Cheating and Lance Armstrong

Wouldn't it be nice if nobody cheated? never took a banned substance, never corrected a student's test results, never did something that harmed  another contestant's equipment.
I say such behavior is the nature of competition.
When a teacher receives a bonus if her students do well on a standardized test, when a baseball player can see better and hit harder and run faster, when a trader can get acclaim and a bigger bonus for a product that might eventually hurt others (think mortgages), we shudder.
But competition, high stakes competition, results in just these misdeeds.

Some years ago I read a book by Alfie Kohn, called No Contest, that made me rethink the value of certain kinds of competition--the kind that has a great payoff for one person or group and a diminished payoff for others. Kohn was all for achievement, but just not cut-throat competition. He recommended cooperation--invent activities where all could succeed, not the false "everyone gets a ribbon" stuff, but games/activities that rewarded cooperation.
The Tour de France will never be cooperative, one team tries to defeat other teams.
Someone and his team will win, will share the spoils; the other competitors get very little.

It would be hard to see another competitor doing something "illegal" and doing well and not feel  jealous--and if that's your life, to try a little of the banned substance, or do something to the books that make you look better.

I feel really bad for Lance Armstrong; I suspect he did do something with banned substances, but I also have heard and see no reason not to believe, that those substances are pretty common with the racers. He was clearly better at hiding his use, that's for sure. I believe that he was targeted as a lesson to others....but I suspect that those who use banned substances will continue to use them, but with more inventive ways to hide them from the testers.

A new year

Some great things from 2010:

Seeing Anne in Los Angeles, including dinner at the Four Seasons, drinks with Shannon, other good things there.

Reading Wolf Hall, a wonderful novel set in Tudor times.

Living through and actually enjoying the Great Snowfall of 2010 in Baltimore.

A great trip to Turkey in April.

Photos: Istanbul mosque and ruins of Ephesus.

At the top of an island in the middle of the Mediterranean.

Another great trip, this time to France, a cruise down the Seine.

To be continued.

I keep trying

I realize I have things to say, but I cannot seem to get the hang of doing this blog, especially posting photos.

This is Mattie, our newest cat, underneath the ladder Christmas tree this year and looking out our 2nd floor window.

OK, back to blogging.

What a week/month in Baltimore!

A couple of weeks ago, a state grand jury indicted the mayor, Sheila Dixon, on 12 counts. The mayor, of course, denies all charges; her attorney argues that the state prosecutors have targeted her for a long time, that after a 3-year investigation, the charges were not all that serious, and that she's done a good job, so why is she being persecuted. 

Since she was an early supporter of Obama, and he was coming to town last Saturday, we wondered how he and his staff would handle her appearance at his speech. Would there be photos of the two of them together?
Well, she was on the stand with the other dignitaries, but he did not mention her, not even to thank her as mayor for hosting the appearance, and at no time did they appear on the tv screens together. Probably the best solution, but it must have hurt her. However, her lack of ethics while she was on the City Council did put her in bad odor with the president-elect and his staff. She has done a pretty good job as mayor, but some of the things she's done and said as mayor suggests that she feels entitled. Too bad.  http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.rodricks13jan13,0,2224880.column

Obama's visit to Baltimore on Saturday--one of the coldest days of the year--was exciting and attracted a large number of people, who stood for 3 plus hours to see and hear him. And he gave a wonderful speech, saying al the right things about the people of Baltimore and asking for our continued support in the hard times to come. I didn't go, but watched in the warm confines of my home.

The concert at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday was fabulous! I don't know how those performers survived in the cold, but I'm glad they did. We all got up and danced to Garth Brooks and the choir of young people who backed him up in Shout, and to Shakira, Usher, and Stevie Wonder. It joyful and serious at the same time.

The cold has persisted--temperatures in the low 20s--very unpleasant on Saturday and Sunday, but the last 2 days have been sunshiny and not windy, so it's been rather pleasant. But again, too cold for me to go down to Washington to see any of the inauguration. I admire the people who did.

Today, inauguration day, I went to our church and joined a group who meet once a week for breakfast, mostly former clients of the Samaritan Community, to make a LOT of chili, plus cornbread and rice to serve anyone who wanted to come watch the proceedings together. And a good-sized group showed up! Applause, cheers, and tears erupted at various times and we all stood up with now President Obama when he took the oath of office--a show of solidarity and support. 

Jack and Judith in Venice 2008

We visited Venice in late September 2008 and the city more than lived up to our expectations.

We arrived on a somewhat wet evening, tired from the long plane ride and negotiating the airport and vaporetto, and disembarked on the Riva, the promenade along the water--and disembarkation site for a vairety of small boats, including the vaporetto. The view on the left is what we saw! St. George Maggiore on its own island in the lagoon. I knew I was in a place I'd seen only in pictures and my heart did a little quick step.

The Riva was full of people, not all tourists, but a lot, walking purposefully or strolling and admiring the view. Our hotel was not so far from the vaporetto stop, but over two bridges, so we were glad we traveled light as we carried our bags up and down the steps (Jack carried; I dragged). Vendors--souvenirs mostly--snaked through the middle of the broad esplanade, cafes and small shops lined one side, and the lagoon on the other. We spend a lot of time walking along this pedestrian thoroughfare--marveling at the sites, both human and environmental.


All along the quay people were stopping for photos or,even better, sketching and watercoloring.

We walked and walked and walked--no other way to get around in the middle of the island--and enjoyed not having to dodge, or hear, automobiles. The weather favored us--sunny and warm each day, so here are some shapshots of some of the highlights. Venice has always been a town of merchants
All good come in by boat--the all the markets--the meat and fish and green--are full of fresh, beautifully arranged goods for sale. I saw types of fish I had never seen before, as well as cheeses, oils, and these bouqets of red peppers.

The primary landmark is St. Mark's Square, larger than I expected and bounded on one side by St. Mark's Cathedral and the Doge's Palace plus a clock tower. The church has a Byzantine style, overlaid with Italian Renaissance--very beautiful. The ceilings and walls inside are mosaic, sparkling and shining in the sunlight (we were there at a good time). The first time we walked through it was at night on that first misty night, so we saw the square in its most beautiful--empty of the hordes of daytime tourists. Three sides are arcaded Renaissance buildings, now used for a museum and administrative things. On the evening we walked through, two orchestras were playing outside, one on each side. We could look into the shop windows and the restaurants--magical.

We liked our hotel--Nuovo Teson--small, but wonderfully located and with some very interesting and helpful front desk men. And the morning breakfast was free and good. The hotel had guests from several different countries, so we enjoyed our breakfasts looking at and listening to them. Amazed me that the front desk men could speak all the different languages!

We also went out to Murano, the glass making island, and, of course, bought a beautiful vase and 2 martini glasses. They have not arrived yet, but should be here soon.

More to come.

The Broad's View

Testing, testing