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    {mosimage}Dear EarthTalk: What’s going on in the music industry with all the CDs and plastic CD holders undoubtedly generating a lot of plastic waste?       
                                       — John S., via e-mail

        According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CDs and DVDs are typically manufactured by combining various mined metals (aluminum, gold, silver and nickel) with petroleum-derived plastics, lacquers and dyes. Given what complicated beasts CDs and DVDs are — products with thin layers of different materials mixed together are nearly impossible to recycle — most municipal recycling programs won’t accept them, leaving consumers to fend for themselves in figuring out how to dispose of them. As a result, most discarded discs end up in the trash.
        These difficult-to-recycle materials can pollute groundwater and, in turn, contribute to a whole host of human health problems. But the low cost of producing such top-selling consumer items means that replacing them with something greener is not likely anytime soon.
        Research has shown that polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable plastic-substitute derived from corn and other agricultural wastes, could replace plastic polycarbonate as a disc’s main substrate, but the present high cost of using such a material makes it unlikely to catch on any time soon with those paying to produce mass volumes of CDs and DVDs.
        As for jewel cases, most are made out of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), an inexpensive petrochemical-based plastic that is notoriously difficult to recycle and has been linked to elevated cancer rates among workers and neighbors where it’s manufactured. Furthermore, when PVC is thrown in with regular recyclables it can contaminate entire batches, ruin equipment and cause human health problems. While cardboard and paper jewel cases may be all the rage among a few record labels — Warner Music Group’s U.S. division, for example, has been using 30 percent post-recycled paper for the packaging in all of its CDs and DVDs since 2005 — the high cost and low durability of such alternatives have kept them largely out of the mainstream.
    So what’s a conscientious consumer to do? Those willing to pay a small processing fee can send old CDs and DVDs to one of a handful of private companies (such as Washington-based GreenDisk) set up to recycle them into high-quality plastics used in auto parts, office equipment, alarm panels, street lights, electrical cable insulation, jewel cases and other specialized items.
        A shift in consumer preferences already underway may be just the thing that will make everyone’s personal collections of music and movies greener. Consumers are already able to download some six million individual digital songs via the 500 or so legal online music services now up and running on the Internet. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, digital sales now account for some 30 percent of all U.S. music sales and 15 percent globally. And most consumer analysts expect these percentages to grow steadily in the coming years, which is good news for the environment.
        CONTACTS: EPA’s “Lifecycle of a CD or DVD,” www.epa.gov/osw/students/finalposter.pdf; GreenDisk, www.greendisk.com; International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, www.ifpi.org.
        GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.

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        I’ve been asked how to fit a healthy fitness lifestyle into an already busy and hectic schedule. Especially now that kids are running to camps and we’re on vacation. Remember, an active lifestyle is more than visiting the gym for an hour or jumping around in the living room to an aerobics tape. If you get creative, you will find ways to incorporate movement into almost everything you do. Here are some suggestions to get you started and help you boost your activity level. If you make a conscious effort to add more activity into your daily life, it will become second nature. Give some of these suggestions a try:
        Walk as much as possible by parking the car a few blocks away from where you’re headed or walk to an appointment from your office instead of driving. Whenever you’re walking try to focus on long PURPOSEFUL strides that are quicker than normal pace. This gets the heart rate going a bit faster than just meandering along.
        {mosimage}Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk up the stairs as quickly as you can. For a little variation, try slowing down and taking two stairs at a time to further strengthen your legs.
        During breaks at work, walk the stairs, walk around the building or walk down the halls. Find any type of activity that keeps you moving during your break — you can sit at your desk and relax after the break!
    Whenever you’re walking somewhere, take the “long way around.” Use this technique to get anywhere you’re going from shopping at the mall to getting a drink at the water cooler.
        At the supermarket, if you don’t have too many bags, carry your own groceries out to the car without the shopping cart. And remember, park the car in a spot furthest from the store entrance but at night make sure it is in a well lit area.
        Work in a garden or the yard during the summer. Gardening will take your body through a whole range of movements.
        If you have children, or grandchildren, spend some quality time playing with them. Few things can jump-start your heart as quickly as trying to keep up with a child. Play catch, jump rope, play on the monkey bars, push them on the swing or have a foot race.
        Take lessons to learn how to play tennis, racquetball, golf or any other activity you think you might enjoy.
    Designate an area of your vehicle as “the locker room.” In that area (or box) put a pair of tennis shoes, clean socks, clean towel, Frisbee, tennis rackets, softball and gloves or any other items that strike your fancy. Whenever you’re out and about with a little extra time you can spontaneously stop off at a park to play catch, a tennis court for a game of tennis, or a walking path that’s calling you to explore it.
    Now stop reading this article and get out there and PLAY!

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        I recently attended a special political-discussion panel at North Carolina’s annual 4-H Congress in Raleigh. It included four stellar young panelists from the 4-H ranks and attracted the attention of hundreds of the state’s most-impressive and accomplished youth. {mosimage}
        There was a disquieting moment, however. The moderator asked the audience to identify themselves by a show of hands as Democrats, Republicans or something else. The party allegiances were roughly equal. Then, the host asked for supporters of Barack Obama to raise their hands. They did so with enthusiasm. Finally, he asked for supporters of John McCain to raise their hands. Almost as many did so, but they were jeered loudly by some of the Obama supporters. Several sitting close to me said they couldn’t believe anyone disagreed with Obama.
        I don’t relate the story to impugn anyone’s motives or preferences. Rather, I fear that many political partisans — and not just those youth who lack life experience — are letting their expectations get away from them. I know some Democrats who, like the young people I met Tuesday, will be bewildered and crushed if Obama is not elected the next president of the United States this fall.
        It’s great to believe passionately in a political cause or candidate. It’s not healthy, however, to discount or misunderstand one’s opposition and to draw unrealistic conclusions about the capacity of any one political leader to engineer radical change, for good or ill.
        With regard to the Obama-McCain contest itself, partisans ought to be cautious about assuming victory. There’s no question that the odds favor the Democrat, given President Bush’s low approval rating and general public angst. But it is entirely possible that McCain will end up winning a close November vote. A fair-minded observer would have to grant that Obama has little experience in Washington, in foreign and defense policy, or in running any large organization. His record is also one of the most left-leaning in the U.S. Senate. Swing voters could conceivably conclude that while they like the man, and would welcome the prospect of electing a non-white president, they should give McCain the edge based on experience or relative moderation.
        Similarly, while some conservatives and Republican partisans might believe that the 2006 Democratic surge was a fleeting response to bad luck and Bush administration incompetence, it would be foolish not to recognize what the available data and historical experience reveal. Political parties shouldn’t count on winning three back-to-back presidential elections in any event. Add in concern about gas prices, the economy, international tensions and other factors, and you can explain the current odds in Obama’s favor pointed, inherently. But each side ought at least to prepare itself against the possibility of shock.
        Although both men differ from Bush in important ways, neither will be capable of waving a magic wand to dispel economic turmoil or reduce energy prices. They may possess more knowledge or diplomatic skill, but neither is capable of dispelling most of today’s international tensions (Obama is personally popular abroad, for example, but some of his stated policies, particularly on free trade and Pakistan, will not be).
        The American constitutional system is dissimilar from parliamentary government in fundamental ways. Presidents aren’t guaranteed to have their legislation pass Congress intact, even when it is controlled by the same party. Elections are frequent and can be unpredictable, as the 1992-94 and 2004-06 periods demonstrate.
        It should be possible to care about politics without allowing political disagreements to become personal, or political expectations to soar so far into the stratosphere that they can only be brought back down to Earth with a devastating crash.

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        Six months ago, my first serious relationship ended. My ex, “Steve,” and I attend the same college, but rarely communicate anymore. It’s difficult, but for the best. The trouble is, my ex’s new love interest seems intent on becoming my friend. She friended me on Facebook, started calling me on my cell (a number I never gave her), and inserts herself into plans with mutual friends. She always mentions random facts about me that I don’t recall telling her, like, “Your parents have three dogs, right?” She compliments me then imitates what she compliments, like, “I love your highlights, can I have your stylist’s number?” I want to tell her things tanked with my ex for a reason, and becoming my clone, or even my friend, isn’t the best idea, but I’m uncomfortable discussing my ex with her and don’t feel over him enough to be comfortable getting close to her. For some reason, I’ve been too proud to share this with her. Yet, on my more charitable days, she seems sweet, and I don’t want to hurt her feelings. What boundaries are reasonable to set up?
        —Invaded

        When he looks deeply into the limpid pools of her eyes, does he say, “Baby, have I ever told you...my ex-girlfriend’s parents have three dogs?”
        Sure, that factoid could’ve flown out in casual conversation, but it isn’t just that factoid or others like it. It’s the combo platter of stuff — from friending you on Facebook to digging up your cell number to hijacking your hairdo — that makes this feel like a hostile takeover in the form of a girl-crush. Ok, she “seems sweet.” You know what they say: You catch more flies with honey. But, ask yourself this: How do you feel about being the fly? Go ahead and answer — if you don’t have to run off to have a latte with her to discuss Steve’s snoring.
        Of course she wants to be in your life — much like a deer tick wants to be in a dog. She’s probably not evil, but suspects she’s lacking in something he wants; something that might rub off on her if she spends enough time with you. She’s taking advantage of a tendency women have, especially 20-something women, to feel they have to be “nice” to anyone who has yet to, oh, call them a slut and push them off the roof of the student center. But, make no mistake, you’re not being nice. You’re being intimidated into a “friendship” that probably keeps you from moving on. You just broke up with your ex, and now you have to break up with his new girlfriend, too?
        Here’s a transcript of what should be the extent of your relationship with this girl: “Hey, how’s it going?” And then keep going. That probably doesn’t seem “charitable,” but I’m guessing you aren’t wearing a Santa suit and a big white beard and ringing a bell outside Target. You owe yourself first and foremost. Figure out what works for you, and if something doesn’t, don’t let it in your life. Yes, it’s that simple.

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        While Iran’s leaders saber-rattle and quote the Quran, the country’s multitudes of young adults are embracing New Age self-help, as exemplified by the best-selling books and sold-out seminars of motivational guru Alireza Azmandian, according to a June Wall Street Journal dispatch from Tehran. Though young adults in Turkey and Egypt have stepped up their religious fervor, that is not so in Iran. Said a 25-year-old aerospace engineer: “Religion doesn’t offer me answers anymore,” but “(Azmandian’s) seminar changed my life.” The Oprah Winfrey-touted book, The Secret, is in its 10th printing in Farsi; yoga and meditation are big; and advertising abounds on the virtues of feng shui and financial management.

    The Continuing Crisis
        Randall Popkes, 41, and his son Joshua Williams, 22, were arrested in West Des Moines, Iowa, in May and charged with an attempted safecracking at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club. A security officer had noted their license plate as they sped away after a frustrating session in which they had cut into the safe but could not open it.
        At press time, a court in Athens, Greece, was considering a challenge brought by three residents of the island of Lesbos in the Aegian Sea to prevent a Greek gay and lesbian organization from referring to homosexual women as lesbians, arguing that such usage insults their heritage, since Lesbos residents have traditionally been called “Lesbians.” On the other hand, Lesbos was also the birthplace of the poet Sappho, a heroic woman among gays and lesbians for her early references to her love of other women.

    Yikes!
        The Panda Chinese Restaurant in York, Penn., was already in trouble in an early June city sanitation inspection, with demerits piling up because of accumulated grease, insects in the seating area and rotting lettuce, according to a York Daily Record report. Then, in the middle of an inspector’s visit, he came upon a live snapping turtle in the restaurant’s main sink. Said the inspector, “I had to sit down and gather myself before I could speak.” The manager said he had seen the turtle outside and had brought it in for safety: “It was wrong that we put it in the sink.”

    Family Values
        Spare the Gun (Hammer), Spoil the Child: Darrell Walker, 30, was arrested in Bartlesville, Okla., in May after his 8-year-old son told police that his dad routinely shoots him (and his younger sister) in the leg with a BB gun if they misbehave.
        Robert Cisero, 46, was arrested in Medford, Ore., in June after (according to police) he hit his teenage daughter in the ankle with a hammer to feign a “skating” injury, for which she could get a prescription for pain medication, which he then commandeered.

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        Have you noticed the large number of mopeds, scooters and motorcycles on the road these days? My prediction is you will be seeing more. With the price of gas going higher and the price of insurance going up, people will be forced to find cheaper means of transportation. Two wheeled vehicles provide higher miles per gallon gas averages. Motorcycles range from 35 to 50 mpg and scooters can average up to 85 to 100 mpg.
        So what is the difference between a moped, scooter and motorcycle? A moped is usually defined by its legal classification and definitions differ state-by-state. In North Carolina motorbikes under 50 cubic centimeters are considered mopeds. Bikes that exceed 50 cc’s are considered scooters or motorcycles.
        Scooters are like motorcycles and require a license, tags and insurance. The difference between a scooter and a motorcycle is also defined by law. The big difference is capabilities. Scooters are generally less powerful and have a one-piece frame. I say generally because there are some manufactures that are producing scooters that exceed 600 cc!
         {mosimage}According to the N.C. Department of Transportation Web site, “You must be age 16 or older to operate a moped on North Carolina highways or public vehicular areas. A driver’s license is not required, and the moped does not have to be registered, inspected or covered by liability insurance. A motorcycle safety helmet is required by law when operating a moped on North Carolina highways. A moped cannot have an external shifting device or have the capability of exceeding 30 mph on a level surface.”
        Scooters are relatively easy to operate and most scooters are now automatic. If you’ve never ridden one before it is pretty easy — you just need a little balance and hand and feet coordination. When you look at the cc level, consider your travel distance and your weight and body size. The larger you are the more engine will be needed to move you. You will need to decide if you want a 2-stroke or 4-stroke engine. The 2-stroke engine requires you to mix gas and oil to run correctly. New models use oil injection systems that allow the mixture to happen automatically. Since you are burning oil and gas together you will have more smoke from this engine. The 4-stroke runs like a car and uses regular unleaded gas and is more ecologically acceptable.
        Consider storage. If you are using it to get to work you may need a place to store work items and your riding gear. The laws are also dependent on the type of bike you use. The moped is treated like a bicycle and a motorcycle. You must follow the traffic laws, you cannot drive on a sidewalk and you must wear a helmet. A scooter is treated the same as a motorcycle and the same laws apply.
        Finally, take a motorcycle class. No matter what you are driving the class will teach the rules of the road.
        If there is a topic that you would like to discuss, please send your comments and suggestions to motorcycle4fun@aol.com.

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    The Dark Knight (Rated PG-13) FIVE STARS

        Batman Begins had a better story, but in every other way The Dark Knight(152 minutes) surpasses the previous film. Christopher Nolan does everything right; Christian Bale manages to capture both Bruce Wayne and Batman; Gary Oldman plays Gordon with the perfect mix of cynicism and optimism; and, Maggie Gyllenhaal is a welcome replacement for the clunky Katie Holmes. Heath Ledger does the seemingly impossible, playing The Joker as a psychotic anarchist, without inviting unfavorable comparisons to Jack Nicholson’s take on the character. The only fly in the ointment is the somewhat inadequate characterization of Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent. In an otherwise passable film, no one would notice that Harvey Dent is poorly written, but this film is spectacular, which makes all the errors, however minor, stand out.
        Bruce Wayne/Batman (Bale) continues to terrorize the criminal’s of Gotham with his intense raspy voice and newly redesigned Batsuit. Both Alfred (Michael Caine) and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) work behind the scenes, supplying him with wisdom and nifty gadgets, respectively. Lt. Jim Gordon (Oldman) has teamed up with new District Attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart) to take a decisive stand against Gotham’s organized crime, which is working well until The Joker (Ledger) surfaces. The Joker is not interested in money, but in destroying the tenuous moral fiber of Gotham’s embattled citizenry and corrupting symbols of law and order. The primary plot is nicely supplemented by two subplots: a love triangle and a morality play. 
    The love triangle between Wayne, Dent and Rachel Dawes (Gyllenhaal) treads dangerously close to cliché, but is redeemed when it is resolved in a somewhat surprising way. There is a slight issue with Gyllenhaal’s “damsel in distress” character; even so, she manages to inject some empowerment into a relatively small role.  {mosimage}
        While The Joker represents the ultimate in murderous evil, there are shades of gray to Batman, Dent, and even average citizens. Are symbols more important than truth? Is it moral to suspend civil rights to save lives? Audiences will leave the theater pondering these types of questions, and it is safe to leave — sadly there are no nifty extras awaiting the vigilant during the credits.
        From an artistic standpoint, Gotham is filmed as a city in balance between night and day. While Batman Begins seemed to focus on the city at night, here there are some truly startling transitions between the light and the dark. There is even one scene in which The Joker is briefly shown without his makeup in the full light of day — so briefly that the entire audience seemed to gasp.     
        Despite the flawlessly balanced components, nothing is perfect. Some scenes went on a little too long without adding anything to the overall impact. Towards the end of the movie, when “Batvision” (really) is introduced, I started getting a headache. The Harvey Dent subplot is weak, and played with a little too much square jawed heroism to make the character’s action later in the film truly believable. 

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    Flashpoint shoots first and asks questions later

        The line between good and bad cop shows is often thin. At first glance, Flashpoint(Friday, 10 p.m., CBS) seems like a standard entry in the genre: The members of a Strategic Response Unit deal with conflicts at home while handling hostage situations at work. But this series is a cut above.
        You’re struck by the lack of flashy quick cuts and roaring rock music during a crisis. That’s always been the easy way to build excitement, but Flashpointchooses the hard way: getting inside the characters’ heads, both cops and criminals. There’s an eerie calm as the police surround a man with a gun and the snipers take their place on the rooftops. A trigger is pulled; a bad guy lies dead on the concrete; a sense of regret sets in. The snipers’ disorientation is palpable, and is mirrored in the filmmaking. Sound recedes and time slows. Even the criminal is granted a moment of humanity as a family member mourns over his corpse.
        {mosimage}Flashpoint is a rarity among TV cop shows. It doesn’t take killing lightly.

    The Fairly Oddparents
    Friday, 8 p.m. (Nickelodeon)
        The twisted toon about fairy godparents weighs in with a timely parody. A rogues’ gallery of supernatural creatures participates in the Fairy World Games, which are just like the Olympics. Events include cloud diving, rainbow jumping and the one-million-year dash.
        The Fairy World Games’ motto is “cheaters never win, and winners never cheat.” In that sense, I guess, they aren’t exactly like the Olympics.
     
    Long Way Down
    Saturday, 9 p.m. (Fox Reality)
        This charming series will chronicle Ewan McGregor’s 15,000-mile motorcycle trip with his friend Charley Boorman. They plan to ride from the northern tip of Scotland to the southern tip of Africa, passing through 18 countries. “Like a boy, I’m excited,” Ewan chirps, while Charley makes motorcycle noises with his lips.
        The friends’ enthusiasm is infectious. It’s also slightly mad. The first episode covers the preparations for the trip, and it’s filled with more bad omens than Macbeth. There’s trouble getting passports. A rash of kidnappings breaks out in Ethiopia, forcing Ewan and Charley to take a hostage-training course. Ewan breaks his leg in a motorcycle accident. Charlie is detained by police at an airport and misses the flight to the Scottish starting point. Finally, his wife’s lung collapses just before the trip begins.
        You’d think that would be the last straw. But nothing will stop these insanely determined adventurers. “If we canceled the trip, it would just put her under more stress,” Charley reasons.
        You can rest assured that, short of nuclear apocalypse, these two will make it to South Africa. Actually, even with nuclear apocalypse.

    The Two Coreys
    Sunday, 10 p.m. (A&E)
        The Two Coreys is about former child stars who happen to be named Corey. Nowadays, that’s enough of a hook to build a reality series around. Corey Feldman and Corey Haim were in a few movies together back in the day, and now they’re both a couple of bums. In this week’s episode, they enter therapy to try to rebuild their friendship. Later, Feldman invites Haim to his house, where Haim is shocked to discover an intervention. He denies having a substance-abuse problem and storms out of the room. Both Coreys decide that this marks the end of their fragile relationship.
        And I’ve decided it marks the end of my fragile relationship with The Two Coreys.

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        Richard Allman doesn’t have to worry about what kind of legacy he’s leaving for his son.
    Allman and his boy, Derek, have left their mark together, creating music captured for posterity on a CD entitled Temporarily Breathing.
        The Allmans, along with father and son team Allen and David Diffee, recently released the self-produced CD under the aptly titled band name Fathers and Sons. It’s a disc that crosses the generational gap, proving that good music is good music, no matter your age.
        Richard, 50, who currently lives in Raleigh, says Derek, 21, has always been interested in music, having formed a band with David Diffee called Stitch which toured and even won a battle of the bands contest here in Fayetteville, playing its own brand of Generation X rock. But then Derek attended college and learned there is much more to the musical lexicon than Staind, Chevelle and Mudvayne.
    “He went to college and ‘got educated,’” said Richard, who has been playing music off and on with partner Allen Diffee since 1980. “He came home and said, ‘you know, Dad, Bob Dylan is pretty good. The Beatles are pretty good.’”
        Derek’s epiphany about the timelessness of good music led all four to retreat to Richard’s basement studio to create a CD chock full of influences from rock’s biggest names — Dylan to John Fogerty, the Allman Brothers (no relation) to Pearl Jam.
        The resulting musical stew is a pot of feel good rock ‘n’ roll, utilizing a wide range of instruments including electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, harmonica and jaw harp.
        Perhaps the best track on the CD, which is consistently good from beginning to end, is “Days in July,” a rollicking number that is infused by multi-instrumentalist Richard’s rolling banjo and saturated with upbeat and heartfelt lyrics such as “With a little bit of love and patience everything will be all right/Like Days in July it will never be cold outside.”
        Fair warning: If you’re a fan of the painfully introspective beats of shoegaze rock or the kill ‘em all attitude of death metal, this probably isn’t the disc for you.
        The band keeps things percolating on “Questions for a Simple Man,” implementing a multi-guitar attack reminiscent of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Outlaws, then kicking it into Allman Brothers territory with Dickie Betts-approved licks from Richard and some excellent slide work by Derek that is reminiscent of the late, great Duane Allman.
        Derek’s plaintive fiddle stands out on “A Lot of Good People,” offset by a chiming acoustic that brings to mind Roger McGuinn and the Byrds. Again, the lyrics and feel of the song are decidedly upbeat, despite a maudlin beginning in which the singer says “he left with a 20 and the clothes on his back;” eventually, the singer finds renewed faith in humanity as he learns “A lot of good people live in this world/They help the lost people find their way.”
        The rest of the songs are pretty much in this same vein. This is not “message” music: Fathers and Sons doesn’t want to change the world or tell you who to vote for — they simply want you to rock, and when appropriate, to slow down and just roll with the good time tunes and “hurts so good” ballads that fill the disc.
        And unlike most “basement tapes,” the sound of the CD is just as warm as the lyrics; the guitars and drums and bass lines have a retro, analog feel, as if everything was played through an old Neve tube console — surprising since Richard said the project was created using PC-based software and solid state modeling amps. Despite the use of thoroughly modern production techniques, every song drips with that tube warmth and feel of an early-1970s circa LP; it’s so authentically old school that I found myself longing for a lava lamp, beanbag chair and some shag carpet. If you still have a mullet, you’re golden.
        Both the Allmans share vocals on the CD, while the elder Diffie contributes vocals, as well as keeping the beat with his metronome-like drum work. David Diffie’s bass is melodious, yet not too upfront in the mix.
        “We’d like to maybe play some gigs, maybe get down to Fayetteville for a show or two if some club will have us,” said Richard, “but we didn’t go into this thing looking for fame and fortune — it is just something that combines the love of music shared by a couple of dads and their sons.”
        I can, without hesitation, say that in this case the old bromide “like father like son” has never sounded better.
        If you would like to learn more about the band or buy the CD, check out the following Web sites: www.myspace.com/temporarilybreathing or www.kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX0050L95R.

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        Dear EarthTalk: Should we expect to see “plug-in” hybrid cars anytime soon? I’ve been hearing they are on the horizon but I wonder if that means in one year or 10.       
    -— Bill A., Stratford, Conn.

        Gasoline-electric hybrids now, like Toyota’s popular Prius, don’t need to plug in — you just fill their tanks with gasoline and the battery keeps charged by the internal combustion engine and by energy generated from the wheels when braking (a feature known as “regenerative braking”). The battery then powers the electric motor when it is called into service during idling, backing-up, crawling in gridlock, maintaining speed while cruising, and for extra uphill power when needed. As such, the electric motor is essentially a back-up engine while the hybrid relies mainly on the gasoline engine.
        Plug-in hybrids take the concept further by plugging into a regular electric outlet to enable the vehicle to operate solely on its electric motor for ranges of 40-50 miles or more on a single charge. This has profound implications for commuters who need only drive short distances to and from work every day and who may be able to do so solely on electric power. The gasoline engine then becomes the supplemental one for when the car needs to travel farther than the electric engine can take it.{mosimage}
        According to researchers at the University of California Davis, the electricity cost for powering a plug-in hybrid is only about one-quarter of the cost of powering a like-sized gasoline vehicle. Other benefits include far fewer fill-ups at gas stations and the convenience of recharging at home.
        Toyota, currently the world’s largest producer of hybrid vehicles by far thanks to the success of its Prius, announced that it expects to have a commercially viable plug-in hybrid available to consumers as early as 2010 and is now testing prototype versions of plug-in hybrids at two California universities.
        Felix Kramer of the California Cars Initiative (CCI), a non-profit dedicated to promoting plug-ins, called Toyota’s announcement “stunning and very welcome,” and says that these vehicles will be the cleanest practical cars on the road in a world where gas stations dot just about every intersection. The promise of such cars, says CCI on its Web site, is that drivers will have a “cleaner, cheaper, quieter car for local travel, and the gas tank is always there should you need to drive longer distances.”
        U.S. automakers are also jumping onto the plug-in bandwagon. General Motors says that it will have mass-market plug-in hybrids — modifications of its Saturn Vue and Chevrolet Volt — on the road by 2010. Ford has also developed a small fleet of plug-ins, but is not yet ready to offer them to the public. Fisker, a U.S. start-up focusing on the creation of high performance, energy efficient vehicles, plans to sell an $80,000 plug-in hybrid sports car by late 2009. Chrysler’s Sprinter van was the first plug-in from a major U.S. manufacturer, but it is only presently available to a limited number of institutions as a fleet vehicle.
        Plug-ins have also caught on elsewhere. Chinese carmaker BYD plans to sell a plug-in hybrid sedan in the U.S. within five years. And Volkswagen hopes to have a plug-in hybrid Golf ready to roll by 2010.
        CONTACTS: California Cars Initiative, www.calcars.org; BYD, www.byd.com; General Motors, http://www.gm.com/experience/fuel_economy/news/2008/hybrids/plug_in_vue_011008.jsp; Fisker, http://jalopnik.com/344419/detroit-auto-show-fisker-karma-luxury-hybrid-only-80000.
        GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.

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        A look at the Top 40 songs in our culture today will surely prove that “love” is a predominant theme in our world. Love has been the theme of the greatest movies, the greatest songs and the greatest books. And love is the predominant theme in the Bible.
        The apostle John wrote about love in his tiny book called 1 John. And in that short, five chapter book, John tells us that, “we should love one another” (1 John 3:11, NASB). John then gives three principles of love.
        First of all, when we love one another, we show to the world that we are Christians. John says “we know that we have passed out of death into life.” Death, here, refers to the eternal separation from God; while, life refers to eternity with God. He then says, “we know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.” (verse 14.) So our love for others is a sign of our faith. John records Jesus as saying, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13.) And that is exactly what Jesus did for us.
        {mosimage}John gives a second principle, love is an action. There is a significant difference in me telling my wife “I love you” and actually showing her I love her. Love should be more than words that come from our mouths. Love is an action. John writes, “let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” (verse 18). Someone once said, “Love is a verb!” Love is to be expressed in the actions of our day-to-day routine. Find someone who needs to be loved on today. Do you have a neighbor who is lonely and needs a friend? Maybe a military family that is dealing with the loss of a friend in service? Seek out a family that is struggling financially, and give them a substantial financial gift to help them along. And tell your spouse and kids that you love them … not in your words, but with your deeds.
        Finally, John gives a third principle: Love frees our hearts from condemnation. Have you ever avoided someone only to second guess your actions later? Perhaps it was the poor man on the street corner or a hungry child at the store. Later, you get home to the comfort of your house and you begin to think, “Maybe he really did need a dollar.” When we love unselfishly, then our heart will not condemn us with those guilty feelings. So let your heart be free by living the truth of loving one another. Remember, God loved you even when you were dirty with sin, unloving, ungrateful, and unwilling to change. “For God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, emphasis added.)

  • Details
        North Carolina’s General Assembly went home last week without coming up with a way to deal with the projected shortfall in the state’s employee health care program.
        When the legislators come back next year they might want to take a look at some radical ideas for saving health care dollars proposed by UNC medical school professor Nortin Hadler in his new book, Worried Sick:     A Prescription for Health in an Overtreated America.
    Hadler would restrict funding for medical procedures that have not been scientifically proven to provide positive benefits.{mosimage}
        What kinds of procedures is he talking about? Surely not the ones that many think have given us better health and extended our lives like:
        •Coronary artery bypass grafts, angioplasties or stents to save lives or improve symptoms;
        •Arthroscopy for knee pain;
        •Any surgery for backache;
        •Statin therapy to reduce cholesterol and thereby save lives;
        •Newer antidepressants for situational depression;
        •Drugs for decreased bone density;
        •PSA screening and radical prostatectomy to save lives;
        •Screening mammography to save lives;
        •Many a cancer treatment to save lives;
        Hold on to your hats. These are exactly the kinds of treatments that Dr. Hadler would limit. According to Hadler, when these procedures have been subjected to rigorous scientific measurements of their impact on large groups of patients, their demonstrated favorable results are minimal or negligible.
        Hadler’s conclusions run counter to the individual experiences of many of us. We know people who have regained strength and good health after heart, back or knee surgery. We have heard testimony from people with family histories of heart disease testify to their improved cholesterol counts thanks to the statin drugs their doctors prescribed. We have seen friends suffering from depression improve after taking one of the new drugs. In response, Hadler tells us to look at the numbers — the ones that show the results, over time, of these treatments as they are compared with the results where these treatments were not given.
        In Worried Sick, Hadler sets out his version of “the numbers.” Chapter by chapter he lays out the results of “double blind” surveys that have evaluated these and other popular treatments. According to Hadler, the purported benefits of these treatments, often costly and sometimes risky, do not stand up to the scrutiny of these tests.
        In many, if not most, cases a doctor’s recommendation or performance of these treatments is what Hadler calls Type II medical malpractice. There are two kinds of medical malpractice, he explains. Type I is “doctors doing the necessary unacceptably poorly.” Type II is “doctors doing the unnecessary, albeit very well.”  
        It would probably take a well-trained statistician to evaluate properly Dr. Hadler’s summaries of the results of the multiple surveys he uses to show that these treatments are “unnecessary.”
    But assume for a moment that he is correct. If these treatments (and other similar ones) are really unnecessary, Americans are wasting a lot of money to pay for them. So is the North Carolina state health plan.
        Hadler presents a detailed proposal for health care reform. Its key feature would severely limit reimbursements for any treatment that does have significant positive benefits as measured by rigorous scientific evaluation.
        Worried Sick is a long book. Sometimes there is “TMI” (too much information) to make for easy reading and understanding of Hadler’s important main points. But anyone who wants help in evaluating any one of the treatments will welcome the details that Hadler provides.
        More important perhaps, Hadler’s challenge to the value of these treatments demands a response from the physicians, pharmaceutical companies, and others who sell these treatments’ benefits and urge us to “take advantage” of them.
        I would like to hear their rebuttal — point by point.
        And, maybe our legislators would also like to hear what they say.

  • Details
        {mosimage}The Fayetteville Public Works Commission continued its commitment to a sustainable community as it broke ground on its LEED-registered Customer Service Center Wednesday morning adjacent to the PWC Operations Complex on Old Wilmington Road.
        The 10,000 sq ft. building will be one of the first buildings in Cumberland County to be built to LEED standards and is expected to be open in mid to late 2009. LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED is designed to promote design and construction practices that reduce the negative environmental impacts of buildings and improving occupant health and well-being. The PWC Board and General Manager were joined by members of the Fayetteville City Council during the ceremonial groundbreaking as well as the designing Architect- Walter Vick, AIA of the LSV Partnership of Fayetteville and the General Contractor- Construction Management & Development Services, LLC of Raleigh. System WorCx is the project’s commissioning and LEED Consultant.
        The center will serve over 25,000 customers that visit PWC each month and is one of eight projects currently LEED registered within Cumberland County.
        When completed, could be the first local project to be LEED certified. The project meets over 25 LEED standards including:
        •Providing parking for low emitting/fuel efficient vehicles & carpool/vanpool vehicles.
        • Storm water runoff controlled through bioretention basin.
        • Located on public bus routes.
        • Use of low-flow water fixtures and waterless urinals.
        • Building features, efficient geo-thermal heat pump, electrical systems and automation systems are designed to reduce energy consumption.
        • Geothermal heat pump eliminate the use of refrigerants.
        • Solar reflectant roof surface.
        • Motorized louvers on building’s west side will minimize energy cost by adjusting to the sunlight exposure.
        • Revolving door will minimize air loss and help maintain optimal operating temperatures.
        • Use of durable, long-lasting materials minimize maintenance costs and use of cleaning chemicals.
        • Use of building materials include at least 20% recycled material.
        • Incorporates day lighting and direct/indirect lighting fixtures with lighting controls.
        • Lighting installations minimizes light pollution from building.

  • Details
        For 25 years, the Temple Theatre has been bringing professional theatre to the residents of Lee County and the surrounding area. The historic theatre, located in downtown Sanford, is celebrating its 25th season this year and plans to do it in style, bringing eight mainstage productions to the stage in its 2008-2009 season.
        “We are really excited about the upcoming season,” said Karen Brewer, marketing director of Temple Theatre. “We are bringing in a lot of shows that will hopefully bring in lots of people.”{mosimage}
        The box office season includes A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline from Aug. 28- Sept. 28; Christmas Spectacular from Nov. 28-Dec. 21; Hamlet from Jan. 8 –Jan. 25; Once On This Island from Feb. 5-22; Moonlight and Magnolias from March 12- 29, Little Women: The Musical from April 16-May 3; and Dames at Sea from May 28-June 21. 
        The Blackbox Theatre, a new smaller theatre within Temple, is a more intimate setting that seats 63 people. It features smaller productions such as Prooffrom Oct. 1-12; Stones In His Pocketbook from Nov. 12-23; Way to Heaven from Feb. 25-March 8; and Brecht on Brecht from May 6-17. Way to Heaven will be presented in English and Spanish versions. 
        “We are going to try to draw in the Spanish-speaking population,” said Brewer.
        Temple is a cultural center for Lee County and the surrounding region offering professional and children’s theatre to the area. The theatre, designed for vaudeville, seats 339 people, has an old fashioned orchestra pit, an advanced communication network and a computer-controlled lighting and sound system. 
    Some of the groups that have graced the Temple’s stage include the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, the Red Clay Ramblers, the Kingston Trio, Glenn Miller and Count Basie. 
        The Temple Theatre School provides people of all ages the opportunity to take classes ranging from acting technique, improvisation, audition technique, musical theatre, voice and diction, stage combat and other specialty classes. 
        “We also have student matinees for some of these shows,” said Brewer. “We bring students in from the area elementary, middle and high schools.” 
        Brewer added that the actors come out after the show to talk to the students and allow them to ask questions. 
        Another project the theatre is currently focusing on is a fundraiser. 
        “We are trying to raise money so we can expand our restrooms,” said Brewer. “We are really growing and we want our patrons to be comfortable.”                                                                                                           The theatre is located in the downtown area of Sanford,. Show times are Thursdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. 
        For more information call (919) 774-4155. 

  • Details
        {mosimage}Thanks to the media overkill concerning the deaths of soldiers Holly Wimunc and Megan Touma — as well as other highly publicized cases from the past related to victims that had Fort Bragg or Fayetteville ties — the area is being scrutinized and discussed in an increasingly negative light. Across the nation, folks are wondering what the military is doing wrong to create a breed of spouse abusers and batterers. Even though this perception is more myth than truth when you look at crime statistics, Fort Bragg does take measures to educate soldiers about spousal abuses and to council its victims.
        Tom Hill, the ACS-Family Advocacy Program Manager at Forth Bragg, said there is a program specifically designed to provide assessment and treatment for victims and perpetrators of family violence — including child victims — that is staffed by about 35 professionals.
        “Every instance of possible abuse is fully assessed and a treatment plan is developed for the family or individuals,” said Hill. “There are a wide variety of treatments available.”
    Hill said there are also preemptive measures to head off spousal or child abuse, providing a once-a-year workshop to provide the soldiers with information on getting help for family, relationship and parenting problems.
        Hill added that the program provides training and workshops to educate couples, parents and single soldiers on the prevention of dating violence, sexual assault, child abuse partner abuse and related problems.
        Cornell University studies effectiveness of the prevention program on a regular basis.
        According to Hill, preemptive programs that have been recently started to address this problem include: hiring a full time family readiness person for every battalion to help families cope when soldiers deploy; starting a victim advocate program where victims of partner abuse or sexual assault can call anonymously at any time day or night to get help; a new parent support program with 14 nurses who can go to the home and provide anything from advice on breast feeding to how to get a quick no interest Army loan to fix the car; the creation of an Army Community Service station inside the Cross Creek Mall to provide information about post programs; doubling the number of child care agencies on-base during the next year; and a Military One Source hotline that couples can call to get free off-post marriage counseling.
        As far as statistics showing the abuse rate of Fort Bragg soldiers, Hill says there are many factors that skew results.
        “The numbers tend to rise and fall for obvious reasons,” said Hill. “For instance, child neglect cases rise during deployments because there is one less parent in the home and the one left behind might become overwhelmed or not watch the kids as well. During deployments partner abuse cases go way down because there are less couples together, but when they return the numbers boost back up to pre-deployment levels. There’s an increase every summer partly because the children get out of school and there might be more arguments about discipline, etc.”{mosimage}
        There is also treatment for soldiers who are guilty of minor or one-time abuse, while instances of serious or serial abuse can land a soldier in prison and a discharge from the Army. Hill said that when a victim’s spouse is discharged or imprisoned for abuse, the victim and his or her children are are eligible for military pay, full commissary, PX, medical and dental benefits for up to three years after the incident. According to Hill, this policy was instituted to encourage victims to come forward who might otherwise not due to worries about ending a soldier’s career.
        And Fort Bragg is not an island when it comes to its handling of abuse. Hill said that when a child abuse report is made, the Cumberland County Child Protective Services is notified immediately about every case and is allowed free access to the family if they live on post.
        One of the civilians the military deals with in cases that need off-post attention is Lyndelia Wynn, director of the county’s Family violence program.
        Wynn said the county provides “safe houses” for the wives and children of military personnel, in addition to the general public, who are the suspected victims of abuse.
    And men.
        “People don’t think about it,” said Wynn, “but men are abused too.” 
        Wynn says her department services about 500 cases per year and that the majority of on-base abuse cases are handled by a victim advocate at Fort Bragg. She says that it’s hard to give statistics because there are so many other programs in the county that people will turn to, as well as seeking refuge with relatives or their church.
        She also says it’s impossible to pick out trends as to what time of the year abuse is most likely to occur.
        “One month you think you’ll be extremely busy it will turn out to be a slow month,’ said Wynn. “And then what you think will be slow months are busy. There’s no set pattern of when it will happen or who it will affect.”
        And certainly, no smoking gun pointing at Fort Bragg as a hotbed of abuse.

  • Details
        {mosimage}Tom McCollum was born and raised in Fayetteville. He joined the Army to get out of this town. Over the years, his opinion on the city changed, and when he hung up his uniform for the last time, it was to settle in the city of his birth.
        His life has given him a perspective on the community, its people and their relationship to Fort Bragg that many do not have. Over the past several weeks, as a spokesman for Fort Bragg, he has used that perspective to try and tell a balanced story about our community, its problems and its strengths.
        McCollum has spent much of his time over the past several weeks talking about the recent murders of two Fayetteville soldiers — Holley Wimunc and Megan Touma. He has also been listening to the voices of the Fort Bragg community, and what he has found hasn’t been fear, but rather a strengthening of a bond in the community.
        “In reality, military wives don’t need to be frightened,” he said. “These are isolated incidents that appear to be domestic dispute based. Domestic disputes happen in any community.”
    He noted that the community has a great concern for the stress placed on military families, noting that when one member of the family deploys, the other spouse is left carrying the load of the home, but also operating under the stress of a lack of sleep and a lack of someone to carry the burden. “It can become overwhelming,” he said. “That’s why we have a number of programs at Bragg to help them deal with that stress.”
        He added that many of those programs work in concert with city and county agencies. “People don’t have to be on Fort Bragg to get assistance,” he continued. “About 75 percent of our married couples live in Fayetteville.”
        Both national and local media have tried to find a tie to service in the military and violence, with some media outlets suggesting that violence perpetrated by soldiers has become a drain on the community. “Years ago the Observer did a study that found that the majority of crime is not perpetrated by, but more directed towards them (the members of the military),” he noted. “It’s not an us/ them situation. We are all one community, and it doesn’t matter who starts it, what matters is how we fight it.”
        He said the key to fighting violence, particularly domestic violence, in our community is being aware of the problem and the resources available to help those who are victims of domestic violence.
        “If you think you have a problem with violence in your relationship, you have to take care of it before a hand is ever brought across the face. You have to back away from the situation and get help,” he said.
        Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne has also had a tough few weeks. He sees the presence of the military in the community as a blessing, not a problem.
        “We are blessed to have these young men and women in our community,” he said. “They are the sons and daughters of America. The stress level in our community is not unique to Fayetteville. These deaths are tragedies, but it is an unfortunate coincidence coming so close to each other. Everyone is trying to make a connection, because it makes it more newsworthy.”
        He noted that while many are painting Fayetteville in a negative light, the facts simply don’t support that portrayal. Fayetteville’s homicide rate is lower this year than last. Crime overall has decreased over the past year. “We are making great progress,” he said. “People are happy here, we are creating a more attractive, clean and safer city. People are excited about what is happening in our community. It is our responsibility to provide an environment where people can feel safe.”
        He said that one of the biggest problems with the portrayal of the city in recent weeks by the media has been the media’s lack of interest in getting a true picture of our community. “The media is sitting around, waiting for the next news cycle, and ignoring the dozens of people who are walking by them. They don’t ask those people about their lives. They don’t recognize that the people they are portraying as violent could have been building a school, providing water or ensuring a democratic vote in a foreign country over the past year. Those stories are getting lost.”
        He noted that that was not unexpected. “We can’t be set back. Our mission is to move our community forward. We can’t be frustrated or surprised by their reports — we have to look at how we respond. We can’t just celebrate our soldiers upon their return — we have to work through all of these challenges as a community.”
        Chavonne noted that the media is trying to paint the soldiers as being inherently violent. “I don’t buy into that, and I don’t think most people do. The people I know who I’ve met who have served with multiple deployments come back with a greater appreciation of life,” he said. “If you knew these people — went to school or church with them, you would recognize the great love and appreciation they have for things we take for granted.”
        While many people try to define the community as separate — either members of the military or local residents — local leaders and members of the community recognize that there isn’t a line that separates the two.
        “Military communities have unique relationships,” said Chavonne. “We are blended. The great strength of this community is its relationship with Fort Bragg.”
        “There’s really no way to separate the two,” added McCollum. “The families are blended. It’s no longer a case of townies vs. the military. It is rare to find a family in Fayetteville that doesn’t have a relative in the military — even in the most established families, the ones who have been here since the 1700s. There is a co-dependency between the two. Fayetteville depends on Fort Bragg for its economy and Fort Bragg depends on Fayetteville for its quality of life.”
        The problem comes into play, both men agreed, when people choose to look at Fayetteville in the light of its Vietnam-era reputation. They pointed out that the moniker Fayettenam is long gone, but when Fayetteville gets national media scrutiny it is that picture that is imposed on the community.
        “Do we have a bad rep?” questioned McCollum. “Yes. Is it justified? No. It’s from people who have not spent time in this town, people who won’t take the time to come in here and take a look at it. It’s easy for people to fall back to stereotypes. This is the time for people to see our community standing shoulder to shoulder as we always have.”

  • Details
        Joyce Fillip, an artist in the exhibit titled Forsaken: Edifice and Landscape at the Fayetteville Museum of Art, commented on her own work by saying that she is “constantly looking for images that cause one to reflect and look at life though a different lens.” Her comment sums up what all three artists have accomplished in this exhibit.
        {mosimage}A blockbuster of an exhibit, Forsaken: Edifice and Landscape will remain installed in the FMoA until Sept. 7. This is an exhibit you don’t want to miss! If you have never gone to the Fayetteville Museum of Art, then let this be your first trip; if you are an irregular visitor, then make your way to the museum before summer is over. I feel confident in saying no one will be disappointed!
        The divergence of artistic styles makes the exhibit that much more interesting than if it were a one-person show. All three artists, Joyce Fillip, Rachel Herrick and Rudy Rudisill, interpret our environment — nature and the manmade. Each artist brings us close to an interpretation of places and states of being.
        Joyce Fillip is exhibiting exceptionally large scale drawings (approximately 8 feet by 8 feet) in charcoal. Fillip’s black and white images of nature’s storms immediately remind us of the power and force of nature. Standing in front of her image of a waterspout or a tsunami we realize how small and insignificant we can all become with a simple shift of weather.
        The beauty of Fillip’s work is her interpretation of natural phenomena. Her stylization of great amounts of water in different states of being becomes patterns of harmony. Fillip creates the power of nature without chaos — at the same time we are remembering the devastation we have seen on television. For me, the juxtaposition of seeing harmony and knowing disharmony is the core of the aesthetics of her work.
        I like the fact that Fillip bases her work on observation and her imagination. She is not tethered to the photograph, instead her interpretations of natural phenomena is expressive in a way that evokes more than the actual storm itself, she evokes states of being — the sublime.
        In the work titled Tsunami, as in all her work, Fillip’s compositions and use of light is masterful. She controls the viewers’ eye like the director of a play. We visually move up the great wave then stall in the white of the crest. While on the apex of the wave, our eyes are drawn to the patterns of manmade architectonic forms caught inside the wave’s curl. The crest, a point of rest (and crushing power) always compels us return to its apex, only to find ourselves repeating the search to find the remnants of humanity inside the curl.
        Where Joyce Fillip’s works are moments of imminent danger, the work of Rachel Herrick is strikingly opposite. Herrick translates architecture into places of quiet repose and reflection. The opposite of Fillip’s expressionism is Herrick’s photorealism.                                                                                                              Herrick takes photographs of architecture (a minimum of two works are places in Fayetteville). After transferring the well-composed photograph to a backing, she then begins the process of subtracting visual information and then adding her own painterly touch. Layers of reduction and addition are manipulated to evoke memories of what places can represent for someone.
        Where Fillip’s work implies a moment in the present, Herrick’s work implies the past. Herrick’s aesthetics are reinforced by her use of materials. The well-composed photograph is transferred onto a rigid backing. (Before the photograph is transferred, the artist has already mounted an original old grain, seed or tobacco fertilizer sack from North Carolina-based companies to float the image on.)
        Her transfer technique allows her to keep as much of the lettering from the fertilizer sack as she feels is necessary to evoke the past, yet keep the integrity of the architecture dominant. Encaustic wax layers are used to further obscure. The thickness of the opaque encaustic is in contrast to the watercolor effects she creates. All complicated layers  create a new interpretation of photo-realism. Crisp edges contrast with the blurred, details contrast with large minimal shapes.
        In Tires on Bragg Boulevard or Pepsi Please, as in all her work, her dwellings evoke something of the past; a place once teeming with activity is now silent. The figure is always implied.
        Like Herrick, the figure is implied in the sculptures of Rudy Rudisill. Fabricated out of galvanized steel and copper, Rudisill is exhibiting medium-sized dwellings. Layered in meaning, the conglomerates of forms are mostly closed forms, doorways are usually not present, and an opening representing a window is highly infrequent. Instead, Rudisill plays with our sense of place by creating elongated forms with simple rooflines, and then juxtaposes elongated covered porches with the same simple roof shape. In some ways, they are fortresses.
        Reminiscent of barns and straightforward towers, Rudisill’s sculptures are places we may have wanted to venture into along the roadside, but didn‘t take the time. It’s too late now. In his work he has left out the entryways, we are forever on the outside searching for a place to enter or peer into the form itself. You can sense standing on the porch-like forms (if it were lifesize), but you are still on the outside.
        Dwellings as a subject are only the starting point for appreciating Rudisill’s sculpture. He is a consummate designer in the way he uses closed and open forms, repetition, scale, implicit and explicit shapes, the use of economy and contrast. In short, he is a design lesson at its best.{mosimage}
        When viewing the show as a whole, all the artists in this exhibit are particularly strong in design. There is a sense of controlled placement of an element or elements that overrides everything; yet at the same time, the work is far removed from simple design and ascends to complicated compositions. 
        Also particularly interesting is how none of the artists have been compelled to place a person in any of their work, yet the figure is always present. The architecture in the mixed-media works and sculptures are places we remember, we place ourselves there when we view the work — each artist knowing it would have been nothing short of extraneous to have placed a figure in their work. To have included a figure in any of the pieces would only stand to diminish our private and personal experience of the moment.
        Anyone visiting the museum is sure to be moved in some way by one of the artists, if not all three. It is well worth the trip to the museum to visit Forsaken: Edifice and Landscape, remember the museum is still free. Call (910) 485-5121 for information or visit th Web site at  www.FayettevilleMuseumArt.org.

  • Details
        The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra has spent much of the past year introducing Fayetteville residents to symphony music, now it is with much excitement that the symphony announces its 2008-2009 Subscription Series Season: A Tour Around the World. 
         “My vision for this upcoming season is to provide a variety of concerts at various venues in Fayetteville,” said Fouad Fakhouri, music director and conductor of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. “We have a number of soloists who will bring excitement and variety to our season.”
        Fakhouri added that the past season was a huge success and attendance was up and continues to grow steadily.  
    The tour begins in France with Fantastic French Favorites on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 8 p.m., at Methodist University’s Reeves Auditorium. French soloist Marylene Dosse will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 followed by a performance of the French masterpiece Symphonie Fantastique composed by Hector Berlioz. 
        On Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m., Holiday Celebration will be featured at Berean Baptist Church. The FSO will perform popular holiday favorites along with the 2007-2008 Harlan Duenow Young Artists Concerto Competition Winner; Dominic Mercurio, performing Capriccio Brilliant for piano and orchestra; the traditional Christmas Sing-a-Long; and Leroy Anderson’s holiday favorite Sleigh Ride. 
        Copland, Mozart and Dvorak will be featured on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 8 p.m., at Fayetteville State University’s Seabrook Auditorium. The audience will enjoy sounds of America, Bohemia and Austria, including Mozart’s First Flute Concerto performed by International flute soloist Ines Abdel Daim, Aaron Copland’s masterpiece Lincoln Portrait and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8 will also be performed.  
        The season will conclude with Russian Favorites on Saturday, May 2 at 8 p.m., at Methodist University’s Reeves Auditorium. The concert features works by two of the most influential Russian composers: Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite and Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony.               
         “We will continue the programs that we started last season and in the process of evaluating them,” said Fakhouri. “We will continue to put on the programs that have been successful.” 
    The programs include children’s educational programs, third grade concerts, library series and the Harlan Duenow Young Artists Competition.  {mosimage}
        “We are excited about this new season and hope to attract new audiences,” said a hopeful Fakhouri.
    You can save at least 10 percent over single adult ‘08-‘09 ticket prices. Seniors, military and students save even more. Tickets for the entire season can be mailed so there is no waiting in line. Get an additional $5 discount per season ticket if purchased by Aug. 1.
        One season ticket gains entry to all four season concerts. For more information call 433-4690.

  • Details
        “Death from above” has never carried such cheerful connotations.
        On Saturday, Aug. 9, the Airborne & Special Operations Museum will honor the folks who made that slogan a part of the American vernacular when the facility celebrates National Airborne Day, commemorating the 68th anniversary of the Army Parachute Test Platoon’s first official jump and the eighth anniversary of the museum.
        The event kicks off at the museum starting at 8:30 a.m., the 82nd Airborne Division Band plays at 9 a.m., followed by freefall parachute demonstrations by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Black Daggers, the 82nd Airborne Division All-American Freefall Team and the U.S. Army Parachute Team, otherwise known as the Golden Knights. Also, the 82nd Airborne Division Chorus will perform and there will be a platoon of soldiers demonstrating the use of their weapons. In addition, there will be an artillery field piece and some military vehicles on display, as well as riggers demonstrating the packing of parachutes. {mosimage}
        The planned keynote speaker for the ceremony is LTG Robert W. Wagner, commander, U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
        While the actual anniversary of the Army Parachute Test Platoon’s first jump is Aug. 16, Dr. John Duvall, director of the ASOM, said the museum has always celebrated National Airborne Day on a Saturday.
        “The 16th often falls in the middle of the week which isn’t convenient for most people, so we hold it on a Saturday,” said Duvall. “This year, the 16th actually falls on a Saturday, but the 82nd Airborne Association has its annual convention that weekend, so they are out of town.”
        Duvall added slyly that “there is no such thing as National Airborne Day” — at least not outside of Fayetteville.
    “That’s something that has to be approved by Congress,” said Duvall.
        Duvall says the paratroopers will land in a circle on the grounds of the museum, a sometimes tricky feat.
        “It’s a hairy business. … They have to clear it with the FAA because we’re in the flight path for the airport,” said Duvall. “And when the jumpers get level with Haymont Hill it affects the wind, as does the building itself. So we’ve had some interesting events where a paratrooper came down in the parking lot and one over on the other side of the railway station.”
        Other highlights of National Airborne Day include the selection of a soldier of the year from the 82nd Airborne, and the laying of black roses — the symbol of a fallen soldier — at the foot of monuments in front of the museum; the monuments include one dedicated to the members of the original Test Platoon and another to the members of the first black soldiers who went through jump school in 1943-1944.
        Even though the history of parachuting dates back to 1797 when Frenchman Andre-Jacques Garnerin jumped from a balloon at an altitude of 3,000 feet and employed a chute of his own design, the United States military was slow to recognize the strategic benefits of the device.
        Toward the end of  World War I, Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell of the Army — an early true believer in the effectiveness of airpower — received approval to include a parachute drop of the 1st Division at Metz behind German lines; however, the war ended before the then revolutionary idea could be attempted, delaying the implementation of paratroopers in the United States for more than 20 years.
        Other nations, most notably Germany and the Soviet Union, began training paratroopers in the 1930s. In early 1940, Gen. George C. Marshall, chief of staff, told Maj. Gen. George Lynch, chief of Infantry, to push into development an “air infantry.”
        North Carolinian Maj. William Lee, known as the “Father of the Airborne,” was tabbed as the project officer, forming a test platoon at Fort Benning, Ga. On April, 1940, the German army’s effectiveness in utilizing paratroopers as it invaded the Netherlands lit a fire under this nation’s military powers that be and the paratrooper program was pushed into overdrive.
        “The Germans used them brilliantly, seizing some bridges in Holland in an almost special operations role,” said Duvall. {mosimage}
        The 501st Parachute Battalion was activated on Oct. 1, 1940, and, along with the 82nd Airborne, played a vital role in World War II, especially in the American invasion at Normandy on D-Day.
        The paratrooper training program was relocated to Fort Bragg in 1946, but not without some protest.
        “Bragg was an artillery base at that time,” said Duvall. “They didn’t want the paratroopers.”
        Despite those early protestations, the 82nd Airborne has become a symbol of Fort Bragg as well as a symbol of Fayetteville – a symbol that ties the military and the town’s citizens together.
        “National Airborne Day has proven to be very popular, usually attracting a couple of thousand people,” said Duvall, who added that the museum sees about 140,000 visitors a year.
        “So it’s always a pretty special day.”

  • Details
        I have been a student of the land for the last 20 years and I have learned a very special secret. We speak to the future generations through the land as our forbearers whisper hints of their lives to us from the land. It is not our children, it is the land that is the link to our past and to our future.
        There is a small family cemetery on the farm — deep in the woods and marked by great red cedar trees that were traditionally planted at each headstone. The five small stones are records of a family that worked the longleaf pines from 1801 to 1900. An old map marks the site on Big Island that was the first change of horses on the Fayetteville-Wilmington stagecoach run.
        One of the last East Coast panthers roams the woods with the bear, wild turkey, quail and snakes. But it is the land that I love most — the coastal Bermuda fields where the goats browsed, the great cypress trees down in the lower swamp and that vast six-mile long field full of corn and soybeans that can be seen from the unbroken view at the upper end — it still takes my breath away. My husband, Steve, and I grew a million turkeys a year on the land and the day he died I had 1,000 Boer goats. {mosimage}
        On Aug. 8, at 10:08 a.m., I will forever surrender the farm back to the wetlands. I would not be truthful if I did not confess to a little sadness. But the land has been good to us over the years and deserves a rest and a return to its natural state. It is not the death of a farm but the “resurrection of the wetlands.” The climate is changing, population pressure is growing and the American way of life is facing challenges. We are going to have to rethink our large, fuel consuming farms and the way we use and store precious water; the role of the wetlands in filtration, clean air and energy; the need to adapt crops to changing environments to assure our food supply and the connections between human survival and the earth.
        I think it was Thomas Friedman who observed that “if we are the deluge, we are also the ark.”
    The North Carolina Farm Center for Innovation and Sustainability will also be born on Aug. 8. The vision for the center is to become an “incubator” in the purest sense of the word. Guided by a group of wise and talented advisors, “green entrepreneurs” will have a place to practice or plant an idea. Innovative “wizards” will have the opportunity to provide their bio-based technologies to landowners who in turn can put it into service. Perhaps a “green engine” can be sparked that will drive the future jobs that will grow from the ecosystems. And two years from now, once one million trees have been planted, the plan is to build a 100 percent off the grid sustainable “lodge” that will host community conversations, encourage think tank meetings and strive to forge our link to future generations of both mankind and the wildlife.
        Over the past seven years I owe a debt of gratitude to so many of you who knowingly or unknowingly gave me a lot of “buck-up and get on with it” support.  And when the temptation to “just sell the place” would come back I would remember the epithet I placed on Steve’s stone:
        “Man is temporary, the land is forever.”
        So, on Aug. 8, we are going to “stand this project up” and we invite you to celebrate it with us.

  • Details
        I surprised myself not long ago when I realized I was mentally organizing my day to be as gasoline-efficient as I could possibly be. {mosimage}
        That meant thinking deliberately about what I had to do that day and structuring my schedule so that meetings and errands took place in the same part of town and that I did as much as I could in as short a time as possible and in as compact an area as possible. If it was not something I absolutely had to do that very day, I did not do it.
    I think millions of Americans are thinking exactly the same way.
        The last time gasoline was hard to come by and dear as well was in the 1970s, and I was a single working person living in Raleigh with a very modest paycheck.
        My friends and I ate lots of spaghetti and canned tuna, but we got by. Life went on, of course, and hard times eased. Most of us eventually slipped into laxer habits, with vehicles morphing over time into the seemingly steroid-enhanced SUVs we drive today. Times were good in the 1980s and 1990s, and we took to drinking expensive cups of coffee cuddled in fancy insulators that would have shocked my parents who were perfectly satisfied with the grocery store brand in a kitchen mug. Magazines told us all about designer everything, and even though most of us could not afford such luxuries, we looked anyway and perhaps wished we could or we bought knock-offs manufactured in foreign countries under who-knows-what conditions. Vacations to far-flung corners of the earth became reality for some middle class Americans. The notion of saving for a rainy day slid to the back burner for many of us.
    This time may be different. This may be, as economists say, a true “correction.”
        Analysts say we Americans may be learning a real lesson in personal economics, not unlike the one our parents and grandparents learned during the Great Depression. Many Americans have watched with growing dismay and feelings of helplessness as our expenses have risen relentlessly and our resources, such as the values of our homes, have shrunk.
        Here are a few statistics to illustrate how we are reacting to what is happening:
    Nielsen, a market research firm, reported earlier this month that almost two-thirds of us are cutting spending because of rising prices of gasoline, dairy products and other consumable goods we use often. That is an 18 percent increase from one year ago. Almost 80 percent of us are doing exactly what I find myself doing — organizing our daily schedules to be economical and efficient, and more than half of us are eating out less frequently. The International Council of Shopping Centers reports that sales at various discount operations and wholesalers are rising while sales at traditional retailers are dropping. Likewise, grocery stores report that sales of their house brands are up by more than 9 percent, and sales of branded products have risen by less than half that percentage.
    Vehicle sales tell a similar story.
        Large trucks and SUVs are being heavily discounted, with sales remaining grim. Toyota plans to shut down production of such large gas guzzlers. What vehicle sales that are taking place revolve around smaller, more economical models, and once again there are waiting lists for hybrids.
        The National Bicycle Dealers’ Association reports increased sales, though not of recreational bikes. They are selling traditional utility bikes and offering refresher training for folks who may not have ridden a bike in years.
        The question in everyone’s mind now is how long these changes in American buying habits are going to last. Are we Americans merely reacting to a challenging economy or are we truly changing our habits as consumers?
        Whether we all continue shopping at wholesalers and discounters and foregoing our cherished lattes is an open question, but my own take is that the changes associated with petroleum products and all they go into are permanent.
    I do not expect in my lifetime to see gasoline prices come back to where they were at the beginning of this decade, and even if by some miracle they do, we now understand that we must conserve our oil resources. Never again can we take any energy resource for granted — they are commodities, finite and precious ones. The American age of consumable and disposable everything ended in 2008.
        Analysts may debate the lessons of the current American economy for years, but one does stand out to me. We are learning that the great economic forces which surround us and which buffet the world from time to time are out of our individual control. What is within our control, however, is how we react to them. If what we are learning is to economize, conserve and save within our own little spheres, then we may well be returning to traditional American virtues of thrift, saving and planning for whatever lies ahead.
    That, to me, is not a bad lesson for us and for our children.

  • Details
        In the coming weeks, much will be written and said about the Fayetteville Museum of Art and its relocation to Festival Park. The Fayetteville City Council will again weigh in on the subject during an upcoming work session, and only this past week, a group was formed to oppose the construction of the facility.
    We do not doubt that the construction of the new, modern facility will be a great addition to our community. Its presence  will only add more legitimacy to our city’s thriving, vital arts community. This is something that everyone on both sides of this discussion can agree on. What is at contention is whether the FMoA will contribute to Festival Park or detract from it. Those who think the FMoA building will detract from the park have been upfront and vocal about their concerns. They have written opinion pieces in the daily and community newspapers, blogged themselves blue and even handed out flyers in opposition to the construction during the recent Fourth Friday event. At least they are engaging our community in the discussion. They are making people aware of their concerns and they are inviting feedback.
        The question begs to be asked: Where is the FMoA and what is it doing to engage the community and build support for this important project?
        From where we sit, there appears to be a bit of arrogance in Dr. Menno Pennick’s response to the opposition — an attitude that seems to carry over throughout the organization. The museum’s board of directors may believe that since they have the rights and a deed to the land, this makes the construction of the facility a “done deal” that does not merit any further discussion. This would be fine if discussion were not already occurring, and if a groundswell of opposition to the plan was not growing. But since it is, it must be met head on.
        If the FMoA board is committed to this location then they are going to have to come out from behind their wrought iron gates and engage the community. This includes their detractors. The FMoA has made few attempts to do that. At the last Fayetteville After Five, they put a skeleton frame up to represent the footprint of the new museum building in the park. It was a good idea, but unfortunately, the frame did not extend to the parking spaces that will need to be built within the park — leaving its detractors fresh ammunition.
        Some board members have also penned articles in support of the museum, but they shy away from speaking directly to the community or making themselves accessible to listen to local residents about the situation. As recently as this past week’s Fourth Friday event, the opposition to the FMoA facility was on the streets engaging the community. Again, where was the FMoA?
        Maybe the FMoA doesn’t know how to wage this battle, or at least that’s the impression we get. Two weeks ago Up & Coming Weekly Publisher Bill Bowman offered Dr. Pennick space to write an editorial that could tell the museum’s story. That invitation was rebuffed. It seems that the museum doesn’t seem to realize who their friends are, or worse, still doesn’t care about making new ones.
        If the FMoA wants to truly become a part of the downtown arts community, then they need to be present now. The FMoA isolation is not strictly due to its geographic location behind Eutaw Shopping Center — it comes from a closed mindset that looks only at itself for itself and never at the community as a whole.
        For the FMoA to be successful (keep in mind, the board has to raise $15 million to build the museum) it has to engage the community. It has to become better at telling its story. And that, like the construction of the facility and raising the money is not going to be easy. They better get started and soon.

  • Details
        I’ve been an out lesbian for several years and am only attracted to women. A close male friend recently confessed his feelings for me. I’ve known him for years, and we connect in a way I’ve never connected with anybody. If he were a woman, I’d consider him my soul mate. If only I could somehow make myself bisexual. I love him, but have no desire for mutual pants-less-ness. In fact, the idea of sleeping with him grosses me out. Does no sex have to mean no relationship? Lots of hetero women have low sex drives, and lots are married! Should I give a relationship a try, but mandate that pants must be worn at all times?
    —Dream Or Disaster Waiting To Happen?

        It seems you’re a lesbian, not a “lesbian” who takes vacations — hopping the ferry from the Isle of Lesbos to the mainland for the occasional hetero holiday. But, hey, why let that stop you from getting into a relationship with a straight guy? After all, as you point out, lots of hetero women have low sex drives, and lots of them are married (ideally, to men who also have low sex drives). The question is, do YOU have a low sex drive? Or, better yet, a nonexistent one? Does he? If not, you can announce that there will be none of that “mutual pants-less-ness,” and he could be nodding like a bobblehead, but consciously or subconsciously, he’ll be thinking, “Nah, I’ll get there. Just a matter of time.” It isn’t a malevolent thing, just how guys are wired.
        So you have “feelings” for the guy; I mean, in addition to finding him sexually repellant. You’ve known him forever, you have this amazing connection...why not add a whole new level to your relationship? No, not sex — bitterness and resentment, after he’s hurt that you won’t just try a little ride or two, and you’re hurt that he just won’t stop trying. But, if only he were a woman! If only you were bi! — as if bisexuals are the garbage dump of sexuality, attracted to anyone, as long as they’re a man or a woman.
        Be this guy’s friend by making him aware of how utterly nuts it would be for you to be his girlfriend. Be kind, but hit hard enough to knock the illusions out of his head: “Nothing personal, but my idea of an intense night in bed with the man I love is a heated political debate yelled between the top bunk and the bottom.”

    Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA  90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com)
    (c)2008, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.

  • Details
    Bomb’s Away
        After languishing for two years in the Irish legislature, the Nuclear Test Ban Bill of 2006 has recently been rethought and refurbished, according to a June report in the Irish Independent. Originally, the bill codified the U.N. Test Ban Treaty, adding some provisions specific to Ireland. Among those additions was the punishment for anyone detonating a nuclear weapon in Ireland: up to 12 months in jail and/or a fine of up to 5,000 euros (then, around $6,500), along with language that might even allow a person found guilty to apply for first-offense probation. The proposed punishment this time is expected to be considerably harsher.

    Can’t Possibly Be True
        In the 1920s, when inmate “chain gangs” were in their heyday, Alabama sheriffs were allotted a prison meal budget of $1.75 per prisoner per day, with thrifty sheriffs allowed to pocket any excess for themselves. According to a May Associated Press investigation, the policy, and the amount, are unchanged to this day in 55 of the state’s 67 counties, and also unchanged is the fact that sheriffs have cut the menus so cleverly or drastically that some sheriffs still make money on the deal. (The per-meal fee under the National School Lunch program for low-income students is $2.47.)
        Mr. Gokhan Mutlu filed a lawsuit in May against JetBlue Airways for more than $2 million after he was ordered out of his seat by the captain during a full New York-to-California flight and told to stand up or go “hang out in the bathroom” for the duration. Mutlu had only a gift ticket, and an off-duty JetBlue employee who had originally agreed to sit in the cockpit jump seat changed her mind and thus was given Mutlu’s seat. Mutlu pointed out that he was un-seat-belted during turbulence and during the landing.
        Not Exactly Hard Time: In May, St. Catharines, Ontario, judge Stephen Glithero released Wayne Ryczak on 14 months’ jail time already served, as punishment for strangling a prostitute in his trailer home. He claimed self-defense (improbable in such a strangulation), but had pleaded guilty to manslaughter, requesting via his lawyer a two-year sentence.
        Last year, Stephanie Grissom, driving 71 mph in a 55-mph zone, accidentally struck and killed a Howard County, Md., traffic officer when he stepped onto the highway to motion for her to pull over. In May 2008, the case was closed, with Grissom fined $310 and three points on her record.

  • Details
        Someone asked me the other day what is the hardest part about buying a new bike? I had to think of my own experience on this one. I believe it is easier to decide whether or not to have open heart surgery than to decide on which bike is just right for you. The choices these days are almost mind boggling. Do you want a cruiser, street bike, touring bike, or enduro?
        Do you want a bike to ride across the world or just to hang out with your buddies?
        Then there are the colors. I love dark colors, but I want to be seen by the motorvehiclist on the road so I want something bright. Then you have to ask will you look cool enough?{mosimage}
        What about price? My goodness, you can get into a new bike for about $6,000 and quickly be in the $30,000 range. Want a chopper? Hang on to your wallet because the sky’s the limit.
        Believe it or not, none of these things are the hardest part. So what’s the hardest? It’s the wife. Yes, there it is, it’s out in the open. It goes something like this. “Honey, can we stop by the bike store and take a look around.”
        Of course you know in your mind what you want. You’ve thought about it; you’ve dreamed about it; you’ve talked about it to your friends; you’ve searched the Internet and done your homework. You know exactly what you want. You go into the store, you beeline right to the bike you want because you’ve already been there with your buddies. You look around like it is your first time there and then the salesman calls you by name. You look at your wife with your puppy dog eyes and game on.
        From my own experiences, buying a bike is a lot like the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. At first it is denial.
        She wants the whole subject to go away. At this point she is either for it or against it. If she is for it then you will skip the anger and go directly to acceptance. If she is against it, get ready and head immediately to the bargaining stage. Next comes bargaining. This is why you see so many big bikes out there like the Goldwing, Ultra-Glide, and K1200LTs. Even though the other bikes have backrests and other pleasantries for a passenger, it is here that that you will have to compromise in order to avoid some grief.
        So, here are few recommendations to help you get out the door and on the road: Tell your significant other that she can get one too. Tell her that all of your friends will think she is the coolest. Tell her that when she is on the back every ride will be like her own little parade. Oh, and don’t forget to tell her how much money you will be saving on gas and that will free up some of the family budget.
        For the owners of the bike shop it would do you well to recognize who the buyer really is. I’m not saying that the man doesn’t have a say, but let’s face it, if you don’t sell the wife you won’t make the sale.
    So my recommendation to you is: Make the shop lady friendly. Have clean bathrooms, provide her a beverage, a free jacket or helmet with the sale.
        Ask her about what new adventures the bike will take them on. Remind her of all the quality time they will share together because of the bike. This approach is a win/win situation; and if you play your cards right you, will go straight to acceptance and pass over the depression stage. However, blow this part and it is straight to the depression stage and back to bargaining.
        Good luck and game on!
        If there is a topic that you would like to discuss please send your comments and suggestions to motorcycle4fun@aol.com.

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