Stolen Thunder

American Dominance And Its Effect on Business Management

2012-01-29T14:22:00.000-06:00

Looking through my traffic results, I see there is renewed interest in the school rankings for Online MBAs. That tells me it’s time to get back to work and prepare the 2012 list, but it also reminds me to discuss the importance of such schools. Obviously, people go to school to earn degrees that make them more desirable to employers, for better positions and higher pay, but the decision should also be made in recognition of becoming much more effective at our work.

I’ve been reading George Friedman’s work, “The Next 100 Years”, which includes his opinion that the United States will dominate the century, not only because of our military and geopolitical standing, but also because of our business. That’s important for us, because it means that even if you want to become effective in international business, you have to first master the fundamentals of American business. The Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, therefore, is not just a key to senior management posts, but is also a critical tool in helping your business gain long-term competitive advantage.

So, how does American dominance translate to your own career? First off, consider that (using Friedman’s data) the U.S. has about 4 percent of the world’s population, but creates 26 percent of all good and services, and 26 percent of the world’s GDP. The U.S. is far and away the world’s largest country for industrial production, is still one of the world’s largest energy producers, and is under-populated by global standards. Friedman says that an economy consists of land, labor, and capital, and on all three counts the U.S. is in very strong condition.

Now, it is true that the credit rating of the United States took a hit last year; as I work with credit analysis in my job, this is a point which must be counted with a lot of weight. But in context, always in context. The credit rating downgrade came from the behavior of the federal government, not the nation as a whole. When President Obama said the U.S. was and would always be a “triple-A” nation, he was correct – but he was also ducking the abysmal lack of responsibility by the federal government. The impact of the credit downgrade, then, comes in two parts. First, no matter how well an individual business is run, that business will be subject to penalties and disadvantages according to how it’s home country runs its policies and pays its own debts. That is tied to the second part; whenever a government messes up, the people will have to pay for the repairs and clean-up, and usually governments do this by punishing corporations, on the lie that penalizing large businesses which employ many people will somehow spare people the cost. History proves rather the opposite, but few politicians will ever admit this, especially since so few politicians have actually worked in or run a private-sector business. In short, success will always be desirable but great success will certainly make you a target for government powers seeking to get someone else to pay for their own blunders. As a result, major corporations will of necessity have to staff their teams with tax professionals able to address the sometimes ridiculous demands from government. This in no means that a company should evade taxes or seek to avoid paying an appropriate amount. In addition to the fact that government tax authorities have vast resources to pursue and punish cheats, the history of business also shows that paying too little also brings a cost in brand recognition and loss of goodwill. The point, though, is that paying too much in taxes does not improve the brand or make customers like you better; quite the opposite. Paying too much in taxes invariably forces a company to raise its prices, harming competitive advantage, and paying too much in taxes just makes your executives look stupid. Also, I should not need to mention that the government is far from eager to refund overpaid taxes, especially when a company does not realize its error.

Coming back to our own focus of interest, managers exist to get things done. Knowing that many companies are multi-national now, the globalization question is pertinent, but also must be folded into the acknowledgement of American dominance. By that I mean the understanding that American business practices are generally accepted worldwide as a standard, to the point that many elite businessmen come to U.S. universities and send their children here to learn business management. It means that Codes of Conduct and Mission Statements will generally have an American flavor to them, even in China and Russia, Brazil and India. It means that the exemplars of business excellence will continue to have names like Exxon Mobil, Kraft, and AT&T. Part of it comes from the long history of American business success, part from the dominance of U.S. business school doctrine, and part from the sheer optimism and energy of American strategy. For the foreseeable future, if you want to succeed globally, think American.

So how to do so as a manager? There are a lot of companies with poor management, for simple but foolish reasons. One example is the practice dubbed the Peter Principle, which promotes people who do a given job to a level above it, until they reach a level they cannot handle. The obvious correction for that is to peer-review managers and include regular training and refreshers for each tier of authority. Another common problem is allowing managers to build silos, preventing cooperation and also denying employees advancement opportunities through other departments and shutting down critical feedback for fear of losing image to executives. The correction there is a more active HR presence, especially by creating career paths for employees to encourage development and moral investment in the company future. Also, managers can help themselves by making sure their staff have access to opportunities. Rather than hurting the manager’s position, acting as mentor and providing support for promotion helps the manager nurture relationships outside his own group and department, not only be helping employees advance in the company, but also providing a talent resource for other managers. In this way the company thrives, inter-department cooperation is excellent, employees see proof of career opportunity and the manager who makes it happen gains trust and support from his team. A manager exists to make things work, and to do so more effectively. Sometimes that means seeking efficiency, but more often it means you need a leader with practical experience who knows from his own work what will and will not produce the desired results. Therefore, the goal should be to seek finding such people as managers, and to be such people ourselves.

A Thief in Amber (6th draft - still really rough )

2012-01-13T20:15:00.001-06:00

Some people are hard to kill. I don’t mean the moral decision to kill, but the difficulty in getting someone to die, who is stubbornly opposed to the idea. Some people are hard to kill because they are physically tough, some have one of those spirits that refuses to quit, and some are just plain durable.

And some spirits exist for the fight.

It was in the early days, before all the betrayals and family intrigues … OK, we always had those going on, but this was back in the days when we still imagined that we played by the rules. You couldn’t attempt to murder a sibling then, without at least feigning innocence, and alliance with genocidal maniacs was only allowed if said monsters were friends of Oberon.

So, when word got out that someone or something was making its way through the halls of Castle Amber at night, killing members of the staff and generally hurting the castle’s reputation for fine dining and keeping folks safe from threats to their safety, the family decided it was time to take matters in hand. And, being expected to take the lead, I did so.

Oberon, as he commonly did, was traveling and away from Amber. Caine and Gerard were at sea and therefore also unavailable. Dierdre and Llewellen on a diplomatic mission for the Golden Circle, Brand, Random and Eric were out of the city for reasons not known to anyone else in the family, or if known not shared with me. That, of course, was also a reason for me to take charge; it would gall Eric no end if I could resolve things before he even heard about them … and give me no end of amusement if I could find a way to suggest he was somehow responsible for the problem. I was in those years when I was trying to show up everyone else, and convinced I looked good doing it. So it was that four princes and two princesses gathered for dinner, as we often did when we wanted to discuss issues of importance, and to imagine ourselves civilized.

The food was fine. The conversation, however, was wholly unsatisfying. It soon became apparent that none of us knew what was really going on, had any idea who or what was behind the attacks, and no one wanted to appear as helpless as we all felt.

After dinner, we all went to the library for drinks, and a second try at strategy. That fell apart as soon we chose our drinks. I watched as we chose different drinks, then different seats. Hell, we weren’t even looking at each other. I tried logic, first sitting with Benedict, who usually presented the best plan for dealing with any threat to Amber, but Benedict was even less talkative than usual. I followed with Julian, who was still angry with me for a prior disagreement, and he refused to even acknowledge my presence.

And so it went until I came to Fiona.

I knew something was about, when she smiled at my approach. Fiona and I never shared amusements or ideals, so a smile from her could only come at my cost. It also struck as strange that she seemed to be enjoying the present crisis. Was she its instigator, or if not, what was the source of her pleasure in this moment? I chose a drink, a seat, and a gambit.

“Hello Fiona,” I said. “You couldn’t just kill your enemies in a duel, like anyone else in the family?”

Fiona glared at me for a moment, then that smile returned as she realized – all too quickly – that I was just trying to draw her out.

“You play at things you do not understand, Corwin,” she answered. “As usual.

“I have no interest in your word games, and I must say I disapprove of your manners, and their lack.”

“I am not playing a game here” I protested, “but hunting the cause and source of our present threat. It is an elusive bird, truth, one which seems to be hidden by at least one of our princesses.”

Fiona smirked and replied, “Whereas wit is a bird that eludes the hand of rather too many princes.”

I shrugged. “Your disapproval concerns me even less than usual, Fi. All things considered.”

She tossed her head, red hair like a fall of flame. “Yet, perhaps it should. All things considered.”

I did things with my own eyebrows, emptied my glass, swung my boots down from the table, and headed for the door.

She chuckled, behind me.

I stopped, refrained from turning, and waited. Fiona could never resist showing the rest of us that she was a step ahead. Or pretending to be.

“You are wearing your blade,” she said. “Good.”

I went out, uttering no clever comments. With at least three murderous ghosts stalking Castle Amber, the time for such things was past.’

Hours passed, as I waited with blade drawn and senses wary, sitting in the hallway outside a row of rooms where I thought an appearance most likely by one or more of our homicidal specters.

I guessed wrong. The most dangerous thing to pass my way that night was an odor wafting from Julian’s room. I could pretend it was some feral scent from our nocturnal attackers, but I am sure it was simply the unwashed aroma of a pair of his dogs. In any case, I saw no spirits floating about, encountered no need to use my weapon, and generally felt like I was wasting my time.

Until I heard Flora scream. Down another hall, and far from my chosen station. Naturally. Or un-naturally. Whatever.

I felt damn foolish as I ran towards Flora’s room, hoping my missed guess would not be a costly mistake.

Fortunately, the volume of Flora’s shouts was not matched by actual peril. That is, Flora was not a passive screamer; when assailed by spirits coming at her, as she claimed, from within the walls, she not only cried for help but began throwing things at her attackers. It was hard to tell if any of them was some effective weapon, or the sheer volume of makeup, jewelry, hair care items and mirrors had thwarted their aggression. For all I knew, Flora had surprised them as much as they surprised her. There was no way to be sure. For the moment, we all relaxed in the discovery that our disembodied attackers seemed able to make mistakes, and we felt more confident that we ourselves were perhaps immune to their threat.

Then Bleys found Julian, more than half-dead in his quarters. Julian did not appear for breakfast, and Bleys was the first to check his rooms. I began to wonder why I had not heard anything from my vigilance post, and why Julian’s dogs had done nothing to defend him.

Also, for some reason Julian had not worn his armor the previous night. That cost him. He had been attacked from behind, as was evident by the burn marks on his back. He had fought off his attackers, but his arms, back, and legs were badly burned. I wished I could ask Julian what he had seen, and how he had fought off his assailants, but he was in a coma from his injuries, or the same thing for practical purposes. Benedict saw to his wounds and set a guard to door, with instructions to call him the instant Julian awoke – or anything appeared that might be the spirit murderers coming to finish the job.

I was not friendly with Julian, but an attack on family trumped personal arguments. Besides, just as I stood to gain from Eric’s humiliation if I could solve a mystery he was not around to handle, so too I would suffer my own humiliation if I could not resolve the problem right in front of me – and if a brother prince died on my watch, especially one I was not close to, I could count on Eric making me pay for it. And Father had made it clear that he counted fratricide as unforgivable. Failing to protect a brother was guilt by omission, and I knew that no defense I could present would clear me unless Julian lived. And I resolved the mystery and destroyed the threat.

I spoke to Benedict again, and – while cryptic – his comments included suggestions on where I might try my next vigil, and when I might expect to meet my foes.

It was very late, or rather early, before one of the walls opened in a place where it should not have done, and something that was both silver and shadow joined me.

Grayswandir felt good in my hand as I put down what I was finished drinking anyway, and waited.

Patience, they say, is a chiefly a virtue for statues, but I’d made more than my share of mistakes, thus far, and blood is hell to get out of good rugs.

Came a whisper, out of darkness. “Corwin, is it time?”

A fight for my life, I expected. Temporal confusion from the spooks, I have to admit, I did not see coming.

“No, go back to sleep,” I tried. OK, not a brilliant strategy, but I was tired and didn’t expect the question anyway.

There was a moment of silence, then the forms began to take shape. I expected something, I don’t know, human-like and perhaps demonic. These were, after all, undead spirits seeking to kill the living. Nor was I wrong.

Not exactly.

The attackers swirled into the room like sentient fog, and quickly surrounded me. I suddenly realized something was behind me, taking more substantial shape, and – I felt dread rush up my spine – preparing to strike me the same it had attacked Julian.

Something like lightning flashed, and surprised me. Mostly because the lightning came from inside the room … from Grayswandir.

I jumped to my feet, swinging up Grayswandir with one arm as I threw the book behind me into the – face? – of my posterior assailant. I heard the book smack into something, which swore as if hurt, and I pivoted, putting my back against the wall while swinging my sword into a guard position. Then I stopped.

That was a mistake.

The spirits, once the sword, stopped moving, resumed their attack, and I felt a crackle of something hot shoot past my head, striking the wall hard as if a crossbow bolt. Something else, like a burning lasso, wrapped my boots and tried to trip me. I hopped reflexively, brought my sword up again and swung it about me as if trying to burn cobwebs with a torch.

And shadows fled before me, and I was alone.

My book was on the floor, blackened. Damn. I watched lightning flicker and wondered if I would ever know what I fought, or why. Family politics seemed as tiresome as ever.

Three ghosts, Benedict had said, and had been on the brink of saying more ere his face had smoothed and he’d turned away.

Which meant he’d recognized the one he’d seen.

So had the lamplighter, before the ghost that slew him caught up with him and burned his skull bare, from within.

Coln had died, before that, and one of the cooks. Seven maids, or more by now, since.

Then they started on us. Flora had almost fallen to one, and then Julian. Almost.

We’re tough meat, we of Amber.’

Speaking of meat, I found myself famished. Deciding between preparing for a second round with the spooks, alerting the rest of the family to my attack, and getting an early breakfast, the stomach spoke with the greatest authority. Besides, I was somehow sure the attack for the night was done, and I needed to think through what had just happened before I spoke to anyone else. If one of us was behind the attacks, I had no intention of giving out thoughts on how to make sure I was properly killed next time.

I made my way to the kitchen and found it empty, as I hoped it would be. A half-dozen eggs, some cheese, ham and the appropriate spices produced a passable omelet, which I ate with coffee I made while I thought over the attack. I’m a good enough cook, but the quality of thoughts I considered diminished my appetite a bit.

I realized that I had to share my encounter, with at least one person. The attacks on Flora, then Julian so close afterwards showed that anyone could be next, and I had to help protect the innocent. If only I could be sure none among us was the guilty …

I decided on Benedict. He had shared the plan to catch out the spirits, so I already owed him a report on the attack for that reason. Also, he was the least likely to try a sneak attack on any of us – and if he had, his victims would not have survived. No, this was not Benedict’s trick, whatever it was.

I found him sitting with Julian. Julian remained still and lifeless, to all appearances. Enough to make his usual loquacity and stiff behavior seem positive ebullient. Benedict was not much more enthusiastic. I think I knew why. Julian was not so strong as some of us, but a prince of Amber should not be laid low this easily by anything. He seemed not to be resting, so much as lying helpless. That could be any one of us, even Benedict, and I could see that in Benedict’s thin, grim face.

“No change, Corwin,” said Benedict, as I entered the bedroom.

“So I see,” I answered. “But I have news for you.”

I handed Benedict the scorched book from my encounter as he rose from his seat. He looked at it, then met my eyes with his own.

“You encountered them, then?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Yes, but unlike you, I did not recognize any of them” I said, watching for a reaction to my observation. But Benedict remained solemn and still, as was his usual mood, even in happier times.

I waited for him to speak, but Benedict simply held my gaze, and after a moment. I continued.

“Yes, I was attacked,” I said. “Where you said they would likely be, and only an hour or so after the time you predicted. Which makes me curious, of course, how you knew …?”

I somehow expected Benedict to smile at being prescient, but he remained solemn. I also expected him to provide more helpful information, but I was wrong on that count as well.

“What do you know about this, Corwin?” asked Benedict, his left hand casually resting on the hilt of a dagger he had on his belt. There was no menace in his tone, but Benedict was clear in his meaning.

“Of the attacks? Nothing to speak of, Benedict.” I replied. “I told you my thoughts the last time we spoke, and I am trying to free us from who or whatever is attacking us.”

“Convenient, though,” remarked Benedict, “that you were the closest to Julian of us all, and yet you saw and heard nothing when he was attacked.”

“I know,” I protested, “and you know I would have arranged an alibi if I were going to attack Julian. Like, say, being away from Amber during the attacks?”

Benedict shook his head in irritation.

“Don’t start that stupid game again, of plots and intrigue, Corwin.”

“I won’t,” I replied, “as long as you agree to stop accusing me of being behind the attacks I’m trying to stop.”

Benedict sighed.

“All right,” he agreed. “But you were attacked, yourself, yet you have not yet told me about it.”

So I did. Including my reluctance to trust the full story to anyone in our family who might be the plotter behind the ghosts.

Benedict sighed again.

“I hate to agree with you on this, Corwin” he said, “but I sense that these attacks are part of something larger.

“And until we find a way to stop it, our danger will only grow.”

“So how do you think you escaped –” Benedict stopped and glanced down at Julian’s unmoving figure.

“Grayswandir” I said simply. “They’re afraid of it, for some reason.”

I remembered something just then.

“And I think Fiona knows they are afraid of it.” I continued. “The evening before Flora and Julian were attacked, she commented on my blade.”

Benedict grimly nodded.
“Go speak to Fiona” he said. We rose together, and he stopped for a moment in thought.

“Be direct,” he advised, “She will think she’s ahead of us, and she might be, but she might lose some of her nerve if you give her reason to think she could have missed something important.

“Good luck, Corwin” said Benedict. “Call me on my trump if you need me, but no matter what, be careful.

“Your blade may help protect you from these ghosts, but you still have to find the hand behind the spirit.” With that, Benedict turned his attention back to Julian.

But Fiona had anticipated more than my fight with the ghosts. Her room was empty, but she left a note in a sealed envelope addressed to me.

Of course, being Fiona, she had put a spell on the envelope which prevented anyone from opening it without saying the right phrase. I tried the normal and predictable phrases I knew she had used in the past to goad brothers and sisters, and since it was addressed to me I included ones she had taunted me with, like ‘Fiona is wise, Corwin tells lies’, that kind of thing. A tired and juvenile game, but Fiona liked to play that kind of thing often.

But this time there were no such games. Fiona had laughed the last time we spoke, but it seemed her mood had changed by the time she wrote her note. I called up Benedict on his trump and explained the situation. He had no advice except to tell me to keep trying.

I kept at it for more than an hour, then threw down the envelope muttering, “I give up”.

The seal appeared and broke on the envelope. I seized it and pulled out the note.

‘Corwin, hello’ began the note. ‘That you are reading this proves either that I am a great fool and feared for no good cause, or that you are as strong as I believed … or as lucky.

‘I have left the Eternal City for the present, because the forces you fight are as unpredictable as they are strong. I know them well enough to give you information, and well enough to flee them while they present a threat to us all. My craft and skills are useless as weapons against them. You, however, have the means to resolve the matter, and sufficient luck that I trust you will survive. I have bet much on your success.’

I smiled grimly at Fiona’s confidence in betting my life on the matter.

‘Trust your sword but not your brothers’, the note continued, and I chuckled at Fiona repeating such a well-known maxim among us, ‘except one whose sword suits the need even better than your own. Ask him nicely …’

I stopped and pondered for a moment who the hell Fiona could mean, then went back to the last part of the note.
‘… and strike you both one step to the LEFT of where you normally aim. Strike twice, but not at yourself.

‘Good luck, Corwin.’

If I did not know her better, that last line would have made me wonder about Fiona’s state of mind. I handed the note to Benedict, rather than have to read those instructions out loud.

Benedict read the note twice, or else slowly, then looked me in the eye.

“She wrote this for you, Corwin. Any idea how she knew you’d be the one to find it?”

“None.” I replied. “Anymore than how she knew you’d be here.”

“She wrote nothing of me” protested Benedict.

“I think she did” I said. “That line about a sword better-suited than my own. With Eric and Brand not here, she has to have meant you.”

Benedict paused in thought for a moment, then nodded sharply.

“Actually, Corwin, she might know my weapons better than I do – at least one of them. I know of a blade which might help here, but I am surprised that Fiona would know of it.”

“She seems to know a lot more than she is revealing,” I commented . “Is that blade of your accessible?”

“Oddly, yes” said Benedict. “Fiona asked about it just last week, when all of this was still largely unknown for the threat it has become.

“It makes me wonder how she considered the threat,” he pondered. “As much as I hate to cast suspicion, Corwin, this point concerns me.”

“I also wonder,” I agreed, careful not to go further with my thoughts. I could not help but wonder, though, if my sister had not started something she found she could not control.

Benedict stopped to Julian’s door, said a few words and handed something small to the guards he had posted. Then he strode away, ostensibly to collect the blade he mentioned.

As I stood in the hall thinking what to do next, I heard a noise, and realized Julian was stirring. As I went to his doorway, one guard moved to stop me but the other waved him away, saying Benedict had cleared me.

“But no one else,” I heard him warn, as I entered Julian’s room.

Julian was conscious, and aware of his injuries. Every other word seemed an oath as he took stock of his condition. He attempted to get out of bed, then quickly thought better of that idea. As he settled back into bed, Julian noticed me for the first time.

“Here to gloat?” he inquired.

“Not at all,” I assured him. “I’m glad you’re going to be OK.”

Julian groaned.

“After I can move without searing pain, I might come to share that opinion,” he muttered. “For now I count myself glad to have survived the experience.”

“What can you tell me?,” I asked, deciding not to mention my own attack.

Julian opened his mouth, then closed it.

“I am not sure I am ready to discuss that,” he said.

“Even with lives at risk?” I countered.

“Even so,” said Julian. He held my gaze for a few moments, then closed his eyes and sighed.

“Look, Corwin,” said Julian, “I can’t say I like you, and I have reason to be wary of who may be behind all this.

“I am especially vulnerable just now, even with Benedict’s protection.”

“What if I can help?” I asked.

“You don’t know what you are saying,” retorted Julian. “I can hold my own against any man, I warrant, but if you had faced what I had to face, you would better understand what you are against.”

“But he has,” broke in Benedict, who had returned to the room. “This is one reason I trust him in this.”

“I see no injuries on Corwin” responded Julian. “Convenient, don’t you think, that our brother here could escape unscathed, the spirits which have killed many and almost killed me.”

“Fiona supports Corwin,” answered Benedict.

Julian stared at Benedict, then shook his head.

“No offense, Benedict, but it would mean more to me to hear that from Fiona herself.”

“She is not here,” answered Benedict, “but she left a note for Corwin, and I have read it. Fiona trusts Corwin.”

Julian barked a short, harsh laugh.

“Fiona trusts no one, brother – surely you know that by now.”

“In this,” returned Benedict, “she does.”

Julian said nothing for a few moments, and Benedict and I stood by as well rather than break into his thoughts. Julian stared holes into me with his cold, blue eyes, but I held my silence, as did Benedict.

“One thing,” said Julian, when he was ready to speak again, “I have to know, is just how Corwin faced these ghosts and is no worse for the encounter, yet the ghosts remain.”

“The same reason,” broke in Benedict before I could answer, “that I faced them myself early on, yet could not resolve the matter then.

“These are not honorable enemies, to take risk along with opportunity, but more on the level of jackals, striking when they have the chance, but fleeing if the moment turns against them.”

Julian peered at Benedict with renewed suspicion.

“I heard that this happened,” he said, “but disbelieved it because I know you are more efficient, than to leave an enemy standing after the fight.”

Benedict shrugged.

“You have seen how they move, how they attack.” he reminded Julian. “If we knew their lair, I would attack right now.

“But we lack enough information, partly -” Benedict stopped and looked at me pointedly before turning back to Julian – “partly because we have not been open enough with each other about what we have encountered.”

Julian looked uncomfortable, Benedict looked concerned, and I tried my best to hide my confusion. All three of us had been attacked, but I could not imagine what I knew that I had not told to Benedict. That implied that Benedict believed that I and Julian knew something about the matter that we had kept private, and that he had withheld that same information from the family but believed Julian and I were in on his secret.

Julian stared hard at Benedict.

“Are you saying that we should tell the rest of the family that Osric and Finndo have come back to haunt us?” demanded Julian.

Oh, my. Julian’s question threw a switch in my mind and turned on a light. One of my attackers had looked like family, and now I thought on it could well have been the form of the late Osric. Come to that, Finndo was fond of using a crossbow, and the shot taken at me in our brief contest had sounded like a bolt hitting the wall.

Benedict looked uneasily at the door.

“If they have, then they are truly ghosts,” he said. “I saw them die, many years ago.”

Benedict seemed about to say more, but stopped himself. Julian and I looked at each other, then Julian said to Benedict, “If we are to be open, I should hope you would also choose to share what you know, brother.”

Benedict sighed.

“It’s not really relevant, and I have never shared what happened in that war.”

He turned away from us, as if to leave, but stopped, still facing away.

“If I come to believe that the way Osric and Finndo died is important to resolving this situation, then I will tell you directly.

“For now, I can only ask you to trust my judgment, that their appearance means something else.”

Again Julian and I looked at each other. Neither of us was happy about it, but Benedict, aside from Gerard, was the most trustworthy of us, and in any case neither Julian nor I could do much to compel Benedict to share his secrets. Damning, though, that we were once again at an impasse.

For some reason, there was no attack that night. Of course, we had no sleep, since we could not know we would be left alone, and by morning we were ragged and ill-tempered. Benedict had suggested that Flora leave the palace for a time, which was received with ill grace. But since the suggestion came from Benedict, she agreed to take up residence temporarily in a chateau near Arden. Bleys and I agreed to meet after breakfast with Benedict and Julian, to give ourselves the illusion of planning and action, though I still had little idea how we should proceed.

Julian was healing well, I saw, and looked better rested than the rest of us. Benedict seemed to be thinking the same thing, as I caught him make a small, wry, grin, as he took his seat next to Julian’s bed.

“Well, Julian,” began Bleys, “It looks as if you are most fit of us at the moment.

“Are you ready for battle, then?”

Julian did not smile at Bleys’ quip, but silently reached to his left where, concealed by a blanket, he had a loaded crossbow ready.

“Brother, those look to be silver” remarked Benedict.

“Aye,” answered Julian softly. “All things considered, we may need this much and more.”

“We may have something more,” I suggested. Julian looked up at me, and I looked pointedly at Benedict. Benedict said nothing for a moment, as if thinking a decision through, then nodded and said “Perhaps we do. I take it, Corwin, you mean the Scythe of Scissus?”

“I think I do,” I replied. “We’re never going to win, just waiting on them to come to us.

“So, once brother Julian is up to it, I suggest the four of us hunt down the three of them.”

“But to do that,” said Julian, “we have to know how to find them.”

“I have an idea how we can do that,” I answered, staring hard at Bleys. Bleys looked surprised for a moment, then glanced away.

“Corwin, a word in private, if you will,” he asked.

Benedict and Julian were surprisingly agreeable to this request, probably because I surprised them by implying we could find our attackers. Bleys and I exited the room and made our way down the hall to a parlor with no one nearby. I gestured to a seat then sat at the same time as Bleys. I then waited for him to speak first.

He did not want to, I could see, hoping I would reveal something, but since Bleys had asked for the conference, the weight was on him and we both knew it. The question, hanging in the air, was how much did I know, and how much did Bleys believe he could keep hidden?

“How did you know?” Bleys finally ventured.

“For one thing,” I answered, “you are the only one of us here who has not yet been attacked.

“For another, you and Fiona clearly knew more than you let on.

“So, the decision to be made,” I said sternly, “is whose side you are on.”
“Damn it Corwin,” yelled Bleys, “that’s a rotten thing to suggest-”

“But true, near as I can tell,” I retorted. “If you are with us, Bleys, it is time to carry your weight. You know how to find these specters, and our survival may well depend on us hunting them down before they hunt us down again.”

Bleys and I stared at each other for a long time, before he dropped his gaze to the floor. He then waited some more, either trying to decide what he could conceal, or how to explain what he knew. Either way, I knew Bleys was, as always, putting himself first in priority.

“You understand the concept of the Ouija Board?” he asked. I nodded.

“Well, some of us –” Bleys stopped as if he expected me to ask who was involved, but I said nothing – “some of us began to wonder if you could do the same thing with Trumps.”

“You don’t need a spirit guide to contact people through the Trumps” I said.

“You do if they are dead,” answered Bleys. And I suddenly understood.

“You son of a bitch,” I muttered. “You called up Osric and Findo, didn’t you?

“That’s why we keep seeing them.

“So what did you say that made them angry?”

“Well …” Bleys hesitated, “at first they seemed happy that we remembered them. But they shortly became angry with us, especially when their master became involved.”

“Their master?” I inquired, though it rang a bell. There had been three of them, and one certainly seemed to direct and lead the others.

“So what’s their beef?” I asked Bleys. “They weren’t exactly speaking to me when they attacked, just the banal bit of trying to kill me.

“I’m pretty sure I never said or did anything to offend or provoke our departed predecessor siblings.”

Bleys nodded. “It’s the influence of their master,” he confirmed.

“And who is that?” I demanded.

“I don’t know his name,” protested Bleys, “but he seems to have known Oberon … as an enemy. And he poisoned the minds and spirit of Osric and Finndo against him, and against us as well.”
“How did you learn this?” I asked, “And why did you not want to speak in front of Benedict and Julian?”

“Because of Benedict,” answered Bleys. “They really hate him, and I think he has been their target all along, once they realized they could not get to Oberon.”

“They can’t get to Oberon?” I repeated. “Why not?”

“They are limited to the castle grounds,” answered Bleys. “The magic that brought them here has limits. They cannot leave the castle grounds, they must kill or harm to gain power, and they fear silver and the early powers.”

Bleys gaze fell to Grayswandir as he said that last part.

“So my sword can protect me?” I asked.

“Only at night,” warned Bleys. “You’d need Brand’s blade to be protected during the day.

“Fortunately, the specters prefer to attack at night.”

“Fortunately?” I asked him, thinking of the earlier victims.

“For our purposes, yes” answered Bleys coldly.

[ to be continued …]

Thoughts on Christmas in the Corporate Age

2011-12-23T19:58:00.002-06:00

I was driving my daughter to the dentist today, and noticed how many businesses are open. Now, it's true that tomorrow is Christmas Eve, so that today is just "Friday" for a lot of people, and if you don't happen to be Christian there's nothing really special about this holiday anyway. Then again, there was a time when everyone in the United States understood that the Christmas season was a time of celebration, so that if you were not Christian or even particularly religious, you could still celebrate a time to enjoy family and share goodwill. After all, the early Christians celebrated Christmas at a time when the guys in power were celebrating the Winter Solstice, to avoid notice of their own faith, so the holiday has always been more about the spirit than the specific faith. Some Christians will not like that, I expect, since the modern spirit seems to demand an Imperial Christ who commands us all to surrender to the True Faith. For me, though, I recall a Christ who was remarkably subtle and gentle about other beliefs. Not that Christ did not believe in His own Gospel, but that Jesus understood from the start that faith must be born of love and charity, not demands and threats. Anyway, my point is that I am old enough to remember when everyone could enjoy the season and get a sense of God's love for all people.

I don't think I have to go into detail to observe that things have changed a lot over the years. The mercenary aspect has been around for a very long time, even the original version of "Miracle on 34th Street" and "It's A Wonderful Life" understood how people obsess over money and possessions, and many judge a holiday by the profit in their bank accounts. And I notice that there are a lot of good people going around spreading the true spirit by helping others, like the layaway Good Sams paying off balances at stores, or the Salvation Army's tireless work to help those who need it year-round, but especially at Christmas. But I have also noticed how many people are stressed out. My family went to Costco and we saw a lot of angry drivers and rude shoppers, cutting off other cars and shoving in front of other shoppers, and store employees who looked harried and worn out. I remember back when I ran movie theaters, and how tough it could be to get through the holidays with rude and selfish customers who showed no courtesy to my staff or other patrons. OK, so that's been around for a long time, I get it. And I have to mention, there seem to be an awful lot of people with Christian symbols and stickers on their cars who show no sign f Christ in how they actually behave and speak. Just saying, folks.

But there's the corporate aspect as well. My company's GM sent out a pretty standard Christmas wish email yesterday, but it was in sharp contrast to his behavior during the weeks before then. I get it, end of year coming up and he's under a lot of pressure to make his projected numbers. But he was a bit rude in how he addressed his people, especially in his demands from managers. No sense getting too worked up in that, but I did notice that we had expectations told to us that had no input from us, and therefore were not only unreasonable but impossible to attain. Since I try very hard to always deliver everything I promise, I don't much like being issued a standard which could not possibly be accomplished, nor to be issued expectations that show no attention to my own estimates and reports throughout the year. Again, I understand the pressure people can get under, but it's just plain unprofessional to ignore your own people's reports on what is in range and why.

I bring that up, because in talking to folks that seems to be happening a lot in companies, expectations issued that are unrealistic and create stress for no good purpose and, long-term, damage working relationships between executives and managers. To put it another way, the first fifty weeks of the year give you a good idea about what can be done during the last two, and unrealistic demands are bad on every level. Also, the stress of trying to find a way to meet these year-end expectations spills into family and the community. One reason for the holiday season, I think, is that just as we need a weekend after working all week, at the end of the year we need to decompress a bit, not ratchet up the pressure for the sake of an artificial financial target. And we see that in ways we something might originally see as good; stores that are open longer hours instead of giving their employees more time off, and fewer businesses that close for holidays. I'd rather have the inconvenience of having to get my shopping done by December 23rd and risk not having the pumpkin pie on Christmas, than to see stores demand their employees ignore their families and the holiday in the chase to get more money.

You shouldn't have to be Christian to put away greed for just a few days.

Christmas and the AR Manager

2011-12-18T15:59:00.002-06:00

For most folks, Christmas is a happy time. Kids getting out of school, family coming in from all around, and the workplace is lighthearted and in a party mood. Unless, of course, you are finishing up the fiscal year and getting heat from above to accelerate your efforts to bring in revenue and reduce debt. In my case, that means collecting before the end of the year on your hardest cases, and to reduce our bad debt. This month I have been challenged to reduce Bad Debt by 80 percent in a single month and to reduce DSO to a full 12 days lower than it was at the end of October.

Went again to the dentist this week, part three of four in my Why It’s Bad to Break a Tooth adventure, complete with root canal and costs for a crown. I got my ‘temporary crown’ today, which is a white plastic thing which looks like a mini tooth tarp. At least it’s better than what I had before. But any day which includes getting your teeth drilled is one I’d like to get past.

But back to the job. In any company, some of your customers won’t pay all they owe, and some won’t pay at all. Obviously, if you knew they would do this you would not sell to them, or at least you would try very hard to address in advance whatever caused them to refuse payment. But all sorts of problems come up, ranging from errors by your company to out-and-out thieving by a customer. So the first problem is sorting out what happened, which is where all good collections work starts.

It should be obvious, of course, that by the time a balance becomes Bad Debt, you have something that cannot easily be sorted out. Looking at my own Bad Debt Leaderboard, I see late delivery, contract terms disputes, repair complaints and customers trying to hide from their debts as the top reasons why an account gets into Bad Debt.

The fun thing about these issues, is that most of them are simple enough to work out. If we have made a mistake, we make things right, by either repairing the product, replacing it, or refunding the money after it’s returned. Now I will admit that sometimes some of our people would promise a credit then forget about it, but I have also found customers who claimed to have returned product, then when asked for proof of delivery, it finally comes out that they never returned it and it’s been sitting on their warehouse floor for months. What both sides have in common on these things is a real strong reluctance on some folks’ part to admit when they made a mistake.

So my partner and I have lowered DSO from about 72 earlier this year all the way down to 54 right now, and we’ve cut about a hundred thousand out of bad debt, not including adjustments made for credit memos owed by Sales. Trouble is, we’re expected to cut DSO down to 50 by end of year, and cut another hundred thousand of Bad Debt in the next eight business days. Considering our Best Possible DSO (DSO based on just invoices not yet due, assuming every single customer pays on time and all issues and disputes are resolved with payment) looks to be around 52 at year-end, we’ll need to do the impossible to meet the standard. As for Bad Debt, considering most of the remaining debt comes from product that was delivered late and the rest is for customers who don’t answer calls, we’d need a sequel to Mission:Impossible to get that done by December 30.

Ho ho ho becomes ow ow ow.

Anyway, that's sort of why I have not posted anything. The rest of my life has been even more boring, although I may have some comments regarding Age Discrimination in talking about my wife's job, depending on how things work out.

Best wishes to all, and to all a Merry Christmas.

Catching Up A Little

2011-12-11T18:19:00.002-06:00

It's been a busy year!

Sorry for the long delay, I got really busy with work and while I knew it was a while since my last post, well missing a whole month is not a good thing.

Of course, better to miss a month of blogging than miss work or family. I also admit I have been paying a lot of attention to Baylor Football, especially the fantastic run by RG3, Robert Griffin III, as he won the Heisman Trophy and the Bear's first 9-win season in decades.

So, a bit of catching up. After a long hot, dry summer, we finally got a bit of cold and rain - and the battery died on the truck. I also broke a molar back around Thanksgiving, which means I have been to the dentist twice for what is going to be a 3-part root canal. Here's a thought - if waterboarding is out for interrogating terrorists, let's give 'em root canals. Just a thought.

But back to The Job. Those who have read my work, or more precisely put up with me, know I am a Credit Manager. The last month of the year is always a bit stressful, with trying to accomplish all the things your boss promised the board you'd do this year. DSO was 72 earlier this year, got it all the way down to 56, but of course I have been told I am expected to get it all the way down to 50 by end of year, something which won't even be mathematically possible if we ship the product amount we are projected to do, but there you are. The big challenge, though, is to address Bad Debt. Put simply, Bad Debt is the money owed which gets really old and usually has big problems associated with it. In my case, the biggest chunk-o-bucks in Bad Debt right now is stuck in a few accounts we have in a branch in the Pacific (can't toss out details here, for what should be obvious reasons). We've been negotiating with the customers to try to address some of this, and in one case the customer is just not speaking with us in an effective way.

Should never have loaned my magic wand to that Potter kid. Looks like I will need it to meet the expectation.

Occupied Wall Street, Unoccupied Brain

2011-10-19T20:07:00.001-05:00

Pretty much everyone has seen or heard about the mob of malcontents camping out near Wall Street. Well, attention was their goal, so far as I can tell. The mob was not very strong in working for any specific change, and their communication skills were and are execrable. The people saying these ‘occupy’ stunts are puerile attempts to distract the public from the current Administration’s blunders and failures rings true, but even so, the complete inability to convey an effective message or mission by these jokers makes their whole effort a waste of time by any reasonable standard.

But speaking of the election, when everything is said and done, the most important factor, as in most elections, is the economy. A great many pundits and self-proclaimed ‘experts’ have addressed the economy in great detail, but in the political sense the economy can be understood as the national condition on three points of concern:

1. Unemployment
2. Inflation
3. Debt

The biggest stage, as should be obvious, is Unemployment. Inflation can be serious, as can debt, but it all starts with jobs. Economics, at its core, is all about money in motion. Someone has to spend money for anyone to make money, and it has to make sense for the participants. This is, coming back to the protesters, one of the reasons why their hatred of the American system is misplaced and wrong – envy of an efficient system and those who succeed in work, attacks the people who can best help the unemployed find work, and destabilizes the economy instead of finding answers. The OWS protesters, including those who have copied their tactics in other cities and countries, at best are ignorant and selfish, and at worse know they are liars and parasites. Harsh words for someone who claims to just want to work, granted, but the protesters do not want work, at least they don’t want work in the classic sense of wanting a chance to earn money and prove they can add value to their nation and community. Instead, careful attention to what the protesters actually do and say shows that they what good things handed to them, or at the least they expect people who have succeeded in business to be punished for hard work and initiative. They rail against ‘Corporate Greed’, but when pressed for specifics they resort to broad stereotyped attacks against the largest employers and best-established firms, with absolutely nothing for evidence. They claim that they represent “99 percent” of the nation/world, but again provide no evidence to support the claim, and their demographics suggest they are so far from the truth as to make the claim laughable. If all the protesters were tallied in the U.S., for example, they come up to only a few thousand members, well short of one-hundredth of one percent of the population, let alone ninety-nine. This does not touch the rather obvious observation that the protesters are the same in demographic – they are urban, young and unemployed with little (if any) experience or significant job skills, they are liberal in political orientation, they demand punishment of the wealthy on no basis other than the assumption that wealth is wrong, while simultaneously demanding jobs and money for themselves.

The OWS crowd could be dismissed for the nauseous parasites they are, except for two things. One is the fact that the media has tried to play the OWS stunt into a legitimate grassroots movement; particularly noticeable is how the MSM sells OWS as similar to the TEA Party, which is nothing short of a bald-faced lie. Where the TEA Party is a true populist movement, and wholly American in its spirit and creation, OWS was designed and initially driven by the Canadian firm Adbusters, which as a by-the-way has come under fire in the past for promoting anti-Jewish bigotry. Gives one a sense of their true values, perhaps.

The TEA Party operates in a spirit of increasing citizen participation in election, and demanding that Congress adhere to constitutional limits and principles, while OWS demands punitive action against selected targets, and seems to have no concern whether the government has authority for such action, or whether due process is followed. Whether the groups’ demographics, mission, or tactics are considered, it is clear that the TEA party is American, responsible, and accountable, while the OWS is none of these things.

Supporters of the OWS protests may reasonably claim that the protesters simply want jobs. While I do believe the OWS participants, the ones on the street, do in fact want jobs, they’re going about it the wrong way. The tactic of demanding something you want, without first showing how you will earn it, is always foolish, but to do so as a mob appeals to precisely zero potential employers, excepting criminals and political thuggery movements. What’s worse, in this age of instant information, people who participate in the OWS have damaged their profile for any potential employer. To be blunt, I can scarcely imagine any potential hiring manager considering OWS participation to be anything but a red flag which would cause the application to be rejected out of hand. It’s not that the hiring manager would have to agree with my politics, or even find the OWS position unreasonable; it’s just that when so many people apply for any available position, any potential liability could be disastrous, and so the job-seeker who engages in such behavior damages his personal credibility.

This comes back, as well, to the question of corporate integrity. I will readily admit that there are a large number of companies which I consider to be void of ethics, but even so the corporate identity in general protects employees better than do most private businesses. To see what I mean, consider harassment. A private business is not well-equipped to address harassment, because if it happens the perpetrator is likely to be the owner, and even when a private company chooses to investigate allegations of harassment, they seldom have professional HR tools to do so properly. In a corporation, however, not only are there enough safeguards built in to create a culture of compliance, the potential cost of litigation and range of management between floor and C-suite insure that as a practice, harassment will be strongly discouraged and punished where found.

The same effect exists in compensation. Although corporations are commonly vilified in the media for executive pay and bonuses, most observers fail to note that standardized pay scales also protect raises and bonuses for most other levels of position. In short, while private firms may fluctuate greatly in how much they pay their employees, corporations generally pay for what the work is worth to the company. At low pay, this means the employee must demonstrate superior skills or work to move into the desired pay range, but for proven performers and star employees, corporations generally make sure the employee is paid well enough to make competing firms less attractive. The problem for the OWS mob, is that unskilled labor and lack of a work ethic do not produce attractive opportunities, and these undisciplined people are not yet willing to improve their skill set or work hard enough to stand out and show excellence in their profile. The sum effect of their protest is to damage their own employment prospects. This demonstrates that while they may “occupy” parks or landmarks, the brains of these miscreants are quite empty.

A Virtual Walk Through My Office

2011-10-01T21:27:00.004-05:00

I get comfortable writing about things, and sometimes forget that the reader may not know me as well as I think. I've been writing from time to time about business and economics, but have not explored the ways different people in the same company might see the situation. Also, some folks have written me (thank you) about their MBA search, and it might be useful to consider the ways that degree can be used. Rather than try to cover a comprehensive spectrum, I'd like to walk you through my company's corporate office and 'visit' the different officers who make our business run.

We are a mid-sized multinational corporation, and a joint venture partner with a very large multinational. That means we operate autonomously, but with boundaries and of course we operate by our own written policies and procedures. Without considering everyone - we have about 60 people working at our corporate headquarters, which is also a warehouse from which we can ship product - the main roles at the top functional level are the General Manager, Operations Manager, various regional Sales Managers, our Warehouse Manager, our Defects Manager, Purchasing Manager, our Controller, Accounting Manager, Accounts Payable Manager, Remittance Manager, our HR Manager, and me, the Global Credit Manager. I'm going to cover these in a series of posts, but let's start with the General Manager.

Before our Joint Venture was finalized, we had a CEO, but when the JV went into effect the role changed gradually, and now we have a General Manager, roughly equivalent to a Division Vice President in authority at the parent corporation. The GM is responsible for everything our comnpany does, and signs off on everything from budgets and projections to the actual results. He gets instructions and approvals in general from the corporate headquarters, then uses the authority of his position as he sees fit. On the rough side, he is personally responsible for everything we do, but he also has broad authority within his boundaries to get the job done. He can, for example, go over budget to a degree, but he'd better not surprise the parent company. He has to get AFE's prepared and approved for capital expenses ahead of time, which is something I work on, but budgeted expenses are generally in his control. Our GM has an MBA from Harvard and a Bachelor's from Texas, and had about 15 years management experience in project sales and operations before taking on his current role. His normal hours are around 8 AM to 7 PM, except when a project is in the works, when he may work later. The hours are misleading, though, since he has to be available by email/phone pretty much 24/7. The GM role is high-level, which means he has to be aware of performance vs projections, understand deadlines and assign/delegate tasks as needed to meet them. He has to be VERY tactful and able to work with sometimes conflicting requirements, and to meet with major customers whenever appropriate.

(to be continued)

9/11: Unfinished

2011-09-11T07:00:00.001-05:00

I’ve never been a big fan of anniversaries for bad days. Mostly because there is so much insincerity; dozens of media people trot out false sorrow and sympathy on camera, then return to a life filled with self-indulgence and narcissism. The same, unfortunately, can also be said for most of our elected officials. What makes today worse is that so many of these people miss at least part of the message. Some will miss it completely, as we hear from apologists and America-haters, who are best ignored for this article. But what I mean for here, is that we will hear about the victims (as we should), the heroism of Flight 93’s passengers and the first responders (again, quite right), tinged with the sub-rosa hints that no one should be blamed for what so many call “tragedy”, rather than face the truth.

The truth is, ten years ago today the United States was suddenly and viciously attacked by members of an evil cult, which continues to exist and which enjoys support, but overt and tacit, for its mission against America, her citizens and values. While many of this cult have been hunted down and killed, there remains a vital mission to exterminate not only Al Qaeda, but every similar group and their supporters. This imperative is apolitical, permanent, and indisputable, although we can assume safely that there are plenty of Nimrods who will play politics with the issue, try to pretend this is history rather than a present danger, and play the denial card past its limit.

We were and are right to hunt down the terrorists in their homes. While it may not be necessary to invade and occupy foreign lands, it is and will be for the foreseeable future necessary, for the security of all Americans, to find terrorist groups and exterminate them. Al Qaeda deliberately targeted thousands of innocent men, women, and children (there were two daycares in the World Trade Center, for example). That crosses a line which cannot be ignored, and the message must be loud, clear, and unified:

When you target innocent Americans on U.S. soil, you forfeit everything you have and are.

We will find you, we will kill you, and this will not end as long as your group exists.

Remember. Remember who did this, and what needs to be done. There is no moral equivalency, no need to ‘try to understand’ terrorists, no reason to forgive.

The Top 25 Online MBA Programs 2011

2011-08-06T18:43:00.003-05:00

Every year since 2008 I have posted my opinion of the Top 25 Online MBA programs. I determine these rankings by a weighted system which uses information from the schools’ websites and the AACBS (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), which is the premiere accreditation agency for business schools, both in the United States and the world. With no disrespect intended for schools which are not members of the AACSB, in my opinion that designation sets apart the serious programs from the run-of-the-mill schools. At this time there are one hundred schools which have AACSB accreditation and offer an MBA degree with all or nearly all classes online; some of the schools require an on-campus orientation, a foreign trip to a profiled nation, or a very few selected courses to be taken on campus, such as case competitions. My ranking uses a weighted evaluation of fifteen categories of information, with weighting based on criteria which will be of value to students in the quality of education and resources available to them, as well as cost and convenience. Last year I put too much detail into explaining the categories, so this year I am trying to keep it simple. In this post I will simply announce the top 25, and in subsequent posts I will comment on important changes since last year in the online MBA paradigm, offer thoughts on why a person should or should not pursue an MBA and why they should or should not consider an online MBA, and discuss some of the top programs for earning your MBA online.

2011 Top Online MBA Schools

1. University of Florida

2. Georgia Southern University (15th in 2010)

3. Southeast Missouri State University

4. University of Nebraska at Lincoln (5th in 2010)

5. Valdosta State University

6. University of Massachusetts at Amherst (17th in 2010)

7. Oklahoma State University (25th in 2010)

8. University of Mississippi

9. Concordia University (Canada)

10. University of Wyoming

11. Mississippi State University

12. Fayetteville State University (13th in 2010)

13. Indiana University at Bloomington

14. University of Alabama (8th in 2010)

15. University of Texas at San Antonio (23rd in 2010)

16. Arizona State University (22nd in 2010)

17. Western Kentucky University

18. East Carolina University

19. University of Louisiana at Monroe

20. Tennessee Technological University

21. New Mexico State University

22. Florida State University (9th in 2010)

23. Jacksonville State University

24. University of Texas – Pan American

25. University of Wisconsin at La Crosse

Weighting Categories

1. Average GMAT score (14.00%)
2. MBA in-state tuition (13.00%)
3. Minimum GMAT score (12.00%)
4. MBA out-of-state tuition (11.00%)
5. Number of available concentrations (9.50%)
6. Minimum Duration (8.50%)
7. Operating Budget (7.50%)
8. # Faculty FTE (6.50%)
9. Student/Faculty Ratio (6.00%)
10. AACSB Accreditations (3.50%)
11. Budget/Student (3.00%)
12. Student Body Size (2.50%)
13. Undergraduate in-state Tuition (1.50%)
14. Undergraduate out-of-state Tuition (1.00%)
15. Degree levels offered

Debt and Reality

2011-07-31T11:24:00.002-05:00

A big part of the problem in reaching a realistic solution in the federal debt crisis is the emotional drama. While there are legitimate reasons for concern about the problem and frustration at the refusal of some to seriously address the situation, many if not most of the voices being raised in media and in political blogs have brought gasoline to the fire and are doing no one any service. Reading through the mess, I have noticed that the extremes on each side fall into certain common assumptions which are inflammatory and work against solution rather than finding one. They include:

* The other side completely caused the crisis
* The only solution, long-term, is complete adoption of our philosophy and doctrine
* The other side wants a default, for political gain
* The other side does not care about Americans, but only itself

and of course, the requisite denial of personal responsibility:

* Anything negative said about us is completely false and meant to avoid finding a solution

The behavior, in essence, is that of adult intellects possessed by juvenile maturities.

Now to be sure, as a conservative I start with my own bias and assumptions, although they seem reasonable to me. I think it's reasonable to say that too much spending and an ever-growing government caused the basic problem, and so we must cut spending to really address the problem. But I also understand that at this point in time, regardless of how we got here, we are going to blow past the existing debt ceiling before anything we do can really reduce it. Also, I understand that what democrats are willing to cut is radically different from what republicans are willing to cut from spending, and since democrats control the Senate and the White House, while the republicans control the House, a measure of negotiation, of give-and-take, is absolutely necessary to reach any deal. To recall an appropriate phrase, the perfect is the enemy of the good in this situation, because the perfect solution cannot come to pass.

This crisis also illustrates the answer to an odd paradox; many more Americans are conservative rather than liberal, yet democrats enjoy either parity or a slight plurality over republicans, as is shown by the election results over many cycles. One might wonder how that is possible, especially since democrats, less and less, reflect the presence or participation of conservatives within their ranks. The answer, sadly for conservatives, is that liberals tend to support democrats, even when they disagree to some extent, while conservatives fragment and go after each other on annoying trite differences. A sad example of this can be seen in Tea Party rhetoric, threatening any republican who deviates at all from a rigid ideology. What's strange about this point, is that the Tea Party came into existence as a genuine grassroots movement, eschewing the framework of any extant political party and as such, lacking clear leadership to dictate an official platform, yet certain individuals have taken it upon themselves to speak for the group to advance their personal agenda. In the present issue especially, the Tea Party is hurting its own cause by threatening existing and potential allies, and in ignoring the credentials of genuine conservatives like Allen West and Paul Ryan, the Tea Party's self-appointed aristocracy have allowed the Left to claim legitimacy for its own positions.

Look, I'm on the far side of a half-century of life and I have seen a lot of politicians and policies. Generally, conservatives are morally and realistically right a lot more often than liberals, but no conservative in my lifetime was perfect. Goldwater failed because while his arguments were sound, they were not persuasive to most voters. Reagan succeeded, but he accomplished most of his success through negotiation and horse trading with a democrat-controlled Congress, and even Reagan made mistakes. George H.W. Bush made the mistake of thinking the democrats who controlled Congress could be trusted, while his son made the mistake of thinking the republicans who controlled Congress could be trusted. I understand that neither Bush has, in the current vogue, been pronounced a 'true conservative', but both were far better choices than the democrats' nominees in 1988 or 1992, and again in 2000 or 2004. The decision by some to 'punish' the republicans for being insufficiently pure in doctrine led directly to the Clinton and Obama administrations, for which these extremists - predictably - denied any responsibility. Now, having shot one foot in 2008 by sitting out the election and putting Obama in the White House, they believe it's time to take aim at the other foot.

The debt crisis will be resolved. One hopes for a deal to be made in the next couple days (with the media attention as it is, we should have expected a last-minute deal all along, since sober and mature work on an early deal would never fit the Hollywood-style script which has been the theme for all major news stories in a generation), but in one way or another the issue will be worked out. It will satisfy few, and please even fewer, but it will get us through the moment. What gets lost in all of the bickering and bluster, is that politicians always revise and change laws and bills. Whether to add new taxes and fees or change the scope of law, Congress always feels the need to be making changes. Whatever is done in the next couple days, it will certainly be amended and altered some time in the future, because this is the record of Congress.

Which brings us to the silent priority of the debate: The 2012 election. Democrats imagine that the 2010 election can be undone and they can regain control of the House of Representatives, while republicans intend to hold the House and make gains in the Senate, possibly taking control there if things work out well enough, and both parties know the White House is very much up for grabs in 2012, with all the obvious significance of that office. The winner of that election will depend in large part on how the general public perceives the resolution of the current debate and crisis. Democrats are fools to imagine they can sit on their hands and gain public support, but republicans need to control the perception of their own efforts. If they win the day but lose next year, all their ideals and hard work will count for nothing. It's far better to get the best realistic deal they can for now, and get their message across in a calm, clear manner.

Know Your Audience

2011-07-28T13:28:00.003-05:00

Back in 2009, I finished my MBA work with a Strategic Management course, which ended the year with a Case Competition. The target company was PetSmart, and my team came up with some great recommendations, creative and effective ways to create competitive advantage and grow the company at little cost. My report earned 99% from the professor, and his critiques of our presentation rehearsals praised us and gave us high hopes to win. But when the actual competition happened, a couple members of my team froze and we failed to place in the top three slots. Besides some presentation anxiety by my team, we made the mistake of not carefully considering our audience. We had prepared for our professor and designed our presentation as if we were actually going before the board at PetSmart with our recommendations. What we had not considered was that some of the judges were students from prior years who had won the competition. These judges, to our surprise, did not stick to the criteria outlined in the competition profile, and none of the judges were previously briefed on PetSmart’s corporate strategy and goals published in their 2008 annual report. In the lunch following the competition, I discovered that the judges did not even realize that some of the recommendations from winning teams contradicted PetSmart’s actual stated objectives and priorities. Many of the judges made decisions based in large part on style rather than substance, and this cost us in the competition. The lesson I took from that experience reminded me that many decisions are based on emotion rather than reason, and anyone hoping to sell their position effectively must consider their audience and prepare their argument for the people they have the best chance to persuade. The current crisis with the debt ceiling, therefore, will have short-term and long-term winners and losers, in significant part due to how well each side understands its audience.

The decision basically comes down to four groups; unrealistic liberals who imagine they can continue to spend without consequences (a minority of the democrats but visceral in emotion and support), Tea Partiers who refuse to accept any increase in the debt limit or increase in government ‘revenues’ for any reason, democrats who want more tax increases than spending cuts, and republicans who demand spending cuts must be significantly greater than any increase in money the government collects. The people outside those four groups are neither large nor organized enough to play much role in the debate or decision. The decision therefore comes down to the following questions:

1. Is it necessary to raise the debt ceiling?
2. Is it realistic to address the debt with just spending cuts?
3. What solution do voters want?
4. What will the voters absolutely not accept?
5. What spending cuts are acceptable?
6. What ‘revenue’ increases will voters accept?

First, the ceiling. As much as I hate to say it, the debt ceiling in this case does need to be raised. The problem is that the Congress waited so long to address the problem that we don’t have the time or slack to figure out a solution before we blow through that limit. Refusing to raise the debt ceiling at this time is in the same class of decision as slamming on the brakes when the car starts to skid, a panic response which generally leads to bigger problems.

Next, the cut-only approach. In theory, we should be able to fix the problem by just cutting back on spending. The problem is that we have three classes of spending that can’t easily be reduced; essential needs, entitlements, and the interest on our existing debt. Cutting the first would be suicidal, cutting the second will be hard to get passed into law, and the third is simply not possible. We also have to face the fact that republicans control only the House of Representatives, while the democrats control the Senate and White House. Anything passed into law will have to get support from democrats, enough to compel the President to sign it. That does not mean we just accept whatever the democrats demand, but it does mean we have to accept the reality of our limits as well as our power.

Third and fourth are the questions of what voters want and won’t accept. As much as we like to imagine that America is full of people who think the same way we do, in truth that’s just not so. There are regional, cultural, and social considerations which have to be considered, including the way Congress’ actions will be received by the public. Obama is lying when he claims most of America wants tax hikes, but it is true that most voters believe that some kind of tax increase will be necessary, and many believe those increases can be implemented by making some other group of people pay the increase; on the Left there is the broad belief that a lot of “rich” people are not paying enough, while on the Right there is a broad belief that some people who don’t have to pay income tax should be forced to do so now. There has been no specific poll taken which shows popular support for a tax increase that would affect the specific people polled.

Just about everyone not named ‘Obama’ understands that the main problem is spending, and that serious cuts need to be made. When two and a half trillion dollars a year is not enough to pay for what you are buying, you have a problem no matter who you are. The trick is to figure out what gets cut. Democrats demand defense cuts, and to be sure there may be programs to reduce or abolish there, but that’s hardly the first place to cut. Republicans want Obamacare repealed, which would certainly reduce a lot of costs, but would be impossible to get through the Senate or signed by President Obama. Ultimately, this is the main hurdle for negotiations; everyone knows cuts need to be made, but no one can agree on specifics. What will probably happen in the end, is a general reduction in department budgets, and everyone will have to make do with less. It’s not the wisest course, but given the time constraint, it may be the only one which can go into effect in time.

The next point brings us back to revenue. President Obama does not like to be clear about raising taxes, but let’s be very blunt – if you bring more money into government, you have to do it by raising taxes. Someone is paying more, no matter what you call the action. And since taxation is inherently parasitic in nature, any increase in taxes – no matter who pays – will damage the economy at a time when this would have serious repercussions. Voters have figured this out, which is one reason the 2010 election turned out as it did, and this recognition is why Senate Majority Leader Reid backed off tax hikes in his own plan presented this week. While we must be careful to watch what happens in the next several months, as the temptation to slip in taxes, fees and rate increases will be very strong, for the moment it appears that Congress at least understands that cuts must be the primary focus, and the secondary focus as well.

Let’s look at that debt, for an understanding of the situation. The debt, as of March 31, stood at $14.825 trillion, an obscenely large number no matter how it’s presented.

$3.7 trillion was held in General government long-term notes, with another $3.6 trillion in ‘Other sector’ long-term bonds and notes. This is actually good news, as it means just about half the debt is held in bonds and notes that will come due over a long period of time, with only about $365 billion coming due each year in principal.

Another $1.7 trillion dollars was held in currency and deposits in banks, with another $583 billion in currency and deposits in other sectors and monetary authorities. That’s money being used in circulation, and while it’s a good idea to reduce that amount a bit once the economy gets going again, for now we can take the news that this money is not ‘coming due’ in the sense that we normally apply to debt.

Money Market instruments account for another $884 billion, which means some liability, but like long-term bonds the payments due are not generally immediate. Even ‘short term’ debts won’t all come due in August. Another $2.5 trillion is held in loans, which also are repaid over time. All in all, the debt situation is difficult but manageable, provided the government simply gets spending under control.

Here’s a more detailed look at where the money has gone. In simple terms, the Federal Reserve is telling us that our debt is held by a lot of creditors, some overseas, but for the most part the money we owe is to ourselves. That does not mean it does not have to be paid, and paid on time, of course. We have obligations to fund essential services, and the whole concept of bonds and loans depends on confidence that the loans will be paid according to the contracted terms. And the weight of the debt total is simply too big, and cannot be sustained indefinitely. And as wiser observers have noted, if the U.S. gets into trouble, there is simply no one available to bail us out. The Congress has to find a practical solution, and set things in motion in the next five days.

Which brings us back to the audience. Whatever is finally done to address the debt problem, the public will make their opinion known rather quickly, and it is therefore essential for republicans and democrats, both, to understand the perspective of people to whom they are listening, and with whom they should be talking. Listening to radio and reading blogs, I have observed that the avowed Tea Party members have promised fierce primary opposition to “anyone” who supports the Boehner plan, simply because even if it passes it would not be a complete and total victory. Leaving aside the obvious fact that anything that would completely please the Tea Party Clique would have absolutely no chance of passing the democrat-controlled Senate, or getting the signature of President Obama, I would also note that Allen West and Paul Ryan support the Boehner plan. Not because it is perfect, but because it is the best plan available with a realistic chance of passing through the Congress. To put it plainly, anyone calling themselves conservative who would attack Allen West and Paul Ryan, is representative neither of conservative values or intellectual maturity, and should not be taken seriously by the people making important decisions. Similarly, the people still obsessed with class warfare and tax hikes to fix the government’s spending crisis should be ignored by anyone trying to find viable solutions or read the public will. What most people want and demand is simply a reasonable approach to the problem and a serious attempt to cut down on spending. Scare tactics have no place in the debate, nor do ultimatums by politicians or special interest groups. Three hundred million Americans are going to be affected by the decision and resolve of the Congress, so it’s high time the Congress address the broad majority who are simply demanding Congress and the President stop making threats and speeches, and put together a solution, starting by voting on the plans already available.

Why He Will, Why he Won’t

2011-07-21T21:36:00.003-05:00

President Obama has made it quite clear that he has one goal, and only one goal, on his mind: Getting re-elected. It seems therefore appropriate to give a look at his chances, and his problems.

First, a look back at 2008. Barack Obama and Joe Biden teamed up to beat John McCain and Sarah Palin, 365 electoral votes to 173 and 66.86 million votes to 58.32 million. In other words, Obama claimed 95 electoral votes more than he needed to win, and enjoyed a popular margin of eight and a half million votes. Reasons for the win depend on who you ask, but common responses point out the novelty of Obama’s run as a black candidate, McCain’s lack of charisma and eloquence, the declining public image of the Bush Administration, worry over the economy, and conservatives abandoning the GOP. It produced a perfect storm for Obama, which raises the obvious question about whether he can work such magic again.

First, the factors which work for Obama. There has been some discussion about a possible fight for Obama to claim the Democrats’ nomination in 2012 if he gets into public trouble, but it’s not very likely to work out that way. The media, for example, has been very much a pal to President Obama; his ‘honeymoon’ has lasted throughout his first term with every indication that the major networks and press will continue to act as lackeys for him for the foreseeable future. To change support for a different candidate would require these networks to abandon Obama while he remains in office, an unlikely prospect. Further, there is the historical record. No president running for re-election has failed to claim his party nomination since LBJ in 1968 (and no incumbent party has nominated a candidate who was neither the sitting president nor vice-president since 1952). It’s reasonable to say on just these two points alone, that if Barack Obama is not nominated by the Democrats in 2012, then the winner of the 2012 Presidential Election will be the Republican.

The next point to consider is Obama’s Job Approval. Obama’s present approval according to Gallup has dropped to 42 percent, just one point above his worst ever from April this year and October 2010. The thing is, the worst Obama has received is 41 percent approval. Compare that to Bill Clinton, whose approval support in the first seven months of 1995 ranged from 42 percent to 51 percent. Pretty similar, it seems. In any case, the numbers show that despite his abysmal job performance, Obama continues to enjoy enough support that he is very well-positioned to win another term.

The third factor to consider in Obama’s favor is the Republican field. Obama won in 2008 with unintentional help from the Republicans, who spent the bulk of the campaign feuding with each other, which led to a nomination which pleased few and angered many on the Right. One might think the bitter lesson would have been learned, but so far the field for the coming election is behaving much like the 2008 field did, with serious reason to fear a similar outcome.

Put these three factors together, and you have a problem for Republicans, and given how he has performed, for the nation. Fortunately, there are also a number of strong reasons why Barack Obama will have a hard time winning re-election.

First and foremost is Obama’s record. Since 1916, seven of the last ten presidents to seek re-election won their contest, but the three who lost (Hoover in 1932, Carter in 1980, and GHW Bush in 1992) all lost because of the economy. In a word, Jobs. If unemployment is high, the incumbent is in trouble. And that problem is especially bad for Mr. Obama, whose policies have pretty much done nothing but make things worse for the economy. Obama inherited an unemployment rate of 7.8% but has averaged 9.4% since taking office; the rate has not been below nine percent since May of 2009. Despite his attempts to blame Bush for the problem, Obama owns this record. What’s worse for Obama, his pet programs target employment at most public corporations, so Obama can effectively reduce unemployment only by abandoning his signature policies.

The second problem for Obama is the polling. Frank Newport of Gallup observed Presidents who have a 48 percent or better approval tend to win re-election, while those below do not. In that context, his present 42-43 percent approval levels are a warning to Obama that he is in trouble. Worse for Obama, he’s been able to get bumps only for short periods of time no matter what he says or does; not very much like Clinton after all, perhaps. Especially since Bill Clinton understood that his political survival depended on the economy improving, something Obama shows no sign of grasping. While it’s certainly believable that Obama could find a way to bring his approval up a few points to reach that tipping point, the clear momentum is working against him, and if he drops below 40 percent as he seems to be headed now, then time will become an implacable enemy.

The third problem for Obama is, well, Obama. He ran on a lot of promises in 2008, casting himself essentially as a non-partisan visionary and peacemaker. It’s more than plain by now that the real Barack Obama is a thin-skinned paranoid narcissist with delusions of competency; he wavers between indecision and bad judgment, all the while complaining that he doesn’t get enough credit and admiration. On the one hand, it may be observed that Obama has fired up conservatives to get back into the national debate again, although some may argue that Obama should not waste time thinking about people he cannot win over anyway; but on the other, Obama has also outraged many on the Left with his broken promises regarding Guantanamo, Iraq, and other liberal demands. While as President of the United States Barack Obama holds tremendous power and influence, his habit of making enemies so readily means that if pressed into desperation, he has few allies who will come to his aid unless they gain from the action themselves; no one supports a tyrant out of agreement with his character.

Obama’s next problem is the Tea Party. Political movements spring up all the time, but officials would do well to note those which genuinely start at the grassroots, and which focus on only one or a few key issues, because those don’t go away without making changes in the landscape … and in politicians who refuse to notice the change in reality. The Tea Party was a significant force in the 2010 midterm elections, and ignoring them is just plain foolish. Dismissing the Tea Party’s significance can be a bad idea, in battleground states where concerns about federal spending and accountability influence not only votes but the debates of the election. This does not mean that Obama will lose because the Tea Party does not like him, but his ignorance of the movement’s identity and influence could damage his campaign in several states.

The next problem, and the big one, is the Republican nominee. Obama had an easy time beating John McCain in 2008, but it’s very unlikely the GOP will nominate someone that weak this time. In 2008 conservatives were disillusioned and bitter, producing no significant candidates and contributing little to the campaign. The main body of republican voters this time is more conservative and active, and they are also better-focused. Guys who talk but can’t deliver (like Thompson), or ‘centrist’ republicans eager to give in to democrats in order to ‘get along’ (like McCain) will find the going harder than last time. This does not give the inside track to image-first candidates with weak resumes (Bachman or Palin), but builds a stage for experienced leaders who understand what will really work. While this will mean the republican nominee won’t emerge for a while yet, when he does it will be someone the voters can identify by values and commitment, and he will be a sharp contrast with President Superficial.

How it shakes out, is in the math. There’s no doubt that Obama has lost a lot of support, and in all likelihood will be less compelling in 2012 than he was in 2008. But having 95 more electoral votes than he needed in 2008 means that even a weakened Obama could still win. The question is just how many of the states will swing away from Obama to the republican. In 2008, Obama won DC and 29 states, but if his support falls by just three points he loses five states, and if he drops by five points he loses eleven states.You may choose to disagree, but unless the republicans thoroughly destroy their chances, they’re looking at their best opportunity to rout the democrats in a presidential election by the largest margin since Reagan’s win in 1984.

Guess The Source

2011-07-12T12:39:00.000-05:00

Emotion, yet peace.

Ignorance, yet knowledge.

Passion, yet serenity.

Chaos, yet harmony.

Death, yet Life.

Just a Thought I Had

2011-07-08T22:20:00.001-05:00

What is true is true, no matter the language or custom. What is hateful is hateful, no matter how well-argued its reason or how popular its habit. Therefore, anyone who loves and helps his neighbor is not only my neighbor but my brother, and anyone who seeks truth is to me a teacher as well.

But it is hard for many to put away fear, just as they hold doubt in their hearts, which is why they make such noise when proclaiming their belief; they hope it will drown out their own doubt and fear.

Time may not change this, but growth and maturity shall do so, no matter the starting place.

This, at least, is my belief and practice.

The Need for a College Education

2011-06-13T16:16:00.001-05:00

I notice that education has come under attack again. For examples, a Washington Post article challenges the value of a college education, and the Town Hall website suggests that many people should start a business rather than go to college. It’s become a trendy thing, challenging the value of a college education. It’s also a very risky thing, and many of the challenges are intellectually dishonest.

According to the Small Business Administration, about half of all new businesses fail within 5 years. But the University of Buffalo released a study showing the failure rate to be much higher rate, at 80% failure within five years. It’s difficult to track precisely, but the general message should be clear that simply starting a business does not mean it will survive, let alone become successful. And it’s not hard to figure that while some business owners are unfortunate, failure to study, plan and work hard will contribute to failure. In other words, if someone is a poor student, they would probably be a poor business owner as well. The people attacking schools for failures miss the fact that intelligence, diligence and inspiration are uncommon traits, and it’s not the schools’ fault if someone does not do their work. They get worked up about the cost, but really , from a historic perspective it has always been expensive and difficult to get a really good education, and if someone really does their homework, so to speak, they can get their credentials for a lot less than some other people. But the main reason the challenges fail, is because the challengers do not understand the basic purpose and function of collegiate education in the first place.

My dad grew up in the Depression. His first job was a factory shift when he was 8 years old. The child labor laws were not of much concern to folks in those days, nor were safety or compensation standards. He came to believe that the key to getting a better life was to get a solid education, so he earned a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering and a Masters in Mathematics. He also took some business courses at Wharton. My father made it clear to all of his children, that he expected us to do as well as possible in school. My mom earned a Bachelor’s in Sociology, and four degrees were earned by the four children, in six majors. My brother did not earn a degree, my sister and I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Literature and I later earned my MBA, and my other sister triple-majored in Chemistry, Physics, and Business for her Bachelor’s. Between my parents and us kids, we earned seven degrees plus certifications in nine majors at seven different universities. I believe I can claim we represent broad experience in education.

Besides the practical value my dad felt that advanced education represents, my father also felt that education was mental exercise, a vital need to seek intellectual growth just the same as we should use nutrition and physical exercise to develop our bodies, and join religious and ethical organizations to grow as moral individuals. Long before continuing education became commonplace, my dad believed and taught that a person should never consider their education complete or finished. I mention this because my values largely follow the same line of opinion. I also think that these additional points need to be included in the discussion.

Let’s start, then, but addressing the biggest real problem in the college decision – most young students are not able to make a good decision about college on their own. We live in a world where people get into routines and tend to do what they believe is expected from them. So a lot of kids know by the end of high school whether they are going to college, not because they have thought out the decision with the care it should be given, but because they know what is expected. The decision will only be about cost, opportunity, difficulty, or value to a very small degree; it will generally be about what the person’s family and friends say and do about the matter. As a result, if you are friends or family with someone going into their last couple years of high school, or if they talk about deciding on going to college, speak up and let them know what you think.

The next thing to consider is the career path you want to follow. The people criticizing college seem to imagine that only college students have hard choices. But for good or ill, life in general is hard and a lot of young people have no real idea what they are getting into when they choose their lifestyle. Media is not helpful; the celebrities and glamorous people we see in movies and television, look, they are just not normal folks. In fact, even the stars and athletes often warn folks that the image does not match even their own reality. Most new businesses fail, as I said earlier, so the idea that kids coming out of high school should plan on being the next instant millionaire is pretty close to being complete fiction. And working for a living straight out of high school with no special training or advance education, is a ticket straight to hard times and a poor future. When you get right down to it, what everyone needs to do is reach a place where they understand the three circles of their career horizon; what you are able to do, what you want to do, and what someone is willing to pay you to do. That’s it, simple but hard to work out. And answering those questions takes the ability called critical thinking, which is not often taught anywhere these days. I’m not saying you get perfect results from talking things out with your family and friends, or from trying to figure out what you want to be in 20 years, but you’ll definitely get a better sense of which path is better for your situation right now.

The decision about education also can be seen as a window of opportunity. Back when I graduated high school, there was really only one way to go to a decent school; full-time at a school and on-campus, living in the dorm and basically immersing yourself totally in the school’s culture. And in those days, almost everyone at college started right after high school; the older students were generally military veterans or professionals seeking advanced degrees and certification. Alternatives to traditional colleges existed, but these were generally night schools and were commonly regarded as inferior educational opportunities. Today, the demographic is much broader as is the window of opportunity. In addition to full and part-time campuses, there are online courses, commuter campuses, and a number of flexible options. Accreditation insures the quality of education provided, and the smart individual can check out a school on virtually any desired criteria prior to submitting an application. Cost, regimen, focus and degree criteria can all be determined and compared, and should be weighed in balance to the student’s need. The days of one-size-fits-all are long gone, and it is well that they should be.

The critics of modern education blame the schools, which is sometimes deserved, and a culture which demands a degree for most professional positions, or to advance in a company. What these critics fail to consider, is that the student has the right and responsibility to choose their path, that there is good historical reason for believing that higher education produces, generally, superior employees, and the critics completely fail to grasp that non-collegiate careers are generally limited, low-paying, and, well, dismal. This is another reason why anyone deciding about college should talk carefully with their family and friends – the consequences of the decision are literally life-changing, and you should not make a decision that important on the advice of strangers.

A college degree does not guarantee a person is competent, nor intelligent, nor really much of anything. But if you’re considering hiring them for your company, your part includes interviewing them and asking the right questions. There’s no use blaming the educational system if you get lousy people because you make a choice on appearances and don’t find out about the person you’re bringing aboard. Same thing if you’re considering education for any other reason; you need to find from the individual what he or she really understands and about their character and personality. Come to that, if you choose to enroll at a college, and the courses you take do not challenge you, force you to grow, then it’s your responsibility to do something about it. College-level students are presumed to be adults, and adults are responsible for their decisions and choices. Choosing the right school, the right regimen, and working hard to produce your best possible results can change your life for the better, but simply going to college is not enough. Conversely, while a college graduate is not guaranteed to be smarter or harder working than someone who did not go to college, a degree proves that the individual had enough initiative, intelligence, and follow-through to accomplish the degree, while not going to college proves nothing of the sort. Many companies require management candidates to have college degrees, because the degree demonstrates at least a minimal level of discipline and accomplishment; at the very least, a college graduate can be trained for somewhat detailed work and to gain additional skills. A college graduate has demonstrated at least a willingness to grow and expand his or her horizons.

The critics also have a habit of sneering at degrees they consider non-academic, especially business degrees. Of course, by that myopic mindset one should reject medical school for ignoring literature, law school for ignoring biology, and even the liberal arts for focusing on just one area within the academic realm. Never mind that most people go to college in hopes of acquiring a marketable skill, and many businesses sponsor executives to return to school for specific training relevant to their work. Anyone who sneers at a student with a 3.5+ GPA proves their self an idiot unworthy of further consideration. Work is work, and accomplishment which sets a student apart from his or her peers deserves praise and recognition. Some folks simply don’t understand case studies don’t work the same way as rote memorization, but still count for developing relevant competency, that skills-based coursework in quantitative analysis is as valid as traditional math, and serves a more direct application, and that simulations and models in business theory are as valid as in the ‘hard’ sciences. Perhaps more so, because modern scientists seldom seem willing to test their assumptions and double-check whether their models produced valid results. At least business students understand the Deming Cycle.

In the end, we each make our own choices regarding career and education, and it’s no one else’s fault if we make bad choices. We have all the tools we need to succeed, and while success is not guaranteed, opportunity is abundant and a college degree is, in general, still the best road to intellectual competency and financial success.

A Thief In Amber – Fifth Draft (Still Very Very Rough)

2011-05-25T21:03:00.001-05:00

Some people are hard to kill. I don’t mean the moral decision to kill, but the difficulty in getting someone to die, who is stubbornly opposed to the idea. Some people are hard to kill because they are physically tough, some have one of those spirits that refuses to quit, and some are just plain durable.

And some spirits exist for the fight.

It was in the early days, before all the betrayals and family intrigues … OK, we always had those going on, but this was back in the days when we still imagined that we played by the rules. You couldn’t attempt to murder a sibling then, without at least feigning innocence, and alliance with genocidal maniacs was only allowed if said monsters were friends of Oberon.

So, when word got out that someone or something was making its way through the halls of Castle Amber at night, killing members of the staff and generally hurting the castle’s reputation for fine dining and keeping folks safe from threats to their safety, the family decided it was time to take matters in hand. And, being expected to take the lead, I did so.

Oberon, as he commonly did, was traveling and away from Amber. Caine and Gerard were at sea and therefore also unavailable. Dierdre and Llewellen on a diplomatic mission for the Golden Circle, Brand, Random and Eric were out of the city for reasons not known to anyone else in the family, or if known not shared with me. That, of course, was also a reason for me to take charge; it would gall Eric no end if I could resolve things before he even heard about them … and give me no end of amusement if I could find a way to suggest he was somehow responsible for the problem. I was in those years when I was trying to show up everyone else, and convinced I looked good doing it. So it was that four princes and two princesses gathered for dinner, as we often did when we wanted to discuss issues of importance, and to imagine ourselves civilized.

The food was fine. The conversation, however, was wholly unsatisfying. It soon became apparent that none of us knew what was really going on, had any idea who or what was behind the attacks, and no one wanted to appear as helpless as we all felt.

After dinner, we all went to the library for drinks, and a second try at strategy. That fell apart as soon we chose our drinks. I watched as we chose different drinks, then different seats. Hell, we weren’t even looking at each other. I tried logic, first sitting with Benedict, who usually presented the best plan for dealing with any threat to Amber, but Benedict was even less talkative than usual. I followed with Julian, who was still angry with me for a prior disagreement, and he refused to even acknowledge my presence.

And so it went until I came to Fiona.

I knew something was about, when she smiled at my approach. Fiona and I never shared amusements or ideals, so a smile from her could only come at my cost. It also struck as strange that she seemed to be enjoying the present crisis. Was she its instigator, or if not, what was the source of her pleasure in this moment? I chose a drink, a seat, and a gambit.

“Hello Fiona”, I said. “You couldn’t just kill your enemies in a duel, like anyone else in the family?”

Fiona glared at me for a moment, then that smile returned as she realized – all too quickly – that I was just trying to draw her out.

“You play at things you do not understand, Corwin”, she answered. “As usual.

“I have no interest in your word games, and I must say I disapprove of your manners, and their lack.”

“I am not playing a game here” I protested, “but hunting the cause and source of our present threat. It is an elusive bird, truth, one which seems to be hidden by at least one of our princesses.”

Fiona smirked and replied, “Whereas wit is a bird that eludes the hand of rather too many princes.”

I shrugged. “Your disapproval concerns me even less than usual, Fi. All things considered.”

She tossed her head, red hair like a fall of flame. “Yet, perhaps it should. All things considered.”

I did things with my own eyebrows, emptied my glass, swung my boots down from the table, and headed for the door.

She chuckled, behind me.

I stopped, refrained from turning, and waited. Fiona could never resist showing the rest of us that she was a step ahead. Or pretending to be.

“You are wearing your blade,” she said. “Good.”

I went out, uttering no clever comments. With at least three murderous ghosts stalking Castle Amber, the time for such things was past.’

Hours passed, as I waited with blade drawn and senses wary, sitting in the hallway outside a row of rooms where I thought an appearance most likely by one or more of our homicidal specters.

I guessed wrong. The most dangerous thing to pass my way that night was an odor wafting from Julian’s room. I could pretend it was some feral scent from our nocturnal attackers, but I am sure it was simply the unwashed aroma of a pair of his dogs. In any case, I saw no spirits floating about, encountered no need to use my weapon, and generally felt like I was wasting my time.

Until I heard Flora scream. Down another hall, and far from my chosen station. Naturally. Or un-naturally. Whatever.

I felt damn foolish as I ran towards Flora’s room, hoping my missed guess would not be a costly mistake.

Fortunately, the volume of Flora’s shouts was not matched by actual peril. That is, Flora was not a passive screamer; when assailed by spirits coming at her, as she claimed, from within the walls, she not only cried for help but began throwing things at her attackers. It was hard to tell if any of them was some effective weapon, or the sheer volume of makeup, jewelry, hair care items and mirrors had thwarted their aggression. For all I knew, Flora had surprised them as much as they surprised her. There was no way to be sure. For the moment, we all relaxed in the discovery that our disembodied attackers seemed able to make mistakes, and we felt more confident that we ourselves were perhaps immune to their threat.

Then Bleys found Julian, more than half-dead in his quarters. Julian did not appear for breakfast, and Bleys was the first to check his rooms. I began to wonder why I had not heard anything from my vigilant post, and why Julian’s dogs had done nothing to defend him.

Also, for some reason Julian had not worn his armor the previous night. That cost him. He had been attacked from behind, as was evident by the burn marks on his back. He had fought off his attackers, but his arms, back, and legs were badly burned. I wished I could ask Julian what he had seen, and how he had fought off his assailants, but he was in a coma from his injuries, or the same thing for practical purposes. Benedict saw to his wounds and set a guard to door, with instructions to call him the instant Julian awoke – or anything appeared that might be the spirit murderers coming to finish the job.

I was not friendly with Julian, but an attack on family trumped personal arguments. Besides, just as I stood to gain from Eric’s humiliation if I could solve a mystery he was not around to handle, so too I would suffer my own humiliation if I could not resolve the problem right in front of me – and if a brother prince died on my watch, especially one I was not close to, I could count on Eric making me pay for it. And Father had made it clear that he counted fratricide as unforgivable. Failing to protect a brother was guilt by omission, and I knew that no defense I could present would clear me unless Julian lived. And I resolved the mystery and destroyed the threat.

I spoke to Benedict again, and – while cryptic – his comments included suggestions on where I might try my next vigil, and when I might expect to meet my foes.

It was very late, or rather early, before one of the walls opened in a place where it should not have done, and something that was both silver and shadow joined me.

Grayswandir felt good in my hand as I put down what I was finished drinking anyway, and waited.

Patience, they say, is a chiefly a virtue for statues, but I’d made more than my share of mistakes, thus far, and blood is hell to get out of good rugs.

Came a whisper, out of darkness. “Corwin, is it time?”

A fight for my life, I expected. Temporal confusion from the spooks, I have to admit, I did not see coming.

“No, go back to sleep”, I tried. OK, not a brilliant strategy, but I was tired and didn’t expect the question anyway.

There was a moment of silence, then the forms began to take shape. I expected something, I don’t know, human-like and perhaps demonic. These were, after all, undead spirits seeking to kill the living. Nor was I wrong.

Not exactly.

The attackers swirled into the room like sentient fog, and quickly surrounded me. I suddenly realized something was behind me, taking more substantial shape, and – I felt dread rush up my spine – preparing to strike me the same it had attacked Julian.

Something like lightning flashed, and surprised me. Mostly because the lightning came from inside the room … from Grayswandir.

I jumped to my feet, swinging up Grayswandir with one arm as I threw the book behind me into the – face? – of my posterior assailant. I heard the book smack into something, which swore as if hurt, and I pivoted, putting my back against the wall while swinging my sword into a guard position. Then I stopped.

That was a mistake.

The spirits, once the sword, stopped moving, resumed their attack, and I felt a crackle of something hot shoot past my head, striking the wall hard as if a crossbow bolt. Something else, like a burning lasso, wrapped my boots and tried to trip me. I hopped reflexively, brought my sword up again and swung it about me as if trying to burn cobwebs with a torch.

And shadows fled before me, and I was alone.

My book was on the floor, blackened. Damn. I watched lightning flicker and wondered if I would ever know what I fought, or why. Family politics seemed as tiresome as ever.

Three ghosts, Benedict had said, and had been on the brink of saying more ere his face had smoothed and he’d turned away.

Which meant he’d recognized the one he’d seen.

So had the lamplighter, before the ghost that slew him caught up with him and burned his skull bare, from within.

Coln had died, before that, and one of the cooks. Seven maids, or more by now, since.

Then they started on us. Flora had almost fallen to one, and then Julian. Almost.

We’re tough meat, we of Amber.’

Speaking of meat, I found myself famished. Deciding between preparing for a second round with the spooks, alerting the rest of the family to my attack, and getting an early breakfast, the stomach spoke with the greatest authority. Besides, I was somehow sure the attack for the night was done, and I needed to think through what had just happened before I spoke to anyone else. If one of us was behind the attacks, I had no intention of giving out thoughts on how to make sure I was properly killed next time.

I made my way to the kitchen and found it empty, as I hoped it would be. A half-dozen eggs, some cheese, ham and the appropriate spices produced a passable omelet, which I ate with coffee I made while I thought over the attack. I’m a good enough cook, but the quality of thoughts I considered diminished my appetite a bit.

I realized that I had to share my encounter, with at least one person. The attacks on Flora, then Julian so close afterwards showed that anyone could be next, and I had to help protect the innocent. If only I could be sure none among us was the guilty …

I decided on Benedict. He had shared the plan to catch out the spirits, so I already owed him a report on the attack for that reason. Also, he was the least likely to try a sneak attack on any of us – and if he had, his victims would not have survived. No, this was not Benedict’s trick, whatever it was.

I found him sitting with Julian. Julian remained still and lifeless, to all appearances. Enough to make his usual loquacity and stiff behavior seem positive ebullient. Benedict was not much more enthusiastic. I think I knew why. Julian was not so strong as some of us, but a prince of Amber should not be laid low so easily by anything. He seemed not to be resting, so much as lying helpless. That could be any one of us, even Benedict, and I could see that in Benedict’s thin, grim face.

“No change, Corwin”, said Benedict, as I entered the bedroom.

“So I see”, I answered. “But I have news for you.”

I handed Benedict the scorched book from my encounter as he rose from his seat. He looked at it, then met my eyes with his own.

“You encountered them, then?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Yes, but unlike you, I did not recognize any of them” I said, watching for a reaction to my observation. But Benedict remained solemn and still, as was his usual mood, even in happier times.

I waited for him to speak, but Benedict simply held my gaze, and after a moment. I continued.

“Yes, I was attacked”, I said. “Where you said they would likely be, and only an hour or so after the time you predicted. Which makes me curious, of course, how you knew …?”

I somehow expected Benedict to smile at being prescient, but he remained solemn. I also expected him to provide more helpful information, but I was wrong on that count as well.

“What do you know about this, Corwin?” asked Benedict, his left hand casually resting on the hilt of a dagger he had on his belt. There was no menace in his tone, but Benedict was clear in his meaning.

“Of the attacks? Nothing to speak of, Benedict.” I replied. “I told you my thoughts the last time we spoke, and I am trying to free us from who or whatever is attacking us.”

“Convenient, though”, remarked Benedict, “that you were the closest to Julian of us all, and yet you saw and heard nothing when he was attacked.”

“I know”, I protested, “and you know I would have arranged an alibi if I were going to attack Julian. Like, say, being away from Amber during the attacks?”

Benedict shook his head in irritation.

“Don’t start that stupid game again, of plots and intrigue, Corwin.”

“I won’t”, I replied, “as long as you agree to stop accusing me of being behind the attacks I’m trying to stop.”

Benedict sighed.

“All right”, he agreed. “But you were attacked, yourself, yet you have not yet told me about it.”

So I did. Including my reluctance to trust the full story to anyone in our family who might be the plotter behind the ghosts.

Benedict sighed again.

“I hate to agree with you on this, Corwin” he said, “but I sense that these attacks are part of something larger.

“And until we find a way to stop it, our danger will only grow.”

“So how do you think you escaped –” Benedict stopped and glanced down at Julian’s unmoving figure.

“Grayswandir” I said simply. “They’re afraid of it, for some reason.”

I remembered something just then.

“And I think Fiona knows they are afraid of it.” I continued. “The evening before Flora and Julian were attacked, she commented on my blade.”

Benedict grimly nodded.
“Go speak to Fiona” he said. We rose together, and he stopped for a moment in thought.

“Be direct,” he advised, “She will think she’s ahead of us, and she might be, but she might lose some of her nerve if you give her reason to think she could have missed something important.

“Good luck, Corwin” said Benedict. “Call me on my trump if you need me, but no matter what, be careful.

“Your blade may help protect you from these ghosts, but you still have to find the hand behind the spirit.” With that, Benedict turned his attention back to Julian.

But Fiona had anticipated more than my fight with the ghosts. Her room was empty, but she left a note in a sealed envelope addressed to me.

Of course, being Fiona, she had put a spell on the envelope which prevented anyone from opening it without saying the right phrase. I tried the normal and predictable phrases I knew she had used in the past to goad brothers and sisters, and since it was addressed to me I included ones she had taunted me with, like ‘Fiona is wise, Corwin tells lies’, that kind of thing. A tired and juvenile game, but Fiona liked to play that kind of thing often.

But this time there were no such games. Fiona had laughed the last time we spoke, but it seemed her mood had changed by the time she wrote her note. I called up Benedict on his trump and explained the situation. He had no advice except to tell me to keep trying.

I kept at it for more than an hour, then threw down the envelope muttering, “I give up”.

The seal appeared and broke on the envelope. I seized it and pulled out the note.

‘Corwin, hello’ began the note. ‘That you are reading this proves either that I am a great fool and feared for no good cause, or that you are as strong as I believed … or as lucky.

‘I have left the Eternal City for the present, because the forces you fight are as unpredictable as they are strong. I know them well enough to give you information, and well enough to flee them while they present a threat to us all. My craft and skills are useless as weapons against them. You, however, have the means to resolve the matter, and sufficient luck that I trust you will survive. I have bet much on your success.’

I smiled grimly at Fiona’s confidence in betting my life on the matter.

‘Trust your sword but not your brothers’, the note continued, and I chuckled at Fiona repeating such a well-known maxim among us, ‘except one whose sword suits the need even better than your own. Ask him nicely …’

I stopped and pondered for a moment who the hell Fiona could mean, then went back to the last part of the note.
‘… and strike you both one step to the LEFT of where you normally aim. Strike twice, but not at yourself.

‘Good luck, Corwin.’

If I did not know her better, that last line would have made me wonder about Fiona’s state of mind. I handed the note to Benedict, rather than have to read those instructions out loud.

Benedict read the note twice, or else slowly, then looked me in the eye.

“She wrote this for you, Corwin. Any idea how she knew you’d be the one to find it?”

“None.” I replied. “Anymore than how she knew you’d be here.”

“She wrote nothing of me” protested Benedict.

“I think she did” I said. “That line about a sword better-suited than my own. With Eric and Brand not here, she has to have meant you.”

Benedict paused in thought for a moment, then nodded sharply.

“Actually, Corwin, she might know my weapons better than I do – at least one of them. I know of a blade which might help here, but I am surprised that Fiona would know of it.”

“She seems to know a lot more than she is revealing”, I commented . “Is that blade of your accessible?”

“Oddly, yes” said Benedict. “Fiona asked about it just last week, when all of this was still largely unknown for the threat it has become.

“It makes me wonder how she considered the threat,” he pondered. “As much as I hate to cast suspicion, Corwin, this point concerns me.”

“I also wonder”, I agreed, careful not to go further with my thoughts. I could not help but wonder, though, if my sister had not started something she found she could not control.

Benedict stopped to Julian’s door, said a few words and handed something small to the guards he had posted. Then he strode away, ostensibly to collect the blade he mentioned.

As I stood in the hall thinking what to do next, I heard a noise, and realized Julian was stirring. As I went to his doorway, one guard moved to stop me but the other waved him away, saying Benedict had cleared me.

“But no one else”, I heard him warn, as I entered Julian’s room.

Julian was conscious, and aware of his injuries. Every other word seemed an oath as he took stock of his condition. He attempted to get out of bed, then quickly thought better of that idea. As he settled back into bed, Julian noticed me for the first time.

“Here to gloat?” he inquired.

“Not at all”, I assured him. “I’m glad you’re going to be OK.”

Julian groaned.

“After I can move without searing pain, I might come to share that opinion”, he muttered. “For now I count myself glad to have survived the experience.”

“What can you tell me?”, I asked, deciding not to mention my own attack.

Julian opened his mouth, then closed it.

“I am not sure I am ready to discuss that”, he said.

“Even with lives at risk?” I countered.

“Even so”, said Julian. He held my gaze for a few moments, then closed his eyes and sighed.

“Look, Corwin”, said Julian, “I can’t say I like you, and I have reason to be wary of who may be behind all this.

“I am especially vulnerable just now, even with Benedict’s protection.”

“What if I can help?” I asked.

“You don’t know what you are saying”, retorted Julian. “I can hold my own against any man, I warrant, but if you had faced what I had to face, you would better understand what you are against.”

“But he has” broke in Benedict, who had returned to the room. “This is one reason I trust him in this.”

“I see no injuries on Corwin” responded Julian. “Convenient, don’t you think, that our brother here could escape unscathed, the spirits which have killed many and almost killed me.”

“Fiona supports Corwin”, answered Benedict.

Julian stared at Benedict, then shook his head.

“No offense, Benedict, but it would mean more to me to hear that from Fiona herself.”

“She is not here”, answered Benedict, “but she left a note for Corwin, and I have read it. Fiona trusts Corwin.”

Julian barked a short, harsh laugh.

“Fiona trusts no one, brother – surely you know that by now.”

“In this”, returned Benedict, “she does.”

Julian said nothing for a few moments, and Benedict and I stood by as well rather than break into his thoughts. Julian stared holes into me with his cold, blue eyes, but I held my silence, as did Benedict.

“One thing,” said Julian, when he was ready to speak again, “I have to know, is just how Corwin faced these ghosts and is no worse for the encounter, yet the ghosts remain.”

“The same reason,” broke in Benedict before I could answer, “that I faced them myself early on, yet could not resolve the matter then.

“These are not honorable enemies, to take risk along with opportunity, but more on the level of jackals, striking when they have the chance, but fleeing if the moment turns against them.”

Julian peered at Benedict with renewed suspicion.

“I heard that this happened,” he said, “but disbelieved it because I know you are more efficient, than to leave an enemy standing after the fight.”

Benedict shrugged.

“You have seen how they move, how they attack,” he reminded Julian. “If we knew their lair, I would attack right now.

“But we lack enough information, partly -” Benedict stopped and looked at me pointedly before turning back to Julian – “partly because we have not been open enough with each other about what we have encountered.”

Julian looked uncomfortable, Benedict looked concerned, and I tried my best to hide my confusion. All three of us had been attacked, but I could not imagine what I knew that I had not told to Benedict. That implied that Benedict believed that I and Julian knew something about the matter that we had kept private, and that he had withheld that same information from the family but believed Julian and I were in on his secret.

Julian stared hard at Benedict.

“Are you saying that we should tell the rest of the family that Osric and Finndo have come back to haunt us?” demanded Julian.

Oh, my. Julian’s question threw a switch in my mind and turned on a light. One of my attackers had looked like family, and now I thought on it could well have been the form of the late Osric. Come to that, Finndo was fond of using a crossbow, and the shot taken at me in our brief contest had sounded like a bolt hitting the wall.

Benedict looked uneasily at the door.

“If they have, then they are truly ghosts,” he said. “I saw them die, many years ago.”

Benedict seemed about to say more, but stopped himself. Julian and I looked at each other, then Julian said to Benedict, “If we are to be open, I should hope you would also choose to share what you know, brother.”

Benedict sighed.

“It’s not really relevant, and I have never shared what happened in that war.”

He turned away from us, as if to leave, but stopped, still facing away.

“If I come to believe that the way Osric and Finndo died is important to resolving this situation, then I will tell you directly.

“For now, I can only ask you to trust my judgment, that their appearance means something else.”

Again Julian and I looked at each other. Neither of us was happy about it, but Benedict, aside from Gerard, was the most trustworthy of us, and in any case neither Julian nor I could do much to compel Benedict to share his secrets. Damning, though, that we were once again at an impasse.

[ to be continued ]

A Thief In Amber – Fourth Draft (Still Very Very Rough)

2011-05-06T20:59:00.000-05:00

Some people are hard to kill. I don’t mean the moral decision to kill, but the difficulty in getting someone to die, who is stubbornly opposed to the idea. Some people are hard to kill because they are physically tough, some have one of those spirits that refuses to quit, and some are just plain durable.

And some spirits exist for the fight.

It was in the early days, before all the betrayals and family intrigues … OK, we always had those going on, but this was back in the days when we still imagined that we played by the rules. You couldn’t attempt to murder a sibling then, without at least feigning innocence, and alliance with genocidal maniacs was only allowed if the said monsters were friends of Oberon.

So, when word got out that someone or something was making its way through the halls of Castle Amber at night, killing members of the staff and generally hurting the castle’s reputation for fine dining and keeping folks safe from threats to their safety, the family decided it was time to take matters in hand. And, being expected to take the lead, I did so.

Oberon, as he commonly did, was traveling and away from Amber. Caine and Gerard were at sea and therefore also unavailable. Dierdre and Llewellen on a diplomatic mission for the Golden Circle, Brand, Random and Eric were out of the city for reasons not known to anyone else in the family, or if known not shared with me. That, of course, was also a reason for me to take charge; it would gall Eric no end if I could resolve things before he even heard about them … and give me no end of amusement if I could find a way to suggest he was somehow responsible for the problem. I was in those years when I was trying to show up everyone else, and convinced I looked good doing it. So it was that four princes and two princesses gathered for dinner, as we often did when we wanted to discuss issues of importance, and to imagine ourselves civilized.

The food was fine. The conversation, however, was wholly unsatisfying. It soon became apparent that none of us knew what was really going on, had any idea who or what was behind the attacks, and no one wanted to appear as helpless as we all felt.

After dinner, we all went to the library for drinks, and a second try at strategy. That fell apart as soon we chose our drinks. I watched as we chose different drinks, then different seats. Hell, we weren’t even looking at each other. I tried logic, first sitting with Benedict, who usually presented the best plan for dealing with any threat to Amber, but Benedict was even less talkative than usual. I followed with Julian, who was still angry with me for a prior disagreement, and he refused to even acknowledge my presence.

And so it went until I came to Fiona.

I knew something was about, when she smiled at my approach. Fiona and I never shared amusements or ideals, so a smile from her could only come at my cost. It also struck as strange that she seemed to be enjoying the present crisis. Was she its instigator, or if not, what was the source of her pleasure in this moment? I chose a drink, a seat, and a gambit.

“Hello Fiona”, I said. “You couldn’t just kill your enemies in a duel, like anyone else in the family?”

Fiona glared at me for a moment, then that smile returned as she realized – all too quickly – that I was just trying to draw her out.

“You play at things you do not understand, Corwin”, she answered. “As usual.

“I have no interest in your word games, and I must say I disapprove of your manners, and their lack.”

“I am not playing a game here” I protested, “but hunting the cause and source of our present threat. It is an elusive bird, truth, one which seems to be hidden by at least one of our princesses.”

Fiona smirked and replied, “Whereas wit is a bird that eludes the hand of rather too many princes.”

I shrugged. “Your disapproval concerns me even less than usual, Fi. All things considered.”

She tossed her head, red hair like a fall of flame. “Yet, perhaps it should. All things considered.”

I did things with my own eyebrows, emptied my glass, swung my boots down from the table, and headed for the door.

She chuckled, behind me.

I stopped, refrained from turning, and waited. Fiona could never resist showing the rest of us that she was a step ahead. Or pretending to be.

“You are wearing your blade,” she said. “Good.”

I went out, uttering no clever comments. With at least three murderous ghosts stalking Castle Amber, the time for such things was past.’

Hours passed, as I waited with blade drawn and senses wary, sitting in the hallway outside a row of rooms where I thought an appearance most likely by one or more of our homicidal specters.

I guessed wrong. The most dangerous thing to pass my way that night was an odor wafting from Julian’s room. I could pretend it was some feral scent from our nocturnal attackers, but I am sure it was simply the unwashed aroma of a pair of his dogs. In any case, I saw no spirits floating about, encountered no need to use my weapon, and generally felt like I was wasting my time.

Until I heard Flora scream. Down another hall, and far from my chosen station. Naturally. Or un-naturally. Whatever.

I felt damn foolish as I ran towards Flora’s room, hoping my missed guess would not be a costly mistake.

Fortunately, the volume of Flora’s shouts was not matched by actual peril. That is, Flora was not a passive screamer; when assailed by spirits coming at her, as she claimed, from within the walls, she not only cried for help but began throwing things at her attackers. It was hard to tell if any of them was some effective weapon, or the sheer volume of makeup, jewelry, hair care items and mirrors had thwarted their aggression. For all I knew, Flora had surprised them as much as they surprised her. There was no way to be sure. For the moment, we all relaxed in the discovery that our disembodied attackers seemed able to make mistakes, and we felt more confident that we ourselves were perhaps immune to their threat.

Then Bleys found Julian, more than half-dead in his quarters. Julian did not appear for breakfast, and Bleys was the first to check his rooms. I began to wonder why I had not heard anything from my vigilant post, and why Julian’s dogs had done nothing to defend him.

Also, for some reason Julian had not worn his armor the previous night. That cost him. He had been attacked from behind, as was evident by the burn marks on his back. He had fought off his attackers, but his arms, back, and legs were badly burned. I wished I could ask Julian what he had seen, and how he had fought off his assailants, but he was in a coma from his injuries, or the same thing for practical purposes. Benedict saw to his wounds and set a guard to door, with instructions to call him the instant Julian awoke – or anything appeared that might be the spirit murderers coming to finish the job.

I was not friendly with Julian, but an attack on family trumped personal arguments. Besides, just as I stood to gain from Eric’s humiliation if I could solve a mystery he was not around to handle, so too I would suffer my own humiliation if I could not resolve the problem right in front of me – and if a brother prince died on my watch, especially one I was not close to, I could count on Eric making me pay for it. And Father had made it clear that he counted fratricide as unforgivable. Failing to protect a brother was guilt by omission, and I knew that no defense I could present would clear me unless Julian lived. And I resolved the mystery and destroyed the threat.

I spoke to Benedict again, and – while cryptic – his comments included suggestions on where I might try my next vigil, and when I might expect to meet my foes.

It was very late, or rather early, before one of the walls opened in a place where it should not have done, and something that was both silver and shadow joined me.

Grayswandir felt good in my hand as I put down what I was finished drinking anyway, and waited.

Patience, they say, is a chiefly a virtue for statues, but I’d made more than my share of mistakes, thus far, and blood is hell to get out of good rugs.

Came a whisper, out of darkness. “Corwin, is it time?”

A fight for my life, I expected. Temporal confusion from the spooks, I have to admit, I did not see coming.

“No, go back to sleep”, I tried. OK, not a brilliant strategy, but I was tired and didn’t expect the question anyway.

There was a moment of silence, then the forms began to take shape. I expected something, I don’t know, human-like and perhaps demonic. These were, after all, undead spirits seeking to kill the living. Nor was I wrong.

Not exactly.

The attackers swirled into the room like sentient fog, and quickly surrounded me. I suddenly realized something was behind me, taking more substantial shape, and – I felt dread rush up my spine – preparing to strike me the same it had attacked Julian.

Something like lightning flashed, and surprised me. Mostly because the lightning came from inside the room … from Grayswandir.

I jumped to my feet, swinging up Grayswandir with one arm as I threw the book behind me into the – face? – of my posterior assailant. I heard the book smack into something, which swore as if hurt, and I pivoted, putting my back against the wall while swinging my sword into a guard position. Then I stopped.

That was a mistake.

The spirits, once the sword, stopped moving, resumed their attack, and I felt a crackle of something hot shoot past my head, striking the wall hard as if a crossbow bolt. Something else, like a burning lasso, wrapped my boots and tried to trip me. I hopped reflexively, brought my sword up again and swung it about me as if trying to burn cobwebs with a torch.

And shadows fled before me, and I was alone.

My book was on the floor, blackened. Damn. I watched lightning flicker and wondered if I would ever know what I fought, or why. Family politics seemed as tiresome as ever.

Three ghosts, Benedict had said, and had been on the brink of saying more ere his face had smoothed and he’d turned away.

Which meant he’d recognized the one he’d seen.

So had the lamplighter, before the ghost that slew him caught up with him and burned his skull bare, from within.

Coln had died, before that, and one of the cooks. Seven maids, or more by now, since.

Then they started on us. Flora had almost fallen to one, and then Julian. Almost.

We’re tough meat, we of Amber.’

Speaking of meat, I found myself famished. Deciding between preparing for a second round with the spooks, alerting the rest of the family to my attack, and getting an early breakfast, the stomach spoke with the greatest authority. Besides, I was somehow sure the attack for the night was done, and I needed to think through what had just happened before I spoke to anyone else. If one of us was behind the attacks, I had no intention of giving out thoughts on how to make sure I was properly killed next time.

I made my way to the kitchen and found it empty, as I hoped it would be. A half-dozen eggs, some cheese, ham and the appropriate spices produced a passable omelet, which I ate with coffee I made while I thought over the attack. I’m a good enough cook, but the quality of thoughts I considered diminished my appetite a bit.

I realized that I had to share my encounter, with at least one person. The attacks on Flora, then Julian so close afterwards showed that anyone could be next, and I had to help protect the innocent. If only I could be sure none among us was the guilty …

I decided on Benedict. He had shared the plan to catch out the spirits, so I already owed him a report on the attack for that reason. Also, he was the least likely to try a sneak attack on any of us – and if he had, his victims would not have survived. No, this was not Benedict’s trick, whatever it was.

I found him sitting with Julian. Julian remained still and lifeless, to all appearances. Enough to make his usual loquacity and stiff behavior seem positive ebullient. Benedict was not much more enthusiastic. I think I knew why. Julian was not so strong as some of us, but a prince of Amber should not be laid low so easily by anything. He seemed not to be resting, so much as lying helpless. That could be any one of us, even Benedict, and I could see that in Benedict’s thin, grim face.

“No change, Corwin”, said Benedict, as I entered the bedroom.

“So I see”, I answered. “But I have news for you.”

I handed Benedict the scorched book from my encounter as he rose from his seat. He looked at it, then met my eyes with his own.

“You encountered them, then?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Yes, but unlike you, I did not recognize any of them” I said, watching for a reaction to my observation. But Benedict remained solemn and still, as was his usual mood, even in happier times.

I waited for him to speak, but Benedict simply held my gaze, and after a moment. I continued.

“Yes, I was attacked”, I said. “Where you said they would likely be, and only an hour or so after the time you predicted. Which makes me curious, of course, how you knew …?”

I somehow expected Benedict to smile at being prescient, but he remained solemn. I also expected him to provide more helpful information, but I was wrong on that count as well.

“What do you know about this, Corwin?” asked Benedict, his left hand casually resting on the hilt of a dagger he had on his belt. There was no menace in his tone, but Benedict was clear in his meaning.

“Of the attacks? Nothing to speak of, Benedict.” I replied. “I told you my thoughts the last time we spoke, and I am trying to free us from who or whatever is attacking us.”

“Convenient, though”, remarked Benedict, “that you were the closest to Julian of us all, and yet you saw and heard nothing when he was attacked.”

“I know”, I protested, “and you know I would have arranged an alibi if I were going to attack Julian. Like, say, being away from Amber during the attacks?”

Benedict shook his head in irritation.

“Don’t start that stupid game again, of plots and intrigue, Corwin.”

“I won’t”, I replied, “as long as you agree to stop accusing me of being behind the attacks I’m trying to stop.”

Benedict sighed.

“All right”, he agreed. “But you were attacked, yourself, yet you have not yet told me about it.”

So I did. Including my reluctance to trust the full story to anyone in our family who might be the plotter behind the ghosts.

Benedict sighed again.

“I hate to agree with you on this, Corwin” he said, “but I sense that these attacks are part of something larger.

“And until we find a way to stop it, our danger will only grow.”

“So how do you think you escaped –” Benedict stopped and glanced down at Julian’s unmoving figure.

“Grayswandir” I said simply. “They’re afraid of it, for some reason.”

I remembered something just then.

“And I think Fiona knows they are afraid of it.” I continued. “The evening before Flora and Julian were attacked, she commented on my blade.”

Benedict grimly nodded.
“Go speak to Fiona” he said. We rose together, and he stopped for a moment in thought.

“Be direct,” he advised, “She will think she’s ahead of us, and she might be, but she might lose some of her nerve if you give her reason to think she could have missed something important.

“Good luck, Corwin” said Benedict. “Call me on my trump if you need me, but no matter what, be careful.

“Your blade may help protect you from these ghosts, but you still have to find the hand behind the spirit.” With that, Benedict turned his attention back to Julian.

But Fiona had anticipated more than my fight with the ghosts. Her room was empty, but she left a note in a sealed envelope addressed to me.

Of course, being Fiona, she had put a spell on the envelope which prevented anyone from opening it without saying the right phrase. I tried the normal and predictable phrases I knew she had used in the past to goad brothers and sisters, and since it was addressed to me I included ones she had taunted me with, like ‘Fiona is wise, Corwin tells lies’, that kind of thing. A tired and juvenile game, but Fiona liked to play that kind of thing often.

But this time there were no such games. Fiona had laughed the last time we spoke, but it seemed her mood had changed by the time she wrote her note. I called up Benedict on his trump and explained the situation. He had no advice except to tell me to keep trying.

I kept at it for more than an hour, then threw down the envelope muttering, “I give up”.

The seal appeared and broke on the envelope. I seized it and pulled out the note.

‘Corwin, hello’ began the note. ‘That you are reading this proves either that I am a great fool and feared for no good cause, or that you are as strong as I believed … or as lucky.

‘I have left the Eternal City for the present, because the forces you fight are as unpredictable as they are strong. I know them well enough to give you information, and well enough to flee them while they present a threat to us all. My craft and skills are useless as weapons against them. You, however, have the means to resolve the matter, and sufficient luck that I trust you will survive. I have bet much on your success.’

I smiled grimly at Fiona’s confidence in betting my life on the matter.

‘Trust your sword but not your brothers’, the note continued, and I chuckled at Fiona repeating such a well-known maxim among us, ‘except one whose sword suits the need even better than your own. Ask him nicely …’

I stopped and pondered for a moment who the hell Fiona could mean, then went back to the last part of the note.
‘… and strike you both one step to the LEFT of where you normally aim. Strike twice, but not at yourself.

‘Good luck, Corwin.’

If I did not know her better, that last line would have made me wonder at Fiona’s state of mind. I handed the note to Benedict, rather than have to read those instructions out loud.

Benedict read the note twice, or else slowly, then looked me in the eye.

“She wrote this for you, Corwin. Any idea how she knew you’d be the one to find it?”

“None.” I replied. “Anymore than how she knew you’d be here.”

“She wrote nothing of me” protested Benedict.

“I think she did” I said. “That line about a sword better-suited than my own. With Eric and Brand not here, she has to have meant you.”

Benedict paused in thought for a moment, then nodded sharply.

“Actually, Corwin, she might know my weapons better than I do – at least one of them. I know of a blade which might help here, but I am surprised that Fiona would know of it.”

“She seems to know a lot more than she is revealing”, I commented . “Is that blade of your accessible?”

“Oddly, yes” said Benedict. “Fiona asked about it just last week, when all of this was still largely unknown for the threat it has become.

“It makes me wonder how she considered the threat,” he pondered. “As much as I hate to cast suspicion, Corwin, this point concerns me.”

“I also wonder”, I agreed, careful not to go further with my thoughts. I could not help but wonder, though, if my sister had not started something she found she could not control.

Benedict stopped to Julian’s door, said a few words and handed something small to the guards he had posted. Then he strode away, ostensibly to collect the blade he mentioned.

As I stood in the hall thinking what to do next, I heard a noise, and realized Julian was stirring. As I went to his doorway, one guard moved to stop me but the other waved him away, saying Benedict had cleared me.

“But no one else”, I heard him warn, as I entered Julian’s room.

Julian was conscious, and aware of his injuries. Every other word seemed an oath as he took stock of his condition. He attempted to get out of bed, then quickly thought better of that idea. As he settled back into bed, Julian noticed me for the first time.

“Here to gloat?” he inquired.

“Not at all”, I assured him. “I’m glad you’re going to be OK.”

Julian groaned.

“After I can move without searing pain, I might come to share that opinion”, he muttered. “for now I count myself glad to have survived the experience.”

“What can you tell me?”, I asked, deciding not to mention my own attack.

Julian opened his mouth, then closed it.

“I am not sure I am ready to discuss that”, he said.

“Even with lives at risk?” I countered.

“Even so”, said Julian. He held my gaze for a few moments, then closed his eyes and sighed.

“Look, Corwin”, said Julian, “I can’t say I like you, and I have reason to be wary of who may be behind all this.

“I am especially vulnerable just now, even with Benedict’s protection.”

“What if I can help?” I asked.

“You don’t know what you are saying”, retorted Julian. “I can hold my own against any man, I warrant, but if you had faced what I had to face, you would better understand what you are against.”

“But he has” broke in Benedict, who had returned to the room. “This is one reason I trust him in this.”

“I see no injuries on Corwin” responded Julian. “Convenient, don’t you think, that our brother here could escape unscathed, the spirits which have killed many and almost killed me.”

“Fiona supports Corwin”, answered Benedict.

Julian stared at Benedict, then shook his head.

“No offense, Benedict, but it would mean more to me to hear that from Fiona herself.”

“She is not here”, answered Benedict, “but she left a note for Corwin, and I have read it. Fiona trusts Corwin.”

Julian barked a short, harsh laugh.

“Fiona trusts no one, brother – surely you know that by now.”

“In this”, returned Benedict, “she does.”

[ to be continued ]

The MBA, revisited 2011

2011-03-19T12:24:00.002-05:00

I checked the details on my Sitemeter recently, and I see that I have been getting a bit more interest again in my comparison of online MBA programs. So, that means I should present my list of the Top Online MBA Programs a bit earlier this year. In 2009 and 2010, I presented the results in June but that appears to be later than most people considering schools find useful, so I will try to get the results in by April. I’m not re-doing the methodology this time, so the structure should stay consistent. For anyone interested in past results, here are the rankings from prior years:

2010 Results

2009 Results

and 2006 Results

I graduated from UHV in 2009, so there is a gap between 2006 and 2009 for that reason.

For anyone new to the site, I rank Online MBA programs because there are only a few places where you can find such rankings, and those rankings are often biased because the sites are paid to sponsor certain for-profit schools. Generally, if a school advertises on a website you should consider how objective – or not – the website’s ranking criteria should be counted. Having said that, I admit I have a bias, but that’s why I lay out my methodology and explain its weighting. You can back out my results and reweight to suit yourself. After all, it’s not supposed to be me telling you where to go, it should be about you getting information you need to make the best decision.

Which reminds me. I’ve been reading a lot about MBAs, and frankly there’s a lot of bad information out there about the degree, what it can do for you and why someone should consider the MBA. First off, yes, getting an MBA from a good school will improve your prospects for a good salary and promotion – IF you do good work and prove yourself to your employer. Because no matter what degree you have, what school you go to or what promises you make, in the end it’s a value question.

Stop for a minute and turn things around. Think about when you buy a car. Sure, you want a good-looking car with options and comforts, but you still have to consider first what you need the car to do, and what you can afford. People buy and lease low-end vehicles because they have to, after all. Well, when a business decides to hire for a position, they also have to start by considering what they need, and what they can afford. You also have an advantage, because you only apply for jobs that describe work you’d like to do, and a salary you’d accept. So you know, at least generally, what kind of job you’re chasing even before the potential employer knows anything about how well you’d do if they hire you.

A lot of folks figure they’re worth more than they are paid. This drives resentment, but it’s the wrong attitude. I’ve hired people who did not work out, and for the employer this is very irritating. For one thing, you have to start all over with another hire, and hope that this one will work out. Also, if you’re not careful you could end up with someone who meets your minimum requirements, but won’t ever go an inch beyond what they have to do. That’s bad enough for a regular employee, but if you hold an MBA, you are promising your employer that you are a master at your profession; that’s kind of why the first word in MBA is ‘Master’. You get the bigger salary and more important position, because as an MBA holder you are brought on board to create or add value to the company, which is to make it more profitable, stable, or create growth. In even more blunt terms, don’t plan on making a lot of money unless you can guarantee you will bring in a lot more than that to your company. So, going back to when you apply for a position, having the MBA may get the interview, but your ability to assure the company that you represent more money for them will determine whether you make the second round of interviews and are seriously considered for an important role. The MBA is a tool, and you must never forget that it is achieved primarily to make you more effective, not just get you a bigger paycheck.

I have also noticed a lot of discussion about what school to go to, and what concentration you should choose. That really comes down to three types of schools, and three types of focus. There are certain schools that are impressive, either in general or for the concentration chosen, there are generally acceptable schools … and frankly, there are schools which will probably hurt you in comparison with your competition. I want to be careful here, because I do not mean that schools like the University of Phoenix or DeVry are not good, solid institutions of education, but to be very blunt they are commonly seen as inferior to established brick & mortar schools. This does not mean you should not consider for-profit schools for an MBA, but you should be careful to consider what your career needs to attract the employer of your choice. If you are already working at a good company and the MBA is to make you eligible for a key promotion, then the choice of school is much less significant, but if you don’t have an established performance record to brag about, or you are shooting for a big jump in position, you need to consider how your school name will be seen by the person deciding whether to give you a shot. As to concentration, a lot of candidates decide to pursue a general business MBA, rather than focus on one concentration, while people looking to excel in a particular part of a company often decide they need to key in on their target area. For example, in my case I want to work in Finance and Accounting, so my concentration was in Accounting. I did that because of the coursework I wanted to use to sharpen my strengths in accounting work, and to improve my resume in applying for positions in that department. It worked for me, as I was soon hired to be a credit manager, in charge of AR work and revenue recognition. I could have had more opportunities, perhaps, with a general business MBA, but less chance at the specific position I wanted. Also, the accounting concentration matches my experience and skill set of the past decade and more. Also, at my age a sudden change would not be desirable.

I mention age because that is another important factor in choosing your school and focus. By the time I decided to go back to school, I had more than two decades of work experience. So I not only did not need some chrome-plated Big Name University, even if I went to a Harvard or a Wharton Business School, it would not have much impact on my opportunity. If you’re in your low twenties and just got your bachelor’s the school you choose for your MBA is a huge factor in getting attention and an interview. Similarly, if you’re just starting out a general business degree might make a lot more sense than specializing in one area.

That’s the thing. You should prepare yourself in terms of goals and commitment before you pursue an MBA, and you should know what factors will make the MBA most valuable to you before you choose your school and concentration. That’s what these rankings are meant to do.

(Next: Defining the criteria, and the weighting)

The Continued Chronicles of Amber 5: Putting Pieces Together

2011-03-01T20:58:00.002-06:00

So here we are. The books are written and published, the short stories are completed and Zelazny has left the building. Some time back, I wrestled a bit with the question about whether Roger wanted someone to finish the Amber Chronicles. There’s evidence both ways, but in the end Amber is Zelazny’s world, and no one else could really do it justice. That said, it seems pretty clear that Roger wanted us to know what was going on, and the short stories were a way for Roger to draw a map to unravel the biggest mysteries of the saga. That’s what I’d like to try in these last posts; to pull out the gems hidden in the short stories, and use them to lay out a trail to present the mysteries’ solutions.

The first thing I’d like to point out about Roger’s short stories, is that he wrote them in a short time frame. The five short stories were all completed sometime between 1994 and 1995, and published between 1994 and 1996. As Roger fought his final fight with Cancer, he wanted to make sure he said what he wanted to say. It’s telling that the last story written and published, “Hall of Mirrors”, was introducing still new players to the plot; Roger was telling us that while a book or cycle will reach an end, Amber – with all its twists and surprises – will always continue. He wanted us to think about the family, and he left clues about what was going to happen, even if he could not write out the whole thing in a new cycle.

I presented some observations and guesses in earlier posts. I present them again, and add to them:

The first cycle focused on Amber. The second cycle focused on Chaos. The third, then, will focus on Shadow.

The first book of each cycle featured the imprisonment of the main character. So will the third.

The final book of each cycle saw the death of a King, and a new King. So will the third.

Corwin was betrayed by a love. So was Merlin. This will happen in the third cycle as well.

Corwin depended on his magic word, Grayswandir. Merlin depended on his shadow computer construct, Ghostwheel. The protagonist of the third cycle will depend on a similar artifact specially suited to his person.

In each of the first to cycles, the hero grew through the books from a self-centered person to a duty-focused person. So too, in the third cycle.

All through the books, we saw that people were not as they seemed. Carl Corey discovered he was really Prince Corwin, his buddy Ganelon turned out to be his father Oberon, Dara was Corwin’s lover and the mother of his son Merlin, but she never loved him and wanted Amber destroyed, Merlin’s best friend Luke tuned out to have attempted his murder several times, his girlfriend Julia became his nemesis Mask, and his brother Jurt, who spent his whole life trying to kill Merlin, in the end became his ally and helped him free Corwin Dara and defied the Pattern and the Logrus both. So moving into the last series, we should expect to not only see new characters added, but also see some surprises from the cast in place. Especially from Mandor, Fiona, and – wait for it – Bill Roth.
There is a good reason why both Order and Chaos wanted Merlin for their side. A good reason why Mandor and Dara wanted to protect and support Merlin, and it’s not just genetics.

There is a reason folks don’t just chase down and collect the Spikards. Remember that there is a price for using them, just as there is for the Jewel of Judgment.

What are Delwin and Sand up to? Remember Bleys is working with them, and Bleys has always been a schemer. And by the way, we know from “The Salesman’s Tale” that Delwin was charged with ‘stewardship’ of the Spikards. Yet we know that of the nine, two are the swords Werewindle and Grayswandir, Merlin has two more, Bleys has one, and I strongly suspect Mandor has one (you don’t hand out something that had great potential as a weapon, unless you have something equally potent for your own protection). So at best, Delwin is able to look after the remaining three rings. Losing two out of every three of something does not strike me as great stewardship. I have a suspicion Delwin has not told Vialle much about the Spikards’ whereabouts.

From Luke’s ability to summon Werewindle through a trump he drew, we know the Spikards can be manipulated. We also know from the Spikard’s shifting on Merlin’s finger that it has a will of its own.

Vialle can foretell the future through her sculptures.

Corwin returned to Chaos almost immediately after the end of ‘Prince of Chaos’, or perhaps he was not able to go straight through to Amber through Merlin’s ring after all. What happened?

After escaping from the Pattern, Luke makes his way almost immediately to Vialle. Vialle continues to favor Luke (remember she gave him her ring as a sign of protection, which irritated Random and he – don’t forget – does not like or trust Luke). There is a connection between Luke and Vialle which indicates a subplot.

The name of Brand is important. In the second series, we see that his name is important to Jasra, Dara, and Jurt, and in the short stories the name is important to Delwin (but who is repelled by mention of Jasra).

A race called the Shroudlings, apparently a mix of moralists, assassins, and ghouls, live in a dimension beyond the mirrors accessible only under certain unusual circumstances which they largely control.

An evil sorcerer has found a way to enter the dimension of the Shroudlings, though he is largely unaware of them he sends monsters after them. He also means to kill off rivals in his way to becoming King of Chaos. Rhanda says that "even Mandor considers him a worthy antagonist".

Merlin’s friends include a sentient computer, killing cord, being from an exterior spatial dimension, several demons, and a ‘living equation’.

Apparently bored with horses, Corwin has a steed chosen for him by Merlin which is sentient, can change shapes, and turns to stone at night.

Dworkin and Suhuy are engaged in a multi-dimensional board game, similar to Chess, but which pieces include people and significant artifacts of the Amber universe … including the Unicorn and Serpent themselves. This is so important a point, that I have to stop here and bring up similar hints from other parts of the stories. We read in “Hall of Mirrors”, for example, Flora’s belief that the Amber Castle is actively acting in the conflict, to such a degree that it uses the Hall of Mirrors to force a confrontation between Corwin and Luke, and Luke’s guess in the same story that Shadows are being reflected in Amber, rather than the usual other way around. This brings us to a theme that we should stop and consider …

Losing control. In the Amberverse, everything was Chaos, until Dworkin Barimen rebelled, ripped an eye out of the Serpent of Chaos, and started a family with the Unicorn he encountered while fleeing. I’d call the creation of the Pattern with the Jewel of Judgment to be a case of Chaos losing control. Of course, the pattern and worlds created by Dworkin changed when Brand rebelled, and tried to kill Random’s son Martin on the Prime Pattern, causing Order to be damaged and Dworkin to lose a bit of his sanity. Have to say that is a case of Order losing control. By the end of the first cycle of books, Oberon, Eric, Brand, and Dierdre are dead, and Amber gets destroyed – temporarily – before Random’s forces win the Patternfall War and restore the universe (by the way, telling in that context that the commander of the winning forces is named ‘Random’) . Have to say that’s a case of the Royal Family losing control, especially King Oberon. By the end of the second cycle of books, King Swayville is dead, along with most of the line of succession to the throne, and the fragile peace created by treaty after the war is in danger of collapse. Have to say that’s an indication that Chaos has lost control, again. Never mind that things have reached the point that a half-qualified contender for the throne is able to get the advantage of an elemental force of existence, just because he has a sentient computer and more than a little luck. Now the short stories tell us that all the rules are in doubt, that just about any absolute is past-tense, to the point that the Shadows are acting on the prime forces which created them, and the servants of the Great Powers are able to leverage those same powers to their own advantage.

With that said, going back to Dworkin/Suhuy’s game, Dworkin makes a surprise move with a woman identified only as a ‘chaos figure’. Dara? Or someone else?

Merlin is a klepto. When he visits Brand’s quarters at the end of ‘Knight of Shadow’, he pilfers the ring he finds there without once considering that as it was in Brand’s room, it might be considered part of Brand’s ‘estate’ and therefore be the property of Jasra (OK, no one really feels she’s owed any consideration) or his son, Luke. Merlin also considers swiping the sword Werewindle, and decides to give it to Luke only after he is unable to find something else he could give Luke in its place as a ‘present’. What does it say, really, that Merlin’s idea of getting a gift for a friend is pilfering through his friend’s family property?

Werewindle and Grayswandir are not merely swords, but are Spikards, tools of tremendous power and also seem to have some degree of free will. By the way, from ‘Prince of Chaos’ we get a strong hint that not only was the original pattern drawn with Grayswandir (as was Corwin’s pattern), but parts of the pattern are copied from the sword’s design.
The mystery nemesis/sorcerer in the short stories is short, apparently male, and probably not human. In “Coming to a Cord”, this guy says that meeting Flora the normal way might have caused “horrible complications”. When Flora thinks that means he’s married, the man replies “worse than that”, but does not elaborate. He knows a bit of magic, but seems limited, in that he can’t defend himself from a monster like the one he sent off earlier, for example. Rhanda says that this guy is very good at scheming, and Mandor considers him a ‘worthy antagonist’, but he actually fears Mandor, which is one reason he’s hiding out in the behind-the-mirror dimension . Conquest through cowardice, perhaps?

The sword Werewindle, it turns out, started out as the Spikard Rawg. Does this imply personality?

When Corwin is explaining the Spikards to Luke, he says the following:
“Back in the early days of creation, the gods had a series of rings their champions used in the stabilization of Shadow."

Excuse me? I thought with Oberon being king of the One True World and all, and Dworkin having drawn the Pattern that literally defines the universe, just who would be these ‘gods’ in the ‘early days of creation’? And what happened to them, exactly? And how does all this play out in the story?

It also turns out that the Spikards are different from each other. Corwin implies that it has to do with power sources, but it may well have to do with personalities as well … and maybe choice of users?

In “Hall of Mirrors”, Oberon warns Corwin and Luke about the “oddball power of someone like Jurt.” So what is Jurt up to, anyway? He very abruptly switched from hating Merlin to being afraid of him in ‘Prince of Chaos’, but I suspect a bit of that was Mandor’s doing, as well as the Logrus, which had decided on Merlin. Once Merlin shoved back against the Logrus, we know that new contenders for the throne showed up, and in that indication we should figure on Jurt getting ideas himself about the crown.

Also, we know from “The Shroudling and the Guisel” that Rhanda warned Merlin about Julia pitting Jurt against Merlin. Jurt, from everything we have seen, has been and will be easy for her to manipulate, and it’s close to a sure thing that Julia would be big on trying to get Merlin killed. We’re talking a woman who was so obsessed with Merlin that to get to him she learned a variety of mental and spiritual disciplines, discovered learned and mastered a dimension she only suspected existed, overpowered her master and became a formidable force in her own right. Let’s not forget that she was stabbed by Merlin, and spent her recovery in close proximity with a man whose primary fantasy was murdering Merlin. So, we’re supposed to believe that the very next time she sees Merlin, all is forgiven and she’s ready to be friends with benefits? Not very likely, is it? Considering that by the end of the Merlin cycle, we have discovered that Julia fooled (in succession) Merlin, Rick Kinsky, Victor Melman, Jasra, Sharu Garrul, Merlin again, Jurt … you get the idea. Figure Julia to be a vendetta player, targeting Merlin, Jurt, and probably a few others just for practice.

Which reminds me, we should talk about Dara. When Dworkin used a Chaos figure in his game with Suhuy, it surprised Suhuy, and I immediately thought of Dara. I could be wrong, but Dara’s been playing both sides all through the stories. She first showed up in ‘The Guns of Avalon’, where she seduced Corwin in order to bear Merlin. But don’t forget, in Tir-Na N’Goth Dara was an ally of Benedict, with whose help she reigned. Also, Dara had the support of Oberon in ‘The Courts of Chaos’, indicating either how well she could sell a con or giving us reason to think she as not, in fact, the 100% Amber-Must-Be-Destroyed 9-foot-tall cheerleader and ruthless psychotic we see throughout the Merlin cycle. But if she is, hmm, a double agent, who is she really aligned with (I can’t see her as a dedicated idealist working for Peace, Love, and Unicorn Shrines in every village)? Or is it all about getting her own advantage, an idea I find the most likely?

Speaking of schemers, what about the happy couple of magic, mayhem and marauding, Fiona and Mandor? We know from ‘Prince of Chaos’ that Mandor has literally built a shrine to Fiona (talk about infatuation!), and the two pop up like a dating couple several places in the Merlin cycle. I can easily imagine a typical night for the two – get together, have an appetizer, murder a passing citizen of Shadow for laughs, prepare and enjoy an amazing dinner, explore the demonic realms near the Rim for artifacts of power, compare notes on which sibling they’d most like to torture to death if they took the throne, enjoy a truly transcendent artistic experience, make a prank call or two on the Trumps, pretending to be Oberon’s or Borel’s ghost, and so on.

And what about the Pattern and the Logrus? Neither of these near-absolute Powers seemed to be able to exercise all that much control of their domains. Merlin and Ghostwheel, in particular, have annoyed them both to the point that I would not be surprised to find out they sent emissaries to meet and negotiate a mutual agreement to attack the pattern created by Corwin, and to capture and kill Merlin and Ghostwheel.

Another thing that has to be sorted out is the role of Coral. We know from ‘Knight of Shadows’ onward, that she wears the Jewel of Judgment, surgically placed there by Dworkin. This is a big deal, folks. The Jewel of Judgment, we learned in the two cycles, was originally an eye of the Serpent of Chaos. It so happens that Order came into being after a certain Dworkin ripped the eye out of the Serpent and fled Chaos, and created the Pattern with it (although we now know he also had at least one of the Spikards with him, which now exists as the sword Grayswandir). So it’s significant that the same fellow who ripped it out of the head of the Serpent of Chaos implanted into Coral … and it’s never been in anyone else’s head in between those times! Now, is that a gesture meant to placate Chaos somewhat – Order loses the artifact, and Coral wears it the same way the Serpent did; not quite the same as giving back to the Serpent, but definitely moving the balance a bit – or is it a move to advance Shadow, with a shadow being (Coral) gaining the full use of an object powerful enough to create its own universe? Oh, and by the way, we recall from the first cycle that close proximity to the Jewel, even by an attuned individual, wears them down and eventually kills them.
Assuming Dworkin was not simply finding an especially cruel and temporary setting for the Jewel, he must have provided or shown Coral a way to endure and survive with the jewel as part of her body. In ‘Prince of Chaos’, Merlin probes the jewel and is told by a voice that he is “denied the higher initiation”, which shows that there is a level of attunement beyond even the one used by the Kings of Amber … unless Oberon knew it and never shared. Once again, specific sentience of what was originally considered insentient before is implied. Merlin thought that the voice was Coral’s, but he never addresses whether she was forbidding him the higher-order attunement ... or the Jewel itself made that decision.

Before ending this section, and moving on to completely arbitrary guesswork, I’d like to conclude with some thoughts on Bill Roth, lawyer friend of Corwin and interdimensional man of mystery. I wrote before about how this guy pops up, over and over … and over. He literally saves Corwin’s life at a time when no one else even knows where Corwin is, He’s the author of the Patternfall War treaty, and he just happens to be around at a number of key plot points. Also, consider this description of Roth in ‘Trumps of Doom’:

“He was a short, heavy-set man with a somewhat florid complexion”

Why is this important? Maybe nothing, but our mystery sorcerer also happens to be short. True, no one recognizes him who sees him, but then again, if he’s a shapeshifter, as so many Amberites and Chaosites are, changing his appearance is no big deal. Also, Roth shows up in Amber unexpectedly. He has a reason for how he got there, but it’s an odd thing … like so much else of Bill Roth. I get the sense that Roth is not our mystery sorcerer, but still. Consider this passage from ‘Trumps of Doom’:

“I had told him my father's story, as I had heard it from his own lips, outside the Courts of Chaos, because I'd gotten the impression that he had wanted Bill to know what had been going on, felt he' d owed him some sort of explanation for all the help he'd given him. And Bill actually seemed to understand and believe it. But then, he'd known Dad a lot better than I did. "I've remarked before on the resemblance you bear your father." I nodded. "It goes beyond the physical," he continued.”

Roger also gives a clear hint when he has Bill comment “Two guys as close as you got to be-with no pasts to show to each other." "I guess you're right. What does it mean?" "You're not a normal human being." "No, I' m not." "I'm not so sure Luke is either."And since we know so little, really, about Bill Roth, maybe Bill is not a ‘normal human being’.

The best place to hide, sometimes, is in plain sight.

Actually, there is one last area I’d like to address in this post; who will be the main protagonist in the third cycle. Oh yeah, I think Roger told us who would be his main guy in the third series, and he dropped that hint in the short stories. Consider; in the Corwin cycle, the first character to speak is Corwin, and Corwin – no surprise shows up more than any other character in the books of his cycle. Same for Merlin in his cycle. So we should see the same 1st-person habit and the most appearances in the short stories. So let’s see who shows up in the short stories:

“The Salesman’s Tale” – main characters Luke and Vialle
“The Shroudling and the Guisel” – main characters Merlin and Rhanda
“Blue Horse, Dancing Mountains” – main characters Corwin and Shask, appearances by Dworkin and Suhuy
“Coming to a Cord” – main characters Frakir, Flora, Luke, and the unknown sorcerer
“Hall of Mirrors” – main characters Corwin and Luke, with appearances in the hall of Mirrors by Oberon, Eric, Dierdre, Dara, and Jasra, with appearances at the end by Fiona, Mandor, and Flora.

Now, counting a main character as 20 points and a minor appearance as 5 points, here’s our tally from the short stories, least to most:

5 Points: Dara, Dierdre, Dworkin, Eric, Fiona, Jasra, Mandor, Oberon, Suhuy
20 points: Frakir, Merlin, Rhanda, Shask, the unknown sorcerer, Vialle
25 points: Flora
40 points: Corwin
60 points: Luke

Yes, Luke is the only character to show up in three of the short stories, and he is a major character in all three of them. What’s more, in the first of the five short stories to be published, “The Salesman’s Tale”, the first character to speak is Luke, and he’s narrating his story first-person, the same way Corwin and Merlin narrated their stories in the cycles where they were the main focus. Luke is the protagonist for the third cycle. Also interesting is the king-role; in the Corwin Cycle, Corwin dealt with his ambition to become King of Amber, in the Merlin Cycle, the underlying conflict turned out to revolve around Chaos’ plan to seat Merlin on the throne of Chaos. In the end, neither Corwin nor Merlin wanted to be kings, but served as champions. Telling then, that by the end of ‘Prince of Chaos’ we see Luke has become King of Kashfa, a Shadow realm and by the way he does not really want the job but is doing it out of duty – Luke has become the champion of Shadow, and oh by the way he’s also walked Corwin’s pattern and by right is the owner of both Werewindle and the Spikard that Merlin has been making so much use of. There’s a story to tell, wouldn’t you say?

Faith, Choice, and Foundations

2011-03-01T12:46:00.000-06:00

I saw a really bad movie this week. “The Omen 2” came on TV and my wife had never seen it (nor had I), and so we watched it out of curiosity. If you don’t recall the movie, it was the middle movie in a trio of movies based on the Antichrist. The movies cited some New Testament verses – well out of context – and gave their little monster a number of accessories and abilities besides the original biblical description. Like being able to stare people to death, and familiars like a silent Rottweiler who kills enemies for him, and a raven (or a really big crow) who also disposes of inconvenient people. By the way, the ‘Omen’ movies came several years before ‘Star Wars’, so I had this mental image of a certain modern director watching Damien Thorn stare someone to death in a scene, and think to himself, ‘Niiiiiiiiice, I gotta have MY villain use that trick’. Anyway, the movie had absolutely no suspense – you could tell by the music when someone was going to die – and a plot that was absurdly thin. What struck me the most, though, is that the Antichrist legend is pretty rich and detailed (almost every belief system has a story of a final evil leader), and the Bible contains enough information to build a fascinating character. But somehow no one has ever been able to present a truly believable Antichrist.

When you think about it, though, it makes a kind of sense. People who are aligned with God don’t worry too much about some human trying to play God (most of us are guilty of that to some degree, so the Antichrist is just the most egregious offender), and most people out of alignment with God do not understand the concept or the message. Some scholars believe the biblical Antichrist was the Emperor Nero of Rome, some others have suggested people like Adolf Hitler was the Antichrist, or at least AN Antichrist. And of course, the word has been worn out to the point that almost every controversial political figure can expect to be called ‘The Antichrist’ by his or her opponents. The word has lost a lot of its significance over time. There was a time when the fear of damnation caused men and women to tremble, to weigh their lives against a higher standard and to think seriously about the major choices. While I am not one who believes that God wants us to repent of our sins just to get out of a terrible punishment, I do believe we should be aware that our choices have consequences, and to live in faith by choice rather than compulsion. Also, faith builds a foundation for a better life which seems irrational to some people, and foolish to even more, but which makes possible greater joy and happiness than anyone can have without it.

Consider Charlie Sheen. Most of us, at first thought, would gladly trade lives to be someone known for talent, good looks, grace, and more than a little good fortune. Speaking of which, that life we trade for would include a personal fortune in eight or nine figures, and a regular lifestyle which many people literally fantasize about. What’s not to like? Yet Mr. Sheen has three failed marriages, accidentally shot a girlfriend in 1990, has been arrested numerous times, including charges of domestic violence and drug-related offenses. He’s been in both hospitals and rehab, but apparently still has not changed his behavior. Sheen’s temper and legal troubles finally cost him his starring role and contract on his TV show, and for all intents and purposes his career is circling the drain. Charlie Sheen is hardly the only guy to go down that road, though. Last year at this time, we were just finding out about Tiger Woods, whose philandering astounded even the blasé media, and more to the point cost him his endorsements, derailed his ability to win tournaments, and destroyed his marriage and his relationship to his children. Let’s put it this way – if you’re married to Denise Richards or Elin Nordegren, and you still feel you need to cheat, you’re seriously messed up. But let’s not forget Lindsay Lohan, though, or Paris Hilton, proof that the ladies also are quite capable of taking a good thing and messing it up completely.

This is not to say that if you are able to have and keep your success that this means you have it all. My point is that real happiness and joy comes from something a lot deeper and substantial. Sheen, Lohan, Woods and Hilton all made the same mistake, in that they chased what they wanted for themselves, and never built their lives on something more enduring and permanent. I’m not perfect by any means, but I’m pretty sure that I have more happiness and joy in my life than any of those celebrities I mentioned. Sure, they have more fun and can have any toy or pleasure they desire, pretty much at their whim and as much as they want, but what they fail to understand is why it won’t satisfy. One analogy which comes to mind is a broken rib – you can feel a bit better by having a drink or taking a drug, but until you get the rib healed you will continue to suffer from the situation – any relief will be superficial and temporary. Life conditions are the same way – you have to recognize, accept and address the real problems in your life, or you can never be free of them.

What’s good about our common situation, is that we have choices. We make choices all the time, and every one leads to a different place from the others. One choice may well seem to be inconsequential soon after you make it, but over time and in combination with a whole sequence of choices, you begin to see what your choice leads to. This is true of education, character, and cultural choices, but even more in your moral decisions. You are what you do, and in essence, become the sum of your choices.

I am a Christian, and my Master commends me to spread the Good News, but I want to be careful about the thin line between honest testimony and unreasonable fanaticism. Just last Saturday, I was taking a nap when there was a ring at the door. A group of evangelists were inviting folks to come to their church. Fair enough, but the problem is that they started out their tour with the assumption that everyone they were going to meet need saving from hellfire. Telling them I was already a believer did no good, as they then expected me to either A)join them on their tour, or B)invite them in for a few hours of scripture study, prayer and in-home revival. Now, I believe in the Bible, and I love to pray, but it’s just plain wrong to show up at someone’s house and tell them what they have to do with their own time and residence. As I said, I was sleeping when they showed up, and while I pray often, I have a firm rule that I do not pray on command just because some other person expects me to, much less considers it a requirement of faith. Sorry, folks, I worship God, but even though I believe you are my brothers and sisters in Christ, that does not mean your opinion counts as His. I mention this little incident, because if I was put off by the Jesus Sales Team, I suspect my neighbors were no better pleased with their heavy-handed assumptions and, well, arrogance. As if to reinforce the problem, I was cut off in traffic yesterday morning by a reckless driver speeding through traffic and weaving through lanes – with a WWJD sticker on his back bumper. What would Jesus do? Drive slower and act more friendly, I think. That’s not to tear down Christians in general, though as I am a believer I have the responsibility to call out my own, first. I bring that criticism up for two reasons. First off, when I speak about laying a moral foundation for our lives to build upon, I believe that comes from God, and from what I know it seems that He speaks to all of us. No, not necessarily as a real voice you hear, though I know that He does that some times (He does that to me when I am especially poor at listening, but that’s for another time). But we all know, at some deep level, when we are over the line, when we are not saying, doing, or being the person we should. The idea that God only cares about people in one part of the world, or offers communion with one culture, or shares the truth about His will with one group, is absurd. I think C.S. Lewis was right when he suggested that all myth has some value, and we do well to consider a belief system on its own merit. That’s not to say that all beliefs are valid, or that all roads reach God. But I do believe that God knows the heart of every one of us, and you cannot make God angry by loving your neighbor or helping someone in need. That is, regardless of doctrine, a man who acts in the ways that Christ commands is His best follower. The man (generic form, not meaning male per se) who performs the commands of the Buddha is his best student, regardless of whether he knows a single teaching by rote. The reverse is also true – a man who hates his brother hates Christ, no matter how much Scripture he can recite, and a man who does not care when someone suffers, spits on the God who made us all. We make the choice over and over again, sometimes choosing well and sometimes poorly. What separates us, I think, starts with whether we care about our mistakes and the people we hurt, or if we just want to take care of ourselves. If we are sorry for our wrongs and mean to improve, even though we will screw up we are the family of God, and walking the right way because of the foundation of choosing to care and help. If not, we neglect that foundation, and even a thousand good deeds, if done only to please ourselves, will come to nothing and end is failure.

Hope is always true, but we have to choose it and build upon it. Faith is stronger than rebar, but harder to work with for most of us. But we have to start with Charity, because that is the direction of our heart and the theme for all our decisions. Care, then act on it.

/podium

The Continued Chronicles of Amber 4: ‘Hall of Mirrors’, and The Start of Speculation

2011-02-19T21:13:00.002-06:00

OK, so I left off our hero Corwin heading down a hall with Luke, and made it sound as though he and Luke would be in dire straits soon.

Well, that’s pretty much what happened. Luke notices the Hall of Mirrors, but does not know what it is. Corwin briefly explains it, then the two enter the hall. They encounter Luke’s mother Jasra, then Oberon … who asks Corwin to stab Luke. Turns out that now both Corwin and Luke cannot be harmed – except by Werewindle or Grayswandir. Both swords start singing, and the swords are able to cut where normal steel does nothing.

At Oberon’s bidding, Corwin reveals to Luke a secret of their swords:

“Back in the early days of creation, the gods had a series of rings their champions used in the stabilization of Shadow."
"I know of them," Luke said. "Merlin wears a spikard."
"Really," I said. "They each have the power to draw on many sources in many shadows. They're all different."
"So Merlin said."
"Ours were turned into swords, and so they remain."
"Oh?" Luke said. "What do you know?"
"What do you deduce from the fact that they can do you harm when another weapon cannot?"
"Looks as if they're somehow involved in our enchantment," I ventured.
"That's right," Oberon said. "In whatever conflict lies ahead—no matter what side you are on--you will need exotic protection against the oddball power of someone like Jurt."
"Jurt?" I said.
"Later," Luke told me. "I'll fill you in."

Note that Oberon specifically mentions Jurt. He then blesses both Corwin and Luke (important?) , who then proceed down the hall and meet Dara, who informs them that they have to fight each other, and she implies the fight is to the death. They then come across Eric, though he happens to be dead he is unaware of it, who laughs at the idea of Corwin dying – he ignores Luke, then they see Dierdre, who also happens to be dead, who clues us on in on the fact that none of the images in the mirrors really knows the truth of what will happen. They are then transported to “the killing ground”, where they arrive unconscious.

They wake up near a bonfire, and decide to investigate. They find about a dozen people, and speak to a man named Reis, who confirms that they have been ordered to witness the fight between Corwin and Luke, by two people wearing hoods, one of them probably a woman. The two are fed and then take places by the fire where, Corwin is told, “the cues will come to you”.

Corwin and Luke mean to give a mock show ending in no decision, but find themselves fighting for real, with some of the action out of their control. Corwin admits, “I grew somewhat afraid”.

As the fight continues, both men decide to allow a minor injury to themselves then end things at that point to prevent more serious possibilities. This too is not to be, as the swords take action pretty much on their own. Recognizing that he may not survive, Luke warns Corwin about the sorcerer he met in Flora’s room, and his appearance from a mirror. Luke also speculates “Could it be that for the first time Amber is starting to reflect Shadow, rather than the other way around?” Just at that moment, Roger writes, “Hello,” said a familiar voice. “The deed is done.” The two hooded figures turn out to be Fiona and Mandor, who arrive mid-fight to see what happens. Corwin warns Fiona that he will come after her, to which she replies “we are not as culpable as you may think” just as Corwin passes out from his wounds.

Corwin and Luke come to in the infirmary by Flora, and learn that no one else knows what has happened. Flora observes that the Hall of Mirrors has become a lot more active than when they were growing up. “Almost as if the place were waking up”. Flora goes on to suggest there is “another player in the game”, which she identifies as “the castle itself”.

So ends the last short story, and we can now move on to speculation about what it all means. To do so, I will for here leave aside the short fragment called “A Secret of Amber” and deal only with the other five stories, not least because there is so much in those stories that builds our setting and context.
To begin, I think the titles of these stories gives us a first impression. “Blue Horse, Dancing Mountain” not only re-inserts Corwin as a major character, but introduces us to Shask, his shape-shifting steed. It also allows Corwin to have a conversation while he is alone from other humanoids without literally talking to himself. The Dancing Mountains are also very important. For one thing, we see in “Hall of Mirrors” that the mountains were part of a spell placed on Corwin, but we also see there a game being played out between Dworkin and Suhuy, which appears to be for control of the universe. Telling that it takes place in a setting which is sometimes orderly and is yet also unpredictable. The very name ‘Dancing Mountain’ is a paradox which Zelazny clearly wants us to keep in mind as we read.

“The Salesman’s Tale” brings us up to speed on what happened when Luke faced off against the Pattern at the Prime Location. We find out that he only spilled tea, not blood, on the Pattern and did that as a diversion to make his escape. Luke also drew the Trumps of Doom for locations near to the Crystal Caves, so he could lure Merlin there in order to take him prisoner. This also confirms why Zelazny titled the first book of the Merlin Cycle “The Trumps of Doom”; the book was basically about a trap set for Amber in general and Merlin in particular, and the trumps drawn by Luke were a key part of that trap. The short story reminds us that many of the story’s characters are really themselves the most when they are in non-royal settings; Corwin as a warrior/mercenary on the Shadow Earth, with a vocation in songs and poems, Merlin as a software designer, and Luke as a salesman. Luke is a character or major and continuing significance to the plot, so his style and character are being emphasized here for good reason, including the fact that Luke contacts Vialle not only to fill her in on Merlin’s situation and the Courts, but also to advance his own position in Random’s court – no mean feat, since Random does not like or trust Luke/Rinaldo.

“The Shroudling and the Guisel” not only brings us up to speed on Merlin after the end of ‘Prince of Chaos’, but also expands our roster of players in the drama. Against Merlin, while at the end of ‘Prince of Chaos’ it seemed that Merlin had secured the Throne of Chaos, but in this story we find out there are six new contenders to deal with – plus a dark-horse entrant who plans on killing off the competition. We also find out, though, that Merlin has a most unusual patron, his old friend and sometime sweetheart Rhanda, who is of a race called Shroudlings. This new enemy not only plans to kill off his rivals to gain the throne, as a hobby he likes to kill Shroudlings. Shroudlings live in a dimension reachable only through mirrors – important, because it turns out Ghostwheel cannot enter that dimension, and also because the mystery sorcerer uses the mirrors as shortcuts and ambush avenues. The bad guy uses a monster known as a Guisel, which is terrifying and seems all but impossible to kill to Rhanda, but as we saw in the Merlin Cycle, Merlin is pretty good at killing near-mythic monsters. So too here, though Merlin has to ask for help from Kergma, a difficult-to-describe playmate of his youth who is, for this story’s purpose, a mathematical lifeform as well as a friend to Merlin, a personal computer in a very real sense. The plot encompassing friends from so many different dimensions begins to show the scope of Merlin’s capabilities, and for the first time he begins to look as if he might be up to the job.
“Coming to a Cord” reminds us of yet another of Merlin’s unusual friends, Frakir. And if we go back for a moment to consider Frakir’s role in ‘Knight of Shadow’, we can see hints of Frakir’s ability and intelligence. Like many of Merlin’s friends, Frakir at first appears to serve in only one or a limited capacity, but events prove the individual to be greater than their initial impression. Also, by now we have seen Merlin build contacts and support in a broad range of places, and in a strategic sense this makes him a lot more formidable, especially since some of them – like Frakir – are unknown to many of his enemies.

“Hall of Mirrors” is the last of Zelazny’s stories, and it opens a number of plot doors for us. The obvious point is Flora’s observation that the Castle itself is acting in its own interest, note also that if this is the case the Castle was acting against Corwin and Luke. This gains even more significance when we go back to that strange game between Dworkin and Suhuy in “Blue Horse, Dancing Mountain”; we are told about playing pieces which include a Fire Angel, a Wyvern, The Unicorn of Amber and the Castle of Amber, the Serpent of Chaos and the Chaos palace Thelbane, Mandor, Corwin, and a female figure we know only as a Chaos figure being manipulated by Dworkin. My point is that since Corwin is a playing piece, we might well expect Luke to be a piece as well, and the forced combat between Corwin and Luke indicates not only that Dworkin and Suhuy can manipulate the players, to at least some degree the pieces can act on players as well.

Next: Putting pieces together

The Continued Chronicles of Amber 3: ‘Coming to a Cord’, ‘Hall of Mirrors’

2011-02-16T20:58:00.001-06:00

The last two short stories by Roger Zelazny had a lot of information which fills us in on many things, including the continuing conflict between the Pattern and the Logrus, Corwin’s role in the conflict, and the scale of sentience in Zelazny’s universe.

First, let’s look at ‘Coming to a Cord’. This story begins at the point at the end of ‘Knight of Shadows’, when Merlin discovers the spikard in Brand’s room that plays such an important role in ‘Prince of Chaos’. Keep in mind that point; that ring belonged to Brand, so we can consider it to be Brand’s estate, Luke’s property (as Brand’s son), or else we can call it Finder’s Keepers as Merlin has decided to apply the logic. At the end of ‘Knight of Shadows’, Merlin was even trying to think of a way to keep the ring and the sword Werewindle, but eventually concluded the sword belonged to Luke – or at least would be an appropriate gift for him. The ring is something that Luke may have a much more valid claim to than Merlin, yet Merlin never even mentions it to Luke until midway through ‘Prince of Chaos’, at which time Merlin clearly considers the ring to be his property. Hmm. We also see that Merlin is affected by a spell on or from the ring, and under that compulsion Merlin abandons Frakir and ties her to the bedpost of Brand’s bed. ‘Coming to a Cord’ picks up from that point, from Frakir’s point of view.

First off, we discover that the sentience granted to Frakir in its upgrade by the Logrus has continued; it was suppressed by shock when Merlin returned to normal spacetime conditions, but it has returned. Frakir is not happy to have been tied to the bedpost in Brand’s old quarters, but is surprisingly forgiving of Merlin. Also, Frakir informs us that the spell which took hold of Merlin was placed on the ring by Brand, a benevolent spell meant to help his son Rinaldo, whom we know as Luke for the most part. Frakir also confides to us that the swords Werewindle and Grayswandir are actually spikards which have been transformed into swords, which helps to explain their tremendous power and apparent sentience.

After freeing himself from the bedpost, Frakir searches for someone who can help her get in touch with Merlin. She finds her way to Flora’s room, and she agrees to help her. After unsuccessfully trying to reach Merlin through his trump, Flora and Frakir discuss the confrontation between the Pattern and the Logrus briefly, and Frakir decides to wait for a time in Flora’s room. When an intruder arrives – through the mirror – Flora is offended, then intrigued. We are not given a good description of the fellow, but the following exchange between Flora and this mystery character includes some interesting details:

"There are many legitimate ways by which you could have gained an introduction," she said.
"True, but that way might have led to horrible complications in my life."
"Oh, you're married."
"Worse than that," he said.
"What, then?"
"No time now. I can feel its approach," he said.
"What's approach?"
"The guisel," he said. "I sent one to slay another sorcerer, but he disposed of it and sent one of his own after me. Didn't know he was that good. I don't know how to dispose of the things, and it will be oozing through that mirror in a matter of minutes, to destroy us all most nastily. So, this place being Amber and all, is there some hero available who might be anxious to earn another merit badge?"
"I think not," she replied. "Sorry."
Just then the mirror began to darken.
"Oh, it's coming!" he cried.

At this point the Guisel which our mystery sorcerer has sent after Merlin, and he defeated and sent back, enters the room and the dialogue between our characters is cut off. What does he mean, do you suppose, by being ‘worse than married’, and it’s interesting that our mystery guy can send a guisel off to attack someone, but is unsure what to do in defending against one. A little later on, the story describes the sorcerer as a “strange little man”, which is information we can use to start building a profile on him.

We also get some more interesting details when Luke enters the room and draws Werewindle. The sorcerer notes the blade and once he finds it’s Werewindle, asks:

"Your father--who was he?"
"Brand--Prince of Amber."
"Of course," the sorcerer said, moving again toward the door. "You can destroy that thing with it. Command it to draw energy while you're using it. It has a virtually limitless supply to draw upon."
"Why?" Luke asked.
"Because it isn't really a sword."

Note the focus on Brand, and the details this guy knows about Werewindle. Just to make sure that we readers get it, Roger has Frakir climb onto Luke so she can give him more information about his blade. Frakir advises Luke that

“You might well be able to draw enough energy through Werewindle to destroy a world.”

Hmm. Considering that in the first book of the Merlin Cycle, we find out that Luke is trying to avenge Brand’s death on Amber, this may not be a good thing. And looky looky, with Corwin carrying Grayswandir and Luke carrying Werewindle, we see a bit of balance restored between Order and Chaos. Wonder if that is as important as it seems?

The fact that the sword can draw that much energy is also a bit alarming, since being able to draw that much power is very different from being able to control it, hmm?

Yikes.

But Frakir is not done schooling us on Werewindle. As Luke continues to hack away at the guisel, Frakir gives him another tidbit:

It's not just a sword, I said.
"What is it, then?"
Long before there was Werewindle, it was the spikard Rawg.
"Spikard? Like that strange ring Merlin picked up?"
Exactly.

Among other things, interesting that this spikard had a name. Does that mean some or all of the others also had/have names? And names imply personalities – is this something else which will come into play?

Definitely a story worth plugging into the overall picture. And before I go on to “Hall of Mirrors”, let’s stop for a minute and consider other things we know about the new main villain, as this guy appears to be.

In the short story “The Shroudling and The Guisel”, Merlin’s childhood friend Rhanda reveals not only her secret race and abilities, but also gives us information on the mystery sorcerer, who plans to kill off his rivals become King of Chaos:

"There is the hidden one," she said. "I do not know his name to tell you, though I know you saw him in Suhuy's pool. I know his appearance,
Chaotic and human. I know that even Mandor considers him a worthy antagonist
when it comes to scheming. Conversely, I believe Mandor is the main reason
he removed himself to our realm. He fears Mandor."

So, our new villain is a short sorcerer whom Merlin saw in Suhuy’s pool, who has discovered the dimension of the Shroudlings, has broad knowledge of magic but it’s incomplete, especially in practical knowledge. He does not know Merlin well enough to have anticipated his response to the guisel attack, and he seems to be clever yet foolish. For instance, if he knew he needed to counter Mandor, he might have considered paying less attention to Flora, and more attention to Fiona.

Things to chew on, quite a few. But on now to the last of the short stories, “Hall of Mirrors”.

After reading the first two sets of books, many readers might be a bit bored b a story about the hall of mirrors. Subconscious visions, blah blah blah, secret histories and images you won’t find in normal conversations, sure whatever … ahh, but Roger has a new version of the Hall of Mirrors. We saw a hint of this change in the Hall, when Merlin encountered it in the Courts of Chaos, far from Amber Castle where he would normally expect to find the hall. In this story, the location is predictable, but there are other twists.

“Hall of Mirrors” picks up with Corwin a bit after “Blue Horse, Dancing Mountain” left off. In that story, by the way, Dworkin and Suhuy had both agreed that the Hall of Mirrors would hold important messages for Corwin, but Suhuy doubted he would be able to get there in time. At the end of that story, Corwin was beginning a hellride to Amber.

Having crossed the ‘Shadow Divide’ between Chaos’ shadowlands and Amber’s, Corwin and his mount Shask were ambushed by six bandits (we also learned in this story that Merlin found Shask in the Courts’ stables). What makes the incident of special interest, is a couple items. First, when Corwin draws Grayswandir, it makes a ‘singing note’, which continues to sound throughout the battle, which is brief, because of the second point – Corwin is unable to harm the man he strikes with the sword, and in return his attackers cannot harm him either – his weapon passes through the bandit, and the bandit’s weapon goes straight through him as well. On the other hand, some errant shots by guys with bows kill each other after passing harmlessly through Corwin and Shask.

"We seem to have come into a strange situation," I observed

Master of the obvious, our Corwin.

Corwin figures out that he’s not insubstantial, not exactly. It’s just that he can’t be harmed or harm anyone under his present condition. Corwin eventually comes to believe that the Dancing Mountains somehow caused his situation. Shask opines that it was probably someone in Corwin’s family, who caused the condition.

Roger hints that Shask may play an important role in things to come. When Corwin mentions that he appreciates Shask’s help and asks how he can repay him, Shask answers,

“Wait. I've a feeling the Fates will take care of that."

The rest of the trip to Amber is uneventful, and Corwin makes his way to the palace and the kitchen, where he grabs some fruit, then asks for a bottle of win and a chicken to be sent to his rooms.

On his way up to his room, Corwin sees some damage being repaired from the battle between the Pattern and the Logrus in ‘Knight of Shadow’. The back way being blocked, Corwin goes around to the main stairs and runs into Luke. Luke mistakes Corwin for his pattern ghost, but soon enough they sort things out about who each is, and they discuss Corwin’s situation. They agree to discuss things over the chicken and win Corwin ordered.

But they never make it to Corwin’s apartment.

[ next; concluding “Hall of Mirrors” and some speculations ]

A Thief In Amber – Third Draft (Still Very Very Rough)

2011-02-15T21:44:00.001-06:00

The Continued Chronicles of Amber, 2: What the Short Stories Contribute – Revisited

2011-02-13T16:26:00.002-06:00

This article is a reprint of one I originally published in January 2010. I am reprinting here now, for two reasons. First, I have discovered that some of my original thoughts, specifically the ones surrounding “A Secret of Amber’, were hasty and incorrect. I’d like to revisit that story from a new and, I hope, wiser perspective. Also, I realized that I never wrote a promised third article on the last two short stories by Roger Zelazny. To get the perspective correct, I am reprinting the first two articles – with some revisions – and then the third will hopefully make sense in the proper context.

WARNING – This essay contains spoilers from the first ten books of the Chronicles of Amber, and speculates on the intentions of the late writer Roger Zelazny, had he written a third cycle.

I finished the first part of these posts by discussing things learned in one of the short stories written by Roger Zelazny after publishing 'Prince of Chaos' in 1991. We can get a sense, I think, of where things were headed by considering what we find in those short stories.

For review, and for those who may not know about the short stories, Roger Zelazny wrote six short stories, or fragments of stories, after publishing his last novel in the Amber Chronicles. They were as follows:

“A Secret of Amber” (co-written with Ed Greenwood, begun before 1994 but not published until March 2005, and never completed)
“The Salesman’s Tale” (published February, 1994)
“The Shroudling and the Guisel” (published October, 1994)
“Blue Horse, Dancing Mountains” (published 1995)
“Coming to a Cord” (published 1995)
“Hall of Mirrors” (published March, 1996)

I can’t prove it, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the fragment story, ”A Secret of Amber”, started Roger thinking about another cycle, and the subsequent stories took more and more shape in that direction. As I wrote last time, the short stories introduced a new villain and chief conspirator, hinted at major and surprising changes in Merlin’s relationships with his friends and family, warned that the prime forces of Order and Chaos had no intention of behaving, and reintroduced Corwin’s role in the supernatural conflict, with Dworkin and Suhuy as star players for primal forces. To look at what we can glean from the short stories, I begin with the one first begun, yet ironically never finished.

“A Secret of Amber” is a difficult work to find. Only a few paragraphs long, it can only found in Amberzine issue 12-15, and most fans will tell you not to buy the anthology just for the story, because there are no plot secrets revealed. Perhaps. Also, since this work was done in cooperation with Ed Greenwood, some may claim that this work is not even pure Zelazny. Again, perhaps. But we do find out a few things from the setting and characters. What happens in the story is a chat between Corwin and his sister Fiona, and it concerns attacks, as Corwin put it, by “at least three murderous ghosts”. When I first wrote about the story, I said that ‘no new information appears to be divulged’.

Oops.

I went back and re-read “A Secret of Amber”. The story is problematic, not least because it started as an informal game between Roger Zelazny and Ed Greenwood. Also, there’s not much there from Roger. 348 words. 29 sentences. Two, maybe three scenes, depending on whether the last was new or continued the previous episode … it can be read either way. But when you look closely, there are some intriguing points from Zelazny, even in this short submission. The following are key items from the story:

‘She [Fiona]chuckled, behind me ... “You are wearing your blade,” she said. “Good.”

Hmm. While Corwin is hostile to Fiona, could it be important that she mentions his sword? And given the situation, why is she laughing about the situation?

Anyway, the next sentence is Corwin’s response, just so you know things are serious:

’I went out, uttering no clever comments. With at least three murderous ghosts stalking Castle Amber, the time for such things was past.’

Hmm. Three murderous ghosts? Corwin as Holmes? Certainly grabbed my interest.

Here’s the next key phrase from Roger in the story:

‘one of the walls opened in a place where it should not have done, and something that was both silver and shadow joined me.’

Two things come up from that passage. First off, we see that Castle Amber can be manipulated, and second, we note the first host referenced is ‘silver and shadow’, as if reflecting Corwin’s own silver and black colors.

This is also a clear indication about when the story took place. I originally thought that the story took place sometime after the novels. But by even the end of the first series, Corwin understood a great deal more about how chaotic Amber could be, than he appears to be in this story. Also, by the end of the first series, Corwin and Fiona are, if not friends, at least not hostile to each other, as appears to be the case in "A Secret of Amber". This is in the early years, then, before Corwin’s disappearance from Amber when Eric tried to kill him. We have the full set of siblings, then, to consider as actors, perhaps suspects.

We get another clue then, in Zelazny’s last passage in the story:

‘My book was on the floor, blackened. Damn. I watched lightning flicker and wondered if I would ever know what I fought, or why. Family politics seemed as tiresome as ever.

‘Three ghosts, Benedict had said, and had been on the brink of saying more ere his face had smoothed and he’d turned away.

‘Which meant he’d recognized the one he’d seen.

‘So had the lamplighter, before the ghost that slew him caught up with him and burned his skull bare, from within.

‘Coln had died, before that, and one of the cooks. Seven maids, or more by now, since.

‘Then they started on us. Flora had almost fallen to one, and then Julian. Almost’

OK, that’s several clues actually. The ghosts are human-formed, but not very human in form. Benedict and other victims recognized their attackers, even so, but for some reason are reluctant to talk about it. Politics somehow plays a role, even in murder. The ghosts kill by fire and lightning.

Oh, my. A lot here to think about, especially since this story gives us a look into how Roger thinks about Amber and the family.

Not a story to ignore, after all, but one to weigh in the full context of the whole set of chronicles. Including the five short stories.

Moving on now to those short stories.

In those short stories, we see Corwin on the road again. It seems he is headed back to Amber, but from where? At the end of “Prince of Chaos”, Merlin sent Corwin directly back to Amber. That seems to mean he gets a mission, apparently a very personal one. The nature and purpose of that mission is, I think, something we should talk about.

The first full short story is “The Salesman’s Tale", and focuses on the actions of Luke. Or King Rinaldo, but no, for here we must call him Luke, for his character tracks along the character we knew, hmm, pre-coronation.

In this story, Luke escapes from the Pattern as described in 'Prince of Chaos' - turns out when he cries "I spilled it!", he only meant his tea. Luke did that on purpose, to distract the Pattern while he got out fast. From there, Luke finds his way to Amber and meets with Vialle, Queen of Amber and wife of King Random, who is less than friendly with Luke. Along the way, Luke calls up the sword Werewindle to him, demonstrating sentience in the sword with all sorts of implications for Grayswandir and the spikards. Speaking of which, after discovering that Vialle has prophetic powers, Luke also learns about the 'guardians', a “self-exiled Prince of Amber and his sister” who have custody of the spikards, rings of tremendous power which first showed up in “Knight of Shadow” and were named in 'Prince of Chaos'. Vialle asks Luke to query Delwin as to ”whether his stewardship of the spikards remains intact”. We know, of course, from the novels that this is not so; Merlin has two of them now, and in ”Prince of Chaos” Bleys was wearing one. Of the nine spikards total, two became Werewindle and Grayswandir, and three more are accounted for by Merlin and Bleys, leaving only four that Delwin could control. And since Suhuy, Mandor, and Dara are aware of the spikards, the cat is well out of the bag, but Vialle could not know that at this point. A final significance of the story is pointed out by Vialle after Luke speaks with Delwin, that Delwin was intrigued by Brand being Luke’s father, but Jasra’s mention warned him off cold. We see a hint that there is something of a higher-level threat from Jasra, more than was obvious earlier, and by the way the last time we saw Jasra (in 'Knight of Shadows') she was less than completely amiable with Merlin, and by the way she now holds complete control of the Keep of the Four Worlds, or will once she returns from wherever Ghostwheel sent her at the start of 'Knight of Shadows'.

We change course now, and catch up with Merlin in ”The Shroudling and the Geisel”. In this story, Merlin wakes up to find himself in bed with Rhanda, his childhood friend whose parents thought him a vampire or demon. Oddly enough, Merlin now believes Rhanda is a vampire, but in this story he discovers that he is mistaken, as well. Rhanda, it turns out, is of a race known as Shroudlings, sort of high-principled ghouls who only eat “those the word might be better off without”. Shroudlings can enter normal space through mirrors; their world is on the other side and they seek to remain unknown as much as possible, not least because they seem to be dying off, in some part due to a beast known as a Guisel. Shroudlings also have the ability to prevent conscious notice and to remove memory of their appearance and actions in mortal realms. They can also ‘lock’ a mirror behind them to prevent beings from entering or leaving through a mirror. Rhanda, it turns out, regards Merlin as a ‘pet’, of whom she is fond.

Rhanda warns Merlin that Dara and Mandor continue to form schemes, that Julia is determined to play up feelings for Merlin in order to turn Jurt against him again. We learn that despite his front-runner status for the throne of Chaos, Merlin faces six other contenders now that he knows about, and Rhanda warns that there is one more that he does not know. Rhanda calls him ‘the hidden one’, and says “I do not know his name to tell you, though I know you saw him in Suhuy’s pool. I know his appearance, Chaotic and human. I know that even Mandor considers him a worthy antagonist” - though Rhanda also says this ‘hidden’ one fears Mandor. This is a prime clue we must consider later on.

The ‘hidden one’ has procured a guisel and has been using it to kill off rivals, apparently through the mirrorworld for surprise. In between human killings, it has apparently been killing Shroudlings, which seems to be another reason Rhanda seeks out Merlin. Merlin finds a way to come at it through another mirror, but is surprised by it anyway and what’s worse, he finds out that even the spikard has limited effect on it. Merlin calls on Ghostwheel, but discovers the mirrorworld is a place barred to it. Fortunately, Merlin is able to call up Kergma, a childhood friend and more to the point a chaos intellectual structure Zelazny calls “the living equation”. In the end, a combination of the spikard and the vorpal sword last seen in 'Sign of Chaos' at the Wonderland Bar are sufficient to defeat the guisel. In an imaginative mood, Merlin saves a last piece of the monster, renews it into a new creature and sends it back after the guy who was trying to kill him.

We return to Prince Corwin in ”Blue Horse, Dancing Mountains”. I found this story especially intriguing, for the following reasons. First, it reintroduced Corwin as a major character, and seemed to indicate a father-son team might be in the works. Next, it tied two of the stories together, as it foreshadowed ”Hall of Mirrors”, an irrational phenomenon of magic and psychology which appears to act independent of any power but its own, although in ”Prince of Chaos”, Merlin seemed to believe it was influenced by Suhuy, which carries its own implications. At first read, one may be confused by Corwin’s purpose and timing – Zelazny never mentions what Corwin was doing, that he had to flee Chaos on the strange steed Shask. This does not pick up where ‘Prince of Chaos’ ends, since at the end of that book, Merlin seemed to send Corwin from Chaos directly to Amber by way of his spikard. Therefore, Corwin appears to have returned to Chaos, and did something that required him to flee in great haste. Or else Merlin was only able to send Corwin part of the way … As the story tells it, Corwin “fled smoke ghosts across the Uplands of Artine. I slew the leader of the Kerts of Shern as her flock harried me from hightowered perches among the canyons of that place” . Sounds like we can rule out sightseeing or a simple vacation, especially since in the Merlin Cycle there were a number of references which implied peaceful conditions between Amber and Chaos, such as the fact that Mandor was free to return from Amber to Chaos, even following the disaster when the Pattern and Logrus clashed in the castle itself in 'Knight of Shadow'. We are not told what Corwin was doing in Chaos, but as it follows the visit by Luke to Vialle – who incidentally told Luke in that story that she was expecting Corwin to arrive back in Amber, and as a by-the-way Corwin was referenced by her talking sculptures as vital to addressing the crisis.

Soon after escaping from Chaos, Corwin finds himself making his way in a more leisurely manner, now somehow indicating no rush – whatever was important, it was time-sensitive in Chaos but apparently not time sensitive in the shadowlands. That changes during the first night out, though, as Corwin finds himself to a very strange variety of chess game between Dworkin and Suhuy – one in which the known universe comprises the pieces, with Amber Castle and the Unicorn on one end of the board, and Thelbane and the Serpent on the other. Pieces specifically named in the game include Mandor, Corwin, a Fire Angel, and a female being manipulated by Dworkin which surprises Suhuy, in that the woman is of Chaos. Dara? Or someone else?

The two masters also discuss a ‘hall of mirrors’ which is important to their contest – but only if he gets there in time; Suhuy wonders “without their clues, how effective will he be?” As if on cue, Corwin wakes his steed and rushes him to reach Amber in time.

next: “Coming to a Cord”, "Hall of Mirrors”, and some speculations. Yes, really, I will post them this time.

A Thief In Amber – Second Draft (Still Very Very Rough)

2011-02-12T19:31:00.002-06:00

The Continued Chronicles of Amber – Updated Thoughts on Zelazny’s Unfinished Masterpiece

2011-02-12T17:52:00.002-06:00

This article is a reprint of one I originally published in January 2010. I am reprinting here now, for two reasons. First, I have discovered that some of my original thoughts, specifically the ones surrounding “A Secret of Amber’, were hasty and incorrect. I’d like to revisit that story from a new and, I hope, wiser perspective. Also, I realized that I never wrote a promised third article on the last two short stories by Roger Zelazny. To get the perspective correct, I am reprinting the first two articles – with some revisions – and then the third will hopefully make sense in the proper context.

WARNING – This essay contains spoilers from the first ten books of the Chronicles of Amber, and speculates on the intentions of the late writer Roger Zelazny, had he written a third cycle.

In late 1991, Roger Zelazny published his tenth book in the Amber saga, 'Prince of Chaos'. The book completed the second five-book story arc in the series, the first five addressing Prince Corwin and the second five his son Merlin. The first five, originally published between 1970 and 1978, were originally considered collectively as the ‘Chronicles of Amber’, but when the second series started the first five became known as the Corwin Cycle. The second series, known as the Merlin Cycle, were originally published between 1985 and 1991, and continues where the first series left off, but with a different focus on events and characters. Most fans of the Chronicles prefer the first series over the second, for its complex imagery and character development, but generally anyone who reads the first book of the collection will make his way through them all. And the books hold up well to re-reading and time; there is a timeless quality to the Chronicles which makes it genuinely great literature, as I see it.

Roger Zelazny passed away on June 14, 1995, from kidney failure associated with cancer. The news shocked the literary world and his fans have for the most part never found someone worthy to fill Roger’s place. This is important, because of a crucial question – would the series continue? John Gregory Betancourt began a new series of Amber stories in 2002, but they failed both critically and in sales; I believe fans simply found the stories incomparable to Zelazny’s level. I think they failed for another reason, which I shall address in the next paragraph. There is also Roger’s reported statement that he did not want anyone else writing about Amber, which at first may seem a bit of selfish proprietorship but upon reflection I think there is some wisdom in it.

There are a number of reasons, however, why many fans believed that the Amber saga should continue. In the first place, a number of mysteries and questions were unresolved at the end of 'Prince of Chaos'. But more, Roger himself began to indicate he was headed towards a new series. After 'Prince of Chaos', Zelazny wrote six short stories between 1994 and 1995, of which five were linked in a clear continuation of events following the end of 'Prince of Chaos'. Those short stories introduced a new villain and chief conspirator, implied drastic changes in Merlin’s relationships with his friends, family, and even the prime forces of Order and Chaos, and reintroduced Corwin’s role in the supernatural conflict, now being acted out between Dworkin and Suhuy as agents for the Absolutes. It was certain that Zelazny planned to conclude his Chronicles with another series, once beginning where 'Prince of Chaos' ended. This, by the way, is one reason Betancourt’s series failed – he set his stories as a prequel, focusing on Oberon and frankly failing to show in that character the progenitor of Eric, Corwin, Benedict, and the other heroes of the family. The new series by Betancourt also demonstrated the difficulty which any author would face in continuing the story – the Zelazny touch is singular, priceless, and frankly inimitable. Even if an author got all the facts right as Roger would have had it, the style would be impossible to mimic perfectly. It would simply sound ‘off’, no matter who attempted the venture.

So then, are we doomed to never resolve the questions or to unravel the mysteries? Perhaps not. I am hardly able to read the mind of Roger Zelazny, but I can read a map, and he laid out his stories in a way which points to certain places to go. Like Merlin’s instructions to Ghostwheel when seeking the Logrus, certain indicators are laid out which tell you a general direction to turn, and so give a hint of the picture. This writing is an attempt to consider those hints. I must also admit, that while no one can ever replace Roger Zelazny, someone may yet do a decent job in completing the Amber saga with a proper conclusion.

I’d like to start by re-examining a common contention made by fans of the saga, that the Merlin Cycle is inferior to the Corwin Cycle. What strikes me about that claim, is the question of why that should so, assuming that is correct? Some fans have claimed that Roger knew he was dying and wanted to finish his books before he died. However, that claim has problems, including the fact that Zelazny lived for four years after 'Prince of Chaos' was published, and 'Prince of Chaos' left a number of important questions hanging, something Roger would not do if he just wanted to wrap up the saga. Also, on a personal note, I was once told that I was likely to die from my abdominal cancer, a form known as Pseudomyxoma Peritonei. The oncologist who said so was, it turned out, not up to speed on the treatments available for my form of cancer, but at the time it did give me a sharp recognition that my life was not unlimited, and that there were certain things I had better get done soon if I expected to complete them. My point there, is that at no time did I decide to rush off a sloppy job just so I could say it was done – if I was going to die soon, the last things I did were things I wanted to get done as perfect as I could. I would want my last work to be my best, not some sloppy effort. I can hardly imagine that Roger Zelazny would care less about what he considered his final work.

If this is true, however, it brings us back to ask why the Merlin Cycle appears to be less satisfying then the Corwin Cycle. Some of that comes down to Zelazny being fifteen years older when he started the 'Trumps of Doom' from when he began 'Nine Princes in Amber', but I also think it comes down to the fact that Zelazny wrote the Corwin Cycle, he knew there would be five books but was not sure whether the series would prove popular enough to continue the story. He had a lot of back-story, but could not know in advance how much demand there would be, to learn more about Grayswandir, about Dara, about Merlin and the Courts of Chaos, about the nature of the Pattern and the structure of his universe. When he started the Merlin Cycle, Zelazny knew that the market would bear not only the second series, but another after that, and I believe that from the start of the second series, Zelazny was thinking not just about books six through ten, but all the way through to the end of the saga. Look through the first ten books, and you will see any number of references or comments which point to doors for plot departures. While some of those were used, I believe, to counter any sense the reader had of omniscience in the story and to provide Roger the means to drop in plot surprises when he pleased, I also think they were there to be used in later parts of the story. Merlin’s decision to spare Corwin the first time they met in the Courts of Chaos, for example, foreshadowed Merlin’s determination to find and save his father in 'Prince of Chaos'.

And that is part of the dance, as well, the matter of sensing which themes and events are meant to reflect others in the story. Certainly Zelazny pointed this out in a number of places, that there is a balance and a certain continuity to things, a literary yin/yang balance if you will. Zelazny noted, for example that the royal family of Amber was in constant chaos, while the royal family of Chaos was serene. Therefore, we do well to consider the themes and lessons we have already seen in play during the first two cycles, as they will be repeated or continue in the same manner in the third series.

The first cycle focused on Amber. The second cycle focused on Chaos. The third, then, will focus on Shadow.

The first book of each cycle featured the imprisonment of the main character. So will the third.

The final book of each cycle saw the death of a King, and a new King. So will the third.

Corwin was betrayed by a love. So was Merlin. This will happen in the third cycle as well.

Corwin depended on his magic word, Grayswandir. Merlin depended on his shadow computer construct, Ghostwheel. The protagonist of the third cycle will depend on a similar artifact specially suited to his person.

In each of the first to cycles, the hero grew through the books from a self-centered person to a duty-focused person. So too, in the third cycle.

All through the books, we saw that people were not as they seemed. Carl Corey discovered he was really Prince Corwin, his buddy Ganelon turned out to be his father Oberon, Dara was Corwin’s lover and the mother of his son Merlin, but she never loved him and wanted Amber destroyed , Merlin’s best friend Luke tuned out to have attempted his murder several times, his girlfriend Julia became his nemesis Mask, and his brother Jurt, who spent his whole life trying to kill Merlin, in the end became his ally and helped him free Coral from the Pattern and the Logrus both. So moving into the last series, we should expect to not only see new characters added, but also see some surprises from the cast in place. Especially from Mandor, Fiona, and – wait for it – Bill Roth. Yep, good old “mortal” Bill, Corwin’s lawyer buddy from shadow Earth. There’s things to chew on regarding this guy, and more than a few suspicions. Consider how many times we see this guy throughout the stories. Bill Roth out-lives several major characters and turns up in all kinds of important places.

When Corwin got stabbed in 'Sign of the Unicorn' and was bleeding to death, who found him and got him to a hospital? Bill Roth.

Who helps Corwin with the disposal of his house on Earth in 'The Hand of Oberon'? Bill Roth.

Who wrote the terms of the Patterfall Treaty between Amber and Chaos? Bill Roth.

When Merlin decides to deal directly with whomever is trying to kill him in 'Trumps of Doom', who does he talk to besides Luke and (unknowingly) Nayda? Bill Roth.

Merlin talks again with Bill Roth in 'Sign of Chaos', he even runs across Bill Roth in the Hall of Mirrors, and when Merlin looks into Suhuy’s pool in 'Prince of Chaos' to consider candidates for the throne and people who are playing a role in that conflict, one of the people Merlin sees … is Bill Roth.

If Roger Zelazny had written a third series, Bill Roth would be a major surprise character, someone much different than he appeared to be all along. Some readers will remind me that Bill Roth is just a mortal human, but to that claim I would remind you that the claim came from Bill himself, and we have no proof whatsoever that Bill Roth is just what he claims. In the Merlin Cycle we discovered that Luke was not what he seemed, nor Coral, nor Julia. So Bill Roth, I strongly suspect, is a ringer.

Let’s go back to a nagging question that a lot of readers had in the Merlin Cycle: How, exactly, are we supposed to believe in Merlin as the new King of Chaos? Merlin himself admitted that he was far from qualified, yet at the end of 'Prince of Chaos' it sure looks like he got the job. Why, exactly? OK, I get that Merlin is from the royal houses of both Amber and Chaos, but again, why should this impress us? Where has he shown special qualities that would explain both the Unicorn and the Serpent wanting to sign up Merlin as their figurehead?

Merlin regards himself as a dime-a-dozen sorcerer, a decent but unexceptional swordsman, and an utter neuf in matters of state and politics. So how does he get the crown? We know from 'Prince of Chaos' that Merlin defeats both Dara and Mandor, and with the help of Ghostwheel he even seems to force the Logrus to accept his terms, after an earlier confrontation with the Pattern which seems to have been 90 percent luck on Merlin’s part, and a healthy assist from Luke for the rest of it. But Merlin does not accomplish this with skill or brilliant planning – he basically carries around the magic version of a handheld nuclear power plant and simply uses force until the obstacle is removed. And Merlin did not create or develop the Spikard – it was given to him! We find out from Bleys that there are nine of these rings, and it so happens that Merlin gets to carry out a second ring, which previously belonged to King Swayville and which was enchanted by Mandor and Dara in hopes of controlling Merlin. So OK, what are the odds , if you’re Mandor, say, that you come across an artifact of fantastic power, so much so that the bearer is all but unstoppable, and your thought is not only to not keep it for yourself, but hand it off to someone you plan to control, on the assumption that if things don’t work out you can still regain the upper hand? Isn’t it a lot more likely that you’d find more than one of those, so you had a power source of your own, should you need it? But of course, when Merlin dueled Mandor, he won. Odd. But I noticed something there.

Merlin mentioned that Mandor was fond of carrying around a group of small iron balls, which he used as an idiosyncratic magic aid. This is important for two reasons – one, in the short story “Hall of Mirrors”, Zelazny confirms that two of the spikards were turned into swords – Grayswandir and Werewindle, as a matter of fact. So there’s no reason that Mandor could not have transformed his spikard into three magic iron balls. And reason two, when Merlin abruptly confronts Mandor, he catches him by surprise. Mandor is led to believe that he is in control of Merlin through the spell on what he thinks is Merlin’s spikard, and in that section we never see Mandor use his magic iron balls. Guess Mandor picked a bad day to leave them at home or send them on an errand, huh?

By the way, in the short story “The Salesman’s Tale”, we find from Luke that he can summon Werewindle to him by way of a Trump. This lets us know that the spikards can be manipulated in the same way, and also oh by the way this answers a lot of questions about how Grayswandir shows up in various places seemingly on its own, such as Merlin being able to use in the land-underneath-Shadow in 'Knight of Shadow'. Being able to call up artifacts on cue makes things a lot more fluid in the third cycle, hmm?

Before moving on, I also found "The Salesman’s Tale" an important revelation on another score – Vialle’s ability for prophecy. One valid criticism of the first cycle was the limited value placed on the women in the stories, especially the Princesses of Amber. Zelazny’s discussion of Vialle’s prophetic powers is not only consistent with her legacy from Rebma, but a welcome acknowledgement of her value in her own right as a person – Queen in substance as well as name.

Next: What the Short Stories Contribute (Revised)

A Thief In Amber - First and Very Rough Draft

2011-02-08T21:40:00.002-06:00

A Thief In Amber – Scratching the Itch

2011-02-04T17:07:00.001-06:00

Every so often, a little voice tells me to write something. That’s part of why I blog. Also, I am sometimes a bit unhappy with the lack of good fiction available, and I like to imagine that – just maybe – I could tell a story as well as the original author. Maybe even better.

Such hubris often leads to an attempt to write something myself. And very often I am forced to admit that it’s not easy at all to do a proper job writing something. But even so, it’s an itch to scratch, and some itches are more persistent than others.

Which brings me to Roger Zelazny.

In my opinion, Roger Zelazny is the best author I ever had the pleasure to read. The man could tell a story better than anyone else in the business. And my favorite works of his were the Amber Chronicles, the ten books and five short stories about the Eternal City and the twin poles of Reality in Zelazny’s mythic universe. Oh, and a very short story, incomplete and only partly written by Roger. “A Secret of Amber” is really a fragment, actually, but it hints at a few things that add to the depth of Amber, things which I thought could – and should – be drawn out to show something more of Amber.

For those unfamiliar with the Amber Chronicles, Roger Zelazny wrote a series of five novels from 1970 to 1978, focusing on the adventures of a hero named Corwin, who hailed from an eternal city named Amber. The series was wildly successful in all respects, and was followed by a second series of five books, which focused on Corwin’s son Merlin. After these came five short stories which many people, including myself, believed to mean that Zelazny was considering a third series to round out the myth and complete his story in full. Unfortunately, Roger contracted a cancer of the kidney and died before the third series could be written. Zelazny’s estate contracted with Gregory Betancourt to write a new series, but the effort was – to me at least – disappointing, in part because Betancourt wrote a prequel, addressing events before the time of the first series and focusing on Oberon, rather than resolving all the loose ends left from the Merlin Cycle. Also, that series was never completed, for reasons we don’t need to go into here. Suffice to say that many Amber fans have been left with unsolved mysteries for more than a decade. I wrote before that there are hints in the way the first two cycles were written, as well as the five short stories, which could be used to build the framework of the third series. That said, the idea that anyone but Zelazny could do his work justice is daunting even for one book, let alone trying to put together a five-book series to follow the theme and pattern of the first ten.

Which brings me to Ed Greenwood. Like many Amber fans, Greenwood found the books by Zelazny to be masterpieces of writing. Unlike many of us, Ed took it upon himself to present Roger with a bookmark at a convention – a bookmark with a snip of script he wrote about a conversation between Corwin and Fiona. And Roger wrote a follow-up to it. Over time, a short but significant story continued, with Ed writing some and Roger writing some. It is, sadly, far from complete, only a few paragraphs in all. And many Amber fans would consider it far from Canon, seeing it the fruit of a passing jest between two writers, and that in the most informal of settings. Nevertheless, we have those words from Roger, and I do think that even written on the spur of a moment, he would write them true to the spirit of his city and the royal family of Oberon.

What’s more, there’s a new story there, one that adds to the overall story and hints at things we should consider in total.

The itch was small at first, but as time passed that little voice suggested that I should give it a go. After all, it’s not as if I would be trying to write a true Amber novel, nor taking anything away from Mr. Greenwood. The bits from Mr. Zelazny were short enough to qualify as ‘fair use’, especially if I made sure to credit Zelazny’s parts as his own. Nothing against the parts written by Ed, but as a Zelazny fan I have to admit I wanted to put my own text alongside Roger’s, much as it seems Ed wanted to do. But I also wanted to see if I could finish the story, to do it in a way faithful to the Amber spirit and the known canon.

That itch has become too annoying not to scratch, so I have decided to give it a try. That said, there’s a reason I have never been published, and many people who have read my other writing have told me to make sure I kept my day job. So, before you read my work, be warned that I cannot promise its level of quality will rise to your expectation.

So why write it? Well, as I said there’s that itch. Also, I do think that every so often I do hit the message right and put out something that’s not a complete waste of time. And even if the result of my effort is a care wreck, well, there are a lot of people who like to watch car wrecks. I am not going to use Ed’s title, so – since I’m swiping the idea and also since I think it suits the theme, I’m going to call it ‘A Thief In Amber’.

So where to start? First, we need to set the story, and to do that, we should start with the fragments in “A Secret of Amber”, as written by Zelazny himself (with credit to Ed Greenwood, Amberzine 12-15, 2005):

[Corwin in conversation with Fiona, in some mild disagreement]

‘ “Whereas wit is a bird that eludes the hand of rather too many princes.”

I shrugged. “Your disapproval concerns me even less than usual, Fi. All things considered.”

She tossed her head, read hair like a fall of flame. “Yet, perhaps it should. All things considered.”

I did things with my own eyebrows, emptied my glass, swung my boots down from the table, and headed for the door.

She chuckled, behind me.

I stopped, refrained from turning, and waited. Fiona could never resist showing the rest of us that she was a step ahead. Or pretending to be.

“You are wearing your blade,” she said. “Good.”

I went out, uttering no clever comments. With at least three murderous ghosts stalking Castle Amber, the time for such things was past.’

OK, first off, the last time I wrote about this story, I said it took place just after Merlin was returned to Amber following Merlin’s showdown with Chaos. I now take that back. The manner of both Corwin and Fiona is not the friendship they had begun at the end of the Corwin Cycle, and both are far too brash for what they have come to learn by the end of the Merlin cycle. So this story takes place much, much earlier, prior to the original conditions in Nine Princes In Amber. Before Corwin lost his memory on the Shadow Earth, I think. It takes place in that time when Corwin and his brothers and sisters were much younger, before any of the scheming we see in the books came to full flower. This is important to me, because it means the scheming is the result of characters like Oberon, Dworkin, Suhuy, and of course the main actors behind the curtain, the Pattern and the Logrus. With that said, on to the next fragment:

‘It was very late, or rather early, before one of the walls opened in a place where it should not have done, and something that was both silver and shadow joined me.

Grayswandir felt good in my hand as I put down what I was finished drinking anyway, and waited.

Patience, they say, is a chiefly a virtue for statues, but I’d made more than my share of mistakes, thus far, and blood is hell to get out of good rugs.

Came a whisper, out of darkness. “Corwin, is it time?”’

Once again, we see that the events happening here must have preceded the books’ events. After learning of the Primal Pattern and his experiences with the Hall of Mirrors, Corwin would not have been surprised to see walls open up in the Castle itself. Also, Corwin very obviously thinks very highly of his ability to deal with the situation, a trait not diminished later, but he’s just plain overconfident here. On to the next fragment, then:

‘And shadows fled before me, and I was alone.

My book was on the floor, blackened. Damn. I watched lightning flicker and wondered if I would ever know what I fought, or why. Family politics seemed as tiresome as ever.

Three ghosts, Benedict had said, and had been on the brink of saying more ere his face had smoothed and he’d turned away.

Which meant he’d recognized the one he’d seen.

So had the lamplighter, before the ghost that slew him caught up with him and burned his skull bare, from within.

Coln had died, before that, and one of the cooks. Seven maids, or more by now, since.

Then they started on us. Flora had almost fallen to one, and then Julian. Almost.

We’re tough meat, we of Amber.’

And that’s it from Roger, but that last part has a number of clues in it. Ghosts familiar to Amber’s family and household, with the ability to microwave people. And apparently holding a grudge against the Royal Family, though not all that picky over their choice of victims.

I’m starting on the story now, no idea when it will be done. If it’s not too horrible, I will post what I have done from time to time. Wish me luck, or stay to watch the car wreck.

Non Compos Mentis

2011-01-27T08:48:00.001-06:00

Well, I’m back from China. Lots of stories to tell, most of which no one but me will find worth the telling, so I know better than to trot them out here. At least for now. I actually got back Monday night, but had a lot to do once I got home, and today I’m really feeling the jet lag, or whatever you want to call that disorientation, mild discomfort, and general lack of mental acuity that often occurs when you get back from a long trip. And yes, in case you were thinking that I plan to use that as an excuse to post a stupid article then claim I was incapacitated if it crashes, that is my intention.

President Obama had his State of the Union address Tuesday, speaking of someone else working with less than a fully functional cerebellum. I guess the word that best describes it would be ‘predictable’. As in, demands that his programs not be repealed by the GOP-controlled Congress, mixed in with promises of bipartisan respect and cooperation, verbal jabs at leading Conservatives while demanding softer political rhetoric, and promises to control or even ‘freeze’ spending – while at the same time urging more and more money be spent on his personal pet projects. The same old predictable narcissism and hypocrisy, in other words. Of course Big Media – my new tag for corporate sycophants who still try to pretend that their blatant and omnipresent contempt against anything conservative, rational, or common sense as ‘objective journalism’ – thought the world of Obama’s dialectic, and cheered him on as de facto cheerleaders, but I don’t get the sense that the average American buys the spin anymore, at least not to the degree that the Obamites believe they will.

Obama being what he is, we should not be surprised to discover his approval of a slap at the U.S., performed by one of the very guests invited to perform at the White House. Lang Lang, a musician of mediocre ability but acceptably leftist perspective, performed an instrumental piece celebrating a military victory by Chinese soldiers over the Americans – at an event celebrating Sino-American cooperation and goodwill. We now have the choice to believe either that President Obama’s protocol corps was so inept and stupid that they did not bother to consider the provenance of the piece, or that they secretly approved of the sentiment and allowed the offensive performance to take place on the assumption that the public would not notice the insult or worse, that the Administration did not care that America was being insulted in the very heart of her government. The decision is not an attractive one, and this event happening in the same week where Obama’s aides and staff have emphasized that words and symbols have significant meaning, does not do them credit at all.

My perspective on these current events is colored by my recent experiences in China, a nation whose government hates the U.S. but whose people plainly love Americans. During my time there, I discovered a wide range of public opinion regarding foreigners and their business in China. To be blunt, Asians have an advantage in China but not so much Koreans, Russians are flat-out unpopular, but Americans, while relatively scarce in China, are generally popular and well-liked. That’s a generalization, of course, and it has risks in too broad an application, but from what I have seen, heard and experienced there is a great respect and affection for Americans. Applying that to the Lang Lang incident, it seems to me no wonder that Hu Jintao enjoyed the gesture, because in his country he is generally not able to attack Americans or their way of life. Quite the opposite, although most of my time was spent in coastal regions, even when I went inland to more rural parts of China, Americans are respected and, well, envied, for what they have been able to achieve and what they represent to China. China is a land full of hard-working, intelligent people, but they have been hindered by both a lack of infrastructure and a government which regards innovation as disloyal. American companies succeed in Asia to some degree, because Americans are not afraid to challenge assumptions and seek practical solutions, rather than just play to some rote expectation . In that sense, both Obama and Jintao are alien to the true character of their people and their national culture. I have no doubt that they both mean well, but they lack, well, the ‘common touch’ that true leaders possess; they are professional mandarins, who dress well and speak smoothly, but who do not understand the issues in full and who do not represent their nations half so well as they imagine.

If China ever reaches her full potential, she will lead the world in Commerce and many aspects of Culture. But to do so, she will have to follow the path taken by America. That is, to allow free expression in all public respects, to encourage and reward risk-taking and innovation, not only in processes but also fundamental concepts.

A Question That Shows Something I Don't Like

2011-01-11T13:40:00.002-06:00

OK, we've all heard about the shooting in Tucson, and quite a bit about Rep. Giffords and her condition. A senseless crime, and we all hope and pray for her complete recovery.

But ...

There were SIX people murdered that day. How many others' names have you heard, or remember? One man, for example, died shielding his wife, who survived. Do you know his name?

There were TWENTY people shot that day. How many of them have not even been mentioned by the media?

WHY?

Free Speech, Foul Actions

2011-01-09T11:50:00.003-06:00

The horrific attack on Rep. Giffords yesterday in Tucson has sparked a debate about, well, debate. Even as the media has acknowledged that the alleged gunman in custody had no ties to any political party or movement, many well-known anchors have tried to blame selected groups for the attack; in the absence of evidence, they fall back on innuendo and gossip, blaming their enemies for the “climate” they claim at least ‘influenced’ the crime. In such false and hateful accusations, these self-impressed narcissists not only fail to stop and consider their own behavior, as they demand of others, they try to turn the crime to their own advantage.

Let’s just stop right there, and focus on what we know at this time:

1. None of the victims of yesterday’s shootings deserved any of the violence, regardless of their political or personal opinions;
2. The suspect in custody had a history of aberrant behavior and violent, antisocial beliefs. In succession, he was rejected by the Army and suspended from his university for what seemed, even years go, to be advocacy of violence and a rejection of civil discourse to discuss and address political issues;
3. No mainstream or significant television or radio talk show ever advocated violence, especially against elected officials. The hyperbole being thrown out now is essentially dishonest and inflammatory, ironically in character and justification no different from even the strongest political campaign ads run in the past several election cycles;
4. Rep. Giffords is no extremist, no enemy of common sense. The meeting she held yesterday was no part of an election campaign, but a commitment to meet her constituents and learn their opinions. As a Democrat, Giffords supported her party and the President but she was notably open to Republican opinions and alternatives as well. There is no sense to committing violence against an elected official, but even from the paranoid perspective attacking Giffords makes no sense.

This was a senseless act of violence, and should no more be assigned to an official or significant political opinion than a mugging or drive-by shooting. As we remember the families of the victims, and consider how we move forward from this, we would all do well to put aside blame and attacks of opponents, and to count the perpetrators of such crimes as they are – failed and worthless creatures, who tried to drag others down to their level in a futile act of hatred and violence. Such monsters need to be put away, and at need put down, but they should be forgotten, not used to advance personal or political vendetta or machinations.

At times like this, we need to be people, not politicians, and to focus on healing, not the hatred.

The Maltheists

2011-01-07T12:56:00.002-06:00

Most people, including many who call themselves Christians, Muslims, and so on, are actually atheists in practice. Think about it. If you really, truly, believed that God is real and exists, then you would weigh your decisions and choose your actions with some serious interest in aligning things with His will, either out of love and evotion, or from fear of punishment or retribution. That does not match up well with the way people really act, including a disappointingly large number of mullahs, priests, ministers and so on. Let’s be honest – we all spend a lot of our energy, time, and focus thinking about how to get what we want for ourselves, and to prevent bad things from happening to ourselves. Some of that is biology (self-preservation) and some of it is cultural, but from what I see, pretty much everybody spends at least 85% of their time and effort on themselves. The use of religion, therefore, as an excuse to get what you want while pretending you’re a great guy, must therefore be considered early on as a popular human hobby.

I suspect this false devotion bothers a certain number of people, but what else is interesting is that hatred of religious practice and beliefs is very broad and has a very long history. And not just by Nazis, Cossacks and West Coast lawyers, either. A great many ‘regular’ people have found it, hmm, kosher to insult and deride people for their religious beliefs and practices. For every person who finds they cannot live without a reference to God on our coins, there seem to be as many or more who cannot live with any reference to God, no matter how vague. A sizable demographic has always found it not only reasonable to reject religion, but fashionable to attack and harass anyone who practices their faith, especially if that faith requires standards of dress or behavior which do not match popular social behavior. As a result, while it is not only illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of their race or gender, but is also strongly disapproved by the public in general, and there is strong emotional support for perceived victims of discrimination because of sexual orientation or certain niche demographics, there is a common sense that insulting and harassing people for overt expressions of faith is not only acceptable but expected. Hence the consistent derision in popular dramas of anyone who displays their faith in public, and the same in many business practices – pray all you like, as long as it’s not where anyone else can see it. Come to that, many businesses have policies regarding religious expression which are similar to their policy regarding sexual harassment; if you get caught showing faith, expect the hammer to come down hard, albeit in unofficial form. To put it plainly, there are quite a few people who, whether they believe in God or not, hate Him, anyone who believes in Him, and even mention of Him. These are the maltheists.

The best-known maltheist, of course, is Satan, a being who rebelled against God, then when he realized that course was futile, set about hurting God the most effective way he could, by attacking, polluting, and subverting God’s children on earth. There are a lot of people who have no trouble trying to eradicate people whose religion offends them; the Russian then Soviet progroms against Jews, for example, the ‘ethnic cleansing’ in the Balkans, not only now but also back before World War I, and Muslim suppression of non-Islamic beliefs in any country they control. Maltheism in practice ranges from sneering condescension of anyone who practices a faith all to the way to genocide.

Let’s look at that for a moment. ‘Genocide’ is a word often used in exaggerated in discussing alleged abuse of various groups. But when a writer speaks against a perceived reluctance to spend more tax money on AIDS research, calling it ‘genocide of gays’ is not only inaccurate and a false indictment of the intentions of the relevant parties, it cheapens and insults the memory of real victims of genocide, like Buchenwald or Rwanda, Darfur or Bosnia. It ignores the history of the Genocide Convention, which at its inception in 1948 recognized that many people have been killed, in history and in contemporary days, simply for their religious identity and beliefs. Maltheists therefore, not only exist and in both significant numbers and power, but also practice hatred of faith to a degree that includes deliberate, premeditated murder. Most malthesists, of course, are not violent but merely advocate a lower-level hatred against people of faith, and imagine as a result that their hatred is not only excusable but a reasonable practice of free speech. A State Department briefing paper published in 1996, however, notes that this sort of speech can be a step on the road to advocation of violence, in “The 8 Stages of Genocide” :

Stage 1: Division into ‘us’ and ‘them’

Stage 2: Symbolism used to demean and insult target groups

Stage 3: Dehumanization

Stage 4: Organization of programs to oppress target group

Stage 5: Polarization, especially using the media

Stage 6: Preparation, target groups singled out by religious/ethnic identity

Stage 7: Mass Killing

Stage 8: Denial

The active conditions in many countries where differing stages exist should be obvious to the reader. And going back to the idea that most people look out for themselves most of all, it should be easy to understand why people who practice religious beliefs would be seen as irritating minorities and obvious targets for exclusion and reprisals. Religious people may seem to be trying to show off a superior personal morality, even when they only hold themselves to a personal code of ethics based on their religion. That a few high-profile religious figureheads try to hijack faith for their personal benefit only adds gasoline to the fire, as maltheists use the offenses of the few to condemn the many.

I am not saying that most maltheists would like to commit violence against people of faith, nor even that they would approve of violence against religion. The problem is that the opinion and character of maltheists is consistent, from insults against God and the people who believe in Him, all the way through to those who try to kill in the name of that hate.

A Christmas Story

2010-12-24T19:31:00.001-06:00

“Dad, I’m going now.”

He looked up from his work, gestured to his staff to come back later, and walked over to his son, waiting by the doorway.

“Are you sure about this? You remember what I said …”

“Yes, Father” said the son, “I remember everything, and I know you are worried about me. I know it will be hard, painful, all of that, but you know that we have to do this. If we don’t … “

The father nodded gravely.

“You could at least take some comforts. You know you have the right to money, power, protection. I could arrange – ” but the son stopped him, shaking his head.

“If I did that, then those who have none of those things might not believe I was truly with them, truly one of them. I must be as poor, as ordinary as anyone else.”

The father sighed.

“I know. I know you must do things this way.” The father smiled. “After all, I said so myself a long time ago, didn’t I?”

The son smiled too.

“It’s a perfect plan.”

“But the cost?”

“We must pay it. Who else could?”

They stood together for a moment, father and son, no words but in perfect understanding and love.

“I love you, Father.”

“And I love you, Son.”

Later that evening, in the fields near Bethlehem, shepherds watching their flocks were startled by bright lights in the sky, and they were terrified. An angel appeared to them, saying “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people …”

Christ and Christmas

2010-12-21T17:18:00.002-06:00

Every year, the same tired argument comes up between the overly religious and the overly cynical, basically about who owns the holiday season which comes around at the end of December each year. A great many things have been said which appear at first to make sense, but which lose a lot of their validity when you stop to consider them. As a result, anyone making an assertion about what the holiday season “should” mean tends to get ignored by a large portion of the public straight off, and sometimes that is a mistake. Not that my own opinion is better than anyone else’s, but I think there are some things we ought to consider, whatever our personal beliefs and perspective.

First, I want to emphasize that compulsion has no place in the Christmas season, as I think of it. That is, no one who is not Christian should feel obliged to act in accordance with Christian beliefs, anymore than someone who is not Jewish should observe Hannukah, or someone who is not Muslim should observe Ramadan, or someone who is not Seinfeld should observe Festivus. The flip side, of course, also applies. Someone who is not a Jew has no business attacking the observance of Hannukah, someone who is not a Muslim has no business trying to restrict Ramadan, and so on. In the United States, there is no valid legal or moral basis for trying to stamp out public ceremonies which peacefully celebrate a religious event. It may or may not be valid to restrict public funds for religious presentations (but if you ban one, you must ban all, including Kwanzaa, Gaia festivals, or even the Great Pumpkin), but the modern culture attacks private businesses and organizations for exercising their right to observe religion as they see fit.

Some critics have pointed out that most Christmas decorations and celebrations are secular events, anyway. You won’t find Santa Claus, Christmas trees, or the Grinch in any of the Scriptural accounts of Christ’s birth. And there is a lot of talk that Jesus was probably not born on December 25th. Of course, there’s a lot of people who go on to claim that Jesus was not born in that season, not in Bethlehem, does not really exist, and in fact is the creation of the Military-Industrial Complex of the Emperor Constantine … or Rush Limbaugh, take your pick. But we’re not going to talk about the Gores or the Kerry’s here today. Here’s the thing – when Christianity first got going, it was the oddest of paradigms; a religion which worshipped an all-powerful God who took human form as the son of a poor carpenter’s family, born without influence, money or status, who brought God’s truth and love but was rejected by the very class of believer who had been waiting for centuries for the Messiah to appear, who lived a life of perfect obedience to the law but taught that even perfect obedience was not enough, that a person whose religion was imperfect but who loved God was better than a person whose deeds were mighty but selfish. He was rejected by the leading thinkers of his day, ignored by the very priests who served specifically to prepare for his arrival, falsely accused, tortured, then murdered publicly to advance a conspiracy between Herod and Caiaphas to prevent an uprising by the masses (which was delayed for a time but happened anyway in 70 AD). With one exception, his followers scattered, or were arrested and killed. That one exception was exiled to a barren island, where he wrote a weird tale about the Messiah coming back and ruling forever in a perfect kingdom. The leaders of Rome, Judea, and Judiasm all expected the strange little cult to die out, especially as Rome increased penalties for following this Christ, from fines to imprisonment, to banishment to torture and execution. Yet the faith kept growing, with more and more believers all the time, until the Emperor Constantine found it advantageous to throw his support behind the Christians. From there, the Church gained material and political power, until it became oppressive and hateful in its own character, and splintered to become something else. To this day there remain intense debates about who is a ‘true’ Christian, and what it means to believe this doctrine or that, but the essence of Christianity is Christ, the revealed truth of the Triune God, which is to say One God revealed to Humanity in power, love, and hope.

The Scriptures do not say exactly when Christ was born, but the event was clearly important. Choirs of Angels, supernatural lightshows, and so on make it clear that Jesus’ birthday was a big deal. This led to the practice of celebrating the birthday because of Christ, rather than the date. The December date was chosen for two simple reasons – first, between Hannukah and the Winter Solstice, there were a number of celebrations which allowed Christians to celebrate the birth of the Savior without being particularly obvious. Also, Jesus’ decision to live meekly and teach his followers the same meekness (meekness in this case means to avoid hostility, not to be weak or silent) of spirit, reminds us that Christ represents us all, and so just as no one day is known to be his birthday, so we celebrate a day to focus on the love of God and not to put one day above another, just as we should not put one person above another in worth.

Christmas is about Christ. All the semantics in the world cannot change that fact. But as Christians, we should remember that our celebration of Christ in Christmas came in disguise, so we could worship without calling undue attention to ourselves. Demanding that people who do not share our faith give way to our commands is not the way of Christ. Neither is it the way of Christ to pretend that Christmas is the same thing as other celebrations. We love our families and friends, but Christmas is not about family and friends. We love to give and help, but Christmas is not about social justice. Christmas is about all those things insofar as they are from and of God, but the essence of God, His love and truth and hope, the miracles that are the reality of goodness and the definition of holiness, these are things which must not be discounted or replaced with meaningless baubles and egotistical , humanist blather.

God is real, and came to us as Christ Jesus. Not in judgment of our sins and errors, but in forgiveness, healing and hope. Not in his right to command our every thought and deed, but living in perfect service, that we might come to understand the value and virtue of humility and selflessness. Not to claim his right to all power and glory, but to bring us all up as his children and as the people in whole we were always meant to be, full in service, potential, and joy. We celebrate Christmas the right way, by remembering and celebrating Christ, and seeking his will we find our own freedom and perfection.

Merry Christmas.

Thoughts On Employment

2010-11-26T21:50:00.001-06:00

One of the big differences in the working classes is the kind of job you get. I don’t mean industry, or even the pay and title. I mean, there are people who have enough money that they only work in order to pass the time, some don’t work but instead find a way to game the system for money, some work because they have to but have enough that losing their job means they live off their savings until they find a position that pays well enough to be acceptable and offers career growth … and a whole lot of people work hard at their jobs, hoping and praying those jobs will continue because if they lose their job they will be hurting pretty soon. Some of that last group have some savings, but they were naively imagining they might send their kids to college, or pay off their house, or maybe even retire while they are able to enjoy their remaining years. When one of those people loses their job, they pretty much take the first offer they get for another job, because they cannot afford not to work.

This is not an issue that can be quantified very easily. People still argue about tracking unemployment and defining underemployment, there’s not even an official term to describe 'the job that was available, but not in a million years the job I was hoping to do for my life’s work’. It’s not something that will be solved with more education or a higher minimum wage, it won’t be fixed by the government or some social program. It’s the kind of problem that can only be solved one person at a time, and this pretty much means that for most people it won’t be solved at all.

What Do You Pray For?

2010-10-10T16:53:00.002-05:00

There are many different faiths and religions to choose from. Some folks think that's evidence of a lot of people believing the wrong faith, and some think all religion is irrational and foolish. But having met a number of people who believe differently from me, and having tested and reconsidered my beliefs many times over the years, I think there is much more to the matter than the first reaction most people have. As I am a Christian, it should not surprise anyone that I believe in Jesus Christ and the Gospel. But I accept a wide range of dogma as legitimate, even when it's a bit different from my own. And I can even accept religions that seem alien to me as valid in their own right. Six billion people on the planet, there's a lot of possibility that any one of us can't comprehend, but could still be true.

What bothers me, though, is the hate. And I think some of that comes from false belief, the idea that shows up so many places where someone only holds faith because they think they can use it for their advantage; God to them is not King but Butler. Chewing on that point some more, I realize that when we commune with God, we do so through prayer, and that beings me to the question which reveals our heart - what do you pray for? I'm not saying it's wrong to pray for something you need, or something that is very important to you, but how often do you pray to be a better person, to help someone else, or to be more aware of someone else's need?

Ghandi was Wrong

2010-09-27T21:32:00.001-05:00

I have been thinking about the concept of Ahimsa recently. As a Christian, it rings true to me that a person should avoid violence in order to accomplish what matters most.

Yet … yet …

I keep thinking about Jesus’ command to His disciples to obtain swords, after His resurrection. I am reminded that God Himself commanded the Israelites to make war, and that some of the angels worse and used swords. Violence, it seems, has a place in the will of God, though it’s a perilous thing for any man to take it upon himself to decide how and when to take up arms.

Also, I find it interesting to consider how nonviolence pops up over and over in History. Does it do this because the concept is right, or because it is partly wrong, it inevitably fails?

Heresy, I know, to think that peace can be wrong. Of course I don’t mean that, but in fact I mean that nonviolence is not the same thing as peace. Peace is all things being as they should be, which requires Justice to be so. Nonviolence may lead to peace, but it is no sure thing. In fact, chewing on the idea leads me to think that there is a certain threshold for nonviolence to be effective. A nonviolent world may be a paradise, but one nonviolent man may well fail.

Also, nonviolence is unnatural. Nature is full of violence. Predators, chaos, death and destruction all the time.
More to think on …

Drummond’s Rules of Economics and Politics

2010-08-11T20:27:00.002-05:00

The coming election is about the economy, no matter what the political-party-about-to-be-hit-with-a-ton-of-voter-rage claims. Oddly, this is the same myopia which blinded the other political-party-slammed-for-missing-the-obvious in 2006 and 2008; seems to be common for D.C. to be D.O.A. on the basics. There needs to be some basic primer about how money works in political terms, so I offer the following basic rules which drive the political consequence of money:

1. Everything has to be paid for

It’s quite fashionable for politicians to promise whatever the public wants, or at least the targeted voter bloc. But sooner or later, the services and goods have to be paid for, and with real money. Delaying the inevitable only adds interest costs to the total.

2. Taxpayers pay for everything the Government buys

Don’t be fooled when some official tries to say there will be no tax increase for a program, or that it will be paid from by another government or corporation. Other governments serve groups of taxpayers who won’t accept higher taxes either, and eventually the cost will come back around to your country again and hit the citizens. As for corporations, these are made up of people who don’t like paying taxes, and so a corporate tax will result either in higher prices, lower employment, or both.

3. People never like taxes

Joe Biden is a liar and a moron. No one, absolutely nobody will pay a penny more than required in taxes. Folks will pay what they feel they must, they may make virtuous noises to feel better about paying, and they may form mobs and demand that some certain person or group should be made to pay more in taxes, but no one chooses to pay more than they believe they have to pay.

4. Politicians lie to you about how much you have to pay

Politicians will either promise that your taxes will go down, or if taxes must go up, that someone else will have to pay more. Knowing how much people hate paying taxes, no politician planning to stay in office will ever tell you directly that he expects you to pay more.

5. There will never be a system where everyone pays a 'fair' amount of tax

There are several reasons for this fact. First, it’s impracticable in any medium-to-large country, since people will constantly try to reduce the taxes they pay, through resistance, political and legal actions, or just plain evasion and avoidance tactics. Second, no government truly wants a transparent system for collecting taxes, as this will inevitably lead to comparison, complaint, argument and further questions about who gets paid and why. By playing groups against one another, adjusting one group’s tax rate up or down to make it more ”fair”, governments distract the public from figuring out how much it is really gouging them.

6. Revenue is dependent on the health of the economy more than any other factor

This is sometimes missed when planning growth and forecasting revenue, whether by companies or governments. You need a healthy economy overall, in order for your goods or services to produce revenue. For tax purposes it is even plainer – you cannot collect money which is not there. Consequently,

7. The only functional tax rate is the one which maximizes revenue with the least interference with the economy

This is not a new idea. Remember the story warning not to kill the golden goose? The idea is that you pay attention to how folks are doing before you tell them they need to pay you more money. At the very least, tax increases (and ending prior tax cuts are tax increases, semantics won’t save you) should never happen when the economy is in decline, especially during a recession, and only a brain-dead moron would consider them when unemployment is 7% or higher. To bring in tax revenue, you need to spur job growth, because only when people have jobs can you get income tax from them. And to spur job growth, you have to lower the tax rate. Here’s why – the cause of every economic crisis always comes down to consumer confidence. When people stop buying things, the economy collapses, it’s really that simple. And when taxes are high, people worry about them and spend less, which causes businesses to slow down and fail. When businesses slow down, they lay off employees, which obviously raises unemployment. A low tax rate with low unemployment is better for revenue than a higher tax rate with a higher unemployment rate, as should be patently clear. There is a floor rate beyond which revenue fails to improve, but it is undeniable that in any recession, the most effective means to improve employment, and in so doing improve revenues from taxes, is to reduce the tax rate.

Thoughts on An Unsatisfactory Victory

2010-08-09T20:43:00.001-05:00

I’m pretty freaking lucky. Sometimes in a gruesome way, however. One of those ways is the way my cancer was discovered in 2006. The short version is this sequence of events:

1. A kidney stone forms in my urinary tract.
2. I pass said kidney stone.
3. Not being an imbecile, I see my doctor, who schedules a CT scan
4. CT scan reveals I have ruptured my appendix; emergency surgery follows.
5. During the surgery, an unexpected mass is found in my abdominal cavity near the appendix. The mass is removed and sent for testing. The tests come back malignant.

So, in a span of a few days I went from being an annoying, overweight white guy to passing a kidney stone and breaking my appendix, to being diagnised with cancer.

Everything changed. For a while. I quickly experienced a range of emotions and discoveries, including an unprofessional oncologist and a surprisingly compassionate insurance company, but in the end I escaped major surgery and got to keep my hair.

Turns out I’m lucky, really lucky. My cancer was fond during surgery and oh-by-the-way I not only live in a city with one of the leading research centers on cancer, my surgeon sent my tissue samples to MDA for the initial tests.

I revisted my situation after reading about Christopher Hitchens’ own battle with cancer. It’s clear we are very different men. Mr. Hitchens is a very successful writer who has had to deal with a much harder situation than I have had to face. And yet, he too seems to be luckier than some. In my visits to MDA, I regularly see patients and their families, who are facing a much bleaker prognosis than even Mr. Hitchens has had to endure. And knowing this, I regularly face a kind of survivor’s guilt about my own good fortune. No major surgery, no chemo, no nausea, while everywhere I meet and see patients whose future is unknown, who must endure pain and doubt and the threat of death, and whose families suffer along with them. I want to help somehow, but I feel very helpless, and sometimes as if I’m wasting the time and resources of the doctors and nurses who should be focusing on people who really need help.

I have felt well for so long that by mid-2009 I began to worry that I did not have cancer at all. My oncologist ended that idea by showing me exactly where my tumors are residing; just because they’re not causing trouble at the moment does not mean they aren’t there. So while I feel like a normal person, my doctors make sure I never forget that I’m not just like anyone else. And because PMP is rare, with an unknown cause and with a very limited amount of clinical research available, there’s no guarantee that my present well-being will be permanent. That leads to some concern every time I have an unexplained pain in my abdomen or difficulty in urination or defecation. I find myself swinging from thinking that I’m overreacting, to worrying that I’m not telling my doctors something they need to know. This is important for another reason – since my cancer was found early, the doctors have been keeping records on me in hopes of learning more about PMP in the early stages. I can’t say that I’m doing much to help, but it’s better than nothing and just maybe something will come up that will help someone.

My point here is threefold – sometimes I need to vent, first of all. Second, never assume things will always be what you expect them to be, and three, there’s a reason for everything but that doesn’t mean everything will make sense when you try to figure it out.

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Eighteen: Summary Review, Methodology and Advice to MBA Candidates

2010-06-26T10:09:00.001-05:00

If you’re still reading this, please accept my apologies for its length (18 parts!) and breadth. My intention was to not only present a relatively objective review of the AACSB’s accredited online MBA programs on consistent measures which you can check for yourself, but also to show the impact of each category upon the whole, and by showing the top schools in each category, to introduce schools not only in sum but also which perform well in selected areas. Some of the ranked schools stood out over and over again, while others were not at the top, but always did well enough to stay in the chase.

I’d like to take the time here to go over the top 25 programs again, looking at their key focus and why you should consider them. I will follow that section with a review of my scoring methodology, so anyone interested can tally up, weight and calculate scores on their own standards. And at the end, I have a bit of final advice for MBA candidates, from the academic and business perspectives of your MBA pursuit.

So, let’s have a look again at the Top 25 AACSB Online MBA Programs for 2010, in order of rank. The information presented here comes first from the school’s response to the AACSB survey, and then from the school’s website. In the event of conflicting information, the survey takes precedence because all schools in this review participated in the same survey with the same categories in the same time frame.

FIRST: Colorado – Denver (7,830.15 points)
Location – Denver, Colorado
Founded – 2004
Size – 1,207
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $52,444
Average GMAT – 560
# of Concentrations – Nineteen (!)
Student/Faculty Ratio – 14.9

SECOND: Wisconsin – Whitewater (7,416.19)
Location – Whitewater, Wisconsin
Founded – 1868
Size – 650
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $18,118
Average GMAT – 501
# of Concentrations – Seven
Student/Faculty Ratio – 7.2

THIRD: Gonzaga (7,372.01)
Location – Spokane, Washington
Founded – 1887
Size – 288
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $23,640
Average GMAT – 560.8
# of Concentrations – Seven
Student/Faculty Ratio – 6.3

FOURTH: Michigan – Flint (7,164.92)
Location – Flint, Michigan
Founded – 1944
Size – 187
Degree Levels – Two
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $8,881
Average GMAT – 517
# of Concentrations – Eight
Student/Faculty Ratio – 8.9

FIFTH: Nebraska – Lincoln (7,016.55)
Location – Lincoln, Nebraska
Founded – 1869
Size – 381
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $33,332
Average GMAT – 625.5
# of Concentrations – Four
Student/Faculty Ratio – 4.8

SIXTH: Northeastern (6,950.81)
Location – Boston, Massachusetts
Founded – 1898
Size – 774
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $71,620
Average GMAT – 553
# of Concentrations – Eight
Student/Faculty Ratio – 5.2

SEVENTH: Worcester Poly (6,948.84)
Location – Worcester, Massachusetts
Founded – 1865
Size – 285
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $53,361
Average GMAT – 595.5
# of Concentrations – Eight
Student/Faculty Ratio – 12.4

EIGHTH: Alabama (6,855.84)
Location – Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Founded – 1831
Size – 408
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $37,786
Average GMAT – 611
# of Concentrations – Four
Student/Faculty Ratio – 2.6

NINTH: Florida State (6,821.99)
Location – Tallahassee, Florida
Founded – 1851
Size – 623
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $39,150
Average GMAT – 559.6
# of Concentrations – Four
Student/Faculty Ratio – 5.3

TENTH: Auburn (6,792.18)
Location – Auburn, Alabama
Founded – 1856
Size – 197
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $19,215
Average GMAT – 500
# of Concentrations – Five
Student/Faculty Ratio – 4.4

ELEVENTH: Quinnipiac (6,634.93)
Location – Hamden, Connecticut
Founded – 1929
Size – 199
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $33,580
Average GMAT – 580
# of Concentrations – Five
Student/Faculty Ratio – 3.0

TWELFTH: Penn State (6,620.94)
Location – University Park, Pennsylvania
Founded – 1855
Size – 267
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business And Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $58,408
Average GMAT – 640.5
# of Concentrations – Four
Student/Faculty Ratio – 3.6

THIRTEENTH: Fayetteville State (6,591.61)
Location – Fayetteville, North Carolina
Founded – 1877
Size – 98
Degree Levels – Two
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $13,207
Average GMAT – 472
# of Concentrations – Six
Student/Faculty Ratio – 2.3

FOURTEENTH: Houston – Victoria (6,512.91)
Location – Victoria, Texas
Founded – 1983
Size – 866
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $27,024
Average GMAT – 442.5
# of Concentrations – Six
Student/Faculty Ratio – 25.5

FIFTEENTH: Georgia Southern (6,495.10)
Location – Statesboro, Georgia
Founded – 1929
Size – 285
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $15,274
Average GMAT – 504
# of Concentrations – Three
Student/Faculty Ratio – 2.3

SIXTEENTH: Alabama – Birmingham (6,443.18)
Location – Birmingham, Alabama
Founded – 1969
Size – 347
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $21,905
Average GMAT – 557
# of Concentrations – Four
Student/Faculty Ratio – 6.2

SEVENTEENTH: Massachusetts – Amherst (6,426.50)
Location – Amherst, Massachusetts
Founded – 1867
Size – 1,183
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $21,944
Average GMAT – 617.2
# of Concentrations – One
Student/Faculty Ratio – 10.1

EIGHTEENTH: Morehead State (6,355.22)
Location – Morehead, Kentucky
Founded – 1968
Size – 202
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $15,192
Average GMAT – 400
# of Concentrations – Five
Student/Faculty Ratio – 5.2

NINETEENTH: Florida Gulf Coast (6,194.38)
Location – Fort Myers, Florida
Founded – 1991
Size – 230
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $51,198
Average GMAT – 505
# of Concentrations – Five
Student/Faculty Ratio – 4.2

TWENTIETH: North Texas (6,157.94)
Location – Denton, Texas
Founded – 1961
Size – 665
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $28,948
Average GMAT – 493.3
# of Concentrations – Two
Student/Faculty Ratio – 5.4

TWENTY-FIRST: Washington State (6,153.22)
Location – Pullman, Washington
Founded – 1890
Size – 52
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $23,656
Average GMAT – 554
# of Concentrations – One
Student/Faculty Ratio – 10.5

TWENTY-SECOND: Arizona State (6,150.06)
Location – Phoenix, Arizona
Founded – 1958
Size – 1,726
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $60,186
Average GMAT – 587.5
# of Concentrations – Two
Student/Faculty Ratio – 7.1

TWENTY-THIRD: Texas – San Antonio (6,120.89)
Location – San Antonio, Texas
Founded – 1969
Size – 626
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $30,906
Average GMAT – 561.7
# of Concentrations – One
Student/Faculty Ratio – 4.4

TWENTY-FOURTH: Suffolk (6,112.81)
Location – Boston, Massachusetts
Founded – 1937
Size – 1,028
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $57,900
Average GMAT – 468.3
# of Concentrations – Five
Student/Faculty Ratio – 6.8

TWENTY-FIFTH: Oklahoma State (6,031.20)
Location – Stillwater, Oklahoma
Founded – 1890
Size – 690
Degree Levels – four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $37,326
Average GMAT – 562.5
# of Concentrations – one
Student/Faculty Ratio – 5.1

METHODOLOGY

The idea in setting up a ranking system was to record the relevant, consistent and publicly available elements of a school. The first part was to examine the information that could be found by simply looking up the school’s website and AACSB survey. From that, I selected fifteen categories of data which I believe is relevant for an MBA candidate to consider.

I then broke the fifteen categories down into three broad sub-groups, of Major, Useful, and Minor value, then ranked the categories within each. I then assigned relative proportions of the total to the categories, so that the end result would be 100%. This resulted in percentage values ranging from 0.36% to 24.00% for a single category.

I then ranked the schools according to their performance in each category. There were two ways to do this. Schools trying to reach a maximum number (like concentrations, where more is better) were assigned a value equal to the score in a category divided by the maximum (6 concentrations out of 8 maximum possible, for example) times 100 times the percentage value. Schools trying to reach a minimal value (such as tuition, where less is better) were assigned a value equal to the formula as follows: (1-(score-smallest possible)/largest possible) times 100 times the percentage value. As a result, maximum values for each category ranged from 36 points (for the lowest in-state undergraduate tuition) to 2,400 points (for the highest number of available concentrations). The rest was simple addition of scores to reach an aggregate. Anyone interested in their own scoring system can simply add or remove other categories they find relevant, adjust the weighting to suit their focus, and work the numbers the same way. I would just remind everyone that it’s important to use consistent data gathered the same way, which is available for all contending universities. Inconsistent data creates invalid results.

Finally, I’d like to thank everyone for reading my work and for your thoughts and comments, if you feel so inclined. This ranking is not meant to be advice on which school you should choose, but rather a tool to help you see which schools offer strengths that match your preferences. So far as I know, no one else is doing this, so amateur that I am, I like to think this may be of use.

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Seventeen: Number of FTE Faculty and Score Totals and Final Ranking

2010-06-25T06:22:00.000-05:00

This is the last of our fifteen categories. It’s easy to overlook, but it can be important. The number of FTE (full-time employees) is the weighted full-time number of professors and instructors available, and just as the student body size influences your ability to find quality peers, the faculty size influences your access to top instructors. After all, the more instructors the more choice you have. This category counts for 8% of the total score.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from 3 to 117 FTE faculty, schools can earn up to 800 points.

Here are the top ten schools by FTE faculty counts for our group of schools:

1. Hong Kong Polytechnic
2. Texas - Dallas
3. Kennesaw State
4. Arizona State
5. Texas – Arlington
6. Towson
7. Massachusetts - Amherst
8. Wisconsin - Whitewater
9. East Carolina
10. Colorado – Denver

With that done, let’s look again at last year’s top programs:

2009 Top Online MBA Programs
1. Auburn
2. Drexel
3. East Carolina
4. Colorado – Denver
5t. Tennessee Tech
5t. Houston – Victoria
7t. Morehead State
7t. Wayne State
9. Colorado – Colorado Springs
10. North Dakota
11t. Georgia Southern
11t. Texas – Dallas
13t. Wisconsin – Oshkosh
13t. Wisconsin – Whitewater
15. Texas A&M – Commerce
16. Michigan – Dearborn
17. Nicholls State
18. Suffolk
19. Georgia College & State U
20. Colorado State
21. Florida
22t. Florida State
22t. Nebraska – Lincoln
24. Wyoming
25t. Durham
25t. Texas – Arlington
25t. Massachusetts – Lowell
25t. North Texas

And now, the Top 25 Online MBA Schools for 2010:
1st: Colorado – Denver (7,830.15)
2nd: Wisconsin – Whitewater (7,416.19)
3rd: Gonzaga (7,372.01)
4th: Michigan – Flint (7,164.92)
5th: Nebraska – Lincoln (7,016.55)
6th: Northeastern (6,950.81)
7th: Worcester Poly (6,948.84)
8th: Alabama (6,855.84)
9th: Florida State (6,821.99)
10th: Auburn (6,792.18)
11th: Quinnipiac (6,634.93)
12th: Penn State (6,620.94)
13th: Fayetteville State (6,591.61)
14th: Houston – Victoria (6,512.91)
15th: Georgia Southern (6,495.10)
16th: Alabama – Birmingham (6,443.18)
17th: Massachusetts – Amherst (6,426.50)
18th: Morehead State (6,355.22)
19th: Florida Gulf Coast (6,194.38)
20th: North Texas (6,157.94)
21st: Washington State (6,153.22)
22nd: Arizona State (6,150.06)
23rd: Texas – San Antonio (6,120.89)
24th: Suffolk (6,112.81)
25th: Oklahoma State (6,031.20)

As I said before I repeat now, this ranking is not an absolute ranking. It takes the available information on fifteen salient categories for AACSB-accredited schools of business which offer a true online MBA program, and assigns values based on the weighting of those categories as I understand them to proportionately apply to the value of the MBA. I present the top schools for each category, and have shown how the total score unfolded through the addition of the new points from each category. The school which is best for you, depends on the qualities which matter most to you. This presentation is to show how each category plays into the whole, and to present schools which excel in those areas. Some of these schools are well-known and some are not. I thought about presenting links to the schools’ websites and detailing the specific results for their performance in each category, but I presume you have access to a search engine, and the intent I brought here was to encourage you to chase down the relevant details yourself for schools which interest you. Because in the end, you must choose the school you attend, what concentrations and what cost and what length of curriculum and electives you select, and so you owe it to yourself to chase down the support for the school you choose. All I have done here is to point out how certain qualities are represented in schools, and to give you thoughts on some schools to consider. I will revisit the most prominent schools, and my methodology, in the next and final post.

Thanks.

The Best MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Sixteen: Minimum Program Duration

2010-06-24T19:00:00.000-05:00

This category is important to a minority of students, but for some people it will matter. This category counts for 4% of the total score.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from 12 to 36 months to finish the program, schools can earn up to 400 points.

Here are the shortest minimum-duration programs in our group of schools:

1t. Western New England
1t. Florida
3t. Michigan – Flint
3t. Institute de Empresa
5t. Colorado – Colorado Springs
5t. Colorado - Denver
7t. Suffolk
7t. Georgia Southern
7t. Florida State
7t. Florida Gulf Coast
7t. Georgia College & State U
7t. Gonzaga

The overall lead is now as follows:

1st: Colorado – Denver (7,475)
2nd: Gonzaga (7,215)
3rd: Michigan – Flint (7,110)
4th: Wisconsin – Whitewater (7,040)
5th: Nebraska – Lincoln (6,866)
6th: Worcester Poly (6,853)
7th: Auburn (6,676)
8th: Alabama (6,658)
9th: Northeastern (6,609)
10th: Florida State (6,548)
11th: Fayetteville State (6,516)
12th(tie): Quinnipiac (6,498)
12th(tie): Penn State (6,498)
14th: Houston – Victoria (6,328)
15th: Alabama – Birmingham (6,300)
16th: Morehead State (6,239)
17th: Georgia Southern (6,235)
18th: Washington State (6,119)
19th: Florida Gulf Coast (6,064)
20th: Massachusetts – Amherst (6,030)
21st: Wyoming (5,909)
22nd: Western New England (5,893)
23rd: Suffolk (5,839)
24th: North Texas (5,816)
25th: Texas – San Antonio (5,806)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Fifteen: Operating Budget per Student

2010-06-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

This category is another relatively small one, but given the need for facilities and resources for online students, it still counts, especially since a large budget is less effective if it’s cut up into too many pieces. This part counts for 3% of the total score.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from $2,060 to $404,481, schools can earn up to 300 points.

Here are the ten lowest undergraduate in-state tuition rates of our group of schools:

1. Washington State
2. Southern Arkansas
3. Penn State
4. Missisippi
5. Wisconsin – Lacrosse
6. Western Kentucky
7. Wyoming
8. Tennessee - Martin
9. Indiana – Bloomington
10. Clarion U of Pennsylvania

The overall lead is now as follows:

1st: Colorado – Denver (7,119)
2nd: Gonzaga (6,881)
3rd: Wisconsin – Whitewater (6,773)
4th: Michigan – Flint (6,744)
5th: Worcester Poly (6,720)
6th: Nebraska – Lincoln (6,599)
7th: Alabama (6,524)
8th: Auburn (6,476)
9th: Northeastern (6,342)
10th: Fayetteville State (6,250)
11th: Quinnipiac (6,232)
12th: Penn State (6,231)
13th: Florida State (6,215)
14th: Alabama – Birmingham (6,166)
15th: Houston – Victoria (6,028)
16th: Morehead State (5,972)
17th: Georgia Southern (5,902)
18th: Washington State (5,852)
19th: Massachusetts – Amherst (5,763)
20th: Florida Gulf Coast (5,731)
21st: Wyoming (5,643)
22nd: North Texas (5,549)
23rd: Texas – San Antonio (5,540)
24th: Suffolk (5,506)
25th: Western New England (5,493)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Fourteen: Student Body Size

2010-06-23T19:00:00.000-05:00

Things are closing towards the final results now, with only 16.43% (or 1,643 possible points remaining) of the total to be assigned. This category is the smallest of the four remaining areas to consider. The number of students attending a university influences the opportunity to find high-value partners for projects and challenging competition for to honors. This category counts for 1.43% of the total score.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from 14 to 5,599 students, schools can earn up to 143 points.

Here are the ten highest size of MBA student class in our group of schools:

1. Texas – Dallas
2. Hong Kong Polytechnic
3. Arizona State
4. Florida
5. Texas – Arlington
6. Kennesaw State
7. Thunderbird
8. Durham
9. Colorado – Denver
10. Massachusetts – Amherst

(Note that these rankings are for ONLINE MBA student class size only)

The overall lead is now as follows:

1st: Colorado – Denver (7,106)
2nd: Gonzaga (6,858)
3rd: Wisconsin – Whitewater (6,759)
4th: Worcester Poly (6,759)
5th: Michigan – Flint (6,701)
6th: Nebraska – Lincoln (6,542)
7th: Alabama (6,459)
8th: Auburn (6,451)
9th: Northeastern (6,295)
10th: Quinnipiac (6,182)
11th(tie): Florida State (6,170)
11th(tie): Fayetteville State (6,170)
13th: Alabama – Birmingham (6,117)
14th: Penn State (6,108)
15th: Houston – Victoria (6,022)
16th: Morehead State (5,938)
17th: Georgia Southern (5,855)
18th: Massachusetts – Amherst (5,738)
19th: Florida Gulf Coast (5,703)
20th: Washington State (5,552)
21st: Wyoming (5,547)
22nd: North Texas (5,518)
23rd: Texas – San Antonio (5,495)
24th: Suffolk (5,439)
25th: Western New England (5,437)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Thirteen: Student/Faculty Ratio

2010-06-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

This category is trickier than it may first appear. In face-to-face classes, the ratio of students per teacher is critical in the quality level of instruction a candidate may expect. It is less so in online classes, because the online student has greater access to the teacher when offering answers or asking questions. Also, since online classes use virtual office hours for professors or organized Q&A sessions for the class, there is no risk that a student may miss time with the instructor because someone else has already arrived first or the available time is a problem with other commitments, like work.

However, the student/faculty ratio does factor into how much attention an instructor may give an individual student’s work. Just imagine the difference between evaluating, say 75 students’ projects or just 25 in the same available amount of time, regardless of how the work is submitted. This category counts for 9% of the total score for a school.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from 5.4 to 85.9 for schools, schools can earn up to 900 points.

Here are the ten lowest student-to-faculty rations of our group of schools:

1. Southern Arkansas
2. Tennessee - Martin
3. Western Kentucky
4. Georgia Southern
5. Wisconsin - LaCrosse
6. North Dakota
7. Louisiana - Monroe
8. Rowan
9. Fayetteville State
10. Mississippi

The overall lead is now as follows:

1st: Colorado – Denver (7,075)
2nd: Gonzaga (6,851)
3rd: Wisconsin – Whitewater (6,742)
4th(tie): Worcester Poly (6,697)
4th (tie): Michigan – Flint (6,697)
6th: Nebraska – Lincoln (6,533)
7th: Alabama (6,449)
8th: Auburn (6,446)
9th: Northeastern (6,275)
10th: Quinnipiac (6,176)
11th: Fayetteville State (6,168)
12th: Florida State (6,155)
13th: Alabama – Birmingham (6,108)
14th: Penn State (6,101)
15th: Houston – Victoria (6,000)
16th: Morehead State (5,933)
17th: Georgia Southern (5,848)
18th: Massachusetts – Amherst (5,708)
19th: Florida Gulf Coast (5,697)
20th: Washington State (5,551)
21st: Wyoming (5,544)
22nd: North Texas (5,502)
23rd: Texas – San Antonio (5,479)
24th: Western New England (5,434)
25th: Oklahoma State (5,414)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Twelve: Number of Concentrations

2010-06-22T19:00:00.000-05:00

This category is the big one. This is because the initial criteria gave us a set of good schools, schools accredited by the AACSB, which offered a true online MBA. The difference between these 72 schools is weighed by what the school can offer a top candidate, and the top category of the 15 available to measure is the number of concentrations. Businesses like to know what the MBA means to them, and the concentration sets the applicant apart, even from other MBA holders.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from 1 to 8 concentrations, schools can earn up to 2,400 points.

Here are top schools by available MBA concentration:

1t. Colorado- Denver
1t. Michigan – Flint
1t. Northeastern
1t. Worcester Poly
5t. Gonzaga
5t. Wisconsin - Whitewater
7t. Fayetteville State
7t. Houston – Victoria
9t. Auburn
9t. Florida Gulf Coast
9t. Morehead State
9t. Quinnipiac

The overall lead is now as follows (points):

1st: Colorado – Denver (6,363)
2nd: Gonzaga (6,023)
3rd: Michigan – Flint (5,979)
4th: Worcester Poly (5,956)
5th: Wisconsin – Whitewater (5,910)
6th: Nebraska – Lincoln (5,754)
7th: Alabama (5,639)
8th: Auburn (5,613)
9th: Northeastern (5,481)
10th: Houston – Victoria (5,378)
11th: Florida State (5,361)
12th: Alabama – Birmingham (5,326)
13th: Quinnipiac (5,323)
14th: Fayetteville State (5,301)
15th: Penn State (5,297)
16th: Morehead State (5,104)
17th: Georgia Southern (4,970)
18th: Massachusetts – Amherst (4,964)
19th: Florida Gulf Coast (4,869)
20th: Suffolk (4,725)
21st: Washington State (4,708)
22nd: Wyoming (4,702)
23rd: North Texas (4,684)
24th: Florida (4,670)
25th: Texas – San Antonio (4,665)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Eleven: Minimum GMAT

2010-06-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

This category is useful but less significant than the average GMAT score, because it defines a floor which all students meet or exceed, but does not define the actual caliber of the students as a group. This category is worth 1.79% of the total.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from 200 (if the GMAT is required or a score floor is established) to 600, schools can earn up to 179 points.

Here are the top minimum GMAT score requirements of our group of schools:

1t. Florida
1t. Nebraska - Lincoln
3t Mississippi
3t. Oklahoma State
3t. Massachusetts - Amherst
3t. Massachusetts - Lowell
3t. Wyoming
8t. Indiana - Bloomington
8t. North Dakota
8t. Quinnipiac
8t. Western Kentucky
8t. Worcester Poly

The overall lead is now as follows (points):

1st: Massachusetts – Amherst (4,664)
2nd: Nebraska – Lincoln (4,554)
3rd: Alabama (4,439)
4th: Washington State (4,408)
5th: Wyoming (4,402)
6th: Florida (4,370)
7th: Texas – San Antonio (4,365)
8th: Oklahoma State (4,331)
9th: Mississippi (4,204)
10th: Texas – Pan American (4,193)
11th: Florida International (4,173)
12th: Florida State (4,161)
13th: Texas – Dallas (4,128)
14th: Alabama – Birmingham (4,126)
15th: Auburn (4,113)
16th: Penn State (4,097)
17th: North Texas (4,084)
18th: Indiana – Bloomington (4,075)
19th: Georgia Southern (4,070)
20th: South Dakota (4,035)
21st: Arizona State (3,992)
22nd: Massachusetts – Lowell (3,983)
23rd: Colorado – Denver (3,963)
24th: Temple (3,930)
25th: Gonzaga (3,923)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Ten: Average GMAT

2010-06-21T19:00:00.000-05:00

This category is tremendously important, second only to the number of concentrations available in a program. The reason this counts as 18% of the total score, is because the average GMAT score of full-time students indicates the caliber of your colleagues at school, not least because full-time students help establish course expectations, and higher GMAT scores raise expectations. A good school should challenge the candidate.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from 400 to 653 (where scores are reported), schools can earn up to 1,800 points. If average GMAT scores are not reported or the GMAT is not required by the school, a default 551.3 points are awarded.

Here are the ten highest average GMAT score averages in our group of schools:

1. Indiana – Bloomington
2. Penn State
3. Temple
4. Nebraska - Lincoln
5. Massachusetts - Amherst
6. Alabama
7. Florida
8. Drexel
9. Thunderbird
10. Worcester Poly

The overall lead is now as follows (points):

1st: Massachusetts – Amherst (4,500)
2nd: Nebraska – Lincoln (4,375)
3rd: Washington State (4,303)
4th: Alabama (4,296)
5th: Texas – San Antonio (4,246)
6th: Wyoming (4,238)
7th: Florida (4,191)
8th: Oklahoma State (4,167)
9th: Florida International (4,143)
10th: Florida State (4,132)
11th: Auburn (4,083)
12th: Texas – Pan American (4,074)
13th: Penn State (4,067)
14th: North Texas (4,054)
15th: Mississippi (4,040)
16th: Texas – Dallas (4,009)
17th: Alabama – Birmingham (3,983)
18th: Arizona State (3,962)
19th: Georgia Southern (3,935)
20th: Colorado – Denver (3,933)
21st: Indiana – Bloomington (3,925)
22nd: South Dakota (3,916)
23rd: Temple (3,900)
24th: Gonzaga (3,894)
25th: Drexel (3,863)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Nine: Operating Budget

2010-06-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

This category is one which matters more for an online school than for many traditional programs. The online student is dependent on technology, not only in his own hardware and software but in the school’s resources. Access to research and course data is critical for students, especially when performing real-time discussions and projects, so the school’s operating budget reflects its ability to meet that demand.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from $1,768,743 to $90,020,515 for these budgets, schools can earn up to 107 points.

Here are the ten highest Operating Budgets for our group of schools:

1. Indiana - Bloomington
2. Arizona State
3. Thunderbird
4. Suffolk
5. Florida
6. Hong Kong Poly
7. Penn State
8. Florida International
9. Texas – Dallas
10. Temple

The overall lead is now as follows (points):

1st: Laval (2,888)
2nd: Texas – Pan American (2,839)
3rd: Texas – El Paso (2,821)
4th: Massachusetts – Amherst (2,798)
5th: Washington State (2,776)
6th: Texas – Arlington (2,759)
7th: Wyoming (2,709)
8th: Auburn (2,705)
9th: Texas – San Antonio (2,698)
10th: North Texas (2,695)
11th: Nebraska – Lincoln (2,651)
12th: Florida International (2,622)
13th: Oklahoma State (2,616)
14th: Alabama (2,612)
15th: Florida State (2,589)
16th: Mississippi (2,551)
17th: Georgia Southern (2,546)
18th: Texas – Dallas (2,542)
19th: Florida (2,509)
20th: West Georgia (2,486)
21st: Kennesaw State (2,448)
22nd: Alabama – Birmingham (2,447)
23rd: Durham (2,420)
24th: SUNY – Utica (2,400)
25th: Colorado – Denver (2,389)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Eight: MBA Out-of-state Tuition

2010-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00

This category is one of the more important ones. For a lot of MBA candidates, the cost of your tuition is an important factor in where you go to school, so this category counts for a full 10% of the total, surpassed only by the number of concentrations, the average GMAT score of students, and the degree levels offered by the school.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from $8,881 to $81,665 for a year of tuition and fees, schools can earn up to 1,000 points.

Here are the ten lowest MBA out-of-state tuition rates of our group of schools:

1. Michigan - Flint
2. Laval
3. Texas – Pan American
4. Texas – Tyler
5. Southern Arkansas
6. Rowan
7. Fayetteville State
8. Mississippi
9. Western Kentucky
10. SUNY – Utica

The overall lead is now as follows (points):

1st: Laval (2,846)
2nd: Texas – Pan American (2,829)
3rd: Texas – El Paso (2,811)
4th: Massachusetts – Amherst (2,770)
5th: Washington State (2,751)
6th: Texas – Arlington (2,732)
7th(tie): Auburn (2,697)
Wyoming (2,697)
9th: North Texas (2,671)
10th: Texas – San Antonio (2,667)
11th: Nebraska – Lincoln (2,628)
12th: Oklahoma State (2,580)
13th: Florida International (2,576)
14th: Alabama (2,569)
15th: Florida State (2,560)
16th: Mississippi (2,541)
17th: Georgia Southern (2,531)
18th: Texas – Dallas (2,497)
19th: West Georgia (2,478)
20th: Florida (2,442)
21st: Alabama – Birmingham (2,434)
22nd: Kennesaw State (2,423)
23rd: Durham (2,406)
24th: SUNY – Utica (2,396)
25th: Morehead State (2,376)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Seven: Undergraduate Out-of-state Tuition

2010-06-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

This category is another pretty minor selection, which is why it counts for only 0.71% of the total, but it does matter a bit because, like the other tuition data, the undergraduate tuition rate often serves as a barometer for the graduate rate.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from $4,738 to $70,000 for a year of tuition and fees, schools can earn up to 71 points.

Here are the ten lowest undergraduate out-of-state tuition rates of our group of schools:

1. Laval
2. Durham
3. Kennesaw State
4. Southern Arkansas
5. Louisiana - Monroe
6. Houston - Victoria
7. Texas – Permian Basin
8. Wyoming
9. Texas – Tyler
10. Alabama - Birmingham

The overall lead is now as follows (points):

1st: Texas – El Paso (1,939)
2nd: Texas – San Antonio (1,936)
3rd: Washington State (1,932)
4th: Florida State (1,931)
5th: Massachusetts – Amherst (1,930)
6th(tie): Oklahoma State (1,927)
Nebraska – Lincoln (1,927)
8th: Texas – Arlington (1,926)
9th: Alabama (1,923)
10th: North Texas (1,917)
11th: Florida (1,913)
12th: Colorado – Denver (1,907)
13th: Texas – Dallas (1,902)
14th: Florida International (1,889)
15th: Arizona State (1,872)
16th: Penn State (1,856)
17th(tie): Laval (1,846)
Indiana – Bloomington (1,846)
19th: Texas – Pan American (1,833)
20th: Wyoming (1,827)
21st: Auburn (1,823)
22nd: Durham (1,799)
23rd: Temple (1,721)
24th: Drexel (1,671)
25th: Hong Kong Poly (1,645)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Six: MBA In-state Tuition

2010-06-19T19:00:00.000-05:00

This category is more important than undergraduate tuition, since we’re talking about MBA tuition, but it’s still relative minor, since a true online school will want to attract candidates from outside their state. So this category counts for 2.14% of the whole set.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from $3,617 to $81,665 for a year of tuition and fees, schools can earn up to 214 points. Here are the ten lowest MBA in-state tuition rates of our group of schools:

1. Fayetteville State
2. Laval
3. Texas – Pan American
4. Texas - Tyler
5. Georgia Southern
6. Texas A&M - Commerce
7. Southern Arkansas
8. Louisiana - Monroe
9. Mississippi
10. West Georgia

The overall lead is now as follows (until the last category, amounts under a point are rounded):

1st: Texas – El Paso (1,880 points)
2nd: Massachusetts – Amherst (1,875 points)
3rd(tie): Florida State (1,874 points)
Washington State (1,874 points)
5th: Texas – San Antonio (1,873 points)
6th(tie): Nebraska – Lincoln (1,869 points)
Oklahoma State (1,869 points)
8th: Texas – Arlington (1,866 points)
9th: Alabama (1,864 points)
10th(tie): Florida (1,862 points)
North Texas (1,862 points)
12th: Texas – Dallas (1,847 points)
13th: Colorado – Denver (1,846 points)
14th: Florida International (1,830 points)
15th: Arizona State (1,815 points)
16th: Penn State (1,806 points)
17th: Indiana – Bloomington (1,796 points)
18th: Laval (1,775 points)
19th: Texas – Pan American (1,771 points)
20th: Auburn (1,764 points)
21st: Wyoming (1,762 points)
22nd: Durham (1,730 points)
23rd: Temple (1,668 points)
24th: Hong Kong Poly (1,640 points)
25th: Drexel (1,624 points)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Five: Undergraduate In-state Tuition

2010-06-19T11:36:00.001-05:00

This category is admittedly pretty minor, which is why it counts for only 0.36% of the total, but it does have meaning. If nothing else, the undergraduate tuition rate often serves as a barometer for the graduate rate, so you need to watch it. This is the weakest category of the fifteen I use, but it still counts.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from $1,930 to $42,100 for a year of tuition and fees, schools can earn up to 36 points. This is the first category which begins to set schools apart from each other.

Here are the ten lowest undergraduate in-state tuition rates of our group of schools:

1. Laval
2. Kennesaw State
3. Durham
4. Wyoming
5. Fayetteville State
6. Louisiana – Monroe
7. Georgia Southern
8. Florida Gulf Coast
9. Florida International
10. East Carolina

The overall lead is now as follows:

Tied for 1st at 1,684 points:
Florida
Florida International
Florida State

4th: Alabama (1,683 points)

Tied for 5th at 1,682 points:
Arizona State
Colorado – Denver
Nebraska – Lincoln
Oklahoma State
Texas – San Antonio
Washington State

Tied for 11th at 1,681 points:
Texas – Arlington
Texas – El Paso

Tied for 13th at 1,680 points:
Indiana – Bloomington
Massachusetts – Amherst

Tied for 15th at 1,679 points:
North Texas
Texas – Dallas

17th: Penn State (1,675 points)

18th: Laval (1,561 points)

Tied for 19th at 1,560 points:
Durham
Wyoming

Tied for 21st at 1,558 points:
Auburn
Texas – Pan American

23rd: Temple (1,552 points)

24th: Drexel (1,538 points)

25th: Hong Kong Polytechnic (1,527 points)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Four: Degree Levels

2010-06-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

This one may not appear important, but a university which offers you an MBA may later be attractive for a doctorate, or additional certification. A school which offers more degree levels is more serious in its mission.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there are four levels to consider, schools can earn 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of 100 times the 14.00 value of the category, or 350, 700, 1050, or 1400 more points.

Twenty-five AACSB schools with online MBA programs offer the full four degree levels. They are, alphabetically (2009 ranking in parentheses):

Alabama
Arizona State
Auburn (1)
Colorado – Denver (4)
Drexel (2)
Durham (25t)
Florida (21)
Florida International
Florida State (22t)
Hong Kong Polytechnic
Indiana – Bloomington
Laval
Nebraska – Lincoln (22t)
North Texas (25t)
Oklahoma State
Penn State
Temple
Massachusetts - Amherst
Texas – Arlington (25t)
Texas – Dallas (11t)
Texas – El Paso
Texas – Pan American
Texas – San Antonio
Washington State
Wyoming (24)

The lead is now a 17-way tie for first, with another 8 teams tied for 18th place:

Tied for 1st at 1,650 points:
Alabama
Arizona State
Colorado – Denver (4)
Florida (21)
Florida International
Florida State (22t)
Indiana – Bloomington
Massachusetts - Amherst
Nebraska – Lincoln (22t)
North Texas (25t)
Oklahoma State
Penn State
Texas – Arlington (25t)
Texas – Dallas (11t)
Texas – El Paso
Texas – San Antonio
Washington State

Tied for 18th place at 1,525 points:
Auburn (1)
Drexel (2)
Durham (25t)
Hong Kong Polytechnic
Laval
Temple
Texas – Pan American
Wyoming (24)

(The reference to 2009 rankings will not be continued again until the final rankings)

The Best Online MBA (AACSB) Schools for 2010 Part Three: AACSB Accreditation Levels

2010-06-18T18:53:00.000-05:00

We’ll start simple. The AACSB accredits schools as either Business schools, or as both Business and Accounting schools. The reason it matters, is not only for people who want to focus on Accounting as a concentration or career, but the additional effort by the school reflects, in my opinion, a superior academic standard which should be reflected in the overall MBA curriculum.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there are two levels to consider, accreditation in both Business and Accounting earns 100% of (100 x 2.5) or 250 points. Accreditation in Business only earns half that, or 50% of (100 x 2.5) or 125 points.

Twenty-nine AACSB schools with online MBA programs are accredited in both Business and Accounting, so we start with a 29-school tie for the early lead. They are, alphabetically (2009 ranking in parentheses):

Alabama
Alabama - Birmingham
Arizona State
Colorado – Denver (4)
Florida (21)
Florida International
Florida State (22t)
Georgia Southern
Gonzaga
Indiana – Bloomington
Kennesaw State
Louisiana – Monroe
Massachusetts - Amherst
Mississippi
Nebraska – Lincoln (22t)
North Texas (25t)
Oklahoma State
Penn State
Portland State
Suffolk (18)
Tennessee Tech (5t)
Texas – Arlington (25t)
Texas – Dallas (11t)
Texas – El Paso
Texas – San Antonio
Towson
Washington State
West Georgia
Western Kentucky

The Best AACSB Online MBA Schools for 2010 Part Two: Why Rank?

2010-06-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

This is where I explain why I am ranking online MBA programs. First off, I am biased. I hold an MBA from the University of Houston at Victoria, class of 2009 and member of Beta Gamma Sigma. I am fifty years old, which should tell you that I am mature, experienced in my work, and frankly not at all interested in schools that promise more than they deliver. I will also say bluntly that you will not get anything of value from a school that does not start with a serious investment in time, study, and effort. An ‘easy’ MBA is worthless. I chose to earn my MBA online, because as a manager my schedule often requires me to come in early and stay late, and I can’t even guarantee my Saturdays will always be available. Also, I cannot afford to take a couple years off work to go back to school, and as a professional the idea that I should stop working in order to learn theory is ludicrous on its face. So I am a strong advocate of the online MBA, though again I caution the reader not to imagine that it’s easier than face-to-face programs, nor that once you have an MBA you will get everything you want in your career. Earning an MBA is acquiring a tool, and in the process developing your mind and identity as a business professional. Like a gym, a university’s worth depends on how hard you sweat out the work and how much discipline you have.

But not all MBA programs are equally valuable, and that’s also true for online programs. In fact, the bias that many people have against online MBA programs comes from the more well-known online programs, which are poorly accredited and do little to really prepare their students to become leaders and build effective teams. No names, but you know the kind of schools I mean. If you're going to do the work to get an MBA, I mean a real one, then you owe it to yourself to protect your investment by making sure you get a degree that will be a true asset to your career - by coming from a solid university, and by making sure your education truly endows you with the tools to lead and build.

The people at MBA.com put out a survey of MBA candidates which note that there are about “4,750 graduate management programs around the world”. That same survey reported that the most common place for applicants to find out information on MBA programs is from school websites, but frankly when you’re starting out that’s a big field to work through. Published rankings also get a lot of notice, but here’s the problem – the big magazines and mainstream media play up the full-time schools and – sort of – some part-time programs, but discounting the cheapo ads pushing the garbage programs, no one breaks down the qualities of top-tier online MBA programs. In fact, no one even defines what would be the top tier.

Well, no one besides me. I took the time to look up a few things, weigh some numbers, and this year I improved significantly my methodology and the amount of data I gathered. I also tried to find information that you, the reader, could verify for yourself, and reweight to suit your preferences. That MBA.com survey says that 14.9% of all MBA candidates at least consider an online program, so there are a lot of people who deserve relatively easy access to some good numbers to know.

Let’s start with a few key numbers about online MBA programs. As I said, MBA.com reports that there are around 4,750 graduate management programs in the world. But only 593 of them are accredited by the AACSB (Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business), the international accrediting body founded in 1916 specifically for business schools, and which includes every program generally recognized to be worth the cost and effort. Of those 593 schools (up from 580 in 2009), 141 offer online classes at the graduate level (up from 77 in 2009) and 72 schools offer a true online MBA as I define it (up from 50 in 2009). You have a lot of choices.

I define an online MBA as one a candidate can earn without ever setting foot on campus, except for a maximum of three weeks residency. All required classes must be taught online. That’s my starting point, and while there are a number of programs which almost make that standard, if they did not I did not count them.
Next, I wanted to make sure you could get the same information I did, so I used two sources for each school – the AACSB member profile and the schools’ websites. If the information was not available there, I did not include it. The idea is to compare schools on consistent standards.

Next was to find the valid data to count. I settled on fifteen categories of information:

AACSB accreditation types
Degree levels offered
Undergraduate in-state tuition
MBA in-state tuition
Undergraduate out-of-state tuition
MBA out-of-state tuition
Operating budget
Average GMAT score
Minimum GMAT score
Number of MBA concentrations available
Student/Faculty ratio
Number of Students
Budget per student
Minimum program duration
Number of FTE faculty

Obviously, these are not of equal value to the MBA candidate, so next I weighted them according to their importance to the program:

Category Weight
AACSB accreditation types 2.5%
Degree levels offered 14%
Undergraduate in-state tuition 0.36%
MBA in-state tuition 2.14%
Undergraduate out-of-state tuition 0.71%
MBA out-of-state tuition 10%
Operating budget 1.07%
Average GMAT score 18%
Minimum GMAT score 1.79%
Number of MBA concentrations available 24%
Student/Faculty ratio 9%
Number of Students 1.43%
Budget per student 3%
Minimum program duration 4%
Number of FTE faculty 8% Total 100%

The next sixteen posts reveal the results of scoring in each category, and provide a list of the top schools in that category and a running total of the leading schools in points scored. The last post will discuss the overall results, and present the methodology clearly, so you can reweight the data if you would like to do your own scoring.

The Best AACSB Online MBA Schools for 2010 – Part One: Overview

2010-06-17T20:03:00.002-05:00

If you’re reading this, you’re either one of my regular readers or you have an interest in the Online MBA process. I ranked accredited schools of the AACSB (Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business) last year in a ‘Top 25’ format, and I am doing so again this year, although this year I have a much more rigorous format and, I believe, a more objective and useful set of criteria and methodology for my ranking. Before I present my results, however, I want to discuss the MBA degree in general and the development of the online MBA program, the reason I am doing rankings of online MBA programs, and to discuss the selected criteria and why I am using it and how I am weighting that data.

The Master of Business Administration degree is a relatively new innovation, created for practical application of business skills and tools. This is an important point, because the online MBA represents an innovation on that degree. But I will come back to that. Because it’s also important to recognize that the MBA is an elite degree. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 85% of Americans graduate high school or earn a GED, about 53% of Americans have some college experience, but only about 28% of Americans earn a college degree, and only about 9% earn a postgraduate degree.

When you consider that advanced degrees include technical, legal, and medical degrees, the number of MBAs out there in the workforce is really quite small. This leads to several conditions:

1. People with MBAs are often considered to have superior business ability and experience. This is a problem if the individual does not actually have such skills or knowledge;

2. Being considered ‘elite’ sometimes goes to a person’s head, and they become arrogant and offensive;

3. People who do not have MBAs often believe that getting an MBA will improve their career prospects

I mention this here, because not everyone can really benefit from earning an MBA. The degree is a tool, and it depends on what you do with it, how well it works for you. Also, in my experience there are four types of people with regard to the MBA:

I. Some people earn an MBA and gain insights into how to make the most effective use of their skills, to maximize advantages and opportunity, and become leaders who transform their companies;

II. Some people get an MBA and become arrogant energy parasites who kill morale and damage their company through incompetence and greed;

III. Some people do not need an MBA to accomplish their potential, and make their success through independent effort;

IV. Some people can make good use of an MBA, but they cannot go to a campus for two or three years to attend morning and afternoon classes.

There is a bias against online degrees in many places, but the reasons for such bias are rapidly becoming invalid. With regard to the MBA, let’s consider why a person seeks that degree. There are five key tools that an MBA candidate should acquire in earning his or her MBA:

[] The candidate’s thinking moves from tactical (my job, my department, my situation) to strategic (the company, the community, the long-term prospects and needs)

[] The candidate develops their leadership ability, and takes charge of problem-solving, initiative to tackle projects and challenges, and finding opportunity

[] The candidate learns to build teams and understand the process and value of team-building, not only for specific projects but also building a network of colleagues for discussion, planning, and evaluation

[] The candidate learns how to identify and communicate effectively with stakeholders of all kinds, to minimize risk and obstacles and to discover opportunity and growth, and to build a community network that builds brand value through good corporate citizenship

[] The candidate learns effective methods to resolve disputes, including analysis of cause and effect, key stakeholders and their concerns, and the key objectives of all concerned parties

You may note that none of those key goals require the candidate to attend a traditional MBA program. There are very different ways to earn an MBA, and each has advantages as well as disadvantages. The traditional MBA pathway includes the full-time and part-time programs, and focuses on face-to-face classroom lectures, discussions, and examinations. The online MBA pathway depends on the virtual classroom and web-based resources. The distinction between each path may be seen in the following points:

1. The traditional path focuses on face-to-face personal interaction, which allows candidates to study as a community and develop teams for study and projects through common behavior traits such as common age, gender, and superficial attraction. Many traditional schools set their candidates up into cohorts, who will take the same classes at the same time and place as their colleagues, creating a direct sense of community. On the other hand, online candidates first perceive their peers through classroom discussion and so develop impressions through the strength of their intellect and use of words and concepts. Also, since online candidates are not forced into artificial communities, they interact with a wider range of candidates from different stages in the program, and the flexibility of online programs brings in more experienced professionals, who can speak to the direct effects of theoretical concepts in the real work world.

2. Traditional MBA candidates see and interact directly with faculty, and can personally visit the professors regularly. Of course, this is an advantage only if the student/faculty ratio is small and the professor keeps his office schedule, something not that common in universities. Also, the online MBA candidate is known to the professor by his or her participation in class discussions, and the quality of his or her work on assignments and projects. The online candidate also had the opportunity to ask a question in real-time discussions without fear of being ignored, because the question appears in the chat text and is not lost to crowd noise or misunderstanding. Over time, the online student also has the advantage of being identified primarily by his or her work, rather than on irrelevant appearances.

3. Traditional MBA candidates can easily form study groups with students they meet in class or on campus. The whole idea of a campus, after all, is to create a place which encourages study and conversation among students. They can also form project teams and establish networks for later collaboration. However, online MBA candidates can also form virtual teams with equal ease, and they may meet online or in person as they choose with greater flexibility. Note also that the use of e-mails and other electronic means of communication creates more durable access, which may continue after graduation from the university and therefore creating greater network value than nominal methods.

4. Traditional MBA candidates have direct access to the professor teaching each class, and may have an advantage from being able to see and react to instructors’ demeanor and personality. However, online candidates do not have to dear being judged on superficial appearance, and can submit questions or ask for guidance in online format, where time constraints are far less pressing.

5. Most major corporations have a bias in favor of traditional face-to-face programs, especially full-time MBA candidates. This gives traditional MBA candidates broader opportunity at job fairs and face-to-face campus interviews. However, the online MBA candidate generally has superior work experience and job-specific skills related to coursework that are less emphasized in traditional programs, such as virtual team-building, teleconferencing, and online project documentation. When the online MBA candidate goes into an interview, he/she will be better equipped to offer immediate application of relevant work skills.

Each method has advantages and disadvantages, but it’s important to recognize that the online MBA program is distinct from the traditional MBA program in its organization, requirements, and results. This is a vital point to understand when deciding your own path to the MBA. While the material covered in online courses is identical to that covered in face-to-face classes, the method by which the candidate learns the material and presents his/her work, and by which the candidate builds contact networks for study and project teams, is distinctly separate from the nominal classroom approach, and the candidate who stands out in the online program must be more mature, disciplined and better-organized than one seeking to shine in more traditional settings. An example of this can be seen in the classroom discussion, a vital forum for an MBA-level curriculum.

Rather than simply read from the text and recite the appropriate maxims and formulae, MBA candidates discuss cases and context, to explore the full scope of relevant issues and to not only answer the question with an effective solution, but learn how to apply the strategic lesson holistically, and also to listen to alternate solutions so that in real life the answer can still be found, even if the individual does not know the answer himself. The problem with the traditional face-to-face classroom, is that it’s too easy for a slacker to coast along, for a braggart to steal credit for someone else’s idea or explanation, and for room noise to make it hard for a student to be heard or understood clearly. In the online classroom, the bad news is that discussion and participation are much more stringently tracked and graded – I have known professors who dropped students from an online class for failing to contribute in substance to discussions. The online class tracks every keystroke of a comment and identifies not only the person making the entry, but the date, time and length. The professor can sort through comments to find the most valid and effective observations and insights, and more than a few candidates in online classes find that the difference between an A and a B in a class depends on the quality of their discussions.