Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art One-half Banana Stems

Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art One-half Banana Stems - www.kevindayhoff.com Address: PO Box 124, Westminster MD 21158 410-259-6403 kevindayhoff@gmail.com Runner, writer, artist, fire & police chaplain Mindless ramblings of a runner, journalist & artist: Travel, art, artists, authors, books, newspapers, media, writers and writing, journalists and journalism, reporters and reporting, technology, music, culture, opera... National & International politics www.kevindayhoff.net For community: www.kevindayhoff.org For art, technology, writing, & travel: www.kevindayhoff.com

Thursday, May 31, 2007

20070530 KDDC Betty Blue

Betty Blue

Posted May 30th, 2007

"The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words." (Philip K. Dick)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xJrrHTos6P8

In the last several days I have run across several references to a evocative movie, “37°2 le matin,” or as it is known in the United States: “Betty Blue.”

The movie, released November 7th, 1986, was based on a novel, also by the title of “37°2 le matin,” by Philippe Djian. The movie version of the novel is directed Jean-Jacques Beineix, who also directed another one of my “all time favorite movies, “Diva.”

The music for the movie is by Gabriel Yared. The recurring musical theme is as haunting as the movie; a piano progression, which will remain in your head for the longest time…

In many of my old movie notes from many years ago – this movie is consistently listed in my all time top-ten movies

According to several published accounts, “The film received both a BAFTA and Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1986, as well as winning a César Award for Best Poster. In 1992 it was awarded the Golden space Needle of the Seattle International Film Festival.”

For those not aware of the movie, it is not a movie for the weak of heart. It is about a writer who gets involved with a woman who is psychologically disheveled but nevertheless somewhat socially acceptable at the beginning of the movie. The movie documents her precipitous quixotic psychological deterioration... The excellent use of a narrator was effective and affective...

Here is clip from the last scene in the movie:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BIaU1us81Ts

The Internet Movie Database has the following plot summary for “37°2 le matin:”

“Zorg is a handyman working at in France, maintaining and looking after the bungalows. He lives a quiet and peaceful life, working diligently and writing in his spare time.

One day Betty walks into his life, a young woman who is as beautiful as she is wild and unpredictable. After a dispute with Zorg's boss they leave and Betty manages to get a job at a restaurant.

She persuades Zorg to try and get one of his books published but it is rejected which makes Betty fly into a rage. Suddenly Betty's wild manners starts to get out of control. Zorg sees the woman he loves slowly going insane.”

Wikipedia says:

“Betty (Dalle) and Zorg (Anglade) are passionate lovers who live in a shack on the beach. He works as a handyman who does odd jobs to pay the bills. As the film begins, they have only been going out for a week and are in a very passionate stage of their relationship. Zorg narrates the story of their relationship via voiceover. He describes Betty, “like a flower with translucent antennae and a mauve plastic heart.” She yearns for a better life and quit her last job as a waitress because she was being sexually harassed by her boss.

Zorg’s boss asks him to paint the 500 shacks that populate the beach — a fact that he keeps from Betty who thinks they only have to do one. She attacks the project with enthusiasm that quickly turns to anger once she learns the actual number. In response, Betty covers the boss’ car with pink paint.

During a nasty fight, Betty accidentally discovers a series of notebooks that contain a novel Zorg wrote years ago. She reads it and falls in love with him even more. She then makes it her mission in life to type every hand-written page and get it published. Betty's freespiritedness and devotion to Zorg develop into alarming obsession, aggression and destructiveness, and the film alternates between comic and tragic modes.

Roger Ebert lists it on his top-ten “most hated films.”

Oh well. Mr. Ebert likes Michael Moore…

A reason Mr. Ebert may not like the movie is that he is frequently hyper-critical of movies that have “hypocritical agendas” such as “a confrontational film that is passed off as art, but is merely lurid and sensational; Ebert has levelled this charge against such films as The Night Porter and Blue Velvet.” [Cited by Wikipedia (although I have seen this in other published accounts.)]

Oh! – I finally found Mr. Ebert’s review. Read it here.

Oh my – he really did not like the movie…

[…]

“Now comes ‘Betty Blue,’ which opens with a shot of two people sideways on a bed, making love beneath a portrait of the Mona Lisa, while the narrator says: ‘I had known Betty for a week. We made love every night. The forecast was the storms.’…

[…]

She finds a manuscript he has written, determines that he is a genius, and types it up, tens of thousands of words. (Typists will enjoy the typing scenes, in which she makes typing errors, causing her to throw away countless copies of Page 1, and then has the whole manuscript typed in no time. This is the way typing is thought about by people who always use yellow legal pads themselves.)

What is Bieneix trying to say in "Betty Blue"? I am not sure. The behavior of the characters is senseless and boring. We lose interest in Zorg because anyone who could tolerate Betty Blue would scarcely have the discrimination to write a good book. One scene follows another senselessly, like in a soap opera, until Betty goes mad and we can go home.

And yet the movie has made millions in France, where it will not have escaped anyone's attention that Betty is played by an attractive young woman named Beatrice Dalle, who is naked as often as not.

[…]

Reviews have been written debating the movie's view of madness, of feminism, of the travail of the artist. They all miss the point. "Betty Blue" is a movie about Beatrice Dalle's boobs and behind, and everything else is just what happens in between the scenes where she displays them.

[…]

My word… Read his entire review here.

I saw the movie twenty years ago… Who knows, with my current sensibilities, perhaps I would see the movie again and not like it either… I do not remember the gratuitous nudity for which Mr. Ebert objects, although I have no doubt that there is a great deal of that in the movie…

The trailer is rated “R.” Although, curiously enough, the “R” rating for the trailer is because of the nudity of the male protagonist.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ueFTOS8FDfQ

I remember being fascinated by the portrayal of the artist–writer and his interaction with the madness of his companion. Sorta like a “Five Easy Pieces” on acid. (“Five Easy Pieces” is another all time favorite of mine. I will always remember that it opened on my birthday, September 11th, - in 1970.

Video de la canción Numb de Linkin Park.


Perhaps, just perhaps, both movies portray the reality of relationships of which many artists may identify… Just as I like the video of the Linkin Park song, “Numb.”


After all, as Philip K. Dick once said:

"The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words."

####

Interesting post script:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SJo-V1wip6g

casting de beatrice dalle betty

je sais pas si a l'epoque c'est dominique besnehard qui s'en ai occupe

Et bonus video: Scène de danse entre Beatrice Dalle et Romain Duris, tirée du film dix-sept fois Cecile Cassard

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8nTryJX7cn4

Beatrice Dalle in "Pretty Killer"

20070531 Feeding time for the baby Robins



Feeding time for the baby Robins…

May 31st, 2007

Several weeks ago we became the landlords to new tenants at our wildlife reserve here in the Westminster City Limits – a family of Robins decided to build a nest right outside our back door.

Today, I tried (once again) to get some pictures of Mr. (or Mrs.) Robin feeding their chicks…

I know very little about Robins. Although I have observed, what I have hypothecated to be, Mr. and Mrs. Robin trading places in tending to the eggs and the hatched chicks…

As an aside, I’ve always liked my digital camera – although I at first, reluctantly let go of my old professional grade Konica camera equipment.

Rarely have I missed the old Konica equipment – until moments like this… With my old Konica film camera I could zero in on Mr. and Mrs. Robin as if you were standing inches away from them.

Not so, with the current grade of point-and-shoot digital equipment that I have – “Nikon Coolpix 5200,”

So I guess now that I have truly discovered the drawbacks of the current grade of equipment – I either need to go out and purchase an upgrade – or what I may very well do; and that is - - go upstairs in the attic and dig out my old equipment…

Anyway – enjoy the pictures.

####

Animals Birds

20070531 Carroll County opens 'cooling centers'

Carroll County opens 'cooling centers'
-----Original Message-----

Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2007 12:18 PM

Subject: EAGLE ALERT: County opens "cooling centers"

May 31st, 2007

These stories and other updates are posted on The Eagle Web sites, www.theeldersburgeagle.com and www.thewestminstereagle.com.

Carroll County opens 'cooling centers'

May 31, 2007 - Carroll County officials announced today (Thursday, May 31), that due of anticipated high temperatures, the Department of Citizen Services is operating six cooling centers around the county. Residents who are vulnerable to extreme heat and who do not have air-conditioning in their homes are invited to cool off in any of the following locations until the close of business at 5 p.m.:

* Citizen Services office building, 10 Distillery Drive, Westminster

* Mount Airy Senior and Community Center, 703 Ridge Ave., Mount Airy

* North Carroll Senior and Community Center, 2328 Hanover Pike, Greenmount

* South Carroll Senior and Community Center, 5745 Bartholow Road, Eldersburg

* Taneytown Senior and Community Center, 220 Roberts Mill Road, Taneytown

* Westminster Senior and Community Center, 125 Stoner Ave., Westminster

Officials said water will be available for those who need it at any of the cooling centers.

The Carroll County Emergency Management Division is also encouraging people to follow safety tips when temperatures and humidity are high:

* Slow down. Strenuous activities should be reduced or rescheduled to the coolest time of the day.

* Wear loose, lightweight, and light-colored.·

* Eat fewer proteins and drink plenty of water.

* Stay in air-conditioning.

For more safety tips, refer to the Citizen's Guide to Emergency Preparedness, available online at http://ccgovernment.carr.org/ccg/pubsafe/emer-prep.pdf, or by contacting the Emergency Management Division at 410-386-2877.

For information about Carroll's senior and community centers, call the Bureau of Aging at 410-386-3800.

####

Monday, May 28, 2007

20070528 History Is Looking Up In Westminster


HISTORY IS LOOKING UP IN Westminster

May 28th, 2007

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=978&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=1273619&om=1

05/23/07

Found 'em yet?

The Westminster Historic District Commission's "History is Looking Up in Westminster" continues through May 31, when all entries are due at City Hall.

The entry form, which appeared in the May 2 edition of The Westminster Eagle, challenges residents to identify 12 historic buildings in the downtown area.

The first six of these are shown here. If you've had trouble finding them based on the initial clues given May 2, here are a few Bonus Clues that might help unlock this mystery of history:

BONUS CLUES

1: Two of these six buildings are located on streets other than Main Street. In other words, on side streets just off Main Street.

2: One of these has been both a church and a library in the past.

3: One of these used to house the National Guard; and another currently houses cash.

4: Two of these buildings were grand Main Street houses in the past and are now busy offices.

JOIN THE HUNT

If you haven't started looking yet, there's still time. Copies of the official entry form are available at the office of The Westminster Eagle, 121 E. Main St., Westminster, during regular office hours, and at City Hall, 1838 Emerald Hill Lane, Westminster.

Forms are also available at the Westminster Family Center on Longwell Avenue, the Westminster Branch Library, Historical Society of Carroll County/Tourism Office, the Carroll Arts Center and in the Great Hall at Carroll Community College.

The form is also available as a pdf on The Eagle's Web site, www.TheWestminsterEagle.com.

Completed forms must be mailed or delivered to City Hall by May 31. Forms may be delivered in person, or mailed to: Preservation Month Scavenger Hunt, c/o Westminster City Hall, P.O. Box 710, Westminster, MD 21158.

PRIZES ...

First prize in the contest, to be chosen at random from all the correct entries, is a framed, limited edition print depicting historic buildings in Westminster, created by artist Connie Ward Woolard.

Other prizes include gift certificates from local restaurants and merchants.

In addition, ALL those who deliver their entry form in person to City Hall will receive a participation prize -- a commemorative poster of the 12 building sites depicted in the contest. They'll also receive a copy of the CD, the "Buildings of Westminster," while supplies last.

For more information and complete rules, call Tim Rogers at 410-848-4628.

The wedding of Mr and Mrs Smurf

The wedding of Mr and Mrs Smurf

May 27, 2007 by Kevin Dayhoff

20070527 The wedding of Mr and Mrs Smurf

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/
Kevin Dayhoff Art http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/

Saturday, May 26, 2007

20070602 Art in the Park, Westminster Maryland June 2nd, 2007

What's Happening at the Carroll Arts Center

Saturday, June 2 10 am – 5 pm

On the Beautiful ground of Westminster City Hall

A festival of fine arts and crafts, strolling musicians, art demonstrations, unique food and a variety of family activities. Rain or Shine.

Free

For more information please call The Art Center at 410-848-7272 or check out our website, www.carr.org/arts.

Saturday, June 2 2007

Rain or Shine

“Art in the Park” is held the first Saturday of June in the park behind Westminster City Hall. This event is held rain or shine. “Art in the Park” is a juried venue that provides local and regional artists and artisans a chance to exhibit and sell their work in a relaxed, festive atmosphere.

This year’s Art in the Park will feature more than 80 talented artists. This is a great place to find that unique painting or gift. The festival has been expanded this year with more exhibitors and demonstrations. Live musical performances by some of the best local musicians will take place throughout the park. A craft tent provides free craft activities for youngsters. Specialty and traditional food and beverages are available for sale in the park.

This event is free and open to the public. The grounds have been carefully planned to offer ADA accessibility in order that everyone can enjoy the event. Food and beverages are available for sale in the park.

Art in the Park takes place on the grounds of Westminster City Hall. This area is located between Longwell Ave. Locust St. and Key St. In historic downtown Westminster.

Accessibility Notice: The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to the Carroll County Government and its programs, services, activities and facilities. If you have questions, suggestions, or complaints, please contact Jolene Sullivan, the Carroll County government Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator, at 410/386-3600, 888/302-8978 or TT# 410/848-9747. The mailing address is: 10 Distillery Drive, First Floor, Suite 101, Westminster, MD 21157

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

20070523 Westminster Police Stop on Main Street in Westminster

Daily Photoblog - Westminster Police Stop on Main Street in Westminster

May 23, 2007

May 23, 2007 Westminster Police Department stops a motorist on Main Street - and Anchor Street.

www.kevindayhoff.net

Monday, May 21, 2007

20070520 Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates College of William and Mary Graduation Exercises Remarks

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates College of William and Mary Graduation Exercises Remarks

College of William and Mary May 20, 2007

Courtesy of Joseph McClain, Director of Research Communications, The College of William & Mary and U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Duty Officer

For more information go to: “Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates transcribed commencement remarks;” or - http://www.wm.edu/news/index.php?id=7791

and -Video of Gates' remarks and -Commencement 2007 coverage

_____

Thank you, President Nichol. Members of the faculty, parents, distinguished guests. Justice O’Connor—Chancellor—a pleasure to see you. Justice O’Connor administered my oath of office as Director of Central Intelligence in 1991 and, more recently, as President Nichol has mentioned, we served on the Baker-Hamilton Commission last year—although my tenure on the group was rather abruptly interrupted.

Speaking of which, in terms of my timing in taking on the responsibilities of the Secretary of Defense, it reminds me of a story told long ago by Senator Richard Russell of Georgia, who spoke of having seen a bull that charged a locomotive. He said, “You know that was the bravest bull I ever saw, but I can’t say much for his judgment.”

Dr. Kelso and Secretary Coleman, your recognition here today is well-deserved.

To the members of the Class of 2007: Congratulations. I am truly honored—and flattered—to be your graduation speaker.

I presided over 39 commencement ceremonies as president of Texas A&M, yet, today is the first commencement speech I have ever given. I thank all of you for the extraordinary privilege of letting it be at my alma mater.

To the parents: you must be welling up with pride at the achievements of your children. Having put two children through college, I know there are many sighs of relief as well, and you are probably already planning how to spend your newly re-acquired disposable income. Forget it. Trust me on this. If you think you’ve written your last check to your son or daughter, dream on. The National Bank of Mom and Dad is still open for business.

I guess I am supposed to give you some advice on how to succeed. I could quote the billionaire J. Paul Getty, who offered advice on how to get rich. He said, “Rise early, work late, strike oil.” Or, Alfred Hitchcock, who said, “There’s nothing to winning really. That is if you happen to be blessed with a keen eye, an agile mind, and no scruples whatsoever.

Well, instead of those messages, my only words of advice for success today comes from two great women. First, opera star Beverly Sills, who said, “There are no short cuts to anyplace worth going.” And second, from Katharine Hepburn, who wrote: “Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don’t do that by sitting around wondering about yourself.”

In all those 39 commencements at Texas A&M, I learned the importance of brevity for a speaker. George Bernard Shaw once told a speaker he had 15 minutes. The speaker asked, “How can I possibly tell them all I know in 15 minutes? Shaw replied, “I advise you to speak very slowly.” I will speak quickly, because, to paraphrase President Lincoln, I have no doubt you will little note nor long remember what is said here.

I arrived at William & Mary in 1961 at age 17, intending to become a medical doctor. My first year was pure pre-med: biology, chemistry, calculus and so on. I soon switched from pre-med to history. I used to say “God only knows how many lives have been saved by my becoming Director of CIA instead of a doctor.”

When reflecting on my experience here I feel gratitude for many things:

To William & Mary for being a top-tier school that someone like me could actually afford to attend—even as an out-of-state student. By the way, hold on to your hats, parents: Out of state tuition then was $361 a semester.

Gratitude for the personal care and attention from a superb faculty and staff—a manifestation of this university’s commitment to undergraduate education that continues to this day;

Gratitude to those in the greater Williamsburg community, who opened their hearts and their homes to a 17-year-old far from his own home; and

Gratitude for one more thing. During my Freshman year I got a ‘D’ in calculus. When my father called from Kansas to ask how such a thing was possible, I had to admit, “Dad, the ‘D’ was a gift.” So, I’m grateful to that math professor too.

What William & Mary gave me, above all else, was a calling to serve—a sense of duty to community and country that this college has sought to instill in each generation of students for more than 300 years. It is a calling rooted in the history and traditions of this institution.

Many a night, late, I’d walk down Duke of Gloucester Street from the Wren Building to the Capitol. On those walks, in the dark, I felt the spirit of the patriots who created a free and independent country, who helped birth it right here in Williamsburg. It was on those walks that I made my commitment to public service.

I also was encouraged to make that commitment by the then-president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, who said to we young Americans in the early 1960s, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.”

We are celebrating the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. Looking back, it’s hard to imagine this country could have gotten off to a more challenging start. It began as a business venture of a group of London merchants with a royal patent. The journalist Richard Brookhiser recently compared it to Congress today granting Wal-Mart and GE a charter to colonize Mars.

Brookhiser wrote, “Its leaders were always fighting. Leaders who were incompetent or unpopularsometimes the most competent were the least popularwere deposed on the spot,” He continues, “The typical 17th Century account of Jamestown argues that everything would have gone well if everyone besides the author had not done wrong.” Sounds like today’s memoirs by former government officials.

Jamestown saw the New World’s first representative assembly—the institutional expression of the concept that people should have a say in how they were governed, and having that say brought with it certain obligations: a duty to participate, a duty to contribute, a duty to serve the greater good.

It is these four-hundred-year-old obligations that I want to address for the next few minutes. When talking about American democracy, we hear a great deal about freedoms, and rights, and, more recently, about the entitlements of citizenship. We hear a good deal less about the duties and responsibilities of being an American.

Young Americans are as decent, generous, and compassionate as we’ve ever seen in this country—an impression reinforced by my four and a half years of experience as President of Texas A&M, by the response of college students across America—and especially here at William & Mary—to the tragedy at Virginia Tech, and even more powerfully reinforced by almost six months as Secretary of Defense.

That is what makes it puzzling that so many young people who are public-minded when it comes to their campus and community tend to be uninterested in— if not distrustful of—our political processes. Nor is there much enthusiasm for participating in government, either as a candidate or for a career.

While volunteering for a good cause is important, it is not enough. This country will only survive and progress as a democracy if its citizens—young and old alike—take an active role in its political life as well.

Seventy percent of eligible voters in this country cast a ballot in the election of 1964. The voting age was then 21. During the year I graduated, 1965, the first major American combat units arrived in Vietnam, and with them, many 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds. In recognition of that disparity, years later the voting age would be lowered to 18 by constitutional amendment.

Sad to say, that precious franchise, purchased and preserved by the blood of hundreds of thousands of Americans your age and younger from 1776 to today, has not been adequately appreciated or exercised by your generation.

In 2004, with our nation embroiled in two difficult and controversial wars, the voting percentage was only 42 percent for those aged 18 to 24.

Ed Muskie, former senator and Secretary of State, once said that “you have the God given right to kick the government around.” And it starts with voting, and becoming involved in campaigns. If you think that too many politicians are feckless and corrupt, then go out and help elect different ones. Or go out and run yourself. But you must participate, or else the decisions that affect your life and the future of our country will be made for you—and without you.

So vote. And volunteer. But also consider doing something else: dedicating at least part of your life in service to our country.

I entered public life more than 40 years ago, and no one is more familiar with the hassles, frustrations and sacrifices of public service than I am. Government is, by design of the Founding Fathers, slow, unwieldy and almost comically inefficient. Will Rogers used to say: “I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.”

These frustrations are inherent in a system of checks and balances, of divisions and limitations of power. Our Founding Fathers did not have efficiency as their primary goal. They designed a system intended to sustain and protect liberty for the ages. Getting things done in government is not easy, but it’s not supposed to be.

I last spoke at William & Mary on Charter Day in 1998. Since then our country has gone through September 11 with subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We learned once again that the fundamental nature of man has not changed, that evil people and forces will always be with us, and must be dealt with through courage and strength.

Serving the nation has taken on a whole new meaning and required a whole new level of risk and sacrifice—with hundreds of thousands of young Americans in uniform who have stepped forward to put their lives on the line for their country. These past few months I’ve met many of those men and women—in places like Fallujah and Tallil in Iraq and Bagram and Forward Operating Base Tillman in Afghanistan—and at Walter Reed as well. Seeing what they do every day, and the spirit and good humor with which they do it, is an inspiration. The dangers they face, and the dangers our country faces, make it all the more important that this kind of service be honored, supported, and encouraged.

The ranks of these patriots include the graduates of William & Mary’s ROTC program, and the cadets in this Class of 2007, who I’d like to address directly. You could have chosen a different path—something easier, or safer, or better compensated—but you chose to serve. You have my deepest admiration and respect—as Secretary of Defense, but mostly as a fellow American.

You are part of a tradition of voluntary military service dating back to George Washington’s Continental Army. That tradition today includes General David McKiernan, William & Mary Class of 1972, who led the initial ground force in Iraq and now commands all Army troops in Europe. It also is a tradition not without profound loss and heartache.

Some of you may know the story of Ryan McGlothlin, William & Mary Class of 2001: a high school valedictorian, Phi Beta Kappa here, and Ph.D. candidate at Stanford. After being turned down by the Army for medical reasons, he persisted and joined the Marines and was deployed to Iraq in 2005. He was killed leading a platoon of riflemen near the Syrian border.

Ryan’s story attracted media attention because of his academic credentials and family connections. That someone like him would consider the military surprised some people. When Ryan first told his parents about joining the Marines, they asked if there was some other way to contribute. He replied that the privileged of this country bore an equal responsibility to rise to its defense.

It is precisely during these trying times that America needs its best and brightest young people, from all walks of life, to step forward and commit to public service. Because while the obligations of citizenship in any democracy are considerable, they are even more profound, and more demanding, as citizens of a nation with America’s global challenges and responsibilities—and America’s values and aspirations.

During the war of the American Revolution, Abigail Adams wrote the following to her son, John Quincy Adams: “These are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station that great characters are formed. . . . Great necessities call out great virtues.”

You graduate in a time of “great necessities.” Therein lies your challenge and your opportunity.

A final thought. As a nation, we have, over more than two centuries, made our share of mistakes. From time to time, we have strayed from our values; and, on occasion, we have become arrogant in our dealings with others. But we have always corrected our course. And that is why today, as throughout our history, this country remains the world’s most powerful force for good—the ultimate protector of what Vaclav Havel once called “civilization’s thin veneer.” A nation Abraham Lincoln described as mankind’s last, best hope.”

If, in the 21st century, America is to be a force for good in the world—for freedom, the rule of law, and the inherent value of each and every person; if America is to continue to be a beacon for all who are oppressed; if America is to exercise global leadership consistent with our better angels, then the most able and idealistic of your generation must step forward and accept the burden and the duty of public service. I promise you that you will also find joy and satisfaction and fulfillment.

I earlier quoted a letter from Abigail Adams to her son, John Quincy. I will close with a quote from a letter John Adams sent to one of their other sons, Thomas Boylston Adams. And he wrote: “Public business, my son, must always be done by somebody. It will be done by somebody or another. If wise men decline it, others will not; if honest men refuse it, others will not.”

Will the wise and the honest among you come help us serve the American people?

Congratulations and Godspeed.

###

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

20070515 Westminster Eagle Week in review


Westminster Eagle Week in review

Posted May 16th, 2007

http://news.mywebpal.com/index.cfm?pnpid=978

Local News


Hearing on city budget is shifted

Call it a dress rehearsal -- Monday's public hearing regarding the City of Westminster's proposed 2008 budget was rescheduled to May 21 after state officials ruled that the hearing was not advertised properly.

About a dozen residents showed up at City Hall on Monday for the budget session, ... [Read full story]


Westminster Elections: Six vie for three seats

Elections for three seats on the Westminster Common Council will be held next Monday, May 14.

Three incumbents — Suzanne Albert, Dr. Robert Wack and Gregory Pecoraro — are squaring off against a trio of challengers — residents Charles Cull, William Gill and Kenneth Warren.

The non-partisan position is for a four-year term.

Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information on voting, call Laurell Taylor at city hall, 410-848-9000.

Suzanne Albert (I)

Albert was first elected to the council in 1995,... [Read full story]


'Little Mermaid' swims onto stage at Carroll Arts Center

The role of a sailor in "The Little Mermaid" calls for jumping off the ship to the seas below.

While Dan Cormany of Eldersburg knew there wouldn't be a real ocean involved in the Carroll County Arts Center's production of the children's play, he was still dreaming big.

"I like the part where you jump off the ship," Cormany, 9, said. "I was hoping we would have to jump off the stage. We jump off over a cutout of the ship waist-high."

Cormany is one of a cast of about 30 children ranging in age from 7 to 10 who have been rehearsing since auditions in February for this weekend... [Read full story]


Family is reconnected with memories of World War II
More than 30 years after his death, the ancestors of Samuel Alasha gathered recently to recall a time of war, a time of sacrifice and a time of service.

"It was really the last war that touched everybody," said U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, recalling the days of Victory Gardens, "Rosie the Riveter" a... [Read full story]


'Looking up' to appreciate local history Members of the City of Westminster's Historic District Commission believe preservation efforts in the city are "looking up," and they hope local residents will also look up -- literally -- to participate in a contest designed to promote the community's historic architecture.

This month the c... [Read full story]

Recreation


Westminster falters, then ties for title

Girls' Lacrosse

The Century Knights have faced greater challenges this year than in their brief but highly successful past, which includes two state championships in the first five years of the program.

An early-season overtime loss to Liberty, the Knights' first defeat ever against county competition, put Century's four-season streak of Carroll titles in jeopardy.

In Tuesday's critical matchup against a Westminster team that entered with an undefeated county record, Century looked to its two brightest stars to keep the goal of a fifth straight Carroll title alive.

Sophom... [Read full story]

Opinion


Carving the crust from budget pie Editorial

The Board of County Commissioners is coming down to the wire in the deliberations on this year's budget package.

After work sessions scheduled for May 10 and May 15, the commissioners are expected to vote on a final plan May 22.

Judging by those who attended last week's public hearin... [Read full story]

The Passing Parade


Presidential race as wide open as Kentucky Derby Trying to pick a winner in either event based on their past performance and preparation for the race is potluck.

And there's nearly as many wannabe presidents as those that were in the "run for the roses," just two shy at this point in time of matching the number that were in the starting gate las... [Read full story]

Wolf at the Door


Passing on the good word is simply a matter of experience Words fascinate me. I love dictionaries and can spend hours reading them.

If I travel, I always have one with me for any language I'll need.

Having an interest in words, and how we use them, can give me a real index on new people I meet.

Words you use can define your educational background, as... [Read full story]

Kevin E. Dayhoff


The legacy of Westminster's 'Singing Barber' Tomorrow is the anniversary of the death of the "singing barber of Main Court Inn," James Hope, who passed away on May 10, 1900.

Mr. Hope opened his barbershop in Westminster around 1873. His obituary was published May 12, 1900 in the American Sentinel, which noted: "He leaves a widow, but no chil... [Read full story]

Kevin E. Dayhoff Wednesday, May 16 Who was Kate Wagner, and why did she rule the road? How many folks pass by Kate Wagner Road in Westminster and wonder to themselves, “Just who was Kate Wagner?”

I did not know myself until recently, when I happened to have a conversation with one of my Westminster High School class of 1971 classmates, Steve Sinnott.

... [Read full story]


Recalling Westminster's Disney World: Bobby's Hobby Lobby
In the 1950s and '60s, Main Street in Westminster was the center of the entire known universe.

We could easily walk or ride our bicycles downtown and there we could safely visit Heagy's Sport Shop, G.C. Murphy's, Stu's Music Shop, Davis Library, Shaffer and Company Variety Store and Mather's -- to... [Read full story]


This 'Candy drive' benefits the East Middle School Bulldogs ... and the three Rs Westminster East Middle School PTA president Candy Arnold is on a mission.

Ever since she took over the reins of the Parent Teacher Association, she has dreamed of having "an Art Deco-style marquee in front of our beautiful school."

East Middle School, which is located in the same building which... [Read full story]


In the storied history of Carroll Hospital Center, Steve Bohn poised to take a 'SPIRIT'-ed place As Carroll County grows and changes, folks too often take for granted past improvements in our community that have been the result of visionary leaders overcoming enormous obstacles.

Also too often in today's deliberations, it's the usual naysayers that get all the newspaper attention.

O... [Read full story]

[Local news archives]

Literacy council recruiting new tutors The Literacy Council of Carroll County, which offers free and confidential instruction in reading and math to adults and children, is in need of tutors to help the program.

A 14-hour series of tutor training workshops will be held beginning Thursday, May 17 and will include training in how to tuto... [Read full story]


More Headlines Flowers and jazz take over Main Street Family is reconnected with memories of World War II

Education Notes

Education Notes

05/09/07 By Heidi Schroeder Email this story to a friend

'Looking up' to appreciate local history

News Briefs Stone, Harrison and Morse sent to O'Malley

After interviewing 22 applicants on Monday to fill the vacancy on the Board of Education, the current school board members have recommended three candidates to Gov. Martin O'Malley.

Virginia Harrison of Sykesville, Jeffrey Morse of Taneytown and C. Scot... [Read full story]

Movie Capsule

Tuesday, May 15

Movie Capsules New Movies

"Delta Farce" (PG-13). Not reviewed. This comedy stars Larry the Cable Guy as a jobless man mistaken for an Army Reservist and shipped off to battle. Bill Engvall, D.J. Qualls and Keith David co-star; C. B. Harding directs. Opens Friday, May 11. "The Ex" (PG-13). Not reviewed. Zach Br... [Read full story]

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