Snark Factor Tonight

Listen live to the Snark Factor every Wednesday night at 8pm EST on FTR Radio where I will be joining Fingers Malloy, Irish Duke to bring news bites at the top of the hour followed by sparkling chats with invited guests. If you are a fan of my blog, you’ll know that I have an eclectic taste in news of the day.

On tap tonight:

Tax Payer funded terrorism – this is getting uglier every day.

Mile high flirting – you know you always wanted to do it.

Blogging and Running Update

April is fast coming to a close and I want to share a few updates and a rather interesting photo walk.

I had the opportunity to document the 24th annual Civil War reenactment held at Neshaminy Park in Bensalem, Pa. I brought two lenses, a 40mm f/2.8 and the 70-200mm f/4. Let me tell you that there is a lot to love with both lenses. This year the battle of Mine Run 1863 was chosen for reenactment. Sorry, I’ve not as yet Googled the information on this battle. If you happen to know, feel free to leave a history lesson in the comment section. I chatted with two women representing the widows of the Civil War and spent time checking out the medical tent discussing triage strategies with a civil war battlefield physician. Also took a long look at a photo collage of soldiers who survived the war with amputations or disfiguring facial injuries and wondered how they managed with their disabilities post war. I’ve a love/hate opinion of reenactments. They are an amazing source of quality information about a time or event in history, yet I can’t help but think reenactments over romanticize brutal events in our history. Just my 0.2 cents on the matter.

Now it is time to look at pretty pictures:

The full set of photos:

I run here, I run there…

This weekend I am heading to Washington DC to participate in the inaugural Nike Women’s Half Marathon on Sunday April 28th. The following Sunday, May 5th, I am running the 2013 Broad Street 10 miler – a race I am so looking forward to completing. A few weeks later, on June 15th I’m registered to run the 2013 Half Sauer Half Kraut Half Marathon in Pennypack Park.  I sometimes wonder how I manage to keep smiling with all the training miles needed to maintain a fitness level to complete these distance runs. In addition, I’ve been dealing with a sudden case of foot numbness which will require orthotic inserts to (hopefully) correct this annoying issue.

On the blogging front – I still need to post race recaps for 2013 Yeungling Anthem Half Marathon, Virginia Beach and Cherry Blossom 10 miler in Washington, DC. I have all the photos and information read to go, I just need to finish the darn posts.

So, it is a bit busy at chez Tania at the moment; but I will work on keeping you all in the loop 🙂

Happy running, y’all!

THANK YOU BOSTON PD!

 

 

Terrorist #2 – what’s his name – is now in custody due to the dogged tenacity of the Boston PD.  Well Done!

 

 

Snark Factor Tonight

Listen live to the Snark Factor every Wednesday night at 8pm EST on FTR Radio where I will be joining Fingers Malloy, Irish Duke to bring news bites at the top of the hour followed by sparkling chats with invited guests. If you are a fan of my blog, you’ll know that I have an eclectic taste in news of the day.

On tap tonight:

Boston Marathon updates.

Federal agents are distributing photos of two different men – persons of interest not identified by name – who are seen carrying black bags.

Recently in Vermont, a short form bill has been proposed to make street photography illegal.

This bill proposes to make it illegal to take a photograph of a person without his or her consent, or to modify a photograph of a person without his or her consent, and to distribute it.
Read more at http://petapixel.com/2013/04/12/vermont-introduces-bill-that-would-make-it-illegal-to-photograph-a-person-without-consent/#TGMlGGIiwuGlsfA3.99

If legislation such as what Vermont is mulling was enacted in Massachusetts, the FBI would not be able to distribute photos of the two persons of interest in the Boston Marathon bombing. Nor would we have seen on-the-ground photos or videos from the bombing as it unfolded because it would be impossible for the photographer or videographer to get consent.

This reckless type of proposed legislation drives me crazy! Jared Polin at FroKnowsphoto.com shares his thoughts on this proposed bill.

A Marathon Miracle

Many have seen this shocking video and wondered if the runner in the orange jersey was able to get help after he fell from the shockwave caused by the explosion.

The runner is Bill Iffrig, 78, from Lake Stevens and only feet away from completing his third Boston Marathon when the bomb exploded, knocking him to the ground. He was helped up by a BAA official and walked the few short feet to the finish line completing the marathon with only a gash on his knee. Of all the stories of the heroic actions that are pouring out; this one really shows the stuff runners are made of and why the bomber(s) have already lost.

Why does this story stand out among all the others?

Consider the following facts:

– This 78 year old man qualified and completed THREE Boston Marathons.
– He survived a bomb blast that happened feet away from him.
– After being knocked down from the blast, with help from a BAA official, he crossed the finish line.
– Not only did he finish this marathon, his finish time placed him 2nd in his age group.

Let these facts simmer in your mind while reading what Bill Iffrig had to say about his finish:

“I ended up second in my division,” he said. “After you’ve run 26 miles you’re not going to stop there.” His timing chip marked his finish at 4 hours, 3 minutes, 47 seconds.”

And that is the stuff runners are made of – we are stronger than any adversity that comes our way and are always moving forward.

The terrorist cowards who detonated the bombs yesterday thought they could break us with fear. Clearly they knew nothing about the heart and soul of the running community; yesterday’s violent act will only make us stronger. Game over, cowards, you lost.

Boston Marathon Bombing

Statement from the Boston Athletic Association
Monday, April 15, 2013
8:00 p.m. ET

The Boston Athletic Association extends its deepest sympathies to all those who were affected in any way by today’s events.

Today is a sad day for the City of Boston, for the running community, and for all those who were here to enjoy the 117th running of the Boston Marathon. What was intended to be a day of joy and celebration quickly became a day in which running a marathon was of little importance.

We can confirm that all of the remaining runners who were out on the course when the tragic events unfolded have been returned to a community meeting area.

At this time, runners’ bags in Boston which remain unclaimed may be picked up by runners presenting their bib number or proof of race participation on Berkeley Street, between St. James and Boylston. There are no bags at 101 Arlington Street.

At this time, we are cooperating with the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and all federal law enforcement officials.

We would like to thank the countless people from around the world who have reached out to support us today.

Please go to the B.A.A. Facebook page —
http://facebook.com/thebostonmarathon — for information.
We post new information as we are able.

Today three people, including an 8 year-old child, lost their lives and hundreds more wounded when two bombs detonated at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon. My entire heart goes out to the victims and their families. I cannot pretend to understand their loss.  I would like to acknowledge the bravery of average Americans who ran toward the bomb aftermath to help rescue those wounded and potentially reduced the number of casualties.

I’m going to hold off on speculation of what person or group is responsible for this vile attack while the story is still evolving.  Also, I’m not going to post graphic images showing bloody people and missing limbs that are floating around the internet.

My good blogging buddy, John Ruberry, has run the Boston Marathon three times and has posted his reflection on the attack today in Boston.  The Boston Marathon is the premier running event of the year. It is a  marathon in which runners are required to have run a previous marathon within a certain time frame set forth by Boston Marathon organizers.  You do not buy a bib for Boston, you earn it.  It sometimes takes years to achieve a BQ (Boston Qualifying) time in a marathon making the Boston Marathon even more irresistible to runners.   As of today, I’m no where near BQ  times, however, I have a plan to incrementally bring my half marathon and full marathon times within BQ striking distance this year.  Step by step I will get to Boston.

Whoever is responsible for this bloody attack picked the wrong group of people – runners are masters of perseverance and battling adversities; challenges only make us stronger. The fools who support this tragedy can laugh and cheer all they want, they don’t know that they have already lost.

In two weeks time, I’ll be in Washington, DC to run the inaugural Nike Women’s Half Marathon. The following Sunday I’m scheduled for Philly’s Broad Street 10 mile run where I hope to PR.

I am a runner, I will not let fear dictate my life and will continue to train and run distance runs until I can no longer run.  Bombers be damned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Woman – Margaret Thatcher – Rest In Peace

Britain’s first female Prime Minister, Baroness Thatcher, passed today at the age of 87. She lead her party to three election wins and served twelve years as Prime Minister before handing the reigns over to her successor.

She was fierce.

A principled and intelligent Lady, Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first female Prime Minister. Her extraordinary leadership skill set, not whom she married, made her the best person for this position. As Prime Minister, she spearheaded necessary and fair changes to spearhead a revival of Britain, while breaking political glass ceilings for women worldwide.

Her keen intelligence rocked the macho status quo in Parliament; she rose to the occasion, but always remained a Lady.

This woman was no #Julia. She was the real deal – a strong, intelligent, capable, heroic woman – a role model for empowered feminists like myself.

I never had the fortune to meet Margaret Thatcher. My good blogging buddy, Mike Miller, created an extraordinary post remembering Margaret Thatcher entitled Iron Lady for the Ages. He shares his memories of time when adults occupied positions of power.

Rest in peace, Margaret Thatcher. You will be missed.

Mary Fons Poetry – I love You

Off to DC for the 2013 Cherry Blossom 10 mile run this weekend. Before I leave for DC, I wanted to share an outstanding sample of slam poetry by Mary Fons. What a damn good performance!