going from the pool to your room - which can be a very long walk all on its own.<br />
<br />
Some other random things: Sunblock, After Sun lotion or gel (<i>you will probably get a light burn if you haven't bothered with a base tan and don't spend much time outdoors normally</i>), bandages (<i>for when you don't heed the footwear advice</i>), <b>a water bottle, and at least one flask.</b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">THE ALCOHOL</span></b><br />
Alcohol is EXPENSIVE in Vegas. We know what you're thinking..."but I heard if you sit at the slot machines or gambling tables the waitresses bring you free alcohol"...and you're thinking right, but it's not that simple.<br />
During Trip A, about 6 years ago, and the trip the prior year, the waitresses were great (depending on the casino, of course). They were really attentive and good with bringing the drinks (as watered down as they were).<br />
Now? Not so good. They were hard to scout out, and when you got the rare one to bring you a drink they were weak. As James said, when we asked how the one drink he managed to get from a casino waitress was, "Well. I can tell she opened the liquor bottle in the <i>vicinity</i> of my drink".<br />
And then there's the matter of free. The longer you sit waiting for the waitress to get to you, should she even choose to do so (<i>we had one waitress who kept saying she'd be right back and she never actually stopped to take our drink order any of the times</i>), and then wait for her to bring you a drink, you could <i>easily</i> drop $20-60 into a slot machine - depending on how fast you are at pressing the botton and how tight the machine is. Then if you actually get a drink you should tip $1-2 - $2 if you ever want to see her again. So it's not really free.<br />
That's the casino floor (and that was the MGM, where we spent most of our slot time this trip).<br />
<br />
Restaurants and bars can get pretty expensive. For example, Pub 1842 in the MGM, a double mid-to-low-shelf Gin with water was $22. Some dance bars have minimums for table service (<i>if you want to go with a group of people and sit at a table together it can cost you into the thousands -getting a table is table service, otherwise you stand for the most part</i>).<br />
<br />
If you get the bottomless champagne/mimosa brunch option - which is mandatory at some casino buffets during certain holidays (and costs extra) - the champagne can be very low quality. [Note: The champagne at Mandalay Bay Seaside Buffet is way better quality than the champagne at the MGM Grand Buffet].<br />
<br />
So what to do.<br />
<br />
Bring a flask and a water bottle. Make your own drinks and carry them with you to cut down on at least some of the daytime drinking costs and if you plan to just plop your ass down at some slot machines.<br />
<br />
There are places to buy liquor on the strip - Walgreen's, CVS, some random bodega-type souvenir shops, and some more upscale souvenir shops; and the price of the liquor is reasonable. A 750 ml bottle of Gin at the Walgreen's was about $33 after tax, which is absolutely reasonable, especially if you noted that what was equal to two shots (<i>and you know what, it didn't taste like two shots</i>) was $22 at the restaurant in the MGM.<br />
<br />
Fill your flask (<i>it's also handy to use if you wanna boost up those watered down "free" casino drinks should you choose that route</i>), mix your drink in your water bottle (<i>unless you're using it for something silly, like staying hydrated in the hot sun ;-p</i>), and just go about your public drinking.<br />
It's a personal favourite Vegas activity <i>and</i> it saves money.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">THE FOOD</span></b>Ahhh. The food.<br />
The kind of excess that would make a Greek vomitorium blush.<br />
But first...<br />
While you're getting your liquor, grab some snacks to have kicking around your room. If you don't make sure to eat throughout the day you will not get your full value out of the buffet - should you choose to buffet. You have to keep your stomach working (it's science, look it up).<br />
A favourite thing to do it get a giant pizza the first night that you have no intention on finishing at that time (<i>unless your traveling posse is large</i>) and then snack on that over the span of a few days.<br />
<br />
At the buffet always choose protein first. Yes, the pasta looks good, but it will fill you up and stand between you and one of the many decadent protein options that can be found in Vegas - Kobe beef and spicy tuna hand roll at the Bellagio, shrimp and crab legs, sausages, roasts of every animal, exotic fish...<br />
<br />
At brunch the mini waffles, pancakes, and french toast fingers may be calling your name, but they are just trying to steal the thunder of your heart from the breakfast links, the cheesy scrambled eggs, the smoked salmon, all of the amazing savory offerings - both traditional and non - that you can't get at your local Denny's, and the dessert table waiting in the wings. If you have room at the end hit up a mini waffle for some love, but don't blow it all on simple cheap starchy carbs.<br />
<br />
If you decide to Buffet what you choose is probably up to several searches via the internet, and some recommendations from people you know.<br />
Here are our recommendations: <b>Mandalay Bay, and the Bellagio, are wonderful.</b><br />
Mandalay Bay for brunch, and The Bellagio for dinner, specifically. They both have table service too, so a waiter or waitresses is bringing your drinks and you don't have to waste time schlepping to a soda fountain or a juice machine,<br />
While there, the Mandalay Bay brunch had lamb osso bucco (<i>and it was amazing</i>), beef oxtail, and a good assortment of ethnic offerings (<i>the pork sticky buns were great</i>). The desserts at Mandalay for brunch were also a better assortment than that of the Bellagio at dinner.<br />
Now. The Bellagio. It's literally a world renowned buffet. They have Kobe beef (look it up if you don't know what it is), blini with an assortment of caviar to choose from, a lot of sushi, piles of seafood, and enough roasted meats to make a grown man blush.<br />
<b>The buffet to skip is <i>definitely</i> The MGM Grand Buffet.</b><br />
<br />
Don't go starving. You may think that's the answer to satisfying your gluttonous desires, but alas, it is not.<br />
<br />
*Previously mentioned <i><b>Dates to Avoid </b>-</i> during Holidays there is no Breakfast at most casino buffets- they default to Brunch - often being offered with all you can drink champage and mimosas.<br />
Brunch costs about $10 more per person than breakfast. The price of all other meals are increased by about that same amount. So if you're paying for the meals of two people over three days and you buffet four times you're talking about $100 more to add onto your food budget<br />
<br />
<b><u>Note:</u></b> While $30-40 on brunch may seem like a lot for a buffet, often times it's almost all you can eat in a day - you're likely to spend the rest of it digesting that meal and topping it with liquor. If you're the type to steer clear of restaurants (<i>which are equally, and often more, expensive</i>) you can probably get by with a food budget, for yourself, of about $75 a day.<br />
If you're planning on eating at famous food chains - even if they are chains not available in parts of your state, like some of the people we shared an airport shuttle with, just go away now and never read this blog again. Seriously. Close the browser.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">WHAT TO DO</span></b><br />
<b>Plan on tipping. </b> Everywhere. There's guides about tipping you can look up so you can get an idea of the tipping structure. Do it.<br />
<br />
<b>Take the Trams when you can </b>after you get a good hard walk of the strip under your belt. There are three free ones that have limited stops and they aren't very well advirtised, and there's the monorail - $12 for unlimited one-day, and a three-day pass is under $30 - it is totally worth it...it'll save your feet and hours of wasted time walking...and just may allow you to pack that ultra high-heeled Single White Female kill-him stilettos, ladies.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>If you can make it to one of the two outlet malls, do it. </b>But make sure you have baggage allowance wiggle room. The Las Vegas North Premium Outlets have been a favourite two times running. This last time didn't offer a chance for shopping, but rather a walk through the lot of the Las Vegas South Premium Outlets. Either way you'll need a cab (or bus) to get there. It's worth it, especially if you want to get off of the strip for a few hours.<br />
<br />
<b>Fremont Street (Old Vegas) is also fun...in the summer. </b>It's a great place to party...but don't plan on walking there, no matter how reasonable the distance looks like on a map. Take a bus or a cab. In the summer they have a load of outdoor events and it's like a big street party. Plus it's got all the old casinos, it's a bit nostalgic, and you can still get a circa 60s and 70s Vegas style$7.99/9.99 all you can eat steak buffet in some of those casinos. Just remember. You're going to get what you pay for...and maybe even more after a few hours.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Gambling. </b>Obviously.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Eating. </b>Duh<br />
<b><br /></b>
So here's the thing. In the combined two weeks of time spent in Vegas <b>we've never been to a show or concert.</b> It's not our thing. It's expensive, and unless we're gonna see Neil Diamond, we'll catch one of those acts somewhere else. And as far as theater...Fringe Fests are more our bag. We can't really give you any tips on those.<br />
<br />
<b>Oh. Strip clubs. </b>They are expensive as hell. The best one, and this is based on a bias, is Sapphire. The bias is because it's the only one under our belt so far, and we spent <i>more than 7 hours </i>at it on one of our trips. The longer you stay past 2 or 3, the lower the "quality" the ladies, but whatever, they have boobs. Isn't that all that matters? Plus, being female, we are allowed to touch those boobs (<i>and sometimes other parts</i>). And we did, and ladies danced on our lap, and made faces about the boys/men who were leering at it all as if to say can you believe those losers these guys are (<i>even though she was clearly going to enjoy the extra money from this happening) </i>and it was a fun time. But expensive. Once you get there (<i>don't take a cab, they say if you call the club they send a car to pick you up</i>) you pay a cover charge (<i>can be more than $30 just to get in the door</i>), and then you tip the door guy if you want a good experience, and then there's the price of the drinks (<i>no less than $15 each</i>), and the lap dances (<i>at least $20 each</i>), and if you bring female friends with you then you better be buying them drinks (<i>especially if they are "conservative" or "uptight" and you want to watch a girl dance on their lap and watch as another woman rubs her bare breasts all over her</i>).<br />
<br />
Walking. <b>You're going to do A LOT of walking.</b> Everything looks like it's close, but it's not. It's an optical allusion. Just getting to the pool at your hotel, or getting out of the hotel, can take 15-20 minutes.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">LEAVING LAS VEGAS</span></b><br />
Ask to have an extra hour added to your checkout time if you have an afternoon flight. They have "deals" if you want to make checkout even later, but if you're only looking for an hour you may be able to get it for free, and it can make a difference.<br />
Pack all your bags before you leave the room, like if you're planning on a final buffet, so when you get back you have less stress to deal with. Get to your airport two to two and a half hours early as directed, the lines can be longer than you'd think.<br />
And finally...<br />
<b>These days, if you're not careful, What happens in Vegas doesn't so much stay in Vegas, rather gets put on social media, and lives forever on the internet...(take people you trust.</b><br />
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>FINAL THOUGHTS</b><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
So what did The Husband think of the trip?<br />
"It's just a giant hole where you throw money"<br />
But he wants to go back.</blockquote>
<br />
Vegas is way more commercial than the Vegas of old. People used to be able to go "on a shoestring"...<i>that</i> Vegas is dead. You can still do it thrifty...but is that really doing Vegas right?<br />
<br />
The most important thing is go knowing you're going to spend money. Plan to spend more money than you plan to spend. Prepare for that so you can have a fun and relaxing time.<br />
If you get a $60+ dinner bill for an appetizer, a burger, a double shot of liquor, and a beer? Don't panic. Laugh it off and move on. If we've learned anything from traveling with Canadians over the years it's how to take a chill vacation. Don't worry about it ON vacation, correct for it (like, don't go back to that restaurant, make sure to ask about the price of something if you're concerned about budget). <b>If you worry about it on vacation you'll risk missing out on the fun you could have, and that's really the only reason for vacation - to have fun - not to stress.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Have fun in Vegas!<br />
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Our favourite Vegas song....</div>
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If you have been to Vegas and have any additional tips, advice, observations, please feel free to add them in the comment selection below! :-)Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-2391577509126690852016-03-18T15:32:00.002-05:002016-03-18T15:59:44.462-05:00Voting Against the "Undesirables" - A Guest Blog PostIt's been a busy year so far...<br />
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Okay, so busy is a relative term in this case. The first two months of the year, slow months work-wise, were mostly spent engrossed in video games. Having never played much of anything past a Wii (Mario Brothers and MarioKart, for the most part), and the odd Xbox Kinnect (hello, Rise of Nightmares), mostly because of lack of ability...it was a surprise when, shortly after Christmas, we picked up a controller and suddenly it all clicked. So, after spending the better part of two months engrossed in Halo ODST and Borderlands 2, it was time to come up for air. Work picked up, it's time for (continuing) training for our first 10K, and gardening season is right around the corner. Not to mention finishing the new garage and studio space so we can work on adding something to the <a href="http://graphicallyfrank.com/" target="_blank">growing collection of paintings</a>. Then there's the matter of this blog. This poor neglected blog.<br />
<br />
And Hey. It's election season, in case you hadn't noticed [that it never ends, really]. And what an election season it has been, eh?<br />
While we have not bothered to write anything <i>here</i> regarding thoughts and feelings on the current political climate, you can be <i>sure</i> to find the <a href="https://twitter.com/JustCallMeFrank" target="_blank">Twitter </a>and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JustCallMeFrank" target="_blank">Facebook</a> account riddled with thoughts and opinions like the bullet spray from an uzi.<br />
<br />
This past week we came across a Facebook status written by a social media buddy <a href="https://www.facebook.com/seanosaurus.ovidal?fref=ts" target="_blank"><b>Sean Swanson</b></a>, and it pretty much summed up one of the concerns that had been rattling around in the back of this brain with all the usual garbage. So, instead of coming up with our own post that basically reiterates what he said, we asked if we could post what he wrote as a guest blog post. He happily accepted the offer.<br />
<br />
Sean is a super guy, by all accounts a great father and husband, who, despite serious health issues, turned his life around a year ago and since then has lost a massive amount of weight. He works hard at maintaining a healthy lifestyle in order to mitigate the symptoms of his illness. Witnessing his transformation has been awesome. He has been an inspiration to those who strive to stay fit, and meet their personal workout and health goals. He also supplies his Facebook friends with very hilarious memes and entertaining content, in between the serious intellectual bits. He is appreciated.<br />
<br />
In a private conversion Sean made sure to mention that what he wrote here also applies to mental illness, which we agree with wholeheartedly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlDGFn6H0bdb6IorGIJHL8LYpNNKWJTZR1ZBdOGqiCUFs4BTengQH2QIBcJK6mWgGmA9pkRnT-8uNU6xtJNFcuYp5QgpdOPZRfekTQuZ2O1zHIdRXi-uCs4L_pBuYfI1cJEycD_Mrr7Eo/s1600/vote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlDGFn6H0bdb6IorGIJHL8LYpNNKWJTZR1ZBdOGqiCUFs4BTengQH2QIBcJK6mWgGmA9pkRnT-8uNU6xtJNFcuYp5QgpdOPZRfekTQuZ2O1zHIdRXi-uCs4L_pBuYfI1cJEycD_Mrr7Eo/s200/vote.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.erepublik.com/en/article/a-kett-t-rt-penge-2564236/1/20" target="_blank">Image Source</a></td></tr>
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There are a lot of things to consider this election season before stepping up to that "ballot" box. The mature and conscientious voter will do so not simply thinking of what the candidate they favor can offer them, but what he/she can offer the country and the individuals in it, as a whole; a vote not motivated by blind hatred for swaths of fellow human beings; a vote not motivated by pure self-interest; a vote not motivated by false propaganda, by celebrity cult-like following, or by indoctrination of religious or party affiliation.<br />
A vote <i>by</i> the people, <b><i>for</i> the people</b>.<br />
<br />
Without further adieu.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Voting Against the Undesirables</span></b></div>
<br />
I had a thought which frightened me this morning, and like most frightening thoughts it led to more frightening thoughts.<br />
<br />
I have blood family who have told me to my face that if it's a choice between Clinton and Trump they will vote Trump. They say they don't support his hate or his rhetoric and I believe them, mostly. They say they support his views on this treaty or oppose hers on abortion, etc.<br />
I get that. In more normal or reasonable times I would think that individual policies are legitimate reasons to vote for one candidate over the other.<br />
<br />
But let's call it what it is. This man has a list of undesirables. Black people, Mexican people, Muslim people, gay people.<br />
<br />
And then there's that other category, the one I'm in.<br />
<br />
People with disabilities.<br />
<br />
I don't look much different than an able bodied person, 9 days in 10 you couldn't tell the difference. But it's there. In my genetic code, I have cerebral palsy and substantial hearing loss and historically, people like me don't make it through the vetting process of men who espouse fascism.<br />
<br />
Neither will my kids. They're both perfect. No disabilities of any kind. But they inherited my genes. They can and will pass down my weird mutations and undesirable traits to any children they might have.<br />
<br />
So they go on the list. Can't have those pesky differences getting passed into the gene pool.<br />
<br />
You might be thinking "Wait, Trump hasn't made mention of disabled persons."<br />
<br />
But he has. Maybe not in a by line of his speeches but he has mocked disabled reporters at his rallies.<br />
<br />
And does it matter?<br />
<br />
He doesn't have to name off every person to hate to his supporters. They get the point. They know the Other.<br />
<br />
"What is the cause of a pogrom? Land, domination, pre-emptive attacks - all just excuses, mundane justifications that do nothing but disguise the simple distinction. <br />
They are not us. <br />
We are not them."<span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span><br />
<br />
The fact is that if we have to choose between Clinton or Trump it is absolutely a choice of the lesser of two evils. But it's an evil of a magnitude greater than the other.<br />
<br />
It's a choice between an opportunist who has often changed her moral standing with the siren call of the day, at best behind the times and at worst feckless, and a man who wants to label the Other.<br />
<br />
Lots of other republicans I know have said they just won't vote if Trump is nominated. They'll abstain. In an election like this, a choice not to vote is an approbation of men like Trump. If enough people choose not to vote because they don't like either candidate much they're essentially handing the election the candidate who has so inspired such a furor of hate and his hard inner core of supporters who finally have a standard bearer for their hatred.<br />
<br />
You will sanction him with your silence if you choose not to vote on Election Day.<br />
<br />
Others might say "he can't change the structure of the United States, the president doesn't have that power."<br />
<br />
Of course he can. Presidents pull in majorities for both the house and the senate every four years. It's called the coat tail effect. Essentially, congress people who wouldn't normally be electable gain office because they are in the same party of the presidential candidate and most voters vote straight ticket these days.<br />
<br />
If you don't think a president can effect fundamental change in our nation with the backing of the house and senate just look at what President Obama accomplished in his first two years in office when he had a supermajority. Think of the harm he could have wrought, had he chosen to.<br />
<br />
And think of that list of your neighbors, your friends, your acquaintances you chat with over the coffee pot at work, who all fall on the list of undesirables.<br />
<br />
What makes America great is the diversity of her peoples. We are the melting pot. The bootstraps nation. The nation of refugees and outsiders effecting real and lasting change.<br />
<br />
We are not homogenous. In point of fact, the founders of the nation came here to escape the homogenous old countries. Who only a handful of years after our nation's founding saw the rise of death camps in those old countries. And to those death camps went the list of undesirables, almost indistinguishable from the list of undesirables that Mr. Trump has presented time and time again.<br />
<br />
We are better than this. We must be better than this.<br />
<br />
"We are contrary creatures, us humans, but that isn't something we need be afraid of, or even much troubled by. And if you make a list of those people who worship consistency, you'll find they're one and all tyrants or would-be tyrants. Ruling over thousands, or over a husband or a wife, or some cowering child. Never fear contradiction, it is the very heart of diversity."- <i>Steven Erikson</i><br />
<br />
"We are not enemies, but friends, we must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it's must not break our bonds of affection." - <i>Abraham Lincoln</i><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span> quote from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/43493-the-malazan-book-of-the-fallen" target="_blank">The Malazan Boo of the Fallen Series</a>Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-65245564876878447492015-12-31T17:39:00.002-06:002016-01-01T13:12:17.290-06:00Goodbye 2015. On to 2016: Better, Smarter, and Full of Potential and Possibilities<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4pZjIUVSbIkhQKEhnrjyL6OdNCXYv6oHc3a8IdtlgqF457ev41OAeezq-L4TIExcI0Egl_-1Rn8nG79bRzHzX6btAD0e131Oezxc5azeI3Yd5D46sKSIHZVIy7xG19m18zIxu3Fpe8E/s1600/New-Years-fireworks-with-champagne-1385625884_45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4pZjIUVSbIkhQKEhnrjyL6OdNCXYv6oHc3a8IdtlgqF457ev41OAeezq-L4TIExcI0Egl_-1Rn8nG79bRzHzX6btAD0e131Oezxc5azeI3Yd5D46sKSIHZVIy7xG19m18zIxu3Fpe8E/s320/New-Years-fireworks-with-champagne-1385625884_45.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
There was supposed to be more time in this day to write this post, but as with most days this year something came up, or there just wasn't enough time in the day, or, as was more likely, blog posts were running through the brain as the body lay all warm and comfortable in bed. Thoughts, feeling, emotions, words, unable to escape into the internet and land here where they wanted to be because life gets in the way (or a comfortable bed).<br />
<br />
2015 was an amazing year - amazing good and amazing bad - full of achievements...like graduating from University with academic honors (magna cum laude), having the opportunity to spend several weeks traveling to a few locations in Canada, starting a new career as a self-employed contract worker, g<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2015/08/gardening-update-2015.html" target="_blank">rowing a great garden and learning more about the ins-and-outs of that hobby</a>, and while <a href="http://graphicallyfrankart.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">we only completed one painting this year</a>, there is confidence that will pick up when our new studio space (dubbed on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/the_real_just_call_me_frank/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> [<i>Yes, this year we "finally" got an Instagram account</i>] and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JustCallMeFrank" target="_blank">Facebook</a> as 'Frankie's Lady Cave).<br />
<br />
It was also a year full of seeing friends, like <a href="https://twitter.com/ClubNette" target="_blank">Club Nette </a>(Skittles, aka, Annette Ford) and <a href="https://twitter.com/synthesised" target="_blank">Synthesised</a> (Cliff) in Toronto at the 2015 Toronto Tweetup (<i>as well as a slew of others who just won't appear here - but shout out to <a href="https://twitter.com/blondecalamity" target="_blank">Blonde Calamity</a>!...sorry everyone else</i>).<br />
And then there was the summer house guests like <a href="https://twitter.com/Cool_Jesse" target="_blank">Cool _Jesse</a> (Jesse) and <a href="https://twitter.com/synthesised" target="_blank">Synthesised</a> (Cliff). And a road trip to Minneapolis to the Minnesota State Fair where we hooked up with <a href="https://twitter.com/PuddingBoobs" target="_blank">Pudding Boobs</a> (Kim) and had a great night of drinking and catching up.<br />
And then in October, Father, and Baby Brother and his wife came to help put up a large portion of the new garage we're building (<i>well, at this point James has been doing most of the building while we feel useless ...at least until the electrical, insulation and drywall is ready to go up, those we can mostly do solo</i>), and Mother and Angry Brother came too. It was the first time the entire immediate family had been together in such a way in over ten years, since <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2011/03/collision-other-girls-terrible-car.html" target="_blank">the car accident</a>. (<i>current memory cannot recall if every member was accounted for on Baby Brother's wedding day, but if they were it was certainly not in such an informal familial way</i>).<br />
Dad came two weekends in a row and it was really nice spending that time with him. It was great fun cooking for everyone and connecting with some members of the family we haven't gotten to see much over the years. Baby Brother has turned out to be an amazing man of strength and intelligence and wit (<i>he's a grade A smart ass, and we love it</i>), and he and his wife are perfect for each other in ways that are undefinable.<br />
<br />
But<br />
<br />
The year was also not so great, as<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2015/05/our-adventure-dog-may-she-rip.html" target="_blank"> the death of our dog </a>came quickly around graduation time. We lost massive hours at a job we were working at and got denied a more permanent position (<i>such is the bureaucracy of a University in this day and age</i>)<br />
Then later in the year the most tragic of all, <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2015/09/she-was.html" target="_blank">the sudden death of Club Nette (Skittles, aka, Annette Ford)</a>. Nothing has felt the same since, like there's a considerable amount of air and light missing from the world, the sun only shines half as bright. Given our peppered past of people who have suddenly (<i>and not so suddenly</i>) died, like <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/first-boy-we-liked-that-like-us-back.html" target="_blank">the first boy we ever liked</a>, cousins, uncles, <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2012/11/carrying-on-legacy.html" target="_blank">grandparents</a>, friends...we thought this would be easier to get passed. It's not. It was a massive hit to the heart and soul.<br />
<br />
From a mental health perspective it's been up and down a lot, definitely some bad, but there's never enough time to write when the mood strikes to define the bad, or work through the bad like we used to - luckily a trunk full of culled coping strategies over the past couple of years mitigates the harm, pushes it back for some reprieve.<br />
Physically we've managed to stay in pretty good shape - though after the death of Nettie there was a severe uptick in alcohol consumption and we've been working on getting back to better levels because alcohol will straight up fuck with your metabolism and any weight loss attempts. During a full physical (EKG and all) the doctor guessed that we must run because of the low resting heart rate. Not really sure if that means healthy, or is just a symptom or catalyst to the poor circulation. In any case, despite the extra pounds we're as healthy as they get. And the plan is to continue that into the new year. The greatest physical achievement this year was establishing a top run time (of an average of 7.04 mph for 30 minutes) - a run time we have not been able to near in awhile even after being in the gym 3-4 times a week, even when traveling. But that just gives us a goal. In addition this coming year at least one 5K, and maybe a 10K, is planned, which has been sort of a bucket list item <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/p/franks-100-pound-weight-loss-story.html" target="_blank">since losing a massive amount of weight about 11 years ago</a> and keeping most of it off over the years. It's not really a new year resolution, because those beg to be broken, rather a desire, a goal, a hope, that if doesn't happen, doesn't happen, and there will always be the next year.<br />
<br />
This coming year is pretty scary, as uncertainty being self-employed causes much undo stress, but if it continues on the path it has been on it will be amazing. This new venture affords plenty of free time for painting and reading in the winter, and gardening and painting and travel in the summer, and cooking all year round. Plus it brings in more money than we've made at any point in our life...jutting us into a new tax bracket. (also scary!)<br />
<br />
The non scary part of the year will be when the garage is complete. This project has taught patience this year, as the hope was that it would be fully complete by October. Unfortuntaly the concrete didn't even get poured until then, and then before anybody knew it there was cold, and snow, and the challenges of building a huge structure (and James is not familiar with how things are built in the USA, as building in England are put together differently).<br />
Plus the garage is massive a massive project. In-floor heating, multiple access doors,six windows. a 34 x 24 structure with the back 12 x 24 space (Fankie's Lady Cave) serving as a painting/writing studio, and workout/yoga space, a gardening space (until the garden shed is built), a hangout space, and a guest area for the friends we've made on Twitter so they can have a nice space to relax and sleep while visiting. There are new visitors planned for 2016 too, so hopefully this all gets done in time! :-)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBi1VWdrHXT8_Pewhk_qxznBCHJ1J3HSywcHmVs_ruDoRpq5Rhv9Xh7-T_Ja0w2cQEW8MFr4SrYnAX-J0VvZJ3Yo3o2BfpHBWim2bOhVzhmwF0hSSdWE6Rir3f5FhH_YrxpAQXDmrrprI/s1600/11991326_887862717945507_432931756_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBi1VWdrHXT8_Pewhk_qxznBCHJ1J3HSywcHmVs_ruDoRpq5Rhv9Xh7-T_Ja0w2cQEW8MFr4SrYnAX-J0VvZJ3Yo3o2BfpHBWim2bOhVzhmwF0hSSdWE6Rir3f5FhH_YrxpAQXDmrrprI/s320/11991326_887862717945507_432931756_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before the garage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFcceGN4V7S6dQdk4q7blXOQT6fi4ng45q3pmrE7WsYT1o2lFv0l_KRYzX1bkiClmBuPOjc24k_fhxtHx_-8jDo0r1smYNdvQKkIxXVkp2Zu0CGZVOi1Forsq2ojK7sdHLHf2du9Hvay8/s1600/12351763_914853045246474_1817314518_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFcceGN4V7S6dQdk4q7blXOQT6fi4ng45q3pmrE7WsYT1o2lFv0l_KRYzX1bkiClmBuPOjc24k_fhxtHx_-8jDo0r1smYNdvQKkIxXVkp2Zu0CGZVOi1Forsq2ojK7sdHLHf2du9Hvay8/s320/12351763_914853045246474_1817314518_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the garage (34' x 24')</td></tr>
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Meanwhile, all year there have been so many topic we would have liked to write about. 2015 was CRAZY - especially in politics and social issues, and we're always paying attention (thanks to social media it's hard not to), but then sometimes it seems like it's all really been said by everyone, because, well, it's the internet and it probably <i>has</i> all been said, or said faster than someone with a job, a spouse, and hobbies has time to compete with. Writing just falls to the back-burner (hence the scant few blog entries here this year compared to other years).<br />
The one thing that's disappointing about classes being over, having graduated, is that it's harder to sit down and write with no grade or deadline looming over the head as motivation. If there's anything we can be hopeful about for 2016 it's that we can get back into writing, and not just sloppy shit like this blog post, but quality content <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/p/university.html" target="_blank">like the academic papers we've shared with you here over the last few years,</a> or <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/p/travel.html" target="_blank">travel entries</a>.<br />
<br />
2016...it's peeking right around that corner, mere hours away...full of possibilities...full of potential...potential sadness, potential happiness, potential success, potential failure...how you look at those things, how you act on those things is up to you. Make the better decision, the smarter decision, the healthier decision, and just try, day by day, to be a better you, inside and out. No, it's never easy, but what else do you have to do but try?<br />
Don't let the rampant hate that saturated 2015 via social media and mass media and the internet in general leak into 2016 and overtake it. Hope for better, strive for better, be better.<br />
<br />
Happy New Year, family, friends, readers, lovers, haters...May 2016 bring you all that you deserve.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-50610336777497792062015-10-18T12:42:00.003-05:002015-10-18T16:41:43.768-05:00Cooking With Frank: Baked Jalapeño PoppersIn an effort to get back into blogging and writing (*fingers crossed*) it seemed like a good idea to start with a recipe.<br />
<br />
Traveling, working (<i>two jobs now - more on that another day</i>) and gardening made sitting down and putting fingers to keys a daunting endeavour. Now that fall is here vacation traveling is over, and all but the last bits of the plants have been pulled from the soil in preparation for the fall tilling.<br />
As an aside, the total harvest this year - that actually made it to a scale before being eaten - was upward of 137+ lbs (62 kg)! It was a good year after all and things were still budding and trying to make fruits and vegetable right up to the day they were getting ripped from the ground.<br />
<br />
Okay, so back to the recipe. This one was requested by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/i.love.burritos?fref=ufi" target="_blank">Jessica</a> back in August, and she's been waiting patiently.<br />
<br />
These jalapeño poppers also have the benefit of being healthier than average because they are not breaded or deep fried. They are for real jalapeño lovers. They are also pretty gluten free, which deep fried ones are not, you know...if you're into that kind of thing.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> (Y<i>ou can read our little gluten rant here: </i><span style="background-color: #fefefe;"><a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2015/01/cooking-with-frank-gluten-free-turkey.html" target="_blank">Cooking With Frank: Gluten-Free Turkey Lasagna</a></span>)</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Baked Jalapeño Poppers</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This is actually going to be TWO recipes, but let's start with the tools and essential ingredient.</div>
<br />
You'll need the following tools:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQVcJQCVbH3Dq4WOV89W6K7IKv73lDIDlrYTlGs_4fywCWyaMGp3-OenNeAo5tZHKxtXm7icid19X4NHuCMJUxDcqX9rtfkjwUAm9Tx2LnjMrGtKfokPK17-NS5D0kOvkEBJfWOm_pN4/s1600/slptsht.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQVcJQCVbH3Dq4WOV89W6K7IKv73lDIDlrYTlGs_4fywCWyaMGp3-OenNeAo5tZHKxtXm7icid19X4NHuCMJUxDcqX9rtfkjwUAm9Tx2LnjMrGtKfokPK17-NS5D0kOvkEBJfWOm_pN4/s320/slptsht.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silicon Baking Sheet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<ul>
<li>baking pan</li>
<li>non-stick spray (like Pam) or a silicone baking sheet. Baking sheets are amazing and reusable.</li>
<li>cutting board</li>
<li>knife</li>
<li>bowl or container to put seeds in</li>
<li><b>GLOVES</b>, rubber or whatever.</li>
</ul>
<br />
The essential ingredient:<br />
<br />
12 large jalapeños, cut in half, seeds removed and rinsed.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OEjz3jhkEUD4JqZHhazjmQuRpAXRufNmm1bsRwQJp7DKr02DRdrbc_PtcQdtQEIdgggGu7U6gJbYLMt8sV7TWtuFMNKJlUSLPQFBY_-VsRT1aBGubs0Vl_Rh35yYS5bGViPg5p7hvrY/s1600/12170232_896063810458731_1586581698_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OEjz3jhkEUD4JqZHhazjmQuRpAXRufNmm1bsRwQJp7DKr02DRdrbc_PtcQdtQEIdgggGu7U6gJbYLMt8sV7TWtuFMNKJlUSLPQFBY_-VsRT1aBGubs0Vl_Rh35yYS5bGViPg5p7hvrY/s320/12170232_896063810458731_1586581698_n.jpg" width="180" /></a>The important thing to remember is to <i>always wear gloves. </i>Not only should you <i>always</i> wear the gloves while handling the jalapeños, you shouldn't touch anything with that gloved hand that you're later going to touch with your bare hand. And if you somehow expose your hands to the peppers, for fuck sake, don't touch <i>any</i> of your mucus membranes...not your nose, not your eye (make sure you've taken your contacts out for the day just in case)...and keep your hands off your genitals.<br />
Also...it may be suggested that you wear a pair of goggles. Because if one of those jalapeños decides to squirt at your face, the last place you want it landing is in your eye. If you have particularly strong peppers you may also consider wearing something over your mouth while you rinse them because the water may cause the chemical to go airborne.<br />
You don't want to be a victim of your own pepper spray attack.<br />
<br />
This is all advice from direct experience having <i>not</i> done those things over the years.<br />
<br />
Here is some more solid info and tips about handling jalapeños <a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/474739-jalapeno-peppers-skin-irritations">http://www.livestrong.com/article/474739-jalapeno-peppers-skin-irritations</a><br />
<br />
Okay. Now that you've been warned about that we can move on to the safer ingredients.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhTEoTK3feDX7LQf4hRc9b_0F9gljFRLry4K8tmror_DRA70uuRX9fIzwjKzQnnHrc0DGuD93kbcDr7iXxBMRQcsqea6kJvsiN3cntWW8manbsGDJt2Kf7oSZydLkBMwvfCIXa06nM3AY/s1600/11822865_865601763504936_6507041763711898991_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhTEoTK3feDX7LQf4hRc9b_0F9gljFRLry4K8tmror_DRA70uuRX9fIzwjKzQnnHrc0DGuD93kbcDr7iXxBMRQcsqea6kJvsiN3cntWW8manbsGDJt2Kf7oSZydLkBMwvfCIXa06nM3AY/s400/11822865_865601763504936_6507041763711898991_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Bacon, onion & cream cheese stuffed jalapeños,<br />and basil, fresh tomato and mozzarella salad</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Bacon and Onion Stuffed Jalapeño</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Poppers</span></div>
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<b>1 lb (454 g) cream cheese</b>, room temp</div>
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<b>3 slices bacon</b> - <i>you can obviously use more but this will be adequate enough. Make sure to fry out as much of the fat as you can and save it to the side, and set the bacon on a paper towel to cool and remove excess fat.</i></div>
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<b>3/4 c (180 ml) onion. </b>diced (about half a medium large onion)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>1-2 clove garlic</b>, minced</div>
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<b>1-2 tsp (5ml) bacon fat</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>(you can use any type of fat, coconut oil, olive oil, butter...by why would you?)</div>
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<b>Salt and pepper</b>, to taste</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzH6svprG0UxfQ_XwdRpNELkiQo_N2YrQHJvdE3uNeRuL-3lIO7-Thc-nOPNCCjzYVbvyzGQvEft06N4rdhPVB_A75lrC-VZoD-CT0hfQk_RT-bKNJ3ElKoev_K28ZEaEBvJ6OrEswwtw/s1600/Bacon+and+Onion+Baked+Jalapeno+Poppers.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzH6svprG0UxfQ_XwdRpNELkiQo_N2YrQHJvdE3uNeRuL-3lIO7-Thc-nOPNCCjzYVbvyzGQvEft06N4rdhPVB_A75lrC-VZoD-CT0hfQk_RT-bKNJ3ElKoev_K28ZEaEBvJ6OrEswwtw/s1600/Bacon+and+Onion+Baked+Jalapeno+Poppers.PNG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Nutrition Information generated using<br />myFitnesspal recipe calculator</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Optional: a small amount of fresh grated parmesan cheese or fresh herbs of your choosing</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Preheat oven to 350° F</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Cook the bacon as directed and once cooled enough to handle chop it into small pieces. In the same pan use some of the reserved bacon fat and fry the onion and garlic over medium low heat until translucent. Season with salt and pepper (<i>you probably don't need very much at all</i>) Set aside and cool. If you haven't prepared the jalapeños yet this would be a good time for that.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Once the mixture has cooled fill each of the jalapeño halves with the mixture <i style="text-decoration: underline;">using your gloved hands</i>. Don't overfill them, there shouldn't be an excess mixture, if there is you can disperse it among the peppers once they have all been filled.</div>
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Place on silicone baking on a baking pan or spray pan with nonstick spray and line the peppers on tray. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until they start to brown on the top. </div>
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-------------------------</div>
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<br />
Okay. Easy, right?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Now let's get a little fancy.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
First, a world on chorizo. It's a sausage and not all chorizo is created equally. [Go here to learn about the differences: <a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/chorizo">http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/chorizo</a> or here for more information than the average person needs: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorizo">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorizo</a>]</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqEndFZJ30_mG2q1bIpoRctUQsDtb8HpIno66XJu-aYxCNPZTe7lCxv9nFRguVcw0sGjh4dDsIjpu-w0mRLqRyruBjxPhFbm8mrZhfMPml_KXWNeqrZycZkmmEwmqCFVnQKqGGGTWUoe8/s1600/12167613_896060267125752_363842292_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqEndFZJ30_mG2q1bIpoRctUQsDtb8HpIno66XJu-aYxCNPZTe7lCxv9nFRguVcw0sGjh4dDsIjpu-w0mRLqRyruBjxPhFbm8mrZhfMPml_KXWNeqrZycZkmmEwmqCFVnQKqGGGTWUoe8/s200/12167613_896060267125752_363842292_n.jpg" width="183" /></a>The kind you're going to use for this recipe is Mexican chorizo.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The following recipe has the benefit of being <i>much </i>healthier. Almost half the calories and half the fat. But retains the full on deliciousness. Add a salad and either of these recipes becomes an exhilarating dinner!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Chorizo and Goat Cheese Stuffed </span><span style="font-size: large;">Jalapeño</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Poppers</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>6.5 oz (185 g) goat cheese</b>, room temp</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>4 oz (114 g)Mexican chorizo sausage</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>3/4 c onions (180 ml)</b>, chopped</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>1 c (240 ml) sun-dried tomatoes</b>, chopped (preferably cherry tomatoes as they are sweeter, measure <i>before</i> chopping)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>1-2 tsp (5ml) bacon fat</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>(you can use any type of fat, coconut oil, olive oil, butter...by why would you?)</div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk38NDnyMgRn_RaJE4U_bbG14PyolyGmD7BP65r2RPi8BCv1acchwGU1jbkKwtdiM8nAQIvoSCzBORBMgWyYn3yUoO7mNa4v0ImOzZKg9eJs85G9WXrj-zhCJO_dyVjDh0c4zUeQPNSK8/s1600/Chorizo+and+Goat+Cheese+Baked+Jalapeno+Poppers.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk38NDnyMgRn_RaJE4U_bbG14PyolyGmD7BP65r2RPi8BCv1acchwGU1jbkKwtdiM8nAQIvoSCzBORBMgWyYn3yUoO7mNa4v0ImOzZKg9eJs85G9WXrj-zhCJO_dyVjDh0c4zUeQPNSK8/s1600/Chorizo+and+Goat+Cheese+Baked+Jalapeno+Poppers.PNG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Nutrition Information generated using<br />myFitnesspal recipe calculator</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6ZvMxrkDBGWPzdtvuotrmQLtLt6pOlNZefjfVgehsWn4s3JPPtWBeKp6FUDC7J1WGrNK1iAJW-1LXhwaIpKgD2Q61mUMPohpQu5I4-cOkc9J7_yU9wjAPPX33CXwffAC_ewiB6snnjc/s1600/12170860_896060160459096_1451567108_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6ZvMxrkDBGWPzdtvuotrmQLtLt6pOlNZefjfVgehsWn4s3JPPtWBeKp6FUDC7J1WGrNK1iAJW-1LXhwaIpKgD2Q61mUMPohpQu5I4-cOkc9J7_yU9wjAPPX33CXwffAC_ewiB6snnjc/s200/12170860_896060160459096_1451567108_o.jpg" width="200" /></a>Preheat oven to 350°F</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Heat oil in pan and add onions. Cook onions for about 1-2 minutes and then add chorizo to pan. Cook for at least five minutes. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5hCzdVEq-YWaJabJ1APdws2bNqusaB-s_0J4OeTcsMf7jORYd_mPGxA8QgxcuWE_-MX36aH_HzTi1kkh-ricLHUZpIMSjkxVKoyOhjMXAO1AU4uPSLVPokH4tJxF2NWftVTthi1qWx6Q/s1600/12169980_896060983792347_364557683_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5hCzdVEq-YWaJabJ1APdws2bNqusaB-s_0J4OeTcsMf7jORYd_mPGxA8QgxcuWE_-MX36aH_HzTi1kkh-ricLHUZpIMSjkxVKoyOhjMXAO1AU4uPSLVPokH4tJxF2NWftVTthi1qWx6Q/s200/12169980_896060983792347_364557683_o.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It should look like this when you're done.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Cool mixture to room temp (again this would be a good time to prepare the 12 large jalapeños by cutting them in half, removing the seeds and rinsing them).</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNCKJ6zyuC6ePOOZhxRH0X9Lo2Va0dUihM67a-KO4cTN2AfqAi4b1nqVq0yeNYiZKRIEfg1sQGZZuX-fNOwYwracOL_X_4VHLVmqhyphenhyphen0eLtr11Ykm7M9Cm5OYlSZFFpFKpE1HM04thmtI/s1600/12170759_896066687125110_2102128734_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc0k7j-CY1Ktz4jmSjovTlYGp6iBXU3BrFA1aJnGRbZkAVFSUodTkpGkJEocqBQDLpjPVepR7Gn0EOXVjT2Np8ZbTiqF6uHvl-n0VcdozW7mte2UiCnk0VN_HgdsKo9jfQym81DBGPAjQ/s1600/12166711_896061683792277_1471563049_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc0k7j-CY1Ktz4jmSjovTlYGp6iBXU3BrFA1aJnGRbZkAVFSUodTkpGkJEocqBQDLpjPVepR7Gn0EOXVjT2Np8ZbTiqF6uHvl-n0VcdozW7mte2UiCnk0VN_HgdsKo9jfQym81DBGPAjQ/s320/12166711_896061683792277_1471563049_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Add chorizo onion mixture to the goat cheese and blend well. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and continue mixing into well incorporated.<br />
Once the mixture has cooled fill each of the jalapeño halves with the mixture <i style="text-decoration: underline;">using your gloved hands</i>. Don't overfill them, there shouldn't be an excess mixture, if there is you can disperse it among the peppers once they have all been filled.<br />
Place on silicone baking on a baking pan or spray pan with nonstick spray and line the peppers on tray. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until they start to brown on the top.<br />
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<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNCKJ6zyuC6ePOOZhxRH0X9Lo2Va0dUihM67a-KO4cTN2AfqAi4b1nqVq0yeNYiZKRIEfg1sQGZZuX-fNOwYwracOL_X_4VHLVmqhyphenhyphen0eLtr11Ykm7M9Cm5OYlSZFFpFKpE1HM04thmtI/s320/12170759_896066687125110_2102128734_n.jpg" width="180" /> Prepare yourself for deliciousness! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiiJk7rKotvDIJd3n2pne6ApxDOh2INWb8-LDtduIl_X8Sqe7-CPJpXJ24D4DFDZGQs0eQVZoxvFg5Fx920Qjsq2bkQfe5MypaAbzMY_s-aXyME_lGSFdOMx60iv7VpmXFFbSfUjyMe1k/s1600/12166233_896072103791235_106230274_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiiJk7rKotvDIJd3n2pne6ApxDOh2INWb8-LDtduIl_X8Sqe7-CPJpXJ24D4DFDZGQs0eQVZoxvFg5Fx920Qjsq2bkQfe5MypaAbzMY_s-aXyME_lGSFdOMx60iv7VpmXFFbSfUjyMe1k/s320/12166233_896072103791235_106230274_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-11904443010350104692015-09-15T11:26:00.000-05:002015-09-15T11:32:52.093-05:00She Was...It was about three years ago, just before the London Ontario Tweetup, that we tried to cajole her to come meet us with promises of hiding under tables and eating Skittles and drinking vodka with her. That year she thought about it but ultimately declined. There was anxiety.<br />
<br />
The following year, the first Toronto Tweetup, we mentioned it and then didn't talk to her about it again...and she came! We grabbed her and held her and marveled at the physical being that was her. You know how it is, when you finally meet a friend face-to-face.<br />
<br />
The whole "being <i>at</i> the Tweetup" didn't last long. Ultimately we ditched the whole thing, along with <a href="https://twitter.com/mr_jmm" target="_blank">James</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/ClubNette" target="_blank">Nettie</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/synthesised" target="_blank">Cliff</a>, and took off on adventures on our own. (You can read about it here: <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2014/06/choose-your-own-adventure-tweetup.html">http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2014/06/choose-your-own-adventure-tweetup.html</a>)<br />
<br />
That weekend, sometime after 2am at a hero Burger on Queen St, eating Skittles off of the table, we're pretty sure this is when Nettie officially became The Skittles. Officially.<br />
We've never spent time with her where she didn't have bags of them stashed in her purse (or where she was stashing them in ours *smiles wistfully*)<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
It's a 2:00am skittle frenzy happening here. <a href="http://t.co/GbDWWJeyRJ">pic.twitter.com/GbDWWJeyRJ</a></div>
— ClubNette (@ClubNette) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClubNette/status/480593888646668288">June 22, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
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Skittles (<a href="https://twitter.com/ClubNette">@ClubNette</a>) loves the weiner. <a href="http://t.co/ellXHowU26">pic.twitter.com/ellXHowU26</a></div>
— Just Call Me Frank™© (@JustCallMeFrank) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustCallMeFrank/status/480465284084793344">June 21, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
<br />
Shortly after last summer's Toronto Tweetup we got a message from her saying she would be on her way through the area, off to visit family in western Canada, and could she swing down for few days visit with her man (Don) and Goo (her son), and then stay again on her way back home. This was an obvious treat having seen her not that long ago, so we said yes.<br />
<br />
She ended up being here the hottest parts of the summer, and our house has no air conditioning. We ended up spending sweltering days together lounging on the furniture, her with her notebook and pen, Goo with his digital games, just existing comfortably.<br />
Honestly it was so comfortable having her here that we don't even recall how we passed all of the time - it must have been close to six days total - aside from eating home cooked meals, hanging out in the backyard around a fire, and all the excitement that comes with having an autistic (eight year old?) boy in the house for the first time (it was a learning experience!).<br />
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Food porn from casa <a href="https://twitter.com/JustCallMeFrank">@JustCallMeFrank</a> <a href="http://t.co/2rwjvlgqAw">pic.twitter.com/2rwjvlgqAw</a></div>
— ClubNette (@ClubNette) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClubNette/status/487395092898926593">July 11, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
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The Skittles in our backyard (a.k.a. <a href="https://twitter.com/ClubNette">@ClubNette</a>). 💚 <a href="http://t.co/wSCZQ0WhK7">pic.twitter.com/wSCZQ0WhK7</a></div>
— Just Call Me Frank™© (@JustCallMeFrank) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustCallMeFrank/status/491071078492426241">July 21, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
<br />
Except for one night.<br />
<br />
The day had been beyond hot, the air still, unmoving and clinging. You could tell something was brewing, the air had that feel and the environment had that pallor all through the day, turning that strange yellowy green that it does on hot summer afternoons right before something fun happens. You could see pregnant dark clouds inching their way in from the west, eventually they got so close we walked out to the end of the block to marvel at them, which is pretty much the west edge of town, and to see the first pulses of lightening. And then suddenly you could see a wave of dust forming, rolling closer, and the wind all of a sudden just went nuts. This area of the county isn't exactly a stranger to tornadoes. Screaming with excitement and getting hit with the first drops of rain, we all turned and ran for the safety of the house.<br />
<br />
We got into the house and the wind kept picking up, the lightening got stronger and closer, the thunder boomed. Then the lights went out. We lit candles and discussed playing board games and pondered at other ways in which we could pass the time. By this time the worst parts of the storm had skirted the town, as it usually does, and we were left in the center of walls of lightening, ominous clouds and considerable wind, because the heat of the day was still contained in the house, and the candles were adding to the stickiness with every minute, we came to a conclusion.<br />
<br />
Let's go out and chase this thing around the countryside. It was bound to be cooler anywhere but here.<br />
<br />
We all piled into the 4Runner, buckling Goo (her son) into the center of the backseat telling him that the adults were going to do something very silly right now. Chasing storms in the Midwest isn't exactly the safest activity, kids.<br />
<br />
And we drove around for what must have been an hour, stopping so Nettie could jump out and take pictures here and there (<a href="https://instagram.com/clubnette/" target="_blank">she loved to take pictures)</a>, like at the graveyard at the edge of town where she took some great photos, and speculating on where to go next for great views.<br />
<br />
It was a great summer, and that is a favorite memory.<br />
<br />
This past June Cliff and Nettie agreed to have a sort of reunion and go the the Toronto Tweetup again. So we went, James happily in tow because these are a few of his favorite people.<br />
<br />
We made them dinner at the AirBnb condo we rented downtown, a four course meal with ingredients sourced from St. Lawrence Market. Of course, we all agreed to make an appearance at some of the Tweetup events, but ultimately we ditched everyone (again) and went to other places, quieter places, to drink and talk about music and politics and life and this and that and everything.<br />
<br />
The next day we woke up and met for Mimosas at Cliff's hotel room (a tradition) and then walked to the old Distillery District to try out artisan chocolate and eat fancy Mexican food, and walk from floor to floor of the Case Goods Warehouse and Cannery Building critiquing the art that graced the walls. Sometimes critiquing with knowledge and expertise, sometimes with silliness.<br />
That night we walked around town in the dark trying to find random art parties, talking, enjoying each other's company.<br />
The next day, Sunday, we had brunch at the AirBnb condo and sat around, more talking, laughing. We signed <a href="http://graphicallyfrankart.blogspot.com/2014/08/tortured-whore-bird.html" target="_blank">the painting we had created for Nettie</a>, which she inspired with her words, and sent it off to its new home.<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
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Rhyming tortured with whore bird.
Talent, I know.
Grandma is so proud.</div>
— ClubNette (@ClubNette) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClubNette/status/494665448030339072">July 31, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<br />
People must have thought us supremely antisocial whenever we were at Tweetups together, or maybe even rude, but the thing that made this little group of friends great is the independent streak they recognized in each other, as well as shared passion for writing, arts, and a common intellect (<i>though, Nettie was always so much smarter when it came to many things</i>). We were fast friends from the start, through the years on Twitter, where we met, and the time spent together in the non-digital world.<br />
<br />
To be honest other than the times we'd hang out in person there was very little communication, digital or otherwise. And never phone calls. Just random message that said things like "<3 love you ^_^ drive by affection". We understood each other, the exhaustion that socializing tended to cause, the time that living in your own head, so to speak, and being creative, took up.<br />
We enjoyed each other's company from sun-up, to almost sun-up again, whenever we spent time together. And it was a satisfying friendship that we were looking forward to experiencing for years to come.<br />
<br />
We were just on the cusp of planning a trip to Viva Las Vegas in April, calendars had been marked, hearts had been sent.<br />
<br />
She was amazing, super smart and fun, and full of complexity. And such a patient mom with Goo.<br />
And the way she could spin words; <a href="http://clubnette.com/" target="_blank">she had such a talent and love for writing</a>, like writing was the only way she knew how to breathe. She paved her own path with words. She truly was a renegade soul.<br />
<br />
She was one of the few people we've known that felt genuine.<br />
<br />
This last Saturday she passed away in her sleep, just shy of a week from what would have been her 33rd birthday.<br />
<br />
Nobody can explain it.<br />
The autoposy rendered inconclusive results. The tox screens will take nearly half a year for anything to be discovered. But like Cliff said...at the end of the day it doesn't really matter what the tox screen says.<br />
<br />
It's completely unfair that she's gone. And waves of disbelief will ripple alongside those of grief for years.<br />
<br />
Our heart aches for her husband and Goo. Especially Goo. Sometimes it seemed Nettie and he had their own special language. It's hard to imagine the confusion he is going through right now. Hearts ache for Nettie's entire family, friends she had that we didn't know, everybody whose life she touched. And she did. She touched many.<br />
<br />
She was just embarking on a new adventure of marketing her writing and her art. You could just tell she was excited by all the prospects of the future, the possibilities, the people (in her own introvert way).<br />
<br />
She will live on in the ones and zeros of the digital world, her art and her words live here. Whenever we find ourselves missing her, wanting for her words, the beauty she created, we can find her in the volumes she left behind, the volumes of herself, raw and gritty, beautiful and light.<br />
<br />
She was wrong when she said she wasn't a firework yet. She'd always been a firework. But the kind that's safe to hold onto...full of promise and beauty and sparks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://img1.etsystatic.com/070/0/11511535/il_570xN.814837811_rvpx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://img1.etsystatic.com/070/0/11511535/il_570xN.814837811_rvpx.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">(From her Etsy shop: </span><a href="https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/ClubNettePrintShop?ref=search_shop_redirect" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/ClubNettePrintShop?ref=search_shop_redirect</a>)</span></td></tr>
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Sweetheart. You have been imprinted. We will never forget you. <3</div>
Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-18189039274947407552015-08-08T20:24:00.001-05:002015-08-08T20:50:35.872-05:00Gardening Update 2015<div dir="ltr">
This is our third year independently gardening. It's been far better than last year when a very wet spring left much of one of the plots under water.</div>
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Still, the early spring led to early planting in general and the growing season has been...awkward. The spring came so fast the gardens needed a massive weeding weeks before anything could be planted. And then one weekend it took ten hours to weed. Which made it just go crazy immediately and everything shot up overnight. </div>
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Some things have been producing faster than others (when they should actually be producing slower), and some are just caught in a stalling pattern. </div>
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This also marks the first year for starting some plants indoors, instead of buying them all, and then transplanting. Mostly squashes - which was a success - and tomatoes and peppers - which was not a success and yielded two surviving pepper plants and one tomato).</div>
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The south plot is officially out of control. At least the squash (we think it's one plant, but it seems like it should be two), and which was added after two of the melon plants didn't take off, so it didn't get recorded on the garden map, has taken up a good third of the roughly 220 square foot garden and is producing at least eight squashes of various sizes. They seem to be buttercups. In any case it's wrapping itself around everything in comes in contact with...potatoes, green onions, eggplants...it's trying to take down everything. </div>
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The first eggplant has a bulb, and there should be 7 more by summer end.</div>
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We watched a bee pollinate one of the melon plants this morning. It was totally cool. (we have two small watermelons growing, from the seeds of a grocery melon, no less!) </div>
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The broccoli was a bust this year. We pulled two of the six up because they just can't stop bolting. Also, spinach and lettuce bolted too fast for the third year in a row, so it seems like it's time to give up on growing that. It takes up too much real estate. </div>
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We have a slight pieris rapae (cabbage butterfly) problem. We need a butterfly net. Because chasingbutterflies around the backyard wouldn't look crazy at all...<br />
Not sure if it's them, but something has chewed tiny holes in much of the swiss chard and potato plant leaves.</div>
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In the west plot we now have loads of baby tomatoes, some plum tomatoes. The others are starting to ripen. The peppers, sadly, are not doing so well. </div>
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The other squash plants are not producing as much (save the spaghetti squash) which has encouraged us to research hand pollination for next year. Yep. We're gonna help the plants have sex next year. </div>
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There's more, but we'll wait for another day.</div>
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So far this year we've picked:</div>
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- Zucchini (not as many as hoped) <br />
- Bean<br />
- Green onions<br />
- Snap peas<br />
- Radishes <br />
- Broccoli<br />
- Green peppers<br />
- Tomatoes<br />
- Potatoes<br />
- Various herbs (sage, basil, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, tarragon) <br />
- Parsley <br />
- Swiss chard </div>
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Oh, we used a measuring wheel to determine how much bigger we're making the garden next year. We're adding 228 more square feet, for a grand total of 858 square feet. :-)</div>
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<br />
And we're considering a small greenhouse to start the plants in...because lining them all up in big totes around the dinning room for weeks on end...with cats in the house...is not ideal.</div>
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This has been your 2015 gardening update. :-) <br />
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Various Photos From This Year's Garden<br />(most recent was taken about a week and a half ago)</h3>
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West Plot</div>
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South Plot</div>
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Squash Blossoms from the West Plot</div>
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Produce</h3>
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Spaghetti Squash and a Buttercup Squash</div>
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Shisito Peppers</div>
<br />Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-34547847121911480052015-08-05T20:44:00.001-05:002015-08-05T20:44:14.096-05:00So You Care About Human Life? An Abortion Rant<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Much of what is said here has been said by many others. You've probably read it too. This is our way of saying it.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUyRWz9gCWItyq291KgDIxkf7mBoGG0qwCdRb7IgqPIhsbVIN0xLBIbdFW8XFrc_e8ruBHtMXx_n4XoaWxNqFmf8PGrn6YIZgnbTVb5_WwlchdyOfY-kbZ_quYmyL_mo_jpRSfNwvIcY/s1600/i%252Cgcrcl.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUyRWz9gCWItyq291KgDIxkf7mBoGG0qwCdRb7IgqPIhsbVIN0xLBIbdFW8XFrc_e8ruBHtMXx_n4XoaWxNqFmf8PGrn6YIZgnbTVb5_WwlchdyOfY-kbZ_quYmyL_mo_jpRSfNwvIcY/s1600/i%252Cgcrcl.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">People who decry abortion because it is potentially painful to the fetus - which is essentially an unfeeling mass of cells until around the 20th week* (do your research, scientific, not from talking heads) - and “cruel”, among a litany of other charges, are confusing.</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-2e4b0fe5-009f-2eab-03af-4ba353130dfa" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Those same people are fine with sentencing that same fetus to a [potential] life of pain: poverty, hunger, sadness, mental and emotional anguish from being born into a society that tells them that their mother [or father] is lazy, worthless, and where they are statistically destined to a similar fate. If that child makes it into the foster care system, either at birth, or after a chance at healthy development has passed due to the home life they were born into, they are bounced between families or live in orphanages until they are lucky enough to be adopted. Sometimes the foster care they receive is equally as damaging to them emotionally and mentally. Sometimes they never get adopted. This is cruel and painful treatment.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="line-height: 22.0799999237061px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Never mind</span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the life of the mother.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">These same people condemn using their tax dollars for food stamps to prevent hunger, housing that prevents homelessness, and other assorted costs that go into taking care of those less fortunate. Many of which are children born to parents who did not have access to preventative services (and this doesn’t just mean abortion).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These same people are fine with defunding an organization because </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3%</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of what they provide is NON-TAX FUNDED abortions, which also provides contraception - preventing these very social <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRXoGEMOJR3SLo80YLWQVfgUjbQCh2KGUuLyoIzRdOnRTOI-YnVLLIH7w2o2dTunIJ-OjU80dEOpJUwdZX4oy46g37bSvqBZF6ng1MZSJ9PBuSuddUl8cf95nhzShCyx1s5meFqMWHXI/s1600/plannedparenthoodgraph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRXoGEMOJR3SLo80YLWQVfgUjbQCh2KGUuLyoIzRdOnRTOI-YnVLLIH7w2o2dTunIJ-OjU80dEOpJUwdZX4oy46g37bSvqBZF6ng1MZSJ9PBuSuddUl8cf95nhzShCyx1s5meFqMWHXI/s320/plannedparenthoodgraph.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://www.factcheck.org/2011/04/planned-parenthood/" target="_blank">Source</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
conditions as well as potential abortions - and which also provides much needed and important reproductive health services to low-income women – like cancer prevention.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yeah. But you care about human life, right?</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can’t </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">make</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> people give birth to something they don’t want. Sometimes accidents happen. Sometimes accidents happen because of poverty, drug abuse, and mental illness. Often times those sometimes are what the tax dollars you clutch in your hands are paying for. You can’t have it both ways.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But they care about human life. Sure.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let’s not discuss how usually those same people have no problem with the death penalty (and those people aren’t always guilty, or gun related deaths in lieu of regulation.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let’s not even get started on how much of your taxes go to funding war which directly results in the ending of hundreds of thousands of lives. Full complete thriving lives that have families, hopes, dreams, jobs.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But no. They care about human life?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">---------------------------------------</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="line-height: normal; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">*The 20th week is generally the cut-off date, in some states it's up until the 22nd week. All but three states have laws against aborting the fetus if it is viable (can exist on machines reasonably outside of the womb</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Consumer </span></span><span style="line-height: 22.0799999237061px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friendly</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Sources: not directly cited, because fuck it, our academic paper career is on hold until we register for grad school, or find a bag of extra free time. Please report spelling and grammar infractions.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Read the sources yourself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 22.0799999237061px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.factcheck.org/2011/04/planned-parenthood/">http://www.factcheck.org/2011/04/planned-parenthood/</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://frac.org/reports-and-resources/hunger-and-poverty/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://frac.org/reports-and-resources/hunger-and-poverty/</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1915533" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1915533</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://helphomelesskidsnow.org/files/2015-HCYA-One-Pager.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://helphomelesskidsnow.org/files/2015-HCYA-One-Pager.pdf</span></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-list-those-freed-death-row"><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-list-those-freed-death-row</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 20.2399997711182px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.nationaljournal.com/health-care/a-look-at-late-term-abortion-restrictions-state-by-state-20150121"><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.nationaljournal.com/health-care/a-look-at-late-term-abortion-restrictions-state-by-state-20150121</span></a></span></div>
<br />Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-25466988722401269702015-07-03T11:16:00.000-05:002016-03-18T12:39:39.955-05:00The New York Times Coverage of Presidential Sex Scandals: Clinton-Lewinsky and the Roles of the Press<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's been well over a month now since graduation and we've been sitting on this paper trying to come to a decision.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A very esteemed and seasoned professor, for whose class (Media History) this paper was written, indicated that it's worth considering publishing in a professional journal, calling it a "great read and fine piece of scholarship". It got a "100% A+"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After considering the pros and cons of publishing, the decision finally came down to a "No".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's quite likely more people will read it "published" here on this blog - at least the people who matter will read it. And that's all that really matters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, it can always be removed if minds change...like in the case of using it for a grad school entrance portfolio...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the meantime, feel free to give it a read (<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/p/university.html" target="_blank">and any of the other "great" papers here</a>), leave a comment, or do none of those things. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Google Drive Link: </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0L6-YMPxtu7Tm12am1qUEd1NmM/view?usp=sharing" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0L6-YMPxtu7Tm12am1qUEd1NmM/view?usp=sharing</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The New York Times</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Coverage of Presidential Sex Scandals: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clinton-Lewinsky and the Roles of the Press</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="line-height: 200%;">Introduction<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;">Journalistic Values and Objectivity</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;">Throughout American history the press has evolved to play a role in influencing society’s view of not just events, but also public officials, using a platform of ideology tied to culturally moral values. According to Herbert Gans, “journalists [have moved] beyond their strictly professional role to act as [...] moral guardians and [have] transform[ed] themselves from reporters to watchdogs” while they “uphold a particular set of norms and values”<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> </span><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;">becoming not just watchdogs but social gatekeepers in society.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;">Despite roots grounded in the mid 1700’s, it wasn’t until sociological research was applied to journalism in the mid-to-late 20th century that concrete structures for notions of newsworthiness, and theories on how news should be approached and reported, were crafted. Additionally, it was around this time that precedent for the values by which journalists should be guided became a standard by which quality journalists adhered.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;">Of the significant media sociologists of the 20th century, Herbert Gans has been a persistent influence on the philosophies of journalistic integrity and values. Of the six “enduring values” of journalistic reporting outlined by Gans, two can be significantly applied to the ways in which the press covers stories related to public officials and their private lives, such as alleged sex relations. These two values are Altruistic Democracy and Moderatism.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;">Under the principles of Altruistic Democracy, government officials should behave altruistically, and as the principle is under guidelines for the press, the press should then attempt to portray them in such a way</span><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;">.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> The concepts of altruism have strong moral implications indicating that in addition to being selfless and having concern for the well-being others, </span><span style="line-height: 200%;">political figures should also be personally moral as well. A role model for society as a figurehead of the Nation in relations both within the borders as well as outside of them.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;">The second “enduring value” is Moderatism which speaks to the discouragement of excess or extremism in reporting.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> </span><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;">As polls in recent history have shown, excess or polarized reporting can lead to audience exhaustion, compromising the relationship the press has with the public.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> </span><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;">Additionally, over saturation of a subject can lead to undue public outrage, elevating the issue to scandal proportions, even if the topic at hand is low in scandal content. By the guidelines of Moderatism, the press should report on news items conservatively, and avoid undue inflammation of the subject/event. This also has a slight relationship with objective, as reporting should stay on topic and refrain from indulging in speculation, which may lead to excess reporting. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Therefore, in addition to the Altruistic Democracy and standards of Moderatism in press coverage, objectivity also becomes an important value. Tying them together, as professor and researcher Tim Vos states, “the defining characteristics of objective journalism includes [...] impartial and balanced reporting and writing, a detached and impersonal point of view [...]. Thus, the objectivity norm holds these practices as ‘moral ideals’ or as ‘morally potent prescriptions’”.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[6]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;">Over the past few decades th</span><span style="line-height: 200%;">e private lives of public leaders have become an increasingly hot topic for the press. <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">As far as government officials are go, the position of the President is the highest and, according to tenets of Altruistic Democracy, should therefore generally be maintained as embodying the highest altruistic and moralist quality. </span>With the press’ penchant for exploitation of the private lives of leaders, does press coverage of presidential sex lives run in accordance with “enduring values” of journalism? Further, should it be considered newsworthy? Does coverage that elevates the private lives of public officials to that of scandal play a role in fracturing the “enduring values” previously highlighted, violating the ideals of objective journalism and negatively impacting the relationship between press and public?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="line-height: 200%;">Historical Presidential Sex Scandals and <i>The New York Times</i></span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Political leaders, particularly presidents, have long been known to be unfaithful at some time or another, both prior to and after their forays into the White House.</span><sup style="line-height: 200%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[7]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="line-height: 200%;"> From what history has told us, the likes of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton have </span><span style="line-height: 32px;">succumbed</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"> to temptation. Yet, prior to the 1990’s there was what would appear to be a conservative amount of press coverage related to the sexual </span><span style="line-height: 32px;">inklings</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"> of presidents, particularly presidents while in office, despite clear indication that there were, in fact, presidents who had mistresses while serving in the White House.</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">A longstanding revered news agency, <i>The New York Times</i>, established in September of 1851, is a reliable source for historical coverage. A search of their database of now-known presidential “sex scandals” in history, such as Warren G Harding (<span style="background: white; color: #222222;">1921-1923) </span>and <span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Nan Britton; </span>John F Kennedy (1961-1963) - a renowned “womanizer” - and Marilyn Monroe (<i>among alleged others</i>); and <span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Lyndon B Johnson (1963-1969) and Madeleine Brown</span>, <span style="background: white; color: #222222;">elicits no evidence of coverage or mention by <i>The New York Times</i></span>. It appears that it was not until the infamous President Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and Monica Lewinsky sex scandal of 1998 that the press decided that the sexual discrepancies of the President were newsworthy.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">While Herbert Gans notes that in the mid-1970’s there was an increase in press coverage related to topics that revolved around the maintenance of Family<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[8]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup>, which infidelity would certainly apply, it appears that the evolution to include the private life of the president, particularly for <i>The New York Times</i>, was slow. The coverage of Clinton and Lewinsky stands as a turning point in this genre of journalism.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="line-height: 200%;">Post-1998, Sex Scandals and Journalistic Criticism</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Looking from the past to the present, the sex scandal between President William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton and Monica Lewinsky appears to be the fulcrum point in the sensationalization of the sex lives of public figures by the press. Even today, despite the misgivings and criticism from within the industry in regards to the media response, given the state of press as it currently is, it is hard to imagine that if given the chance they would do things differently. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Ultimately, we must wonder if the private lives of public officials, particularly sex scandals, are even newsworthy, whether they be the president or any other in public office. There are a few theories on why the sex lives of presidents may be relevant to the leadership of a county - such as it reflects the quality and competence of their leadership. Given the rich tapestry of past presidents and their indiscretions, and their success and effectiveness in office<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[9]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup>, that theory can be laid to rest. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">However, there are some perspectives that makes a good argument for the <i>unworthy </i>status of presidential sex lives as news, and they are based on concerns for the nation and press. Creating scandals out of the private lives or sexual relations of presidents, through decidedly un-<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;">Moderatism methods of journalism,</span> is potentially dangerous as scandals are threats to the nation as a unit.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[10]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> These threats manifest in ways such as diverting attention away from serious matters, compromising the faith in the President, eroding social foundations and inciting moral panic as well as damaging the public’s confidence in the press.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">According to Gans, in an interview with Stephen D Reese, many years after his groundbreaking media research, journalists write for each other.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[11]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Holding that in account, if Gans is correct in his assertion, and if much of the writing that surrounded the press coverage of presidential sex lives violates the spirit of objectivity, as well as the “enduring values” previously discussed, then the public is losing confidence in the press at the hands and narcissism of the press itself. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Alternatively, competition with new media, which was just in its first stage of altering the media environment in 1998, blurring lines between news and entertainment, was under enormous pressure leading to vast rivalry for audience.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[12]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Therefore it also may have been pure competition that led to the glut of coverage, a strive to appear a relevant “gatekeeper” while competing with the new technologies presented by Internet journalism, many of whom did not feel compelled to adhere to the same standards.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Either way, there is indication that the press coverage of the 1998 sex scandal between President William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton and Monica Lewinsky is recognized as having a profound impact within the industry and is worthy of analysis and scrutinization.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="line-height: 200%;">II. Methodology</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;">The aim of this paper is to analyze the coverage through perspectives of “enduring values” of the press as outlined by media sociologist Herbert Gans, along with potential violations of objectivity news standards, in the 1998 coverage of the President </span><span style="line-height: 200%;">William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton<span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"> and Monica Lewinsky sex scandal. To round out the analysis, the response of journalists and communication professionals will be also analyzed in order to shape a more complete picture of how the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal </span>became a turning point for press and media.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Primary methodology was executed through researching the principles of early journalism education in the 20th century, particularly the sociological implications as outlined in the work of Herbert Gannes. Drawing from that, secondary methodology leads to the research of previous presidential sex scandals previous to 1998 in order to establish a base of comparison, which will then be used in the analysis of media coverage of the 1998 incident involving President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, specifically that of <i>The New York Times</i>. As the coverage was unreasonably dense, predominant focus will be on the initial articles released on January 21, 1998 to those leading up to the end of January 31, 1998. More directly, the primary core of the examination will be applied to the section titled ‘The President Under Fire’.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"> Finally, a study of the commentary, reflections and criticisms related to the coverage, by those within the industry, as well as educators, on the heels of the first ten days and beyond, will be analyzed to ascertain the impact that the overall press coverage of the sex scandal had on the industry. Through these methods, incorporating the Altruistic Democracy and <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Moderatism </span>tenets of “enduring values”, an overall interpretation of the press coverage of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal will be determined. Additionally, the impact that the potential violation of these tenants had on the relationship between the press and the public shall be ascertained.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="line-height: 200%;">III. Literature Review</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;">The 1998 press coverage of the affair, alleged cover-up, and obstruction of justice involving the 42nd President of the United States </span><span style="line-height: 200%;">William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton and Monica Lewinsky <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">was by all means historical for America, for journalism, and for politics. </span>The exploration of the archived records of <i>The New York Times</i> for coverage of known presidential philanderers throughout history up until 1998 revealed that there was not much coverage of the private lives of presidents while they were in office. Many of the presidential extramarital affairs or questionable sexual relations took place either before entering the White House, or after. These relationships played little influence in their viability to get elected, whether they were discovered prior to election, having no news value at <i>The New York Times</i> either during or post public service.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">However, that shifted in 1998. From the Arts, to Business, to the Technology and Finance sections, coverage of the Clinton-Lewinsky sex scandal permeated all corners of the </span><i style="line-height: 200%;">The New York Times</i><span style="line-height: 200%;"> news. Additionally, over the ten day period between January 21, 1998 and January 31, 1998</span><i style="line-height: 200%;"> The New York Time</i><span style="line-height: 200%;"> generated over fifty pieces, from Front Page to the Opinion section, centered around President Clinton, his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky and the alleged obstruction of justice. At least eight stories related to foreign policy issues and matters of the nation even made mention of the scandal in their content. Despite some alleging that the “suborning perjury” was the catalyst in the exorbitant news coverage</span><sup style="line-height: 200%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[13]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="line-height: 200%;">, the alleged perjury had the least amount of mention overall in any of the articles. Of all of the coverage throughout the first ten days, the section entitled ‘The President Under Fire’, which did not exist prior to January 21, 1998, and whose sole purpose appears to be the daily coverage of the aforementioned </span><span style="line-height: 32px;">malfeasance</span><span style="line-height: 200%;">, accounted for over twenty-five of the stories. Additionally, a search of just Ms. Lewinsky’s name between those same dates uncovered one hundred and sixty-six articles. It appeared that everybody was trying to get a piece of the publicity pie, from the Newsweek reporter who claimed he was scooped</span><sup style="line-height: 200%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[14]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="line-height: 200%;">, to the woman who said the tapes were her idea, </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Lucianne S. Goldberg, </span><span style="line-height: 200%;">and garnered extensive subsequent news coverage</span><sup style="line-height: 200%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[15]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="line-height: 200%;">. Even within the publishing halls of the New York Times, everybody wanted to be writing about Bill and Monica - or as Frank Rich put it, more simply, it was “All Monica All The Time”.</span><sup style="line-height: 200%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[16]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">In terms of objectivity, those first ten days of coverage by <i>The New York Times</i>, particularly the section “The President Under Fire”, provided a solid appearance. However, while it stuck with the issues of the case revolving around the affair, almost to the point of repetitiveness, it did little in clarifying the issue of the alleged perjury. It was only in venturing outside of that section, such as into the opinion pieces, where the aspects of the subject were given more light, but were also met with much less objectivity and were the rhetoric was more inflammatory. However, opinion journalism is not necessarily intended to provide a neutral view, only to offer a counter to the editorial stance.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">On more than one occasion the effects of the Clinton-Lewinsky conflict on specific segments of the population was the primary lense of the articles written. In recounting interviews the journalists often illustrated balanced opinions regarding the public’s opinion of the activities of President Clinton. In addition to public commentary, quotes from interviews, and polling, <i>The New York Times</i> added further transparency on how the public felt about the subject, as well as the quantity and quality of press coverage.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Just five days into the coverage of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal started, <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;">Corrine Brown, </span>a Democrat representative of Jacksonville, Florida was quoted in an interview saying that it was as if President Clinton “has (already) been tried and convicted in the press”<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[17]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup>. In another article that same day a member of the public was quoted saying that “the media is way out of line” and that “the President's personal life is none of our business”.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[18]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> In another interview the following day one respondent lamented on “[...] the news media’s obsessive interest” stating that residents of his town “were grateful there was something else to watch”, referring to the recent Super Bowl coverage.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[19]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> By day nine of the coverage more people expressed their dispassion about the moral angle of the allegations. “<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">What somebody does on the side -- their morals -- that's their business”, said one interviewee in an article written by Evelyn Nieves regarding the ice storm that had just hit an upper New York counties. “I don't really see why this [Clinton-Lewinsky] story is as big as the media is making it out to be” said another.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[20]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">This indicates that in the fervent coverage by the media there was apparent confusion about demand for it.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">As Janny Scott wrote in a January 26th <i>New York Times</i> article, “the press's handling of the accusations has repeatedly illuminated the tension between the rules by which many journalists say they are governed and the demands of the marketplace for information in which reporters operate”.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[21]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Based on the Scott’s statement, there seemed to be some dissonance between what and how the media was reporting, and its basic understanding of what the public, the marketplace, wanted - even as they reported on the very issue of audience feedback. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Just one week after the coverage started, a poll by <i>The New York Times</i>/CBS News revealed that “Sixty-five percent of Americans said the news media had spent too much time covering the allegations swirling around Mr. Clinton”<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[22]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> and in some cases prompted protesters to brandish placards reading <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">‘Kill the Overkill’ and ‘News, Not Views!’.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[23]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup></span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Throughout the mass of harrowing press coverage of the sex scandal and alleged perjury by media, the president managed to maintain high levels of approval for job performance. “<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">People invoked the widespread reports of former President John F. Kennedy's infidelities as evidence that sexual conduct had little to do with leadership capabilities”, wrote Dirk Johnson.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[24]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> </span>A report on January 26th indicated that polls strongly suggested that the public still had faith in the president<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[25]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> despite the around the clock coverage which many thought was negative, and the brief dip in the polls<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[26]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup>, which rebounded relatively quickly. Some reported that his approval was on the rise<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[27]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup>.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"> One<i> New York Times</i> article stated that “interviews around the country suggested that many people outside Washington were not very concerned about whether the President had had an affair.”<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[28]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup>As Maggie Scarf asserted in a piece for the New Republic, people knew that Clinton wasn’t going to “play the role of moral exemplar” already being very aware of his ”tendency to get involved in sexual imbroglios”, and this contributed the public's overall lack of fascination with the allegations.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[29]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Juxtaposing the barrage of press coverage from this perspective, with the disinterest of the public, this indicates that perhaps the press was not writing for the benefit of the public, rather for their own benefit or in the very least in competition with each other.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">On the appetite for coverage, Seth Schiesel reported that “the Internet [had] already played a bigger role in the Lewinsky scandal than it has in any major news event“.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[30]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> The reported alleged bottomless hunger that the public had for coverage via the internet may very well have exacerbated the growing coverage by other media formats. However, by all accounts in the New York Times, the public was exhausted of the coverage, and desired less of it.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="line-height: 200%;">IV. Further Presentation of Findings</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Even before the 1998 story broke, forever sealing the fate of blue dresses and cigars everywhere, the press was primed to cover President Clinton and his newest salacious activities. They had already had years of warming up with the coverage of his affair with Gennifer Flowers and the very present Paula Jones sexual harassment charges, in what has been described as “<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">relentless attack[s] on his personal life”.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[31]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> </span>Despite the previous acceptance of press coverage surrounding Clinton’s sexual peccadilloes, even those within and closely linked with the industry recognized that this time the coverage had gone a bit overboard.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Nine days after <i>The New York Times</i> began coverage of the Clinton-Lewinsky incident, Carey Goldberg wrote, in an early reflection of the coverage, that:</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">“<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">[...]rarely, if ever, has the examination of the reporting of a news event turned into such widespread mass self-flagellation by the news media, of the news media, on and in the news media. The self-criticism ranged from an entire program of ''CNN Live'' yesterday dealing with the ''Media Madness,'' to sheepish descriptions by television news anchors of their own colleagues' ‘feeding frenzies.’”<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[32]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><sup><sup><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></sup></sup></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;">One writer, Pulitzer prize winner for Commentary, Russell Baker wrote a scathing Opinion piece for <i>The New York Times</i> referring to the coverage as a “disgusting media meltdown, referring to the reporting as “priceless examples of media struggling to appear high-minded while groping for rock bottom in the depths of hypocrisy”, saying that “apparently what it takes today to survive in the competitive media market” is “smut”. He went on to discuss the persisting “bad odor” of the media and how they will be “big losers in the long run” for the way in which they were approaching the reporting of Clinton-Lewinsky.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[33]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;">In the same article written by Goldberg, where she reflects on the “widespread mass self-flagellation by the news media”, the director of the Shorenstein Center for the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University, Marvin Kalb was quoted as saying that he thought that the way in which the media was covering the scandal was “perhaps one of the most sorry chapters in American journalism.''<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[34]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> </span><span style="line-height: 200%;">Reiterating, Goldberg concludes that “<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">rarely have so many citizens and analysts piled on in one great outpouring of disapproval and even disgust -- aiming in particular, at how few facts and how much gossip have made their way into supposed news reporting.”<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[35]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> </span>This was just another criticism that surfaced which indicates that the overall press coverage of the scandal was not as objective as perhaps the selected ‘President Under Fire’ section of <i>The New York Times</i> had been. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">These are not simply evidences that there were problems in the reporting, problems unlike any other time in history, these are flat out incriminations<span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">, direct demonstration of the corruption of “enduring values” and objectivity that took place in the overall reporting of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">The angles used in order to create legitimacy to the Clinton-Lewinsky incident as news manifested in ways such as the impact it may have on the American children<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[36]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup>, to what the rest of the world thinks<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[37]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup>, to the implications the issue might have on workplace sexual harassment where employees have been “inhibited by political correctness”.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[38]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> All of this set the precedent that the scandal was not <i>just </i>about the President’s conduct. In effect this establish the idea that it was about everybody - about how the scandal made the United States look as a nation, about how it would impact your workplace, about how it would impact your family - it is about us, about “Our American society”<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[39]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> - and it was about the responsibility of public officials as moral guides and figureheads.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">According to Mindy Cameron of <i>The Seattle Times</i>, in consideration of the way the press covered the Clinton-Lewinsky issue, she stated that the journalistic goal is to hold up those in public office to high standards.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[40]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> </span><span style="line-height: 200%;">First, this puts the onus on the press in deciding what standards should be placed the highest, and requires value judgments which in turn is evidence to the lack of objectivity or neutrality that some of the press may have in reporting on the private lives of public officials. This reflects the gatekeeping aspect that has evolved in the press. Yet, startlingly, just under a year before Clinton-Lewinsky broke, a Pew Institute report revealed that “more Americans now think press coverage of the personal and ethical behavior of political leaders is excessive” a representative figure that increased 13% in under ten years.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[41]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Yet the press pushed on despite the public’s disinterest and fatigue.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">The alleged obstruction of justice should have been paramount in the reporting, it being the most significant factor as far as how the personal behavior of a president can reflect his ability to lead a nation. However, it seemed to be the sex that ignited the media coverage, particularly in regards to <i>The New York Times</i>, who did very little to clarify the perjury charges. Nary was there mention in the reviewed ‘The President Under Fire’ articles of the lying, the obstruction of justice. Of all of the material analyzed, only one article made mention that the audio recordings, which themselves got a plethora of related coverage, may include “suggested obstruction and perjury”<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[42]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup>, alleging admission from Lewinsky that Clinton had indeed tried to convince her to lie about their sexual relationship under oath in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case. From the perspective of the prominent issue in the mass of reporting, it would seem that in the first ten days what the American public, or perhaps the press, was really concerned about was whether or not Clinton had indeed had sexual relations with “that woman”. Even then interest in that was paltry.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">The poor state of reporting actually led to apologies from journalists, even years later, who felt they may have “contributed to the ceaseless coverage”.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[43]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> In recounting the coverage, Gerson and Roebuck likened the anomaly of the press’ outrage and the public’s tolerance of the Clinton’s actions to a gulf.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[44]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Reflecting on the overall press coverage of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, Williams and Carpini describe it as the significant turning point in which the gatekeeping role of media was fundamentally changed, particularly in political communication.<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[45]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="line-height: 200%;">V. Conclusion</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">By outlining the two “enduring values” of Gans, that of Altruistic Democracy and <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Moderatism, and joining them with objectivity in reporting, a</span> framework to analyze the coverage of the 1998 Clinton-Lewinsky scandal by the press was established. Further, the distressing yet politically neutral impact that the coverage had on the public became clear throughout the reporting, even if <i>The New York Times</i> itself only played a small role, and illustrated the way in which the press exploited its roles as gatekeepers.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">There was clear indication that the public was not overtly interested in the Clinton-Lewinsky story, and additionally was tired of the press covering the private lives of public officials, particularly in this case. Yet, despite this, the press pushed on, transforming their role as gatekeepers into rabid guard dog. In doing so they further eroded their relationship with the public, which can clearly be detected today where they continue to wear away at the public’s perception of them through ceaseless coverage littered with speculation and sparse on important facts. As the imminent and post-coverage criticism of the matter indicates, even those within the community recognized the ugly state of the coverage as a contributing factor to the erosion of the relationship between the press and the public. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">What is strange is that despite all of the criticism that the barrage of coverage of Clinton-Lewinsky received, it seemed to set a precedent for the future of similar approaches to news coverage, leading to less objective reporting, and increased coverage that hammers away at a topic relentlessly, continuing to contribute to the fatigue and loathing of mass media among the public.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Of all of the coverage, specifically vexing was the article regarding how the Clinton-Lewinsky situation was affecting the children. While it is the role of the press to reflect issues in a way that relates it to the public, it seems manipulative in that it not only made the issues about the nation as a whole, but brought it home and made it about “your children” and about how it is affecting the family unit. To use children to incite some sort of moral outrage among the populace, in a news matter not directly related to youth, is disingenuous. However, at the same time this may be just a reflection of the increase in press coverage related to the maintenance of Family, harking back from the 1970s<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[46]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup>. This way of covering the scandal was effective in eliciting the sense that there was an innocence was being lost, as parents fretted about how they would discuss such issues like oral sex with their children. Repulsively, the entire time the press took no responsibility in how they contributed to the exposure.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">By today’s standards one would view the incessant coverage of an event such as Clinton-Lewinsky as par for the course, even down to the way in which media exploits segments of the population. According to the literature related to the “aftermath” of the way the press handled this particular news event, it is pretty clear that it had a significant role in blazing that path. What is additionally surprising is the press’ reluctance, particularly “mainstream media”, to return to the standards prior to 1998.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Further, in light of the changed roles of the press, perhaps the high standards journalist purport to be holding those in public office up to, as watchdogs and gatekeepers, which never was grounded in true objectivity, should be altered. No longer does the press enjoy the same relationship with the public that it had prior to 1998, and any such actions now comes off as a show of undue authority by the press. There is no longer a place for them to influence society in topics of culturally moral values or integrity, especially by exploiting the private lives of political figures by holding them up to some press-defined standards. In their continued evolving roles they forget the concepts of networthiness, they forget objectivity, they violate “enduring values” of their practice, they disregard their station - but the public does not, and it causes further resentment.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">By the principles of the “enduring value” of <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Moderatism, the response from the public regarding Clinton-Lewinsky alluded to disinterest in Altruistic Democracy. Paired with indications of loss of objectivity in press reporting, and juxtaposed with the press’ own grievances</span>, one can surmise that the press was responsible for turning the issue into the blow-out scandal that was the journalistic hallmark of 1998. It may also be concluded that they are responsible for their continued poor relations with the public.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">The coverage of Clinton-Lewinsky by many of the reporters at The New York Times was commendable. Despite the plethora of coverage over those first ten days, they provided multifaceted views from citizens, from those in the political circle, as well as opinions of those outside of the Nation. While it is true that they contributed to the avalanche of coverage, they did so with the high standards one would expect.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%;">What the issue of Clinton-Lewinsky established, through the analysis of the coverage by <i>The New York Times,</i> was that the supposed implications of why the private and sexual lives of public figures and presidents are not newsworthy is correct. First, the sexual morals of a President Clinton do not necessarily reflect his ability to do his job or be successful, nor did it compromise the faith public had in him as a president. Second, it established that creating scandals out of the private lives and sexual relations of presidents by disregarding Gans’ “enduring values”, like Moderatism, can be damaging. Doing so indeed diverts attention away from other matters<sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[47]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> that may be more important to the country as it dominates news cycles. Furthermore, it is a catalyst in damaging the public’s confidence in the press.</span></div>
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<sup><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">Citations</span></sup></span></b></sup></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Gans, Herbert J. "News & the News Media in the Digital Age: Implications for Democracy." <i>Daedalus</i>, 2010, 8-17.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Deuze, M. "What Is Journalism?: Professional Identity And Ideology Of Journalists Reconsidered." <i>Journalism</i> 6, no. 4 (2005): 442-64. Accessed March 9, 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Warner, Charles. "Herbert J. Gans’s News Values and The Elements of Journalism." Online Presentation, PowerPoint<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Warner, Charles. "Herbert J. Gans’s News Values and The Elements of Journalism." Online Presentation, PowerPoint<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Pew, Research. "Other Important Findings and Analyses." Pew Research Center for the People and the Press RSS. March 20, 1997. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[6]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Vos, Tim P. "‘Homo Journalisticus’: Journalism Education’s Role in Articulating the Objectivity Norm." <i>Journalism</i> 13, no. 4 (2011): 435-39.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[7]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Ayers, Jr, Diamond. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE HISTORY; 14 Presidents Have Been The Talk of the Pillow." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 25, 1998. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[8]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Gans, Herbert J. <i>Deciding What's News: A Study of CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, Newsweek, and Time</i>. New York: Pantheon Books, 1979. 19.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[9]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Ayers, Jr, Diamond. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE HISTORY; 14 Presidents Have Been The Talk of the Pillow." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 25, 1998. Accessed 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[10]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Gans, Herbert J. <i>Deciding What's News: A Study of CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, Newsweek, and Time</i>. New York: Pantheon Books, 1979. 20.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[11]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Reese, Stephen D. "Managing the Symbolic Arena: The Media Sociology of Herbert Gans." In <i>Science with Effect: Reviews of Journalism and Media Effects Research</i>, 279-293. VS Verlag Für Social Sciences | Springer Specialist Media Wiesbaden GmbH, Wiesbaden, 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[12]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Williams, B. A., & Delli Carpini, M. X. (2000). Unchained Reaction: The Collapse of Media Gatekeeping and the Clinton–Lewinsky Scandal. Journalism, 1 (1), 61-85. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/146488490000100113">http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/146488490000100113</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[13]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Ayers, Jr, Diamond. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE HISTORY; 14 Presidents Have Been The Talk of the Pillow." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 25, 1998. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[14]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Bumiller, Elisabeth. "PUBLIC LIVES; Man With Clinton Scoop Is Scooped Again." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 23, 1998. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[15]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Stout, David. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE; Literary Agent Says Recordings Were Her Idea." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 24, 1998. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[16]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Rich, Frank. "Journal; All Monica All the Time." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 24, 1998, Opinion sec.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[17]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Berke, Richard L. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE OVERVIEW; WHITE HOUSE ACTS TO CONTAIN FUROR AS CONCERN GROWS." <i>The New York Times </i>January 26, 1998. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[18]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Brooke, James. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE VOTERS; In Gary Hart's Hometown, Residents View Sex Scandal With Disgust." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 26, 1998. Accessed 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[19]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Sack, Kevin. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE HOMETOWN; A Deep Weariness in Little Rock." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 27, 1998. Accessed 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[20]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Nieves, Evelyn. "Our Towns; Frozen North Doesn't Jump For Hot News." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 29, 1998. Accessed 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[21]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Scott, Janny. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: MEDIA NOTEBOOK; Rules in Flux: News Organizations Face Tough Calls on Unverified 'Facts'" <i>The New York Times</i>, January 27, 1998. Accessed 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[22]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Berke, Rickard L. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE PUBLIC VIEW; Clinton Job Rating Remains High Despite Doubts on Moral Values." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 27, 1998. Accessed January 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[23]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Johnson, Dirk. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE; Many Turn Deaf Ear to Scandal." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 29, 1998. Accessed 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[24]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Johnson, Dirk. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE; Many Turn Deaf Ear to Scandal." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 29, 1998. Accessed 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[25]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Berke, Rickard L. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE PUBLIC VIEW; Clinton Job Rating Remains High Despite Doubts on Moral Values." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 27, 1998. Accessed January 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[26]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Berke, Richard L. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE OVERVIEW; WHITE HOUSE ACTS TO CONTAIN FUROR AS CONCERN GROWS." <i>The New York Times </i>January 26, 1998. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[27]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Berke, Richard L. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE OUTLOOK; A Wild Ride, With No End Now in Sight." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 30, 1998. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[28]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Rosenbaum, David E. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE OVERVIEW; As President Takes to the Stump, His Former Chief of Staff Testifies." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 29, 1998. Accessed 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[29]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Scarf, Maggie. "Facing Facts." <i>New Republic</i> 218, no. 8 (1998): 42.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[30]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Schiesel,, Seth. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE INTERNET; Cyberspace Is on Alert For More Scandal News." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 26, 1998. Accessed 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[31]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE; Bill Clinton: Accusations and Explanations." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 24, 1998. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[32]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Goldberg, Carey. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: MEDIA NOTEBOOK; Some Journalists Have Met the Enemy, and It Is Them." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 30, 1998. Accessed 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[33]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Baker, Russell. "Observer; The Media in Trouble." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 30, 1998. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[34]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Goldberg, Carey. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: MEDIA NOTEBOOK; Some Journalists Have Met the Enemy, and It Is Them." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 30, 1998. Accessed 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[35]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Goldberg, Carey. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: MEDIA NOTEBOOK; Some Journalists Have Met the Enemy, and It Is Them." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 30, 1998. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[36]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Kleinfield, N.R. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE CHILDREN; Civics at an Impressionable Age." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 24, 1998. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[37]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Stanley, Alessandra. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE GLOBAL VIEW; American Puritanism or Zionist Plot? Opinions Vary." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 24, 1998. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[38]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Stanley, Alessandra. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE ATTITUDES; Workers See Easing of Sexual Tensions." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 31, 1998. Accessed 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[39]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Stanley, Alessandra. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE GLOBAL VIEW; American Puritanism or Zionist Plot? Opinions Vary." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 24, 1998. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[40]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Gerson, Michael J, and Karen Roebuck. "America's 'Purtian' Press." <i>U.S. News & World Report</i> 125:13. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[41]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Pew, Research. "Other Important Findings and Analyses." Pew Research Center for the People and the Press RSS. March 20, 1997. Accessed 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[42]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Broder, John M. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE OVERVIEW; Ex-Intern Offered to Tell of Clinton Affair In Exchange for Immunity, Lawyers Report." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 24, 1998. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[43]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> "TV Host Olbermann Apologized to Clinton for Lewinsky Coverage." Yahoo! News. October 10, 2014. Accessed 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[44]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Gerson, Michael J, and Karen Roebuck. "America's 'Purtian' Press." <i>U.S. News & World Report</i> 125:13. 26.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[45]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Williams, B. A., & Delli Carpini, M. X. (2000). Unchained Reaction: The Collapse of Media Gatekeeping and the Clinton–Lewinsky Scandal. Journalism, 1 (1), 61-85</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[46]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Gans, Herbert J. <i>Deciding What's News: A Study of CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, Newsweek, and Time</i>. New York: Pantheon Books, 1979. 19.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[47]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup> Bronner, Ethan. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE MEDIA; Reports of Sexual Scandal Have Everybody Talking." <i>The New York Times</i>, January 23, 1998. Accessed 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Ayers, Jr, Diamond. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE HISTORY; 14 Presidents Have Been The Talk of the Pillow." The New York Times, January 25, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/25/us/president-under-fire-history-14-presidents-have-been-talk-pillow.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/25/us/president-under-fire-history-14-presidents-have-been-talk-pillow.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Baker, Russell. "Observer; The Media in Trouble." The New York Times, January 30, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/30/opinion/observer-the-media-in-trouble.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/30/opinion/observer-the-media-in-trouble.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Berke, Richard L. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE OVERVIEW; WHITE HOUSE ACTS TO CONTAIN FUROR AS CONCERN GROWS." The New York Times January 26, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/26/us/president-under-fire-overview-white-house-acts-contain-furor-concern-grows.htm">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/26/us/president-under-fire-overview-white-house-acts-contain-furor-concern-grows.htm</a>l.<br />
<br />
Berke, Richard L. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE OUTLOOK; A Wild Ride, With No End Now in Sight." The New York Times, January 30, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/30/us/the-president-under-fire-the-outlook-a-wild-ride-with-no-end-now-in-sight.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/30/us/the-president-under-fire-the-outlook-a-wild-ride-with-no-end-now-in-sight.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Berke, Rickard L. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE PUBLIC VIEW; Clinton Job Rating Remains High Despite Doubts on Moral Values." The New York Times, January 27, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/27/us/president-under-fire-public-view-clinton-job-rating-remains-high-despite-doubts.htm">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/27/us/president-under-fire-public-view-clinton-job-rating-remains-high-despite-doubts.htm</a>l.<br />
<br />
Broder, John M. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE OVERVIEW; Ex-Intern Offered to Tell of Clinton Affair In Exchange for Immunity, Lawyers Report." The New York Times, January 24, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/24/us/president-under-fire-overview-ex-intern-offered-tell-clinton-affair-exchange-for.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/24/us/president-under-fire-overview-ex-intern-offered-tell-clinton-affair-exchange-for.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Brooke, James. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE VOTERS; In Gary Hart's Hometown, Residents View Sex Scandal With Disgust." The New York Times, January 26, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/26/us/president-under-fire-voters-gary-hart-s-hometown-residents-view-sex-scandal-with.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/26/us/president-under-fire-voters-gary-hart-s-hometown-residents-view-sex-scandal-with.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Bronner, Ethan. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE MEDIA; Reports of Sexual Scandal Have Everybody Talking." The New York Times, January 23, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/23/us/president-under-fire-media-reports-sexual-scandal-have-everybody-talking.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/23/us/president-under-fire-media-reports-sexual-scandal-have-everybody-talking.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Bumiller, Elisabeth. "PUBLIC LIVES; Man With Clinton Scoop Is Scooped Again." The New York Times, January 23, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/23/nyregion/public-lives-man-with-clinton-scoop-is-scooped-again.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/23/nyregion/public-lives-man-with-clinton-scoop-is-scooped-again.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Deuze, M. "What Is Journalism?: Professional Identity And Ideology Of Journalists Reconsidered." Journalism 6, no. 4 (2005): 442-64. Accessed March 9, 2015.<br />
<br />
Gans, Herbert J. Deciding What's News: A Study of CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, Newsweek, and Time. New York: Pantheon Books, 1979.<br />
<br />
Gans, Herbert J. "News & the News Media in the Digital Age: Implications for Democracy." Daedalus, 2010, 8-17.<br />
<br />
Gerson, Michael J, and Karen Roebuck. "America's 'Purtian' Press." U.S. News & World Report 125:13. <br />
<br />
Goldberg, Carey. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: MEDIA NOTEBOOK; Some Journalists Have Met the Enemy, and It Is Them." The New York Times, January 30, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/30/us/president-under-fire-media-notebook-some-journalists-have-met-enemy-it-them.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/30/us/president-under-fire-media-notebook-some-journalists-have-met-enemy-it-them.html</a><br />
<br />
Johnson, Dirk. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE; Many Turn Deaf Ear to Scandal." The New York Times, January 29, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/29/us/the-president-under-fire-many-turn-deaf-ear-to-scandal.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/29/us/the-president-under-fire-many-turn-deaf-ear-to-scandal.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Kleinfield, N.R. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE CHILDREN; Civics at an Impressionable Age." The New York Times, January 24, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/24/us/the-president-under-fire-the-children-civics-at-an-impressionable-age.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/24/us/the-president-under-fire-the-children-civics-at-an-impressionable-age.html</a><br />
<br />
Nieves, Evelyn. "Our Towns; Frozen North Doesn't Jump For Hot News." The New York Times, January 29, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/29/nyregion/our-towns-frozen-north-doesn-t-jump-for-hot-news.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/29/nyregion/our-towns-frozen-north-doesn-t-jump-for-hot-news.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Pew, Research. "Other Important Findings and Analyses." Pew Research Center for the People and the Press RSS. March 20, 1997. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.people-press.org/1997/03/21/other-important-findings-and-analyses-43/">http://www.people-press.org/1997/03/21/other-important-findings-and-analyses-43/</a>.<br />
<br />
Reese, Stephen D. "Managing the Symbolic Arena: The Media Sociology of Herbert Gans." In Science with Effect: Reviews of Journalism and Media Effects Research, 279-293. VS Verlag Für Social Sciences | Springer Specialist Media Wiesbaden GmbH, Wiesbaden, 2009.<br />
<br />
Reuters, "TV Host Olbermann Apologized to Clinton for Lewinsky Coverage." Yahoo! News. October 10, 2014. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/tv-host-olbermann-apologized-clinton-lewinsky-coverage-212202875.html">http://news.yahoo.com/tv-host-olbermann-apologized-clinton-lewinsky-coverage-212202875.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Rich, Frank. "Journal; All Monica All the Time." The New York Times, January 24, 1998, Opinion sec. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/24/opinion/journal-all-monica-all-the-time.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/24/opinion/journal-all-monica-all-the-time.html</a><br />
<br />
Rosenbaum, David E. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE OVERVIEW; As President Takes to the Stump, His Former Chief of Staff Testifies." The New York Times, January 29, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/29/us/president-under-fire-overview-president-takes-stump-his-former-chief-staff.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/29/us/president-under-fire-overview-president-takes-stump-his-former-chief-staff.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Sack, Kevin. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE HOMETOWN; A Deep Weariness in Little Rock." The New York Times, January 27, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/27/us/the-president-under-fire-the-hometown-a-deep-weariness-in-little-rock.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/27/us/the-president-under-fire-the-hometown-a-deep-weariness-in-little-rock.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Scarf, Maggie. "Facing Facts." New Republic 218, no. 8 (1998): 42.<br />
<br />
Scott, Janny. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: MEDIA NOTEBOOK; Rules in Flux: News Organizations Face Tough Calls on Unverified 'Facts'" The New York Times, January 27, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/27/us/president-under-fire-media-notebook-rules-flux-organizations-face-tough-calls.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/27/us/president-under-fire-media-notebook-rules-flux-organizations-face-tough-calls.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Schiesel, Seth. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE INTERNET; Cyberspace Is on Alert For More Scandal News." The New York Times, January 26, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/26/us/president-under-fire-internet-cyberspace-alert-for-more-scandal.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/26/us/president-under-fire-internet-cyberspace-alert-for-more-scandal.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Stanley, Alessandra. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE ATTITUDES; Workers See Easing of Sexual Tensions." The New York Times, January 31, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/31/us/the-president-under-fire-the-attitudes-workers-see-easing-of-sexual-tensions.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/31/us/the-president-under-fire-the-attitudes-workers-see-easing-of-sexual-tensions.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Stanley, Alessandra. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE GLOBAL VIEW; American Puritanism or Zionist Plot? Opinions Vary." The New York Times, January 24, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/24/us/president-under-fire-global-view-american-puritanism-zionist-plot-opinions-vary.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/24/us/president-under-fire-global-view-american-puritanism-zionist-plot-opinions-vary.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Stout, David. "THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE; Literary Agent Says Recordings Were Her Idea." The New York Times, January 24, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/24/us/the-president-under-fire-literary-agent-says-recordings-were-her-idea.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/24/us/the-president-under-fire-literary-agent-says-recordings-were-her-idea.html</a>.<br />
<br />
"THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE; Bill Clinton: Accusations and Explanations." The New York Times, January 24, 1998. Accessed 2015. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/24/us/the-president-under-fire-bill-clinton-accusations-and-explanations.html">http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/24/us/the-president-under-fire-bill-clinton-accusations-and-explanations.html</a>.<br />
<br />
Vos, Tim P. "‘Homo Journalisticus’: Journalism Education’s Role in Articulating the Objectivity Norm." Journalism 13, no. 4 (2011): 435-39.<br />
<br />
Warner, Charles. "Herbert J. Gans’s News Values and The Elements of Journalism." Online Presentation, PowerPoint, www.charleswarner.us/MediaEthics-GansValues.ppt<br />
<br />
Williams, B. A., & Delli Carpini, M. X. (2000). Unchained Reaction: The Collapse of Media Gatekeeping and the Clinton–Lewinsky Scandal. Journalism, 1 (1), 61-85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/146488490000100113Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-10404378837137122452015-06-07T10:24:00.000-05:002015-06-07T10:27:49.206-05:00Marketing Is Culture - Reflections on ‘Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture’<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGg0vGhozkiaBzC968ORDFeawIDzoPCRlDyAlDtCXpCts-HQ26_snqdvOtaxag-tHRV35JfAAd-km0L0Xug9x4Y5tueh6pVy2u2aO-dwZPR_h809YTqJT-d46QO4RqngVuagaJ9iUdSLM/s1600/grd303978_640.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGg0vGhozkiaBzC968ORDFeawIDzoPCRlDyAlDtCXpCts-HQ26_snqdvOtaxag-tHRV35JfAAd-km0L0Xug9x4Y5tueh6pVy2u2aO-dwZPR_h809YTqJT-d46QO4RqngVuagaJ9iUdSLM/s200/grd303978_640.png" width="197" /></a></div>
It's over.<br />
We've officially been university graduates for three weeks now.<br />
We ended with a 4.0 GPA for the semester, and graduated Magna Cum Laude. It was a pretty cool feeling walking across that stage wearing an honors medal. It felt like we finally got something we deserved.<br />
<br />
The last half of the final semester we churned out about nine papers of varying lengths. It's unlikely the bulk of them will end up here for you to read like in previous semesters because they weren't all gems. It being the final semester, and due to the reading and writing load being so heavy (<i>it was another heavy credit load semester at 17 credits counting the internship - full-time is 12 credits - plus an additional part time job</i>), and a smashed laptop closing in on "zero hour", a few of the papers didn't receive the best effort possible.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328744923l/7159895.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328744923l/7159895.jpg" width="217" /></a>The following is a paper for an independent readings and study course. As a reflection paper, it is much more informal than most of <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/p/university.html" target="_blank">the papers written over the last couple of years</a>. It is meant to demonstrate that the text was not only read but understood and reflects thoughts, ideas, and viewpoints inspired by the reading.<br />
<br />
The book was merely an okay read and very broad, but it did provide some base material for what could be further papers should grad school be a thing in the future. Jury is still out on that decision.<br />
For the summer it's back to <a href="http://www.graphicallyfrank.com/" target="_blank">painting</a> and a third year of gardening, and next week is a much anticipated two week vacation in Toronto Canada to really kick off the summer.<br />
<br />
Enjoy the Reflection, should you choose to read it. As always comments and debate are welcome. Feel free to leave a message and/or read some of the other stuff around here. :-)<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Marketing <i>Is</i> Culture<br />Reflections on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7159895-the-age-of-persuasion" target="_blank">‘Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture’ by Terry O’Reilly and Mike Tennant</a></b></div>
<br />
<br />
O’Reilly and Tennant determine immediately that “we live in an age of persuasion, where<br />
<br />
people’s wants, wishes, whims, pleas, brands, offers, enticements, truths, petitions, and<br />
<br />
propaganda swirl in a ceaseless, growing multimedia firestorm of sales messages.”<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(1)</span> These sales<br />
<br />
messages add to the overall mass of information that one is subjected to each day, but these<br />
<br />
messages also add to the culture, if not create culture. This is a contrary view to that of O’Reilly<br />
<br />
and Tennant who seem to be hold a stance that it is in fact not adding to culture, but consuming<br />
<br />
our culture. <br />
<br />
First, trying to separate marketing from culture in a way that can explain how it is<br />
<br />
consuming our culture is futile. Marketing has existed for easily 3000 years, from the time<br />
<br />
someone could articulate the benefits of one product over another using “public criers”. There is<br />
<br />
even indication that print advertisements existed during those times. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(2)</span> Marketing has persisted<br />
<br />
alongside culture for ages.<br />
<br />
Advertising and marketing are part of culture. They are influential forces which not only<br />
<br />
are inspired by changes in society, but also reinforce and reflects those changes “Advertising is<br />
<br />
the great mirror of society”. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(3)</span> While unsavory for many to accept, marketing is information which<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
imbues “cultural materials” into society <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(4) </span>thereby becoming culture. As O’Reilly and Tennant<br />
<br />
state, when “marketing seeps into feature films, arts, popular music, and even literature, it<br />
<br />
changes the relationship between the arts and audiences.”<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(5)</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Cultural Mediums and Advertising</b><br />
<br />
However, this intermix of art and cultural information, and marketing, is nothing new for<br />
<br />
a 21st Century heavily influenced by the growth of branded and marketed entertainment via the<br />
<br />
internet. Cultural mediums have always been influenced by advertising and marketing, and in<br />
<br />
some cases owe their existence to them. Going back to the time of the first newspapers and<br />
<br />
magazines, marketing was often the saving grace of publications, providing the funding required<br />
<br />
to keep them in business.<br />
<br />
Looking to the 20th Century we can see Warhol with Campbell Soup and Coke from the<br />
<br />
60s and the influence marketing had on the development of pop art. The pop art movement<br />
<br />
added to the art world, it did not consume it, or eliminate new movements. Art, like marketing, is<br />
<br />
always evolving with changes in society. Even in the 80s Lucky Strikes became a constant for all<br />
<br />
of Stephen King’s characters that smoked. Theses examples may not have been marketing<br />
<br />
directly, or even on purpose, but they were no doubt influential in the relationship between the<br />
<br />
medium and the audience, creating associations that have become part of culture.<br />
<br />
Radio, film and television entertainment, on the other hand, owe much of their existence<br />
<br />
to marketing ventures. Sponsored content was a staple of radio and television, and companies<br />
<br />
would solely sponsor entire shows, such as Ovaltine’s Little Orphan Annie (radio), and The<br />
<br />
Colgate Comedy Hour and Kraft Television Theatre (television). Even lesser known is the first<br />
<br />
product placement in films, dating back to the 1920s a mere thirty years into the life of the art 6<br />
<br />
medium. In fact, without advertising and marketing there would have been very little newspaper,<br />
<br />
magazine, radio, and television entertainment. Even today advertising and marketing are<br />
<br />
essential to the culture of entertainment; social media and the internet depend heavily on the<br />
<br />
industry for the ability to provide services and entertainment for free or at low cost. These<br />
<br />
mediums, like their predecessors, are integral to the evolution and development of culture.<br />
<br />
Further, marketing is essential to their livelihood, thereby helping maintain and influence culture.<br />
<br />
Not only does advertising and marketing influence culture, but in some ways it<br />
<br />
theoretically inspires democracy, particularly via the internet. As O’Reilly and Tennant confirm,<br />
<br />
“[...] a great characteristic of the Internet [is] the fact that it levels the playing field. Everyone has<br />
<br />
access, [...] everyone can be heard.”<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(7) </span>They cite YouTube as a prime example, a “great enabler [it<br />
<br />
is] the first hugely democratic mass medium, where any one person could speak to millions if<br />
<br />
[IF] her idea was big enough to resonate with the masses in cyberspace.”<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(8)</span> Without marketing and<br />
<br />
advertising there is no way to maintain the platform without heavy usage fees paid for by the<br />
<br />
consumer, which would limit access severely, and therefore not be a catalyst to democracy.<br />
<br />
Additionally, the internet has reanimated branded advertising, imbuing society with<br />
<br />
opportunities to become part of marketing culture.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Branded Marketing and Culture</b><br />
<br />
Perhaps the second most interesting concept of The Age of Persuasion is branded<br />
<br />
marketing, which has become a huge complex strategy. As earlier stated, the marriage of<br />
<br />
marketing and art is changing relationships between art and audience. What marketing is also<br />
<br />
doing is change relationships between brands and consumer, attempting to forge “genuine,<br />
<br />
longterm relationships” by seeking to “invest genuine personality in their brand [...] invest[ing]<br />
<br />
time, [and] finding meaningful ways to engage customers”.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(9)</span> They breathe life into a brand,<br />
<br />
becoming what a consumer feels, forging emotional attachments.<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> (10)</span><br />
<br />
One way in which they breathe life into a brand is through stars or personalities who<br />
<br />
sometimes themselves are the brand <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(11)</span> (Think Kim Kardashian) or become an icon. By using<br />
<br />
films and their stars, musicians and their music to “influence fashions [and] drive sales” they<br />
<br />
create demand and “persuade their audiences to accept their personal messages and viewpoints.”<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(12)</span><br />
<br />
This branded and marketed entertainment personifies lifestyles, it is about creating a bonds<br />
<br />
with consumers <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(13)</span> while “being what people enjoy and still delivering branding”. Therefore<br />
<br />
branded entertainment is about informing and influencing culture through embedded messages<br />
<br />
delivered by “trusted” messengers it is about being the culture through icons and “allow[ing]<br />
<br />
customers to makes a statement about who they are”. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(14)</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Out of Touch?</b><br />
<br />
O’Reilly and Tennant say that in “[...] the living, growing, allencompassing and<br />
<br />
relatively modern culture of persuasion” marketers are vying to “take up lodging in some corner<br />
<br />
of your mind”.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(15)</span> They seem oddly out of touch with the long cultural history of marketing, as<br />
<br />
well as the evolution of the acceptance of marketing in today's modern networked society,<br />
<br />
particularly among youth.<br />
<br />
They claim that youth are “becoming increasingly immune to the conventional marketing<br />
<br />
messages” and that “they hunker down in front of their computers, putting up fences that most<br />
<br />
marketers haven’t yet learned to scale”.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(16)</span> However, there is indication that youth is accepting of<br />
<br />
target marketing methods because it leads to advertisements that are more tailored to them, and<br />
<br />
therefore more relevant and interesting. Some research indicates that trust and value based<br />
<br />
approaches work in marketing to youth.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(17)</span> Returning to the concepts of branded entertainment,<br />
<br />
we can understand one way in which marketers create trust among youth audiences.<br />
<br />
According to O’Reilly and Tennant, “the larger the audience an advertiser strives to<br />
<br />
reach, the harder it becomes to forge meaningful relationships with each individual customer”<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(18)</span><br />
<br />
however, they seem to discount that through niche marketing and target marketing these<br />
<br />
relationships can be created, which implies an analogous relationship which would in turn create<br />
<br />
a more significant impact for the message at hand.<br />
<br />
Due largely in part to the development of mobile technology the relationship between<br />
<br />
brand and consumers are evolving.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(19)</span> Another way marketers create trusting relationships with<br />
<br />
youth audience is through the creation of social media stars who have established relationships<br />
<br />
with their followers.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(20)</span> As O’Reilly and Tennant state, “the blunt realities of marketing to young<br />
<br />
people are causing vast changes in language and tone of advertising. As their attention shifts<br />
<br />
from mass media to smaller, online social networks, they’re sharing information and opinions<br />
<br />
about products, brands and fashions”.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(21)</span><br />
<br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
<br />
<div>
There are so many different topics in The Age of Persuasion, each of which could be<br />
<br />
granted an essay of its own. For instance, the influence of marketing and the internet on the<br />
<br />
consumer as a channel and the branded self <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(22)</span>; the power shift taking place between traditional <br />
<br />
media and new media<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> (23)</span>; the empowerment of consumers in the new two way communication <br />
<br />
environment relationship with advertisers<span style="font-size: x-small;"> (24)</span> and advertising as an art<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> (25)</span> all of these topics would <br />
<br />
be worthy of further research.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
However, while plentiful in potential research topics, The Age of Persuasion: How<br />
<br />
Marketing Ate Our Culture was far too broad and failed to accomplish what the title implies it<br />
<br />
set out to do: explain how marketing ate our culture. What is did accomplish is providing a<br />
<br />
wealth of examples on how marketing and advertising has contributed to the growth of our<br />
<br />
culture and will continue to do so as it regurgitates the messages of society.<br />
<br />
<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
<b>Citations:</b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">1</span> Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. xiii<br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">2</span> "Advertisement | Promotion." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Accessed 2015. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">3 </span>Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 162<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">4 </span>Bartholomew, Mark. "Advertising and Social Identity." Buffalo Law Review 58 (2010): 93176. </div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">5</span> Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 161<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">6</span> According to a lecture in Advertising and Society (Spring 2015) Red Crown gasoline was the first instance of product placement in the 1920 film The Garage <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">7</span> Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 100 <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">8</span> Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 116<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">9</span> Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 268. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">10 </span>Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 187. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">11 </span>Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 224. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">12 </span>Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 149 <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">13 </span>Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 221. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">14 </span>Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 196.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">15 </span>Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. xv, 118. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">16 </span>Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 77. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">17 </span>Sultan, Fareena, Andrew J. Rohm, and Tao (Tony) Gao. "Factors Influencing Consumer Acceptance Of Mobile Marketing: A TwoCountry Study Of Youth Markets." Journal of Interactive Marketing 23 (2015): 30820. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">18 </span>Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 117.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">19 </span>Sultan, Fareena, Andrew J. Rohm, and Tao (Tony) Gao. "Factors Influencing Consumer Acceptance Of Mobile Marketing: A TwoCountry Study Of Youth Markets." Journal of Interactive Marketing 23 (2015): 30820. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">20 </span>Sloane, Garett. "Meet the Man Who Unlocked the Secrets of Mobile Marketing." AdWeek. September 14, 2014. Accessed 2015. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">21 </span>Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 95. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">22 </span>Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 108. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">23 </span>Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 100101. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">24 </span>Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 104. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">25 </span>Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 35.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Bibliography:</b><br />
<br />
"Advertisement | Promotion." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Accessed 2015.<br />
<br />
Bartholomew, Mark. "Advertising and Social Identity." Buffalo Law Review 58 (2010): 93176.<br />
<br />
Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009.<br />
<br />
Sloane, Garett. "Meet the Man Who Unlocked the Secrets of Mobile Marketing." AdWeek. September 14, 2014. Accessed 2015.<br />
<br />
Sultan, Fareena, Andrew J. Rohm, and Tao (Tony) Gao. "Factors Influencing Consumer Acceptance Of Mobile Marketing: A TwoCountry Study Of Youth Markets." Journal of Interactive Marketing 23 (2015)</div>
</div>
</div>
Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-89238434297934788232015-05-22T17:25:00.003-05:002015-05-22T17:25:28.233-05:00Our Adventure Dog, May She RIP...She was born on a farm in the country outside of a small town surrounded by other small towns in the the middle of nowhere in the Midwest of the United States. She was born of mixed breeds, Austrialian Shepherd, Keeshond, and Border Collie. She was gorgeous.<br />
She was chosen because when we knelt to pet the puppies in the litter they all ran away. But she stayed. She rolled over on her back for a belly scratch. She was ours immediately.<br />
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<br />
We named her Keesha. Her full name was Keeshandra, but at one point she was named "Keeshandra Sky 'da Bomb' Anderville" as named by one of two roommates who wanted her to have an amalgamation of her and the other roommate's last name. Everybody loved Keesha immediately, and it would be the same through her entire long life. She had a wonderful, gentle, yet protective disposition...and she was a bit batty sometimes and not at all graceful. You couldn't not fall in love with her.<br />
<br />
Keesha started off life a princess among cats. About 16 to be exact. They, of course, were Mother's cats. It was just a year after high school graduation when we got her. We had moved up North, a few hundred miles away from where we had been evicted and left with no place to go, for what would be one of many forays in adult life involving living with Mother.<br />
Sometimes it was as if Keesha thought she was a cat, crawling into your lap, as a full grown dog, rubbing her head and pressing her body against you in the way that cats do.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQMLcYBA_S12W4VoCAu3BHqwET44zbPhBY6LFb7kr8QF_ef86R1MoPU2_G63xvaXl8BsoHVym_t0f3euzaPnC2vQzN6u0o_8k88bOr9cXfViGMhXJ1eaS2F6BuxDV4LjwYva56HAG6Jdk/s1600/20150522_150524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQMLcYBA_S12W4VoCAu3BHqwET44zbPhBY6LFb7kr8QF_ef86R1MoPU2_G63xvaXl8BsoHVym_t0f3euzaPnC2vQzN6u0o_8k88bOr9cXfViGMhXJ1eaS2F6BuxDV4LjwYva56HAG6Jdk/s200/20150522_150524.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
She got all the love and attention she wanted as she chased ducks across the yard and dug holes in the middle of potted plants. Later when we'd moved across the road to a derelict old farm house, she spent hours running in the fields, often bringing back something dead to bestow proudly on the doorstep, much to terror of the roommate who had only experienced city pets.<br />
In the snow she'd dive, coming up for air, covered in powder. Nothing kept her sitting down, she wanted to be everywhere at once.<br />
<br />
Alas, she was to move away from the vast fields where she spent her days running and playing, just under a year after she came to live near them. <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2011/03/emergence-of-frank-three-times-rescuer.html" target="_blank">In a little two door Honda Civic, with her two human "mommies" and as much of their belongings as possible...and two cats...she headed west</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdoqMSlA9l4_YlEQR__leTlhOIxBhuoI1mJv9HAinoe1cdEnoYatlhZyByOEe4MdHXv0DbCpbQ81tq_OV0XhnfAV9oYXNiB6M0Bw5_cPv9pRb_6FoXD92qnrmLG9khLdu1DwMOn5v5kg/s1600/20150522_150645.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdoqMSlA9l4_YlEQR__leTlhOIxBhuoI1mJv9HAinoe1cdEnoYatlhZyByOEe4MdHXv0DbCpbQ81tq_OV0XhnfAV9oYXNiB6M0Bw5_cPv9pRb_6FoXD92qnrmLG9khLdu1DwMOn5v5kg/s200/20150522_150645.jpg" width="200" /></a>When she got there she had to live in an apartment, but it wasn't all bad because despite the rules she got let out to run free in the complex and have all sorts of new adventures. She didn't adapt to the potty training though, which took her almost four years to figure out. Nor did she ever take to a leash. If she was going for a walk, SHE was walking YOU.<br />
<br />
She made many dog friends, some she went camping with near mountains and big lakes, swimming for the first time, running everywhere, her tongue hanging out in sheer happiness.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGn6crIod_GPT9TJrGmq8zZX_dc3mBtvFFdYq7mwaCpt5WVCOvHGJQHHbR3dnHz9veuhako4uLsFSiwfCOEI95duk2XwLSWPA2_DRfMnLCO50VMzbzJ3PluB8YOdxVk6BIvioesSIrUs/s1600/20150522_150429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGn6crIod_GPT9TJrGmq8zZX_dc3mBtvFFdYq7mwaCpt5WVCOvHGJQHHbR3dnHz9veuhako4uLsFSiwfCOEI95duk2XwLSWPA2_DRfMnLCO50VMzbzJ3PluB8YOdxVk6BIvioesSIrUs/s200/20150522_150429.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
After her mommies weren't friends anymore and she moved to a new place with her two cat friends she had to say goodbye to them because the her new "daddy" didn't like them. She got a new sister, a horrible beagle mixed breed named Dolly who would be mean to her all the time and hit her with her front leg, which had a metal bar implanted in it. She was a spoiled dog who didn't take kindly to her new housemates. But at least she got to go to dog parks, swim in the streams there, and play Frisbee. She had endless love and energy for playing catch.<br />
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It wasn't long before she had to say goodbye to the big green mountains and lakes she loved, and go on another long road trip to a new home. She and Dolly moved East and she became a Chicago dog. She finally got a big backyard to play in and all sorts of new smells to experience.<br />
<br />
She may have thought her big adventures were over, but it wasn't before long that<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2011/03/emergence-of-frank-franks-failure.html" target="_blank"> her human mommy packed her up and took her away from her new family</a>. Which was fine with her, because she didn't like them anyway, and loved adventure.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately she had to live in a kennel for a couple of months before moving west again. Her human mommy packed up all of the things she could fit into a Ford Bronco II and they set off for something new. This time there were mountains to explore again, but these were more brown than green, and sadly there were no lakes. But there sure were adventures!<br />
<br />
In the span of a year she got to live with a whole new set of people, tattooed and pierced people, and a little person.<br />And then just a few months after she had arrived, she got to move to Florida for awhile that included adventures sleeping in the Bronco II at a muggy Louisiana gas station, and then again in Kansas at a cold snowy rest-stop after it had been decided they should return to the mountains.<br />And then she lived in an old pool house in a bad part of town where her yard was a filled in swimming pool full of dirt. It wasn't the greatest of places and she wasn't allowed to go for walks, but at least she still had her human Mommy, and her mommy's tattooed friend, Body Piercer, to keep her company.<br />
One night, while her human mommy and her roommate were trying to skip out on the rent in the middle of the night, to move to a better safer neighborhood, she almost got taken as collateral by an angry land lady! Luckily she was saved from being separated from the people who loved her, and she went to live in a new place...but that wouldn't last long...<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuMb22zYiqWBtdOCdz2V0xFA1S1AMhF89QiJGbmrpdPlmWfh46Xi6MxP9-7KYhRXYM8yQhuccTLsg-M6rF7Q2dU798Qz7pVG3c-avfK70ocyQakr8_iLxUiL6jcSmLKxPH_h3BbDXkYI/s1600/11348904_829666630431783_929690446_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuMb22zYiqWBtdOCdz2V0xFA1S1AMhF89QiJGbmrpdPlmWfh46Xi6MxP9-7KYhRXYM8yQhuccTLsg-M6rF7Q2dU798Qz7pVG3c-avfK70ocyQakr8_iLxUiL6jcSmLKxPH_h3BbDXkYI/s320/11348904_829666630431783_929690446_n.jpg" width="223" /></a>Her human mommy went a little extra "crazy"...and she was stuck in one room with her for many many long days, and then was asked to move out. Having no place to go at the drop of a hat, it was back to the Bronco II for a few nights of sleep while things got figured out. But it was pretty cool, because she got to sleep at a park with a great view of the mountains, and got to run and play way more than she had been able to. And she got a new human daddy. The best human daddy a dog could ask for.<br />
<br />
So she was packed up again, this time with a trailer hooked to the Bronco II, and they all headed east towards the Midwest to live with her human grandma, where she would spend the remaining years of her long life, in various different homes in the same city. She got to go on rides into the country ,and long walks in parks where she would play fetch and catch Frisbees and chase squirrels.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2011/05/life-without-frank-first-two-years.html" target="_blank">Her human mommy moved away after a few years and couldn't take her with because it was a whole other country</a>; and her human daddy moved away too. She was left with her human grandma and grandpa, who loved her very much, and got a new giant yard for her to play in and took her to the lake every weekend from Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day Weekend. She would jump around in excitement the minute she saw the coolers and suitcases emerge from closets, knowing that it was her favorite time of year. Her human mommy would visit, sometimes not so often, but in the last few years of her life she lived in the same house again, and went on lake trips with her...and then, one day, her family had to make a really hard decision involving her...<br />
<br />
-----------------------------<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhPXw8aHG_mW0up2VnRA6FV_RerIoQfig-GVedgKTPtfELP6UmXz0hpuRZeM6N4spWHN0fpFHtPl_X0pjxfT8WGgRscJaP0QQPPfsqFJfQE6ijxQkNZqSdVU4qLlmLL_TfAKPcsLuS-nM/s1600/20140511_171734.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhPXw8aHG_mW0up2VnRA6FV_RerIoQfig-GVedgKTPtfELP6UmXz0hpuRZeM6N4spWHN0fpFHtPl_X0pjxfT8WGgRscJaP0QQPPfsqFJfQE6ijxQkNZqSdVU4qLlmLL_TfAKPcsLuS-nM/s320/20140511_171734.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
She lived to be 17 years old. Her birthday had just passed. Last summer we had talked to Mother about what might have to be done, because she couldn't hold her bowels anymore (<i>turns out she had been eating all of the cherry tomatoes from the plants in the garden and they were causing her to have accidents</i>) and had started to lose her eyesight and her hearing, and we wanted a summer at the lake to be the last thing she remembered. But because she was still really active at the end of last summer, and despite her deteriorating senses she still managed catch toys, her "eternal rest" was postponed.<br />
<br />
She made it through the winter, and this Spring had still been taking nightly walks. But then about three weeks ago it became apparent that she couldn't see or hear almost anything anymore, she stopped playing fetch, she no longer pulled on the leash during walks, she stopped eating and lost half of her body weight. She no longer enjoyed the things she had enjoyed her whole life and each day you could see the deterioration.<br />
<br />
So it was decided that she should be given her final rest. She had the most amazing life almost any dog could have had - this story was but mere highlights of her many adventures - and lived longer than most pets, and it would have been cruel to let her continue to be in more pain, starving until she couldn't move anymore at all, just because it was going to be hard as humans to let go of her.<br />
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<br />
We took her into the vet yesterday. The scale read 20 pounds as they weighed her one final time. We were left to say our final private goodbyes before the vet came in to explain what would take place. Mother paid extra so Keesha could have a morphine shot before the euthanizing shot because it's a more relaxing way to go.<br />
<br />
We cradled her head in our hands and held our face against hers, tears streaming, and whispered in her ear, telling her that she was the best dog ever, and that everybody loves her, and that it'll be okay.<br />
Even before they had inserted the needle her eyes looked so tired, and before the full shot of morphine was injected she was gone, her head heavy against our hands.<br />
It was probably one of the hardest experiences we've had over the last few years, and unlike any we can recall.<br />
<br />
We've never had to put down a pet before, not as adults. As kids, growing up on a farm, those kinds of things got handled differently, or the pets died of natural causes because farm life is much closer to the life an animal lives in nature, and in nature animals don't live as long as house pets...especially those mother cares for. (Mother says the secret is water, plentiful water, as much as they want.)<br />
<br />
Keesha was Our Adventure Dog. She was a constant loving and patient road companion. She was one tough hippie broad of a dog with the disposition of an angel.<br />
She will be cremated and returned to her family. We have requested that some of her ashes be sprinkled at the lake she spend so many summers playing at.<br />
And some of the ashes we want, so we can take small amounts on our travels, so she can keep having adventures, and forever be Our Adventure Dog.<br />
<br />
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RIP, sweet angel dog. <3Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-75584768960880089822015-04-24T16:17:00.000-05:002015-04-24T16:21:18.996-05:00Information Glut as a Catalyst of the Fragmentation of Self: Implications of Advertising<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The first paper to get a grade for this semester! <i>There are four from this semester still floating around in a professor's computer waiting to be slapped with a grade.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, the boost of confidence needed - just in time to tackle an 18 page behemoth...and with just 16 days to go...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let's not forget the three other papers left to write.</span></div>
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Um, sure...no stress.</div>
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This is the first time this many papers have been put off this close to deadline. Good thing graduation is just a mere few weeks away...(<i>but wait, what's that about getting a second degree?! More on that later...</i>)</div>
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Here is it, as requested by one <a href="http://charlesbivona.com/" target="_blank">Mr Charles Bivona</a> (of Facebook, Twitter and Blogging fame), in all of its <b><u>98%</u></b> glory. The instructor for the class (Advertising and Society) is a tough cookie, and the topic chosen turned out to be logistically difficult in stringing together concepts to create a coherent argument, so the grade was a surprise. Of course now that it's done it looks ridiculously easy.</div>
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[as an aside, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10074089-the-saturated-self" target="_blank"><i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life</i> by Kenneth J Gergen</a> is a good read]</div>
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Access PDF via GoogleDocs: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0L6-YMPxtu7cjM0eEphSklNbDQ/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0L6-YMPxtu7cjM0eEphSklNbDQ/view?usp=sharing</a></div>
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or read it here...</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Information Glut as a Catalyst<br />
of the Fragmentation of Self: Implications of Advertising</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">In <i>The Saturated Self</i> Kenneth Gergen
focuses on social saturation caused by technologies themselves as the
forerunners to increasingly fragmented self identity. However apt Gergen’s
argument may seem, there are byproducts of the relationship between people and
technologies that may be the real perpetrators. One such byproduct of
technology and human relation is the increased abundance and dissemination of
information and knowledge through information technologies. As much as there is
an abundance of information, so is there a wide range of types. This critique
will focus on a particular kind of information, which is that created by
advertising. The position is that it is information itself that impacts
identity control, not necessarily technologies. Rather, it is the ways in which
information is created, distributed and processed through technologies that
proliferates ostensible fragmentation of self identity.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Each stage
of the technological revolutions - from printed words, to radio and film - has
changed the shape of information and society</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[1]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,
including how we understand and manage self identity. Focusing on information
technologies, a connection can be created between advertising and the
fragmentation of self identity in the post modern world. There are also strong
implications for its nurturing of the “[...]populating of the self, [as well
as] the acquisition of multiple and disparate potentials for being”</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[2]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
as it fosters dissonance and anxiety in identity control. </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As cable
television meant the end of shared cultural experience through nightly news</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[3]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,
so does information technology further contribute to the loss of cohesive
shared experiences, facilitating the fragmenting of self. New advertising
strategies attributed to the rise of information technologies and
computer-mediated environments may extend this further, not only propagating
it, but catering to a fragmented identities in society. </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Advertising as Information and Culture</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Advertising
is a form of marketing communication and a medium of information. Advertising
provides information about a product’s capabilities and characteristics, but it
also informs culture through the use of symbols, creating “cultural materials”,
cultivating and confirming stereotypes, influencing how we understand ourselves
in the social world, as well as impacting the perceptions of the world in which
we live.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup>
</span></span><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The primary way in which we receive these information messages is through
technologies, which have progressed from print to today’s information
technologies. Whether we acknowledge it or not, advertising information affects
the subconscious, which guides our cognition in our self-identification
construction.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[5]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Reflecting
on the writing of Karl Marx, Neil Postman, in </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">Technolopy, </i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">proposed that technologies influence people’s
perception of social and mental life</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[6]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,
which in effect influences culture. As Gergen further illustrates,“emerging
technologies saturate us with the voices of humankind”</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[7]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
and these voices, whether they be in the form of entertainment, advertising, or
social interaction, carry information messages. The exposure to these vast
range of messages can lead to loss of coherent identity and to the
fragmentation of self identity, “increasing sensitivity to the social
construction of reality”</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[8]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,
thereby increasing anxiety as we struggle with information that does not
conform to our concept of self in a process called cognitive conservatism.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[9]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The messages
and information of advertising continues to change, mirroring the evolution of
society.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[10]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
With the growth of information technology, advertising messages continue to
become more about the consumer of the product than the product itself,
pandering to the insecurities of the target audience.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[11]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
Advertising uses “cultural cues to communicate fairly complex messages [...]
exploiting stereotypes and cultural references”</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[12]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
further capitalizing on anxieties of fragmented self-identity. </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Evolving
Advertising as Catalyst </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">There is a
sweeping shift in our exposure to advertising information, as well as
advertising’s exposure to our information. As marketing moves away from a
traditional </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;">approach</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[13]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,
developing new strategies like niche or target advertsing, taking advantage of
innovations like cookies, tracking pixels, and developing emotional analysis
software</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[14]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,
the ability to cater to aspects of the fragmented self identity increases and
persists. As technologist David Weinberger asserts, “by pulling together
implicit data from multiple sources, marketers can avoid being fooled by our
lopsided self-presentations on any one site”.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[15]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
This not only validates the fragmentation of identity but facilitates the
maintenance.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">However, it
is not perfect validation just yet. As Nikhil Seith wrote in an article for
AdWeek, while meaningful messages cannot be crafted if identity is not
understood - which is achieved through data - so far marketing isn’t doing an
adequate job. Cookies aren’t really enough. The answer, according to Seith, is
The Internet of Things - wiring your physical world to your digital world in
order, which will combine increasing amounts of fragments and craft a more
cohesive identity.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[16]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
Therein lies the holy grail of advertising in its quest to profit from the
satisfaction and validation of every theoretical fragment of self.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Social
Influence of Advertising Information</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A technology
focused and saturated society is a condition of ”culture [and] a state of
mind”.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[17]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
Gergen asserts that saturation by technology is contributing to the reformation
of society, and that this has implications on knowledge and information.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[18]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
As the shape of knowledge and information becomes an increasingly social
construction, involving networks of people, so does the dissemination of
cultural information inform an even greater population.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[19]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup>
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Cultural
information provided by advertising is further distributed by the ever growing
population of social networks, through visible relationships constructed with
products and services by following the accounts, and by activities such as
“likes” and “retweets” and “thumbs up”. These types of valuable “peer
recommendations”</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[20]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
also reinforce the messages, giving new authority to the cultural claims of
advertising and its information</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Through the
new network of knowledge not only do previous authorities on information lose
the “singular” power of their voice</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[21]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,
contributing to “the erosion of authority”</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[22]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,
but the amount of information is expanded.
The revitalized authority of advertising messages in the hands of the
masses, incorporated with the vast networks afforded by information
technologies, leads to “dynamic” cultural influences and “multiple cultural
knowledge systems” which individuals employ to “understand, interpret, and
behave” in any given situation.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[23]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
Given the multiple contexts of the world and information that information
technology provides, “no transcendent voice remains to fix the reality of
selves [into place]”.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[24]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">The Influence of Information from Advertising Relationships</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In the
information fueled world of the technology focused society, the definitions of
reality become redefined,</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[25]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
including definitions of self and identity, creating platforms through
which “a barrage of new criteria for self-evaluation”
are realized.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[26]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Further, expectations are redefined due to
increased information which “may also disrupt the social and psychological
processes underlying identification through which individuals come to
understand who they are as persons”.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[27]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup>
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As Gergen
states, “the technological achievements of the past century have produced a
radical shift in our exposure to each other” pushing people closer, subjecting
them to growing numbers of populations,
which propagates unimagined relationships.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[28]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
There is an endless juxtaposition of information messages from diverse social
groups competing with those of companies and products through advertising. This
increases the amount of cultural information, cluttering media and culture</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[29]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
with complex arrays of cultural messages about who a person is or should be,
which increase identity control anxieties.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Interaction
with products and brands through the aforementioned social networking fosters
the “manifestations of relatedness” in which “face-to-face encounter[s]” and
“reciprocal interchange” become irrelevant in fostering and maintenance of
valid relationship paradigms.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[30]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
Gergen warns that “[...] one must be prepared for the possibility that media
figures do enter significantly into people’s personal lives”.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[31]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
This effectively plays out in celebrity endorsements and ‘celebrity as brand’
where personalities essentially become the brand or product.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[32]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> There is an undeniable allure and power of
celebrities as a persuasive power.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[33]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
By using celebrity to forge “genuine, long-term relationships” brands create
“meaningful ways to engage customers” by infusing “genuine personality in their
brand” or product and cultivating a bond.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[34]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
This creates an environment in which a consumer can have a perceived
relationship with entertainment personalities, particularly through social
networking. The cumulative effect of this advertising strategy creates a
significant informant of a branded personality whose messages can have a
powerful impact on the fragmented construction of self identity, “allow[ing]
customers to makes a statement about who they are”</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[35]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
through their relationship with the brands.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">All social
situations, whether it be “non-digital” or information technology-mediated, are
environments where “we make ourselves intelligible to each other” while
gathering “[information of] others’ patterns of being”.</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/InformationGlutasaCatalystoftheFragmentationofSelfImplicationsofAdvertising.docx#_ftn36" name="_ftnref36" title=""><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[36]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Brands strive to create relationships with
consumers</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/InformationGlutasaCatalystoftheFragmentationofSelfImplicationsofAdvertising.docx#_ftn37" name="_ftnref37" title=""><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[37]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
through advertising strategies such as branded personalities, creating a
plethora of identity information, and therefore become a further catalyst to
the construction of self identity. </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Understanding ourselves through interpersonal
relationships, group affiliations, and advertising messages</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/InformationGlutasaCatalystoftheFragmentationofSelfImplicationsofAdvertising.docx#_ftn38" name="_ftnref38" title=""><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[38]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> -
sometimes presented by a figure who is influential on an interpersonal level -
continually adds to, influences, and changes the information we have available
for identity control. While all of these social relationships may be seen as a
catalyst to the “</span></span><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">multiphrenic condition [...] in which one swims in
ever-shifting, concatenating, and contentious currents of being”,</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[39]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup>
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;">it is still the information
provided that is used to guide, shape, and instruct self identity.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">The Rational</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In Gergen’s
postmodernism sphere, we are doubtful about who we are, “dismantled” and
lacking any “real and identifiable characteristics – such as rationality,
emotion [...] exist[ing] in a state of continuous construction and
reconstruction”. Accordingly, this postmodern dystopian perspective encourages
the “[...] populating of the self, reflecting the infusion of partial identities”</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[40]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
creating environments in which Gergen claims there is no essence of self to
remain true to.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[41]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Gergen attributes this phenomenon to social
saturation, but it may be something more; it may be the seemingly disordered
heap of </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">information</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> that technology
encourages, and it may be a reasonable response to the circumstance.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
fragmentation of self may be a completely rational and natural outcome in the
domain of an advanced technological world experiencing a glut of cultural
information. Drawing from a modernist perspective of self, where “knowledge of
the world is built up through observation [and] it is not by virtue of heredity
that we are who are, but by observation of the environment”,</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[42]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
we can infer that our environment influences and shapes our identity. We are
what we see, hear and learn. We are what we are exposed to, and if we are
exposed to scads of mixed information messages over time, then we become
fragmented. Therefore, varying cultural messages, which influence us subconsciously</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[43]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
will shape identity and corresponding gradients of self. To put it plainly, rather than understanding
identity as being an innate inherited construct, we can recognize it as
flexible. Just as we have learned to “juggle multiple principles of [information]
organization [in the networked world] without even thinking about it”</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[44]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,
over time so have we learned to monitor and implement </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">aspects</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> of identity, while in some instances, becoming overwrought
with the violation of our sense of identity.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[45]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Gergen’s assertion
is that “the fully saturated self becomes no self at all”</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[46]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
and that technology which leads to social saturation is to blame. This smacks
of “technodeterminism”, attributing the fragmentation of self to new
technologies gives technology authority and power.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[47]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
We are not being “made” by technology, even though its influence can certainly
be seen as a </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">factor</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. It is not
technology, nor simply the social aspects perpetuated by it; it is the
propagation of and exposure to its information, the glut of it, that fragments
our sense of self.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">To better
clarify, if it was purely a social issue, and one was exposed to one hundred
people in an echo chamber, fragmentation would be unlikely compared to being
exposed to one hundred people with twenty different polarizing viewpoints.
Ergo, social saturation does not guarantee a fragmented self identity. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Conclusion</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In a
rejection of Gergen’s usage of the term ”multiphrenic condition” and “unlimited
multiplicity”, what he sees as “multiplicity” can be defined as “adjusted self”
and is just one coping mechanism used when presented with a challenge to
identity, like incompatible demands, in which an outcome can be a redefined
identity.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[48]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
People have always had to maintain separate “selves” - i.e. work self, family
self, social self - “performing a variety of roles” throughout any given day in
a process called identity management.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[49]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
It </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">is </i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">true that information
technologies, such as social medias, intermixes these places or states of
identity - for instance causing your “work identity” and “social identity” to
collide - causing friction in maintaining all of the so-called “selves” a
person must sustain as they move not only through the tangible world, but the
digital as well. The condition of which he speaks is not that of separate
identities, but gradients of a single identity that society encourages the
individual to compartmentalize in order to be accepted.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Gergen
asserted that “[Information] technologies of social saturation are central to
the contemporary erasure of individual self”.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[50]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
However, they may not actually be an erasure. These technologies, and more
aptly the information produced through these technologies, may add, or simply
alter “an individual’s sense of self”</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[51]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,
encouraging self realization and reinforcing self perception while influencing
all aspects of their identity.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[52]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
Additionally, information technologies create opportunities, “enriching our
potential for seeing connections and understanding things in contexts we have
never considered” before.</span><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[53]</span></span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
In this way these technologies are an enhancer, not an erasure. Perhaps the
answer lies in a more sophisticated understanding of the impacts of advertising
information on self identity, the opportunities new technologies afford, and
the recognition of the consequences of errant acceptance of vast array of
messages that society is bombarded with every day through information
technologies.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<sup><sup><span style="font-family: inherit;">--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></sup></sup></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<sup><sup><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b><u>Footnotes</u></b></span></sup></sup></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Postman,
Neil. <i>Technopoly: The Surrender of
Culture to Technology</i>. New York: Vintage Books, 1993. 67.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 69.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Weinberger,
David. <i>Everything Is Miscellaneous: The
Power of the New Digital Disorder</i>. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2007. 130.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Bartholomew,
Mark. "Advertising and Social Identity." <i>Buffalo Law Review</i> 58 (2010): 931-76.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Bartholomew,
Mark. "Advertising and Social Identity." <i>Buffalo Law Review</i> 58 (2010): 938</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[6]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Postman,
Neil. <i>Technopoly: The Surrender of
Culture to Technology</i>. New York: Vintage Books, 1993. 21.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[7]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 6.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[8]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 16.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[9]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Adler,
Ronald B., and Russell F. Proctor. 14th ed. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2014.
45.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[10]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Reilly,
Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. <i>The Age
of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture</i>. Berkeley, Calif.:
Counterpoint :, 2009. 162.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[11]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Postman,
Neil. <i>Technopoly: The Surrender of
Culture to Technology</i>. New York: Vintage Books, 1993. 170</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn12">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[12]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">McChesney,
Robert Waterman. "Does Capitalism Equal Democracy: Advertising." In <i>Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is
Turning the Internet against Democracy</i>, 41-46. New York, New York: New
Press, 2013.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn13">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[13]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Weinberger,
David. <i>Everything Is Miscellaneous: The
Power of the New Digital Disorder</i>. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2007. 118</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn14">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[14]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">McChesney,
Robert Waterman. "Does Capitalism Equal Democracy: Advertising." In <i>Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is
Turning the Internet against Democracy</i>, 41-46. New York, New York: New
Press, 2013. 157.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn15">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[15]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Weinberger,
David. <i>Everything Is Miscellaneous: The
Power of the New Digital Disorder</i>. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2007. 163.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn16">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[16]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Sethi,
Nikhil. "The Future of Advertising Hinges on Understanding Identity."
AdWeek. December 9, 2013.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn17">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[17]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Postman,
Neil. <i>Technopoly: The Surrender of
Culture to Technology</i>. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.71</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn18">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[18]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> G<span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">ergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 119.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn19">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[19]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Weinberger,
David. <i>Everything Is Miscellaneous: The
Power of the New Digital Disorder</i>. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2007.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn20">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[20]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">McChesney,
Robert Waterman. "Does Capitalism Equal Democracy: Advertising." In <i>Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is
Turning the Internet against Democracy</i>, 41-46. New York, New York: New
Press, 2013. 157.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn21">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[21]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Weinberger,
David. <i>Too Big to Know: Rethinking
Knowledge Now That the Facts Aren't the Facts, Experts Are Everywhere, and the
Smartest Person in the Room Is the Room</i>. New York: Basic Books, 2011.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn22">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[22]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 16,</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn23">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[23]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Hong, Ying-yi, and Desiree YeeLing Phua. "In Search of
Culture’s Role in Influencing Individual Social Behaviour." <i>Asian Journal of Social Psychology</i> 16
(2013): 26-29.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn24">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[24]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 138.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn25">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[25]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Postman,
Neil. <i>Technopoly: The Surrender of
Culture to Technology</i>. New York: Vintage Books, 1993. 48, 60.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn26">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[26]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. Xix, 76.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn27">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[27]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Nach,
Hamid, and Albert Lejeune. "Coping with Information Technology Challenges
to Identity: A Theoretical Framework." <i>Computers
in Human Behavior</i>, 200, 618. *citation of Burke, 2000</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn28">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[28]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 41, xi,
53.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn29">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[29]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">McChesney,
Robert Waterman. "Does Capitalism Equal Democracy: Advertising." In <i>Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is
Turning the Internet against Democracy</i>, 41-46. New York, New York: New
Press, 2013.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn30">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[30]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 170,
155-156.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn31">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[31]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 56.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn32">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[32]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. <i>The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our
Culture</i>. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 221.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn33">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[33]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. <i>The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our
Culture</i>. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint :, 2009. 227.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn34">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[34]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. <i>The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our
Culture</i>. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 268, 221.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn35">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[35]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. <i>The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our
Culture</i>. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 221. 196.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn36">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[36]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Gergen, Kenneth J. <i>The
Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY:
Basic Books, 2000.4, 69</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn37">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[37]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. <i>The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our
Culture</i>. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009. 242, 268.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn38">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[38]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Bartholomew,
Mark. "Advertising and Social Identity." <i>Buffalo Law Review</i> 58 (2010): 931-76.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn39">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[39]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 80.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn40">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[40]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 7, 49.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn41">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[41]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen, Kenneth
J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of
Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 4, 138.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn42">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[42]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 41.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn43">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[43]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Bartholomew,
Mark. "Advertising and Social Identity." <i>Buffalo Law Review</i> 58 (2010): 931-76.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn44">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[44]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Weinberger,
David. <i>Everything Is Miscellaneous: The
Power of the New Digital Disorder</i>. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2007. 11,40</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn45">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[45]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 17.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn46">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[46]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 7.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn47">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[47]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Weinberger,
David. <i>Too Big to Know: Rethinking Knowledge
Now That the Facts Aren't the Facts, Experts Are Everywhere, and the Smartest
Person in the Room Is the Room</i>. New York: Basic Books, 2011. 173-174</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn48">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[48]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Nach,
Hamid, and Albert Lejeune. "Coping with Information Technology Challenges
to Identity: A Theoretical Framework." <i>Computers
in Human Behavior</i>, 200, 618-29.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn49">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[49]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Adler, Ronald B., and Russell F. Proctor.
"Communication and Identity: Creating and Presenting Self." In <i>Looking Out/looking in</i>, 51-58. 14th ed.
Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2014.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn50">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[50]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Gergen,
Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas
of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000. 49.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn51">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[51]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Nach,
Hamid, and Albert Lejeune. "Coping with Information Technology Challenges
to Identity: A Theoretical Framework." <i>Computers
in Human Behavior</i>, 200, 618.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn52">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[52]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> Gonzales, Amy, and Jeffrey Hancock.
"Identity Shift In Computer-Mediated Environments."Media Psychology
11, no. 2 (2014): 167-85.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn53">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[53]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">Weinberger,
David. <i>Everything Is Miscellaneous: The
Power of the New Digital Disorder</i>. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2007. 124.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Bibliography</span></u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Adler, Ronald B., and Russell F. Proctor. 14th ed. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2014.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Bartholomew, Mark. "Advertising and Social Identity." <i>Buffalo Law Review</i> 58 (2010): 931-76.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><br />Gergen, Kenneth J. <i>The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life</i>. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Gonzales, Amy, and Jeffrey Hancock. "Identity Shift In Computer-Mediated Environments."Media Psychology 11, no. 2 (2014): 167-85.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Hong, Ying-yi, and Desiree YeeLing Phua. "In Search of Culture’s Role in Influencing Individual Social Behaviour." <i>Asian Journal of Social Psychology</i> 16 (2013): 26-29.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">McChesney, Robert Waterman. "Does Capitalism Equal Democracy: Advertising." In <i>Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is Turning the Internet against Democracy</i>, 41-46. New York, New York: New Press, 2013.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Nach, Hamid, and Albert Lejeune. "Coping with Information Technology Challenges to Identity: A Theoretical Framework." <i>Computers in Human Behavior</i>, 200, 618-29.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Reilly, Terry Edward, and Mike Tennant. <i>The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture</i>. Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint. 2009.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Postman, Neil. <i>Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology</i>. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Sethi, Nikhil. "The Future of Advertising Hinges on Understanding Identity." AdWeek. December 9, 2013. http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/future-advertising-hinges-understanding-identity-154330.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Weinberger, David. <i>Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder</i>. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2007.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Weinberger, David. <i>Too Big to Know: Rethinking Knowledge Now That the Facts Aren't the Facts, Experts Are Everywhere, and the Smartest Person in the Room Is the Room</i>. New York: Basic Books, 2011.</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-62500169676756267492015-04-04T10:02:00.000-05:002015-04-04T10:02:29.163-05:00Reflection on 'Too Big to Know: Rethinking Knowledge...'There are about five weeks left before graduation. Graduation! With some exciting opportunities waiting for us at the end of the graduation stage, it can't get here fast enough...but for the countless papers yet to be written. With three of the nine papers under the belt [none of which have been graded yet] (<i>not counting a small writing project that doesn't count as a paper</i>) it felt time to post at least one, at least in interest of keeping the blog active and ready for when there is more time to write for personal fun and enjoyment.<br />
<br />
The following isn't a paper that poses an argument. It's a reflection paper, much like those from the Truth, Knowledge and Reality Class last Spring semester (See: Critical Reflections on: '<a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-critical-reflection-on-free-will-by.html" target="_blank">Free Will' by Sam Harris</a>, <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2014/05/critical-reflections-on-why-truth_16.html" target="_blank">'Why Truth Matters' by Michael P. Lynch</a>, <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2014/04/critical-reflections-on-when-science_15.html" target="_blank">'When Science Meets Religion'</a> by Ian G Barbour, and <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2014/02/on-being-certain-critical-reflection-in.html" target="_blank">'On Being Certain'</a> by Robert A Burton). It is for an independent reading and study course in Communications of which there are six (self-selected) books.You probably won't see all of the resulting papers here because...well...to be honest you can't put the same amount of effort in every paper when you have nearly 10 to write within about an eight week time frame.<br />
<br />
Also. This isn't some of our better writing. It kinda feels like we're phoning it in this semester, so to speak. The heart isn't into it and every fiber just wants to get on with the next part of life....whatever that may be (travel, painting, writing, gardening, cooking, new job opportunities!)<br />
<br />
Well. Anyway. Here it is. The first paper of the final semester...<br />
<br />
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The Life of Knowledge<br />
A Reflection on <i>Too Big To Know</i> by
David Weinberger<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The room is the
smartest person, according to David Weinberger in ‘<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11581907-too-big-to-know" target="_blank">Too Big to Know: Rethinking Knowledge Now That the Facts Aren’t theFacts, Experts are Everywhere, and the Smartest Person in the Room Is the Room</a>’.
</i>Of course, once you being to understand what he means by the room, your
whole concept of information, knowledge and expertise are restructured, as it
should be in the world of interconnectedness. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
The room is the smartest person, so it goes. However, the
room is not exactly a room, and the room is made of networks not walls, and the
network is made up of people not conduit. The room is made up of people who, in
the new structure of knowledge, become individually insignificant. Rather, they
gain significance as a whole in the new organization of knowledge: networks,
which make up the body of information, or data. The knowledge is in the network
of information (people) itself, the culmination of expertise and knowledge
(people) that inhabit the room, which is the very structure of the room. It is
in this network where information is transformed into what Skip Walter refers
to as “actionable” knowledge which is simply information that is used for a
purpose and therefore has significance <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(3)</span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
The smartest room, this network of knowledge, exists on
the internet, in social connections. These networks have developed as places of
associations between “lots of people who are different from one another [where
they are] not only finding expertise but also generating it” <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(57)</span>. This
environment has taken the shape of knowledge, previously linear in nature, and transformed
it into not just a circular form, but various forms involving symbiotic
relationships.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Structure and Process of Knowledge
Itself<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Previous to <i>Too
Big To Know </i>the idea that knowledge has a shape was, personally, a foreign
concept. Weinberger manages to describe how the shape of knowledge has evolved from
linear structure – such as one direction information like that presented in
books – to a multi-directional web of information in which the seeker can
discover information and knowledge in any number of ways as well as add to it <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(100)</span>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Despite this new structure of knowledge it has a life
which is akin to the life of the old linear knowledge in that it has the same
old problems and can be “misquoted, degraded, enhanced, incorporated, passed
around through a thousand degrees of misunderstanding, and assimilated to the
point of invisibility” <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(110)</span>. Only previously,
the editorial nature of knowledge and expertise prior to the Net was that of
privilege, whereas now the editorial nature provided by networks is in the
hands of the masses. Expertise has multiple voices thanks to the new structure,
and that doesn’t always have positive implications <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(67)</span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
It is in the hands of the masses that expertise on any
one topic can have an array of implications. It is that trait where the network
gets its diversity, where it “[…] enables a type of expertise just about
impossible to actualize before the Internet existed” and gains “value only
because that network contains many different types of people” <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(55)</span>. The variety is not just in the mere connections
of countless people through the network, it is the variety of ways in which they
think and what they know <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(56)</span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
The issue in the network is in the sifting of the large
mass of knowledge created by it, to moderate it to a point of usefulness. It
calls for a new method of filtering which is now done through methods of
influence through social networks. Weinberg says this can be disruptive,
especially when it comes to authority of knowledge where it is transferred from
experts to people we know <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(10)</span> – theoretically people who have no valid
authority. When information and knowledge is shifted from central “authorities”
to an array of influences, both in our social networks as well as the expanded
networks connected to them, we are bombarded with fragmented information. This
fragmented information shapes perceptions and attitudes. This information may
be outside the scope of new authoritarian social networks who never the less
are granted authority over the information transformed into knowledge. In this
way the information is not so much reduced by filtering as it is should be, but
it is compounded; this form of filtering “increase[s] information and reveal[s]
the whole deep sea” <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(13)</span>. Weinberger says this mass of information “has
consequences” <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(10)</span>, and he proceeds with outlining many of the pros and cons of
this new “anything goes” nature of information generation and dissemination. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>The Cons in the Pros</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Perhaps one of the most interesting concepts Weinberger
presented as a pro to the network is a new take on diversity, which is the
cornerstone of the “smartest room” in question. The proposal is that the
concept of diversity is growing away from that of an ethnic or racial
structure, to that of a diversity of backgrounds, education levels, economic
levels and experiences that flow through all, regardless of religion, gender,
sexual orientation or racial identity. This slow-growing concept, particularly
in business, is an idea outside of the popular rhetoric of what traditional diversity
is and means. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
The kind of diversity Weinberg discusses works by creating
a range of new perspectives with heuristic implications which in the workplace
presents as innovation and creativity. This form of diversity builds on new
ways of seeing and doing and battles against the group-think, which leads to
mediocrity <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(77)</span>. This new understanding of diversity can be seen as having
potentially ill effects if adopted to broadly, such as the reversal of
anti-discrimination legislation. However, for the purposed of the network it
can be a positive revolutionary force, as well as a carrying negative
attributes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
As Weinberger is sure to point out at various steps, the
revolutionary nature of networks does not mean they are all universally smart,
or even that the network is universally used. As he points out, referencing the
work of researchers Eszter Hargittai and Danah Boyd, “social class, age, and
subculture affects [s] how we use the [network] and what it means to us <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(173)</span>. To
further illustrate the psychological pitfalls of the usefulness of the network
(i.e. the internet), Weinberger states that “for those who have no interest in
intellectual rigor, or who lack curiosity […] the Net may well be an environment
that degrades knowledge” <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(91)</span>. In these ways the diversity of global society
does not translate directly to the diversity of “the room”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
When diversity is functioning properly in the network of
“the room” knowledge is built vis-à-vis shared expertise. When done on a mass
scale, cognition “quickly migrate[s] to these networks of experts” <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(62)</span>. However,
though “knowledge has always been social” in much this way, and the theory goes
that we are “smarter when together” the fact is that this isn’t always the case
with networked knowledge <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(51)</span>. Now that authority of knowledge is in the hands
of the masses, Weinberg makes a claim that the lack of a privileged position
introduces the worry that “we will be lost in a swirl of contradictory ideas”
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(90-91)</span>. It is difficult not to see how this plays out in everyday
dissemination of information on the net. As Weinberger says, in some cases the
network is dumber <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(67)</span> for its mass cognitive blend, creating misrepresentations
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(66)</span> and having an isolating effect on information<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> (63)</span>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Networks are subject to forming insulation from criticism
and outside points of view, resulting in echo chambers <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(63).</span> According to
Weinberger, citing the work of Cass Sunstein, this type of insulated echo
chamber can lead to the breeding of extremism <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(83)</span>. In the network, extremism
birthed from isolation is counter intuitive to the positive creative nature
found in the aforementioned diversity, a nature which promotes a more objective
view than those of static ideologies. This problem is at the root of what Cass
Sunstein calls “information cascades [where] false and harmful ideas […] gain
velocity [and credibility by how easily] and frequently they are forwarded”,
passed on, or shared <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(117)</span>. One not need be in the network of the internet long
to recognize this outcome is not only real, but persistent. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
To further the point in his parlay of cons of the
network, Weinberger reflects on the work of techno-dystopian Nicholas Carr, who
says that what the internet is doing is changing our cognitive processes for
the worst. While on some level this may be an accurate perception for some, it
is highly technodeterministic, as Weinberger confers, to conclude that
“technology causes us to use and understand it in particular ways” <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(173)</span>. The
idea that technology acts upon us, <i>causes
</i>as if by force, and not the other way around, has implications regarding
ideas of free will and control in relation to the technological world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Other problems with information and knowledge
transference in the network arise in interpretation, which, as Weinberger
advises, is always subjective. Knowledge, in all of its structures, lives in
the connection of life <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(119)</span>; and while it is accessible to all, sans the
network in previous generations, it “shows itself to use depending on our
starting point, viewpoint, and inescapably human sense of what matters to us”<span style="font-size: xx-small;">
(180) </span>and “all knowledge and experience is an interpretation” <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(89)</span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Interpretation is essential to the transference of
knowledge, but in “real events are experienced by individual minds that strive
to create an accurate inner representation which is then expressed in words
presented to others” <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(112) </span>and creates a world in which they approach their
understanding “from a particular standpoint<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> (113)</span>. As Weinberger states, “our
experience is always from a point of view, looking at some features and not others”
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(89)</span>, experiences of which there are countless ways in which to interpret everything
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(90)</span>. These experiences must contain context in order to be made sense of <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(90)</span>.
Each frame of context carries the standpoints of the past with it which impacts
the effectiveness of how we convey information and knowledge, as well as how we
interpret it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Importance and the Culture of
Knowledge <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Being left to figure out what is important about the
evolving structure of knowledge, with its mass contribution of variable
information from multiple standpoints, it is not hard to recognize the fatigue
that transpires through the overload of the system. Even more are the
implications on how to navigate what is available and come to terms with the
death of authoritative knowledge. Understanding how to navigate these new
structures and processes of knowledge is important, and are subject to a
culture of their own which is “guided by implicit rules and expectations” and
become important to aspects of social structure<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> (90)</span>. The underlying fact is
that knowledge is essential to the process of creating identity and culture, to
understanding the world and ourselves <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(4)</span>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
With a network of connectedness that inhabits many parts
of the globe, bringing together a plethora of ideas, theories, and beliefs, “information
overload [arises] as a cultural condition <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(9)</span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The information provided isn’t necessarily essential, and the overload
feeds the insecurity of our own knowledge and instincts. For example, Weinberger
briefly remarks on child raising experts who dispense “skill […] often with
just a few cogent mottos”<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> (49)</span>. The consumption of books such as these types of
boiled down common-sense guides to life illustrates the insecurity of our own
knowledge, authentic knowledge passed down generation after generation, basic
instinctual knowledge. When we erroneously put into the hands of the masses the
authority on basic knowledge, it threatens the authentic self. With any number
of experts available we often forget that within us is our own knowledge. For
this reason “learning to evaluate knowledge claims” and developing critical-thinking
skills becomes more essential than ever before <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(192)</span>. Unfortunately it often
seems that critical thinking skills fall by the wayside as those who consume
knowledge, dispensed from those who have been afforded authority on the grounds
of nothing, neglect their own instinctual knowledge.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>So What, Now What<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
With all of the cons, Weinberger still notes that “a net
richer in metadata [information] is richer in more usable and useful knowledge”
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(188)</span>. Despite the range of expertise and useful knowledge created in the
diversity of the network, he acknowledges that “we are going to disagree about
everything”, attributing it to the very nature of diversity which inhabits the
network of information and knowledge<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> (87)</span>. The fact that our perceptions,
beliefs, ideas and attitudes are individually shaped by so many different
voices means each of us approaches the same knowledge set with different ways
of viewing it. However, this can be recognized as nothing new; humanity has
have never really agreed on anything. If it had agreed on anything, things
would have remained the same throughout history. No revolutions, no loss of
attributes deemed essential by some and inconsequential by others – no growth
or change.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Perhaps the networked world in which we now live in, in
which everybody projects their voice into the abyss of knowledge and expertise,
has simply been magnified by the network. Perhaps it was always like this, but
through this new structure of knowledge, in the amplified connectedness of
society, we now see how disconnected we really can be on various subjects such
as those of human rights, politics, gender, religion, and any number of other
less essential topics. Alas, Weinberger’s “pragmatic truth” sums it up, “what
we have in common is not knowledge about which we agree but a shared world
about which we will always disagree” <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(182)</span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Throughout the book Weinberger probes how media,
communication and information shapes and influences culture and the
implications the new structure of knowledge has for the future. The topics laid
before you were merely highlights and musings as there is neither time nor
space to plumb the depths of his text for the purpose of this reflection. The
best way to conclude is with Weinberger’s own utopian aspirations of the
potential for “the smartest room”, optimistic and hopeful, that “…perhaps our
hyperlinked infrastructure will give us a self-understanding that makes it
easier for our curiosity and compassion to overcome our self-centered fears.” <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(193)</span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
xxxxx</div>
Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-31962636978702246432015-02-11T22:47:00.003-06:002015-02-13T15:50:15.665-06:00Here, Study This<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH2-IJ23qMDnrktLl0fIQe4_TEmuMKIDCUVfoflq6iGV0VTIorqgQTURI-uiRoYQKQ3JeePRxaQGaCiyQNgHpkupY3dQVbgye7X2KY-zy5i6eDRFjlnnRzKeNTGgZn_wAAPM-cir-HDR4/s1600/hstrybk.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH2-IJ23qMDnrktLl0fIQe4_TEmuMKIDCUVfoflq6iGV0VTIorqgQTURI-uiRoYQKQ3JeePRxaQGaCiyQNgHpkupY3dQVbgye7X2KY-zy5i6eDRFjlnnRzKeNTGgZn_wAAPM-cir-HDR4/s1600/hstrybk.png" height="172" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">First exam tomorrow. Media History. Dreadful names and dates to remember.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Luckily the professor supplies a number of questions that he'll choose three of, of which students will get to choose two of for the short essay portion of the exam, and to be included with 33 multiple choice questions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">This is the last semester you'll have to hear about homework and exams and tests (<i>officially graduating in May!!</i>). You'll probably come to miss it...because you'll have to read...whatever it is that used to be here before...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></div>
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Schlock<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">. Probably. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Or maybe nothing will be here...June will be five years since starting this blog...and damn...we've come a long way, baby...(!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Maybe it's time to retire from the blogging.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Anyway...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In the meantime, you'll get some final learnin' in, yeah?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Here's a sample of what the kids learn in media history the first five weeks (<i>questions are the professors, answers are our own - by all accounts they should be correct. Bold, underlines and italics are for stressing important things to try to remember to string together coherent sentences in the exam</i>).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">...</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Learning is fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">1. Explain the historical background and importance of the John Peter Zenger trial of 1753 and its influence on the First Amendment and Bill of Rights three decades later.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">John Peter Zenger was the editor of the <b><i>New York Journal</i></b> who published subversive anti-British views of an (anonymous) <b>James Alexander</b>. At the time criticizing the government and its leaders was illegal under British law. Therefore, Zenger’s participation in the publication of Alexander’s critical views regarding <b>arbitrary power by the government </b>eventually resulted in a <b>1735</b> court trial for Zenger on the ground of <b>seditious libel</b>.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The trial lawyer for the case was <b>Andrew Hamilton</b>. Hamilton helped establish the precedent that the words themselves must be false to be libelous, scandalous or seditious in order for Zenger to be guilty. This was the first time that such an assertion was made as the British law at the time, which applied to the colonists, outlawed seditious libel.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The principles behind the defense of Zenger, who was found to be not guilty by a jury, were regarded as a milestone in <b>colonial religious and political freedom</b>. The resulting judgment was eventually used in influencing laws regarding free speech and included in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.</blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">2. Explain the background and issues regarding the conflict between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists after the American Revolution. Also explain the related conflict with the First Amendment (Bill of Rights) protections of the press and prior restraint.</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Federalist, led by <b>Hamilton</b> and Anti-Federalist, led by <b>Jefferson</b>, issues revolved around a <b>strong central government versus states rights</b>.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Federalists, the business class of society, supported the constitution and a strong national government, while using exaggerated financial and political problems to further their cause. Additionally, they thought Bill of Rights was unnecessary because they felt the powers would largely be held in the hands of the states if not granted or handled by the national government. They actively used the press, through a series of articles by Hamilton, Jay and Madison (<b>The Federalist Papers</b>), <b>to persuade public and encourage ratification of the constitution.</b></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Anti-Federalists, comprised largely of farmers and artisans, were anti-constitution. They felt that the </span>constitution<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> would create an authoritarian government. </span>Additionally<span style="font-size: 12pt;">, they felt that </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">without a Bill of Rights there would be no guarantee of the freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and the right to petition</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. They opposed a national centralized government and strongly advocated that a Bill of Rights be included in the Constitution.<br /> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Zenger trial of 1735 was used to <b>illustrate the need for a Bill of Rights in order to protect the press from punishment and censorship due to prior restraint</b>. According to Anti-federalist views <b>a national constitution, absent of a Bill of Rights, would <i>allow the national government to supersede rights taken for granted and destroy the freedom of the press.</i></b></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The <b>over-all appeals made by the Anti-Federalist</b>s to include a Bill of Rights, and the <b>Federalists concession to grant the request and adopt the Bill of Rights</b>, was an important <b>catalyst in the ratification</b> of the Constitution and the <b>subsequent protection of the press</b>. The Bill of Rights set a precedent for freedom of the press to enjoy no prior restraint, no censorship prior to publication.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">3. Explain the background to the concepts of prior restraint and censorship in England beginning in the 16<sup>th</sup> Century - and their relationship to the development of movable type and the printing press.</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The concepts of prior restraint and censorship prior to the 16<sup>th</sup> century were primarily regarded as <b>laws opposing the criticism of the government, or British monarchy, and ruling religious factions</b>. The published criticism became known as “seditious libel”.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The development of movable type, which made publication easier and quicker than before, contributed to the <b>widespread diffusion of information</b>. This spread of information and uncensored opinion assisted in <b>degrading the monopoly on political, moral and religious opinion enjoyed by the ruling class</b> (largely the Catholic church, as well as the monarchy). The ability for more voices and more opinions to be spread throughout society <b>threatened the government and religious ruling class</b>, which led to actions of prior restraint censorship.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Prior restraint as pre-publication censorship was enacted through a </span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">network of censors imposed by </span>adviser<span style="font-size: 12pt;">s</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> of </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">King Henry VIII</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, which included (in </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">1534</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">) the requirement of </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">royal permission</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> to publish and in </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">1542</b> a <i style="font-size: 12pt;">law prohibiting the criticism of the government and Catholicism</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. The resistance to this prohibition included violence, arrests and restraint, and sometimes death, and other actions which essentially prevented some from obtaining royal license to operate at all.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">4. Explain the rise of the National Intelligencer and its importance in <st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region> in the 19<sup>th</sup> Century. Give examples of innovations it introduced.</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Started by <b>Samuel Harrison Smith</b> in the <b>1800</b>’s, The National Intelligencers was developed to <b>cover the activities of Congress</b>. The tri-weekly paper was regarded as remarkable because it supported <b>“liberal policies in a conservative manor”,</b> a sort of <b>bipartisan account</b> of Congress for the time, <b>never experienced</b> before.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Through his <b>shorthand reporting, an innovation at the time</b>, Smith was able to report on Congressional news in a new way not seen before by the public. This shorthand was a skill he passed on to his predecessor to the Intelligencer, Joseph Gales Jr. </span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">After Gales took over, <b>congressional printing contracts</b></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, which had been a mainstay for the paper, were being granted to <b>low-bidders</b> which benefited the non-newspaper businesses and added <b>extra struggle</b> to established newspapers. As with Smith, Gales <b>depended on the government print contracts to fund operations</b>. This new method of government contact distribution therefore <b>challenged the monopoly that the National Intelligencer had</b> on Congressional news.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Despite the challenge, the National Intelligencer remained a valuable service and “an organ of [at least three] presidential administration[s]”.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">5. Outline the rise of the Penny Press beginning 1833 and explain the factors that contributed to its success. Use the explanations from both the textbook and content from the Zinn book: <i>A People’s History of the United States. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The first penny press was created in 1833 by </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">Benjamin Day</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. Day produced a paper called the </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">New York Sun</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, which through strategic economic methods. Some of his methods included patent </span>medicine<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> advertising, as well deals made with local merchants to set prices so that the consumer left the establishment with a penny in their pocket, which was the cost of his newspaper - much less than other newspapers.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The </span>growing<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> democratic market society abled Day to sell his paper at a cost affordable to the masses. The audience of the penny press, such as the working class and growing immigrant populations was on the rise. As the shift in political and elite coverage moved more towards “entertainment news”, readership increased. Ben Days success inspired the growth of various other penny press papers such as James Gordern </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">Bennette’s New York Herald</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, Horace </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">Greenly’s New York Tribune</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, who expanded on the model to include </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">innovative variations</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> in news coverage that included perils of the common population, as opposed to the elite and expanded crime news and religious commentary.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Factors that contributed to the rise of the Penny Press from 1833 to the 1840’s include </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><u>increased literacy rates</u>, </b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">and</span><u style="font-size: 12pt;"> </u><b style="font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: underline;">new printing technologies.</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> New technologies were an important factor that made production easier, making distribution of news more widely </span>available<span style="font-size: 12pt;">. Additionally, the </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><u>desire for entertainment</u></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, such as </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><u>crime news and local events</u></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, an </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">“opiate for the masses”</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, the tired and exploited workers, was on the rise. The Penny Press papers met the needs using </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">sensationalized news</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> written by skilled writers and editors. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Finally, the </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><u>developments in manufacturing</u></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> which led to the growth of consumer goods, gave </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><u>rise to more advertising</u></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> which supported and contributed to the need for funds to produce the publications, and increased the affordability of the papers.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">6. Describe the development and introduction of the telegraph and its influence on the beginning of the Associated Press and suggest what made the telegraph such a major communication development?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The invention and development of the telegraph was innovative in </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><u>separating the limits of communication from geography and transportation</u></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. The quick communication across great expanses enabled news from far regions of the United States to spread quickly. The telegraph also became seen as </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><u>a democratic leveler of privilege</u></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> through </span><u style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>further</b> <b>dissemination</b></u><b style="font-size: 12pt;"> of information</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. The telegraph system eventually evolved to be an important source for news regarding such events as the Mexican American war. As the telegraph services and technology expanded Westward, it gave rise to brokerage news services such as <b>The </b></span><b>Associated</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b> Press</b> and the </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">Abbot & Winans</b> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Associated Press (<b>1846</b>), a news brokerage service still highly regarded today, developed through a <b>series of contracts and agreements between editors and telegraph services</b>. The system of the AP was used to <b>share the cost of gathering news</b>, but especially the sharing of <b>valuable wire time</b>, spreading out the costs among a number of newspaper establishments to decrease the expensive practice of obtaining the news from far distances. Telegraph services were in high demand due to<b> limitation of time available and access due to limited amount lines </b>which at the time was only between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The price and access issues that surrounded telegraph technology gave rise to the inverted <b>pyramid style of reporting</b>, which <b>placed precedence on the pertinent information first</b>. The speed of news through telegraph services also contributed to the attributes of better quality news service, such as more <b>predictability in quality, schedule and form</b>, which became important for the <b>commodification of news</b>.</span></blockquote>
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Thanks for studying with us!</div>
Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-73907634371107501362015-01-26T17:54:00.000-06:002015-01-26T18:57:33.672-06:00Cooking With Frank: Gluten-Free Turkey LasagnaRight.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uycgugAqizlmVH4ODtRMhq7uripUN9Y3xbQD2FStP-YA0P9c_IggLjjTKRrMVjj-GS8UVHgEzwx3hBA_9dNffQqPYBQZANE28kPDWYuob9JcR0cghlTGtZozD6wJ0Fvar8ETH3aFObo/s1600/rcp.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uycgugAqizlmVH4ODtRMhq7uripUN9Y3xbQD2FStP-YA0P9c_IggLjjTKRrMVjj-GS8UVHgEzwx3hBA_9dNffQqPYBQZANE28kPDWYuob9JcR0cghlTGtZozD6wJ0Fvar8ETH3aFObo/s1600/rcp.png" height="170" width="200" /></a>One of <i>these</i> recipes.<br />
If you're the type to turn your nose up at people who incorporate gluten free eating into their lifestyle, you can just put it where the sun don't shine.<br />
Also, the recipe is damn good, so don't knock it 'till you try it.<br />
<br />
"Gluten Free?! BUT WHY?!", you scream, "GLUTEN IS DELICIOUS!"<br />
First, stop acting like you even know what gluten is.<br />
Second, you're right, it is delicious. But it's also terrible, specifically for people whose bodies do them a disservice by not being able to process it. For many, eating even a bite of bread, a mouthful of pasta, is like playing Russian Roulette, except nobody dies when the shit hits the fan...<br />
And that analogy is closer to reality than you might want to think about right now, sadly. Seriously. Don't think about it.<br />
<br />
For a growing amount of people, gluten is a digestive issue, often serious.<br />
For some, it's a deadly one. Specifically, <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/celiac-disease/basics/definition/con-20030410" target="_blank">celiac disease</a>, which can actually kill people. It has many side effects, none of them pleasant.<br />
<br />
This is a growing plethora of scientific studies regarding the "first world problem" of not being able to digest wheat (and barely and rye), mainly its little protein friend gluten.<br />
The reasons are complex. Many might scream "GMO" right at the tip of the hat. You may be surprised this is not <i>our </i>stance on this issue, <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2012/09/from-lab-to-field-and-on-your-knees.html" target="_blank">despite past writings</a> regarding GMO in general.<br />
This is because wheat is not a GMO crop...<i>yet - </i>but there are reports of a small testing field in North Dakota. In the past the rejection from foreign countries of potential GMO USA wheat, wheat being a big export crop, prompted the USA GMO companies from chemically messing with the genetic structure of said plant (<i>except for that test crop and its undisclosed specific location</i>).<br />
However, having said that, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3945755/" target="_blank">recent research has linked this growing problem to pesticides, primarily </a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 14px;"><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3945755/" target="_blank">Monsanto’s Glyphosate (Roundup</a>)</span>.<br />
Chemical pesticides are a very first world product, which is why it <i>is </i>a first world problem, the use dating back to about the 1970's. The use alters the genetic makeup of the plant, it is said.<br />
So, sure, in the end it <i>is </i>the fault of GMO...naturally unnatural GMO.<br />
<br />
As an aside, in rare support of GMO, in case you didn't know, "Mother Nature" takes part in the GMO game. "She" does it naturally, over time, as part of natural selection - which is how there naturally got to be so many different types of plants and animals. That's the cool kind of GMO, the time-tested healthy kind, in most cases.<br />
It can also be done without chemicals, or the splicing of genes from an animal species to a plant species. Basically boil it down and blame the (natural) human intervention on <a href="http://anthro.palomar.edu/mendel/mendel_1.htm" target="_blank">Mendel</a>.<br />
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Meanwhile, this post is not intended to be the place to decry, or support, this theory, or any others. The purpose of this intro, the before the recipe, is to spread a little awareness, and also provide a reason for this recipe, if only because about 5% of people in Europe and North America suffer from the digestive disorder. A sort of defense for the 5%, if you will.<br />
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Now.<br />
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On to the recipe!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wrzI5O7C0RiQGLc_q5y6uVfrEncXYATs-H6e3tIx-s_Cl04R_75OZvYTYbBC6HiI-Y-NjICNjjWl2alqbNO4JgykxzRkjy5bPz528Ei8qKsBFRQr36gksaj-OPgfN2Y7cjRyB7oTuYI/s1600/Gltn-FrTrkyLsgna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wrzI5O7C0RiQGLc_q5y6uVfrEncXYATs-H6e3tIx-s_Cl04R_75OZvYTYbBC6HiI-Y-NjICNjjWl2alqbNO4JgykxzRkjy5bPz528Ei8qKsBFRQr36gksaj-OPgfN2Y7cjRyB7oTuYI/s1600/Gltn-FrTrkyLsgna.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Gluten-Free Turkey Lasagna</span></b><br />
You'll need roughly an 8x12 cake pan, a blender (<i>immersion or upright</i>), a saucepan, a skillet or frypan, a knife, a cutting board, a wooden spoon, tin foil...oh, and an oven.<br />
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<u>The Meat:</u><br />
360 g turkey, ground (93/7 fat content works great)<br />
85 g onion, yellow, diced small (1/2 a small)<br />
1 clove garlic<br />
1.5 tsp extra virgin olive oil<br />
1 Tbsp sage, fresh, (how to cut: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJEQFgfv7iw" target="_blank">chiffonade</a>)<br />
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In a pan over medium heat add olive oil. Wait until the olive oil is warmed and then add onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is translucent and then add the ground turkey, continue to cook, seasoning as you go. Towards the end add the sage. Set aside.<br />
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Meanwhile...<br />
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<u>The Sauce:</u><br />
100 g onion, red, diced small (1/2 a medium)<br />
150 g bell pepper, orange, diced small (1 medium)<br />
150 g carrots, diced small (it's about 1 cup or so)<br />
1 quart tomatoes, whole, canned<br />
1 clove garlic, crushed<br />
1.5 tsp extra virgin olive oil<br />
1 tsp (or a splash) of white wine vinegar<br />
Salt and Pepper (to taste)<br />
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330 g mushrooms, fresh, sliced (about 12-15 medium)<br />
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil<br />
1/4 c sherry wine<br />
Salt<br />
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Sauté the onions and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat for a few minutes, just about to the point of becoming translucent. Add carrots and continue to cook for about 4-5 more minutes. Add orange pepper and white wine vinegar and continue to cook for about 4 more minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until the ingredients are very soft. Season.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBOqmlTrtROQtIm5_8Nkmrsne_58uTqUrwhRvFHmq0L-atoQOgVAbMjsn8nSLXFyCZ9pl8fw0S8F1ScQfyEvcxsqLEQXhfuzB3X8kQaeyQON2RZPO0SJmIIiMRcdlnBteTvrw3O4nD3wk/s1600/Gluten-Fee+Turkey+Lasagna.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBOqmlTrtROQtIm5_8Nkmrsne_58uTqUrwhRvFHmq0L-atoQOgVAbMjsn8nSLXFyCZ9pl8fw0S8F1ScQfyEvcxsqLEQXhfuzB3X8kQaeyQON2RZPO0SJmIIiMRcdlnBteTvrw3O4nD3wk/s1600/Gluten-Fee+Turkey+Lasagna.PNG" height="640" width="196" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Nutrition Information generated using</span><br />
<a href="http://www.myfitnesspal.com/" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" target="_blank">myFitnesspal</a><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"> recipe calculator</span></td></tr>
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Remove pan from stove and with an immersion blender or upright blender blend the sauce until smooth. Return to stove-top and add the ground turkey mixture and simmer over medium-love heat.</div>
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!! Now would be a great time to preheat the over to 350 °F. !!</div>
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In another pan, add the 1 tbsp of olive oil, wait until it's warm and then add mushroom. Continue to cook mushrooms until they being to soften and become darker. Splash in about a quarter cup of sherry wine and allow the alcohol to cook off. Taste a mushroom to see if it requires a little salt. Add the mushrooms with remaining liquid to the saucepan with the turkey and tomato sauce.</div>
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<u>The Cheese</u><br />
500 ml mozzarella (2 cups)<br />
1 egg<br />
250 ml cottage cheese, 2% (1 cup)<br />
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Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.<br />
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<u>The Pasta</u><br />
6-8 sheets (depending on depth and size of pan) of DeBoles Rice Lasagna (or preferred brand)<br />
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<u>THE ASSEMBLY:</u><br />
In the bottom of the pan place about 1 cup of the sauce. Over the top of the sauce place three sheets of pasta. On top of that place a little over 1 cup more of the sauce. On top of that the cheese mixture, followed by three more sheets of pasta. Then, you guessed it, about 1 more cup of sauce and the remaining cheese mixture.<br />
Cover with tin foil and bake for an 55 minutes to an hour. Remove foil and continue to cook for about 6-8 minutes. Turn oven off and let the lasagna rest with the over door propped open, or just take it out and let it cool on the stove. (Propping the oven open had the added benefit of adding some heat to a cold kitchen, if you have that type of house and kitchen).<br />
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Now you can eat and enjoy your gluten free lasagna!<br />
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[If you need clarification or guidance on this recipe, you can just ask here in the comments section, or ask here: <a href="https://twitter.com/JustCallMeFrank" target="_blank">@justcallmefrank</a>]<br />
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Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754125091287589349.post-36268229325019987332015-01-20T21:48:00.001-06:002015-01-20T22:36:16.319-06:00The New SemesterThe first week of Spring semester is over, so it can be officially determined that the classes are good. The two lecture classes are old school, however - very little student interaction, which is why they are "good", and not great. Interactive classes, that highly encourage student participation, have been the most interesting classes the last year and a half.<br />
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The two lecture classes this semester are on media history, and advertising and society. The "textbooks", that is to say, the required reading, seems really diverse. Luckily we've been able to avoid too many textbook-ie textbooks. You know, the kind that spew a bunch of terms and years at you to memorize instead of teaching you to understand the implications of those terms and the things that happened in those years. Critical thinking is fun. Each will require a final paper (yay!).<br />
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The only other classroom class this semester is ballroom dancing, which is great as a stress reliever and as exercise. Having taken it ten years ago (from the same instructor, mind you), it seems easier. Maybe it's the confidence, maybe it's the other dance classes taken [like hip-hop], whatever it is, it's fun. Hopefully there will be real-life opportunities to use the skill.<br />
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Of the six classes total this semester, the three remaining are a bit different; two are independent study (<i>one in communications, one in political science</i>) which means they are self-directed reading. The first (<i>the PoliSci</i>) requires a weekly "conference" with the professor (<i>the one from last semester's PoliSci class, and a favourite</i>) to discuss elements in the reading. The first book of three (<i>self-chosen</i>) is <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/504974.Culture_War_The_Myth_of_a_Polarized_America" target="_blank"><i>Culture War? The Myth of the Polarized America</i></a> by Morris Fiorina (not to be confused with <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271789.Culture_Wars?ac=1" target="_blank">Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America</a></i> by James Hunter). It's interesting, but perhaps a <i>bit</i> outdated, which means fresh new polls can be brought to the table for discussion. It's an easy read, and probably the easiest of the three. Jury is still out on whether or not, in 2015, the polarization is a myth. The other two are:<i> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17757977-predisposed" target="_blank">Predisposed: Liberals, Conservatives, and the Biology of Political Differences</a> </i>by John R. Hibbing, Kevin B. Smith, John R. Alford and <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20893709-digital-disconnect" target="_blank">Digital Disconnect</a></i> by Robert W. McChesney. It should be a fun self-directed course with much learning.<br />
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The other independent study course requires twice the books, which...is fine. Each book requires a 4-5 page paper (<i>not a "book report" or book review however</i>). More like the critical reflections from the <a href="http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/p/university.html" target="_blank">Knowledge, Truth and Reality</a> class last Spring...but with different types of books related to communication topics. At the end a final paper is required that juxtaposes all of the reading...somehow. We've already blown through the first two, which were <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11581907-too-big-to-know" target="_blank"><i>Too Big to Know: Rethinking Knowledge Now That the Facts Aren't the Facts, Experts Are Everywhere, and the Smartest Person in the Room Is the Room</i></a> by David Weinberger and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40102.Blink" target="_blank"><i>Blink</i> </a>by Malcolm Gladwell. Both are really good books and recommended reads.<br />
The papers related to them have yet to be written, but there's time, after all.<br />
The four additional titles for this self-directed study course are: <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17328353-advertising-as-culture" target="_blank">Advertising as Culture</a></i> by Chris Wharton; <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7108002-the-age-of-persuasion" target="_blank">The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture</a> </i>by Terry O'Reilly, Mike Tennant; <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/726004.Everything_Is_Miscellaneous" target="_blank"><i>Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder</i></a> by David Weinberger and <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/79678.Technopoly" target="_blank">Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology</a></i> by Neil Postman<br />
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As a quick recommendation of high caliber, this book: <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2767.A_People_s_History_of_the_United_States" target="_blank">A People's History of the United States </a></i>by Howard Zinn, which is a text for media history, is stellar from the get-go. A pure pleasure to read. (<i>hint: go out and buy a used copy! You can get them for less than $10 on Amazon if you're lucky</i>)<br />
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Oh, by the way, all of the book links are to Goodreads, <i>not</i> Amazon. So feel free to check out what those titles are about without feeling pressure to purchase them. :-)</div>
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The last class for the semester is the internship, which is of digital graphic design nature. So far it seems fun and moderately challenging - and thankfully it pays, which is hard to find in an internship of any sort. It is a mere 12 hours a week, which is spread over Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.</div>
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The thing that makes this semester a bit different is that the decision was made to stay in the city Tuesday through Thursday, rather than drive the 80 mile round-trip each day.</div>
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One reason for this decision was the Tuesday night class is scheduled to end at 9pm. After a long day {9:30 am - 9 pm} of classes and working (<i>media history, ballroom [15 minutes to eat lunch on the move] internship, fitting in the second job [30 minutes to eat dinner on the move] then going to advertising class</i>) driving in the dark, long distances, exhausted, is a bad choice.</div>
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Staying in the city = good choice.</div>
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Obviously saving money on gas was a motive too.</div>
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Yes, prices are low. But when you make next to nothing, and actually, nothing after the money you DO make goes to household bills...it doesn't matter how low the gas prices are...unless it's free.</div>
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And gas isn't free.</div>
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So, we're back at The Mother's house midweek until the end of the semester, for a savings of around $300. Score. The long days means there's not a lot of time for socializing. Nobody is complaining. Luckily James is okay with it all, and he stays home to tend to the (2) cats, and of course go to work, which is only about 5 blocks from the house.</div>
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It's interesting, and different. So far, so good.</div>
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Two nights away from home for four months isn't really that much anyway...</div>
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So, that's it.<br />
You can probably expect something interesting soon.</div>
Just Call Me Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058598849716342352noreply@blogger.com0