by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's note: Back in 1977 a group lavishly named Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, recorded a peppy little number called "Cherchez la femme". Its lilt and lyrics are perfect accompaniment to this article. You can find it in any search engine. Then sit back and enjoy a story you'll find yourself shaking your head about... as you tap your toes to the music, ready to jump up and dance...
Dans la nuit...
As a acute student of French history and politics, no doubt Dominique Strauss- Kahn (universally known in France as "DSK" for his initials knows the anecdote about Philippe, Duc d'Orleans, Regent of France (1715-1723). His mother, the dowager duchess, exasperated by his mind-blowing promiscuity (prodigious even by ancien regime standards) asked him why.... His shoulder-shrugging response? "Dans la nuit touts les chats son gris." ("In the night, all cats are gray").
Now DSK has given the French such a rollicking sexual scandal it's outraged even the most insouciant Parisian boulevadier... affronted by the crudity of the alleged event and the charges, appalling to the most style-conscious people on earth. After all, as Professor Henry Higgins noted in "My Fair Lady" "The French don't care what you do, as long as you pronounce it correctly." It seems, judging from the outrage throughout France this week, that in fact there are limits and enough is enough even in the land of ou la la. Here are the facts...
May 14, 2011 Dominique Strauss-Kahn, leader of the International Monetary Fund, was just inches away from becoming president of France, with every public opinion poll showing him trouncing little loved incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy and taking up residence in the Elysee Palace. What happened that night has changed everything -- for himself, for France, and for Europe.
Since the event in question took place in Manhattan (doesn't everything?) it seems appropriate to quote some lyrics from local lad Stephen Sondheim written for "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum" .(1966).
"Everybody ought to have a maid. Everybody ought to have a working girl. Everybody ought to have a lurking girl... Everybody ought to have a menial consistently congenial."
DSK took the suggestion literally... though Sondheim no doubt meant "a" maid, not "the" maid, a nuance perhaps lost in translation. And Sondheim most assuredly did not mean the 32 year-old chamber maid (from Senegal) who was fluffing DSK's pillows in the luxury Sofitel hotel. Close to Times Square (always the epicenter of sexual squalor and never-tell-your-wife adventures), the cost of this eye-popping suite was either $1300 per night or $3000 per night, both figures reported by Associated Press. What matter? It had more amenities than Hotel 6 and perhaps the pampered and deferred to DSK thought the maid merely one of them... Moreover, when she declined his advances, he may have thought that was part of the service for stimulating a tired 62-year-old to improved performance. He lunged... she resisted... he lunged again. Kinky.
What happened in that luxury suite is (for the moment) only surely known to just the 2 people who were there. However, the maid (who had worked to the hotel's satisfaction for three years), immediately went to the management to report the incident. She may have told DSK as much... and there was perhaps something in her eyes and manner that suggested she would do so indeed.
In any event, DSK decamped (without even stuffing his travel bag with either the high class toilette amenities beloved of hotel guests or his cell phone, which helped track him down) ... racing to the airport for a flight to Paris... and the usual limelight and deference. The doors were being closed when...
... New York law enforcement officials entered the plane, arresting DSK, and charging him (just 4 hours after the incident was reported) with a criminal sex act, attempted rape, and unlawful imprisonment. Then they returned him to the city where, in the police lineup (so unchic) the maid selected him as her attacker, the man from whom she had to break free and escape. It was sordid... it was outrageous... and it broke the code of "do it if you must, but never, ever get caught", something every successful politician with a roving eye needs to remember.... particularly Dominique Strauss-Kahn, whose relations with women were frequent, flagrant, and always feckless.
In 2007, for instance, Tristane Banon, a French journalist and writer, accused DSK of attempting to rape her in 2002, but she did not press charges. In 2008, an independent investigator was appointed following allegations he had had an affair with a married subordinate, Piroska Nagy. She was later made redundant and DSK helped her get another job. DSK issued a public apology for the affair. Le Journal du Dimanche dubbed him "le grand seducteur" (the Great Seducer). It was a sobriquet of distinction, not obloquy, perhaps more useful with voters than his Legion d'Honneur.
Perhaps more importantly, DSK's employer, the International Monetary Fund's board found that his relationship with Nagy was "consensual", doing nothing more than calling his actions "regrettable" and saying they "reflected a serious error of judgement." DSK (this mere hand slapping suggested) was too intelligent, too well connected, too valuable to lose for mere sexual peccadillos.
However, when the current allegations surfaced, the IMF acted at once and decisively, appointing an acting leader, distancing themselves from their man-of-the-hour only hours before. They knew the charges were serious... and high speed exoneration wasn't going to happen. After all, DSK stood accused of jumping out of the bathroom, naked, jarring but hugely appreciated (I'm told) from an aging lothario. The alleged victim, unimpressed, had tried to fight him off as he dragged her into the salle de bain and humiliation.
All this, and the rest, outraged his IMF colleagues... as it outraged the French nation, used to sexual scandals in the highest places, but drawing the line at such behavior with servants.
As the news reached Paris, the talk was wild, often bawdy, and, given the national character, conspiratorial. What's more, given the fact he's Jewish, there were echoes of the nation's most corrosive scandal, the 19th century Dreyfus Affair when the right-wing went out of its way to cover themselves for incompetence by destroying an innocent (Jewish) army officer. Why had two right-wing media sources been the first to release the news; how had they known so fast? DSK, his loyal adherents asserted, was framed. Maybe so. It will all come out in the wash in what promises to be one of the most lurid of trials, one every exultant conservative and every disgruntled,chagrined French socialist will scrutinize with care, the nation having lost a president but gained a steamy reality show.
Whilst he's being held at Rikers Island prison in protective custody (being deemed a flight risk), DSK has time to work on his very expensive defence and connive at his release. Maybe the music and words of "Cherchez La Femme" will cheer him.... but I doubt it:
"This man has learned his lesson, oh hey Now he's alone He's got no woman and no home. For misery, oh, oh Cherchez la femme."
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. He is also a historian and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ruthsella Corasol .."http://WorkingAtHome101.com"
Listen UP: Here's The Fastest Way To Get Real Cash From The Internet
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Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Five Things You Don't Know About Closing Sales Which Are Eviscerating Your Profits
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
It isn't just that most people are lousy at sales... far more shocking is the fact that most SALES PEOPLE are lousy at sales.
If you're one of them, this article is for YOU!
The plain fact of the matter is that the overwhelming majority of sales people rely on their charm, gift of gab, and ability to "wing it" to make sales... instead of being prepared to make sale after sale. STOP IT! Following these sensible steps means more money:
1) Closing sales is not a matter of motivation or pressure. Instead, it's a question of having the right information readily at hand, so you can answer customer questions quickly, easily, thoroughly.
Thus, consider what you have readily available when you are talking to a customer.
2) Do you have (readily available, mind) a sheet of "you gets", that is a list of PRECISELY what your customer gets when using your product/service?
Dollars to doughnuts, neither you nor any member of your business has sat down and written out the features of what you're selling; then converted each and every feature into a benefit that the customer gets. Treat each and every benefit like scoops on an ice-cream cone; the higher you stack 'em, the more enticing to the customer!
3) Do you have a sheet of offers?
Products do not sell themselves; a sales person bragging "Our product sells itself" is wrong, naive or both. What sells products is offers; the better the offer the faster the sale.
Thus, have you got a sheet of offers; "add-ons" you can use to motivate immediate customer action? This list should make it very clear just what the customer gets for fast action. AND when the customer must act, for ALL offers must be limited by time, quantity, etc.
4) Do you have a sheet of results testimonials?
People what to be assured and re-assured about what they will get when using your product. Here's where "results" testimonials come in. These not only provide a happy customer's experience in using your product ("I loved it"), but the specific results that customer achieved. The greater the specificity and the benefits, the better and more effective the testimonial.
Note: whenever possible ALL testimonials must include full customer and such relevant details as title, location, etc. In short, testimonials must be detailed and complete to be completely credible.
5) A page of objection responses and rebuttals
Face it, not every customer will leap for joy upon hearing of what you are selling. That's why you must be prepared for the nay-sayers, the procrastinators, the cautious, and the merely foolish. For these folks, a list of every possible objection and your strongest response is required.
Commmon objections include:
"I must ask my spouse."
"I'm on vacation for the next 2 weeks."
"I have to check you out."
"I don't have the money."
Now hear this: there isn't an objection under the sun which cannot be effectively answered, only not by "winging it." EVERY successful sales person knows that preparation here is mandatory; the rebuttals may seem spontaneous... but they must ALWAYS be rehearsed. Brainstorm all objections; then work on the responses. As new objections surface, add them to your list... and, again, perfect the perfect, objection- demolishing response.
Last Words
The key to sales success is NEVER a "wing and a prayer." It is ALWAYS a matter of total, complete, deliberate effort. Such effort can turn a mediocre sales person into a stellar performer. That, of course, is precisely what your goal must be, and now you know how to achieve it!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ruthsella Corasol <http://WorkingAtHome101.com
L@@K -- 50,000 Visitors To Your Website F R E E -- Plus...
http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=fi2WeDfQ
It isn't just that most people are lousy at sales... far more shocking is the fact that most SALES PEOPLE are lousy at sales.
If you're one of them, this article is for YOU!
The plain fact of the matter is that the overwhelming majority of sales people rely on their charm, gift of gab, and ability to "wing it" to make sales... instead of being prepared to make sale after sale. STOP IT! Following these sensible steps means more money:
1) Closing sales is not a matter of motivation or pressure. Instead, it's a question of having the right information readily at hand, so you can answer customer questions quickly, easily, thoroughly.
Thus, consider what you have readily available when you are talking to a customer.
2) Do you have (readily available, mind) a sheet of "you gets", that is a list of PRECISELY what your customer gets when using your product/service?
Dollars to doughnuts, neither you nor any member of your business has sat down and written out the features of what you're selling; then converted each and every feature into a benefit that the customer gets. Treat each and every benefit like scoops on an ice-cream cone; the higher you stack 'em, the more enticing to the customer!
3) Do you have a sheet of offers?
Products do not sell themselves; a sales person bragging "Our product sells itself" is wrong, naive or both. What sells products is offers; the better the offer the faster the sale.
Thus, have you got a sheet of offers; "add-ons" you can use to motivate immediate customer action? This list should make it very clear just what the customer gets for fast action. AND when the customer must act, for ALL offers must be limited by time, quantity, etc.
4) Do you have a sheet of results testimonials?
People what to be assured and re-assured about what they will get when using your product. Here's where "results" testimonials come in. These not only provide a happy customer's experience in using your product ("I loved it"), but the specific results that customer achieved. The greater the specificity and the benefits, the better and more effective the testimonial.
Note: whenever possible ALL testimonials must include full customer and such relevant details as title, location, etc. In short, testimonials must be detailed and complete to be completely credible.
5) A page of objection responses and rebuttals
Face it, not every customer will leap for joy upon hearing of what you are selling. That's why you must be prepared for the nay-sayers, the procrastinators, the cautious, and the merely foolish. For these folks, a list of every possible objection and your strongest response is required.
Commmon objections include:
"I must ask my spouse."
"I'm on vacation for the next 2 weeks."
"I have to check you out."
"I don't have the money."
Now hear this: there isn't an objection under the sun which cannot be effectively answered, only not by "winging it." EVERY successful sales person knows that preparation here is mandatory; the rebuttals may seem spontaneous... but they must ALWAYS be rehearsed. Brainstorm all objections; then work on the responses. As new objections surface, add them to your list... and, again, perfect the perfect, objection- demolishing response.
Last Words
The key to sales success is NEVER a "wing and a prayer." It is ALWAYS a matter of total, complete, deliberate effort. Such effort can turn a mediocre sales person into a stellar performer. That, of course, is precisely what your goal must be, and now you know how to achieve it!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ruthsella Corasol <http://WorkingAtHome101.com
L@@K -- 50,000 Visitors To Your Website F R E E -- Plus...
http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=fi2WeDfQ
Monday, May 16, 2011
Thoughts on the historic visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland, May 17, 2011. We salute the lady and her courage.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Let's not delude ourselves. The Queen's visit to Ireland is not only a political statement of the first magnitude. It is also an act of great personal courage for which the 85-year-old sovereign deserves the highest praise.
There are at this very moment people in Ireland who have determined that the British monarch die in Ireland in the most violent and heinous way.
Item: On Easter Monday 2011, a representative of the splinter sectarian group called the Real IRA appeared in a video statement wearing a balaclava and military clothing and referred to the visit (which begins May 17, 2011) as "the upcoming insult" and the government invitation as "unrepresentative" of the wishes of the Irish people.
He said, "The Queen of England is wanted for war crimes in Ireland and not wanted on Irish soil. We will do our best to ensure she and the gombeen class that act as her cheerleaders get that message." ("gombeen" means corrupt.)
This statement also included a threat to kill more Northern Irish police officers just weeks after the murder of Catholic police officer Ronan Kerr in Omagh.
Item: The republican group Eirigi (Rise Up) has placed a countdown timer on its web site, calling for the Queen's visit to be met with "widespread opposition and protest". The group is asking those against the visit to occupy the Garden of Remembrance, a memorial park in Dublin dedicated to those who fought for Irish freedom, which is part of the Queen's official itinerary.
She will also go to Croke Park Stadium, the headquarters of Ireland's two national sports, Gaelic football and hurling. It is the site of one of the bloodiest days of the War of Independence, infamous as "Bloody Sunday" , November 21, 1920; 14 civilians were killed by British forces retaliating for the killing of British undercover agents earlier in the day. In a land where symbolism is potent and sharply etched it takes just a little to imagine some terrorist or other planning for the death strike at this place.
The Irish authorities are taking these and the hundreds of other threats and maledictions with the greatest possible care and concern. This visit is now Ireland's biggest (and most costly) security event. Up to 10,000 police and military personnel will be deployed at a cost of some $42 million. "Safety first" was British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin's slogan; it would be apt, too, for Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny. As for where the Irish government (mired in debt) will find the money to pay these costs that is quite a different matter...
But this very practical question is of minor interest to Irish President Mary McAleese who was insistent that this visit occur... and occur during her presidency. McAleese, like so many of the Irish, has been directly and personally touched by what locals, with stunning understatement, call "The Troubles". She grew up in Northern Ireland during some of its worst days. Her brother was nearly beaten to death for the crime of being Roman Catholic. She is feisty and unapologetic about why this visit is so important at this time:
"It would be the culmination, a celebration, of the efforts that both countries have put into bringing peace." Peace... so desirable, so elusive... now with the Queen's visit officially at hand. I wonder if McAleese knows this famous speech by the Duke of Burgundy in Shakespeare's "Henry V"?
"That face to face, and royal eye to eye, You have congreeted, let it not disgrace me If I demand before this royal view, What rub or impediment there is, Why that the naked, poor, and mangled Peace, Dear nurse of arts, plenties, and joyful births, Should not in this best garden of the world, Our fertile France, put up her lovely visage? Alas! she hath from France too long been chased...."
Change the single word "France" to "Ireland" and you have the very reason why McAleese has been so exigent on this subject. She and millions of storm-touched Irish wish in the catch-phrase of this moment, to "move on". They want peace and its bounties, not the traditional delights of murdering innocent people because they choose to address God the Father in their own way. For generations people worldwide looked at Ireland and its unending, always bloody, always painful troubles and wondered why a nation of culture, civilization, hospitality and charm could still be chained to the blood sport of human murder... At last the overwhelming majority of the Irish, both northern and southern, too, have arrived at this point as the rationale for mayhem and murder has lost its persuasiveness. But not for all...
... which is why the visit of Elizabeth of England is so important and why this Queen of England can justifiably lay claim to one of the greatest speeches of her predecessor. Here is what Elizabeth I said as the galleons of the Dons of Spain moved on England in the Great Armada of 1588:
"We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you that I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved in the midst and heat of the battle to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have but the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too".
And so she does...
For, you see, Queen Elizabeth II has been profoundly and personally touched by the sea of Irish troubles. In 1979, the Irish Republican Army planted a bomb that killed, in his boat, the Queen's cousin Lord Mountbatten of Burma, a distinguished theatre commander of World War II. Mountbatten was killed instantly along with his daughter's mother-in-law Lady Brabourne, his 14-year-old grandson, and a local boy, age 15, who was piloting the boat. Prince Charles wept that day for the death of his mentor... and the good people of two nations wept with him. Thus have sovereigns and princes been afflicted along with the rest, so desiring peace as fervently.
Never forget, there is danger in this visit. There are those who prefer the grisly past. And they will move mountains, or at least attempt to, to wreak havoc and dismay. That is why in Dublin today, specialists will complete their second or third reconnaissance of the city's sewers and all such places where bombs and other devices of death and disfigurement could be planted. Over these her majesty will travel starting tomorrow in Dublin. Thus does a queen do her duty... and demonstrate the valor which has always been one of her sterling qualities, doing the job no one does better. God Save The Queen.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc. , providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also a world recognized historian, an expert on the British Royal Family and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ruthsella Corasol <http://WorkingAtHome101.com . Check out Cash Making Power Sites -> http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=ft9A1Y9E
250,000 Advertising Credits Absolutely NO Cost! PLUS Timed Traffic-Blaster Bonus
http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=zv5Gpkln
Let's not delude ourselves. The Queen's visit to Ireland is not only a political statement of the first magnitude. It is also an act of great personal courage for which the 85-year-old sovereign deserves the highest praise.
There are at this very moment people in Ireland who have determined that the British monarch die in Ireland in the most violent and heinous way.
Item: On Easter Monday 2011, a representative of the splinter sectarian group called the Real IRA appeared in a video statement wearing a balaclava and military clothing and referred to the visit (which begins May 17, 2011) as "the upcoming insult" and the government invitation as "unrepresentative" of the wishes of the Irish people.
He said, "The Queen of England is wanted for war crimes in Ireland and not wanted on Irish soil. We will do our best to ensure she and the gombeen class that act as her cheerleaders get that message." ("gombeen" means corrupt.)
This statement also included a threat to kill more Northern Irish police officers just weeks after the murder of Catholic police officer Ronan Kerr in Omagh.
Item: The republican group Eirigi (Rise Up) has placed a countdown timer on its web site, calling for the Queen's visit to be met with "widespread opposition and protest". The group is asking those against the visit to occupy the Garden of Remembrance, a memorial park in Dublin dedicated to those who fought for Irish freedom, which is part of the Queen's official itinerary.
She will also go to Croke Park Stadium, the headquarters of Ireland's two national sports, Gaelic football and hurling. It is the site of one of the bloodiest days of the War of Independence, infamous as "Bloody Sunday" , November 21, 1920; 14 civilians were killed by British forces retaliating for the killing of British undercover agents earlier in the day. In a land where symbolism is potent and sharply etched it takes just a little to imagine some terrorist or other planning for the death strike at this place.
The Irish authorities are taking these and the hundreds of other threats and maledictions with the greatest possible care and concern. This visit is now Ireland's biggest (and most costly) security event. Up to 10,000 police and military personnel will be deployed at a cost of some $42 million. "Safety first" was British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin's slogan; it would be apt, too, for Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny. As for where the Irish government (mired in debt) will find the money to pay these costs that is quite a different matter...
But this very practical question is of minor interest to Irish President Mary McAleese who was insistent that this visit occur... and occur during her presidency. McAleese, like so many of the Irish, has been directly and personally touched by what locals, with stunning understatement, call "The Troubles". She grew up in Northern Ireland during some of its worst days. Her brother was nearly beaten to death for the crime of being Roman Catholic. She is feisty and unapologetic about why this visit is so important at this time:
"It would be the culmination, a celebration, of the efforts that both countries have put into bringing peace." Peace... so desirable, so elusive... now with the Queen's visit officially at hand. I wonder if McAleese knows this famous speech by the Duke of Burgundy in Shakespeare's "Henry V"?
"That face to face, and royal eye to eye, You have congreeted, let it not disgrace me If I demand before this royal view, What rub or impediment there is, Why that the naked, poor, and mangled Peace, Dear nurse of arts, plenties, and joyful births, Should not in this best garden of the world, Our fertile France, put up her lovely visage? Alas! she hath from France too long been chased...."
Change the single word "France" to "Ireland" and you have the very reason why McAleese has been so exigent on this subject. She and millions of storm-touched Irish wish in the catch-phrase of this moment, to "move on". They want peace and its bounties, not the traditional delights of murdering innocent people because they choose to address God the Father in their own way. For generations people worldwide looked at Ireland and its unending, always bloody, always painful troubles and wondered why a nation of culture, civilization, hospitality and charm could still be chained to the blood sport of human murder... At last the overwhelming majority of the Irish, both northern and southern, too, have arrived at this point as the rationale for mayhem and murder has lost its persuasiveness. But not for all...
... which is why the visit of Elizabeth of England is so important and why this Queen of England can justifiably lay claim to one of the greatest speeches of her predecessor. Here is what Elizabeth I said as the galleons of the Dons of Spain moved on England in the Great Armada of 1588:
"We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you that I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved in the midst and heat of the battle to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have but the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too".
And so she does...
For, you see, Queen Elizabeth II has been profoundly and personally touched by the sea of Irish troubles. In 1979, the Irish Republican Army planted a bomb that killed, in his boat, the Queen's cousin Lord Mountbatten of Burma, a distinguished theatre commander of World War II. Mountbatten was killed instantly along with his daughter's mother-in-law Lady Brabourne, his 14-year-old grandson, and a local boy, age 15, who was piloting the boat. Prince Charles wept that day for the death of his mentor... and the good people of two nations wept with him. Thus have sovereigns and princes been afflicted along with the rest, so desiring peace as fervently.
Never forget, there is danger in this visit. There are those who prefer the grisly past. And they will move mountains, or at least attempt to, to wreak havoc and dismay. That is why in Dublin today, specialists will complete their second or third reconnaissance of the city's sewers and all such places where bombs and other devices of death and disfigurement could be planted. Over these her majesty will travel starting tomorrow in Dublin. Thus does a queen do her duty... and demonstrate the valor which has always been one of her sterling qualities, doing the job no one does better. God Save The Queen.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc. , providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also a world recognized historian, an expert on the British Royal Family and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ruthsella Corasol <http://WorkingAtHome101.com . Check out Cash Making Power Sites -> http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=ft9A1Y9E
250,000 Advertising Credits Absolutely NO Cost! PLUS Timed Traffic-Blaster Bonus
http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=zv5Gpkln
Sunday, May 15, 2011
The day the world began to turn upside down. March 5, 1770, Boston,Massachusetts Bay Colony.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's note. To get the most from this article, you should listen to the words and music for a tune called "The World Turned Upside Down". It's an English ballad first published in 1643 as a protest against the policies of Parliament relating to the celebration of Christmas. Parliament under the Puritans believed the holiday should be a solemn occasion and outlawed the more raucous celebrations beloved of the English. There are (as with many protest songs) many versions of the lyrics. It is sung to the tune of another ballad entitled "When the King Enjoys His Own Again."
You will find several recordings of the music and the various lyrics in any search engine.
A day like every other, a day like none other, March 5, 1770.
Imagine you are in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony. It is March 5, 1770 a typical late winter day, cold, frosty, where the bone-chilling winds off the Atlantic go right through you, the streets (such as they are) byways of grit and mud making travel hazardous to man and beast... and to the soldiers of the king, George III.
Men beginning to call themselves patriots were affronted by these soldiers, aggravated by their presence, eager to see the back of them. They had been sent to help local officials enforce the Townshend Acts, a series of laws passed by the British Parliament with a special eye on the always vociferous Bay Colony residents. The Townshend program was to make colonial governors and judges independent of local control, to create a more effective means of enforcing compliance with trade regulations, and to establish the controversial precedent that Parliament had the right to tax the colonies. Then, as now, the very thought of dipping into their pockets turned many otherwise law-abiding men from Loyalists to oppressed, mistreated, ranting, canting "patriots", clothed in righteousness and outrage.
Colonists objected that the Townsend Acts were a violation of the natural, charter, and constitutional rights of British subjects in the colonies. The Massachusetts House of Representatives, headquartered in Boston, began a campaign against the Townshend Acts by sending a petition to the king. It also originated what came to be called the Massachusetts Circular Letter to the other colonial assemblies, asking each and all to join the resistance movement.
In Great Britain, Lord Hillsborough, recently appointed to the newly created office of Colonial Secretary, blinked. He was alarmed... and he showed it, ordering colonial governors in America to dissolve the colonial assemblies if they responded to the Massachusetts Circular Letter. He also directed Massachusetts Governor Francis Bernard to have the Massachusetts House rescind the Circular Letter. The House indignantly refused to comply. Loyalists were adamant that the colonies comply; "patriots" were adamant that their rights as freeborn Englishmen were being trampled, It was not time yet for revolution, but farseeing gentlemen in the quiet of their homes considered the options and revolution (once unthinkable) was one of them...
The Townshend Acts were so unpopular in Boston that customs officials requested naval and military assistance. In May, 1768 the 50-gun HMS Romney arrived in Boston Harbor. Many colonists, even the most loyal to the crown, saw this as a provocation as they did the June 10, 1768 seizure of the Liberty, a sloop owned by Boston's richest citizen and leading merchant, John Hancock. He was charged with smuggling. He probably was... but that didn't stop colonials from being further outraged. To make matters even worse, the captain of HMS Romney impressed local sailors into the King's Navy, a proven way of augmenting a ship's complement and infuriating the colonials.
The atmosphere was deteriorating rapidly and the word "revolution" could be heard under the breath of aggrieved Bostonians.
Then things got far worse, fast. Lord Hillsborough again was the culprit. Seemingly intent upon fomenting real trouble, his lordship instructed General Thomas Gage, British Commander-in-Chief for North America, to send any force he thought necessary to pacify the good people of Massachusetts. On October 1, 1768, the first of four regiments of the British army began disembarking in Boston. Relations deteriorated despite the fact that two regiments were removed in 1769. Such was the state of affairs that leaving even a single soldier would have been regarded as brute force, completely unacceptable.
Predictably each side (for now there were defined adversaries) looked for ways to trip up the other, while claiming complete innocence and superior morality. Clashes, incidents, fiery language, claims and counter claims were the order of the way. It was just a matter of time until Something Happened. It did, March 5, 1770.
The Boston Massacre.
A young wigmaker's apprentice named Edward Gerrish brought matters to a head. He claimed that British Captain Lieutenant John Goldfinch had neglected to pay his overdue bill. Such was the poisoned environment in Boston that this trivial accusation was the match required to light all the combustible elements at hand. The irony is that Goldfinch had paid the bill the day before...
Mere facts, however, were irrelevant. The colonials were angry... and the British certain to defend themselves if needed. As the evening of March 5 progressed, a crowd grew, becoming restive, belligerent, harassing the soldiers with snowballs and small objects. Private Hugh Montgomery was knocked down and when he recovered his feet, he fired his musket...
In the next few seconds, three Americans died instantly -- ropemaker Samuel Gray, mariner James Caldwell, and a mixed race sailor named Crispus Attucks. There were other victims, too. And so the patriots had what every revolution must have: innocent victims... and in sufficient quantity, too, to incite revenge and even more outrage.
In due course, the British commander, Captain Thomas Preston, his men, and four men who were in the Customs House and allegedly fired shots were indicted for murder. No one could be found to defend them.... until the leading patriot of all, John Adams, made the difficult and unpopular decision to defend them. And so he did to his everlasting glory. Adams either got them acquitted or else (in the two cases where it was clear they had fired point blank into the crowd) lower sentences.
Eleven years later, in 1781, at Yorktown, the British surrendered and so lost their last opportunity to keep their American empire whole and intact. As the troops under Lord Cornwallis marched out, the American musicians played "The World Turned Upside Down". And so it was...
And it all started in Boston, with what the British called a "riot" and the colonials a "massacre". Yes, that was the event that started it all. And at last local officials, including the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, are cleaning up and rehabilitating this historic site where colonials, in Massachusetts are least, stopped thinking they were anything other than Americans ,thereby ensuring the king never did get back his own...
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses.Dr. lant is also a historian and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ruthsella Corasol <http://WorkingAtHome101.com.
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Author's note. To get the most from this article, you should listen to the words and music for a tune called "The World Turned Upside Down". It's an English ballad first published in 1643 as a protest against the policies of Parliament relating to the celebration of Christmas. Parliament under the Puritans believed the holiday should be a solemn occasion and outlawed the more raucous celebrations beloved of the English. There are (as with many protest songs) many versions of the lyrics. It is sung to the tune of another ballad entitled "When the King Enjoys His Own Again."
You will find several recordings of the music and the various lyrics in any search engine.
A day like every other, a day like none other, March 5, 1770.
Imagine you are in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony. It is March 5, 1770 a typical late winter day, cold, frosty, where the bone-chilling winds off the Atlantic go right through you, the streets (such as they are) byways of grit and mud making travel hazardous to man and beast... and to the soldiers of the king, George III.
Men beginning to call themselves patriots were affronted by these soldiers, aggravated by their presence, eager to see the back of them. They had been sent to help local officials enforce the Townshend Acts, a series of laws passed by the British Parliament with a special eye on the always vociferous Bay Colony residents. The Townshend program was to make colonial governors and judges independent of local control, to create a more effective means of enforcing compliance with trade regulations, and to establish the controversial precedent that Parliament had the right to tax the colonies. Then, as now, the very thought of dipping into their pockets turned many otherwise law-abiding men from Loyalists to oppressed, mistreated, ranting, canting "patriots", clothed in righteousness and outrage.
Colonists objected that the Townsend Acts were a violation of the natural, charter, and constitutional rights of British subjects in the colonies. The Massachusetts House of Representatives, headquartered in Boston, began a campaign against the Townshend Acts by sending a petition to the king. It also originated what came to be called the Massachusetts Circular Letter to the other colonial assemblies, asking each and all to join the resistance movement.
In Great Britain, Lord Hillsborough, recently appointed to the newly created office of Colonial Secretary, blinked. He was alarmed... and he showed it, ordering colonial governors in America to dissolve the colonial assemblies if they responded to the Massachusetts Circular Letter. He also directed Massachusetts Governor Francis Bernard to have the Massachusetts House rescind the Circular Letter. The House indignantly refused to comply. Loyalists were adamant that the colonies comply; "patriots" were adamant that their rights as freeborn Englishmen were being trampled, It was not time yet for revolution, but farseeing gentlemen in the quiet of their homes considered the options and revolution (once unthinkable) was one of them...
The Townshend Acts were so unpopular in Boston that customs officials requested naval and military assistance. In May, 1768 the 50-gun HMS Romney arrived in Boston Harbor. Many colonists, even the most loyal to the crown, saw this as a provocation as they did the June 10, 1768 seizure of the Liberty, a sloop owned by Boston's richest citizen and leading merchant, John Hancock. He was charged with smuggling. He probably was... but that didn't stop colonials from being further outraged. To make matters even worse, the captain of HMS Romney impressed local sailors into the King's Navy, a proven way of augmenting a ship's complement and infuriating the colonials.
The atmosphere was deteriorating rapidly and the word "revolution" could be heard under the breath of aggrieved Bostonians.
Then things got far worse, fast. Lord Hillsborough again was the culprit. Seemingly intent upon fomenting real trouble, his lordship instructed General Thomas Gage, British Commander-in-Chief for North America, to send any force he thought necessary to pacify the good people of Massachusetts. On October 1, 1768, the first of four regiments of the British army began disembarking in Boston. Relations deteriorated despite the fact that two regiments were removed in 1769. Such was the state of affairs that leaving even a single soldier would have been regarded as brute force, completely unacceptable.
Predictably each side (for now there were defined adversaries) looked for ways to trip up the other, while claiming complete innocence and superior morality. Clashes, incidents, fiery language, claims and counter claims were the order of the way. It was just a matter of time until Something Happened. It did, March 5, 1770.
The Boston Massacre.
A young wigmaker's apprentice named Edward Gerrish brought matters to a head. He claimed that British Captain Lieutenant John Goldfinch had neglected to pay his overdue bill. Such was the poisoned environment in Boston that this trivial accusation was the match required to light all the combustible elements at hand. The irony is that Goldfinch had paid the bill the day before...
Mere facts, however, were irrelevant. The colonials were angry... and the British certain to defend themselves if needed. As the evening of March 5 progressed, a crowd grew, becoming restive, belligerent, harassing the soldiers with snowballs and small objects. Private Hugh Montgomery was knocked down and when he recovered his feet, he fired his musket...
In the next few seconds, three Americans died instantly -- ropemaker Samuel Gray, mariner James Caldwell, and a mixed race sailor named Crispus Attucks. There were other victims, too. And so the patriots had what every revolution must have: innocent victims... and in sufficient quantity, too, to incite revenge and even more outrage.
In due course, the British commander, Captain Thomas Preston, his men, and four men who were in the Customs House and allegedly fired shots were indicted for murder. No one could be found to defend them.... until the leading patriot of all, John Adams, made the difficult and unpopular decision to defend them. And so he did to his everlasting glory. Adams either got them acquitted or else (in the two cases where it was clear they had fired point blank into the crowd) lower sentences.
Eleven years later, in 1781, at Yorktown, the British surrendered and so lost their last opportunity to keep their American empire whole and intact. As the troops under Lord Cornwallis marched out, the American musicians played "The World Turned Upside Down". And so it was...
And it all started in Boston, with what the British called a "riot" and the colonials a "massacre". Yes, that was the event that started it all. And at last local officials, including the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, are cleaning up and rehabilitating this historic site where colonials, in Massachusetts are least, stopped thinking they were anything other than Americans ,thereby ensuring the king never did get back his own...
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses.Dr. lant is also a historian and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ruthsella Corasol <http://WorkingAtHome101.com.
Check out Google Slapper 2.0 -> http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=vp7IpMWg
See How YOU Can Dominate Google's First Page... THIS IS REAL!
http://worldprofit.com/googledominationproof/?id=24247
Saturday, May 14, 2011
What to do when your computer crashes. It will you know!
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
It happened yesterday... "it" being the most frustrating thing that can happen nowadays...
"it" being the one eventuality absolutely certain to throw off your day and ensure you fall behind...
"it" being the event guaranteed to change you from someone calm, reasonable, the nicest of people, to a mad person whose blue words could make a sailor blush.
Your computer crashed... and you wondered what in God's green acre you had done to warrant such a malady and imprecation. It just wasn't fair...
That's what the computer crash does... and certain too. One of these days you are going to have "the crash"... the only real question is: will you be ready for it?
What every boy scout knows... be prepared.
Cambridge, Massachusetts satirist Tom Lehrer wrote a song (1953) when I was in first grade, a million years ago. It was called "Be Prepared!". I thought of it for the first time in years yesterday as I surveyed the most important machine in my life just sitting there, non functional, turning me from an acutely productive member of society to drone, in an instant.
"Be prepared! as through life you march along. Be prepared to hold your liquor pretty well, Don't write naughty words on walls if you can't spell".
Yes, I thought of Lehrer and his rollicking, rather sophomoric, school boy humor yesterday... as my world came to a screeching halt. Lehrer at least made me smile... Lehrer, that is, and the knowledge that I was prepared for The Crash. Here's how you can be prepared too and actually smile as you resolve one of life's most aggravating and irritating problems.
1) Make sure you copy your files.
The most avoidable problem when you work with computers is to lose files because you have not copied them in an organized, consistent fashion. This must be done completely, regularly -- not intermittently, casually, whenever you get around to it. That's the wrong way for sure, completely unsystematic.
Instead, as I write articles like these, I make a copy of each paragraph as I write it; to do less would be to turn me from copywriter into gambler. And there is absolutely no need for that. To write is silver; but to copy is gold.
2) Print out details of key data you will need when (not if) your computer crashes. For instance, I have in my computer a list of vital telephone numbers. That's just the thing you'll need when your computer crashes. Make sure to print out a copy (from time to time, too, so that you have readily available the most current details) and have it easily accessible.
3) Get an external hard drive. You just plug it in, back up your data, and then continue with the work at hand. It's affordable. Most people and businesses can get by for one in the $100 price range. That's peanuts compared to the actual and psychic costs of replacing data lost because of inadequate protection and preservation. Oh, yes, it's light weight and portable, too; easily connected to any computer where you have data to be copied.
4) Peruse notes of previous computer crises. You do have them, don't you?
Problems occur; the same problems may recur. Are you ready to solve them? You are if you wrote down the problem last time and clearly indicated what you did to solve it. These notes are vital, given the fact that the problem you have today may not recur for months, even years. Your notes, therefore, are necessary. Never assume you will remember the problem and what you did to solve it. As soon as you have a free minute after your computer is up and running, record the solution. This solution should not be left in the computer alone where some future crisis renders it inaccessible; you must print this and keep it in an off-computer file.
5) Don't sit in front of your computer and fret. That won't help.
One of my father's favorite expressions was "a watch pot never boils". Now I know what he meant... to sit in front of a non-functioning computer will only increase your unhappiness and discontent. Instead, if your computer remains on the fritz, turn your attention to other useful things you could be doing whilst you're waiting for help (see below).
If you spend as much time as I do on your computer (easily a consistent 12 hours a day), some other things in your life are bound to be neglected. Make "crash day" productive in other ways. I used the extra time to research a future article and while the computer on which I planned to write it was down, I made considerable progress, thereby infusing some necessary uplift into this "what a revolting development this is" situation. 6) Have a trusted computer consultant at the ready.
As soon as I knew yesterday's computer crisis was beyond my admittedly limited technical skills, I placed the necessary call to my computer consultant Justin Lyttle of Help Desk Services, Hanover, Massachusetts. I received what I have always received from Justin for many years: his prompt, full attention and (despite the fact it was Friday afternoon) the promise he would solve my problem promptly. This he did... arriving at about 6:00 p.m., getting down to business at once, solving my multi-part problem. Within an hour the problem was solved, I was back online, and Justin was on his way.
People like Justin Lyttle are a find. A critical component of what makes you and your business (including your computer operations) successful is ensuring you have just the right competent and sympathetic people like Justin on your team. Never wait to find them until you are frantic. Remember your Tom Lehrer and be prepared; ask business people from your neighborhood who they use... then call up to introduce yourself. Do ALL this before the pressing need arrives.
Last words.
Days of computer crisis are never pleasant, especially if you are technically challenged like I am. Still, if you follow these recommendations you'll get through them as comfortably as possible. Oh yes, just one more suggestion: keep ice cream in the refrigerator. It helps while away the time and makes you feel better until reinforcements arrive. Ice cream is like that.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ruthsella Corasol -http://WorkingAtHome101.com . Check out Massive Auto Traffic -> http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=cd2vI6PX
MASSIVE TRAFFIC PACKAGE Plus 50,000 FREE Guaranteed Visitors for YOU. AMAZING!
http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=iv4LSF5A
It happened yesterday... "it" being the most frustrating thing that can happen nowadays...
"it" being the one eventuality absolutely certain to throw off your day and ensure you fall behind...
"it" being the event guaranteed to change you from someone calm, reasonable, the nicest of people, to a mad person whose blue words could make a sailor blush.
Your computer crashed... and you wondered what in God's green acre you had done to warrant such a malady and imprecation. It just wasn't fair...
That's what the computer crash does... and certain too. One of these days you are going to have "the crash"... the only real question is: will you be ready for it?
What every boy scout knows... be prepared.
Cambridge, Massachusetts satirist Tom Lehrer wrote a song (1953) when I was in first grade, a million years ago. It was called "Be Prepared!". I thought of it for the first time in years yesterday as I surveyed the most important machine in my life just sitting there, non functional, turning me from an acutely productive member of society to drone, in an instant.
"Be prepared! as through life you march along. Be prepared to hold your liquor pretty well, Don't write naughty words on walls if you can't spell".
Yes, I thought of Lehrer and his rollicking, rather sophomoric, school boy humor yesterday... as my world came to a screeching halt. Lehrer at least made me smile... Lehrer, that is, and the knowledge that I was prepared for The Crash. Here's how you can be prepared too and actually smile as you resolve one of life's most aggravating and irritating problems.
1) Make sure you copy your files.
The most avoidable problem when you work with computers is to lose files because you have not copied them in an organized, consistent fashion. This must be done completely, regularly -- not intermittently, casually, whenever you get around to it. That's the wrong way for sure, completely unsystematic.
Instead, as I write articles like these, I make a copy of each paragraph as I write it; to do less would be to turn me from copywriter into gambler. And there is absolutely no need for that. To write is silver; but to copy is gold.
2) Print out details of key data you will need when (not if) your computer crashes. For instance, I have in my computer a list of vital telephone numbers. That's just the thing you'll need when your computer crashes. Make sure to print out a copy (from time to time, too, so that you have readily available the most current details) and have it easily accessible.
3) Get an external hard drive. You just plug it in, back up your data, and then continue with the work at hand. It's affordable. Most people and businesses can get by for one in the $100 price range. That's peanuts compared to the actual and psychic costs of replacing data lost because of inadequate protection and preservation. Oh, yes, it's light weight and portable, too; easily connected to any computer where you have data to be copied.
4) Peruse notes of previous computer crises. You do have them, don't you?
Problems occur; the same problems may recur. Are you ready to solve them? You are if you wrote down the problem last time and clearly indicated what you did to solve it. These notes are vital, given the fact that the problem you have today may not recur for months, even years. Your notes, therefore, are necessary. Never assume you will remember the problem and what you did to solve it. As soon as you have a free minute after your computer is up and running, record the solution. This solution should not be left in the computer alone where some future crisis renders it inaccessible; you must print this and keep it in an off-computer file.
5) Don't sit in front of your computer and fret. That won't help.
One of my father's favorite expressions was "a watch pot never boils". Now I know what he meant... to sit in front of a non-functioning computer will only increase your unhappiness and discontent. Instead, if your computer remains on the fritz, turn your attention to other useful things you could be doing whilst you're waiting for help (see below).
If you spend as much time as I do on your computer (easily a consistent 12 hours a day), some other things in your life are bound to be neglected. Make "crash day" productive in other ways. I used the extra time to research a future article and while the computer on which I planned to write it was down, I made considerable progress, thereby infusing some necessary uplift into this "what a revolting development this is" situation. 6) Have a trusted computer consultant at the ready.
As soon as I knew yesterday's computer crisis was beyond my admittedly limited technical skills, I placed the necessary call to my computer consultant Justin Lyttle of Help Desk Services, Hanover, Massachusetts. I received what I have always received from Justin for many years: his prompt, full attention and (despite the fact it was Friday afternoon) the promise he would solve my problem promptly. This he did... arriving at about 6:00 p.m., getting down to business at once, solving my multi-part problem. Within an hour the problem was solved, I was back online, and Justin was on his way.
People like Justin Lyttle are a find. A critical component of what makes you and your business (including your computer operations) successful is ensuring you have just the right competent and sympathetic people like Justin on your team. Never wait to find them until you are frantic. Remember your Tom Lehrer and be prepared; ask business people from your neighborhood who they use... then call up to introduce yourself. Do ALL this before the pressing need arrives.
Last words.
Days of computer crisis are never pleasant, especially if you are technically challenged like I am. Still, if you follow these recommendations you'll get through them as comfortably as possible. Oh yes, just one more suggestion: keep ice cream in the refrigerator. It helps while away the time and makes you feel better until reinforcements arrive. Ice cream is like that.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ruthsella Corasol -http://WorkingAtHome101.com . Check out Massive Auto Traffic -> http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=cd2vI6PX
MASSIVE TRAFFIC PACKAGE Plus 50,000 FREE Guaranteed Visitors for YOU. AMAZING!
http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=iv4LSF5A
Friday, May 13, 2011
Sir William Walton and the sound of royalty.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's note. To get the most from this article, you will need to listen to three royal fanfares by Sir William Walton, the individual most responsible for the distinctive, rich, soaring sound that epitomizes, defines and glorifies the Windsor dynasty.These fanfares include
1) "Crown Imperial March". 2) The incidental music for Sir Laurence Olivier's 1944 production of "Henry V". 3) "Orb and Sceptre March".
You will find them in any search engine.
Image is everything.
Consider the singular problem of royalty, especially the most important royalty -- sovereign emperors, kings, queens and queen consorts. They do not like us too close to their overpowering presence... but they certainly want to put their stamp on us and leave an indelible impression of grandeur, awe, majesty.
Towards this end, everything their subjects will see (and be able to be influenced and impressed by) is subjected to the most intense scrutiny and consideration. Everything must serve the greater end of the dynasty; the end being just how they are perceived by their subjects... so that the dynasty (with its mountain of anachronistic privileges) is preserved, protected, defended; the better to ensure these near immortals remain "long to reign over us".
Amongst the most important aspects of how royalty presents itself to you so that they may rise higher and you make the necessary (and heartfelt) obeisance is the music used to suit their never-ending purpose; the music that dazzles the ear at the same time their clothes, jewels, uniforms, decorations and all the other accouterments dazzle the eye. Of these subjects, the things to capture the eye are by far more discussed than the music that accompanies royalty upon every significant occasion of their lives.
At the April, 2011 marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the major coverage went to two particular items: the bride's gown and the two kisses the newly married couple made from the balcony at Buckingham Palace. By comparison a tiny percentage of mention went to the carefully chosen music, including Sir William Walton's celebrated "Crown Imperial March". Yes, here is where you heard that stirring fanfare first; although as it surrounded their royal highnesses, wafting them forward on a cloud of acoustic incense... you were paying attention to how the bride and groom looked and how they carried themselves leaving Westminster Abbey. The music was definitely secondary.
You knew the tableaux and its moving figures were perfect; you hardly gave a thought to the essential contribution of the fanfare, much less of Sir William Walton, its composer. Thus, the music does its essential work; moving you, influencing you, directing you where the dynasty wants your thoughts to be at that moment.
About Sir William Walton, (March 1902-March, 1983).
Walton was born into a musical family in Oldham, Lancashire. At age 16 he became an undergraduate at prestigious Christ Church at Oxford University. It was said at the time that he was the youngest undergraduate since King Henry VIII. His musical talents were quickly recognized and encouraged, particularly by the eccentric, talented, well-placed Sitwell family, Sir Sacheverell and his (distinctly odd) sister Edith. He lived with them for many years, while they "finished" their eager protege for the world. With Edith providing the lyrics, Walton composed the music for his first great success, Facade (1923). It established him as a member of the musical avant garde. But this designation (so pleasing to a young man with his way to make) proved short- lived and erroneous.
Walton's strengths (and they were considerable) were not in inventing new forms, living on the cutting edge. No, indeed, he was no innovator... he was a traditionalist producing the incidental music for two great institutions -- the British monarchy and Britain's cinema. Such a role provided his numerous critics with what they needed to write him off as a "serious" composer... and made Walton wince, despite his celebrity and world-wide renown. It is often thus with those who are gifted in ways other than they planned or wanted... The coronation of 1937.
Walton was a painfully slow, plodding composer; composition came neither fluently nor with celerity. His works were relatively few, with long gaps between. Nonetheless, despite the nagging criticism of "modernists" who saw Walton as a renegade, his progress was inexorable. In due course he came to the notice of the British royal family, which took serious note of the "Walton" sound... soon to be the Windsor sound -- exalted, elevated, often electrifying. The Windsors, having congratulated themselves on surviving the First World War (unlike all three imperial dynasties of Russia, Austria, Germany), soon had need of these very traits. The abdication of Edward VIII and the scandal which shook the monarchy to its foundation made them desperate to reassure the nation of their worthiness. And so Walton got the call of a lifetime, being asked to provide the entry music for Queen Mary, George V's regal consort, the pillar of the dynasty.
Queens dowager didn't attend coronations, but Queen Mary knew her presence would reassure the nation... and she wanted something dazzling to confirm her undeniable royalty. Walton gave her, and the world, his "Crown Imperial March". (1937). The Windsors knew at once they had the sound they -- and their challenged empire -- needed... and the man who could produce it for them. It was a great gift in one of the worst years in British royal history... and they took Walton to their hearts as he, like his music, soared...
"Henry V" and Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation.
Walton was now the "go to" man when you wanted music that made showy outward display carried by the imperative commands of trumpets. Walton's music made you sit up, take notice, and transcend yourself and your little cares. It was bombastic, a shade vulgar, but packed with the vitality and the testosterone the dynasty and the nation needed.
Of his many compositions exhibiting these grandiose traits, two more deserve mention: the film score for Sir Laurence Olivier's 1944 production of Shakespeare's "Henry V" and Walton's "Orb and Sceptre March" for the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Walton, in his way, was as much a pillar of the monarchy and Britain herself as Queen Mary. He lifted people up when they needed it (World War II) and when a wounded nation faced post-war austerity. His music showed you why "this band of brothers" (in "Henry V") was victorious despite great odds against them... and why the Phoenix of England would rise again with the coronation of the new, young sovereign. It is no wonder a grateful monarch gave him knightly honors and the most prestigious Order of Merit. Thus was recognized and rewarded the grandeur of Sir William Walton who made the dynasty itself and all its princes grander still.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses.
Dr. Lant is also a Royal Historian and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ruthsella Corasol ......http://WorkingAtHome101.com ...Check out Massive Auto Traffic - http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=cd2vI6PX
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Author's note. To get the most from this article, you will need to listen to three royal fanfares by Sir William Walton, the individual most responsible for the distinctive, rich, soaring sound that epitomizes, defines and glorifies the Windsor dynasty.These fanfares include
1) "Crown Imperial March". 2) The incidental music for Sir Laurence Olivier's 1944 production of "Henry V". 3) "Orb and Sceptre March".
You will find them in any search engine.
Image is everything.
Consider the singular problem of royalty, especially the most important royalty -- sovereign emperors, kings, queens and queen consorts. They do not like us too close to their overpowering presence... but they certainly want to put their stamp on us and leave an indelible impression of grandeur, awe, majesty.
Towards this end, everything their subjects will see (and be able to be influenced and impressed by) is subjected to the most intense scrutiny and consideration. Everything must serve the greater end of the dynasty; the end being just how they are perceived by their subjects... so that the dynasty (with its mountain of anachronistic privileges) is preserved, protected, defended; the better to ensure these near immortals remain "long to reign over us".
Amongst the most important aspects of how royalty presents itself to you so that they may rise higher and you make the necessary (and heartfelt) obeisance is the music used to suit their never-ending purpose; the music that dazzles the ear at the same time their clothes, jewels, uniforms, decorations and all the other accouterments dazzle the eye. Of these subjects, the things to capture the eye are by far more discussed than the music that accompanies royalty upon every significant occasion of their lives.
At the April, 2011 marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the major coverage went to two particular items: the bride's gown and the two kisses the newly married couple made from the balcony at Buckingham Palace. By comparison a tiny percentage of mention went to the carefully chosen music, including Sir William Walton's celebrated "Crown Imperial March". Yes, here is where you heard that stirring fanfare first; although as it surrounded their royal highnesses, wafting them forward on a cloud of acoustic incense... you were paying attention to how the bride and groom looked and how they carried themselves leaving Westminster Abbey. The music was definitely secondary.
You knew the tableaux and its moving figures were perfect; you hardly gave a thought to the essential contribution of the fanfare, much less of Sir William Walton, its composer. Thus, the music does its essential work; moving you, influencing you, directing you where the dynasty wants your thoughts to be at that moment.
About Sir William Walton, (March 1902-March, 1983).
Walton was born into a musical family in Oldham, Lancashire. At age 16 he became an undergraduate at prestigious Christ Church at Oxford University. It was said at the time that he was the youngest undergraduate since King Henry VIII. His musical talents were quickly recognized and encouraged, particularly by the eccentric, talented, well-placed Sitwell family, Sir Sacheverell and his (distinctly odd) sister Edith. He lived with them for many years, while they "finished" their eager protege for the world. With Edith providing the lyrics, Walton composed the music for his first great success, Facade (1923). It established him as a member of the musical avant garde. But this designation (so pleasing to a young man with his way to make) proved short- lived and erroneous.
Walton's strengths (and they were considerable) were not in inventing new forms, living on the cutting edge. No, indeed, he was no innovator... he was a traditionalist producing the incidental music for two great institutions -- the British monarchy and Britain's cinema. Such a role provided his numerous critics with what they needed to write him off as a "serious" composer... and made Walton wince, despite his celebrity and world-wide renown. It is often thus with those who are gifted in ways other than they planned or wanted... The coronation of 1937.
Walton was a painfully slow, plodding composer; composition came neither fluently nor with celerity. His works were relatively few, with long gaps between. Nonetheless, despite the nagging criticism of "modernists" who saw Walton as a renegade, his progress was inexorable. In due course he came to the notice of the British royal family, which took serious note of the "Walton" sound... soon to be the Windsor sound -- exalted, elevated, often electrifying. The Windsors, having congratulated themselves on surviving the First World War (unlike all three imperial dynasties of Russia, Austria, Germany), soon had need of these very traits. The abdication of Edward VIII and the scandal which shook the monarchy to its foundation made them desperate to reassure the nation of their worthiness. And so Walton got the call of a lifetime, being asked to provide the entry music for Queen Mary, George V's regal consort, the pillar of the dynasty.
Queens dowager didn't attend coronations, but Queen Mary knew her presence would reassure the nation... and she wanted something dazzling to confirm her undeniable royalty. Walton gave her, and the world, his "Crown Imperial March". (1937). The Windsors knew at once they had the sound they -- and their challenged empire -- needed... and the man who could produce it for them. It was a great gift in one of the worst years in British royal history... and they took Walton to their hearts as he, like his music, soared...
"Henry V" and Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation.
Walton was now the "go to" man when you wanted music that made showy outward display carried by the imperative commands of trumpets. Walton's music made you sit up, take notice, and transcend yourself and your little cares. It was bombastic, a shade vulgar, but packed with the vitality and the testosterone the dynasty and the nation needed.
Of his many compositions exhibiting these grandiose traits, two more deserve mention: the film score for Sir Laurence Olivier's 1944 production of Shakespeare's "Henry V" and Walton's "Orb and Sceptre March" for the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Walton, in his way, was as much a pillar of the monarchy and Britain herself as Queen Mary. He lifted people up when they needed it (World War II) and when a wounded nation faced post-war austerity. His music showed you why "this band of brothers" (in "Henry V") was victorious despite great odds against them... and why the Phoenix of England would rise again with the coronation of the new, young sovereign. It is no wonder a grateful monarch gave him knightly honors and the most prestigious Order of Merit. Thus was recognized and rewarded the grandeur of Sir William Walton who made the dynasty itself and all its princes grander still.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses.
Dr. Lant is also a Royal Historian and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ruthsella Corasol ......http://WorkingAtHome101.com ...Check out Massive Auto Traffic - http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=cd2vI6PX
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Thursday, May 12, 2011
New England's cottontail rabbits face extinction... if you love them, help save them.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
I had the most extraordinary experience recently when I took my nephew Kyle out to see the Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts. Built in 1770 for patriot minister William Emerson, the residents of this handsome clapboard house literally heard the shot heard round the world on April 19, 1775.
Later, that revolution won, residents welcomed one celebrated guest after another... Bronson Alcott, Henry David Thoreau and Margaret Fuller. Two of the most celebrated of all -- Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne both lived there for a time and both were fertile with the seminal ideas that shaped the new nation.
Emerson wrote his famous essay "Nature" in a stuffy upstairs bedroom. Hawthorne wrote a tribute to the house itself, "Mosses from an Old Manse." Both he and his wife Sophia chiseled poems for each other on the window glass using a diamond that surely symbolized a love so great it could take in its stride the massive discomfort of their chamber on the second floor, frigid in winter, insufferable in summer.
One more guest came, or rather a stream of them... and it is these guests who so startled us the other day. The Old Manse was closing for the day and the sun was dipping in the western sky.
I was walking away from the house when I turned for a last look and saw an overpowering luminescence... a spectrum of colors bathed in a light that could only be called celestial. It was a benediction... overwhelming... perplexing...
... until I realized that the epicenter of this luminescence was the heirloom vegetable garden originally planted by Thoreau in honor of the Hawthornes' wedding. Kyle and I were being ushered off the property in high style, grandly so... by the rabbits who entered the garden as its visitors left; their ears catching the light to produce this astonishing effect... It was unexpected but no less welcome for that. It was good to see so many of them.... and so well, though I can imagine the gardeners felt quite differently. Sadly, this brave show may well have been a swan song... especially if these rabbits were of the New England cottontail variety.
New England cottontails and their plight.
The New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) is a species of cottontail rabbit represented by fragmented populations in areas of New England, specifically from southern Maine to southern New York. This species bears a close resemblance (so close you must analyze their fecal droppings to tell the difference) to the Eastern cottontail. It is important to know that the Eastern cottontail has done the better job of adapting to its often harsh environment; the New England cottontail, for instance, retains its brown color during the winter, the better to be seen and enjoyed by hungry coyotes and owls. This is but one of the several pressing reasons which together may presage the end of these uniquely New England residents. Here is the full litany of the woes which assail them...
Item: Its population is in sharp decline. As recently as 1960, New England cottontails were found east of the Hudson River in New York, across all of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, north to southern Vermont and New Hampshire, and into southern Maine.
Today, this rabbit's range has shrunk by more than 75 percent. Its numbers are so greatly diminished that it cannot be found in Vermont and has been reduced, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, to only five smaller populations throughout its historic range.
Item: Drastically reduced habitat. The New England cottontail prefers early successional forests, often called thickets, with thick and tangled vegetation. These young forests are generally less than 25 years old. Once large trees grow in a stand, the shrub layer tends to shrink, creating habitat that the cottontails no longer find suitable.
New England cottontails need a certain amount of territory to flourish. They do best on patches of habitat larger than 12 acres. Rabbits on smaller patches of habitat deplete their food supply sooner and have to eat lower quality food, or may need to search for food in areas where there is more risk (especially in winter) of being killed by a predator.
Item: The introduction of exotic invasive species, such as multiflora rose, honeysuckle bush and autumn olive, in the last century has changed the type of habitat available to New England cottontails. These plants form the major component of many patches where cottontails can be found, and the rabbits don't like them at all.
Item: Today white-tailed deer are found in extremely high densities throughout the range of New England cottontails. Deer not only eat many of the same plants but may affect the density of many understory plants that provide thicket habitat for New England cottontails.
And so the woes pile up, one on top of the other until catastrophe looms... and swiftly so. Even their well-known prolific breeding habits, known to all, cannot save them... without our immediate assistance. Thankfully a measure of that assistance is now at hand...
Under an agreement announced in April, 2011, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department will work with private landowners in Cheshire, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham and Strafford counties to help restore the thickets during the next 50 years. The goal is to enroll 3,000 to 5,000 acres to be managed as cottontail habitat.
The agreement in New Hampshire allows the Fish and Game Department to provide assurance to volunteering landowners that their conservation work "won't jeopardize the future use or value of the land if the species is eventually federally listed," said Steve Weber, chief of the department's wildlife division. Such federal listing as an endangered species is probable since the cottontail was listed in 2006 as a candidate under the Endangered Species Act.
Now the good people of New Hampshire can make a start at preserving the cottontails by cutting vegetation to promote shrub development, planting seeds, controlling invasive plants, and transferring some rabbits to the newly created habitats. It is good... but is it enough... and in time?
A candid conclusion.
For thousands of years, New England cottontails were self-sufficient, thank you very much. Then we, homo sapiens, descended, spreading dislocation, disaster, death. Now the future of these silky creatures is in our hands. Surely a great nation that can put members of our species on the moon can make a few bucks available to save them and give them the little they need to survive. But will we? That is the open question that demands the right answer, for really what do a few rabbits matter in the scheme of things?
Here is the righteous answer: if we will not protect the small and meek like the cottontails, how can we be expected to do what's necessary to protect ourselves and the planet? We are all, you see, endangered together. When will we finally come to understand?
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc. , providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ruthsella Corasol ..http://WorkingAtHome101.com... Check out Massive Auto Traffic - http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=cd2vI6PX
Exclusive Offer: Get Your FULL PAGE Ad on over 50 High Traffic Websites Instantly
http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=ga1eMV3x
I had the most extraordinary experience recently when I took my nephew Kyle out to see the Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts. Built in 1770 for patriot minister William Emerson, the residents of this handsome clapboard house literally heard the shot heard round the world on April 19, 1775.
Later, that revolution won, residents welcomed one celebrated guest after another... Bronson Alcott, Henry David Thoreau and Margaret Fuller. Two of the most celebrated of all -- Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne both lived there for a time and both were fertile with the seminal ideas that shaped the new nation.
Emerson wrote his famous essay "Nature" in a stuffy upstairs bedroom. Hawthorne wrote a tribute to the house itself, "Mosses from an Old Manse." Both he and his wife Sophia chiseled poems for each other on the window glass using a diamond that surely symbolized a love so great it could take in its stride the massive discomfort of their chamber on the second floor, frigid in winter, insufferable in summer.
One more guest came, or rather a stream of them... and it is these guests who so startled us the other day. The Old Manse was closing for the day and the sun was dipping in the western sky.
I was walking away from the house when I turned for a last look and saw an overpowering luminescence... a spectrum of colors bathed in a light that could only be called celestial. It was a benediction... overwhelming... perplexing...
... until I realized that the epicenter of this luminescence was the heirloom vegetable garden originally planted by Thoreau in honor of the Hawthornes' wedding. Kyle and I were being ushered off the property in high style, grandly so... by the rabbits who entered the garden as its visitors left; their ears catching the light to produce this astonishing effect... It was unexpected but no less welcome for that. It was good to see so many of them.... and so well, though I can imagine the gardeners felt quite differently. Sadly, this brave show may well have been a swan song... especially if these rabbits were of the New England cottontail variety.
New England cottontails and their plight.
The New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) is a species of cottontail rabbit represented by fragmented populations in areas of New England, specifically from southern Maine to southern New York. This species bears a close resemblance (so close you must analyze their fecal droppings to tell the difference) to the Eastern cottontail. It is important to know that the Eastern cottontail has done the better job of adapting to its often harsh environment; the New England cottontail, for instance, retains its brown color during the winter, the better to be seen and enjoyed by hungry coyotes and owls. This is but one of the several pressing reasons which together may presage the end of these uniquely New England residents. Here is the full litany of the woes which assail them...
Item: Its population is in sharp decline. As recently as 1960, New England cottontails were found east of the Hudson River in New York, across all of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, north to southern Vermont and New Hampshire, and into southern Maine.
Today, this rabbit's range has shrunk by more than 75 percent. Its numbers are so greatly diminished that it cannot be found in Vermont and has been reduced, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, to only five smaller populations throughout its historic range.
Item: Drastically reduced habitat. The New England cottontail prefers early successional forests, often called thickets, with thick and tangled vegetation. These young forests are generally less than 25 years old. Once large trees grow in a stand, the shrub layer tends to shrink, creating habitat that the cottontails no longer find suitable.
New England cottontails need a certain amount of territory to flourish. They do best on patches of habitat larger than 12 acres. Rabbits on smaller patches of habitat deplete their food supply sooner and have to eat lower quality food, or may need to search for food in areas where there is more risk (especially in winter) of being killed by a predator.
Item: The introduction of exotic invasive species, such as multiflora rose, honeysuckle bush and autumn olive, in the last century has changed the type of habitat available to New England cottontails. These plants form the major component of many patches where cottontails can be found, and the rabbits don't like them at all.
Item: Today white-tailed deer are found in extremely high densities throughout the range of New England cottontails. Deer not only eat many of the same plants but may affect the density of many understory plants that provide thicket habitat for New England cottontails.
And so the woes pile up, one on top of the other until catastrophe looms... and swiftly so. Even their well-known prolific breeding habits, known to all, cannot save them... without our immediate assistance. Thankfully a measure of that assistance is now at hand...
Under an agreement announced in April, 2011, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department will work with private landowners in Cheshire, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham and Strafford counties to help restore the thickets during the next 50 years. The goal is to enroll 3,000 to 5,000 acres to be managed as cottontail habitat.
The agreement in New Hampshire allows the Fish and Game Department to provide assurance to volunteering landowners that their conservation work "won't jeopardize the future use or value of the land if the species is eventually federally listed," said Steve Weber, chief of the department's wildlife division. Such federal listing as an endangered species is probable since the cottontail was listed in 2006 as a candidate under the Endangered Species Act.
Now the good people of New Hampshire can make a start at preserving the cottontails by cutting vegetation to promote shrub development, planting seeds, controlling invasive plants, and transferring some rabbits to the newly created habitats. It is good... but is it enough... and in time?
A candid conclusion.
For thousands of years, New England cottontails were self-sufficient, thank you very much. Then we, homo sapiens, descended, spreading dislocation, disaster, death. Now the future of these silky creatures is in our hands. Surely a great nation that can put members of our species on the moon can make a few bucks available to save them and give them the little they need to survive. But will we? That is the open question that demands the right answer, for really what do a few rabbits matter in the scheme of things?
Here is the righteous answer: if we will not protect the small and meek like the cottontails, how can we be expected to do what's necessary to protect ourselves and the planet? We are all, you see, endangered together. When will we finally come to understand?
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc. , providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Ruthsella Corasol ..http://WorkingAtHome101.com... Check out Massive Auto Traffic - http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=cd2vI6PX
Exclusive Offer: Get Your FULL PAGE Ad on over 50 High Traffic Websites Instantly
http://www.WorkingAtHome101.com/?rd=ga1eMV3x
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