Lakeside 2008 Tour of Homes and Craft Show

Yesterday (Thursday July 24) was the Tour of Homes sponsored by the Lakeside Women's Club and the Craft Show on the lakefront. At the show I met photographer Roger W. Fair of Catawba Island who has two books about Lakeside available, Lakeside: Flags of our nation, and Chautauqua chairs. I looked through them, and he has really captured the community.

I also helped on the tour by pointing architectural features and history of Green Gables, the home of the Women's Club. Here I'm explaining about the technology used by American carpenters to achieve the fancy trim on the carpenter gothic cottages.

"Although this isn't the original, notice the "gingerbread" on the peak. By the mid-19th century, the steam powered scroll saw had been invented, and there were pattern books for homeowners to select the design and detail. The earlier Gothic Revival style used actual stone, but this was something the ordinary citizen could afford. Carpenter Gothic houses were constructed all over the nation during the mid-19th century, but especially in campgrounds and resorts like Lakeside. The original design of Green Gables lays out like a cross, and this wasn't only spiritual symbolism--with windows on all sides it was good ventilation. The windows look like chapel windows--there was a sense that this lifestyle was wholesome and spiritual. Carpenter Gothic homes are easy to add to at anytime. Steamboat Gothic is more elaborate and tried to imitate the wooden railings and columns on steamboats."

After saying this about 20 times I was losing my voice and stepped inside for some lemonade and cookies in the meeting room, the flat section that was added on to the original building.
Then in the evening, a near full-house at Hoover Auditorium enjoyed the fabulous and versatile Sandi Patty. Wow. What a voice. And her warmth and interaction with the audience were some of the best I've seen here. In the early 90s she was the highest paid CCM performer and then had a huge fall due to an adultery/remarriage scandal, but is quite popular again.

The Obama Band Wagon

The media suck-up for the Obama campaign trip abroad has really been amazing. Obama's credentials, both foreign and domestic, are so weak it's like a cram before the final exam. I read one account where there was one photographer left to cover the McCain campaign at one northeast stop. Another where a reporter asked someone about the McCain candidacy and the guy didn't know who he was. Last night I was walking through the living room and caught a few moments of Charley Gibson covering the McCain campaign in Ohio. They actually interviewed 3 Ohioans on what they thought of Obama! Nice balance there. It really doesn't matter what Obama says or does on this trip--he's getting so much free face time with the folks, that if there really were a "fairness" doctrine, all the broadcast and cable corporations would lose their licenses. No bias here. Move along.

Perhaps my memory of former presidential campaigns has dimmed, but I don't remember candidates needing to assure the audience (foreign) that they really do love their country (then follow it up with all that we've done wrong). Do you suppose the Germans were puzzled? I do remember the 2000 campaign and that Bush promised to heal all the hostility and distrust the Clinton administration had spawned. Obama's lines here are just sort of rip and read from 8 years ago.

Obamania in Germany

Michael J. Fox Foundation awards 9 grants

"$2.4 million has been awarded to nine research teams to validate nine promising therapeutic targets in Parkinson's disease. To attract an industry sponsor with the resources and expertise to chaperone any new therapeutic requires a critical mass of evidence. This award could help any one of the nine teams bring a target to the point where optimization, preclinical work and ultimately clinical testing, will be viable. Projects funded in this cohort of Target Validation awardees fall into three categories: targets for therapies to alleviate symptoms of PD; approaches focused on dyskinesias, the excessive, uncontrollable movements brought on by long-term dopamine replacement therapy; and targets with potential to slow or stop progression of Parkinson's." From The Alchemist, July 23

Here's an item from 2007 on the circumstances of his illness, his first book, and his second, which was supposed to be out by now, but I haven't seen it. It also includes an inaccurate reference to the dust up over his 2006 campaign ads--I was listening to Rush Limbaugh that day, and know he didn't say what he was accused of by liberals--rarely are they accurate in their interpretation. The media watch dogs, always looking for an opportunity to bash talk radio, really rose to the occasion making a molehill into a volcano. The real moral issue, killing embryos for stem cell research, the left never wants to address. But Fox's viewpoint that he is "lucky" is inspiring to read. I really enjoyed his first book. Monday night at Lakeside we'll be seeing "Back to the Future," one of my all-time favorites.

Lakeside 2008, week 5

Last night at the auditorium we enjoyed the wonderful toe tapping performance of Rhythm in Shoes from Dayton. Their program says, "Based in Dayton, Ohio, the creative capitol [sic] of the Heartland, RIS has toured in 47 states as well as Canada, Japan and Ireland, pursuing the company's mission: to engage the world in music and dance." I had no idea Dayton was more creative than Columbus, Indy or Chicago.

Today the craft show on the lakefront begins. I've already inspected the early set ups and saw some great things. The Women's Club Tour of Homes is also today. Marian the Librarian called me Saturday with a plea to help as a hostess. Usually, I say No to these things, but based on the time schedule and job requirements, it looked pretty easy. So today I'll be telling people about the architecture and history of Green Gables, the home of the Women's Club, which is Steamboat Gothic and built in 1883. I have an encyclopedia of American home styles here at our cottage (picked up for $1 at a Port Clinton book sale) and looking at it, I think Green Gables is actually "carpenter Gothic," not "steamboat Gothic."

Steamboat Gothic architecture, a term popularized by Frances Parkinson Keyes novel of that name, is sometimes confused with Carpenter Gothic architecture, but Steamboat Gothic usually refers to large houses in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys that were designed to resemble the steamboats on those rivers. From Wikipedia

This week I'm taking a watercolor class from Bob Moyer. We bought one of his paintings last year in the art show. I missed the first two classes because we were in Columbus.

There was a huge storm when we got here yesterday, but it then cleared and now it is cool and sunny, just perfect for all the activities and visitors today.

On education, a voice from the past

This is a repeat--I came across it today while looking for something else. Here's an excerpt:

"I remember my father's opinions on schools and education. Children, his own or relatives or yours and mine, who had problems in school had one of three problems (or all three): they were 1) lazy, or 2) dumb, or 3) delinquent. With so many siblings, nieces and nephews, cousins, children and grandchildren, most of them well educated and living nearby, he learned eventually to keep his unpopular opinions to himself, or leave the house if education came up for discussion. But if you had asked, that would be the answer. He didn't believe in pathologizing bad behavior or sin, and the only acronyms that would have passed his lips were BS and SOB.

Dad was an observant man and may have learned this in his own family. Although Dad went on to college, his brother 17 months younger didn't finish high school. If family lore can be believed, this kid was a problem from the beginning--definitely "oppositional defiant disorder." He had to be "encouraged" to attend the local country school by my grandfather walking him there with an occasional swat and nudge with the boot. But one of Dad's little sisters was reading the newspaper to her blind mother at age 4, and they weren't quite sure how she learned to read so she started school at that age. The brother grew up to be bigger than my dad with a mean, rebellious streak which kept him alive in many dangerous missions in WWII. There's a place for everyone, and apparently it isn't always school."

Dad was born in 1913 and died in 2002--just to give you some context.

Is there anything new in this study?

JAMA reports that decreased physical activity plays a critical role in the increase in childhood obesity in the July 16, 2008 issue, but doesn't really supply any evidence that activity and obesity are linked. Think back to your own childhood. Weren't you much more active at 10 than at 16 or 17? If they have data for the 1950s and 1960s, I'm betting it shows the same decrease, yet kids are fatter today.

I lived in two small towns--I walked (or ran) everywhere when I was a kid. I even rode my bicycle 5-10 miles to the next town to visit friends. I had a horse and went on trail rides--if I could catch him. I went to summer camp where we hiked. I earned extra money by detasseling corn (a gross, awful but very physical job). At 16 or 17, the automobile had taken over my life, and even though I could occasionally talk my mother into a ride to school, I had a driver's license for my social life.

At my class blog, I have a photo of a group of us on our bicycles ready to go on an overnight camp-out as Girl Scouts, then some photos of us four years later on a picnic to which we had driven. Which required more physical exertion--biking or stuffing our faces?

I'll let Sandy take this report apart line by line, she's good at that; for me and my peers, I'll just remind you that teens are pretty much the same today as we were in the 1950s. All this study does is document that 9 year olds are more active than 15 year olds in the U.S. They'll need to look for other causes for obesity, because teen girls have always had this pattern of activity. The conclusion is, of course, there is a need for a new government policy or program to address the problem. FEMA-tize the children.

Barbara Boxer's shorts in a knot

We all know women like this--they don't listen, just wait to pounce. Guys do it too, but I'm allowed to criticize women. If you can't attack a man's science credentials or his research [Roy Spencer, testimony on climate change], go after a totally unrelated source.

SPENCER: In conclusion, I am predicting today that the theory that mankind is mostly responsible for global warming will slowly fade away in the coming years, as will the warming itself, and I trust you would agree, Madam Chair, that such a result deserves to be greeted with relief. That concludes my testimony, and I’d be willing to answer any questions.

BOXER: Okay. I also want to point out on that on your own blog you said you never were told you couldn’t speak about your scientific views. And lastly, I guess is a certain congratulations, Rush Limbaugh referred to you as the official climatologist of the Rush Limbaugh Excellence in Broadcasting Network.

Trapped in the Net

There's an informative article in the July 9 JAMA about web searching for information about physicians (JAMA: 300:2; 213). It suggests that the internet is both the friend and foe of the physicians. However, the same applies to anyone of any profession, or even a retiree such as myself who has a "presence" on the web. I'm going to substitute the word "you" for "physician," and "client" for "patient," so you'll see what I mean. All this is paraphrased from the article.

States [or agencies or employers] now routinely publish information about your education, training, certification and publications.

These sites may also include information about disciplinary actions.

Information about lawsuits and [other employment problems] are often available with a dozen keystrokes.

Increasingly, data about your performance are being made available in the public domain.

Some information not available to the general public is shared by professional groups and insurance companies, and then indirectly to clients.

Personal information is readily available on the web.

Mortgage deed registries are now available online.

With just a last name, in some cities, a client can obtain your home address, home price, and mortgage information.

It is also possible to infer if you are married or in a domestic partnership by determining who is the co-owner.

Several Web sites will complete discreet "digital background checks" for a small fee.

Date of birth, criminal records, marriage records, bankruptcy records, small claims court filings, complaints to police and judgments are available on the web.

Social networks sites, popular with younger web users, are a goldmine of information on hobbies, favorite movies, and relationships.

Social networks often post photos of others in the network linking personal information about your friends, cyber and otherwise.

Clients can determine what groups you belong to--who is your favorite sports team, your favorite political and social causes, musical tastes, sexual orientation, etc., and it's not to hard to track your whereabouts with a check of the leisure sites for your town.

Sometimes there is slanderous information about you on the web on a blog or other social network site.

Sometimes there is negative information about someone with your same name.

The younger you are, the more tech savvy you are, the more likely it is that you've willingly traded your privacy for a presence on the web.

The best way to control the information is to be pro-active--create your own web page so it appears first. Research shows that the average web user views 1.9 pages of results per search term.

If you have a social networking site, use the privacy controls to limit access to your most special friends and family.

Be aggressive about slanderous material about you on the web. This article suggested a WSJ story of Feb. 17, 2008, "Starting out: washing your Web face," by S.
Banjo.

Regularly conduct a web search of your own name, in all its forms with quotation marks.

I'm not sure I blogged about it, or just wrote the supervisor, but after I discovered pleasant little bios and photos online about the staff of a day care center that included the names of the women's husbands and children and their interests, I was able to find all sorts of information about them using public information from the county auditor and local newspaper stories about their children and husbands (sports schedules and leisure events). If I'd been a stalker or burglar, everything I needed was available within a few keystrokes. I urged the supervisor to take down the personal information about her employees because there's way too much information out there about all of us, including where the windows are on our houses, and the access roads. Sometimes when I look up a person, all I find are donor records for their university or favorite charity from the latest newsletter. That often supplies age (graduation date) and residence. Certainly an idea of assets and interests. But what a search that could start in the hands of the wrong person. Church newsletters are online these days, with home phone numbers for the head of this or that ministry and committee, as well as photos! These photos turn up in Google Image searches. And on and on.

Good news about tomatoes

Apparently there's no salmonella threat. We can eat tomatoes again.

Although the FDA still believes that fresh tomatoes may have been a source of the bacteria in the early days of the outbreak, last week it said it is now safe to eat them because the trail had now turned toward fresh peppers.

Dr. David Acheson, the beleaguered FDA associate commissioner in charge of the probe, on Monday called the discovery of a genetic match for the salmonella strain on the jalapeño "a very important break in the case," although the ultimate source of the contamination has yet to be found.

Acheson was clear that, although the pepper came from a farm in Mexico, it has yet to be determined whether the source of contamination was on the farm, at the distributor or somewhere in between.San Francisco Chronicle

But there's more good news about tomatoes. New research shows the mechanism behind tomatoes' protective effect against prostate cancer. Rats fed tomato paste plus FruHis, a carbohydrate derivative present in dehydrated tomato products, lived longer than those in any other group. On postmortem examination, prostate tumors were found in 18% of rats in the tomato paste plus FruHis group compared with 39% of rats in the tomato paste only group, 43% of rats in the tomato powder group, and 63% of rats in the control group.

A combination of lycopene, an antioxidant in tomatoes that also protects against DNA damage, and FruHis caused a greater than 98% inhibition of prostate cancer cell growth in vitro compared with single agents. (story from JAMA, July 2, 2008, p. 33) Research published in Cancer Research 2008;68[11]:4384-4391.

Gasoline prices in Ohio

We never thought we'd be happy to see $3.77 a gallon, but since it was $4.09 over the week-end, seeing the price steadily go down as we neared Columbus was sort of nice. In the vicinity of Polaris on Rt. 23, it was $3.77; in Upper Arlington it was still $3.95 on Henderson Road, but today was $3.85 on Kenny Rd. But then, there's a Gulf storm coming. . . Let's get drilling again and build some refineries. Alternatives are fine, and we need them for their new jobs, but let's not kid ourselves into a Depression. Al Gore hasn't stopped flying or driving or heating and cooling his giant house. He just wants you to.

Carbama or Bush Lite?

Today I heard someone refer to Obama as "Carbama" meaning he was a lot like Carter. Frankly, I don't see the resemblance, especially not in clarity of speech. When Obama doesn't have a teleprompter, I don't understand anything he says, there are so many stammers and start-overs. Carter--maybe you think he was ineffective--but he didn't waffle and wiggle. They're both Democrats but that's about all you can say.

Listening to Obama track to the center to pick up the undecideds and the unhappy Obamacons I hear only Bush-Lite. He's been talking about the danger of nuclear weapons. Isn't that just an earlier word for WMDs? And he's talking about the need for a surge in Afghanistan. WMDs and surges. Bush-Lite.

New rule on abortions proposed

Apparently the NYT couldn’t find a single person to contribute a quote on why employees should not be required to perform tasks that they find morally or ethically objectionable. NYT story on Abortion provider proposal. It's called editorializing the news.

From WSJ health blog: “A rule under consideration by the Bush administration could broaden employment rules that now cover abortion to include emergency contraception. Under the proposed rule, employers that get federal funds would be required to guarantee that they won’t refuse to hire health-care workers who object to providing abortions.”

Hey folks, there are plenty of health care providers, doctors, nurses, and techs who have no qualms about abortion related deeds. But don’t discriminate in employment against those who do have a few scruples left about destroying human life. They are probably an underserved minority.

The growth of Wal-Mart

This is stunning. I remember the first time I walked into a grungy, crowded Wal-Mart in Florida. Probably early 80s. We didn't have any in Ohio and I'd never heard of the chain. Several years ago we toured Arkansas and witnessed what it has done for that state. But this growth data is amazing. Seen at Club for Growth. http://projects.flowingdata.com/walmart/

Today Wal-Mart affects everything you do or buy, whether or not you ever shop in one. If it's shipped, or packaged, or stored, or tagged with security, or manufactured, Wal-Mart's methods have influenced it. Wal-Mart's done more for the poor in employment and raising their access to material goods than all the government programs, and probably more for poor countries than all our government bail-outs and aid.

I wish vibrant Christianity or remarkable education ideas could spread like this.

Lakeside 2008, Raccoon Run

Today was the 28th Annual Raccon Run with the one mile fun run at 8 a.m. and the 5K at 8:30. I took a few photos as we walked to the church service on the lakefront.

Here we have the Kete Family of Bay Village, Ohio.
Runners and spectators are important, but it couldn't be done with out the Lakeside volunteers.
Barbara and Marilyn match runners with their sizes.

A revival of chautauqua

When my parents were children, the traveling chautauquas were winding down in popularity (were popular from the 1870s-1920s). Movies, radio and the automobile were taking their toll on this "old fashioned" form of entertainment. There was one in Dixon, Illinois, close to where my dad grew up in Pine Creek, and one in Franklin Grove, Illinois, near the farm where my mother grew up (both were in Lee County, and there may have been others). People came from miles around and set up little tent cities, and enjoyed musicals, lecturers, medical shows, and entertainers. The peak year of the traveling chautauqua was 1924 when over 10,000 little midwestern towns hosted over 40 million people who came to be educated, entertained and uplifted. (American Midwest, 2007, p. 692). In fact, this is where I first heard of the Chautauqua movement because my grandparents had helped with the local organization. I didn’t know there were permanent Chautauqua sites like Lakeside, Bay View, Boulder, and Lake Chautauqua, NY until we first visited Lakeside. There is a movement afoot to revive the local traveling shows. Port Clinton hosted Ohio's traveling Chautauqua this summer.

Here’s a link to one called “New Old Time Chautauqua” which tours in Washington. They are having an Aqua Chautauqua this summer which looks like fun.

Founded by the Methodist Church, Lakeside on Lake Erie is one of the few remaining chautauqua communities that thrive today. I think there is one near Lancaster, OH, but I'm not sure it is called a Chautauqua community. I know there are permanent cottages, and entertainment. Each summer, Lakeside provides "spiritual, cultural, intellectual and recreational programs designed to nurture the mind, body and spirit." Sometimes, our summer population grows to near 10,000, but it's more like 500 in the winter.

See Illinois Harvest, Traveling Culture The above program photo is from the Redpath Collection

Blue, blue, my trash is blue

When we bought our summer cottage in 1988, it was an opportunity to redo a house with a color scheme (and someone else's furniture), so I chose blue, pink (mauve), and cream--certainly not a cutesy look I would have at home. The house is pink (mauve) and the outside trim matches the inside trim. I chose a coordinated wall paper border for each room with stylized sea birds, light houses, ducks, and flowers. It was fun. But that was 20 years ago, and a few things are showing some wear. The kitchen wastebasket, for instance. It's narrow enough to stand between the 20" electric stove and doorway, and tall enough to hold 2-3 days of trash, but last summer someone stuffed it a bit full and a small crack appeared, then another and another and another. I've reinforced the inside with large bands of sealing tape, but still the cracks appear. It has also gradually faded to gray from the afternoon sun, which is not part of the color scheme.

Blue plastic household items were all the rage in the 1980s and 1990s (I have coordinated laundry basket, dish drainer, dish pan, cooking tools, bowls, lamps, etc.), but they are scarce as hen's teeth today. Yesterday I prowled the Port Clinton Wal-Mart and Bassett's. Bassett's came close and I almost bought a white one for the size. They had the blue lids but were out of whatever container matched them.



I think I need to find an old timey hardware store or general store where the stock is infrequently updated, or kept forever until it sells.

I've seen some creative uses for old plastic, however, especially bags. I don't know what these artists will do when the environmentalists get all the women barefoot and pregnant again shopping with canvas bags and growing the family's food in our backyard gardens, eating by candlelight. Here's a very clever 1950s style dress done by a Kent State student, Cathy Kasdan of Cleveland, OH, for her thesis. Isn't it wonderful?

The artist writes, "The dress is all hand knit from grocery bags that were the result of actual trips to the grocery store. As soon as I told people I could use their old bags for a project they brought them in by the bag full, I received thousands! The plastic grocery bag came about in the 1950's along with futuristic optimisim about America, so I made a "typical" 1950's ensemble complete with pillbox hat and purse, not pictured. I am going to have my pieces in an art show on recycled art at the School of Art Gallery in downtown Kent along with a group of other people beginning April 19th." Seen at Craftzine.com

I could be wrong, but I really doubt that my trash container, dish drainer and laundry basket will ever be sought after for a museum of plastic. But you just never know. I have a blue-green glass electric wire insulator displayed on the book shelf that we dug up in the yard.

The closing of Starbucks

600 company-owned Starbucks stores are on the chopping block in a bid to weed out the losers and improve profitability. Here is
Ohio's list. None of these closings affect me personally, but today's WSJ reports customers are organizing "Save Our Starbucks" campaigns. I don't use Starbucks often--coffee is a bit strong for me, but it beats a fast food store if I have a choice. Another one has opened recently near our home in that ugly monstrosity on Tremont Road (multiple-use trendy), but it's within spitting distance of the Caribou and Panera's that I regularly use. I've seen Starbucks in some odd, difficult to reach locations, and they certainly aren't after drive-bys, because you'd have to plan miles ahead to figure out how to exit the main road and find the access. There's one on Bethel Road in Columbus between a shopping center and an underpass which you can get to only if you're driving east; there's one on the south side of Henderson Road in a maze and jumble of small food shops, banks and bars that you could miss if you blink; the access drive way for the new one on Tremont Road in Upper Arlington is so difficult to find that you might as well continue on and go to Caribou, just a block further south. Really, some of these seem designed for failure, or a training ground for difficult assistant managers, but what do I know? They aren't on the closing list. Maybe no one knows where they are?

Cross posted at Coffee Spills

Lakeside 2008, Art class at the Rhein Center

This is the 10th season that the Rhein Center has been open. It's such fun to take classes there in a beehive of activity--kids painting rocks, grandpas making glass light catchers, moms building birdhouses, teen-agers learning watercolor--and last week, me learning to draw better. That was the name of the class and it was a short version of "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain." As I've noted before, I was a good childhood artist, but quit some time in my teens. I tested high for art in college tests, but I didn't want to face the competition of those who'd actually had art training, so I've never had any formal art training, except taking classes for a week or two from local housewives, and hobbiests. I still draw and paint much like I did when I was 11 or 12. I'll quit for 20 years or so, and then start up again. I'm always 12. Here are 3 samples of age 12, age 34 and 64.

This is a bit fuzzy, but the center drawing is mine, 6th grade, Trigger.


Acrylic, probably about 1974
Watercolor about 2004
Anyway, I did buy a sketch book even though my drawing didn't change much during the class. It's very hard for me not to draw the way I've been doing it for 60 years.

Lakeside 2008 and the switch to digital TV

There are groups worrying about Spanish language viewers and their old TVs, but not older Americans who speak English and have old TVs all over the house and at Lakeside. Our itsy-bitsy Lakeside TV was purchased, I think, in 1987. It works fine and is hooked up to an antenna on the roof that the previous owner installed. (It's caught in the tree limbs so we might be able to get more stations if it would move.) We get a ton of stations--ABC, NBC, CBS, two different Fox, public TV from Toledo and Canada, some that are shopping or religious which appear or disappear depending on the time of day. Really, it's more TV than any vacationer really needs. But because of the age of the set (it's old enough to vote, drink and join the military), I don't think we can even connect to cable, and the converter box probably isn't a possibility either due to only one thingy (my all-purpose tech word) on the back which currently connects to the antenna.

“Lawmakers have expressed concern that switching to digital technology may negatively affect people who live near the Mexican border. Because Mexican broadcasters are not required to switch off their analog signals, some Hispanic residents of southern Texas or California may opt to rely on Mexican analog programming instead of upgrading their TVs to receive digital signals from U.S. stations. As a result, they would not be able to receive important public-safety warnings and emergency notices broadcast within the United States.”

In Columbus, I think we have 6 TVs; I know it's silly since I claim to not use much TV, but I'm sure we're not the only older Americans who think our reception is just fine. Has anyone in Congress worried or even asked about the environment? Calculate the landfill problem when households like mine dump all our 1970 and 1980s TV sets. They work fine--yes, it's not the clarity of HDTV, but then no one looks short and fat with bad skin flaws like they do on the newer widescreen flat digital TVs either.

Italy, Saturday Day 11, Orvieto

We had a free day to explore the city before we boarded the bus to drive to Rome for the flight home on Sunday. There was a Saturday Farmer's Market right around the corner from our hotel. Wonderful local produce, cheese, meat, flowers, and clothing.