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| Hi again everybody,
I’m often asked what my favourite wine is and I’m afraid to say my answer usually disappoints people. The answer being – I don’t know. It’s really an impossible question to answer and so I thought the best thing to do here is to explain why.
Firstly, wine, as everyone is aware, is produced for the most part from a seasonal crop of grapes, making quality and complexity vary not just from wine to wine, but also from year to year. The wine you loved one year may not e as good as another wine the following year. Similarly, the enormous range of styles produced as a result of the adoption of different grape varieties, wine making techniques and what the French rather efficiently call “terroir” (which essentially covers the influence of climate, soil and the environment in general) are also important.
The most important factor in making this a difficult choice for me is that it totally depends on my situation. How is the weather? Am I going to enjoy a meal? If so, what will I be eating? In short, what do I feel like drinking?
Having said all that, it would be unfair of me not to at least give you an idea of some of the wines that I consistently enjoy, so here goes:
White Wines
Grand Cru Chablis from the Chablis Region, France–some are available in Taiwan. Look for La Chablisienne, Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough Region, New Zealand. We import the excellent Spy Valley. Also try Lawson’s Dry Hills Riesling from the Alsace Region in France, or from the Mosel/Rheingau regions in Germany, Trimbach, Schlumberger.
Red Wines
Amarone from the Valpollicella Region, Italy–a big, heavy red. Look for Masi from Stefano Accordini. Richebourg, Burgundy, France–Domaine de la Romanee-Conti is the most famous. Good luck finding it! Vega Sicilia Unico from the Ribera del Duero Region, Spain. A very rare wine from one producer. Hard to find.
If you find any of these, or even better have some, let me know! Remember, this was a very hard choice and there are many, many more of my favourites that we don’t have time to discuss here.
Happy drinking,
Cheers,
Kris
0916-222336
kris@wineconnection.co.nz |
嗨！又見面了，各位：
常有人問我什麼是我最愛的葡萄酒，答案恐怕很令人失望：我不知道。想回答這個問題幾乎是不可能的，請讓我來解釋為什麼。
首先，如大家所知，葡萄酒的主要原料是葡萄這種季節性的水果，品質和複雜性會因酒的種類還有年份而不同。你今年喝到一款好喝的酒，明年不一定會一樣好喝。酒的種類如此豐富，歸功於各式各樣的葡萄品種以及製程技術，再加上法國人統稱的「terroir(當地條件)」（包括氣候、土壤、環境等各項因素），都是很重要的。
對我而言，很難下定決心挑出一款最愛的酒，因為喝酒不只要看天氣、正在吃的食物…重點是，我現在想喝什麼？
話說到這，不介紹幾款我一直很享受的酒給大家就太沒意思了。
白酒：
法國Chablis產區的Grand Cru Chablis有些在台灣買得到。可以詢問紐西蘭馬爾堡產區的蘇維儂白酒La Chablisienne。我們也有從西班牙進口很棒的Spy Valley。也可以試試法國Alsace產區的Lawson’s Dry Hills Riesling或德國Mosel/Rheingau產區的Trimbach和Schlumberger。
紅酒：
義大利Valpollicella產區的Amarone─口味較強烈的紅酒。可以找Stefano Accordini酒廠的Masi。法國勃根地Richebourg生產的Domaine de la Romanee-Conti為最有名。祝你獵酒順利！西班牙Ribera del Duero產區的Vega Sicilia Unico，單一生產者，較稀少難找。
如果你找到了這些酒，或甚至品嚐到了，請告訴我！記得，要挑出這些最好的酒真的很困難，而且還有其他許多我最愛的酒，只是時間不夠無法在這兒為大家一一介紹。
品酒愉快！
Cheers,
克里斯
0916-222336
kris@wineconnection.co.nz |
|
Hi again everybody,
I’m often asked what my favourite wine is and I’m afraid to say my answer usually disappoints people. The answer being – I don’t know. It’s really an impossible question to answer and so I thought the best thing to do here is to explain why.
Firstly, wine, as everyone is aware, is produced for the most part from a seasonal crop of grapes, making quality and complexity vary not just from wine to wine, but also from year to year. The wine you loved one year may not e as good as another wine the following year. Similarly, the enormous range of styles produced as a result of the adoption of different grape varieties, wine making techniques and what the French rather efficiently call “terroir” (which essentially covers the influence of climate, soil and the environment in general) are also important.
The most important factor in making this a difficult choice for me is that it totally depends on my situation. How is the weather? Am I going to enjoy a meal? If so, what will I be eating? In short, what do I feel like drinking?
Having said all that, it would be unfair of me not to at least give you an idea of some of the wines that I consistently enjoy, so here goes:
White Wines
Grand Cru Chablis from the Chablis Region, France–some are available in Taiwan. Look for La Chablisienne, Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough Region, New Zealand. We import the excellent Spy Valley. Also try Lawson’s Dry Hills Riesling from the Alsace Region in France, or from the Mosel/Rheingau regions in Germany, Trimbach, Schlumberger.
Red Wines
Amarone from the Valpollicella Region, Italy–a big, heavy red. Look for Masi from Stefano Accordini. Richebourg, Burgundy, France–Domaine de la Romanee-Conti is the most famous. Good luck finding it! Vega Sicilia Unico from the Ribera del Duero Region, Spain. A very rare wine from one producer. Hard to find.
If you find any of these, or even better have some, let me know! Remember, this was a very hard choice and there are many, many more of my favourites that we don’t have time to discuss here.
Happy drinking,
Cheers,
Kris
begin_of_the_skype_highlighting0916-222336
kris@wineconnection.co.nz
|
嗨！又見面了，各位：
常有人問我什麼是我最愛的葡萄酒，答案恐怕很令人失望：我不知道。想回答這個問題幾乎是不可能的，請讓我來解釋為什麼。
首先，如大家所知，葡萄酒的主要原料是葡萄這種季節性的水果，品質和複雜性會因酒的種類還有年份而不同。你今年喝到一款好喝的酒，明年不一定會一樣好喝。酒的種類如此豐富，歸功於各式各樣的葡萄品種以及製程技術，再加上法國人統稱的「terroir(當地條件)」（包括氣候、土壤、環境等各項因素），都是很重要的。
對我而言，很難下定決心挑出一款最愛的酒，因為喝酒不只要看天氣、正在吃的食物…重點是，我現在想喝什麼？
話說到這，不介紹幾款我一直很享受的酒給大家就太沒意思了。
白酒：
法國Chablis產區的Grand Cru Chablis有些在台灣買得到。可以詢問紐西蘭馬爾堡產區的蘇維儂白酒La Chablisienne。我們也有從西班牙進口很棒的Spy Valley。也可以試試法國Alsace產區的Lawson’s Dry Hills Riesling或德國Mosel/Rheingau產區的Trimbach和Schlumberger。
紅酒：
義大利Valpollicella產區的Amarone─口味較強烈的紅酒。可以找Stefano Accordini酒廠的Masi。法國勃根地Richebourg生產的Domaine de la Romanee-Conti為最有名。祝你獵酒順利！西班牙Ribera del Duero產區的Vega Sicilia Unico，單一生產者，較稀少難找。
如果你找到了這些酒，或甚至品嚐到了，請告訴我！記得，要挑出這些最好的酒真的很困難，而且還有其他許多我最愛的酒，只是時間不夠無法在這兒為大家一一介紹。
品酒愉快！
Cheers,
克里斯
begin_of_the_skype_highlighting0916-222336
kris@wineconnection.co.nz
|
| Lasar Segall (1891–1957) was a Brazilian painter, engraver and sculptor born in Lithuania. Segall’s work was influenced by his lifetime’s contemporary movements: Impressionism, Expressionism and Modernism. His oeuvre is most noted for documenting the prevalent themes of the epoch: human suffering, war, persecution and prostitution.
Impressionist Stage
Segall was born into the Jewish ghetto of Vilnius, Lithuania and was the son of a Torah scribe. Segall moved to Berlin at the age of 15 and studied at Berlin Königliche Akademie der Künste between 1906 and 1910. At the end of 1910 he moved to Dresden to continue his studies at the Kunstakademie.
Expressionist Stage
In 1919, while living in Dresden, Segall published a book of five etchings entitled Sovenirs of Vilna , and two books illustrated with lithographs titled Bubu and Die Sanfte. During this time, he began to express himself more freely and to develop his own unique style; this incorporated aspects of Cubism. His paintings between 1910 and the early 1920s depicted troubled figures in claustrophobic surroundings, with exaggerated and bold features: these were influenced by African tribal figures. In 1912, he moved to São Paulo, Brazil, where three of his siblings were already living. He returned to Dresden in 1914, still retaining his Expressionist style. In 1919 Segall founded the Dresdner Sezession Gruppe 1919 along with Otto Dix, Conrad Felixmüller, Otto Lange and numerous other artists. Segall’s exhibition at the Galery Gurlitt received a multitude of awards.
Modernist Stage
Though still technically a Russian citizen, Segall moved back to Brazil in 1923. Upon Segall’s return to São Paulo, he obtained Brazilian citizenship along with his first wife, Margarete.
In Brazil, many Brazilian artists influenced Segall’s subject matter and strengthened his Cubist style. He “felt at home” in Brazil and painted themes that were emblematic of its cities and countryside: mulattoes, favelas, prostitutes and plantations. Critics believed that his depiction of human suffering was too extreme, and his art became extremely controversial. To counter this criticism, in 1923 he, and other well known artists, organized a Modernist art exhibition: the Semana de Arte Moderna. It became a seminal event in the avant-garde art movement, including paintings and performance art. Though Segall had great intentions of residing only in Brazil, he continued to return back and forth to Europe for his own personal exhibitions. In 1925, Segall became extremely close to his pupil Jenny Klabin and eventually married her.
Segall’s work was greatly appreciated in Brazil, but was eventually labeled degenerate and preposterous by the Nazis. This finally forced his permanent return to Brazil. Until his death in 1957, he continued to work on engravings and paintings.
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拉薩‧西格爾(1891–1957)是一位立陶宛裔巴西籍的畫家、雕刻家及雕塑家。西格爾的作品受他一生所經歷的當代藝術所影響，包括印象派、表現派和現代派。其創作以刻劃當代流行主題最為著名，包括蒙難、戰爭、迫害與賣淫。
印象派時期
西格爾生於立陶宛首都─維爾紐斯的猶太貧民區，父親是聖經律法抄寫員。西格爾15歲時移居德國柏林，並於1906至1910年間就讀於柏林普魯士藝術學院。1910年底他搬到德勒斯登以繼續他的學業。
表現派時期
1919年住在德勒斯登時，西格爾出版了一本包含五幅蝕刻畫的書『維爾納的回憶』和兩本有平版插圖的書，書名為『Bubu』和『Die Snafte』。這段期間，他開始更自在地表現自我，在畫中加入立體主義並發展出獨特風格。他於1910年至1920年代早期的畫作，受到非洲部落圖騰的啟發，誇張而大膽地描繪身處幽閉環境中的困惑迷惘身影。1912年時他搬至三位手足居住的巴西聖保羅定居。他在1914年回到德勒斯登，仍保有其表現派風格。1919年時，他和奧圖‧迪克斯、康拉德‧費利克斯米勒和奧圖‧蘭格與多位其他藝術家，共同創立了德累斯頓分離派。
現代派時期
雖然仍是俄國公民身份，西格爾1923年時搬回巴西聖保羅，並與他第一任妻子瑪格莉特一同取得巴西公民資格。
在巴西時，許多巴西藝術家對西格爾的創作思維產生影響，也加強其立體派風格。巴西讓他感覺『像回到家』，以象徵當地的事物為主題作畫，如混血兒、貧民窟、妓女和植物等。某些評論家認為他對受苦難折磨的描繪太過極端，使得他的作品極具爭議性。為了反擊這類爭議，他和其他位知名藝術家舉辦了一個現代藝術展，名為『現代藝術週』。此展覽包括繪畫與表現藝術，成為前衛藝術運動的經典先驅。儘管西格爾很想長居巴西，但還是得為了個展往返於歐洲。1925年時他與一名叫做Jenny Klabin的學生走得很近，最後娶了她。
西格爾的作品在巴西評價極高，但還是被納粹貼上了墮落和荒誕的標籤，這也使得他最後回巴西長期定居。直到1957年去世前，他都致力於雕刻和繪畫的創作。 |
| Dear Readers:
“Life is fickle,” as the saying goes. Additionally, for young people today, it is profoundly complex. At university, in theory, we are trained to learn to ponder and to think: to learn the skills of critical thinking. The impermanence of life is, however, only reinforced by the rapidity of movement around us. One study suggests that we are bombarded with over one hundred and eighty thousand (yes, thousand) images a year. 1 To this we must add a non-stop stream of “friends” on popular Internet websites, like Facebook, and thus without logical skills one is aptly confused. What is it all about? What is the purpose of life? The controversial video, Kony 2012, was released last month. Its stated purpose was to draw attention to a murderous African warlord who, purportedly, was abducting and enslaving children and forcing them to become child soldiers. He has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), who last week convicted Charles Taylor 2 of 11 counts of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Kony video, in spite of this, immediately brought condemnation: the majority of which claimed that its content was too simplistic and unduly sensationalized. It did, of course deal with a real issue, however aggrandized. The net result is that America has placed a contingent of “combat-equipped” soldiers in Central Africa. Curiously, the BBC interviewed Joseph Kony three years ago and he explicitly denies all the charges. 3 My point being, to paraphrase Sophocles, 4 “Why shoot the messenger?” There are substantive and real issues that cannot be solved with soldiers and guns. I’m sure that we all agree that this concept of war, killing and empire building benefits the elites and, for the average world citizen, is “getting old.” The article The Social Media Shuffle: From Kony To Spooning discusses how young university students at a Virginia university are more interested in breaking the world record for mass cuddling than in delving further into world politics. Sadly, with the world in crisis, ignorance is not bliss! Please send us your views on this subject. On the subject of education, Rahm Emanuel, (President Obama’s former Chief of Staff) who is now mayor of Chicago, wants to lengthen the school day to 7 1/2 hours a day: the rational being that public elementary school children are just not learning enough (According to USA Today.com, only around 70% of US high school students actually graduate). We should be thankful for the excellent, though often maligned, Taiwanese educational system.
We are well aware that factory farms produce most of our food, often in degrading conditions for the animals involved. A Place for Old Chickens discusses a different animal relationship than posed by these farms. In Portland Oregon, people have created a sanctuary where non-productive chickens can live out their “sunset years.” One particular farmer, Mr. Peter Porath, finds new homes for 1,000 to 2,000 birds a year. “We have ‘rehomed’ all kinds of stuff. Ducks, chickens, peacocks, turkey, quail, and guineas…Birds that we rehome out of the city, we have a policy that we don’t eat them.” As the world population, increasingly, becomes urbanized perhaps cities will allow more and more families to keep a small coop of a dozen or so chickens: a micro version of the family farm.
The great doctor Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) leaves us with a thoughtful quote: A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as that of his fellow men, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is need of help.
This week on your reflective walk please reflect on your view of life.
Every day look for something magical and beautiful. |
親愛的讀者：
俗話說，人生無常。現代社會年輕人的生命更是極為複雜。理論上，我們在大學受教育，學習如何反思、培養自己的想法，也學習批判思考的能力。但無常的人生中，周遭的事物彷彿移動得特別迅速。一項研究證實，我們一年中平均受到十八萬則影像轟炸。為了跟上時代，我們必須在受歡迎的網路社群（像是Facebook）上不斷增加新朋友，但也常因此混淆了思考邏輯。這一切是為了什麼？人生的目標又是什麼？上個月在網路公開並飽受爭議的一段影片Kony 2012(中文字幕)引起世人注意非洲軍閥首領Joseph Kony如何對其國內兒童致殘，並強迫他們化身軍人。國際刑事法院上周以危害人類罪、戰爭罪等十一項罪名將Charles Taylor定罪。儘管如此，這段影片還是掀起了譴責聲浪，且其內容被認為是過度簡化且刻意煽情。影片的確是討論到一個重要的議題，但卻未能忠實呈現，而現在美國軍隊已進駐中非，全副武裝並蓄勢待發。三年前BBC訪談了Joseph Kony，但他對外界所有指控一概否認。在此我想引述古希臘劇作家索福克勒斯（Sophocles）：何必懲罰傳遞壞消息的信使？軍人與武器都無法真正解決這個問題。我想我們能達成一個共識─戰爭、殺戮、建立帝國主義能使某些社會菁英從中受惠，但對於平民百姓而言不過就是種年月摧殘。The Social Media Shuffle: From Kony To Spooning一文顯示，比起世界政治，維吉尼亞大學的年輕大學生對於打破「連環擁抱」的世界紀錄比較有興趣。可惜現在世界處處危機，無知不再是種祝福了。歡迎將你的意見與我們分享！聊到教育的部分，曾任前白宮幕僚長、現為芝加哥市長的Rahm Emanuel欲將一天上學時間延長為七個半小時，因考量現在公立小學生的學習量不足（根據USA Today.com數據，美國中學畢業率僅70%）。雖然台灣教育體制亦常受抨擊，但或許我們真該心存感激！
我們都知道我們所吃的大部分食物都來自工廠化的農場，大多動物都在惡劣的環境下被養殖。A Place for Old Chickens一文討論到農場提出的新方法。奧勒岡州波特蘭人民開始為無法再生產的雞安排其晚年，農民Peter Porath每年替一至兩千隻禽類找到棲所。「我們替許多鳥類在這城市建立新家，像是鴨、雞、孔雀、火雞、鵪鶉等，而且保證不會吃掉牠們。」隨著世界人口增加，或許城市化會促進家庭式微型農場的誕生─每戶都可以養一小群雞鴨！
偉大的史懷哲醫生（1875-1965）曾說：唯有當人們尊重生命時，才會避免去傷害任何生命，並致力於幫助其他的生命，使世界有良性的發展，使道德能有真正提昇。
本周散步時，也思索自己對生命的觀點吧！
每天都要找出生命中神奇、美麗的事物！ |
- A project from the University of Washington: “The average American is exposed to 500 to 1,000 commercial messages a day (Arens 1999). That’s anywhere from 182,500 to 365,000 commercial messages that a person will view this year alone.”
- Charles Taylor was a former president of Liberia in Africa. During his term of office, he was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity as a result of his involvement in the Sierra Leone Civil War.
- The Kony BBC interview
- Sophocles (497 BC–406 BC) is one of three ancient Greek tragedians or playwrights whose plays have survived to modern times. The two others being Aeschylus (525 BC–456 BC) and Euripides (480 BC– 406 BC).
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City residents like Russ Finley, in front below, and Ray Frye sometimes retire disruptive or nonlaying birds.
By LEE VAN DER VOO / The New York Times
April 25, 2012
PORTLAND, Ore. — Hindus regard the chicken as a vessel for evil spirits. The Chinese cook them to honor village deities. But here, chickens are a symbol of urban nirvana, their coops backyard shrines to a locavore movement that has city dwellers moving ever closer to their food. And the increasingly intimate relationships have led some bird owners to make plans for their chickens’ unproductive years. Hence a budding phenomenon: urban chicken retirement.
While many Portlanders still pluck aging birds for the broiler, others seek a blissful, pastoral end for them. Because most chickens lay the majority of eggs early in life, and can live about 10 years, the quest for a place where chickens can live out their sunset years has brought a boom to at least two farm animal sanctuaries and led Pete Porath, a self-described chicken slinger, to expand the portion of his business that finds new homes for unwanted birds.
“I would say I’m a halfway house for chickens on the move,” he said.
Mr. Porath, who brokers chicks to feed stores and other buyers from his five-acre farm in Estacada, first began finding new homes for birds as a free service to smooth bad feelings about misdelivered roosters. Now he “rehomes” 1,000 to 2,000 birds a year, most belonging to a unique subset he dubs “the Portland birds.”
“We have rehomed all kinds of stuff. Ducks, chickens, peacocks, turkey, quail, guineas,” he said. “Birds that we rehome out of the city, we have a policy that we don’t eat them.” He says the rule stems from an oft-expressed desire by former owners that the birds spend their golden years on a farm.
His indulgence has lured gawkers to his property, 30 miles southeast of Portland, much to the chagrin of his wife, Tanisha. She says some stroll the garden, eating vegetables and food off the trees.
“I think it’s one of these things when people have a vision of coming to our house and it’s a park. And they think, ‘Oh, this is where my chicken is going to live.’ They want it rehomed here because they have a fantasy of a farm,” she said.
Wayne Geiger, who has absorbed about 100 city birds at Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary in Scio, agrees.
“People think they go out to the sanctuary and they go skipping through the meadows and the fields are covered in daisies,” Mr. Geiger said.
The reality, he said, is that the birds must often be penned to limit breeding, cockfights and predator attacks. He has suggested that cities retool their chicken-keeping policies to allow backyard flocks to grow large enough to include the aging birds. Doing so would allow senior birds to stay in their coops while the youngsters continue laying.
The Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary in Scio, Ore., is one place where former Portland chickens live their later years.
Some Portlanders, like Russ Finley, share that vision. Mr. Finley, a 54-year-old architect, is among 525 Portland-area homeowners with permits to surpass the three-chicken limit. That number is sharply up since 2000, when only about 20 properties held such permits.
Mr. Finley once retired a brooding bird that was disrupting his backyard flock, as well as another chicken that had formed a strong bond with it. He said he had no problem with killing chickens, and he eats meat. But in this case he just could not do it.
“They have personalities,” he explained. “And they each have different ways of interacting with you, and they make different sounds.”
Mr. Finley said the five birds he now owns are a home-based food source that complements a vegetable garden. But they are also pets, he said, part of a family that includes his partner, Ray Frye, two dogs and two cats.
“We name them and we hold them,” he said. “I know it sounds kind of crazy, but we kiss them.”
The couple also buy toys for their chicks, and enjoy watching the older birds jump for Cheerios and chase one another around the yard.
Their stunning multilevel chicken coop was featured in the 2011 Tour de Coops in Portland. The event showcases the most spectacular of bird lodgings. Last year’s featured coops sported green roofs, rainwater systems and towers with panoramic views.
Retiring such chickens, Mr. Porath said, is surprisingly easy. They are steered toward farms where they eat pests that bother other animals, and are used for breeding, to turn compost, to keep grass down and as pets. Roosters are also sought to protect flocks from predators. Mr. Porath said he screened out the cockfighting hooligans that come calling, as well as clients with appetites for silkies, a breed of chicken that looks oddly like a primate and is served as a delicacy in some cultures.
Karen Wolfgang of Independence Gardens, a consulting firm that helps clients build sustainable gardens, has meanwhile become an expert on end-of-life issues for chickens. She teaches a course to help urban farmers plan a wholesome end for their chickens, including referrals to retirement farms.
The class emphasizes that chickens outlive their laying years and urges backyard farmers to plan ahead. It includes a history of chickens’ productive uses and information about butchering techniques.
“There’s a pragmatic way of looking at it that’s not necessarily the norm in urban settings,” she said. “Our relationship with the nonhuman world is complicated. We did breed domestic animals to do what we need them to do, but what we need them to do is changing.”
by Alan Greenblatt / NPR
In 2010, more than 500 students at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., hit the campus green to break the world record for spooning. On Friday, students at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., plan to claim the record.
Students at the College of William & Mary are talking about a big extracurricular event being held on their campus on Friday. Organized largely through social media, more than 600 students at the prestigious Virginia campus have signed up to participate.
It’s not about Joseph Kony. It’s an attempt to break the world record for spooning, set by Carleton College back in 2010.
Friday was supposed to be the night young people across America and across the world would devote to spreading the word about Kony, a Central African warlord who has killed and abducted thousands of people over the past 25 years.
A video called “Kony 2012,” drawing attention to Kony and his crimes, was released last month by the San Diego-based nonprofit Invisible Children and became arguably the greatest viral success in Internet history. It drew more than 100 million viewers on YouTube and Vimeo within days of being posted.
The video called on young people to “cover the night” on April 20, putting up posters wherever they lived, to sear Kony into the nation’s consciousness.
But almost as soon as the video reached mass attention, a backlash set in. Invisible Children was criticized for simplifying the issues involved and for how it spent its funds.
The campaign to “stop Kony” may have briefly captured their attention, but it appears that most students have moved on.
Kaveh Sadeghian, a former student assembly president at William & Mary and an organizer of the spooning event, says that the video was widely watched and discussed there, but that students greeted it with a good deal of skepticism.
Students have largely forgotten that Friday was supposed to be about Kony, Sadeghian says.
“That kind of illustrates our strategy,” he says. “We didn’t start advertising this until this week, because we didn’t want to kill the buzz. So many things are so viral and go by so quickly, it’s harder than ever to keep people’s attention.”
As of Thursday morning, 625 people had “liked” the spooning event listing on Facebook. By contrast, a moribund-appearing page called Kony 2012 William & Mary had just 16 likes.
Apathy And Rolling Eyes
Invisible Children sought to deflect the criticism “Kony 2012″ engendered by releasing a second video that spoke more to the complexities of the geopolitics of Central Africa and highlighted the group’s own projects in Uganda.
But compared with the earlier release, it was barely watched. And while Kony had dominated the Facebook walls and Twitter feeds of young people for a few days last month, now he’s barely mentioned on social media, except as a joke, or when people ask whatever happened to that cause.
“Just a few weeks ago, students were ready to participate in fundraising efforts or the Cover the Night event,” says Alison Decker, a 19-year-old sophomore at Northwestern University. “Unfortunately, most of the fervor has seemed to change to apathy or eye rolls about the legitimacy of Invisible Children.”
It’s not just that some of the group’s claims and strategies drew criticism. Ten days after the release of “Kony 2012,” Jason Russell, a co-founder of Invisible Children and leading character in the video, was hospitalized by police in San Diego after he stood naked and screaming on a street corner.
He was the apparent victim of exhaustion and dehydration. But a video of his breakdown — which was itself widely disseminated and viewed — undermined his group’s credibility.
Part of the power of “Kony 2012″ was the way Russell was able to personalize the cause, showing how he and his young son had come to understand the menace and impact of Kony and his group, the Lord’s Resistance Army.
But having made himself central to the film’s message created a public relations crisis when Russell was caught acting out on tape, says Marcus Messner, a communications professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.
The incident was parodied in a recent episode of South Park that showed a character named Stan stripping his clothes off in San Diego after an anti-bullying video he directed becomes a huge success but then is roundly reviled.
“What was really a turnoff, particularly for young people, was the amateur video showing the [Invisible Children] organizer dancing naked on a street corner,” Messner says. “While most people did not personally hear the criticism of the ["Kony 2012"] video, they did see the video of the breakdown.”
‘Some Lasting Value’
The chapter of Invisible Children on Messner’s campus broke its ties with the group, changing its name and deciding to donate funds directly to children’s programs in Uganda.
But not everyone has given up on the cause. Around the country, thousands of young people will still turn out on Friday to placard Kony’s image and stencil his name in chalk.
Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, in 2006.
“At least on our campus, interest appears to be relatively strong,” says Christopher LoCascio, editor-in-chief of Highlander, the student newspaper at the University of California, Riverside.
Even at the height of the video’s popularity, there were questions about whether teenagers tweeting it would turn awareness into action. Still, the amount of attention it received arguably worked as intended, making Kony and the LRA something policymakers had to address in places like Washington and Brussels.
Last year, President Obama dispatched 100 troops to Uganda to help with the hunt.
“Certainly, the video raised the issue of the problem with the LRA to a much higher level than it had been for quite some time in Washington, D.C.,” says E.J. Hogendoorn, Horn of Africa project director for International Crisis Group.
Its message may have been “simplistic,” he says. But, he adds, “The fact that this has increased the U.S. administration’s focus on this issue probably has some lasting value.”
Teenagers Have Moved On
But for American youth, the cause has been tarnished and, for the most part, forgotten. It’s the nature of an issue that explodes into consciousness through social media, says Rayyan Najeeb, a 20-year-old junior at Northwestern.
He says that a focus on wanting to appear “cool” created an obstacle against college students remaining deeply engaged.
“What ends up happening, we have people sending out the Kony video, creating awareness and support,” Najeeb says. “But then it reaches a critical mass and it creates a backlash — and the haters end up reaching a critical mass.”
But Messner, the VCU professor, suggests that Invisible Children may have been, to some extent, undermined by its own success. Because the video succeeded beyond the group’s own expectations, it was not equipped to cope with the onslaught of questions and skepticism it provoked.
“The lesson for other organizations is that if you do it in the right way, you can have a tremendous public reaction to a viral campaign,” Messner says. “But you have to make sure that all your facts hold up, because journalists are going to go after you if you get this widespread attention.”
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Mr. Allen Huang is an expert in investing and has gained substantial success and experience in the financial field.
黃先生是位知名投資理財專家，並且在金融界累積了極為豐富的成功理財經驗。
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| 又到了繳稅季節！5月份，房屋稅與個人綜合所得稅正式登場。值得關注的是，臺北市稅捐稽徵處公布最新稅收狀況，101年第1季臺北市地方稅收實徵淨額58.76億元，與預期目標71.76億元相較，短徵13億元，為98年金融風暴以後的同期新低；與去年同期82.67億元相較，減少23.91億元，稅收衰退近三成。
今年首季稅收僅有印花稅實徵淨額13.64億元，較去年同期成長9.5％，其餘各稅均為負成長；其中房地產交易量大幅萎縮，衝擊土地增值稅之稅收，與房地產景氣相關的土地增值稅、契稅，實徵淨額分別較去年同期衰退39.2％及34.7％；房屋稅因房屋移轉件數減少，導致衰退35.2%；地價稅因清查改課補稅數減少也衰退28.9％；使用牌照稅受新車領牌數下降影響，稅收則衰退12.8％；娛樂稅也較去年同期衰退1.8％。未來在油電雙漲及證所稅議題持續發酵下，國內經濟未來走向不明，全年度稅收目標能否達成，有待觀察。
一般而言，有的企業大股東因應繳稅需要，會申報轉讓持股，除顯示賣股繳稅需求外，也透露大股東對台股後市相對保守，而這種報稅申讓求現的賣壓，相對也會加深市場跌幅。4月以來上市櫃公司的董監持股轉讓攀至高峰，使得原本量縮震盪的台股，4月份大跌431點，上演7,500點關卡保衛戰。在這種報稅干擾下，空方氣焰高漲，越接近5月底的報稅截止日，預期持股申讓的熱潮將進入另一波的高潮。
依證交法規定，上市櫃公司以及公開發行公司的內部人，持股在轉讓之前，必須要依法申報，換句話說，申報轉讓後才能賣股。公司內部人包括董事、監察人、經理人、持有公司股份超過10%的股東；另外，他們的配偶、未成年子女及利用他人名義持有者也包括在內。
近來，油電雙漲帶動不少項目的商品的價格上漲，荷包縮水的痛還沒消弭，又要從它掏出錢來繳稅。固然依法繳稅是義務，合法節稅卻也是權利，因此，可別讓你的權利睡著了！
現行企業繳交營所稅後，發放股利給股東時，股東需據以申報個人綜所稅，由於實施兩稅合一，如果企業繳的稅率比股東高，股東可以申請退稅；換言之，可扣抵稅率必須高於個人綜合所得稅率，才能享受到節稅效果。
其次，若能再搭配第一季財報獲利數字表現不差的基本面選股，不但可賺得股利與未來股利退稅優惠，也可減少賺了股利與退稅利益，卻賠了股價價差的風險，甚至還有賺到價差的獲利機會。
總之，就股市長線投資而言，除了獲取公司成長所帶動的資本利得外，每年所配發的股息也是重要的一環。高殖利率個股如果未來營運又有成長空間，則有進可攻、退可守的特性。因此，以抗跌及投資角度分析，可留意可扣抵稅率較高的個股，只要在適當時機及合理價位買進，應該有機會在節稅、殖利率及股價上，出現三贏局面。
黃先生因事務繁忙，本專欄將暫停，謝謝各位讀者的支持。
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| Hi again everybody,
I hope you’ve had a great week and, most importantly, found some time to drink some good wine! This week, I thought I’d try to give you some help with buying European wines, and French in particular. Let’s take a look at what’s on the label.
Although many French wines now have grape varieties on the label, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay or Merlot, the majority of French and other European wines are named by the area they come from. This is known as the Appellation d’Origine Controllee system, or AOC, in France and has similar names in other countries such as DOC or DOCG in Italy, or DdO in Spain. In the past, before there were so many books on wine, wine clubs, the internet, or your friendly local wine professional (me!) to help, most people bought wine because the region it came from was famous for good quality, or a certain style. Copying is nothing new and many poor quality wines were being labelled as something they were not. To protect their names and reputations, a group of producers from the famous Chateauneuf-du-Pape region in the Rhone valley successfully requested that the government use laws originally for cheese to protect their name. The system was born, and this is why these days, unless you have good lawyers, you can’t use names like “Champagne” or “Burgundy/Bourgogne” as they are reserved for wines from those regions in France.
These rules do help you though, and here’s how. Basically, every region in France has wines made a several quality levels. The most basic level is Vin de Table (Table wine), generally by the time these wines make it to Taiwan, they are past their best, tired, acidic, lacking fruit flavour, and frankly usually quite horrible. They are designed for drinking within a few months of going into bottle. The next level is Vin de Pays (Country Wine). Often these days, these wines are labelled with grape varieties to compete with Australia, South America, etc. There are some excellent value wines and some producers use this level to label because there are less rules and they can try something new.
The final group is AC/AOC wines which come from a specific region, which could be as small as one side of one hill, must not be over-produced to maintain quality and have limited grape varieties they can be made from. Champagne wines, for example, can only be made from 3 grape varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Some appellations such as those in Bordeaux and Burgundy then give their own levels above this. You may see Premier Cru and then Grand Cru.
My recommendation this week, try some AOC wines from the “Cotes du Rhone” in France, especially if you can see the next level – Cotes du Rhone Villages. If you like those then go upscale to some Cote-Rotie, or Hermitage from the same region, some of my very favourite wines.
Happy drinking,
Cheers,
Kris
0916-222336
kris@wineconnection.co.nz
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嗨！又見面了，各位：
希望你又過了很棒的一週，更重要的是，有撥空品嚐好酒。本週我想介紹如何購買歐洲葡萄酒酒，尤其是法國酒，讓我們來瞧瞧酒標上寫的是什麼吧。
雖然現在許多法國酒如卡本內蘇維儂、夏多內、梅洛等在酒標都標示了葡萄品種，法國與歐洲地區的酒主要以生產地來命名，即為法國所稱的「控制原產地命名」（Appellation d’Origine Controllee or AOC）。在其他國家也有類似的稱呼，像是義大利的DOC或DOCG或是西班牙的DdO。在許多葡萄酒書籍、品酒俱樂部、網路資訊以及友善的葡萄酒專家（也就是我！）出現以前，許多人買酒是因當地出產的酒有著品質保證或特殊風味。複製早已不是新鮮事，許多品質不佳的酒也貼上了煞有其事的酒標。許多Chateauneuf-du-Pape的酒商為了維護名聲和品質，成功申請到法律的保護，保住紅酒的名譽。於是這套系統就誕生了，這也就是為什麼你不能用「香檳」、「勃根地」等受法律保護的名稱，除非你對你的律師很有信心。
這些規則可以幫助你了解紅酒。基本上，法國每個產酒區都出產許多不同等級的葡萄酒。最基本的等級為餐酒，一般而言將其運至台灣的時間就已超過它的最佳賞味期了，過酸、沒有果香，坦白說通常是很糟的口感。餐酒裝瓶後的幾個月內是最好的飲用時間。接下來是鄉村酒，通常這個時節的酒標示上品種，以和澳洲、南非酒競爭，有些是非常高品質的酒，有些酒商會標示此等級的酒，因規定較不嚴格、而且可以嘗試不同酒標。
最後是「原產地控制命名」（AC/AOC）酒，命名範圍最小可以小到山丘的一端，產量不能過多以確保品質和品種的獨特性。譬如香檳區的酒只能用三個品種的葡萄：黑皮諾、夏多內和莫妮耶皮諾。這些品種在波爾多或勃根地則會使用不同名字，如Premier Cru或Grand Cru。
這禮拜推薦你法國Cotes du Rhone的AOC酒，若標示Cotes du Rhone Villages產區則更好。若喝得喜歡，再往上提升到來自同一地區的Cote-Rotie或Hermitage—我個人的最愛。
品酒愉快！
Cheers,
克里斯
0916-222336
kris@wineconnection.co.nz |
| Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) was an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. His major works include paintings, murals, sketches, and other art objects. Klimt’s primary subject was the female body, and his works are marked by a frank eroticism—nowhere is this more apparent than in his numerous drawings in pencil.
He was born in Baumgarten, near Vienna in the Austria-Hungarian Empire, the second of seven children: three boys and four girls. All three sons displayed early artistic talent.. His father, Ernst Klimt the Elder, formerly from Bohemia, was a gold engraver. Ernst married Anna Klimt, whose unrealized ambition was to be a musical performer. Klimt lived in poverty for most of his childhood, as work was scarce and economic advancement was difficult for immigrants.
In 1876, Klimt was awarded a scholarship to the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts), where he studied until 1883, and received training as an architectural painter. He revered the foremost historical painter of the time, Hans Makart. Klimt readily accepted the principles of a conservative training; his early work may be classified as academic. In 1877 his brother Ernst, who, like his father, would become an engraver, also enrolled in the school. The two brothers and their friend Franz Matsch began working together; by 1880 they had received numerous commissions as a team they called the “Company of Artists”, and helped their teacher in painting murals in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
In 1888, Klimt received the Golden order of Merit from Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria for his contributions to murals painted in the Burgtheater in Vienna. He also became an honorary member of the University of Munich and the University of Vienna. In 1892 both Klimt’s father and his brother Ernst died, and he had to assume financial responsibility for his father’s and his brother’s families. The tragedies affected his artistic vision as well, and soon he would veer toward a new personal style. Klimt had many affairs, but in the early 1890s, he met his lover, Emilie Flöge, who was his companion until the end of his life. |
古斯塔夫‧克林姆是奧地利象徵主義派畫家，也是維也納分離運動的代表人物。他主要的作品包括繪畫、壁畫、素描及其他藝術創作。克林姆偏好以女體為創作主題，對情色毫不掩飾，尤其是在他為數眾多的鉛筆畫中。
他生於奧匈帝國的鮑姆加敦，就在維也納附近，是三男四女共七個小孩中的老二，三個男孩都極早地顯現出他們的藝術天分。他的父親老恩斯特‧克林姆，原本是波希米亞的金雕師傅。恩斯特娶了原本想當樂師但未能如願的安娜‧克里姆特。古斯塔夫‧克林姆大半童年均於貧困中度過，因為移民的工作與經濟發展機會極少。
1876年時，克林姆獲得了維也納工藝美術學院的獎學金，並在此接受成為建築設計畫家的訓練直至1883年。他崇拜當時最知名的畫家漢斯‧馬卡特，並甘心接受保守派的訓練，所以他的早期作品或許可被歸類為學院派。1877年他的哥哥恩斯特二世承襲父志要成為一名雕刻師，也進了這所學校就讀。自此這兩兄弟就和友人佛朗茲‧馬須一起合作，到1880年時，他們這名為『藝術家連隊』的團隊已經日進斗金，並幫著他們的老師一起畫維也納藝術史博物館的壁畫。
1888年時，克林姆獲得奧地利皇帝佛朗茲‧約瑟授勳，表彰他在維也納宮廷劇院壁畫上的卓越貢獻。他也成為慕尼黑大學和維也納大學的榮譽會員。1892年時他的父親和哥哥雙雙去世，他必須負擔起父親和哥哥留下來的兩個家庭的家計。此一悲劇影響了他的藝術觀，他轉向於嶄新的個人風格創作。1890年代初期，處處留情的克里姆特遇上了他的愛侶，艾蜜莉‧芙洛格，並和她一起走完人生最終的旅途。 |
| Dear Readers:
The Last Best West: this was the halcyon call of the advertising campaign initiated by Clifford Sifton, 1 the Canadian Minister of the Interior. Come, come: paradise awaits, if you are brave and hardworking. This appeal fell on the welcoming ears of the poor, landless peasants of overpopulated Eastern Europe: which possessed the highest density in the world prior to World War One. One of those was my grandfather. He took his family on a harrowing trip from his home in the Austro-Hungarian Empire to a sparsely forested section of land 120 kilometers east of Edmonton Alberta, Canada. There was absolutely nothing there: nothing! There were no roads, no services and yet there was freedom from your social status. You were no longer at the bottom of the “pecking order,” you were a free man. My grandfather was a peasant and the peasants in the Austro-Hungarian Empire had only been released from serfdom 2 in 1848: in the Russian Empire this only occurred thirteen years later in 1861. He set to work and built a successful spiritual, physical and financial life for himself and for his family. Today, however, North America and Europe, for that matter, no longer afford the opportunities that existed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This week we read an article entitled Many U.S. Immigrants’ Children Seek American Dream Abroad. The piece circumstantiates the fact that, with youth unemployment at 25% worldwide, young people are looking for new opportunities abroad. Many are returning to their ancestral home, with the added advantage of being bi-lingual: speaking the language of their parents (Hindi, Mandarin, etc) and English. “For generations, the world’s less-developed countries have suffered a so-called brain drain—the flight of the best and brightest to the West. That has not stopped, but now a reverse flow has begun, particularly to countries like China and India, and to a lesser extent, Brazil and Russia.” One is reminded of the excitement that occurs with travel and its concomitant friend: change.
Western people, traditionally, do not live as a family group. We are encouraged to leave the family “nest” and find our own way in the world, albeit under parental tutelage. The economic crisis has changed this paradigm. One Roof, Three Generations, Many Decisions describes how 51.4 million Americans live in multigenerational household: a full 17% of the total US population. It is difficult for many and yet a beautiful experience for others. Some have suggested that this present financial conundrum have forced many people to question the meaning of life in this quasi-capitalistic consumer-driven society. This of course, is a good thing. All of us must begin to become our brothers’ keeper. 3 Mankind is intrinsically loving and caring, not selfish and avaricious.
The art world, sadly, is becoming much like one big Ponzi scheme 4, with the big and influential dealers and auction houses deciding what art is; and pricing it with the assistance of “experts.” That being said, art that has been stolen in the Russian Revolution and in the Second World War is slowly being returned to its rightful owners. This week a stolen Girolamo de Romani 5 was returned to the family. Many of these families have loaned or donated these returned works to the world’s major museums and thus keeping them out of the “clutches” of the parasitical art market. They truly are citizens of the world. The pricelessness of art is aptly described by the great thinker Thomas Merton (1915–1968): Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.
This week on your reflective walk please consider how art affects your life and, further, what is art?
Every day look for something magical and beautiful. |
親愛的讀者：
已故加拿大移民部長Clifford Sifton 曾以「Last Best West」作為其宣傳活動的號召吸引移民─來吧！來吧！如果你夠勇敢、肯努力，天堂在這等著你。這個好消息便傳到了東歐貧民與失地農民耳中。東歐人口密度在第一次世界大戰時已達到巔峰。我的祖父就是其中一位移民，他從奧匈帝國的時空進入加拿大阿爾伯塔省以東120公里處，建立了新的家。當時那裏是一片蠻荒之地，什麼都沒有！沒有路，沒有營運設施，不過也沒有社會地位之分，來到這裡的人再也不是食物鏈底端的生物，而是一個自由人。我的祖父是個農民，奧匈帝國農奴制於1848年解除，而俄羅斯帝國直到1861才解放農奴。他秉著白手起家的精神，為自己和家人打造了一個精神、物質與經濟上都算成功的生活。但現今北美與歐洲都已無法再提供僅存於十九世紀末至二十世紀初這種優渥的機會。本周我們讀了一篇題為Many U.S. Immigrants’ Children Seek American Dream Abroad的文章，文章提到隨著全球青年失業率達到25%，年輕人(指美國移民者的子女)也開始尋求海外的工作機會。許多人尋根回到祖籍地，且雙語能力─父母親說的母語(印度語、中文…等)和英文─也成了一項利器。「幾個世代以來，低度開發國家一直受人才外流所苦，菁英人才全都到西方去了。這個現象依然持續著，但同時也有一股回流的人潮，尤其像中國、印度、巴西及俄國等國家。」彷彿旅行般，充滿刺激和改變！
西方傳統家庭的結構不像東方一樣以大家庭為主，父母通常鼓勵孩子離「巢」，到外面另闢自己的生存之道，儘管未達法定成年年齡也一樣。但經濟危機改變了這個常態。One Roof, Three Generations, Many Decisions一文描述了美國現有五千多萬人口家庭結構為多代同堂，比例為全美國的17%。對許多人來說這是件困難的事，但也有人視其為美好的人生經驗。有人認為目前的金融難題讓許多人開始質疑這個消費取向的資本主義社會。這是一件好事，因為我們都必須開始當「兄弟的守護者」（出自聖經中該隱與亞伯的故事─Am I my brother’s keeper?），我們本性是良善、關愛的，非自私和貪婪。
藝術界在今日，很令人惋惜的，已逐漸變成了一場世紀大騙局，由具影響力的商人和拍賣行來決定某件物品的藝術價值，再由「專家們」將其訂價。不過俄國革命與二次大戰時期的藝術品都逐漸回歸原主。義大利文藝復興時期畫家Girolamo Romani一件遭竊的畫作在本周被歸還至其家族。許多類似的家族會將畫作租借或捐贈給世界各大美術館，以免珍貴作品落入藝術市場的「魔掌」。藝術是世界資產，偉大的思想家Thomas Merton（1915-1968）就曾說過：「藝術讓我們找到自我，同時也迷失自我。」
本周散步時，想想藝術如何影響了你的生活，還有，藝術的定義究竟為何？
每天都要找出生命中神奇、美麗的事物！ |
- Sir Clifford Sifton, (1861–1929) was the Canadian Interior Minister responsible for encouraging the massive amount of immigration to Canada at the end of the 19th and beginning of the early 20th centuries: his advertising campaign was entitled “The Last Best West.”
- Serfdom was a condition of bondage or modified slavery wherein you were legally tied to the land you farmed.
- This refers to a passage in The Old Testament (Genesis 4:9). God asks Cain about his brother Abel and Cain replies, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The answer, of course, is “yes.”
- A Ponzi scheme is a systematic financial fraud. It is named after con-man Carlo Ponzi.
- Girolamo Romani (1485–1566) was an influential Italian High Renaissance painter.
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by Marilyn Geewax / NPR
The Great Recession slammed into all age groups, flattening the career dreams of young people and squeezing the retirement accounts of middle-aged savers. It financially crippled many elderly people who had thought they could stand on their own.
To cope with the hard times that began five years ago, millions of families pulled together — stacking two, three, even four generations on top of one another. Between 2007 and 2009, the total number of Americans living in multigenerational households shot up more than 10 percent, from 46.5 million to 51.4 million.
That’s the largest number of Americans living in multigenerational households in modern history, according to the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan research group.
Now, even as the recovery gains steam, record numbers of people are still living under a roof where adult children, middle-aged parents and elderly grandparents must learn to live together.
On Tuesday, NPR’s Morning Edition begins a two-month exploration of this increasingly common experience. In a series called “Family Matters,” reporter David Greene will take listeners on a journey, deep into the lives of three families struggling with issues of money, duty and love.
At NPR.org, stories will delve into the financial issues facing these three families — and millions of others like them. Among the topics to be examined: the need for financial planning; the options for elder care; costs of do-it-yourself care for the elderly; long-term care insurance; college costs; and reverse mortgages.
While people of all ages are living in multigenerational homes, this series will focus on those in the middle — the millions of people sandwiched between their aging parents’ growing needs and their children’s “launch” costs — from first-car purchases to higher education.
The baby boom generation often is defined as Americans born between 1946 and 1964. But the peak of the boom covered the mid-1950s through the early 1960s. Those are the people now in their late 40s and 50s — the group that may have assumed these would be their best years financially.
In the past, this middle-age phase marked the highest earning and saving years — the period after the kids were grown and the parents gone. But for this generation, the middle years have gotten tougher.
First, this group tended to marry and have children later than previous generations. And “launch” times have gotten longer for their children as the need for education has increased. As a result, people in their 50s often are still supporting children who, in theory, are adults.
Notes
Adult population, 25 and older. Highlighted bars show the ages of the people born during the peak years of the baby boom.
Source: 2010 Census
Credit: Alyson Hurt / NPR
Meanwhile, elderly Americans are living longer. In 1950, U.S. life expectancy was just over age 68. Today, it’s nearly 79. In many cases, as people live longer, they are piling up higher medical and personal care costs, while draining the savings that might otherwise have served as an inheritance for younger generations. The price of getting help, such as that provided by long-term-care insurance, has gotten much steeper in recent years.
Yolanda Hunter, 43, is one of the people who opened her door to NPR. The Maryland resident is struggling with the costs — physical and financial — of caring for her grandmother. “I used to hear about people saying, ‘Oh you know, we got to put our parents in a home, we can’t deal with it anymore,’ ” she said. “And I used to think, ‘Oh, how cruel are you?’ you know, but now? I understand how people get to that last possible moment — it takes over your entire life.”
And just as record numbers of families were dealing with the impact of having slow-to-leave children and long-to-linger parents, the Great Recession hit. That made everything tougher.
During the long and brutal downturn, real estate values plunged and retirement accounts shrank. In 2004, the average household net worth was $95,010 — including home equity. After the recession hit, that figure plunged to just $70,692 by 2010, according to Pew data.
So now, the generation in the middle faces an array of financial pressures. How can they make it all work — especially in a multigenerational household? It’s a juggling act that can be financially and physically draining. It can also be deeply rewarding emotionally. It is about duty, caring and joy. It’s life.
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