tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692463077091063092024-03-13T03:02:59.204-07:00Michael O. VarholaWelcome to my personal blog! It is devoted to commentaries on any number of things pertinent to my roles as a writer, editor, lecturer, journalist, Texan, liberal, gamer, paranormal investigator, semi-vegetarian, and international traveler. Michael O. Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02926860732348083635noreply@blogger.comBlogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-43498353832360495062020-02-19T13:07:00.001-08:002020-02-19T13:08:53.758-08:00Saying Goodbye to My Friend Clint Staples<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Recently
attended the funeral of my good friend Clint Staples, who died of a sudden
massive heart attack on February 11 and whose loss means more to me than I can
easily or adequately express or probably even yet realize. Spoke a few words at
the ceremony not far from his home in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada — along with
his friends Rick Neal and Thomas Horn and
wife Penny — in an attempt to convey how important he was to me and
how I felt about our relationship. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I
was blessed to have been able to work with Clint, and increasingly so, over the
past several years. I am both honored and very sad to be here today and am
also present on behalf of his friends Brenda Cass, Amanda
Kahl, William T. Thrasher, and Ford Fitch, all of whom would have
been here themselves if they could have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Suffice
it to say that Clint was one of my closest friends, and one of the most
profound indicators of that is not so much that in 2017 we decided to drive
more than 1,500 miles together from San Antonio to Winnipeg, but that the
following year we were eager to make that long journey together again. We had
other trips planned, including a drive along the length of the Mississippi and
a mission to a Medieval church in Spain, and would have never run out of places
to go or things to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
is a tribute to how important Clint was to me and my associates, how much we
valued his good counsel, that anytime we started a new project we automatically
considered what his role in it would be. He was integral to everything we were
doing with our Skirmisher Publishing LLC on literally a daily basis
and as of just last week we had shifted most of our efforts over to supporting
his "Ragnarok: The Great Winter" roleplaying game, probably the
biggest and most ambitious game development project I have ever been involved
with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Clint
was also served as a board member of the Gnosis Project, a charitable
organization dedicated to helping spread knowledge that we recently founded and
for which his love of history was invaluable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
friends and I called Clint our Paladin, because in so many ways he was the best
and most dependable of all of us. We will fight on without him in body knowing
that he is still with us in spirit and that even from beyond this world he has
played his part in our victories.” <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<br />Michael O. Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02926860732348083635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-37510031086775115432020-02-14T10:52:00.000-08:002020-02-19T13:27:00.819-08:00I Love Texas Hearts<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLM2EVFfCZH8pqhHTXB7PTzEl5cnsqLz-R1KAiOEVoAxwrUq9xxg1lYYFRu4670yUIQJXWR-f8usvsEsgIWEh1VK8MyS6M3lb9cX164mGmiW9onpnPoHQNnMf1nAZi3NMpWJh-h2rkvmzu/s200/Texas+Heart.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568802749585701522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLM2EVFfCZH8pqhHTXB7PTzEl5cnsqLz-R1KAiOEVoAxwrUq9xxg1lYYFRu4670yUIQJXWR-f8usvsEsgIWEh1VK8MyS6M3lb9cX164mGmiW9onpnPoHQNnMf1nAZi3NMpWJh-h2rkvmzu/s200/Texas+Heart.JPG" style="height: 200px; margin-top: 0px; width: 150px;" width="240" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To me, Texas Hill Country is a place that is very romantic, in the broadest sense of the word. With its rolling hills, deep wooded ravines, and slow-moving rivers, it seems as mysterious, ancient, and alluring as any rural Mediterranean province in Italy or France. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This romantic sensibility is most profoundly expressed, I think, by the local custom of referring to indigenous clam fossils as “Texas Hearts.” (OK, so fossilized clams might not be the most romantic thing I could have written about in recognition of Valentine’s Day, but the only other thing reminiscent of Texas I could think of would have been something related to beef hearts, to which most people respond to with “Yuck!”)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">During the Cretaceous period (c. 145 million to 65 million BCE), the area of south-central Texas that we know today to be profoundly hilly was instead part of a warm, shallow sea, and inhabited, among other things, by a wide variety of now-extinct shellfish. The calcium from the shells of such creatures is what ultimately formed the native limestone that characterizes the area </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> to a depth of more than 1,000 feet in some places </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and over the millennia it was uplifted by geological processes and gradually formed in to the land we know today.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Texas Hearts are, in short, fossilized bivalve clams that date to this extended geological period. And they do, in fact, look very much like actual hearts, and even a little bit like the stylized images that appear on Valentine’s Day cards and are used as used as shorthand for the word “love.”</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The term “Texas Hearts” is sometimes also applied to fossilized sand dollars, sea urchins, and other marine organisms, but these do not actually look much like hearts at all, and are more properly referred to in my mind as “Texas Stars.” All such fossilized remains are, in any event, fairly common throughout Texas, from San Antonio to Fort Worth, and are a selling point for visitors.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“If you pay attention to where you walk in these limestone hills, you’re pretty apt to find all sorts of fossils,” the Bandera Convention and Visitors Bureau says on its website. “If you are lucky, you may even find what we call a ‘Texas Heart,’ which is a fossilized clam and looks just like a heart. Usually, they are about the size of a large apple.”</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“One of the best places to fossil hunt is along the creek and river beds where the water has washed away the soil,” the Bandera CVB advises. “Another good place is along the road where the earth was cut back to build the road.” Anyone who has driven along appropriate roads on nice weekend days has very likely seen people applying this methodology.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And anyone taking an observant walk through Hill Country can find Texas Hearts and other fascinating evidence of its ancient and very different past; beyond the fossilized clams I have discovered over the last year-and-a-half, the most prized treasure I have found is the fossilized tooth of what must have been a gargantuan shark.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not everyone’s own heart is, of course, stirred by such things … But, if yours is, then you will likely enjoy Texas Hill Country all the more.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Happy Valentine’s Day! </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Living with someone who suffers from depression is one thing. Living with someone who lives with depression but tells themselves they are just unhappy and that you are the cause is something else altogether</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">— Anonymous (The person who uttered these sad and ominous words did not want his name associated with them, presumably from the fear that, however unlikely, his violently depressive spouse would see them and retaliate against him.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"You know what I hate? I hate these 40-year-old jackholes wearing ponytails. A ponytail doesn't make you look hip, young, or cool."</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">— Clive Owen, <i>Shoot 'Em Up</i></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1nGrLq3dozOqvRu45zdxSap9S8b_NOtDrxG0D8UD9taFRMIRQKHWO6suSTAyd2gMrIPCezTQsXCmcZYTcf17NU3dmjkX_7SH_W_XE5rTp7q14aTyO_fr2aJD-KM4u-gzP05LnzOCCRgE/s1600/Teeter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="335" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1nGrLq3dozOqvRu45zdxSap9S8b_NOtDrxG0D8UD9taFRMIRQKHWO6suSTAyd2gMrIPCezTQsXCmcZYTcf17NU3dmjkX_7SH_W_XE5rTp7q14aTyO_fr2aJD-KM4u-gzP05LnzOCCRgE/s200/Teeter.jpg" width="154" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"When I found inversion it changed my life forever, and I believe it can change yours!" — Dr. Roger Teeter (I actually own a Teeter Hang Ups inversion board and think it is great. What makes this quote amusing to me, however, is that "inversion" was historically used as a synonym for homosexuality, which can make its modern-day use hilarious when considered in that context.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I always feel like I' neglecting someone I love when I'm not writing. Maybe that someone is me." </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">— Michelle Renee Lane</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Things are always going well, except for the bad shit ... " (Comment made by me in a recent online chat with my friend David Fitzgerald that I thought was worth preserving). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Worst ... episode ... ever!" (This periodic judgement by Comic Book Guy in <i>The Simpsons</i> is, like some of my favorite quotes, one that I have the opportunity to often use myself with regard to the things I end up watching.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYK_R_JNGkejMUs8qcPCdv3Pl9Bqw10bNGbUK-Gv2WSBzPqFmoCHt0Iq02_OKJMbOSwwjjTti8JYH3EHfI4ws8pnfIFUMHFDm6Ory8mSD5DlIQ334UF2lTi3r_CvZSppI-ShYCBNByLoA/s1600/PhillipSheridanVignette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYK_R_JNGkejMUs8qcPCdv3Pl9Bqw10bNGbUK-Gv2WSBzPqFmoCHt0Iq02_OKJMbOSwwjjTti8JYH3EHfI4ws8pnfIFUMHFDm6Ory8mSD5DlIQ334UF2lTi3r_CvZSppI-ShYCBNByLoA/s1600/PhillipSheridanVignette.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/AVvXsEhYK_R_JNGkejMUs8qcPCdv3Pl9Bqw10bNGbUK-Gv2WSBzPqFmoCHt0Iq02_OKJMbOSwwjjTti8JYH3EHfI4ws8pnfIFUMHFDm6Ory8mSD5DlIQ334UF2lTi3r_CvZSppI-ShYCBNByLoA/s200/PhillipSheridanVignette.jpg" width="170" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"If
I owned Texas and all Hell, I would rent out Texas and live in Hell." <o:p></o:p>— General Philip Sheridan, during a March 24, 1880, speech in Galveston at the
Tremont Hotel</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"There are no IT limitations, just personal limitations." </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">— IT expert Brendan Cass (This comment was in response to a remark by me about his ability to accomplish information technology tasks that were beyond the ability of other people I had worked with.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Advice is just ego and ignorance disguised as helpfulness." — Dilbert/Scott Adams, in a July 15, 2015 comic strip</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Do you understand how much I hate you?" (Uttered by the woman cited in the quote below. The person who told me this assured me that he probably does not understand how much his wife hates him, or even entirely why, but that he is dedicated to making every attempt to.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I hate you so much that I can't even describe it!" (This was uttered unprovoked to a friend by his maladjusted and apparently inarticulate spouse and he, knowing she would later deny saying something so hideously inexcusable, asked me to commemorate it here. I advised him to repurpose it as a daily affirmation.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Her: "Are you still drinking"? (Upon my wife getting up and discovering me enjoying a pre-dawn glass of wine.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Me: "No. I'm drinking again." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Do not prepare, serve, or eat a meal that does not include a vegetable!" (This is one of my own recently coined guiding maxims tying in with my efforts to eat more healthily and limit my consumption of meat to just once a day. It is amazing how often people I know do not come even close to meeting this sensible standard.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Sometimes the only reason I don't kill myself now is because I know I can always just kill myself later." </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">— Anonymous </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(Undeniably grim and clearly born from deep unhappiness but also</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">fairly philosophical and</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> amusing in its way.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"What we say about what we do is as important as what we do." — Michael O. Varhola (This is my own debatably cynical observation on the importance of promoting our own work and efforts if we want others/the public to notice them.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I didn't know we were going to be walking." </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">— Diane K. Varhola (My wife has made this assertion multiple times every year for the past 25 years. We <i>always</i> end up walking, often in stupid and inappropriate shoes, so the basis for this statement has been questionable for a couple of decades now.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We are most inclined to be creative when we are least able to be." (This is my own personal observation.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I should be able to visit my parents without having to die!" — Hayley Waters (Who says so? This was, in any event, my daughter's unhappy reaction to visiting a house full of cats that she is allergic to.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Watch out for the poop!" — Carter Valentine (This sound advice was given to me by my grandson during a walk we took together in 2013 and can certainly be viewed as a profound allegory for the human condition overall.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The following interchange occurred between my grandson and wife on Sunday, August 18, 2012:</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Diane: "What kind of chicken do you want?" (While carving up a roast chicken we picked up at Costco for dinner.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Carter: "The chicken nugget kind." (A statement met with laughter and us letting him know this chicken did not have any such parts.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Ah, the plot thinnens!" (This clever twist on a common phrase is one that I use whenever appropriate. I heard it for the first time in a movie based on an H.P. Lovecraft story, although the phrase certainly does not actually appear in any of the author's stories.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Hideous ... ugly ... freaks!" — Denis Leary/Gil Mars, <i>Small Soldiers</i> (It is amazing how often one is in public that this phrase seems apropos.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I'll tell you what!" (This common Texas phrase is used to express agreement with something someone has said, such as an observation about the weather. I noted during a recent trip to the East Coast that, after hearing it, people unfamiliar with this expression will pause and wait for you to "tell them what.")</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Not anti-Christian, nor un-Christian, but most decidedly non-Christian." — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"What I do now I do alone. I could not do it well with thee." — Ernest Hemingway, <i>For Whom the Bell Tolls</i> (I often irreverently use this quote, either just the first part or in its entirety, to announce my departure for the bathroom.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"There is a fine line between being a romantic and being delusional, and I often tend toward the latter." — Michael O. Varhola (my own observation of my tendency to view life as I want it to be, rather than how it really is.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Oh, so you want to play the truth game?" — Anonymous (In response to my asking someone why they sometimes deliberately lie to their friends as a device for manipulating them.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We are all so lucky to live in this God-forsaken
place." — Anonymous (A resident's comment upon observing the natural beauty of Canyon
Lake, Texas.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Crazy is as crazy does" — Michael O. Varhola (my observation upon already-crazy people who deliberately do things geared toward making them even crazier and more unhappy.)
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas." — David Crockett
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"No one ever died from a gut wound." — Michael O. Varhola (I picked this up from an Army buddy of mine c. 1986-87 and use it a lot. I don't think it's true.)
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Teeheehee! I told <i>you</i> about it!" — Chick in an Activia yogurt commercial
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Och, Hungary! Our dogs are from Hungary!" — Richard Allan (in response to a barmaid at the pub in Paddington Station, London, reveal her country of origin; "Och" is a Scottish word that means "yes," unless you use it in conjunction with "no," in which case it means "<i>really</i> no!")
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I do not presume that other people's problems are harder on me than they are on them." — Michael O. Varhola
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"You need to <i>scare</i> kids, not <i>scar</i> them." — Lindsey Valentine
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Overheard around 8:15 p.m. near the Hoffman Center 22 cinema in Alexandria, Virginia:</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Him: "Damn hippies! I'll hacky their sacks ... " (in response to some kids in shorts and tie-dye shirts crossing the street in front of him)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Her: "Uh, do I need to remind you that you just smoked dope, that you're still in your sleeping shirt, and that it shows people partying on it?"
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"That was pretty metal!" — Rico Nardini, Gen Con 2011 (in response to me downing a dirty vodka martini in one sip when he said it was time for us to get going)
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Put the boots to him — medium style." (coopted from <i>Metalocalypse</i> and used by me and friend Jon Reichman as a catchphrase during Gen Con 2011)
</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARDORgtRegk7BZ6_Y_1Ai80b1fhM43DNTK_c3fOVtinN3hkAIOEu4r_vhzr2RpXUw4EqrnP31f5-EkXZX5dxek2arZBG-DF4XeBbKYJgqtmRcZJRJui-jkJegNG1UDpFrOagaMMAchWM/s1600/hqdefault.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/AVvXsEhARDORgtRegk7BZ6_Y_1Ai80b1fhM43DNTK_c3fOVtinN3hkAIOEu4r_vhzr2RpXUw4EqrnP31f5-EkXZX5dxek2arZBG-DF4XeBbKYJgqtmRcZJRJui-jkJegNG1UDpFrOagaMMAchWM/s200/hqdefault.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Get the butter." — Marlon Brando/Paul, <i>Last Tango in Paris</i> (this line can be interjected for hilarious effect in any number of circumstances, as my friends Jon Reichman, Chip Cassano, and I have all aptly demonstrated over the years)
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"In a respectable household, it's useful to have a weapon." — Gitt Magrini/Jeanne's Mother, <i>Last Tango in Paris</i>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Fun was had by <i>all</i>." (common phrase brought to my attention when it was applied to a school play in <i>The Simpsons</i>, and used by me since then in writeups of events I have hosted or run)
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"This one goes to 11." (coopted from <i>Spinal Tap</i> and applicable more often than you might think; used as one of our group's catchphrases at Comicpalooza 2012)</span>Michael O. Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02926860732348083635noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-623354584479815702019-01-01T17:28:00.002-08:002019-01-06T03:44:40.476-08:00Looking Forward to the Work of the New Year<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cm30jBwrWTkxHXnuFekx_Osi8Hi8utib5rRT50qRHRArqVvVbnHa4sfXOapv-5N1F-x5YSbIl4UolfnEKj3USAjFG-oHTHgu2yxcbusc0Mz-iOr_vOtY-LQpNTtOP2hJHJ6kDDL7K2M/s1600/402f65eb80ea3f608a598d870d6026a8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="560" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cm30jBwrWTkxHXnuFekx_Osi8Hi8utib5rRT50qRHRArqVvVbnHa4sfXOapv-5N1F-x5YSbIl4UolfnEKj3USAjFG-oHTHgu2yxcbusc0Mz-iOr_vOtY-LQpNTtOP2hJHJ6kDDL7K2M/s200/402f65eb80ea3f608a598d870d6026a8.jpg" width="146" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Happy
New Year to all of my friends, family, and followers! Sincerely hope all of you
had as wonderful a holiday season as possible and that 2019 has started off
well and promisingly for you. Am very much looking forward to working and
spending time with the many personal and professional associates I have done
things with over the past year and to accomplishing even more over the coming
one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This
year promises to be a busy and productive one for me and I have a few things related
to my activities that I would like to share on this start of 2019. First is
that I have resigned my position as a correspondent with the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung</i> newspaper.
While the work I have done for it over the past four years has been meaningful
to me — particularly my coverage of the area around Canyon Lake, Texas — for some
months I have felt that I was no longer having the impact on the publication
that I would have liked and that my efforts would be better devoted to other
endeavors. One of my shortfalls over the past few decades has also been my
inclination to try to do too many different things and I have decided at this
point to devote my time and energies to fewer things but to accomplish more
with them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My main
two activities for the foreseeable future will my <b><a href="https://skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing</a></b>, which
develops and publishes games and fiction, and the <b><a href="https://www.gnosisproject.org/" target="_blank">Gnosis Project</a></b>, a non-profit association
I founded in 2018 that was recently approved as a 501(c)(3) charitable
organization. You may have previously seen references to both of these ventures
on my page and you will certainly see much more over the coming months. I would
encourage you to follow the Facebook pages for both of those entities and sincerely
invite you to let me know if there is anything you want to know about either of
them. Suffice it to say that I am always generous when it comes to giving away
copies of things I publish or write to people who would like to see them, and
that I will be prevailing upon the generosity of others as I move forward with the
work of the charitable association. </span></div>
Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-52961238161201396062018-12-09T21:50:00.000-08:002018-12-12T17:47:59.349-08:00Crossing From History to Recreation (Spring Branch, Texas)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2paS2BPAqkA7BZlLth41TxoCozQTDGC4Gu-pY9Kqb7BRfHmw7TM8s2iE6_UdkfKALGNmZeHEDsP-STsN-28tdBuCXk1-aVZMCZ0xJxxZ2-Zf_CZMltJjboFEGKXZzm4fJf7Vl-to5Efp/s1600/Crossing_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2paS2BPAqkA7BZlLth41TxoCozQTDGC4Gu-pY9Kqb7BRfHmw7TM8s2iE6_UdkfKALGNmZeHEDsP-STsN-28tdBuCXk1-aVZMCZ0xJxxZ2-Zf_CZMltJjboFEGKXZzm4fJf7Vl-to5Efp/s200/Crossing_01.JPG" width="133" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A
particularly attractive crossing of the Guadalupe above Canyon Lake can be
found on FM 311, a couple of miles east of its intersection with Highway 281,
and it is often devoid enough of traffic that drivers can slow down to enjoy
the view. Cars parked along the road near the bridge are tribute to this spot’s
use as a recreational area, and many people have fond memories of days spent
boating or fishing from it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I
used to fish here quite a bit [and] caught my biggest bass of my life under the
bridge,” said Canyon Lake native Ronald Lowe. “A tree had washed down, got
stuck on a pylon, I threw a spinner bait just past it and caught a seven-pound,
seven-ounce bass way back in the late ’90s.” </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihQXL0F0ddPVCFKdv0tik-DC7ayMXULTpK9cxfxDpqXORRAQ1A7XYBISvCwzg9jSI3Dziw203jaxiHO5boxvZTLmj2M5Ik7xalb9unJrJAQ7OKs62CtbnDT_0Lxmf8K-2FEPPDSaRP4_P/s1600/Crossing_04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihQXL0F0ddPVCFKdv0tik-DC7ayMXULTpK9cxfxDpqXORRAQ1A7XYBISvCwzg9jSI3Dziw203jaxiHO5boxvZTLmj2M5Ik7xalb9unJrJAQ7OKs62CtbnDT_0Lxmf8K-2FEPPDSaRP4_P/s200/Crossing_04.JPG" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I
kayaked 311 to Rebecca Creek last winter,” said Jason Gillett of Canyon Lake,
noting that it took nine-and-a-half hours because his group was fishing and it
“is a twisty stretch of river” that included “six sets of rapids, four of which
we had to portage over.” </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">(<i>Right: <o:p></o:p></i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><i>Drainage areas on either side of the FM 311 bridge over the Guadalupe provide easy access to the river and a regularly used by people to move boats or tubes down to it.</i>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That
this spot is publicly known to have any historic significance, however, is
largely tribute to a Texas Historical Commission marker that was erected
nearby in 2013 (<i>top right</i>). Local historian Brenda Anderson Lindemann, author of Spring
Branch and Western Comal County, Texas, 1858-1998, was instrumental in getting
that marker placed and compiled the information for the article titled “Esser’s
Crossing at Wesson” on the Comal County Historical Commission section of the
Comal County website. Wesson was a community founded on the banks of the
Guadalupe in the mid-19th century by settler Charles Esser but which, according
to the Texas State Historical Association, has been a “ghost community” since
World War II. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR59CYbtWgNx8r-FwZ2uI-aNluijOiMrDrhkimbwVVx1DFkQNWD2L5PQvm9PrGzaN8OB2UGwGkjUVjypU49fjiQyYmKh7Zb1Vbykw7PHOWZcrd01lrxsZb4SW4Hbvimjbi3jMF6JQlyb74/s1600/Crossing_07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="750" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR59CYbtWgNx8r-FwZ2uI-aNluijOiMrDrhkimbwVVx1DFkQNWD2L5PQvm9PrGzaN8OB2UGwGkjUVjypU49fjiQyYmKh7Zb1Vbykw7PHOWZcrd01lrxsZb4SW4Hbvimjbi3jMF6JQlyb74/s200/Crossing_07.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Esser's
Crossing is one of the four key bridges in the Spring Branch area that helped
bridge traffic and commerce in our area,” said Paula Rieker, who assisted
Lindemann with her book and whose current personal focus is on the history of
the 711 Ranch, now site of the Mystic Shores development. “It is the oldest
bridge in our area and only the second high-water bridge in the county.” <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">(<i>Right: </i></span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A high-water wood and wrought-iron bridge was built at Esser’s crossing and served the area for half a century before being condemned and replaced. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Photo courtesy Comal County Historical Commission.</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPm-CViHcd1l3L0V5-rk3RhN5Zdf4Rpc9oTSPXsJP2bWBYypxZR4ejub0560CXjziXw8mEY5LiL2mG53uGCo3X3dKhSZdwJcLZDg-mahVQnQvcCf6Fdn_R9WmgRwY6Rj6jskPwxESrf_dN/s1600/Crossing_08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1219" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPm-CViHcd1l3L0V5-rk3RhN5Zdf4Rpc9oTSPXsJP2bWBYypxZR4ejub0560CXjziXw8mEY5LiL2mG53uGCo3X3dKhSZdwJcLZDg-mahVQnQvcCf6Fdn_R9WmgRwY6Rj6jskPwxESrf_dN/s200/Crossing_08.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“The
original crossing was an area of flat rocks in the river, where it was safe to
enter the river … and pass over [it] in a wagon,” Rieker said. “You can look
down at the river and still visualize the original crossing. Esser hosted
travelers at his home and on his grounds as a ‘way station’ from New Braunfels
to points north.” </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">(<i>Right: </i></span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In 1858 German immigrant Charles Esser homesteaded and purchased property near the crossing and then provided a public way-station. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Photo courtesy Comal County Historical Commission.</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Today,
this spot is apparently and somewhat inexplicably held to be a “secret” by any
number of Canyon Lake residents. A post on the “Everything Canyon Lake TX”
Facebook group asking for information about it was, in fact, responded to with
crying-face and angry-face emojis, veiled threats, and complaints that if
“town” people learned about it they would spoil it and throw trash everywhere. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUWew5pe3qr9vaLnQtQMxuDUbJgZ9FPd-0fvPLa6anroBLJXntXQAJ11FwOID0dnrd2FqBtJ_Da94XCBUzWiOJW-OSx6nustZ4ZXzqOZVjJrvmBHEAEi-RH4UEJfmjg3BidUaDZ9DQr_D/s1600/Esser%2527s+Clip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1461" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUWew5pe3qr9vaLnQtQMxuDUbJgZ9FPd-0fvPLa6anroBLJXntXQAJ11FwOID0dnrd2FqBtJ_Da94XCBUzWiOJW-OSx6nustZ4ZXzqOZVjJrvmBHEAEi-RH4UEJfmjg3BidUaDZ9DQr_D/s200/Esser%2527s+Clip.jpg" width="182" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Significant
amounts of trash in the parking area that never made it into
conveniently-placed barrels, however, indicate that some locals already have
littering covered, and the 1:10:100 rule for social media interaction suggests, based on the number of responses to posts about the spot, that some
thousands of people know about it already. (<i>This article appeared for the first time in the Canyon Lake section of the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung newspaper.</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And,
whatever proprietary feelings anyone might have toward the spot, general
manager Mike Dussere of the Water-Oriented Recreation District of Comal County
— the agency that placed the trash barrels at the site — said the space leading
down to the river on either side of the bridge is a public right-of-way. So,
anyone so inclined can pause to enjoy Esser’s Crossing, either for what it has
to offer today or the role it has played in the history of our area. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG_vB_Bait2BPW_LGK5gfot1PSwObuMhDQdDjP8TBijGfdiSmt-E0Qh7-IRRQ7-7LxP83vQ4wApS4RAx-FyZ6zcszkv9BVYWd-v36j3rPYUBCmFNqcXoWGLX-DNrlG-gEc7PuAucOFxkF-/s1600/Crossing_06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG_vB_Bait2BPW_LGK5gfot1PSwObuMhDQdDjP8TBijGfdiSmt-E0Qh7-IRRQ7-7LxP83vQ4wApS4RAx-FyZ6zcszkv9BVYWd-v36j3rPYUBCmFNqcXoWGLX-DNrlG-gEc7PuAucOFxkF-/s640/Crossing_06.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><i>Large areas of flat bedrock along the banks of the Guadalupe River are part of what made Esser’s Crossing an ideal spot for wagons and stagecoaches.</i></span></div>
Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-71575264710138694722018-11-24T10:38:00.002-08:002018-11-24T11:02:11.509-08:00Tis the Season to Support Local Businesses<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-S1pX-DbXfvbzdXN2-SAIc5Mq-THpTTub0t4fMzcxZdgfwT3J11tQ_ycUKaF6CokZinEjoQTH3MkpKML-yYTPWRmyNEGkZUG55fvUK_n2CK1y5QHg5S1sJJ-Jj71If2veu4VB_m8EfBow/s1600/BadGirlz_01+%2528vertical%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1199" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-S1pX-DbXfvbzdXN2-SAIc5Mq-THpTTub0t4fMzcxZdgfwT3J11tQ_ycUKaF6CokZinEjoQTH3MkpKML-yYTPWRmyNEGkZUG55fvUK_n2CK1y5QHg5S1sJJ-Jj71If2veu4VB_m8EfBow/s200/BadGirlz_01+%2528vertical%2529.JPG" width="149" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Black
Friday kicks off the start of the holiday shopping season with deals at big chain
stores and, three days from now, Cyber Monday will encourage shoppers to spend
their gift-buying dollars at online shopping sites. In the midst of all that, smaller
businesses — including those in our area — will be striving to get people in
their communities to support them by doing as much gift buying as possible
locally. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We
absolutely support Small Business Saturday and promote it via social media.
That’s part of our mission,” said Kim Collora, Executive Director of the <b><a href="https://www.canyonlakechamber.com/" target="_blank">CanyonLake Area Chamber of Commerce</a></b>, who also personally backs the ideas behind this program
designed to promote smaller stores. “I live out here and I work out here, so
when I have to go Christmas shopping I check out the little boutiques that we
have out here. We are a small community supporting each other and I think
that’s important to do.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">First
observed in 2010, Small Business Saturday is held two days after Thanksgiving
and is a counterpart to Black Friday and Cyber Monday that encourages holiday
shoppers to patronize small and local brick-and-mortar businesses. It was
initially organized by entities that included the National Trust for Historic
Preservation and American Express, and continues to be supported by the latter
organization and many local politicians and small business groups throughout
the country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">One
Canyon Lake store that participates in Small Business Saturday is Bad Girlz of
Texas, “a funky and eclectic boutique with something for everyone” that opened
up in Sattler about eight years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Our
local community really does support us,” said owner Andie Morgan (<i>shown above right</i>). “We wouldn’t
have been here this long if not, and the locals have been fabulous. We’ve had
people come in here on Small Business Saturday and say, ‘It’s important to
support local business, so I’m shopping here.’” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Because
the weekend after Thanksgiving tends to be a good one for her store anyway,
Morgan said, she has never before held sale then but decided to this year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“When you
come to the counter with your purchases Friday through Sunday you can pick a card
from our discount tree and it will have a discount of 10% to 50% off,” Morgan
said. “There are three or four 40% cards, two or three 50% ones, and a lot for
15%, 20%, 30%, and 25%.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Canyon
Lake has been wonderful and I’m trying to support those who have supported me,”
Morgan said of her motivation. There are a number of ways she already does
that, to include throwing a customer appreciation party with free food, drinks,
and music the first Sunday of every month. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We also
usually give away something. For November we gave away free 2018 calendars,
sometimes we’ll do a 75% off clearance, one time we gave away pairs of
sunglasses,” Morgan said. “It’s to give back, and to support local music.” Twice
a year, she said, the store also has a big clearance sale and then donates
everything that is left to causes that have included the battered women’s
shelter in New Braunfels and Wimberley flood relief. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="https://www.acehardware.com/store-details/11819" target="_blank">CanyonLake Ace Hardware</a></b> in Sattler is another local business that will have special deals
this weekend, to include coupons people can use to get discounts on their
purchases. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We
feel very close to our community and have a lot of interaction with it, and I
feel like they’re very supportive of us,” said Store Manager Lyndy Sherman. “We’re
having something on Black Friday, and then on Saturday and Sunday there’s a
save $10 coupon.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Many
other businesses around Canyon Lake will also be doing special things for the
weekend, so consider saving some gas, sticking close to home, and checking out
what they have got going on — and, in the process, supporting our local
community! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>This story originally appeared in the <b><a href="http://herald-zeitung.com/" target="_blank">New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung</a></b> newspaper on Friday, November 24, 2017, and I am re-posting it here in support of Small Business Saturday. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i><br /></i></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrUONpyeeK-eR-9RsjrQqmPhHjZA28GB1sOA6eNnDKD5pcq9iemtDP_8qEW_tAYaTjt0hTcmON7GuU5go1RQvexB7BwMEzaVkzwN9GPXGAKe6Obr-zFG6cf2c9lyf75zKC2J9EYWTmnUXW/s1600/Canyon_Lake_Chamber_00.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1093" data-original-width="1600" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrUONpyeeK-eR-9RsjrQqmPhHjZA28GB1sOA6eNnDKD5pcq9iemtDP_8qEW_tAYaTjt0hTcmON7GuU5go1RQvexB7BwMEzaVkzwN9GPXGAKe6Obr-zFG6cf2c9lyf75zKC2J9EYWTmnUXW/s640/Canyon_Lake_Chamber_00.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-35801366985996736992018-10-31T12:13:00.000-07:002018-12-09T22:47:11.701-08:00A Wet and Wonderful Halloween in Sattler, Texas<div class="MsoPlainText">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5hyMEIbg6d6tooiuPxC0RaKbHBMEPJRDcY-BgP2wTg9de0luQnoU-Hn7EFVVrbBioOO39rzp9N000hyphenhyphen2zI0XkWOUstjH69_XNNRp4A_-5ty6OeWhWX8NvDowR4pGwcp6mB5AaVyaahO5/s1600/Halloween_04%2528cropped%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5hyMEIbg6d6tooiuPxC0RaKbHBMEPJRDcY-BgP2wTg9de0luQnoU-Hn7EFVVrbBioOO39rzp9N000hyphenhyphen2zI0XkWOUstjH69_XNNRp4A_-5ty6OeWhWX8NvDowR4pGwcp6mB5AaVyaahO5/s200/Halloween_04%2528cropped%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
very real certainty of getting soaked, rather than any irrational fear of
ghosts or ghouls, is what kept many people around Canyon Lake from turning out
for Halloween in Sattler, which ran from about 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Hundreds of people braved the damp and gloom to come out for the popular annual
“Trunk or Treat” event, however, and dozens of local businesses, organizations,
and individuals pitched in to make it fun and successful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“It's
a wonderful alternative to a more traditional setting in neighborhoods, since
the majority of the homes in our area are so spread out,” said Comal County
Commissioner Jen Crownover (Precinct 4) in a statement. “It's a great place
where everyone comes together. It really is a cool evening of fellowship in our
community.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Comal
County Sheriff’s Office deputies and constables were deployed along FM 2673 in
Sattler to keep traffic slow and safe as trick-or-treaters made their way along
the road in the driving rain, stopping to collect candy and other treats at
local businesses and from people giving them out from their cars in parking
lots. Umbrellas served as accessories for many costumes or were held over
smaller children by parents, and clusters of people could be seen sheltering in
doorways and under overhangs hoping for a break in the downpour. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-sX0E8Y_YW6bs6-1kdV6AYMhXNhkSJQXzUycewZuckTeApDfYuMFlBD-buUa89TyjllE1670c3YYSWSWoeROjNiIhkmoeHeaZANP2ZcehrBP8e6kqaP0hvUX4ZDeTXJEdltXhM_6rKYL/s1600/Halloween_08%2528cropped%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1599" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-sX0E8Y_YW6bs6-1kdV6AYMhXNhkSJQXzUycewZuckTeApDfYuMFlBD-buUa89TyjllE1670c3YYSWSWoeROjNiIhkmoeHeaZANP2ZcehrBP8e6kqaP0hvUX4ZDeTXJEdltXhM_6rKYL/s200/Halloween_08%2528cropped%2529.JPG" width="199" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“It’s
hard for the kids to trick-or-treat in the neighborhoods or to go
door-to-door,” said Andie Morgan, proprietor of the Bad Girlz of Texas
boutique (<i>at far right in the image here, along with </i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>Bonny Lyons, costumed as a “Harry Potter steampunker”</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">). She had a full 80 pounds of candy on hand — including popular
chocolate footballs — to pass out to children (along with parents, reporters,
and anyone else who needed a treat). </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Morgan
noted, however, that the weather was having an impact on turnout, and that she
was seeing maybe a quarter as many trick-or-treaters as she does when the
conditions are better. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Normally
that much candy does not get me to 8 o’clock, but this year it will because
it’s raining,” she said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And
there were plenty of other opportunities for kids willing to deal with the
trick of the weather to collect their well-deserved treats. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Every
year it’s been a tradition for us to hand out candy to the local kids,” said
Perry Connel of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8573 in Sattler (<i>at left in the image at the top right of this page</i>). “Even when
it rains the kids still come, so we stay out here!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fOYXUjh3Q0GgaXjrgpoeEja990-ztF6K7qjUJLblomw6gXcTXn6m_jAcr5ml0Yoxl07fceTHsLrTeF8lIFEI5nKxOIQs_8bGcEECYmzna1Zq8PVCY1LqmufR6fiDNz2i__CCPwG19BCm/s1600/Halloween_05%2528cropped%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fOYXUjh3Q0GgaXjrgpoeEja990-ztF6K7qjUJLblomw6gXcTXn6m_jAcr5ml0Yoxl07fceTHsLrTeF8lIFEI5nKxOIQs_8bGcEECYmzna1Zq8PVCY1LqmufR6fiDNz2i__CCPwG19BCm/s200/Halloween_05%2528cropped%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Edible
items were not the only things being given away, and another local group used
the event as an opportunity to get coats and jackets into the hands of people
who needed them (<i>right</i>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Most
of them are children’s jackets that we give to anyone who needs them. Whether
they need one, five, it doesn’t really matter,” said James Dudley of the Saved
by Grace congregation of Canyon Lake. “Halloween is kind of a dark holiday for
a lot people, so it’s a good time for us to bring some light into the
community.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Dudley
said that many of the jackets are provided by local schools, which provide his
group with unclaimed items from their lost-and-founds, and that his group then
cleans and repairs them as necessary. He said this is the sixth year that his
group has given away coats at Halloween in Sattler and that they expected to
distribute between 250 and 300 of them during the event. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">People were also able
to enjoy the Mountain Valley Middle School Hawk Band Haunted House (<i>below</i>), for which
students and staff clearly spared no effort to transform the band hall into a
creepy and scream-filled Halloween attraction — and which was all the more fun
in that it was out of the rain! </span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_UxM76KpA7D-fmDehDYwXfmWH5FEOYi9iLA-M7Xzmui4JbJCmGCoWeVakIss9CxIzQJwTLIWkhlttDx0sqLrrkLWllMm8pCyVEMityiLS6cF1vR5JC1ZxfKFYDThW9Avl1NOrqacMHbY8/s1600/Halloween_02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_UxM76KpA7D-fmDehDYwXfmWH5FEOYi9iLA-M7Xzmui4JbJCmGCoWeVakIss9CxIzQJwTLIWkhlttDx0sqLrrkLWllMm8pCyVEMityiLS6cF1vR5JC1ZxfKFYDThW9Avl1NOrqacMHbY8/s640/Halloween_02.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Michael O. Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02926860732348083635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-36386090828366650612018-03-09T14:17:00.003-08:002018-04-05T09:22:40.494-07:00New Farmers' Market Comes to Sattler, Texas<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmNTZ7agB72s_ueR42r5Thq4N2ybsKVORknGHOZ5OMMMfO84JjSOgfS61dLoYi6Kc41wmr2iMQqjVdG7IS0cgkcdFCUsnZ7gdR0YcR599wAf28jV3eV-M7ImYUp-HEJKX7P1KYHl_zLRC/s1600/Market_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmNTZ7agB72s_ueR42r5Thq4N2ybsKVORknGHOZ5OMMMfO84JjSOgfS61dLoYi6Kc41wmr2iMQqjVdG7IS0cgkcdFCUsnZ7gdR0YcR599wAf28jV3eV-M7ImYUp-HEJKX7P1KYHl_zLRC/s320/Market_01.JPG" width="213" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A new
farmers’ and artisans’ market has opened in Sattler, Texas, and gives locals
the opportunity to both buy and sell foodstuffs, arts and crafts, and other
things produced in our area. </span><br />
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</div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sattler
Farmer’s Market is the brainchild of Jessica Japhet, whose family moved from
San Antonio to Comal County when she was in middle school in the late ’90s and
who has run her own home-based <b><a href="https://tootssweetstx.com/" target="_blank">Toots’ Sweets Bakery</a></b> since September 2015 (<i>shown at right in front of VFW Post 8573 in Sattler, where the Sattler Farmer's Market sets up</i>). She
has acquired some experience with farmers’ markets over the years, including
the one in San Marcos, which she has exhibited at, and a number of others in
the area where her parents have sold their kettle corn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“My
goal for is just to make something really nice for the community to have,”
Japhet said. “We don’t have anything like this out here and it will give people
a nice place to come and hang out on the weekends and educate people about our
area and its agriculture and arts. Having small businesses and locals selling is
also going to help our economic growth. A lot of older people live out here, too,
and it will be easier for them to come here than to New Braunfels or San
Marcos. I have a really good feeling about this.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Japhet
is organizing the Sattler Farmer’s Market with the cooperation of Veterans of
Foreign Wars Post 8573 at 14625 River Road, and on Saturdays it will be located
in the open area between it and the Comal County Justice of the Peace facility
(and, she said, people are welcome to use the parking lots for either location).
On Sundays, which Japhet said she expects to be busier than Saturdays for the
market, vendors will also be set up along the River Road side of the VFW hall
and people will be able to park in the lot for Real Pit BBQ, which is closed
that day. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both days and, Japhet said,
every weekend for the rest of the year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We’ve
got a great turnout so far and I’ve been reaching out to more farmers to let
them know that we’re here,” Japhet said. She added that she has thus far
accepted 18 applications from vendors and that they will all be present at the
market this weekend, some on either Saturday or Sunday and some on both days. She
also said that just this week she contacted 60 area farmers and has been
following up with and hearing back from them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Right
now we have people doing jerkies, jams, jellies, salsas, and farm-fresh eggs,” Japhet
said, and she will also be selling her own baked goods at the market. “It’s
open for handmade goods and local artists.” There are other local events where
local artists have the opportunity to sell their work, she said, but many of
them are open to only a limited number of vendors or are held just once a year.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Japhet
said she believes the Sattler Farmer’s Market will grow steadily as the weather
improves, especially after the tourism season begins, and is planning turning
it into a bit of a fair the weekend after Easter, May 7-8, which she is
referring to as a “Spring Fling.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We may
have a BBQ, I’m thinking the fire department or police might want to come out
and do a meet-and-greet, maybe have a bounce house,” she said. “Kind of make it
a whole family thing for people who want to hang out and give them something to
enjoy on top of purchasing things.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">For more information or a vendor application,
go to <b><a href="http://bit.ly/SattlerTXFM">bit.ly/SattlerTXFM</a></b>. Sattler Farmer’s Market also has pages on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/SattlerTXFM/" target="_blank">Facebook</a></b> and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/SattlerTXFM" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></i><i><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">. </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A 10-by-10 vendor space at the market costs $15 a day and
people can choose to sell their goods on either one or both days. </span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUYXTqkXnV8QTSiq-IXyBBcHcWKHZPDb026y0FjdbSYk0ciVpbQMbtqJh_bSErpTGJnnsHaOQC9puuyg-iBlIqzgf3petWabU97sCY69IPONsPYhhn_FZvGy2RB1bDbUKXAV8lTjdHTSq/s1600/Market_07.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUYXTqkXnV8QTSiq-IXyBBcHcWKHZPDb026y0FjdbSYk0ciVpbQMbtqJh_bSErpTGJnnsHaOQC9puuyg-iBlIqzgf3petWabU97sCY69IPONsPYhhn_FZvGy2RB1bDbUKXAV8lTjdHTSq/s640/Market_07.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>Donya and Peter Kokocha of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Papakokos-Woodworks-1546073902323400/" target="_blank"><b>Papakoko's Woodworks</b> </a>were among those who exhibited at the Sattler Farmer's Market on Sunday, March 4. To their right is Jessica Japhet's own <a href="https://tootssweetstx.com/" target="_blank"><b>Toots' Sweets Bakery</b></a> stand and, at the far right, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bowhuntersjerky/" target="_blank"><b>Bow Hunters Jerky</b></a> stand. </i></span></div>
Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-59019663066555051282017-09-20T02:18:00.002-07:002017-09-22T14:23:42.453-07:00Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjK-QubqJrXogePRjr9wVuvWwX4afYC2V7JOclr58DggeNRBOkWSWrRZ55rtlVMW3XYXu6TEka-Mw3rgvODKoUi2heIFo6e9D8b5n5Ll4DsUrrieNfawimteoFS6Vzi6JIPGcDtjLjfI/s1600/Heritage00.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1599" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjK-QubqJrXogePRjr9wVuvWwX4afYC2V7JOclr58DggeNRBOkWSWrRZ55rtlVMW3XYXu6TEka-Mw3rgvODKoUi2heIFo6e9D8b5n5Ll4DsUrrieNfawimteoFS6Vzi6JIPGcDtjLjfI/s200/Heritage00.JPG" width="199" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">One of
the best places to learn about the earliest inhabitants of our area is
undoubtedly the <b><a href="http://www.theheritagemuseum.com/" target="_blank">Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country</a></b>. Located about
halfway between Sattler and Startzville, it features exhibits devoted to the
people who lived here in the years before Canyon Lake existed, to the
immigrants who settled here in the 19<sup>th</sup> century, and to the Indians
who hunted and gathered here before that. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Right:</b> While the Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country is devoted to the legacy of local pioneer and Native American inhabitants, the dinosaur tracks that it preserves are its greatest claim to fame. </i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_gruw0_Rou9U7sSB4I_js2EaHyHtzgOiRFxKLbMFr9aXXtD-kiF4skE8skH5zOrTUcd5DwLv0ZfR0sUT_7m5FRrRpChs6AolWMrkc8HMTWMBMcRq5yQN9XwQnyXsW38BVh6e86w-_LdI/s1600/Heritage04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_gruw0_Rou9U7sSB4I_js2EaHyHtzgOiRFxKLbMFr9aXXtD-kiF4skE8skH5zOrTUcd5DwLv0ZfR0sUT_7m5FRrRpChs6AolWMrkc8HMTWMBMcRq5yQN9XwQnyXsW38BVh6e86w-_LdI/s200/Heritage04.JPG" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We
have a German heritage, of course, in nearly all of this area, so we have a lot
of German pioneer items in a couple of rooms,” said office manager Lelo Beth
Cude. The museum also has numerous pieces of antique farm equipment and a room
devoted to “a wonderful collection of arrowheads and Native American things
that pretty much came from the Comal County area. We also have a before-and-after
of Canyon Lake Dam room, with a really nice diorama.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><i><b>Left:</b> Replicas of its tracks, T-shirts, and other dinosaur-oriented items are among the things that can be found in the museum’s gift shop. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><i><b>Below right:</b> <o:p></o:p></i></span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Antiques and artifacts from the settlers and residents of the mid-19</span><sup style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> through the mid-20</span><sup style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> century in our area are among the things on display at the museum.</span></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWRYCl5tBTnlXO8h1LCPE9mxtcOR8mz7kEjv6jZTwFS_78XYgO57lqjivSbgW_-scjE8oP8luUfvqzWAcv5zqLudQNKES2N6dVdumXQegij4CVO86SWocbbeaDzhuJlepmlgXBYJg1OD8/s1600/Heritage02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWRYCl5tBTnlXO8h1LCPE9mxtcOR8mz7kEjv6jZTwFS_78XYgO57lqjivSbgW_-scjE8oP8luUfvqzWAcv5zqLudQNKES2N6dVdumXQegij4CVO86SWocbbeaDzhuJlepmlgXBYJg1OD8/s200/Heritage02.JPG" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
museum is, however, perhaps best known for preserving traces of even earlier
residents, those who lived here about 125 million years ago, and is thus often
referred to simply as “the Dinosaur Museum.” Two species of Cretaceous-epoch
dinosaurs, in fact, walked across what was at that time a muddy coastal plain
and left behind tracks that can still be seen to this day at the site. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">One
sort of footprints was left by a large ancestor of the Tyranosaurus Rex known
as Acrocanthosaurus, which might actually have been an even deadlier predator
than its more-familiar descendant and would have preyed upon a large herbivore
called Iguanadon, the creature that left behind the second type of footprints.
A third sort of tracks was left by at least two members of a species of large
snail. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN1RkOgr8Ys7FzVwFqN-rTkT5XFFvz70o3jBN-dLebAV2yZmNpYstVHguDBIG5qvi80M1xx4KveIEs5TLaUUlXnzKStHaqe9c1fWC9l14rp1J57HEp-QoWlFOddByLHNr7J0Aolhfrq0E/s1600/Heritage05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN1RkOgr8Ys7FzVwFqN-rTkT5XFFvz70o3jBN-dLebAV2yZmNpYstVHguDBIG5qvi80M1xx4KveIEs5TLaUUlXnzKStHaqe9c1fWC9l14rp1J57HEp-QoWlFOddByLHNr7J0Aolhfrq0E/s200/Heritage05.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">These
tracks were discovered by the then-owners of the land in 1979, who because of
them decided to forego plans to develop the site into an RV park and instead
began operating it as an attraction called Dinosaur Flats. More than 350 tracks
were ultimately discovered at the site, but many of them were subsequently
damaged or destroyed by the elements over the ensuing three decades (<i>one of these tracks can be seen at left</i>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Preventing
that has thus been a big priority for the non-profit organization that has run
the museum since 1994, which in 2008 completed a large steel-roofed structure —
easily visible on the south side of FM 2673 to anyone driving between Sattler
and Startzville — to protect the footprints. (Dinosaur tracks that have been
discovered at nearby Canyon Lake Gorge are at the same elevation as those at
the museum and might actually be a continuation of the tracks there and left by
the very same creatures.) <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i><b>Below right:</b> One room of the museum is devoted to Native American artifacts and related items. </i></span></div>
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the things Cude and museum volunteers are currently working on are preparations
for the annual Harvestfest, the organization’s main annual fundraiser, which
will be held the evening of Wednesday, October 4 (its other big event is
Dinosaur Day in April). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Highlights
of this event will include entertainment, a BBQ dinner and peach cobbler food
prepared by local volunteers, a silent auction of items donated by local
businesses, a raffle, and drawings throughout the night. Tickets for the event
are $20 each and volunteers will begin selling them within a month or so. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Between
200 and 400 people typically attend the Harvestfest and this year, Cude said,
the museum will be pushing for the upper end of that range and is hoping to
attract people not just from Canyon Lake but also New Braunfels, Spring Branch,
Bulverde, and the surrounding area. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country
is located at 4831 FM 2673, between Sattler and Startzville. For more
information, go to <u><b><a href="http://www.theheritagemuseum.com/" target="_blank">www.theheritagemuseum.com</a></b></u> or call (830) 899-4542. </span></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4Tl5xtQTEZD4K8Sytg3HekNYG_5jC_HU_u5YM06LF1ZmAVd9jmQzJgu7lHRhHFmUxMVrnTuzqQEWefPIOgVivnlC_nmhKzHS28hulSsATiTaUW_XJQ1fieLOYFZEw_yD9vF1Se7YXEM/s1600/Heritage003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4Tl5xtQTEZD4K8Sytg3HekNYG_5jC_HU_u5YM06LF1ZmAVd9jmQzJgu7lHRhHFmUxMVrnTuzqQEWefPIOgVivnlC_nmhKzHS28hulSsATiTaUW_XJQ1fieLOYFZEw_yD9vF1Se7YXEM/s640/Heritage003.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">This still that is on display at the museum was used from the early 1900s through the 1930s to distill whisky at a location on the banks of nearby Cibolo Creek. </i>Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-81757828834604282762017-08-31T07:22:00.000-07:002017-09-20T02:14:24.183-07:00Cruisin’ Canyon Lake Getaway Weekend<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7D9minqs5R17ciqKM7gnhyphenhyphenn13w4UFSs-M9mRzw6X_PuJHuZsb_Q4P_3XCiNbKFQAnMrGs71yX7DmJWdFyzQGgVfG88E2vGazo96ppwmzqqudGH-PPKECglyQNW84jl3vziaWBuq2kuj8/s1600/logo-oval_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="674" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7D9minqs5R17ciqKM7gnhyphenhyphenn13w4UFSs-M9mRzw6X_PuJHuZsb_Q4P_3XCiNbKFQAnMrGs71yX7DmJWdFyzQGgVfG88E2vGazo96ppwmzqqudGH-PPKECglyQNW84jl3vziaWBuq2kuj8/s200/logo-oval_1.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.cruisincanyonlake.com/" target="_blank">Cruisin’Canyon Lake Getaway Weekend</a></b>, a fun, diverse, and exciting three-day community
event that debuted last year, is being reprised here next month and will have
activities to choose from that include a party, dance, hikes, arts-and-crafts
sessions, gardening classes, golf, kayaking, fishing, and more. It is being
organized by the <b><a href="http://www.pilotclubofcanyonlake.org/" target="_blank">Pilot Club of Canyon Lake</a></b> in cooperation with two other local
entities and will run Friday through Sunday, September 29 – October 1. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“This
really is a community-focused event,” said Diane Schaule, a member of the Pilot
Club and one of the organizers. “We’ve partnered with the Friends of the <b><a href="https://tpml.org/" target="_blank">TyePreston Memorial Library</a></b> and with the <b><a href="https://www.crrcofcanyonlake.org/" target="_blank">CRRC</a></b>, for use of their facilities and
for volunteers.” Organizers are also encouraging people to invite their
out-of-town friends to come out to the lake and participate in the weekend
event. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Our Saturday
night dance, which is really the highlight of the event, is going to be held at
the rec center,” Schaule said, and will include music by the <b><a href="http://www.gratefulgeezers.com/" target="_blank">Grateful Geezers</a></b>,
a popular Houston-based band that specializes in songs from the ’50s through
’80s. “We want the whole community to join us for the Saturday night dance,”
even if they are not registered for other weekend events. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">More
than a dozen events will be offered as part of the three-day program and most
range in cost from $7 to $40. One is free, a Friday night welcome party at Tye
Preston Memorial Library for people who have registered for weekend events that
will include games and displays of creations by local artisans. Other
activities will be held at locations throughout Canyon Lake, to include the
Community Center building behind the CRRC Rec Center, and at the Lions Pavilion
next door to it. Proceeds from the second-annual fundraiser will be split
equally between the three partner organizations and used to support their
activities (and amounted to about $2,000 each last year). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Activities
participants can choose from include a walk/run at Canyon Lake Dam; a
three-hour guided tour through <a href="https://www.canyongorge.org/" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Canyon Gorge</a> (<i>shown below</i>); an “Adult Mud Pies” class where
people can make pots and then have them glazed and fired; a Battenburg Cake-making
class; a session on successfully growing orchids; a walk along the Guadalupe
River that includes a box lunch; a luncheon at the library; a silk
scarf-painting class; the “Sconehenge” scone-making class; an afternoon high
tea; and a “sip and paint” class that is being run by two local artists. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“They’re
going to take some wine glasses and paint on them and drink wine too,” said the
Pilot Club’s Anna Burdick, who is also helping to organize the upcoming event. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Lakeside
Country Club is also offering tee times on Saturday for participants in the
weekend event. Participants in the weekend program can also sign up to go
kayaking on the Guadalupe River or to take fly-fishing lessons, both through
the Rio Guadalupe Resort, on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We
used last year’s experience to develop this year’s events, what worked and what
didn’t,” Schaule said, in putting together the itinerary for the weekend, and
that certainly shows in the variety of fun things she and her colleagues have
planned.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Registration for the Cruisin’ Canyon Lake
Getaway Weekend is open now and you can reserve limited spots in its great
events and create a personal itinerary for yourself now by going to <u><a href="http://www.cruisincanyonlake.com/">www.cruisincanyonlake.com</a></u>.
You cans also get updates for the event and a chance to win free passes to it
on its <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Cruisin-Canyon-Lake-178796259209190/" target="_blank">“Cruisin’ Canyon Lake” Facebook page</a></b>. Check-in for the event will be at
Overlook Park off of South Access Road and run from 2–5 p.m. on Friday and from
8–11 a.m. on Saturday. <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9mED_IHNuelsT2D9gCpYOcRoggEuz8OxFWe3cmjZax_DGsFqnzXbfLtGTsjLLYTDbjUvpthldZEkobRk1HsznOuOSgKiKiCQLVc5v9WmxjatEiX66QaidZPg4tapQB6PgxxXI1wDZbb0/s1600/Cruisin01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9mED_IHNuelsT2D9gCpYOcRoggEuz8OxFWe3cmjZax_DGsFqnzXbfLtGTsjLLYTDbjUvpthldZEkobRk1HsznOuOSgKiKiCQLVc5v9WmxjatEiX66QaidZPg4tapQB6PgxxXI1wDZbb0/s640/Cruisin01.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-83236906476734763112017-03-26T04:02:00.001-07:002017-03-26T17:48:41.356-07:00Managing Inactive Accounts on Facebook<div class="MsoPlainText">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisOD8SXl9CKzeb4tICOoWxaZTKx_G0s5swt09i3wBQPgUV1J8J8mUciAlCoNhTlLLruac0gnriE6C8Te1t0z1JGi-C7s_CxzVrf_bP23yrELQ97ZsrnQSctISl3Gu6i7eGiwwDPGR7Jkw/s1600/F_icon.svg.png" 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/AVvXsEisOD8SXl9CKzeb4tICOoWxaZTKx_G0s5swt09i3wBQPgUV1J8J8mUciAlCoNhTlLLruac0gnriE6C8Te1t0z1JGi-C7s_CxzVrf_bP23yrELQ97ZsrnQSctISl3Gu6i7eGiwwDPGR7Jkw/s200/F_icon.svg.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Last
summer I hit upon a trick on that can be useful to anyone who has maxed out on
the number of friends they can have on Facebook but still wants to add new
people. One way I have seen people manage the onerous 5,000 friend limit on
Facebook is by having multiple personal accounts there, but I have seen a
number of downsides with that over the years (including putting already limited
time into managing supposedly co-equal accounts). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
short, if you go into your Friends list on Facebook and scroll through it, the
profile pictures for deactivated accounts will display only as silhouettes. Any
number of these are presumably accounts of people who just got sick of dealing
with Facebook, or who never really started using it to any extent, but a
certain proportion of them are people who have died and had their accounts
deactivated by friends or family members. Prior to discovering this, it would not have occurred to me that deactivated accounts would could against the number of friends someone can have, but this is indeed the case. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you click on one of these silhouettes, you will get this message: "This
account has been deactivated. Only you can see 'John' on your friends list. You
have the option to unfriend 'John'." Those last two words are hotlinked and
all you have to do is click on them. Some socially awkward people only use
silhouettes, however, so if you don’t want to delete them you can click on
their names to see if they are still active rather than just unfriend them! On
my second and most recent use of this trick, however, I looked at a number of <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
first time I used this trick, about nine months prior to posting this article,
I easily cleared out 305 deactivated accounts in the course of an evening while
watching TV; somewhat late in the process I also decided to unfriend people
without Profile Pictures who I noticed had never actually posted anything or
had not done so for more than a year and were thus clearly not ever or no
longer active on Facebook. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
used this trick for the second time just prior to posting this article and
removed 78 inactive friends, among them a handful who had only posted a few
times and not at all for a number of years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hope
this can be as useful to others as it has been to me! It takes a little bit of
effort but shows respect for people we have become friends with by not
unfriending those who are still active (and is infinitely preferable to those
horrible, bullying messages some people post declaring they are unfriending
anyone who doesn't respond by begging to remain in contact with them). </span>Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-77069649448398621792017-02-11T03:44:00.000-08:002017-02-22T21:53:53.366-08:00An Exercise in Resolve Redux<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the things I did throughout 2015 was post an ongoing log, month-by-month, of my daily exercise, particularly the distance I was covering and the weight of the gear I was carrying with me. In general, I was carrying either a "light" or a "medium" load and hoping to build up the a "heavy" one while not reducing the length of my walk. For reasons that seemed good at the time I decided not to continue doing this in 2016 and believe that my exercise routine suffered a bit as a result of my not tracking it (and probably also because me feet were not held to the fire by public posts). January was pretty chaotic for me, as a result of getting ready for and then going to East Asia for a couple of weeks, and I certainly did not have a regular routine </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">— although I did get a lot of walking in when I was overseas. With the start of February, however, I once again started walking regularly (and doing other exercise somewhat less regularly), with an eye toward preparing for a long hike I would like to do this fall, and I decided to once again start tracking my activity here. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">February 1: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Walked </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">2.0 miles with a light load. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">February 2: </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Walked </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">3.2 miles with a light load. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 3: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Walked </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">2.8 </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">miles with a light load. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 4: No walk! On the road for CRRC article, visit with friends, etc. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 5: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Walked </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">3.2 miles with a light load. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 6: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Walked </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">3.2 miles with a light load. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 7: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Walked </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">3.2 miles with a light load. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 8: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Walked </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">2.5 miles with a light load. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 9: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Walked </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">0.6 miles with a light load (i.e., up to the mailbox and back)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 10: No walk! Had to take a sick pet to the vet. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 11: Walked </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">3.2 miles with a light load. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 12: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Walked </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">2.6 miles with a light load. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 13: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">No walk! Had to pick up a pet at the vet and it rained.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 14: Cool, damp, and windy 57-degree day here in Texas Hill Country but managed to get in 2.5 miles with a light load! Still trying to boost my exercise ... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 15: Increased full walk slightly to 3.5 miles; warmed up to 64 degrees and was less windy than the day before. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 16: Walked just 0.6 miles, up to mailbox and back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 17: No walk! Friend was visiting from out of town. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 18: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Took a c. 3-mile overland hike with my visiting buddy Karl (<i>below</i>), to include a fossil hunt and visit to a 19th-century German cemetery. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 19: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Walked </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">2.0 miles with a light load; achy and dragging a little. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 20: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Walked </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">2.5 miles with a light load. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 21: Walked 3.2 miles with a light load; warm day and was feeling it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 22: Walked 2.5 miles with a light load. Pretty hot, dry, and cloudless </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">— especially for February! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 23: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 24: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 25: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 26: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 27: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">February 28: </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJZv_jLe8gamXqQOTauAQVQK4Z2aySzSxJt-ADhFxd5VwZdGPUGOW0YKtAhQ-qmZK0BrLwHMZu1Mva3qgSNcEzIUJo_tObQ_uYwt1AfhFogpVLfZyhqxr-mblnozYPSURg3B6TsYIhqU/s1600/Karl03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJZv_jLe8gamXqQOTauAQVQK4Z2aySzSxJt-ADhFxd5VwZdGPUGOW0YKtAhQ-qmZK0BrLwHMZu1Mva3qgSNcEzIUJo_tObQ_uYwt1AfhFogpVLfZyhqxr-mblnozYPSURg3B6TsYIhqU/s640/Karl03.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-60966657546761928132017-02-07T20:52:00.004-08:002017-02-07T22:07:45.221-08:00Going Beyond 'Year of the Rooster'<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">On February 5, 2017, the <b><a href="http://herald-zeitung.com/" target="_blank">New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung</a></b> newspaper here in south Texas ran "Year of the Rooster, a feature article about the recent voyage on the Celebrity Millennium cruise ship from Hong Kong to Shanghai, China, via Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, and <b><a href="http://varholatravel.blogspot.com/2017/02/busan-south-korea-celebrity-millennium.html" target="_blank">South Korea</a></b>, for which I served as the destination-oriented special-interest speaker. As usual, I submitted more photos than the publication could reasonably be expected to use (13 versus the four they were actually able to run), and so I am posting the balance of them here, along with the captions I wrote for them, as a supplement to the article. A major theme of this story is preparations for the Chinese New Year, which in 2017 is the Year of the Rooster. </i><br />
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<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Main gate into the old imperial citadel of Hue in Vietnam, site of a brutal battle during the Lunar New Year in 1968. </i></div>
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<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Left:</b> Author Michael O. Varhola with one of the many statues that can be found in the gardens of the maze-like complex surrounding the mausoleum of 19th century Vietnamese Emperor Tu Duc. <b>Right:</b> A rooster, symbol of the incoming Lunar New Year, that the author auspiciously met at the Pagoda of the Celestial Lady, located on a bluff above the Perfume River in Hue, while working on this story. </i></div>
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<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jeepneys, adapted from the old U.S. military Willy's jeeps, are the most characteristic form of transportation in the Philippines. </i> </div>
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<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Left:</b> A view of the skyline of Taipei, Taiwan, capital of the nationalist Republic of China, with the massive Taipei 101 commercial center at left. <b>Right:</b> A colorful display of paper lanterns, used in Chinese New Year celebrations, at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei. </i><br />
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<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Inside the shrine of the 14th-century Haedong Yongkung Temple, in Busan, South Korea, with gold figures representing the past, present, and future Buddhas. </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span><i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Left:</b> A small portion of the sprawling waterfront of Shanghai, which, with more than 24 million residents, is the most populous city in the world. <b>Right:</b> A colorful holiday display at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, a place that, while very busy, is almost uncannily quiet and serene by American standards. </i><br />
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<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Below is a detail from the first page of the two-page treatment of "Year of the Rooster" that appeared in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. </i><i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Additional photos, <b><a href="http://varholatravel.blogspot.com/2017/02/six-destination-oriented-special.html" target="_blank">videos of the six presentations I gave</a></b>, and more can be found on my <b><a href="http://varholatravel.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">TravelBlogue</a></b>! </i></div>
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Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-51172347747548652842016-12-27T10:52:00.002-08:002016-12-29T10:14:43.826-08:00Dreaming of a Green Christmas<div class="MsoPlainText">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCMombgUjM6cKuP-dT1RdTp7u-EF5fjDuQR-lQ5sXsfDFtlYXevX4DLcqBHmclU455xcISe7e8HF8OGi1LBP-o_61kykYksG19VLqhuZ3l7uWIUi6YVh7o1WXKQ7KKgj9i2qdcG2H1IZM/s1600/present-1417611_960_720.png" 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/AVvXsEhCMombgUjM6cKuP-dT1RdTp7u-EF5fjDuQR-lQ5sXsfDFtlYXevX4DLcqBHmclU455xcISe7e8HF8OGi1LBP-o_61kykYksG19VLqhuZ3l7uWIUi6YVh7o1WXKQ7KKgj9i2qdcG2H1IZM/s200/present-1417611_960_720.png" width="190" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">One of the byproducts of the holiday season is lots of
waste paper and cardboard in the form of wrapping paper, gift boxes, greeting
cards, and the like, most of which ultimately gets bagged up and tossed out
with the trash. It is a shame to simply throw away such a great volume of even apparently
useless material, however, and there are better ways to dispose of or even make
use of such festive detritus — some of which can save you money or keep children
occupied, both laudable goals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">* Reuse it.</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> If they are in good shape and you have an upper shelf
closet or some other place that you can readily store them, gift bags, tissue
paper, clothing boxes from department stores, and even large sheets of carefully-removed
gift wrap can all effectively be used again. Not only can this save you some
money when the next holiday comes around, it can also be very convenient to
have materials like this readily on hand when you need them. Reusing wrapping
paper, of course, is predicated on the idea that people, notably children, will
not shred it when opening their gifts, but wanton destruction does not necessarily
have to be part of the fun of Christmas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">* Recycle it!</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> If you recycling is available where you live, at the
very least you should make a point of gathering up all the gift paper, boxes,
and cards you are not planning on keeping and getting rid of it this way rather
than by putting it in the trash. As an aside, if you think recycling is not
available in your community, check the local county or municipal website; a
county recycling truck comes once a week to a parking lot near where I live at
Canyon Lake, for example, but many of my neighbors are completely unaware of this
when I tell them about it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">* Repurpose it.</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> If you are able to, repurposing
paper and cards is even more efficient than recycling them and there are
numerous ways to do this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Giftwrap,
tissue paper from gift bags, and other flammable materials can be used in
fireplaces to get kindling burning — and this can be a good way to make use of
such materials that have been torn up and are no longer useful for anything
else. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> There
are also many arts-and-crafts projects that children can undertake using greeting
cards. They can, for example, remove the fronts of used cards and use them to
create new ones with cardstock or paper, and can then use these for their
thank-you notes or to send their own greetings the following year — and with
even less effort the fronts of greeting cards can be removed and used as
postcards. Images on greeting cards can also be cut out and</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">used in conjunction with pieces of ribbon, decorations from wrapped
gifts, and twine or yarn to make colorful custom ornaments or turned into
dioramas and standup figurines (maybe even an entire manger scene if you were
lucky enough to receive the right cards). Cardstock printed with colorful or
pleasing images, or even wide pieces of ribbon, can also be used to create
personalized bookmarks, particularly for use with any new books children might
have just received as gifts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Kids
can make use of giftwrap in similar ways. The blank backs of large sheets of
used wrapping paper, for example, can be used for drawing and coloring pictures
(note, however, that a disproportionate number of wives, mothers-in-law, and
especially great aunts will consider encouraging children to use scrap paper
rather than retail products like coloring books to be tantamount to cruelty, so
be warned in advance.) Giftwrap can also be used to create collages and other
works of art. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">* Regift it.</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> There are a number of organizations that accept
donations of greeting cards and an online search can provide details about many
of them. One of the most worthwhile of these is St. Jude’s Ranch for Children,
which through its <b><a href="http://www.stjudesranch.org/shop/recycled-card-program" target="_blank">Recycled Card Program</a></b> turns old cards into new ones and then sells them as a means of fundraising. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is no reason to limit yourself to just one
of the above ideas, of course, and a combination can help ensure that little or
nothing goes to waste by just getting thrown away (and, of course, they can be
implemented anytime of the year, not just around the holidays). And there are
probably even more ways to make use of leftover holiday refuse, possibly even
some that you have successfully tried yourself! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-74386346217526062322016-11-16T17:45:00.001-08:002016-11-16T20:13:14.417-08:00Expressing a Right to be Shocked<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQZyenCKidXd_O8Nz2Pe4mocjQ5x4xmdE4Y1kWh_S-i7PhWOP8WvgaoEanlSwylIqAbom4NiagfNNJbr6HQAyZAtFo0APiCUSE3GM_ewUO-FQ73BLpS-Rh042Hxhtu1etCXG96CtHQz6k/s1600/42uIh8Y8.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/AVvXsEgQZyenCKidXd_O8Nz2Pe4mocjQ5x4xmdE4Y1kWh_S-i7PhWOP8WvgaoEanlSwylIqAbom4NiagfNNJbr6HQAyZAtFo0APiCUSE3GM_ewUO-FQ73BLpS-Rh042Hxhtu1etCXG96CtHQz6k/s200/42uIh8Y8.jpg" width="200" /></a><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Following is my response to an article by blogger Courtney Parker West (right) titled <a href="https://bullshit.ist/on-woke-white-people-advertising-their-shock-that-racism-just-won-a-presidency-68286682047d#.36wyw0367" target="_blank">"On 'Woke' White People Advertising Their Shock That Racism Just Won a Presidency,"</a> in which s</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">he asserts that the way people express their feelings should be dictated by their race. My sense from an examination of her social media presence overall is that her primary goal was to emotionally bully her white liberal friends rather than make statements that would clearly be outrageously racist if the word "black" was substituted for "white" throughout. In short, and to emulate her tactic of using made-up words as a device for controlling the dialogue, "West performs a macroloathsomeness in order to merely achieve </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">microloathsomeness." One would think this was not the time for liberals to be turning on each other, or to be relinquishing their commitment to speech that promotes racial parity. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Suffice
it to say that I find this article offputting and even a bit pathetic, in that
it takes a poke not at people who voted for Trump because they support his
racist rhetoric, not at those who voted for him in spite of that, and not even
at those who did not vote at all — but rather at those who took a stand against
him because the author does not approve of the way they are processing their
own grief and fear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes, I
was shocked and upset that Trump won this election, because I fought like hell
to the extent that I could to keep that from happening, through personal
interactions, attendance at political events, posts on social media, and articles
on websites and in the local newspaper. As a resident of rural Texas, my
political and social views are in the minority where I live, and I have
publicly spoken out against Trump in a local city where white supremacist
events are now being organized. My supposed “white privilege” is probably not
worth as much to me in this environment as Courtney Parker West would like to
imagine. And if something happens to one of my biracial daughters or
grandchildren, or one or the many people I care about deeply who are members of
minority groups, should I still feel “privileged”? And will that then be
something I am allowed to express feelings about, or will West still want me to
keep quiet simply because of the color of my skin? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">So,
being both white and surprised that Trump won, even though I did everything in
my limited power to keep that from happening, makes me the villain of West's unpleasant
little narrative. I can only wonder if West is going to follow up with articles
on large groups of minorities who stayed home on election day and did not vote
at all, or on the DNC, which undermined the candidate the majority of Democratic
voters wanted. It would seem to me that their indifference and malignance,
respectively, are far more relevant than my after-the-fact surprise at the
results of the election. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">On the
day of the election — when I thought Hillary Clinton was going to win but
before the results were known so that it would not look like I was trying to
curry favor with either side — I posted on Facebook that I have never
unfriended someone merely because of their political views. I was thus
interested to learn that, according to the meme West included with her article,
that this makes me a “douche.” I have, in fact, unfriended plenty of people who
have used racist epithets or advocated violence, just not ones who have simply
stated a specific political preference or candidate, and I have been unfriended
by plenty of less-tolerant rightwing friends and relatives. As soon as I
unfriend large numbers of people who have opposing viewpoints, however, I lose
any kind of platform for influencing them. If West thinks a verbal circle jerk
where only talking to people with similar points of view is productive then I
will direct her to the results of the most recent election. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Finally,
as an aside, I don’t know if I’m “woke” or not, because I’m 50 and therefore not
accountable for learning new slang. I will note, however, that one of the
organizations I have always admired most in my capacity as a writer is the
Black Panthers, because they traditionally made a point of producing materials
only in standard written English (i.e., in the 1960s and '70s), so that everyone would be able to quickly and
easily understand their message. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Suffice
it to say that I have found this article to be divisive, unproductive, and hurtful
and that it has made me a little sad and angry. And now, I am going to soldier
on, because the world is full of douches and dumb jerks who look like me — and
also ones who look like Courtney Parker West, it turns out — and we have got
more work to do than ever before. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCI_-MgE1-mu1GBiTQcKJkQImHOUSB9k_uO3irelgc9Urc8GNBTGknTJ8LGk3u1mdEqpH0vxLAb_BYhAGkOvV4xHlD3NwodHFtNnpepURRq29QgPdLJmhrLNW7PphiXpLwCT24Ro70aQ/s1600/1-7jnA-UqF4JrqS7b6wibAng.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCI_-MgE1-mu1GBiTQcKJkQImHOUSB9k_uO3irelgc9Urc8GNBTGknTJ8LGk3u1mdEqpH0vxLAb_BYhAGkOvV4xHlD3NwodHFtNnpepURRq29QgPdLJmhrLNW7PphiXpLwCT24Ro70aQ/s640/1-7jnA-UqF4JrqS7b6wibAng.jpeg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCI_-MgE1-mu1GBiTQcKJkQImHOUSB9k_uO3irelgc9Urc8GNBTGknTJ8LGk3u1mdEqpH0vxLAb_BYhAGkOvV4xHlD3NwodHFtNnpepURRq29QgPdLJmhrLNW7PphiXpLwCT24Ro70aQ/s1600/1-7jnA-UqF4JrqS7b6wibAng.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">This is the picture that appears with West's article.</span></div>
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Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-77887226748788134782016-11-03T11:58:00.002-07:002016-11-03T13:29:36.678-07:00Contemplating the Worth of Values<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOd6749dRSAVdAbFxlGkyTe-xAyV_Xl1n0EeJKP0m7szaE0GfJsuXuxajWmJlY3fQvqK2QUu6SbDrgAcx-YFQW86bUtjH2ncXV96MzU_tRbFHdPT5Dbf8vRELO534pZ-G6ytHnN_IUpws/s1600/Trump_Mocking.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/AVvXsEhOd6749dRSAVdAbFxlGkyTe-xAyV_Xl1n0EeJKP0m7szaE0GfJsuXuxajWmJlY3fQvqK2QUu6SbDrgAcx-YFQW86bUtjH2ncXV96MzU_tRbFHdPT5Dbf8vRELO534pZ-G6ytHnN_IUpws/s200/Trump_Mocking.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><i>Following is an op-ed piece I wrote for the <b><a href="http://herald-zeitung.com/" target="_blank">New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung</a></b> that it ran on November 3 as <b><a href="http://herald-zeitung.com/opinion/article_c589a250-a161-11e6-af81-ef6d1c819816.html" target="_blank">"Finding the 'values' in this election."</a></b> It is somewhat longer than what the newspaper normally accepts and the editors there had to tighten it up a bit and, in doing so, wisely toned down some of my more inflammatory verbiage. Hope you enjoy it or, at least, are prompted to reflect upon the issues it addresses. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Never before the current election cycle have I been so grateful to be almost entirely bereft of values and to have had to limp through life guided by almost nothing but ideals. Likewise, never before have I so pitied the many “values voters” who have contorted themselves to cite their fundamental beliefs as the basis for defending candidate Donald Trump and the many loathsome and disturbing things he has personally uttered and admitted to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Certainly there are not many good choices in the current presidential election and, as I am wholly unable to defend or promote Hillary Clinton, I cannot in good conscience reproach anyone for even misguidedly choosing Donald Trump as the lesser of two evils. What baffles me, however, are the many convoluted and grotesque attempts to invoke moral values on behalf of Donald Trump that we have seen recently. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Perhaps my problem getting my mind around this apparent disconnect is my own lack of values and subsequent failure to comprehend them, and so I am attempting to understand the difference between them and ideals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">To me, ideals are forward-looking and represent hopes and aspirations. One of my ideals, for example, is that “I want to live in a country where women don’t have to fear sexual violence and where those who admit to such crimes are held accountable for them.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Values are harder for me to get my mind around but I have identified a number of common characteristics many of them share. One is that they are applied to the conduct of others at least as much, and often more so, than to one’s own behavior. Another is that they can be invoked as the standard of behavior in a fictitious golden age that existed before our current era of moral decline. Yet another is that they tend to claim as their moral authority verses from the Bible. In that the contents of the Bible are meaningless to the more than one-third of Americans who are not members of Christian congregations — and, as far as I can tell, that it is not actually comprehensively read by most Christians anyway — this last trait really does seem like an odd basis for anything one might want everyone to get on board with. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Having recognized these attributes, however, I decided to watch people purporting to have values on the news, on social media, and in person, and to see if by doing so I could formulate some of my own and come to a better understanding of them. Here are some of my initial results and conclusions about them: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Bill Clinton is a rapist.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Hmmm, strangely, I hear this get invoked a lot as a direct answer to questions about Donald Trump’s conduct, but that technically makes it what we used to call a <i>non sequitur</i>, rather than a value. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Benghazi.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Nope, that is not a value, just a city in the Middle East. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“9/11.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">No, that’s the date of a historical event, not actually a value. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Make America great again.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">OK, sure, at first this <i>sounds</i> like a value, but is obviously predicated on the idea that America is not in fact a great nation today. This is the kind of assertion that might have gotten hippies, blacks, or other troublemakers pretty badly beaten by conservatives in earlier eras, so it is kind of funny that it has been co-opted by rightwing “patriots” today. I would postulate that, by definition, a statement that demeans the United States cannot be characterized as a legitimate American value. And aren’t the people saying this now the same ones who coined “Love it or leave it” back in the day? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“My Christian faith does not allow me to judge others.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Hahahaha! Oh, good grief. OK, so this really does meet all the tests for being a value. What makes it ridiculously laughable as a defense for Trump, however, is that we have all routinely seen many of the people who are invoking it today — from individuals we know to prominent religious leaders — actively judge and condemn others as a matter of course. Withholding judgement <i>only</i> when it applies to someone a person has already decided to vote for does seem like a bit of a double standard. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“People who have more money and power than me have the right to demean and use women, including ones I care about, as they see fit.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Yes! This one actually hits all the marks and can be regarded as a genuine value. In <b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+20&version=NIV" target="_blank">Genesis 20</a></b>, for example, we see Abraham willingly give his wife to Abimelek, king of Gerar — and read that she is returned to him only because of direct intervention by God — so it meets the test for being supported by obscure sacred texts. And it echoes the disturbing medieval practice of <i>primae noctis</i>, in which a feudal lord could exert the right to sleep with a new bride ahead of her husband, thereby hearkening back to a golden age when everyone knew their place. And, most critically, adherence to this value allows one to support Donald Trump not just despite the most loathsome things he has openly admitted to but even because of them. It would be a humiliatingly shameful thing for any American to say out loud, of course, but for months now we have seen any number of them implicitly promoting this idea as their reality. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">My initial success at formulating a value notwithstanding, this is probably pretty clearly something that does not come naturally to me, and moving ahead I am likely simply going to have to remain value-free and continue to stick just with ideals. And, if the only use for values is to show that black is white, that evil is good, that ugliness is beautiful, then I really don’t have much use for them anyway. </span></div>
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Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-90605465164457717372016-10-01T04:09:00.000-07:002017-02-07T21:51:48.278-08:00My Book List<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://bit.ly/SwordsOfKos" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9v_nElBKXDO5FFf6Kvohlu5-7-7frG_FOER3cZgwQIzo1cEo3U6YRbaQvOAMYRLvfdEYHsk9HGj8zPEJvHzK1Rdi9GUahjciL2aNhKRlJVsYR0NTnQIyFpaKcRk3nqgtKSdVAa8v7NMM/s200/SoKFCS_Cover.JPG" width="154" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As part of getting ready to serve as as Guest of Honor for the <b><a href="http://conclavesf.net/" target="_blank">ConClave</a></b> science fiction convention, I was asked by the organizers to provide a list of the various books I had authored! When I started going through the most recent list I had I realized it needed quite a bit of updating and, once I had done that, figured I should post it here. In any event, since 1998 I have </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">authored or
co-authored 46 titles covering many subjects and in multiple genres,
including five novels or book-length works of fiction; 13 non-fiction books
that include writers guides, history, and travel guides; and 28 games or
game-related titles. Beyond that, I have also written hundreds of articles for dozens of
newspapers, magazines, newsletters, blogs, websites, and other venues. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">NON-FICTION<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3MEZi1QurA8-jxuYXGMi7ox9-fNUYd2y2xPefSCW9aE2QSZNnX0Ks98_sNie7ZnjwGs0ymlsDUbuUOj-jWkMwhe1Sf0GocctLaPmBLtrTDvDwAlyzDlykC5CcX6vR0ifPGzcimtTnXO1K/s1600/Ghosthunting-San-Antonio.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/AVvXsEh3MEZi1QurA8-jxuYXGMi7ox9-fNUYd2y2xPefSCW9aE2QSZNnX0Ks98_sNie7ZnjwGs0ymlsDUbuUOj-jWkMwhe1Sf0GocctLaPmBLtrTDvDwAlyzDlykC5CcX6vR0ifPGzcimtTnXO1K/s200/Ghosthunting-San-Antonio.jpg" width="128" /></a><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="https://www.clerisypress.com/product.php?productid=17101&cat=0&page=1" target="_blank">Ghosthunting San Antonio, Austin, & Texas Hill Country</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="https://www.clerisypress.com/" target="_blank">Clerisy Press</a>, 2015)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Writing
Fantasy & Science Fiction</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (Writer's Digest, 2013; w. Orson Scott Card)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Disunion</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b> </b>(New York
Times, 2013; w. multiple other authors)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="https://www.clerisypress.com/product.php?productid=17002&cat=0&page=1" target="_blank">Texas Confidential: Sex, Scandal, Murder, & Mayhem in the Lone Star State</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="https://www.clerisypress.com/" target="_blank">Clerisy Press</a>,
2011)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Life
in Civil War America</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (Family Tree Books, 2011)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4sPYBg0XfYpQGRnggsvaAORPE7LtTeLHFWNxo-45n6kliaMzfCW2wJChIx9wCTs2OnID5sZSI9oDKaeLhm1DobWHNlaq2cK6RTgzibuSdKIBJnDTM4hXvI8N5xlU3UAbRlk9qGkogp1h2/s1600/6bdd3850fd8bb0e00d3575b2b4ae998e.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/AVvXsEi4sPYBg0XfYpQGRnggsvaAORPE7LtTeLHFWNxo-45n6kliaMzfCW2wJChIx9wCTs2OnID5sZSI9oDKaeLhm1DobWHNlaq2cK6RTgzibuSdKIBJnDTM4hXvI8N5xlU3UAbRlk9qGkogp1h2/s200/6bdd3850fd8bb0e00d3575b2b4ae998e.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="https://www.clerisypress.com/product.php?productid=16896&cat=280&page=1" target="_blank">Ghosthunting Maryland</a></b> </span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(<a href="https://www.clerisypress.com/" target="_blank">Clerisy Press</a>, 2009)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="https://www.clerisypress.com/product.php?productid=16729&cat=280&page=2" target="_blank">Ghosthunting Virginia</a></b> </span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(<a href="https://www.clerisypress.com/" target="_blank">Clerisy Press</a>, 2008)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Shipwrecks
& Lost Treasures: Great Lakes</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (Globe Pequot Press, 2007)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Civil
War Armchair Reader</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (co-author, Publications International,
2007; w. multiple other authors)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Fire
& Ice: The Korean War, 1950-1953</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (Savas, 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>D-Day:
June 6, 1944</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
(co-author, Savas, 2001; w. Randy Holderfield)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Everyday
Life During the Civil War</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (Writer’s Digest, 1999)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>The
Writer’s Complete Fantasy Reference</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (co-author, Writer’s Digest, 1998; w.
Terry Brooks)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">FICTION/NOVELS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnVn7upVEprz5CBB3Wx1aRPXJ7_Nsdot-lU735BTnuqjqlfwiSbA6s8jTfaauJ1moWJ0hln5xLN4H0Z-Rxmwpr3ZeOQg_oaF_DbuiIVRcnc7dS06xdNRhvUd8QxRLvbko9gt3GcY1eWeAq/s1600/Opal_cover2.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/AVvXsEgnVn7upVEprz5CBB3Wx1aRPXJ7_Nsdot-lU735BTnuqjqlfwiSbA6s8jTfaauJ1moWJ0hln5xLN4H0Z-Rxmwpr3ZeOQg_oaF_DbuiIVRcnc7dS06xdNRhvUd8QxRLvbko9gt3GcY1eWeAq/s200/Opal_cover2.jpg" width="129" /></a><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://bit.ly/SwordsOfKos" target="_blank">Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2016; w. Jim
Clunie, Brendan Cass, et al)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Opal
of Light & Shadow</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (GP Adventures, 2016) <i>Illustration for the cover by fantasy artist Lloyd Metcalf appears here! </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://d-infinity.net/swords-kos/return-necropolis" target="_blank">Returnto the Necropolis</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2014)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Swords
of Kos: Hekaton</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2013; w. multiple other
authors)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/102196?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">Swords of Kos: Necropolis</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2012)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">GAMES/GAMING BOOKS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/176480?affiliate_id=79547" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fuKpaGRSNjVJIJXtr3zpiTuz6bu54Cmz1NqRbJBjlvBSxbHiUAAbIKrOKUJhbfvKY8gJUiQWckUJFTmX3yfatlP2Che4UZfCKN0Cb-14EEvbHAL0U9U4EVUDpATF5EKvoJMJS5Zan2fE/s200/176480.jpg" width="152" /></a><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/185501?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">Men & Monsters of the Aegean</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2016; w. Clint
Staples)<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/185361?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">Jester Dragon's Guide to Defects</a><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/185361?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank"> (Pathfinder Role-Playing Game)</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">SkirmisherPublishing LLC</a>, 2016; w. William T. Thrasher)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/176480?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">Men & Monsters of Ethiopia</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2016)<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/154308?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">Cards & Quests Bestiary 1: Monsters of Kos</a></b> </span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2016; w. Todd and
Allison Markello)<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/138572?affiliate_id=79547" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0dDiDHAnwvJbGiImq47LTJHVAAFGi5-9lmC4mduYxVxqDB1WrUw7NcuiF93BPHvjXqyTrdpUwQMIQN-lsc4CLFv8IQLXVIdQnIZkG2GOQWkZd-Fyg9A9EIUDxu6j3sX1bla0nK-sLQyg/s200/138572.jpg" width="155" /></a><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/138572?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">100 Oddities for a Creepy Old House</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2013; w. William
T. Thrasher and Clint Staples)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/148510?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">d-Infinity Vol. #7: Holidays & Celebrations</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2015; w.
multiple other authors)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>d-Infinity
Vol. #6: The Mythos</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2014; w.
multiple other authors)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/124255?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">Heroes & Monsters of the Necropolis</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (Cardstock Characters<sup>TM</sup>) (Skirmisher
Publishing LLC, 2013)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/106743?affiliate_id=79547" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKJdnIVUgAgm0_YeQCZyl-wzyDpQhBx9-aswFi59NwNgBkUjfQZwfrXbxoo8C7kuSQavD_3aAHm5_pMjuPwuwx-DECEkQU12PJ45eucymBnGbM2iWQ_Z-NbQVlcgj_V9xitPKmZCwSh5M/s200/106743.jpg" width="154" /></a><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/116379?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">d-Infinity Vol. #5: Full Circle</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2013; w.
multiple other authors)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/106743?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">Jester Dragon's Guide to Defects</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2013; w. William
T. Thrasher)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/102743?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">d-Infinity Vol. #4: Dark Future</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2012; w. multiple other authors)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/98289?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">d-Infinity Vol. #3: Children of the Night</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2012; w.
multiple other authors)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/63703?affiliate_id=79547" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLoVYJzd5zjfRq1aZoIgT-RlcC0q-2qF2BR2qX2UBy0IlPpcNoENItVWE4eghM7yRgdj7_yJtmYS07YV2hT547_3Tq0akO3I140ahthPJLgKFeyBwBQ8GjY_1bI6VqwzSO1Vyja6FO2w/s200/63703.jpg" width="154" /></a><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/88507?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">d-Infinity Vol. #2: Lost Treasure</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2011; w.
multiple other authors)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/79282?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">Adventures in Wonderland</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2010)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/63703?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">City Builder: A Guide to Designing Communities</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2010; w.
Jim Clunie)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/79095?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">Dhanurvidya & Varman: The Arms and Armor of India</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2010; w.
Alexander Melchor)</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/27947?affiliate_id=79547" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpdqlDS3KhjD-Rx-uQbR1luUEtIZmL-h0RZa2HwXX1xBGxMQLsbi6yljJHlZ4x22JXGs80LqLkV8JIqBG4SAybjz2qYLxa8m3zUFypXRE3CukuLAmxdpsa3FET06rCsgyD_Z-2uF3QkTY/s200/27947.jpg" width="171" /></a><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/83393?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">d-Infinity Vol. #1: The Adventure Begins</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2010; w.
multiple other authors)</span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i>
<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/59861?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">Tests of Skill v.3.5</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2004; w. Paul O. Knorr and Shane O'Connor)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/58039?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">Chevauchee: Rules for Battles with Medieval Miniatures</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2008; w. Robert "Mac" McLaughlin)</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/59159?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">Skirmish!</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2008)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/28798?affiliate_id=79547" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9stOkYcNwmIqEwPpgNBlra_bi6ERJpKi5WkY1YrKnGPICbYM_g8f9yCKRK8ak8ywHZYNxdgQZ72r4A1yIyx3i6V2UfF0-BETiZpygaeh4EY3B4Q14Pwy0TIBriTLSRwHdb9JF149BOM/s200/28798.jpg" width="154" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/27947?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">H.G. Wells' Little Orc Wars</a></b> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2007; w. H.G. Wells)</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/28798?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">Experts v.3.5</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
(<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2007; w. Paul O. Knorr)</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/50544?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">Nuisances: Director's Cut</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2007; w. Paul O. Knorr,
Sharon Daugherty, William T. Thrasher)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><i>Gary Gygax's Nation Builder</i></b> (Troll Lord Games, 2005; w. Gary Gygax)</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Nuisances</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2004; w. Paul O. Knorr, Sharon Daugherty)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/50544?affiliate_id=79547" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvXCxl1fq9VuWcgnkQVQMLWTr5NpzkhBaNkQBFA6ySe1xtJzv-PbnJD1ImHGa4XBXC-7HmspKCLrgonoJDi_8EwWB0oqZClznnYAheJ57fQ1wb0S5WTsK8JIMpfUvwVrn2mmgnw3Xu_M/s200/50544.jpg" width="154" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><i>Tests of Skill</i></b> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">(</span><a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">, 2004; w. Paul O. Knorr)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/55823?affiliate_id=79547" target="_blank">Warriors</a></b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2003; w. Paul O. Knorr, Sharon Daugherty, Luke Gygax)</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Experts</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (<a href="http://www.skirmisher.com/" target="_blank">Skirmisher Publishing LLC</a>, 2002; w. Paul O. Knorr)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-61544070108193076062016-09-01T14:33:00.000-07:002017-02-07T21:52:41.398-08:00Going Beyond 'A Stroll with A Million Dollar View'<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pnHmg86o0eHj9MsL_rzym77cbaZ0vlS_3drFaC0JwlGPRo526A6WZaBHDyDKfARJfksiM1JJKyf0fPrja9o1-QcumvmYcgQPRmzhw929hpf8GPHiuMt-xgMPjTt_fAAJHyR6aDkwTVI/s1600/CanyonDam01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pnHmg86o0eHj9MsL_rzym77cbaZ0vlS_3drFaC0JwlGPRo526A6WZaBHDyDKfARJfksiM1JJKyf0fPrja9o1-QcumvmYcgQPRmzhw929hpf8GPHiuMt-xgMPjTt_fAAJHyR6aDkwTVI/s200/CanyonDam01.JPG" width="200" /></a><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">One of the first things I did when I moved to Texas Hill Country more
than seven years ago was walk <b><a href="http://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/canyon/">Canyon Dam</a></b>, the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers project that constrains the Guadalupe River in Comal
County. As of this writing, my most recent piece for the Canyon Lake department
of the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b><a href="http://herald-zeitung.com/" target="_blank">New
Braunfels Herald-Zeitung</a></b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>newspaper
is about the people who walk the dam every day for exercise and relaxation
("A Stroll with A Million Dollar View," August 26, 2016). As usual, I
submitted more photos than the paper could actually use, and so have posted some of them here as a visual
supplement to my article. </span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxdNNp3kd1yblaqUIYSro8-6KER1NwrT9z0F5egkeahdQGp4BfvrMWWTnGEL5sJ9Ns22la1w146HqSrG88sqKRLi2tnV5kWJ0WWaKpqg_gpQdRh51_juzqDTUKuDlZa1apq2jh6clu93c/s1600/CanyonDam02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxdNNp3kd1yblaqUIYSro8-6KER1NwrT9z0F5egkeahdQGp4BfvrMWWTnGEL5sJ9Ns22la1w146HqSrG88sqKRLi2tnV5kWJ0WWaKpqg_gpQdRh51_juzqDTUKuDlZa1apq2jh6clu93c/s400/CanyonDam02.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Canyon dam overlooks the
water and its boulder-covered interior face slopes down to it from an elevation
of about 60 feet to the east, and the grassy slope of the dam plummets about
200 feet into the largely-wooded area known locally as the Hidden Valley,
ending just short of where South Access Road passes by it.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhryubZPQzIFKlSNNvCH3qbvpa7ntt7y6hTYfXndThgpzIKBkIrhJAlrJEVQL0f5o_A1xBBHvoToDk1BivhiHARPQ6VLCKFBBAdA_oBJLp9CAWnGoJZaozV8V_lYdHOKZhP9-752Ivt9i8/s1600/CanyonDam04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhryubZPQzIFKlSNNvCH3qbvpa7ntt7y6hTYfXndThgpzIKBkIrhJAlrJEVQL0f5o_A1xBBHvoToDk1BivhiHARPQ6VLCKFBBAdA_oBJLp9CAWnGoJZaozV8V_lYdHOKZhP9-752Ivt9i8/s400/CanyonDam04.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Overlook Park, located along the south side of Canyon Dam, includes its own
wooded trails, fishing access, and this pleasant little swimming area. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjffZjgA0tGk9Dbe202h0xm7F8Rulw4sPeOn-mlaSM02UMSy-_8gB4B8oOB0AAu8sJU7ZOLXayX2szWxgZeFAYVk3GhnYexQaxk8AU7uUwoYAJK_tG7i3LEkofXNQZWWgd7rbHYEVqbl-E/s1600/CanyonDam03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjffZjgA0tGk9Dbe202h0xm7F8Rulw4sPeOn-mlaSM02UMSy-_8gB4B8oOB0AAu8sJU7ZOLXayX2szWxgZeFAYVk3GhnYexQaxk8AU7uUwoYAJK_tG7i3LEkofXNQZWWgd7rbHYEVqbl-E/s400/CanyonDam03.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A view from the western edge of Canyon Dam, toward where the Guadalupe River flows out of it and continues on in the direction of New Braunfels. A small hydroelectric plant there generates some of the energy used in our area. </span></div>
Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-77924205713777262016-08-19T10:54:00.001-07:002016-08-26T19:53:08.431-07:00Going Beyond the 'Butterfly Effect'<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTAm049xw89feXiGwC53mZGPYT0FOQgS8P1oorPIRxmsvwzhGT-l957N4Wx5_pOoi4JUWdHW6J0KCm_5D-g5Jdt1HQ0U12QXySvYm3xtkJc4opF8_IIWhN28k35KDZYe0-CbRD3wy0Avb/s1600/Butterfly03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><i><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTAm049xw89feXiGwC53mZGPYT0FOQgS8P1oorPIRxmsvwzhGT-l957N4Wx5_pOoi4JUWdHW6J0KCm_5D-g5Jdt1HQ0U12QXySvYm3xtkJc4opF8_IIWhN28k35KDZYe0-CbRD3wy0Avb/s200/Butterfly03.JPG" width="137" /></i></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>One of things I do these days is cover the Canyon Lake department of the <b><a href="http://herald-zeitung.com/" target="_blank">New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung</a></b> newspaper where I live in south Texas! My most recent piece as of this writing was on the beautiful butterfly garden at <b><a href="http://tpml.org/" target="_blank">Tye Preston Memorial Library</a></b>, which was based to a large extent on a visit there with Susan Bogle, one of its founders ("The Butterfly Effect," August 19, 2016). Unfortunately, the paper was only able to run two of the six photos I submitted, along with their associated cutlines, so I am posting the balance of the material I developed here for people's enjoyment. I am also including color versions of the images they had to run in black-and-white and a direct link to the <b><a href="https://youtu.be/9eYAOdxCpDM" target="_blank">video I shot of my walk through the garden with Bogle</a></b>. Above right, </i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>a Sulphur butterfly feeds on blue mistflower, a nectar plant especially
favored by pollinators. </i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVNDXncYC2C3gMwO0eOPazKnlZ4KfHRd0jMVBtHMZ_D8I6M2JDTHGLAcnksbB1syhj_ht1-0CK5Q_yaxJZ1nsZSQU4w7PLSH_oB6vknk0LiORhgXArQRdtnPOyW4dsnaL-gs5cQ4Sfcqp/s1600/Butterfly02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVNDXncYC2C3gMwO0eOPazKnlZ4KfHRd0jMVBtHMZ_D8I6M2JDTHGLAcnksbB1syhj_ht1-0CK5Q_yaxJZ1nsZSQU4w7PLSH_oB6vknk0LiORhgXArQRdtnPOyW4dsnaL-gs5cQ4Sfcqp/s400/Butterfly02.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Austin sculptor Margie Bivens created “Butterfly Effect,” a massive iron
representation of a Texas redbud tree, and it was donated to the library by a
member of our community in honor of her mother. Bogle said it is her favorite
tree in the garden because it is the one that requires the least water or care.
“If watch it from left to right, you can see that its leaves morph into
butterflies,” Bogle said. “I have counted the butterflies on it innumerable
times and never gotten the same number.”</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTyOXqqNJdcEki7GCEdnUmR5oY1f2J8UdGQ-CqwqCazK9e844UjP0oiYBVAgQJ9Ye-fj3VbcaNzre4VP6euTn13tF8jgNg40AJGdVi6gLtxE3Yvxv-s6ESfMymDlJHxEfo_R_YoiNQPPek/s1600/Butterfly04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTyOXqqNJdcEki7GCEdnUmR5oY1f2J8UdGQ-CqwqCazK9e844UjP0oiYBVAgQJ9Ye-fj3VbcaNzre4VP6euTn13tF8jgNg40AJGdVi6gLtxE3Yvxv-s6ESfMymDlJHxEfo_R_YoiNQPPek/s400/Butterfly04.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“It has a lot of things that you might have in any garden,” Bogle said, but
creating a butterfly garden meant there were rules they had to follow. “We
needed to provide host plants, nectar plants, places for them to hide, places
for them to hang their chrysalises. We have grass here, which you’re not going
to see in most gardens, but that is where they go when it rains. So, we’re
providing habitat and food for these creatures.”</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4x_wjUtgla5HOjnva9MRVuJynhHr2blEt4wL2RCdOfskSpTcfzst-Lz2Osy2qkC0nzr3ELyB8j6k2sshevVq-7mwTfvDw6gfLOxaMEW6z0SsGcH1zas1JmrOT-QJWLRzxcPJ0gcSAHOsB/s1600/Butterfly05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4x_wjUtgla5HOjnva9MRVuJynhHr2blEt4wL2RCdOfskSpTcfzst-Lz2Osy2qkC0nzr3ELyB8j6k2sshevVq-7mwTfvDw6gfLOxaMEW6z0SsGcH1zas1JmrOT-QJWLRzxcPJ0gcSAHOsB/s320/Butterfly05.JPG" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyu1dt-_sHJL0AK_D2dJkL6pFCk2hNcZjz2qQyrU4LQcNAsgELZuAvZa2MPgNXtSEe1FbiR1PS6OVMgqFX-AX_ze1FvqVEVndkzicZFuYG5C4bTscNIB4DVIMwww6djYfKnpQFUM1nYqFf/s1600/Butterfly06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyu1dt-_sHJL0AK_D2dJkL6pFCk2hNcZjz2qQyrU4LQcNAsgELZuAvZa2MPgNXtSEe1FbiR1PS6OVMgqFX-AX_ze1FvqVEVndkzicZFuYG5C4bTscNIB4DVIMwww6djYfKnpQFUM1nYqFf/s320/Butterfly06.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Above left:</b> “Just the idea of a butterfly garden seems to inspire people,” Bogle said. This
bench shaped like a butterfly and decorated with pieces of colored glass was
created by a local artist for installation in the garden. <b>Above right:</b> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">TPML’s butterfly garden is on the west side of facility and deliberately
situated outside of its largest window. Bogle said she initially expected that
it would be a maximum of 20 by 30 feet in size, but its actual footprint is
about 90 by 80 — larger than the library’s original building in Sattler! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7rWoOqFMyKClQJ_602lbThsqgwY6XLiGr3hRmKLOuLpxFeE6S_dPFsGMCviBFIvNVDG_XlbZSvAp79PZZi3xCqCLd-TQhbYl2I4W9Akh_FBzwENxRIuQ6Eyqd08uIBctRHK1M8H3UDUo/s1600/Butterfly01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7rWoOqFMyKClQJ_602lbThsqgwY6XLiGr3hRmKLOuLpxFeE6S_dPFsGMCviBFIvNVDG_XlbZSvAp79PZZi3xCqCLd-TQhbYl2I4W9Akh_FBzwENxRIuQ6Eyqd08uIBctRHK1M8H3UDUo/s640/Butterfly01.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“We’ve tried to have a complete habitat” for butterflies and other pollinators, Bogle said. “Someplace place to live, something to eat, something to drink. You need to have nectar plants to attract butterflies but what keeps them here is the fact we have so many host plants,” notably milkweed,” which is what they lay their eggs on and the caterpillars live on until they go through their several stages to become butterflies.” Butterfly varieties that can regularly be found </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">in the garden include the Buckeye, Checkered Skipper, Gulf Fritillary, Hairstreak, Monarch, Painted Lady,
Queen, Red Admiral, Black Swallowtail, Pipevine Swallowtail, and Sulphur. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZx0w8dTvS_PDNR67C2GXGZHkh6QwzGTwU0k_RobPVJ168yDt8bHQly50HpfrLMyhsyynHKIaYqKM72TRMmcUv4eifvB-gU1c8X3aeLYn8D_Xd0PHt9xTCNvIVjw98I4nmj8T0tI-mbM6Y/s1600/Butterfly_Article.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZx0w8dTvS_PDNR67C2GXGZHkh6QwzGTwU0k_RobPVJ168yDt8bHQly50HpfrLMyhsyynHKIaYqKM72TRMmcUv4eifvB-gU1c8X3aeLYn8D_Xd0PHt9xTCNvIVjw98I4nmj8T0tI-mbM6Y/s640/Butterfly_Article.jpg" width="588" /></a></div>
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Michael O. Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02926860732348083635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-79315935457317136762016-07-25T02:09:00.000-07:002016-07-25T10:38:32.670-07:00Martin, Whitey, and the Manifestation of Ignorance<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9rhkrRR_fXmvYP3DGW8B4lovAG7iIIfI41I2tsTYo-JHU_XQY32AZz-RuWBQY5ar6ZjEgnZrf_eiIqqxGanb8aGYRDM8JgZ9PZb9SE4-HxqV15bivaJ2Kovo3U5-cRQvB7-ifio1eSss/s1600/b5a4edad18d3215128539a07a5152e5d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9rhkrRR_fXmvYP3DGW8B4lovAG7iIIfI41I2tsTYo-JHU_XQY32AZz-RuWBQY5ar6ZjEgnZrf_eiIqqxGanb8aGYRDM8JgZ9PZb9SE4-HxqV15bivaJ2Kovo3U5-cRQvB7-ifio1eSss/s320/b5a4edad18d3215128539a07a5152e5d.jpg" width="260" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I was in the 4th
grade, I had an enigmatic and menacing nemesis named Martin. He was tall,
hulking, and hunched, with straight red hair and buck teeth, and I can recall him wearing an overcoat and heavy shoes and having a backpack hung from his sloping shoulders. He
was strong and hateful and I knew he could hurt me if he ever laid hands on me,
but he was also pretty slow, and as long as I stayed alert I could keep out of
his reach. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Somehow Martin and I
ended up in a special reading class together for a short time — I remember
being told after maybe two or three sessions that I should not come back to it —
and it was at these that he revealed a strange new dimension to me. When Martin
would read, I was amazed to discover that he
could see in the text things that I could not. Even as I followed along in
my copy of the book we were reading from, he would utter words that I simply
could not see, different from and in addition to those visible to me. That made
this monster both mysterious and an object of envy to me and I wished that I
was able to see the things that he could. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Eventually, I realized
that Martin was not a magical ogre and that he was simply stupid. If my ability
to read a page of text, understand the words on it, sound out those I didn't
know, and generally comprehend it could be envisioned as a connect-the-dots
image with a hundred points, then his might have had, for example, 70. So, when
he had to connect that diminished number of dots, his lines were coarser and
less nuanced, sometimes they went to incorrect points, it was unclear how to
incorporate some of them, and the final picture he created would inevitably be
warped and incomplete. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When the mass shooting
in Munich, Germany, occurred on July 22, I was even more moved by it than I was by
other recent but similar incidents, as my family had lived there for seven years, including those when I was in high school. I am still friends with many people I knew there,
along with a handful that still live in Munich, and so I started looking at
their Facebook pages to see how they were reacting, make sure everyone was
alright, etc. While I was doing that I came across a comment from someone I had
known some 30 years ago from the old neighborhood, who for a couple of reasons
I will dub "Whitey" for purposes of this discussion. I remembered him
as being a good-natured kid and as not having any weird issues, and so before
turning in I sent him a Facebook friend request. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next time I got online,
I had a notification on Facebook that Whitey had accepted my friend request six
hours earlier and that he had sent me a message about an hour after that. The
first thing that struck me upon reading his brief message was that he had used
a racist epithet to describe one of my friends, and then asked if I thought
that person would be offended by posts on his Facebook page. On the face of if
that is a nonsensical question and kind of confused me, because he and I being
friends would not cause my non-mutual friends to become aware of his page. It
was also disquieting that his first words to me in three decades needed to
include racist insults. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Things got stranger
still when I went to his Facebook page and, near the top of it, saw that he had
shared a post I had made more than four months ago about a book I had written
about the folklore and mythology of Ethiopia. This book covers timeless themes
and tales of things like dragons, architectural wonders created by mysterious
ancient peoples, hippopotamuses the size of islands, men that can turn into
hyenas, and the like. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">He appended one
comment to his re-posting of the item: "The government and corruption in
Ethiopia is noteworthy." There </span>nothing pertinent to modern politics in my
book, which draws upon folklore going back hundreds or thousands of years,
rather than ephemeral things like the current governmental regime, so this was a really baffling and irrelevant comment. I then began
to scroll through the rest of his posts and, to my disgust, discovered the same
sort of racist, xenophobic, hatemongering posts that have become all too familiar
to me anymore. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But how had Whitey drawn
a connection between a book about folklore and the government that happens to
be in power in a particular country today? And then I remembered Martin who, as
a particularly stupid child, had filled in the blank spots in the things he could
not decipher with random words and concepts from his limited experience, and I
understood what Whitey had done. Not particularly smart to start with, unhinged
by the same 15 years of war and terror that the rest of us have also had to
deal with, Whitey had connected the limited number of dots in his mind
according to what he had nurtured and allowed to grow there. And, while the
pictures young Martin drew were merely incorrect, middle-aged Whitey's are
grotesque, misshapen, and malignant, connected not just by lines of ignorance
but also ones of hate, bigotry, and violence spawned from decades of fear,
confusion, disappointment, and growing mental illness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And then the rest of
what had happened became strikingly and appallingly clear to me. Six hours
before I got online, Whitey had received my friend request and accepted it. He
had then spent <i>a full hour</i> exploring my Facebook profile and scrolling back through
<i>at least four months of posts </i>on my
timeline. As he did all this, he became increasingly agitated by evidence of my
love for other cultures, the many races and nations represented among my
friends, my African-American children. He then reacted by sending me a message laced with
racist insults and, right after that, unfriended me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And, among all the
unhappy elements associated with this unpleasant tale, that last is the one I actually feel
good about. </span>Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-44578095057171354772016-06-06T10:52:00.000-07:002016-06-06T10:54:01.015-07:00Introduction to 'D-Day: June 6, 1944'<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOymU0Vxrv1m07LERst7zdm-xlK0OKfaCS11pftFMEe7xyOeeI9Lo7jlfzqjTTQh_i_JY9_M8LH3BYQmi0bYFWSu6Jcp5BEjHvGLUwc3LpXMGvjf-sDu2oRSB9U-Rw5_7Fw9c03-T5tvA/s1600/D-Day_Cover.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/AVvXsEjOymU0Vxrv1m07LERst7zdm-xlK0OKfaCS11pftFMEe7xyOeeI9Lo7jlfzqjTTQh_i_JY9_M8LH3BYQmi0bYFWSu6Jcp5BEjHvGLUwc3LpXMGvjf-sDu2oRSB9U-Rw5_7Fw9c03-T5tvA/s200/D-Day_Cover.jpg" width="129" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><i>Following is the introduction to my 2001 book </i>D-Day: June 6, 1944<i>, which is a snapshot of the first day of the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II. </i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">To many Americans of the 21st century, D-Day may seem to be a
subject of limited relevance, fought as it was on the shores of a foreign
continent nearly six decades ago by the men of a generation that has been
depleted by the passage of more than half a century. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Had the mammoth amphibious operation launched on June 6, 1944,
failed, however, the world we live in today would be a very different place,
and certainly not a better one. The successful execution of Operation Overlord
— the code name used by the Allied leadership for the invasion of Normandy —
was the first great moral victory on the Western Front against the military
forces of the Third Reich. Indeed, the Allied beachhead in northern France
helped turn the tide of the war. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">D-Day also ushered in a new era of American involvement in both
Europe and the world. True, U.S. troops had crossed the Atlantic and battled
Germany 27 years before during the Great War, but after their victory they had
packed up and gone home. This time they were in Europe to stay, and they remain
there to this day, albeit in numbers much reduced since the reunification of
Germany and the collapse of the Soviet Union. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Indeed, D-Day was emblematic of American ascendance in the world.
Foreign observers of the beaches at Normandy were staggered by the amount of
wreckage strewed about the landing zones, the ruined landing craft, vehicles,
and weapons intermingled with human remains. In the latter years of World War
II, few countries could have absorbed that sort of material loss and considered
victory still possible. With the resources of a large continent behind it,
however, the United States could make good those losses quickly enough to
exploit its advantage — just as the Soviet Union, its counterpart in the new
world order, was even then doing on the Eastern Front. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">D-Day: The Invasion of
Normandy</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">
is the second book in the “History at a Glance” series that began with Michael
Varhola's <i>Fire & Ice: The Korean War,
1950-1953</i> (Summer, 2000). Like its predecessor, D-Day was written to
provide an overview of its subject for people with little or no knowledge of
it. It will also serve as a road map for experienced students of World War II
who want to discover other avenues worthy of deeper investigation. Readers will
find it full of fascinating and useful information about the men, strategies,
tactics, and weaponry of D-Day, all presented in a fresh and interesting “fact
book” style format. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Several aspects of this book make it useful in both these roles.
One is that its chapters are divided thematically. For example, readers can
refer to the chapter on “Air and Airborne Operations” when they need
information on this aspect of Operation Overlord, rather than jumping
throughout the book in search of information relevant to them. D-Day also has a
number of chapters with crucial information that weightier volumes, especially
narrative histories, fail to cover at all or relegate to skimpy appendices.
These include the chapters on weapons, armored vehicles, and Allied and Nazi
leaders, all of which contain background information that can help readers more
fully understand and appreciate the invasion of Normandy. ... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">There are numerous individuals who assisted us in preparing this
book for publication. Author and publisher Lee Meredith offered sound advice
and read portions of the manuscript, as did historian Mary Deborah Petite.
David Lang, of San Jose, California, who knows as much about both world wars as
anyone, shared useful information with us all along the way. Finally, publisher
Theodore P. Savas, of Savas Publishing Company, offered suggestions and
guidance as this project developed, albeit slower than he would have liked. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">We sincerely hope that you find this book useful, interesting, and
enjoyable, and that it facilitates your study of history in general, and D-Day
in particular. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-69151939503517223662016-02-13T14:07:00.000-08:002016-02-13T14:13:38.438-08:00Honoring Korean War Veterans in Ethiopia<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Was
honored yesterday to be contacted by the Military Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, and asked to send her a copy of my book <i>Fire & Ice: The Korean War, 1950-53</i>, for inclusion in a
permanent historical exhibit being installed in a ceremony there next month. Suffice it to say that I immediately signed
a copy of the book, dedicated it to the Ethiopian soldiers who fought and died
in Korea, and got it into the mail. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Ethiopia agreed to send an infantry battalion to
Korea, which included volunteers from Emperor Haille Selassie’s Imperial
Security Guard, a unit of elite six-foot-tall soldiers,” I write in my book. “Dubbed
the Kagnew, or Conquerors Battalion, the unit was relieved by fresh battalions twice
during the Korean War. (Kagnew, according to some sources, was an imperial
warhorse and the namesake of the unit.)” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Ethiopia's 1st Kagnew Battalion, a 931-man unit, arrived
in Korea in May 1951 and was attached to the 32<sup>nd</sup> Regiment of the U.S.
75<sup>th</sup> Infantry Division in June 1951. In April 1952, the 1st Kagnew
Battalion was replaced by the 2nd Kagnew Battalion. In April 1953, it was
relieved in its turn by the 3rd Kagnew Battalion, which remained in Korea until
April 1954.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Ethiopian
soldiers fought in many battles during the war and were highly regarded for
their skill in hand-to-hand and bayonet fighting, patrolling, and night
fighting. Altogether, 3,158 Ethiopians served in the Kagnew battalions. Of
those, 121 were killed, 536 were wounded, and none were taken prisoner.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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number of Ethiopian nurses also worked with the Red Cross in Japan.” </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ethiopian soldiers, like those of other U.N. contingents, were among the best their country could provide. Here, an Ethiopian gunnery crew prepares to fire a 75mm recoilless rifle. </span></i></div>
Michael O. Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02926860732348083635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-22189269051481013472016-01-01T15:10:00.000-08:002016-09-29T04:18:40.295-07:00An Exercise in Resolve, Month 12<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Spent first week of December in Ethiopia and, while I was not on a regular exercise schedule, did naturally get some substantial exercise in on a number of days. It bears mentioning that I draw a distinction between being "in garrison" and "in the field" and make no effort to work out or stay on any sort of schedule while I am operating in the former environment. I rather operate under the assumption that the field can present its own challenges and that it is prudent for me to keep my resources in reserve while out and about. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As usual, entries in quotes are adapted from my </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelVarhola" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> posts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>December 1-7:</b> <i>Spent the first week of the month visiting my brother in Ethiopia and then travelling back to the U.S.! As noted, did not try to maintain a regular exercise routine but walked most days and ended up hauling a substantial load on at least one of them. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>December 8-9:</b> <i>Spent two days visiting my daughters in Northern Virginia on my way back to Texas from Africa. Did not get in much exercise at all and, being exhausted from my trip and on a different time schedule, actually slept about half the time I was there. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>December 10 (Thursday):</b> No walk; first day back home after my trip and spent the day getting caught up on things, recovering, and getting ready for our <b><a href="http://d-infinity.net/live/" target="_blank">d-Infinity Live!</a></b> show on <b><a href="https://youtu.be/NzQ2x7FVY7Y" target="_blank">"Hacking, Cracking, & Data Jacking."</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>December 11 (Friday):</b> Two-mile walk with a medium load. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>December 12 (Saturday):</b> Got in a 0.6-mile walk with at least a light load. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>December 13 (Sunday):</b> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Two-mile walk with a medium load. </span><br />
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 14 (Monday): </b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Two-mile walk with a medium load; getting back to an exercise routine now that I am back from Ethiopia. Warm and sunny here in Texas Hill Country!" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>December 15 (Tuesday):</b> "Two-mile mid-afternoon walk with a medium load; a bit stiff and achy but pushed through. Low 70s here in Texas</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Hill Country <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">—</span> great for December! </span><br />
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 16 (Wednesday):</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> "Got in a two-mile walk; knees and shoulder a bit achy so took just a light load and skipped the backpack. Sunny and cool here in Texas Hill Country! </span><br />
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 17 (Thursday):</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Quick, 0.6-mile walk up to the mailboxes; always hustling the day I have </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://d-infinity.net/live/" target="_blank">d-Infinity Live!</a></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> show and rarely have time for more than that. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>December 18 (Friday):</b> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably walked between 0.6 and two miles with a light load. </i><br />
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 19 (Saturday):</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably walked </i><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">between 0.6 and </i><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">two miles with a light load. </i><br />
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 20 (Sunday):</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably walked </i><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">between 0.6 and </i><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">two miles with a light load. </i><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 21 (Monday):</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> "Got in a one-hour twilight hike with a light load on the bluffs west of the Devil's Hollow here in Texas Hill Country!" (<i>An image from this walk appears below.</i>)</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 22 (Tuesday):</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <i>Probably walked two miles with a light load. </i></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 23 (Wednesday):</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> "Two-mile walk with a light load; knee a bit achy so did not carry more or go too fast. Cloudy but warm, bright, and 80 degrees here in Texas Hill Country!" </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 24 (Thursday):</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Walked just 0.6 miles, up to the mailbox to see what may have come in last-minute before Christmas! </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 25 (Friday):</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">No walk, due to holiday activities and laziness. </i></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 26 (Saturday):</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably walked between 0.6 and two miles with a light load. </i></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 27 (Sunday):</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably walked between 0.6 and two miles with a light load. </i><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 28 (Monday):</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably walked between 0.6 and two miles with a light load. </i></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 29 (Tuesday):</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably walked between 0.6 and two miles with a light load. </i></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 30 (Wednesday):</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably walked between 0.6 and two miles with a light load. </i></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">December 31 (Thursday):</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably walked between 0.6 and two miles with a light load. </i></div>
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Michael O. Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02926860732348083635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-77069957627493233582015-12-17T16:51:00.000-08:002015-12-18T12:42:41.557-08:00My Recent Events (December 2015)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Following are events I have recently participated in, and which I am listing here with links back to archived editions of radio shows and webcasts, blog posts about them, etc. Times are Central Standard Time, in keeping with where I live near San Antonio, Texas. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">December 10 (Thursday), 8 - 9 p.m.:</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://youtu.be/NzQ2x7FVY7Y" target="_blank">"d-Infinity Live! Series 4, Episode 42: Hacking, Cracking, & Data Jacking"</a></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> (webcast). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>December 13 (Sunday), 7-8 p.m.:</b> <b><a href="http://paranormalfiller.com/michael-varhola-on-filler/" target="_blank">Paranormal Filler: Michael Varhola on Filler</a></b> (radio show), with host Wes Forsythe. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">December 17 (Thursday), 8 - 9 p.m.:</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://youtu.be/0vag4Z_nKMg" target="_blank">"d-Infinity Live!: d-Infinity Play Krampusnacht"</a></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> (webcast). </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Michael O. Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02926860732348083635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-769246307709106309.post-75044339950616135892015-12-06T00:25:00.002-08:002015-12-18T12:49:37.817-08:00My Ethiopia Reading List<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiB6oZf0s3pU2z0rZlMTjKZPyCA5JNTpOqa79PX3l6bvbSoPhWQEkfw2SY7YuhvF5keT1erdgz7iAcTZuf41kvySCpWM9X0PkAkL0k_lWhKIlngtsZwpIEyGXT1QYWYPZo5TALEG0o2Tw/s1600/download.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/AVvXsEhiB6oZf0s3pU2z0rZlMTjKZPyCA5JNTpOqa79PX3l6bvbSoPhWQEkfw2SY7YuhvF5keT1erdgz7iAcTZuf41kvySCpWM9X0PkAkL0k_lWhKIlngtsZwpIEyGXT1QYWYPZo5TALEG0o2Tw/s200/download.jpg" width="124" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For a number of reasons I read very little purely for pleasure and most of what I am looking at any given time is vocational in some way and ties in with whatever I happen to be working on at the time. That is not to say that I do not enjoy those things, and often have a lot of selectivity with them, just that they tend to be fairly narrowly focused while I am involved in a particular project. B</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ooks I read or referred to before, during, or after my two-week trip to Ethiopia included: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Cutting for Stone</i>, by Abraham Verghese.</b> This historical novel looks at the history of Ethiopia in the 1950s through the 1970s through the experiences of a medical doctor in Addis Ababa and the staff of the hospital where he is born and eventually practices. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My mother read this book in conjunction with her own trip to Ethiopia and gave me a copy of it as an early Christmas present so that I could avail myself of it as well. It is both a fascinating work of fiction and an insight into the troubled period of history that began with the demise of Emperor Haillie Selassie's regime and the rise of the repressive Soviet-backed Derg government. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Ethiopia, the Bradt Travel Guide (Edition 6)</i>, by Phillip Briggs.</b> Suffice it to say that this was a very useful general-purpose travel guide and that I got good use out of it. It did not have entries for a number of places that I stayed out, however, revealing a degree of apparent bias in what the author chose to cover or not. It also contained some commentary that I think was off the mark (e.g., that the food at the Blue Nile Resort in Bahir-Dar was not good, whereas I had an excellent meal there). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>A Guide to Lalibela</i>. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>A Treasury of African Folklore</i>, by Harold Courlander.</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>A History of Ethiopia in Pictures</i>.</b> Several of the vendors in Axum were peddling this book and my guide recommended I pick up a copy. He negotiated a price for me of 300 <i>birr</i> ($15) and said it tends to cost about 450 <i>birr</i>; probably paid too much for it in any case but am glad to support the Ethiopian economy in my small way. It is, in any event, a fun and useful title with lots of great information and black-and-white illustrations and has become the current bathroom book in my home office. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>The Blue Nile</i>, by Alan Moorehead.</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Culture Smart! Ethiopia</i>, by Sarah Howard.</b> My brother loaned me this book but pretty much de-recommended it in favor of the much more substantial Bradt travel guide mentioned above. It did, however, include some useful information on social mores that I did not stumble across in the other book. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Michael Varholahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888127744366217274noreply@blogger.com0