The Writer's Almanac for December 16, 2009

View this message on the Web Wednesday Dec. 16, 2009  LISTEN When I First Saw Snow by Gregory Djanikian             Tarrytown, N.Y. Bing Crosby was singing "White Christmas"             on the radio, we were staying at my aunt's house             waiting for papers, my father was looking for a job. We had trimmed the tree the night before,             sap had run on my fingers and for the first time             I was smelling pine wherever I went. Anais, my cousin, was upstairs in her room             listening to Danny and the Juniors. Haigo was playing Monopoly with Lucy, his sister,             Buzzy, the boy next door, had eyes for her             and there was a rattle of dice, a shuffling             of Boardwalk, Park Place, Marvin Gardens. There were red bows on the Christmas tree. It had snowed all night. My boot buckles were clinking like small bells             as I thumped to the door and out             onto the grey planks of the porch dusted with snow. The world was immaculate, new,             even the trees had changed color,             and when I touched the snow on the railing I didn't know what I had touched, ice or fire. I heard, ''I'm dreaming ..." I heard, "At the hop, hop, hop ... oh, baby." I heard "B & 0" and the train in my imagination             was whistling through the great plains. And I was stepping off, I was falling deeply into America. "When I First Saw Snow" by Gregory Djanikian, from Falling Deeply into America. © Carnegie Mellon University Press, 1989. Reprinted with permission. (buy now) It's the birthday of Jane Austen, (books by this author) born in Hampshire, England (1775). She published her books anonymously; the byline stated that the book was by "a Lady." Not many people read her books while she was alive, though among her small devoted readership, her novels were highly esteemed. She died in 1817. Five decades later, in 1869, her nephew published A Memoir of Jane Austen, and his book spawned widespread interest in Austen, which led to the reprinting of her novels. It also touched off a sort of mania for Austen in the 1880s, known as "Austenolatry." It wasn't until the 1940s — more than 100 years after she had died — that Austen's work became the focus of large volumes of academic scholarship. Today members of Jane Austen Societies all over the world are celebrating her birthday with a tea or luncheon. There are lots of groups devoted to her work and thousands of people who call themselves "Janeites." In the U.S., "Janeites" likely belong to JASNA, the Jane Austen Society of North America, founded 30 years ago, in 1979, with its first meeting at the Gramercy Park Hotel in Manhattan. JASNA holds a yearly meeting in a North American city, a three-day event that's somewhere between a scholarly conference and jovial literary happy hour. There's a theme chosen for the meeting. This past October, the meeting was in Philadelphia, and titled "Jane Austen's Brothers and Sisters in the City of Brotherly Love." There's lots of dancing (English country dancing, mostly) and there are Box Hill-style picnics, modeled after the one in Austen's novel Emma. Austen said, "A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of." And, "Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance." It was on this day in 1944 that the Battle of the Bulge began. It took place in the Ardennes forest, a snowy mountainous region of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg and lasted for more than a month. It was the last major German offensive, and it was the bloodiest battle of World War II for Americans troops. While estimates about the number of American casualties differ, the U.S. Defense Department lists 19,000 killed, 47,500 wounded, and 23,000 missing. Among those taken as prisoner of war by the Germans was a young infantry scout named Kurt Vonnegut. (books by this author) He'd only been in the front lines for five days when he got trapped behind enemy lines and taken prisoner. Within a month, he was sent over to Dresden and put to work in a factory producing vitamin-enriched malt syrup for pregnant women. He and his fellow American prisoners were detained in and slept at an underground warehouse in Dresden that had been a meat-packing facility and storage locker before the war. The building was marked "Schlachthof-fünf": "Slaughterhouse-Five." Then, in February 1945, about two months after the Battle of the Bulge began, British and American forces started firebombing Dresden. The firestorm created by the massive Allied bombings killed nearly all of Dresden's residents, but Vonnegut and other POWs survived because they were three stories underground, in that meat-storage locker. Vonnegut published his novel Slaughterhouse-Five in 1969, a quarter century after he was captured at the Battle of the Bulge and a witness to the Dresden firebombing. In it, he wrote: "It is so short and jumbled and jangled, Sam, because there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre. Everybody is supposed to be dead, to never say anything or want anything ever again. Everything is supposed to be very quiet after a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds. And what do the birds say? All there is to say about a massacre, things like "Poo-tee-weet?" The Battle of the Bulge ended on January 25, 1945, after Hitler agreed to withdraw German troops from the Ardennes forest. Less than two weeks later, Allied leaders met at Yalta to discuss occupying post-war Germany. Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.® sponsor The Poetry Foundation National broadcasts of The Writer's Almanac are supported by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine for over 90 years. The Writer's Almanac is produced by Prairie Home Productions and presented by American Public Media. sponsor Contribute $75 or more today and we'll thank you with the official Writer's Almanac mug. 77 Love Sonnets by Garrison Keillor Order your copy today. On the Radio Podcast Web Archive Title Author Date Read highlighted interviews of poets heard on the show. Visit the bookshelf now You received this free e-mail newsletter because you previously subscribed or because it was sent to you by a friend. This e-mail was sent to the following address: mybloghaytham@gmail.com Unsubscribe | Contact Us | Forward to a friend � 2009 American Public Media 480 Cedar Street, Saint Paul, MN USA 55101

Composers Datebook for December 16, 2009

			SPONSOR
Produced in association with the American Composers Forum
Wednesday, December 16 Play today's show | How to listen Prokofiev in Chicago In the spring and summer of 1921, the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev was living the good life in a quiet village on the coast of Brittany. He wrote: "I get up at 8:30, put on a collarless shirt, white pants, and sandals. After drinking hot chocolate, I look to see if the garden is still where it's supposed to be. Then I sit down to work. I'm writing my Third Piano Concerto." On today's date in 1921, Prokofiev was the soloist in the premiere of the work, which took place in America, with the Chicago Symphony under Frederick Stock. In a letter to conductor Serge Koussevitzky just a few days before the premiere, Prokofiev wrote: "My Third Concerto has turned out to be devilishly difficult. I'm nervous and practicing hard three hours a day. But let the maestro be calm. This is not a Stravinsky symphony -- there are no complicated meters, no dirty tricks. It can be conducted without special preparation -- it is difficult for the orchestra, but not for the conductor." Chicago audiences and newspaper critics gave the new Concerto a warm, if not overly enthusiastic reception at its first performance in America, and in time the Third -- despite its difficulty -- became one of Prokofiev's most popular works with performers as well as audiences around the world.		Music Played on Today's Program: Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953): Piano Concerto No. 3 Alexander Toradze, piano; Kirov Orchestra; Valery Gergiev, cond. Philips 462 048 Additional Information: On Sergei Prokofiev About the Program Composers Datebook is a daily program about composers of the past and present, hosted by John Zech. Support Composers Datebook Purchase music from Composers Datebook from Amazon. Or shop Public Radio Market. Your purchases help support the American Composers Forum and public radio. Your support makes our online services possible. Contribute Now. Fostering artistic and professional development
You received this free e-mail newsletter because you previously subscribed or because it was sent to you by a friend. This e-mail was sent to the following address: mybloghaytham@gmail.com Unsubscribe | Contact Us | Forward to a friend � 2009 American Public Media 480 Cedar Street, Saint Paul, MN USA 55101

Breaking News

News Alert
08:06 PM EST Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Citigroup gains massive tax break in deal with IRS

The IRS has issued an exception to tax rules for the benefit of companies including Citigroup. As a result, Citigroup will be allowed to retain $38 billion in tax breaks that otherwise would decline in value when the government sells its stake to private investors.

For more information, visit washingtonpost.com - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/SFBD1U/OYVGU/RT80C8/0ZRIE1/743QT/JY/t

--------------------

Sign Up for more alerts - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/SFBD1U/OYVGU/RT80C8/0ZRIE1/743QH/JY/t

To unsubscribe, click here - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/SFBD1U/OYVGU/RT80C8/0ZRIE1/M32GW/JY/t?a=N02&b=bXlibG9naGF5dGhhbUBnbWFpbC5jb20=

--------------------
Copyright 2009 The Washington Post Company
Washington Post Digital
c/o E-mail Customer Care
1515 N. Courthouse Road
Arlington, VA 22201

[[SFBD1U-2ASKE-OYVGU-RT80C8-0ZRIE1-T-M2-20091215-6cad7352a7d31c510]]

Local Breaking News: D.C. police officer charged in fatal shooting in SE

News Alert
07:20 PM EST Tuesday, December 15, 2009

D.C. police officer charged in fatal shooting in SE

The charges were announced Tuesday evening at a quickly convened news conference at D.C. police headquarters. The officer was not immediately identified.

For more information, visit washingtonpost.com - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/WUOQBH/Y3KZR/W6VZ7V/FJ0HRT/XOYMK/E4/t

--------------------

Sign Up for more alerts - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/WUOQBH/Y3KZR/W6VZ7V/FJ0HRT/UGXAW/E4/t

To unsubscribe, click here - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/WUOQBH/Y3KZR/W6VZ7V/FJ0HRT/IJOLO/E4/t?a=N05&b=bXlibG9naGF5dGhhbUBnbWFpbC5jb20=

--------------------
Copyright 2009 The Washington Post Company
Washington Post Digital
c/o E-mail Customer Care
1515 N. Courthouse Road
Arlington, VA 22201

[[WUOQBH-TBW65-Y3KZR-W6VZ7V-FJ0HRT-T-M2-20091215-f6658ad06c313f2de]]

Technology: Afternoon Edition

If you have trouble viewing this email, click here.

Most Viewed Articles in Technology 1) In study, 1 in 7 U.S. teens say they're recipients of 'sexting' About 1 in 7 American teens with cellphones say they have received nude or nearly nude photos by text message, according to a new survey on the phenomenon known as "sexting." 2) Court to rule on privacy of texting The Supreme Court will decide whether employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy for the text messages they send on devices owned by their employers. 3) Best Man Rigs Newlyweds' Bed To Tweet During Sex. Not Kidding. When a man in the UK was asked to be the best man at his friend's wedding, he was touched. So touched, that he promised not to pull any pranks before or during the wedding. After the wedding though, that's another story. 4) Barnes and Noble Nook e-Book Reader Rooted The recently released e-book reader from Barnes & Noble, the Nook , has been rooted by the community of enthusiasts at nookdevs.com . The complete instructions for hacking the device and obtaining root access are detailed on the site . The Nook went on sale in late November and aims to compete with... 5) Do you want the extended warranty? The smart answer is 'sometimes.' HARTFORD, CONN. -- Lloyd Wimbish of West Hartford has refused many a cashier's offer to spring for the extended warranty on a product. 6) Australian government to introduce Internet filter SYDNEY -- Australia plans to introduce an Internet filtering system to block obscene and crime-linked Web sites despite concerns it will curtail freedoms and won't completely work. 7)  The Wall Opens A Bit More: Facebook To Publish User Updates To Twitter This Week A lot has been said recently about Facebook's decision to re-write its privacy rulebook to encourage users to be more open about what they share. Privacy implications aside, at least it appears that Facebook is eating its own dogfood. First CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared a bunch of person images , and... 8) Microsoft Has No Answer To China Plurk Debacle Early this morning we wrote about what appears to be a blatant rip off of Plurk by Microsoft China . Microsoft's Juku product looks almost exactly like Plurk, and the code appears to almost identical. 9) Facebook For Android Just Got A Big Upgrade, Is Catching Up To Its iPhone Cousin For quite a while now now, one of the biggest problems with Android has been its app support. In particular, the Facebook application has been quite limited: you could read your News Feed, but many of the app's functions actually kicked you into a separate browser window and weren't done in the... 10) Bit.ly Just Got Fu.kd: Facebook And Google Get Into The Short URL Game Moments after we heard reports of Facebook's new URL shortener, Google launched its own service, aptly called goo.gl. UNSUBSCRIBE | Additional Newsletter Services | Advertising | Subscribe to the Paper | Privacy Policy

Washington Post Digital c/o E-mail Customer Care 1515 N. Courthouse Road 11th Floor Arlington, VA 22201

Breaking News: Evangelist Oral Roberts dies in at age 91

News Alert
03:45 PM EST Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Evangelist Oral Roberts dies in at age 91

Evangelist Oral Roberts, who rose from tent revivals to found a multimillion-dollar organization and an Oklahoma university bearing his name, has died. He was 91.

For more information, visit washingtonpost.com - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/BZYGW4/TSM0T/74DEQD/WCQ4EP/129X4/SN/t

--------------------

Sign Up for more alerts - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/BZYGW4/TSM0T/74DEQD/WCQ4EP/5MFIY/SN/t

To unsubscribe, click here - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/BZYGW4/TSM0T/74DEQD/WCQ4EP/ZCE44/SN/t?a=N02&b=bXlibG9naGF5dGhhbUBnbWFpbC5jb20=

--------------------
Copyright 2009 The Washington Post Company
Washington Post Digital
c/o E-mail Customer Care
1515 N. Courthouse Road
Arlington, VA 22201

[[BZYGW4-1297N-TSM0T-74DEQD-WCQ4EP-T-M2-20091215-fef1b2f517a671451]]

Air News Release (Region 4): EPA Region 4 Now Monitoring for Air Toxics at 12 Schools in the Southeast

EPA Region 4 Now Monitoring for Air Toxics at 12 Schools in the Southeast

 

Contact Information: Davina Marraccini, (404) 562-8293, marraccini.davina@epa.gov

 

School Air Toxics Monitoring Program samples air at 14 schools in the Southeast. Initial data for Vonore Elementary and Middle School and West Greene High School released today.

(ATLANTA – Dec. 15, 2009) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 announced today that it is posting initial results of air sampling outside three schools in Tennessee that were selected as part of EPA's Schools Air Toxics Monitoring Initiative. Monitoring data from Vonore Elementary and Middle Schools and from West Greene High School were posted on the EPA's Web site today at http://www.epa.gov/schoolair/schools.html.

 

The key pollutants of concern at these schools are diisocyanates, which are used to produce polyurethane products. The preliminary results show that levels of diisocyanates at these three schools are below levels of short-term concern. The full set of results from the schools is being analyzed to evaluate the potential for health concerns related to long-term exposure to these pollutants. EPA will then post the results of the analyses to the Web.

The initiative, which is monitoring the air outside 63 schools in 22 states, is designed to help EPA and the state and local air pollution programs evaluate whether long-term exposure to toxics in the outdoor air might pose health concerns for children and staff at the schools. Outdoor air at each of the schools is being monitored for at least 60 days, and air quality monitors will take a minimum of 10 samples during these sampling periods. EPA will use the information gathered in the initiative to help determine next steps, which could include additional monitoring or enforcement action where appropriate. Monitoring concluded in June at two other schools in Tennessee (Ashland City and Lakeview Elementary Schools) and those reports have been posted to the EPA website http://www.epa.gov/schoolair/schools.html.

Other schools where the air has been monitored in the Southeast include the Crabbe, Hatcher, and Charles Russell Schools in Ashland, Ky.; Enterprise High School in Enterprise, Miss.; Chicora Elementary School in North Charleston, S.C.; Ashland City Elementary School in Ashland City and Lakeview Elementary in New Johnsonville, Tenn.; and the North Birmingham, Riggins, Lewis, and Tarrant Elementary Schools in or near Birmingham, Ala.

 

EPA is extending monitoring at a number of schools across the country for a group of pollutants known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). A malfunction in monitoring equipment at those schools caused some VOC samples to become contaminated. EPA and its state and local partners will take additional samples to ensure that the monitors provide an accurate picture of VOC levels in the outdoor air. Schools in Region 4 where additional samples will be taken include Crabbe, Hatcher, and Charles Russell Schools in Ashland, Ky.; Riggins Elementary School in Birmingham, Ala.; and Chicora Elementary School in North Charleston, S.C..

 

Note: If a link above doesn't work, please copy and paste the URL into a browser.

 

 

View all Region 4 News Releases

 

 

---

You can view or update your subscriptions or e-mail address at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. All you will need is your e-mail address. If you have any questions or problems e-mail support@govdelivery.com for assistance.   This service is provided to you at no charge by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Sent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW · Washington DC 20460 · 202-564-4355

Breaking News: D.C. Council passes bill legalizing same-sex marriage

News Alert
02:35 PM EST Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Breaking News: D.C. Council passes bill legalizing same-sex marriage

The measure allowing gays and lesbians to marry in the city is approved 11-2 and will be sent to Mayor Adrian Fenty, who is expected to sign it before Christmas. The bill will become law next spring if, as expected, it survives a 30-day congressional review process.

For more information, visit washingtonpost.com - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/JDFA9Q/NDCAB/BDQJRQ/M1M6DM/47R4J/7V/t

--------------------

Sign Up for more alerts - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/JDFA9Q/NDCAB/BDQJRQ/M1M6DM/TBW6W/7V/t

To unsubscribe, click here - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/JDFA9Q/NDCAB/BDQJRQ/M1M6DM/LNVU2/7V/t?a=N02&b=bXlibG9naGF5dGhhbUBnbWFpbC5jb20=

--------------------
Copyright 2009 The Washington Post Company
Washington Post Digital
c/o E-mail Customer Care
1515 N. Courthouse Road
Arlington, VA 22201

[[JDFA9Q-M3VYS-NDCAB-BDQJRQ-M1M6DM-T-M2-20091215-97000298fd443ebf2]]

Local Breaking News: D.C. Council passes bill legalizing same-sex marriage

News Alert
02:35 PM EST Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Breaking News: D.C. Council passes bill legalizing same-sex marriage

The measure allowing gays and lesbians to marry in the city is approved 11-2 and will be sent to Mayor Adrian Fenty, who is expected to sign it before Christmas. The bill will become law next spring if, as expected, it survives a 30-day congressional review process.

For more information, visit washingtonpost.com - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/C7I8XW/WFW0N/G9FPUF/KPZG4N/47R4D/FW/t

--------------------

Sign Up for more alerts - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/C7I8XW/WFW0N/G9FPUF/KPZG4N/47R4Y/FW/t

To unsubscribe, click here - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/C7I8XW/WFW0N/G9FPUF/KPZG4N/47R4I/FW/t?a=N05&b=bXlibG9naGF5dGhhbUBnbWFpbC5jb20=

--------------------
Copyright 2009 The Washington Post Company
Washington Post Digital
c/o E-mail Customer Care
1515 N. Courthouse Road
Arlington, VA 22201

[[C7I8XW-RTMGW-WFW0N-G9FPUF-KPZG4N-T-M2-20091215-7c82fa36b58d35247]]

Opinions: Afternoon Edition

If you have trouble viewing this email, click here.

Most Viewed Opinions Columns 1) Palin's own 'Climate-gate' By Eugene Robinson The contrast between what she says now and what she said as governor. 2)  Anti-climate change, anti-human By Anne Applebaum The movement's apocalyptic and anti-human prejudices teach us to give up. 3) Programmed to kill By Richard Cohen The chilling story of the people behind the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. 4) Why Iran can't be contained By Danielle Pletka The Obama administration is wrong to think a nuclear Iran can be contained. 5) The coming debt panic IT'S TIME to stop worrying about the deficit -- and start panicking about the debt. To put it another way, short-term deficits aren't the real problem. The punishing hangover of borrowed money is. The ballooning national debt once looked like a long-term problem. Now, the long-term has become the... 6) The new socialism By Charles Krauthammer In the name of environmentalism, the raid on Western treasuries is on again. 7) A president's duty THE SAME night that he won election to a second term as Bolivia's president earlier this month, Evo Morales began hinting about plans to stand for a third. That was no surprise: The elimination of presidential term limits has been a common feature of the new authoritarian populism in Latin Americ... 8)  Out of bailout DON'T look now, but the U.S. banking sector may be getting back in shape much sooner than anyone would have expected earlier this year. Monday, Citigroup announced that it will remove itself from government aid by the end of 2010, starting with the immediate repayment of $20 billion in federal ba... 9) A terrorist threat in our midst? By Colbert I. King What were five young men from Northern Virginia doing in Pakistan? 10)  Kill these job-killers By Charles Lane Three job-rescuing policy changes, none of which would cost taxpayers a dime. UNSUBSCRIBE | Additional Newsletter Services | Advertising | Subscribe to the Paper | Privacy Policy

Washington Post Digital c/o E-mail Customer Care 1515 N. Courthouse Road 11th Floor Arlington, VA 22201

Surviving the Tsunami: Stories of Hope

If you are having trouble viewing this email or would like to view it in your web browser, click here. REUTERS/Arko Datta View the multimedia documentary at tsunami.trust.org The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami killed 226,000 people – and touched billions more through iconic imagery. But from the tragedy came stories of hope, compassion and dignity. Five years after the worst natural disaster in living memory, Thomson Reuters Foundation and the Red Cross pay tribute to survivors whose lives were transformed. 'Surviving the Tsunami' combines powerful imagery with eyewitness testimony and interactive graphics to reveal the strength of the human spirit in the face of catastrophe. Contact us for more information about 'Surviving the Tsunami'. Produced jointly with: Multimedia web documentary featuring extraordinary stories from Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Sweden Archive and contemporary imagery from award-winning Reuters photojournalists Interactive map showing the tsunami's immediate and long-term impact Joint production by Thomson Reuters Foundation and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies TRUST.ORG trust.org Privacy Statement: To find out more about how we may collect, use and share your personal information please read our privacy statement. If you do not wish receive newsletters or advisories from Thomson Reuters Foundation please click here.