Mark's Notebook

All Articles - July 2005

Feminists for Life

Christianity Today

Feminists for Life sees itself as an extension of the first wave of American feminists who sought voting rights for women to, among other things, protect their children and pass anti-abortion legislation. "Without known exception, the early American feminists condemned abortion in the strongest possible terms," president Serrin Foster says in her anthologized speech, "The Feminist Case Against Abortion."

"The early feminists understood that, much like today, women resorted to abortion because they were abandoned or pressured by boyfriends, husbands, and parents and lacked financial resources to have a baby on their own.

"Ironically, the anti-abortion laws that early feminists worked so hard to enact to protect women and children were the very ones destroyed by the Roe v. Wade decision 100 years later—a decision hailed by the National Organization for Women (NOW) as the 'emancipation of women.'"

Feminists for Life builds upon the work of the early American feminists who found their feminist moorings in the Bible, says Mimi Haddad, president of Christians for Biblical Equality. "Secular feminists often place their feminist convictions above the authority of Scripture. The early feminists were suffragists because they believed their Christian voice had an important place in the public square."

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/130/52.0.html

North Dakota man wins annual bad-writing contest

Associated Press

Her Chest Is Like A Carburetor

SAN FRANCISCO -- A man who compared a woman's anatomy to a carburetor won an annual contest that celebrates the worst writing in the English language.

Dan McKay, a computer analyst at Microsoft Great Plains in Fargo, N.D., bested thousands of entrants from North Pole, Alaska to Manchester, England to triumph Wednesday in San Jose State University's annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest.

"As he stared at her ample bosom, he daydreamed of the dual Stromberg carburetors in his vintage Triumph Spitfire," he wrote, comparing a woman's breasts to "small knurled caps of the oil dampeners."

The competition highlights literary achievements of the most dubious sort -- terrifyingly bad sentences that take their inspiration from minor writer Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton, whose 1830 novel "Paul Clifford" began, "It was a dark and stormy night."

"We want writers with a little talent, but no taste," San Jose State English Professor Scott Rice said. "And Dan's entry was just ludicrous."

McKay was is in China and could not be reached to comment about his status as a world-renowned wretched writer. He will receive $250.

Rice said the challenge began as a worst paragraph contest, but judges soon realized no one should have to wade through so much putrid prose -- such as this zinger, which took a dishonorable mention.

"The rising sun crawled over the ridge and slithered across the hot barren terrain into every nook and cranny like grease on a Denny's grill in the morning rush, but only until eleven o'clock when they switch to the lunch menu," wrote Lester Guyse, a retired fraud investigator in Portland, Ore.

"That was the least favorite of the five I entered, but you win any way you can," Guyse said.

Ken Aclin, of Shreveport, La., won the Grand Panjandrum's Award for his shocking similes and abusive use of adjectives. He wrote that India "hangs like a wet washcloth from the towel rack of Asia."

"I just saw that washcloth hanging in the shower and it looked like India," he said. "I'll be doggone."

On the Net: http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/

Gluten-Free Market Goes Mainstream

Yahoo News, AP

By CANDICE CHOI, Associated Press Writer

Now manufacturers are rolling out gluten-free equivalents of everything from pizza crusts to doughnuts, buns and cakes. Once banished to the dusty bottom shelves of obscure grocers, the gluten-free revolution is surfacing in the aisles of major supermarkets.

At Wal-Mart, "gluten-free" products are hitting the shelves this month. The retailing giant is requiring suppliers to identify whenever gluten is used in its private-label products, said Bob Anderson, general merchandise manager of the company's Great Value brand.

What makes the market appetizing is that it's no flash in the pan. Celiac disease is an incurable, lifelong condition, said Pam Cureton, a clinical dietitian at the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Disease.

The only way to manage the condition is to banish gluten — a trickier feat than one might expect. Wheat, rye and barley are in products ranging from soy sauce to beer to modified food starch. Even the slightest trace can wreak havoc on the digestive system for weeks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/fit_gluten_free;_ylt=Ak9OxlAz.JqfzU1Hb_WIV_.s0NUE;_yl
u=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-

Home prices more apt to drop

San Jose Mercury News

Valley is fourth riskiest market in US, study says

By Sue McAllister, Mercury News

With the local job market weak and real estate prices rising faster than incomes, chances are better than 50 percent that home values in Santa Clara County will fall in the next two years, a mortgage insurance company said Wednesday.

In its quarterly "market risk index," Walnut Creek-based PMI Mortgage Insurance calculated a 51.3 percent likelihood that home prices in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara will drop over the next two years.

"What we see in a lot of California markets, and certainly San Jose ... is prices are outstripping incomes," said Beth Haiken, a PMI spokeswoman.

The area, which includes all of Santa Clara County, had -0.82 percent employment growth between March 2004 and March 2005, she said.

http://www.mercurynews.com:80/mld/mercurynews/news/12243396.htm

URDC Top 15 Predictions 2005 - Results

Here are the actual URDC Top 15 for 2005, compared with our predictions:

* Denotes dances that are new in the Top 15 this year.

We missed these dances entirely:

• Hola Chica
• The Old House
• Java Jive
• Boulavogue
• Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Our performance this year really sucked. Last year we were able to predict 14 of the Top 15, missing only Beale Street Blues. The new dances are the hardest to predict. In 2003 we were able to predict 13 of the Top 15.

Hola Chica and Smoke Gets In Your Eyes also ranked high on our lists, but not high enough.

One reason that the Top 15 is hard to predict is that our raw data does not include actual vote counts for the various events we tally. For example, I might know that "Papillon" was done at 15 different events, but I don't know how many votes it received at each of those events. The best I can know is that "Papillon" was in, say, the Top 7 at Bill and Carol Goss's week at McCloud, or it was in the Top 24 at Kay and Joy Read's week at McCloud.

If I were willing to do a factor analysis of all our tallies, I could probably figure out which events most accurately predict the URDC Top 15. But that's more work than I'm willing to do right now.

Melting snow leaves falls gushing, rivers bulging

San Jose Mercury News

By Patrick May, Mercury News

Normally as dry as a drumstick in late July, the park right now is a water wonderland. Lower those Six Flags -- Yosemite is now California's top water park. The winter's huge snowpack is finally melting, waterfalls and rivers are gushing, and the leaking sieve of valley walls looks like a plumbing project on a divine scale.

Ribbon and Sentinel Falls are making rare cameo appearances. Rafters are jockeying for position on the fattened Merced River. So many mosquitoes have invaded Tuolumne Meadows that biologists say the bats are getting their fill in two hours and then going home early.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/12195909.htm

URDC Report #4

Did we guess that "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" would be in the Top 15? If not, then Al and I really have egg on our faces. The #1 dance was "And I Love You So," which surprised no one.

Today I met Anita Froehlich, who posts occasionally to the list. She saw my emails and sent me a personal message to look for her. We didn't talk a lot, but she doesn't appear so shy in person as she does on the list. I also met a lurker by the name of Erwin (sorry, it's late and I can't remember your last name) who offered to help me with Mac problems. Erwin, speak up! Also, I neglected to mention previously that I talked several times with Vanessa Otto, a dancer from southern California who I see frequently at dances all over California.

I counted 6 couples here from the San Jose, California area and 4 couples from Sacramento, but the Sac-ites corrected me and said there are 7 couples from their area. With 26 northern Californians here and untold others from southern California, we were disappointed that Kay didn't include us when he recounted the attendance from states and countries who sent the most attendees.

Kay has his hands full with other things right now, as Joy fell during this evening's dance and apparently injured her (other) wrist. Joy, you are in our prayers tonight!

Several teachers who met Daisuke Doi this week were surprised to find that he has been attending URDC conventions annually since 1998. But they didn't really know who he was until this year. Both CRDA and NCRDTA have selected his dances as ROMs recently. Maybe we'll see one of those dances in the Top 15 someday?

Today we learned a difficult West Coast Swing, "Draggin' The Line" by Randy and Marie Preskitt, with music by the same name from Tommy James and the Shondells, vintage 1972 or so. The dance is only a Phase V but was confusing for those of us not yet experts at WCS. The dance is ultimately rewarding because the choreography fits the music so well.

We happened to line up right next to Bill and Olga Cibula to dance their "Hey Mambo," a dance we unfortunately do not know. At least we had someone knowledgeable to watch when we got lost!

Mary's back problems eased up considerably today after icing last night. We were able to dance anything we wanted to tonight and with reasonable form and flexibility. We were even able to dance Bill Goss's waltz. It was during the workshop of this waltz that Mary's back went wonky. No refection on the dance ... Mary's back doesn't like the "standing around" and "looking circles" that happen during a dance teach.

A friend of mine who grew up in San Antonio but now lives in our area suggested that we eat at a certain Mexican restaurant here. But she said to call first and make sure it's still there because the last time she ate there was 12 years ago! Well, Karam's Mexican dining room is still here and going strong after 58 years! The food, service and ambiance were wonderful. They gave us all the information we needed to order around our food allergies. They had a wonderful guitar band who played the whole time we were there. They played "La Paloma," "Cuando Calienta El Sol," and other favorites. Most had a rumba rhythm and I tried to get Mary to dance with no success. Karam's is at the corner of Commerce and Zarzamora in San Antonio, and we highly recommend it.

I just discovered something funny. My Mac screen is updating while I write this email. So I checked and our hotel room at the Alamo Travelodge has wireless internet. All week I've been dragging the computer down to the Menger Hotel to use their wireless access, and it was totally unnecessary. This week has been a comedy of errors in many ways.

URDC Report #3

The HOF dance for 2005 is Boulavogue, a beautiful waltz by Richard Lamberty. A board member had mentioned to me that the choice of HOF might be surprising to some. Not to me; I love the dance. But it has apparently never been in the top 15 before, so maybe to some it appeared to come from out of left field.

Did we guess that Sleeping Booty, Boulavogue, or Beyond might be in the Top 15? If not, then we sure missed by a mile. This is apparently Boulavogue's first time in the Top 15. I don't have all the records with me, but you can check the web site.

I managed to apologize about this afternoon's confrontation and hopefully all ruffled feathers are smoothed over. We've been able to do a few slow dances tonight despite back problems. Now if I can just get the problems with our hotel room fixed I will believe in miracles. I can't be that hard to please, eh?

Tonight Tim Eum managed to hook me up with Bob Benjamin, a delighful man. We hope to talk more tomorrow.

URDC Report #2

Our backs haven't been cooperating with us today. We went to the teach for Bill and Carol Goss's waltz "Try To Remember" but we couldn't do it, despite the fact that we knew 95% of the figures. We decided to try an easier dance in the afternoon, since Kenji and Nobuko Shibata's mambo "Tequila" seemed way out of reach of our frail bodies. We did Tim and Debby Vogt's beautiful Bolero "My Heart Will Go On" instead. We just barely made it through Chris and Terri Cantrell's cha "Una Manana,", which came next.

The Tango we learned yesterday was "Don Diego," by Brent and Judy Moore.

I also failed to mention that we met Roy and Janet Williams. We still have not hooked up with Bob Benjamin.

The San Antonio convention center has the best dance floor we have ever been on. Why they don't hold the dance here more often is beyond me. The weather here is warm and humid, but not hot and not nearly as humid as Ohio, Virginia, or New York, other places that I've danced in summers past. There have been some thunderstorms but all at night or during a dance session, not while traipsing back and forth between hotel and convention center. The fallout from Hurricane Emily gave us some rain during yesterday afternoon's session, then was quickly gone.

Our only complaint thus far is that after the afternoon session today, they locked us out of the mail hall for about fifteen minutes while practicing the hall of fame dance, which must remain a big secret. Unfortunately, our street shoes (and those of several other couples) were locked in that room and we couldn't leave the building for that time. This only delayed the process of our getting ice onto our aching backs in the hotel room.

Everyone here has been exceptionally gracious, except of course me, who went ballistic at the aforementioned shoe episode. Mary says I seem to be on the warpath today.

There has been some private discussion of the HOF dance. Someone noted that Kenji and Nobuko's "Beyond" was on last year's ballot but not on this year's ballot. Others have noted that the time allotted for the HOF presentation is long, bringing speculation that there might be two dances in a tie.

After tonight we'll know the HOF dance and the more of the Top 10 dances but not yet the Top 5. They always save the best (and the most obvious) until last.

I have a new PowerBook and I'm trying to use it instead of the MiniDisk to record all the dances. Unfortunately, although I'm quite familiar with Macs, I'm not familiar with the new notebooks. Unknown to me, I recorded several hours of dancing from the internal microphone instead of the audio cable. All told I lost about 1/3 of the convention dancing and 1/3 of the new dances being presented. That's frustrating.

If I can dance all I wish tonight without hurting my back and Mary's, make it to review sessions of dances we didn't quite "get" while at the same time staying in the room and icing our backs, complain to "management" while simultaneously apologizing to innocent others who bore my wrath earlier today, get good sound recordings while not dropping my computer again, and meet all the Weavers who are supposedly here but who I will never recognize, then miracles truly can happen.

Quick report from URDC

We are sitting in the lobby of the Menger Hotel, which has wireless internet access.

We have met several Weavers, including Joe and Pat Hilton, Jack and Sue Lane, Tim and Nana Eum (whose name is not pronounced the way it is spelled), and the wonderful Daisuke and Tamae Doi, who gave us a gift of a wonderful gilt plate with a Japanese scene.

Tim gave me a "W" button. It is for the mailing list, not for our president. Tim tells me Bob Benjamin is here, but I have not met him yet. One other couple, I can't remember who right now. It is late.

We learned a difficult Tango by Brent and Judy Moore this afternoon.

Al and I messed up the Top 15 terribly. Already Java Jive and The Old House are in the Top 15. We have not yet seen the Top 10. Those will happen tomorrow and Friday nights.

There are several couples here from California.

We took a wonderful road trip from California to Texas. Lots more about that later.

A few techniques to help ward off all the phishers

San Francisco Chronicle

Just remember, no reputable company will ever send you an e-mail asking for personal information or directing you to a Web site seeking it. If you get such an e-mail, it's a fraud.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/07/11/BUGIJDK
PM91.DTL

Wi-Fi cloaks a new breed of intruder

St. Petersburg Times

Police say Benjamin Smith III, 41, used his Acer brand laptop to hack into Richard Dinon's wireless Internet network. The April 20 arrest is considered the first of its kind in Tampa Bay and among only a few so far nationwide.

Experts believe there are scores of incidents occurring undetected, sometimes to frightening effect. People have used the cloak of wireless to traffic in child pornography, steal credit card information and send death threats, according to authorities.

As worrisome as it seems, wireless mooching is easily preventable by turning on encryption or requiring passwords. The problem, security experts say, is many people do not take the time or are unsure how to secure their wireless access from intruders. Dinon knew what to do.

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/07/04/State/Wi_Fi_cloaks_a_new_br.shtml

URDC Top 15 Predictions 2005

[NOTE: modified Monday 11 July 2005]

Last year, Al Mulzet and I had a little contest to see who could more accurately predict the URDC Top 15 of 2004. Al won by one point, but only because the list I posted to the web site did not match the list that I sent to Al in email. Had I posted my correct predictions, we would have tied. In any case, we both failed to predict the surprise entry of "Beale Street Blues," the new and popular Jive by Al and Carol Lillefield.

Al and I have entirely different strategies for making these predictions.

Al uses a combination of last year's URDC program, last year's Top 15, current URDC "favorites," a favorite festival of his that is hosted by several cuers from different parts of the country, and his own biases about which dances are good.

I like to go "strictly by the numbers" and not use any subjective measures like my own favorites. I do take all the URDC "favorites" lists into account. I also try to keep every dance program I can get my hands on. This year, that includes two events from California, and one each from North Carolina, Maryland, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, and Washington DC. I try to arrive at a composite figure based on how many times a dance appeared on a dance program and how many times it was taught during the last year.

Every year we try to improve our accuracy, and this year we decided to put our heads together. So here is our alphabetical list of the dances from which we believe the Top 15 will come. We think it's absolutely impossible to exactly predict the Top 15, so we always choose a few more than 15 dances, usually 18-19. This year we have selected 18 dances:

• Adeline
• All That Jazz
• And I Love You So
• Beale Street Blues
• Begin To Color Me
• Boom Boom
• Cavatina
• Chilly Chilly Cha
• Dark Waltz
• I'm Still Me
• Jack Is Back
• Jurame
• Liebestraum No. 3
• Orient Express Foxtrot
• Papillon
• Sleeping Beauty
• Symphony
• Warm and Willing

(This year I must make one disclaimer. Since last year I typed things up incorrectly, this year I reserve the right to change this list at any time before URDC should Al or I determine that I've made an error in posting it.) [NOTE: already fixed the first error on July 11.]

On average, every year the Top 15 includes 11 dances that have been in the Top 15 before, although not necessarily the previous year. Each Top 15 also includes, on average, four new dances that have never been in the Top 15 before. (This is explained in only slightly more detail on my Top 15 page.) In 2005, by our predictions, the new dances will be:

• Boom Boom, Phase 5 Cha Cha/Merengue by Ron and Ree Rumble
• Chilly Chilly Cha, Phase 6 Cha Cha by Kenji and Nobuko Shibata
• Dark Waltz, Phase 6 Waltz by Debby and Tim Vogt
• I'm Still Me, Phase 6 Waltz by Kay and Joy Read

Most Popular Round Dances of 2004-2005

Every year in July, just before URDC, I post the most popular 100 dances of the previous twelve months. This according to my count of how many times each dance has been done or been on a request list for any festival that I know about.

These dances are always posted at http://www.mixed-up.com/round/popular.html. Currently the list shows my picks for four years, 2002 through 2005. (I lost the lists for 2000 and 2001.)

The purpose of this list is to let me know which dances I want to work on if I want to be able to dance the most at an upcoming festival.

The following dances have been on the list all four years 2002-2005:

• Adeline
• All That Jazz
• Am I Blue
• Amapola
• And I Love You So
• Bard, The
• Begin To Color Me
• Beyond
• Boulavogue
• Cavatina
• Children, The
• Doolittle Cha
• Falling Into You
• Fiesta Tango
• Fortuosity
• Hola Chica
• Java Jive
• Jean
• Kiss Me Goodbye Rumba
• Laurann
• London By Night
• Mujer
• Papillon
• Patricia Cha
• Sam's Song
• Sleeping Beauty
• Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
• Sunflower
• Symphony
• Tampa Jive
• Tango Capriccioso
• Through Your Eyes
• Tonight
• Wounded Heart
• Wyoming Lullaby

The following dances are brand new this year:

• A La Playa
• Anastasia
• And That Reminds Me
• Boom Boom
• Chilly Chilly Cha
• Close Every Door
• Dark Waltz
• Five Guys Named Moe
• Gotta Get on this Train
• I Do I Do I Do
• Just Another Woman in Love
• Knock On Wood
• Libertango
• Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee
• Looking Through Your Eyes
• On and On
• Rhythm of My Heart
• Right Here Waiting
• Scheherazade
• Starlight Express
• Take A Bow
• This Is The Life
• Waltz In Heaven, A
• Way You Do, The
• You Forget

In a separate article, I've posted predictions for the URDC Top 15 based on the figures that created this list.

Archives

Last updated Monday 3 August 2009