Graffiti murals

GRAFFITI MURALS | GRAFFITI LETTER | GRAFFITI ART | GRAFFITI GRAPHIC DESIGNMS graffiti muralstribal graffitiblack graffiti alphabetGraffiti murals >> BBC wall street graffiti murals. you need to looking more graffiti murals?or just comment my blog..thanks

Graffiti Anime

GRAFFITI ALPHABET | GRAFFITI CHRISTMAS | GRAFFITI ART | GRAFFITI GRAPHIC DESIGNgraffiti globegraffiti font "the"santa smile graffitigraffiti christmas font "to"graffiti font "you"santa graffiti christmasGraffiti alphabet murals >> cool graffiti alphabet 3d merry christmas. with santa graffiti smile, and font the,you,to and many more. you need to looking more graffiti murals?or just comment my

Graffiti Bubble

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Create Sketch Graffiti Letters S on Paper

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Graffiti alphabet graffiti alphabet name deva and rury

GRAFFITI ALPHABET | GRAFFITI STAR | GRAFFITI ART | GRAFFITI GRAPHIC DESIGNGraffiti alphabet >> graffiti alphabet name"DR"Graffiti name is a symbol of love in that picture, R and D font graffiti . You need to looking more graffiti alphabet murals?or just comment my blog..thanks

Graffiti Alphabet

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ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE

My plan with this blog was to use my personal experiences, up to a point, to springboard to larger issues.

Well, it's starting to get too much like a personal diary. So let me clue you in on what transpired when I went to work today, and then next time write Part 2 of my blog on Gallipoli/war.

Today's events are indeed instructive, otherwise I certainly wouldn't bother recording them here.

When I logged onto my computer this morning there was an invitation to a 2pm meeting with the executive who told me yesterday that I would be terminated if I didn't sign that certain piece of paper (see yesterday's blog entry), and the main guy from HR. This was the meeting where the ultimatums about the blog and the piece of paper would be laid out again, I'd say no, be immediately fired, and drive home.

Only I didn't get fired.

And the HR guy wanted to make that clear. He repeated it several times. Of course I know what I heard the day before but, just like something out of Orwell, those words were now expunged from history and I was never in any way fired and a pox on the house of anyone who says I was. Okay, cool.

I also didn't have to sign the piece of paper with the plans for my vocational rehabilitation. Weird.

In fact, the HR guy wasn't even prepared to say I couldn't blog about Harrah's or that there'd be any trouble in the future if I did. Each "incident" will be looked at in isolation, he told me. Alrighty.

The most interesting moment was when the HR fella told me that Harrah's primary concern was that my blog might "hurt my co-workers." This, of course, was nonsense intended to cause me feelings of guilt and I called him on it. I explained that my blog is all about helping people like my co-workers, not hurting them. But he knew that and so does his "superiors."

If Harrah's is so concerned with my co-workers, it might want to consider giving their sick leave back. (Harrah's cut out sick leave for us in early 2009.) Or seeing to it that we aren't worked excessively. Or being more honest with us. And on and on.

The only "co-workers" that my blog has called out are the ones who are lackeys of the brass and, in being such, actually help with the hurting. So, while they're essentially pawns themselves, they are complicit in the systemic exploitation of those "under" them and deserve criticism. They're motives are generally selfish and have been noted as such by those they've affected.

There was more dialogue to this meeting, of course. (Though the exec never uttered a word but made copious notes because that would surely shake me up.) And at the end I made a little speech and toddled off.

But I shouldn't make too light of it because, as I said, there is something significant here.

What I believe this illustrates is... the little guy doesn't necessarily always lose. Now that's a pretty important message considering how overwhelmed/intimidated we generally feel by our "superiors" at work, the IRS, the preposterously expensive legal system, Homeland Security, etc etc.

My sense of what took place is that somebody at Harrah's did the math and realized that firing me over a small-time blog that doesn't get a lot of notice, might well give the small-time blog considerable notice. They may have guessed that I'd be crazy enough to go to the ACLU, file suit, wave the First Amendment and work the media like a demon. If this was their guess, they guessed right. I may not be rich or beautiful but I fight as hard as anybody.

So it was easier to just damp it all down and make it semi go away.

It reminds me of something I learned once when I went to an activist camp back East. The instructor asked how you beat a giant. Nobody knew. She said: "You stand on their toe and gradually apply more and more pressure until they'd prefer to get rid of you than put up with it any longer." In a sense, I think that's what I did.

If nothing else, it gave me renewed hope. A bit of a boost. I don't really despise the honchos at Harrah's. They're people too. But they're people either unseeing or uncaring. My concern is for the masses who struggle and deserve a better life and a better work situation. I have no personal vendetta -- it's a commitment of conscience.

Okay, that's enough stuff starring me. I'm breaking for a few days, then I'll be back with LEST WE FORGET, PART 2.

Take care,
Adrian Zupp

Graffiti Street

GRAFFITI MURALS | GRAFFITI STREET | GRAFFITI ART | GRAFFITI GRAPHIC DESIGNdigit shoesyorc graffitigreen graffitiGraffiti currently popular among the young, such as for example, many images that appear on the edge of the picture side of the road and alley, a graffitigraffiti.you need to looking more sometimes hated, but like in the way the BBC have a lot of pictures on the wall graffiti murals?or

Graffiti Animals

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Sketch Graffiti Letters Chemical Romance on Paper

GRAFFITI GRAPHIC DESIGNGRAFFITI ALPHABET - GRAFFITI LETTERSSketch Graffiti Letters Chemical RomancePlease give your comments about this graffiti image, Thanks....

WE INTERRUPT OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM...

Today the brass at Harrah's fired me because of this blog and my criticism of the company.

Then they unfired me because they'd rather threaten to fire me in the event that I continue with this blog. It was all very confusing and involved a piece of paper that explained what corporate Freemasonry I was breaching and what I needed to do to cleanse myself and avoid being fired. Which apparently has not happened, after all. Yet.

I refused to sign the piece of paper. What fool would? By doing so, and agreeing to go through internal channels with any "grievances" about Harrah's, I'd be admitting that I'm fool enough to believe that the corporation will police itself in things like, oh, treating its employees fairly.

Now, I'm not sure if I've got it all straight, but it's entirely possible that by writing what I have here, rather than signing the solemn piece of paper, I will be fired tomorrow.

In my mind, this could be a bit like trying to put out the fire with gasoline, for Harrah's. Go ahead, give me better fuel to publicize this thing! My previous career in the media might come in handy too.

For the record: I have no intention of being censored by my place of work even if we employees all agreed to love and abide by the sacred Employee Handbook so that we could pay rent and eat. If corporations are allowed to shut us up and act however they want, then we deserve the dim future we get.

Incidentally, my family back home is behind me 100%. This is because they taught me to have some sense of morality and the courage of my convictions. If my father could get shot up defending his beliefs, I think I can take what these cowards can dish out. I owe my Dad that much at least. I may end up temporarily unemployed but I will still have my integrity. That will take me a lot farther than a few bucks here and there.

As for the corporate honchos and their underlings who tried to reel me in: Shame on you! Where is your sense of decency? One day you may feel the need to speak up in the face of "authority" because somebody you care about is being hurt.

When that time comes, will you sign away that right?

Take care,
Adrian Zupp

Interview with Exquisite Corpse Adventure Authors and IIllustrators!

An Interview with NCBLA Exquisite Corpse Adventure Contributor Lemony Snicket!!

Lemony Snicket is responsible for introducing our Exquisite Corpse Adventure heroes, Nancy and Joe, to the Cradle of Time in Episode 12, and will thrill us with more mayhem in an upcoming episode. Be prepared.

We interrupted Lemony in the middle of a dark and tragic tirade about something or the other to ask him a few questions:

Q- What did you find to be the most challenging aspect of writing an episode for The Exquisite Corpse Adventure?

A- "Trying to persevere despite the primal, overwhelming machismo of Jon Scieszka."

Well there you have it, straight from Lemony's mouth to your ears.

Q- What were some of your favorite books when you were in elementary school?

A- "Dino Buzzati's The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily; Zilpha Keatley Snyder's The Eqypt Game; Edward Gorey's The Blue Aspic."

Makes perfect sense to read about the macabre as a child if you plan to write about it as an adult.

Q- What are you working on now? Do you have a new book coming out this year?

A- "HarperCollins will be releasing my first picture book, 13 Words, which even with fine illustrations by Maira Kalman, manages to be glum and dispiriting."

Do you think Lemony realizes that 13 is an "unfortunate" number?

Lemony Snicket is the author of the famed A Series of Unfortunate Events, as well as other works. Be sure to look for his unique books at your library and local book store.

If you like Lemony Snicket's books, be sure to check out Neil Gaiman's family saga, Anansi Boys, and Keith McGowan's  The Witches Guide to Cooking with Children.

P.S. We regret that we cannot post a picture of Lemony Snicket. Apparently none exists due to a world-wide web conspiracy. Or so he says!

What is The Exquisite Corpse Adventure?
For those not in the know, The Exquisite Corpse Adventure is a series of episodes written and illustrated by famous children's authors and
illustrators. Each author and illustrator inherits the story from the previous folks. It's like taking over a recipe in the middle, you need to understand what's gone into the stew so far and then add your own
ingredients to make it hot and spicy! To catch up on all the exciting episodes, go to Read. gov.

And parents, teachers, and librarians be sure to check out the NCBLA's Exquisite Corpse Adventure Educational Resource Center for great ideas on how to turn the Exquisite Corpse Adventure into a great educational adventure! Go to:
http://www.thencbla.org/Exquisite_Corpse/exquisite_home.html

The EDL are not wanted in Aylesbury

England's Defenders?

Aylesbury last Saturday was its usual relaxed weekend self enjoying a sunny day enlivened by St. George’s day celebrations on a subdued scale. In Kingsbury Square the cafes and pubs had plenty of tables outside as people enjoyed the weather with their children and had a drink or snack whilst enjoying the Morris Dancing. There was also a Dragon roaming around attracting the kids and a little street train with a loco called “George” bringing the kids around the pedestrianised centre of the town. In the Market Square, overlooked by the statue of the local MP John Hampden whose refusal to pay the “ship tax” (Buckinghamshire is not on the coast!) to Charles I precipitated the English Civil War, the market traders jostled for custom from their colourful stalls as they have done for over four hundred years in this the County Town of Buckinghamshire. In the courtyard of the King’s Head, an ancient coaching inn owned by the National Trust, locals and visitors were enjoying the live music and the traditional ale from the Chiltern Brewery.


Market Square, Aylesbury

But what a difference a week will make in this town of 70,000 people. There is a sizable minority of Muslims in Aylesbury who are mostly from Pakistan controlled Kashmir where they have fled from conflict and work hard to provide a better future for themselves and their children. We have a Mosque and some of the best schools in the UK and by and large everybody rubs along quiet well. There is, as in any large town, a lumpen proletariat and there have been in the past some racist incidents whose reports generally include the words “skinheads” and “drink” but we pride ourselves on community relations and have had a Muslim Mayor.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/may/28/race.world

Aylesbury has a mixture of London commuters and busy local employment and is set in the attractive and rich farming area of the Vale of Aylesbury close by the Chiltern Escarpment and the area of Outstanding Natural Beauty known as the Chiltern Hills. It is a good and improving place with a good quality of life which is appreciated by the inhabitants who include sturdy yeomen of Buckinghamshire and many who have moved here from elsewhere including a large Italian and Irish community and more recently Polish. It is an inclusive place and we are particularly protective of disabled people who are very visible in the Town Centre on a normal Saturday as Stoke Mandeville Hospital with the National Spinal Injuries Centre is nearby. That was last Saturday. Next Saturday will be different, very different.


The borrowed iconography of the EDL including Constantine the Great's motto " In this sign I will conquer"

On Saturday 1st May our town is being high jacked by a self appointed Rent-a-Mob called the English Defence League or EDL. The effect is palpable. Aylesbury Bus Station will be closed, many small shops are closing at 12, they gave been advised by the Police to not have chairs and tables outside, keep shutters down and consider if they want to really open. The fear is well founded as the video taken by a neutral outsider at a recent EDL “Rally” in Stoke on Trent where 17 people were arrested shows. So next Saturday May the 1st these strangers are going to use our town to contrive conflict where none exists. So next Saturday in Aylesbury Town Centre there will be no buses, no old people, no children, no disabled people and no shoppers. There will also be no pubs open in the town. Here are the details from these Brave English Defenders own website;

“Initially, point 'A' was chosen as a muster area due to it having a small cluster of pubs that would serve as a meet point for our supporters to socialise in before the demonstration. However, the local licensing authority has visited these pubs and as an upshot of that, they have decided to close on the day. We would like to point out that at every single EDL demonstration; no pub has ever received any damage whatsoever. A business that could take three weeks worth of business in the space of a couple of hours deciding to close? I don't know what was said to them, but it sure must have been scary.”

Some Brave Army the EDL marching on its accelerated alcohol consumption?


Kingsbury Square, Aylesbury where all the pubs and cafes will close next Saturday

Some England, some defence? And who are the EDL? Well they have no discernible policy, have not been elected or stood in any democratic process and their web site consists of one long sneer against Muslim people quoting liberally from extremist and unrepresentative Muslim preachers to justify their obsessive fixation with “defending” the English against Islam?

The national leader of the English Defence League has warned that Saturday's demonstration in Aylesbury could be the first of many after a bitter row erupted with police and council bosses. Officers were hoping to keep EDL members on the outskirts of town before a rally in Market Square, to prevent skirmishes with counter demonstrators. But yesterday Tommy Robinson – not his real name – said EDL protestors are now planning to evade police and instead gather in Vale Park – where an anti-EDL demonstration is due to be held.


King's Head Aylesbury

He said: "If our demonstration doesn't go how we want it to go, we'll come back in six weeks. No other place has tried to block us like this one has." The EDL fell foul of police and council chiefs after trying to put up a stage and use loudspeakers – which they need a licence for. At a tense meeting on Monday, they were also told that they were not allowed to carry wooden framed banners. Coach loads of EDL members would have been met by police and escorted to Market Square, where they would have been contained inside solid barriers. Robinson said ominously: "We don't think they're doing well if they want it to go peacefully."

Here is a thoughtful article in the Guardian about this entirely bogus “protest” which is hijacking our town next Saturday by local resident and Labour Parliamentary Candidate in the forthcoming General Election, Kathryn White.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/09/english-defence-league-aylesbury

So in Aylesbury next Saturday let us keep our nerve with these unwanted and unwelcome visitors. As Communities Minister John Denham pointed out, “The tactic of trying to provoke a response in the hope of causing wider violence and mayhem is long established on the far-right and among extremist groups.” Let us remind ourselves of the EDL’s origins which highlights the ambiguous position that the BNP holds in regards to this new combination of football hooligan gangs and street racists. The BNP, and the NF before it, used to openly embrace football hooligans as useful muscle with a fierce nationalist pride. However, demonstrations and punch ups no longer fit with the image that the BNP tries to project, and so the EDL has filled a gap in far right politics that the BNP voluntarily vacated in its pursuit of votes.


The flower of England?

So does England need these “Defenders?” Well, England has defended itself fairly well in the past and I presume will do so very well in the future and the EDL membership will make no contribution either way. Like the ludicrous Nick Griffin, the convicted racist who leads the BNP, who surrounds himself in photo ops with make believe soldiers in battle fatigues the EDL will seek to use the last refuge of a scoundrel and these shower of aggressive, unemployed yobs will wrap themselves in false patriotism, a patriotism which probably doesn’t include not being dole scroungers? You have to wonder about the mentality of people whose idea of a good day out on a Bank Holiday weekend is to hold a market town and its diverse inhabitants to ransom. There is no point in me telling them not to come to Aylesbury for their tribal cow stomping because, lets face it, these yobs didn’t get where they are today by listening to others. There is also the practical point that if they were to get themselves tanked up, fight the other side in a macho male tribal display and then go home and watch their yobbery on TV after a footie match it would cost them a lot more than these members of the underachieving Master Race can afford.

Preserve us from such sham defenders; preserve us from such sham patriots.

The EDL are not wanted in Aylesbury

England's Defenders?

Aylesbury last Saturday was its usual relaxed weekend self enjoying a sunny day enlivened by St. George’s day celebrations on a subdued scale. In Kingsbury Square the cafes and pubs had plenty of tables outside as people enjoyed the weather with their children and had a drink or snack whilst enjoying the Morris Dancing. There was also a Dragon roaming around attracting the kids and a little street train with a loco called “George” bringing the kids around the pedestrianised centre of the town. In the Market Square, overlooked by the statue of the local MP John Hampden whose refusal to pay the “ship tax” (Buckinghamshire is not on the coast!) to Charles I precipitated the English Civil War, the market traders jostled for custom from their colourful stalls as they have done for over four hundred years in this the County Town of Buckinghamshire. In the courtyard of the King’s Head, an ancient coaching inn owned by the National Trust, locals and visitors were enjoying the live music and the traditional ale from the Chiltern Brewery.


Market Square, Aylesbury

But what a difference a week will make in this town of 70,000 people. There is a sizable minority of Muslims in Aylesbury who are mostly from Pakistan controlled Kashmir where they have fled from conflict and work hard to provide a better future for themselves and their children. We have a Mosque and some of the best schools in the UK and by and large everybody rubs along quiet well. There is, as in any large town, a lumpen proletariat and there have been in the past some racist incidents whose reports generally include the words “skinheads” and “drink” but we pride ourselves on community relations and have had a Muslim Mayor.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/may/28/race.world

Aylesbury has a mixture of London commuters and busy local employment and is set in the attractive and rich farming area of the Vale of Aylesbury close by the Chiltern Escarpment and the area of Outstanding Natural Beauty known as the Chiltern Hills. It is a good and improving place with a good quality of life which is appreciated by the inhabitants who include sturdy yeomen of Buckinghamshire and many who have moved here from elsewhere including a large Italian and Irish community and more recently Polish. It is an inclusive place and we are particularly protective of disabled people who are very visible in the Town Centre on a normal Saturday as Stoke Mandeville Hospital with the National Spinal Injuries Centre is nearby. That was last Saturday. Next Saturday will be different, very different.


The borrowed iconography of the EDL including Constantine the Great's motto " In this sign I will conquer"

On Saturday 1st May our town is being high jacked by a self appointed Rent-a-Mob called the English Defence League or EDL. The effect is palpable. Aylesbury Bus Station will be closed, many small shops are closing at 12, they gave been advised by the Police to not have chairs and tables outside, keep shutters down and consider if they want to really open. The fear is well founded as the video taken by a neutral outsider at a recent EDL “Rally” in Stoke on Trent where 17 people were arrested shows. So next Saturday May the 1st these strangers are going to use our town to contrive conflict where none exists. So next Saturday in Aylesbury Town Centre there will be no buses, no old people, no children, no disabled people and no shoppers. There will also be no pubs open in the town. Here are the details from these Brave English Defenders own website;

“Initially, point 'A' was chosen as a muster area due to it having a small cluster of pubs that would serve as a meet point for our supporters to socialise in before the demonstration. However, the local licensing authority has visited these pubs and as an upshot of that, they have decided to close on the day. We would like to point out that at every single EDL demonstration; no pub has ever received any damage whatsoever. A business that could take three weeks worth of business in the space of a couple of hours deciding to close? I don't know what was said to them, but it sure must have been scary.”

Some Brave Army the EDL marching on its accelerated alcohol consumption?


Kingsbury Square, Aylesbury where all the pubs and cafes will close next Saturday

Some England, some defence? And who are the EDL? Well they have no discernible policy, have not been elected or stood in any democratic process and their web site consists of one long sneer against Muslim people quoting liberally from extremist and unrepresentative Muslim preachers to justify their obsessive fixation with “defending” the English against Islam?

The national leader of the English Defence League has warned that Saturday's demonstration in Aylesbury could be the first of many after a bitter row erupted with police and council bosses. Officers were hoping to keep EDL members on the outskirts of town before a rally in Market Square, to prevent skirmishes with counter demonstrators. But yesterday Tommy Robinson – not his real name – said EDL protestors are now planning to evade police and instead gather in Vale Park – where an anti-EDL demonstration is due to be held.


King's Head Aylesbury

He said: "If our demonstration doesn't go how we want it to go, we'll come back in six weeks. No other place has tried to block us like this one has." The EDL fell foul of police and council chiefs after trying to put up a stage and use loudspeakers – which they need a licence for. At a tense meeting on Monday, they were also told that they were not allowed to carry wooden framed banners. Coach loads of EDL members would have been met by police and escorted to Market Square, where they would have been contained inside solid barriers. Robinson said ominously: "We don't think they're doing well if they want it to go peacefully."

Here is a thoughtful article in the Guardian about this entirely bogus “protest” which is hijacking our town next Saturday by local resident and Labour Parliamentary Candidate in the forthcoming General Election, Kathryn White.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/09/english-defence-league-aylesbury

So in Aylesbury next Saturday let us keep our nerve with these unwanted and unwelcome visitors. As Communities Minister John Denham pointed out, “The tactic of trying to provoke a response in the hope of causing wider violence and mayhem is long established on the far-right and among extremist groups.” Let us remind ourselves of the EDL’s origins which highlights the ambiguous position that the BNP holds in regards to this new combination of football hooligan gangs and street racists. The BNP, and the NF before it, used to openly embrace football hooligans as useful muscle with a fierce nationalist pride. However, demonstrations and punch ups no longer fit with the image that the BNP tries to project, and so the EDL has filled a gap in far right politics that the BNP voluntarily vacated in its pursuit of votes.


The flower of England?

So does England need these “Defenders?” Well, England has defended itself fairly well in the past and I presume will do so very well in the future and the EDL membership will make no contribution either way. Like the ludicrous Nick Griffin, the convicted racist who leads the BNP, who surrounds himself in photo ops with make believe soldiers in battle fatigues the EDL will seek to use the last refuge of a scoundrel and these shower of aggressive, unemployed yobs will wrap themselves in false patriotism, a patriotism which probably doesn’t include not being dole scroungers? You have to wonder about the mentality of people whose idea of a good day out on a Bank Holiday weekend is to hold a market town and its diverse inhabitants to ransom. There is no point in me telling them not to come to Aylesbury for their tribal cow stomping because, lets face it, these yobs didn’t get where they are today by listening to others. There is also the practical point that if they were to get themselves tanked up, fight the other side in a macho male tribal display and then go home and watch their yobbery on TV after a footie match it would cost them a lot more than these members of the underachieving Master Race can afford.

Preserve us from such sham defenders; preserve us from such sham patriots.

10 Type Wildstyle Graffiti Letters CrayOne

GRAFFITI GRAPHIC DESIGNGRAFFITI LETTERS - GRAFFITI ALPHABETWildstyle Graffiti Letters CrayOnePlease give your comments about this graffiti image, Thanks....

East London Line reopens.

The long awaited reopening of the new East London Line takes place at 12.15 today, becoming part of the London Overground network. A service of eight trains an hour will run between New Cross Gate and Dalston Junction, between 0700 BST and 2000 BST, Monday to Friday. Full evening and weekend services will begin on Saturday 23 May, when 12 trains will run an hour. Until then this is a “soft service” so it can be withdrawn or amended at any time as the line, signals and rolling stock are tested in “live” service.

Trains will travel through Whitechapel station and Shoreditch High Street, a flagship Zone 1 station. London Mayor Boris Johnson, who officially opened the route, said: "This new railway will bring jobs and opportunities to communities up and down the line, massively improving access for hundreds of thousands of people.

"This type of investment is essential if London, throwing off the shackles of recession, is to emerge with the ability to grow, prosper, and secure its position at the summit of world cities, to the benefit of all Londoners. This type of investment is essential if London, throwing off the shackles of recession, is to emerge with the ability to grow, prosper, and secure its position at the summit of world cities, to the benefit of all Londoners."


Platform view at Shoreditch High Street

Oyster cards work on the new trains which have no doors separating the carriages, meaning passengers are able to walk the length of the train. The opening is the first phase of the £1bn extension. Engineering works are continuing to extend the East London Line to Highbury and Islington by the spring of 2011. An extension of the line to Clapham Junction, in south-west London, is planned by 2012.

London's transport commissioner Peter Hendy said: "Not since the (Underground's) Jubilee line was extended over 10 years ago have we seen such a transformational transport project delivered in London.”The new East London route has been eagerly awaited by people who live in, work in and visit the areas it serves. It delivers four new London Overground stations and a huge increase in the number of travel possibilities to residents and travellers in a single day. It is also an important part of the 2012 (Olympic) transport network and has been delivered ahead of schedule and on budget."


Inside the carriages which are open the full length of the stock

Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokeswoman Caroline Pidgeon said: "Right in the middle of a General Election campaign, the mayor is desperate to claim credit for something he didn't initiate.”The East London Line opening will be welcomed by many Londoners, but must not be used as a political football. The fact that two 'official openings' have already been postponed on technical grounds clearly demonstrates that political convenience has been the key factor driving the date of the official opening. Transport for London would do everyone a favour if they stayed well clear of political stunts relating to the opening of the East London Line."

The line will form part of a planned wider London Overground orbital network, which will allow passengers to travel around London on the line without having to enter central areas of the city. With the completion of the new station and interim terminus at Dalston Junction residents of this area can look forward to the benefits of new transport links rather than the near permanent traffic jams the construction of the station has caused. Wherever possible the Line has reused existing rail routes.


A driver's cab view of Haggerston station, like much of the East London Extension the track here follows existing railway lines


For the full story of London’s newest “Old” railway see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/04/east-london-line-goes-overground.html

For a history of this Line prior to closure and rebuilding and Marc Brunel’s famous tunnel where modern tunnelling was invented see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/12/east-london-line.html


The way we were - Metropolitan Line "A" Stock on the line before refurbishment near New Cross

East London Line reopens.

The long awaited reopening of the new East London Line takes place at 12.15 today, becoming part of the London Overground network. A service of eight trains an hour will run between New Cross Gate and Dalston Junction, between 0700 BST and 2000 BST, Monday to Friday. Full evening and weekend services will begin on Saturday 23 May, when 12 trains will run an hour. Until then this is a “soft service” so it can be withdrawn or amended at any time as the line, signals and rolling stock are tested in “live” service.

Trains will travel through Whitechapel station and Shoreditch High Street, a flagship Zone 1 station. London Mayor Boris Johnson, who officially opened the route, said: "This new railway will bring jobs and opportunities to communities up and down the line, massively improving access for hundreds of thousands of people.

"This type of investment is essential if London, throwing off the shackles of recession, is to emerge with the ability to grow, prosper, and secure its position at the summit of world cities, to the benefit of all Londoners. This type of investment is essential if London, throwing off the shackles of recession, is to emerge with the ability to grow, prosper, and secure its position at the summit of world cities, to the benefit of all Londoners."


Platform view at Shoreditch High Street

Oyster cards work on the new trains which have no doors separating the carriages, meaning passengers are able to walk the length of the train. The opening is the first phase of the £1bn extension. Engineering works are continuing to extend the East London Line to Highbury and Islington by the spring of 2011. An extension of the line to Clapham Junction, in south-west London, is planned by 2012.

London's transport commissioner Peter Hendy said: "Not since the (Underground's) Jubilee line was extended over 10 years ago have we seen such a transformational transport project delivered in London.”The new East London route has been eagerly awaited by people who live in, work in and visit the areas it serves. It delivers four new London Overground stations and a huge increase in the number of travel possibilities to residents and travellers in a single day. It is also an important part of the 2012 (Olympic) transport network and has been delivered ahead of schedule and on budget."


Inside the carriages which are open the full length of the stock

Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokeswoman Caroline Pidgeon said: "Right in the middle of a General Election campaign, the mayor is desperate to claim credit for something he didn't initiate.”The East London Line opening will be welcomed by many Londoners, but must not be used as a political football. The fact that two 'official openings' have already been postponed on technical grounds clearly demonstrates that political convenience has been the key factor driving the date of the official opening. Transport for London would do everyone a favour if they stayed well clear of political stunts relating to the opening of the East London Line."

The line will form part of a planned wider London Overground orbital network, which will allow passengers to travel around London on the line without having to enter central areas of the city. With the completion of the new station and interim terminus at Dalston Junction residents of this area can look forward to the benefits of new transport links rather than the near permanent traffic jams the construction of the station has caused. Wherever possible the Line has reused existing rail routes.


A driver's cab view of Haggerston station, like much of the East London Extension the track here follows existing railway lines


For the full story of London’s newest “Old” railway see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/04/east-london-line-goes-overground.html

For a history of this Line prior to closure and rebuilding and Marc Brunel’s famous tunnel where modern tunnelling was invented see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/12/east-london-line.html


The way we were - Metropolitan Line "A" Stock on the line before refurbishment near New Cross

Red Graffiti Letters The Readers Wives Experience

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LEST WE FORGET -- PART 1

This is a very hard blog for me to write.

It is hard because it involves elements of my heritage and upbringing, and so there is the risk that emotion could cloud objectivity. Which is something any serious activist must be careful of.

I am from Australia and in that country (and New Zealand) April 25 is, for all intents and purposes, a holy day -- at least for the Anglo population. ANZAC Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand (ANZAC) forces at Gallipoli, Turkey, during the First World War. 1915 to be precise.

What happened on that day, and in ensuing months, is well documented in books and on the Internet. There are many monuments in the Antipodean countries dedicated to this battle. Countless songs and poems have been written and stories handed down. It has also been the subject of various movies, most notably one of Mel Gibson's earliest efforts simply called "Gallipoli."

And every April 25 the two nations fall almost silent in a collective act of reverence almost without par anywhere else in the world.

Gallipoli was a military blunder and a foregone slaughter. These sorry elements, however, are what also turned the battle of Gallipoli into the stuff of legend. The task for the landing troops was a nightmare: take the higher ground from the Turks who were dug in with machine guns at the ready.

The suicidal bravery of the ANZAC troops -- many just teenagers -- is ingrained in the psyche of most white Australians. We were taught about it in school. Many of my own generation had fathers who'd fought in WWII and/or the Korea War, and so we were predisposed to focus on this pivotal moment in modern Australian history.

It is difficult to walk the line between reverence and criticism -- but one must remember that these things need not be mutually exclusive. I have nothing but respect for the courage of the ANZACs. But I feel compelled to question any war, any battle, any loss of life. For, too often, wars are fought by good and often naive young men on behalf of greedy men who are not concerned with loss of life -- provided the loss isn't theirs or their loved ones.

I believe that defensive wars are morally justifiable. But even in these instances, for that moral justification to exist, someone has certainly mounted an immoral offensive to begin with. So it is our obligation, as free and privileged citizens of the world, to search for root causes of war -- and to tear out those roots for all time. These causes are not generally found in the fluff of high school history books, sadly. The truth is not only harder to bear, it is harder to find.

But if we do indeed acknowledge a debt to those who fought and died in wars -- and to those who simply died -- then it is to not only pay our respects once a year, but to make the effort to learn about the true causes of war and do all in our power to eradicate them.

I have experienced many ANZAC Days and I am not anti the occasion. Far from it. But care must be taken, as emotional beings, to make sure that our emotion is spent on love and remembrance and not romanticizing the conflict. It's easy to fall into the latter and I have done it myself in the past.

But I've also seen documentaries in which ancient ANZACs were interviewed. And for most of them the romance of going off to war -- the great adventure of the time -- soon evaporated as good mates were cut down with machine gun fire at Gallipoli. The men who were actually there were likely more objective about this moment in history than anyone else. And I imagine this goes for most battles.

Something to think about. More on this very important subject soon in Part 2.

Take care,
Adrian Zupp

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LAST DAY to Enter the NCBLA's Mystery Author Contest

Who Is the Team Corpse Mystery Author?
Send Your  Guess TODAY!

Has your class been playing Twenty Questions with other Exquisite Corpse Adventure readers around the country to identify The Mystery Author?

It's not too late! Check out the complete list of clues in the sidebar at left, and find the answer to Clue 20 on AdLit.org. Email your guess to mysteryauthor@thencbla.org no later than 11:00 PM PDT TONIGHT.

Every class that solves the mystery and emails in the correct guess will be entered into a drawing to win a collection of books valued at over $600 for their classroom or library, plus a phone conversation with The Mystery Author! MANY of these books have been autographed by the authors! One classroom winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries received.

The NCBLA will announce the winner Monday, May 3, 2010.

For more information and complete rules, please visit www.thencbla.org.

Read The Exquisite Corpse Adventure Episode 16 on Read.Gov, written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering!

And be sure to check out the following extensive educational materials for The Exquisite Corpse Adventure:

Online education resource center  created by the NCBLA and the Butler Center for Children's Literature at Dominican University. Discover reading lists thematically linked to each episode, classroom activities, discussion questions, art appreciation essays and activities, and MORE!

The Exquisite Prompt Challenge Writing Contest sponsored by ReadingRockets and AdLit.org! This month's prompts are inspired by author Megan McDonald and illustrator Timothy Basil Ering!

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April is National Poetry Month! Share a Poem With Your Child!

Family Poems: 

Read Together!

Good Nights 

by Lee Bennett Hopkins 

illustrated by William Low
 
"Good Night," 

Said 

An Abraham
A Mary
A Warren
A Florence
A Bess
A Harry--


Two Abigails
Four Johns
Six Jameses
One Dwight--

So many
Bade--

Still Bid 

"Good night"--
 
Through
The dark
Ebon-black--

Through 
The house 
That is 
White. 
 


You will find this poem and illustration, and many others wonderful poems and great art, in the NCBLA's national award-winning anthology celebrating American History and literacy- 

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out

Poet Lee Bennett Hopkins is a "national" treasure and the creator and editor of many beautiful poetry books for young people. Find out more Mr. Hopkins and his work at: http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/Kids/AuthorsAndIllustrators/ContributorDetail.aspx?CId=12232




William Low is an exceptionally talented painter and illustrator. You can see more of his work at:  http://www.williamlow.com/

Ask for the NCBLA's Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out at your neighborhood library or bookstore. You can read more about this amazing interdisciplinary, multicultural book that will helps young people learn more about the 200 year history of America, both inside and outside the White House, at: http://www.ourwhitehouse.org/intro.html

Wildstyle Graffiti Letters Mariam

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The Exquisite Corpse Adventure Mystery Author Contest: The FINAL Clue!

Have You Guessed the Identity of the Team Corpse MYSTERY AUTHOR Yet?

Is your class playing Twenty Questions with other Exquisite Corpse Adventure readers around the country to help identify The Mystery Author?

Don't miss out! It's not too late! The Final Clue is posted below.

Every class that solves the mystery and emails in the correct guess will be entered into a drawing to win a collection of books valued at over $600 for their classroom or library, plus a phone conversation with The Mystery Author! One classroom winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries received.  Just send in your classroom's guess to  mysteryauthor@thencbla.org no later than this Friday, April 23. The winner will be announced Monday, May 3.

The Final Clue:

Which of the following characters has the Mystery Author written a series of books about?
A.) A princess with a talent for detecting vegetables under layers and layers of mattresses, blankets, and bedding.
B.) A hyperactive kid whose spring is wound so tight that he feels like a rat in a maze and has a friend who brags that she is "blind as a bat."
C.) An oversized puppy with a sense of adventure and a penchant for getting into trouble.

Find the answer this Friday on AdLit.org!

Answers to Clues #17, 18, and 19:

Answer to Clue #17: The Mystery Author’s favorite teacher was Mr. Adolino, her or his Latin teacher, about whom he or she has stated, “[He] decided that teaching us about great books, great art, great films and great music was more important than the Latin curriculum. We went on fantastic field trips, read tons of classics, and overall were infused with a tremendous love for the arts. Mr. Adolino was a saint to me.”
Answer to Clue #18: The Mystery Author read his or her sister's diary when he or she was in the sixth grade and decided "...[he or she] could write better than she could."
Answer to Clue #19:  A rotten cat--Rotten Ralph!--stars in a popular series of books written by the Mystery Author!

REMINDER: The last day to enter is this Friday, April 23.

Send your guess to mysteryauthor@thencbla.org, but remember you can only guess once!  Be sure to check AdLit.org this Friday for the answer to Clue 20. For more information and complete rules, please visit www.thencbla.org.

Read The Exquisite Corpse Adventure on Read.Gov!

Be sure to read The Exquisite Corpse Adventure on Read.Gov! The most recent episode--Episode 15--was penned by National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Katherine Paterson  and sumptuously illustrated by Calef Brown. Coming this Friday on Read.Gov is Episode 16 written by Kate DiCamillo and fantastically illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering!

More Corpse Fun: Educational Materials and Writing Contest

Be sure to check out the following extensive educational materials for The Exquisite Corpse Adventure:
Online education resource center  created by the NCBLA and the Butler Center for Children's Literature at Dominican University. Discover reading lists thematically linked to each episode, classroom activities, discussion questions, art appreciation essays and activities, and MORE! 

The Exquisite Prompt Challenge Writing Contest sponsored by ReadingRockets and AdLit.org! This month's prompts are inspired by author Megan McDonald and illustrator Timothy Basil Ering!

Graffiti Alphabet : Letters A-Z from City Design

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16 Characters Decal Graffiti Alphabet Letters Tag Practice

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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL GETS ONE RIGHT

You have to love it when the bible of Corporate America, The Wall Street Journal, actually runs something that sticks the knife pretty much where it belongs for a change.

I'm referring to an article that I saw on Yahoo this morning and that the WSJ ran on April 11. It's titled "Yes, Everyone Really Does Hate Performance Reviews" and it was adapted from "Get Rid of the Performance Review! How Companies Can Stop Intimidating, Start Managing -- and Focus on What Really Matters," by Samuel A. Culbert with Lawrence Rout. (Published by Business Plus, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing.)

Culbert (pictured above) is an interesting fella. Not exactly a blood-spitting radical, he is a professor in UCLA's Anderson School of Management. (For his full bio, see below.) The good prof looks at management practices and cuts away a lot of the BS. Of course, while there are several nice nuggets of truth and fairness in what he writes, one must remember that he's still supporting a world view in which a relatively small number of people have their hands on the levers and the vast majority do the grunt work. He's a capitalist with some slightly different and interesting ideas. But sight should not be lost of the fact that he's hardly trying to turn the world into one big caring and sharing co-op.

The thrust of Culbert's article is that performance reviews are demeaning hogwash and should, as he says, finally be put out of their misery.

He makes the point that evaluations should be dictated by need, not a date on the calendar -- a pretty common sense point.

But most tellingly, he says: "Performance reviews instill feelings of being dominated." That's the point: It's just another way that corporations get people to toe their line. And this doesn't mean that every manager and supervisor is "in on it." Most of those folks are far removed from the real avarice and just believe they're doing their job by carrying out these reviews.

Harrah's Entertainment, where I work, loves performance reviews with more passion than Julius had for Cleopatra. We have monthly reviews, half yearly reviews, annual reviews, and "360s," which involve your colleagues anonymously reviewing you as well. Needless to say, the latter turn into a kind of open season of denigration from the safety of the shadows. More meaningless "information." I've been reviewed a bunch of times in my 15 months here and it hasn't made a flake of difference. In fact, the way they are done, they do seem artificial and stupid.

That's why it was so refreshing to see Culbert's article so prominently placed on the Internet. And even though he's essentially a corporatist, he does say: "[Performance reviews] send employees the message that the boss's opinion of their performance is the key determinant of pay, assignment, and career progress. And while that opinion pretends to be objective, it is no such thing. Think about it: If performance reviews are so objective, why is it that so many people get totally different ratings simply by switching bosses?"

Culbert goes on to talk about the "damage done" to the individual and the time and energy squandered by the company. And he makes decent recommendations for improving the appraisal system -- within the current capitalist work paradigm.

Sadly, the Culbert piece didn't stay on the Yahoo home page for long. Too many good stories about dancing cats and reality show "stars" trademarking the names of their body parts.

Still, I did manage to disseminate the URL to everyone in The Studio here at Harrah's Corporate before the story folded into history. It seemed the least I could do.

Til next time: Keep reading, keep thinking, keep talking, keep agitating. It's your world, after all.

Adrian Zupp

SAMUEL A. CULBERT BIO

Samuel A. Culbert is an award winning author, researcher and full-time, tenured professor at UCLA's Anderson School of Management. His laboratory is the world of work where he puts conventional managerial assumptions under a microscope to uncover and replace dysfunctional practices. He holds a B.S. in Systems Engineering and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Culbert has developed a blunt yet sensitive way of framing situations that allows for all parties to engage in open, non-judgmental discussions. He believes that only by laying bare ALL the forces that drive people's opinions and actions -- including subjective, self-interested and political biases -- is it possible to have an explicit, honest, yet matter-of-fact conversation. He has spent a career perfecting the skills and style that illicit such straight-talk.

Widely recognized as a candid speaking expert and theoretician, he is author of the recently published Beyond Bullsh*t a probing inquiry that reveals how bullsh*t became the etiquette of choice in corporate communications, and how to develop the conditions required for straight-talk. SmartMoney Magazine named this book to its 2008 list of ten top reads. Dr. Culbert is winner of a McKinsey Award for an article published in the Harvard Business Review, is a frequent contributor to management journals and has authored numerous chapters in leading management-related books. More about this and some of the other books he has authored is available at the www.straighttalkatwork.com website. In press is a book titled Get Rid of the Performance Review: How Companies Can Stop Intimidating, Start Managing - and Focus on the Results That Really Matter. This book, written with Larry Rout, builds on his media grabbing Wall Street Journal article of the same name and is awaiting April 2010 publication. His other authored and co-authored books include The Organization Trap, The Invisible War: The Pursuit of Self-Interests at Work, Radical Management, Mind-Set Management and Don't Kill the Bosses!.

Throughout his career Professor Culbert has creatively welded together three activities: consulting, teaching, and writing. Consulting is where he encounters work effectiveness problems in their contemporary forms, demystifies the basic elements, and formulates alternative modes of functioning. Teaching provides a forum for extrapolating from problems to issues requiring his investigation. Writing is where he packages his understanding for public consumption. His clients include a diverse representation of the private and public sectors: small companies and members of Fortune's 500, international and U.S. governmental agencies, privately funded and not-for-profit organizations. In short, Culbert has been around and gets what's happening. His unconventional views have received a good deal of press, both in the U.S. and overseas.
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